So let us listen to sacred Scripture’s account to us: Abraham was old, advanced in years. The Lord had blessed Abraham in every respect. Why did it mention this to us? Since he was about to give good care and attention to Isaac, to the point of bringing him a bride, accordingly it mentioned to us the patriarch’s age.

But indeed, we should not fail to notice from these things that are reported by the literal meaning, what generations and of what sort they are, which are propagated from Keturah.

For if we remember these things, we will be able to recognize more easily those things that are said about the diverse nations in the Scriptures. For example, as when it is said that Moses took as his wife the daughter of Jethro, priest of Midian, this Midian is found to be a son of Keturah and Abraham.^[1] We know therefore that Moses’ wife is from the seed of Abraham and was not a foreigner. But also when it is written, the queen of Kedar,^[2] it should be known no less that also Kedar descends from the very stock of Kedar and Abraham.^[3]

You see, since he had reached extreme old age, the text says, he wished to preserve Isaac from association with the Canaanites, lest he take a wife from among them. So he summoned the more prudent of his servants, the text says, and gave him the following instructions: Place your hand under my thigh. In Greek the verse is written this way: under my thigh; whereas in Hebrew it says under my loins. Why did he speak in this fashion? It was an idiom of people in the past. But on other grounds it was also because the birth of Isaac takes its origin from there.

For you to learn that the action was done according to a certain custom, notice that when he was ordering him to put his hand there, he immediately added, and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth. See how he teaches the servant to recognize the Creator of all things. By saying, the God of heaven and the God of earth, he encompassed all creation.

Abraham made him swear by the covenant of circumcision. Because God saw that the two heads of the world had dishonored this member, he set the sign of the covenant on it so that this member, which was the most despised of all the limbs, would now be the most honored of all the limbs. The sign of the covenant that was set on it bestowed such great honor that those who take oaths now swear by it and all those who administer oaths make them swear by it.

When the sacred lesson was read a little while ago, we heard that blessed Abraham called his servant and said to him, Put your hand under my thigh that I may adjure you by the God of heaven and of earth, not to obtain a wife for my son from the daughters of this region.^[1] And [the servant] obediently placed his hand under his thigh and swore to him. Indeed, brothers, all these things that are read in the Old Testament, if we are willing to accept them only according to the letter, will bring us little or no profit of soul. For of what benefit is it to us who assemble in church with devotion to hear the Word of God, if it is mentioned that Abraham sent his servant to bring his son a wife from a distant country, when we see this happen frequently also in this land? However, brothers, following the blessed apostle Paul, we should believe that all things which were written for the Jews happened to them as a type^[2] but in reality were fulfilled for us. Therefore Abraham said to his servant, Put your hand under my thigh and swear by the God of heaven and of earth. Thus blessed Abraham said, Put your hand under my thigh, as if he were saying, put your hand upon the altar, or put your hand upon the ark of the testament, or stretch forth your hand to God’s temple, and swear to me. He touched his thigh and swore by the God of heaven and earth. For blessed Abraham did not err when he commanded that this be done but because he was filled with the spirit of prophecy and knew that from his own seed Christ the Lord of heaven and earth would be born. Therefore, when his servant touched his thigh, he did not utter an oath by any carnal member but by the living and true God, because Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah,^[3] of whose seed Christ the Lord was born.

For an important thing was being done when a spouse was being sought for the seed of Abraham. But that the servant might learn this which Abraham knew, that he did not desire grandchildren carnally and that he did not have any carnal conception about his progeny, he said to his slave whom he was sending, Put your hand under my thigh and swear by the God of heaven. What does the God of heaven want to signify in respect to the thigh of Abraham? Already you understand the hidden meaning: by the thigh, his progeny. Therefore what was that swearing but a signifying that the God of heaven would come in the flesh from the progeny of Abraham?

For, putting the hand under the thigh of a man and swearing by the God of heaven, what else did that signify except that in that flesh, which took its origin from that thigh, the God of heaven would come?

Marriage therefore is a good in which the married are better in proportion as they fear God more chastely and more faithfully, especially if they also nourish spiritually the children whom they desire carnally.

This surely was prophetic of the fact that the Lord God of heaven and the Lord of the earth would one day come in flesh fashioned from that thigh.

Do you note the patriarch’s command given to the servant? I mean, don’t pass idly by these words; instead, consider the good man’s purpose, and study how in ancient times their concern was not to look for abundance of possessions, not for great wealth, slaves, so many acres of land, not charm of external beauty—rather, they looked for beauty of soul and nobility of manners.

You see, since he saw the wickedness of the inhabitants of Canaan and realized how great a good it is to have a partner of similar manners, he directed his servant and put him under oath to procure a wife for Isaac from his relatives. Neither the distance between the places nor the other difficulties caused him to delay the task. Rather, in the realization of the necessity of the business, he showed all haste in dispatching the servant. For his part, the patriarch acted in this from concern for the soul’s virtue and abhorrence of the wickedness of the [land’s] inhabitants.

The patriarch, on the other hand, delivered an adequate direction to his servant and put him under oath. But let us now see the servant’s sense of duty in imitating his master’s godliness; when he saw the good man directing him with great earnestness, he said to him, If the woman does not want to accompany me, do you want me to take your son back to the country you came from? In case some problem arises, he is saying, and I seem to overstep your commands, I would consequently like to know what rules I should observe and whether it is your will that Isaac should go there, take his wife and then return here if she does not agree to accompany me, as you commanded? So what did the good man reply? He rejected this alternative, saying, Be sure not to take my son back there. There is no need for you to do it, he says. The One who made the promise to me and guaranteed that his descendants would be increased to such an extent will also bring this to a happy end.

Notice how previously, in placing the servant under oath, he instructed him about the Creator of all. Now, as Abraham was about to pray, he used the same words, by every means teaching the servant to have confidence in him and, in this spirit, set out on the journey, as also to trust in its outcome. You see, Abraham teaches him how much favor from the God of all Abraham had enjoyed from the outset and the fact that this same benefactor, who had plucked him from his own country, had managed his fortunes so well to this point. At the height of old age, God had granted him the birth of Isaac and would personally also take care of what lay ahead. The Lord, the God of heaven and earth, who took me from my father’s house and from the land where I was born, the same who spoke to me in the words, I will give this land to you and your descendants, who has demonstrated such extraordinary care for me, he will personally send his angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there.

Have confidence, Abraham is saying, and depart. I am convinced that the One who has demonstrated such great kindness in my regard will add this to his former blessings and send his angel before you. He will personally prepare the way before you; he will also personally make the woman known to you; you will take her and return. But should it happen—perish the thought—that she refuses to accompany you, you will be discharged from the obligation of the oath. Nevertheless don’t take my son there. You see, I have no doubt that the Lord will take care of you. Showing how he trusted in God’s power, Abraham forbade the servant to conduct Isaac there. Then, after he had given detailed instructions to the servant and relieved him of concern (the servant, after all, was afraid he would be convicted of perjury if he failed to discharge his command), he placed his hand under his thigh, the text goes on, and gave him his oath on this matter, that he would not take Isaac there.

Do you see how from the outset the servant showed his regard for his master? See him now showing the benefit of the patriarch’s instruction by imitating the good man’s godliness. The servant took ten camels, the text relates, and a selection of all his master’s goods; he set out and traveled into Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor, where he rested the camels outside the city at the well toward evening when the women come out to draw water. He said, ‘Lord, the God of my master Abraham.’ ^[1] See the servant’s dutifulness: he names the Lord of the world after the patriarch, saying, Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has given evidence of so many kindnesses to him. Why are you surprised if the servant calls him the God of Abraham in this way? The God of all shows how he sets great store by the virtue of good people and says, I am the God of Jacob, the God of Isaac and the God of Abraham.^[2]

In the evening, therefore, she came to the waters. We have already spoken above about evening. But behold the prudence of the servant. He does not wish to take a bride for his master, Isaac, unless he finds a virgin becoming and beautiful in appearance, and not only a virgin, but one whom a man has not touched. She must be one whom he should discover drawing water. He does not wish to betroth another to his master.

He does not give her jewelry unless she is such a person. He does not give earrings; he does not give bracelets.^[1] She remains simple, unlearned, unadorned. Do we suppose that Rebekah’s father, a rich man, did not have bracelets and earrings that he might place on his daughter? Was he so negligent or greedy that he would not give jewelry to his daughter? But Rebekah does not wish to be adorned with Bethuel’s gold. The jewelry of a barbarous and ignorant man is not worthy of her. She needs jewels of the house of Abraham because patience is adorned from the house of the wise man.

Rebekah’s ears, therefore, could not receive their beauty, unless Abraham’s servant come and himself adorn them; nor could her hands receive jewelry except that which Isaac sent. For she wishes to receive golden words in her ears and to have golden deeds in her hands. But she could not previously receive or deserve these things unless she had come to the wells to draw water. How will you, who do not wish to come to the waters, who do not wish to receive the golden words of the prophets in your ears, be able to be adorned with instruction, adorned with deeds, adorned with character?

Lord, he says, the God of my master Abraham, be my guide today, and have compassion on my master Abraham, as if to say, Bring his wishes to effect, and conduct everything according to his intention. Have compassion on my master Abraham: what does have compassion mean? Fulfill his desire. Then he said, Lo, I am standing at the spring, and the daughters of the inhabitants of the city are coming out to draw water. Whichever maiden to whom I say, ‘Lower your water jar that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink and I shall water your camels till they all stop drinking’—let her be the one you have prepared for your servant Isaac, and in this I shall know that you have had compassion on my master Abraham.^[1] Note the servant’s sagacity. He was aware of the patriarch’s hospitality and the fact that the maiden destined to be brought there should have similar qualities to those of the good man. So, far from looking for any other indication, he was anxious to distinguish the maiden’s hospitality from her attitude. He said, If, in response to my request to her for water, she lowers her water jar and not only heeds my request but also gives evidence of the generosity of her own attitude by saying, ‘I will water your camels as well,’ she will have given me sufficient demonstration of the mildness of her manners by the offer of water.

Consider, in fact, I ask you, dearly beloved, how important it was that a tender maiden while drawing water not only did not decline the request but also took down the water jar from her shoulders and gave the petitioner his fill, stranger though he was and quite unknown to her. She gave water not only to him but also to all the camels, thus betraying by her behavior indications of her nobility of soul. Did she not realize that many, men included, often decline such requests? Why do I refer to the gift of water? Sometimes, when people holding torches are asked by those approaching them to wait a while so as to allow a lamp to be lit, they refuse even to do this, despite the fire’s suffering no diminution even should those intending to light their torch be beyond count. In this case, on the contrary, a woman, a maiden, carrying a water jar on her shoulders, not only did not object to the request but even was more generous than the request in supplying the drink, hurrying of her own volition to water the camels as well.

Observe how many things take place at waters, so that you too may be invited to come daily to the waters of the Word of God and stand by its wells, as also Rebekah used to do, of whom the Scripture says, The virgin was very beautiful; a virgin, a man had not known her.^[1]

Now, dearly beloved, let us briefly see, as far as we can, what these facts mean. When blessed Abraham directed his servant to take a wife for his son, he portrayed an image of God the Father. Just as when he offered the boy as a holocaust, he then presented an image of God the Father, so also his servant signified the words of prophecy. For this reason Abraham sent his servant into a distant land to take a wife for his son, because God the Father intended to send his prophetic word throughout the world to search for the Catholic church as a spouse for his only-begotten Son.

Here, then, a woman proclaims Christ to the Samaritans,^[1] and at the end of the Gospels also the woman who saw him before all the others tells the apostles of the resurrection of the Savior.^[2]

Rebekah came to the wells daily; she drew water daily. And because she spent time at the wells daily, therefore, she could be found by Abraham’s servant and be united in marriage with Isaac.

Do you think these are tales and that the Holy Spirit tells stories in the Scripture? This is instruction for souls and spiritual teaching which instructs and teaches you to come daily to the wells of the Scripture, to the waters of the Holy Spirit, and always to draw water and carry home a full vessel just as also holy Rebekah used to do. Otherwise he could not have been joined to so great a patriarch as Isaac, who was born by promise.^[1] It is only by drawing water and by drawing so much that she could give a drink not only to those who are at home but also to Abraham’s servant, and not only to the servant. She also had such an abundance of water that she drew from the wells that she could also water the camels until, the text says, they stopped drinking.^[2]

All these things that are written are mysteries. Christ wishes to espouse you also to himself, for he speaks to you through the prophets, saying, I will espouse you to me forever, and I will espouse you to me in faith and in mercy, and you shall know the Lord.^[3] Because therefore he wishes to espouse you to himself, he dispatches that servant to you in advance. That servant is the prophetic word. Unless you have received it first, you cannot be married to Christ.

Know, however, that no one untrained and inexperienced receives the prophetic word, but he who knows how to draw water from the depth of the well, who knows how to draw in such quantity that it may be sufficient also for these who appear irrational and perverse, whom the camels represent. [So that person] may be able to say, I am a debtor to the wise and to the unwise.^[4] . . . So therefore Rebekah, which means patience, when she saw the servant and contemplated the prophetic word, puts the water jar down from her shoulder.^[5] For she puts down the exalted arrogance of Greek eloquence and, stooping down to the lowly and simple prophetic word, says, Drink, and I will water your camels.^[6]

Now, dearly beloved, let us briefly see, as far as we can, what these facts mean. When blessed Abraham directed his servant to take a wife for his son, he portrayed an image of God the Father. Just as when he offered the boy as a burnt offering, he then presented an image of God the Father, so also his servant signified the words of prophecy. For this reason Abraham sent his servant into a distant land to take a wife for his son, because God the Father intended to send his prophetic word throughout the world to search for the Catholic church as a spouse for his onlybegotten Son. Just as through Abraham’s servant a bride is brought for blessed Isaac, so by his prophetic word the church of the Gentiles is invited to Christ the true bridegroom from distant lands. But where is found that spouse who was to be joined to Christ? Where, unless near the water? It is true, dearly beloved: If the church had not come to the waters of baptism, it would not have been joined to Christ. For this reason Rebekah found Abraham’s servant at the well, and the church finds Christ at the sacrament of baptism.

But you say perhaps, if the servant represents the prophetic word, how is he given a drink by Rebekah, to whom he rather ought to give a drink?

Consider therefore whether it may be as follows. Although, on the one hand, the Lord Jesus is the bread of life,^[1] and he himself feeds the hungry souls, on the other hand, he admits that he hungers when he says, I was hungry, and you gave me to eat.^[2] Again, on the one hand, although he is the living water^[3] and gives drink to all who thirst, on the other hand, he says to the Samaritan woman, Give me to drink.^[4] So also, although the prophetic word gives drink to the thirsting, it is nevertheless said to be given a drink by these when it receives the exercises and vigilances of the zealous. A soul such as this, then, which does all things patiently, which is so eager and is undergirded with so much learning, which has been accustomed to draw streams of knowledge from the depths, can be united in marriage with Christ.

Unless therefore you come daily to the wells, unless you daily draw water, not only will you not be able to give a drink to others, but also you yourself also will suffer a thirst for the Word of God.^[5] Hear also the Lord saying in the Gospels, Let him who thirsts come and drink.^[6] But, as I see it, you neither hunger nor thirst after justice,^[7] and how will you be able to say, As the deer pants after the fountains of water, so my soul pants after you, O God. My soul has thirsted after the living God; when shall I come and appear before his presence?^[8]

This is not written of her in vain. Nevertheless the meaning of the statement disturbs me: She was a virgin, whom no man had known. It is indeed as if a virgin were something other than one whom a man has not touched. And what does the addition seem to mean in reference to a virgin that it should be said, A man had not known her? Is there indeed another virgin whom a man has touched?

I have often said already that in these stories history is not being narrated but mysteries are interwoven. I think therefore that something such as this is indicated in this story.

Just as Christ is said to be the husband of the soul, to whom the soul is married when it comes to faith, so also, contrary to this, he who also is called an enemy when he sows tares among the wheat^[1] is called the husband to whom the soul is married when it turns away to faithlessness. It is not sufficient, therefore, for the soul to be pure in body; it is necessary also that this most wicked man has not known it. For it can happen that someone may possess virginity in body, and knowing that most wicked man, the devil, and receiving darts of concupiscence from him in the heart destroy the purity of the soul. Because, therefore, Rebekah was a virgin holy in body and spirit,^[2] for this reason the Scripture doubles her praise and says, She was a virgin; a man had not known her.

And so Isaac is good and true, for he is full of grace and a fountain of joy. To that fountain came Rebekah to fill her water jar. For Scripture says that going down to the fountain she filled her water jar and came up. And so the church or the soul went down to the fountain of wisdom to fill its own vessel and draw up the teachings of pure wisdom, which the Jews did not wish to draw from the flowing fountain. Listen to him as he says who that fountain is. They have abandoned me, the fountain of living water.^[1] The soul of the prophets ran thirsting to this fountain, even as David says, My soul has thirsted after the living God,^[2] that he might fill his thirst with the richness of the knowledge of God and might wash away the blood of foolishness with watering of spiritual streams.

The loving God, you see, granted the patriarch’s prayers, sent his angel on ahead and saw to the outcome of all these events; everything turned out as the servant requested. Then when he saw the power of the patriarch’s prayers in the event and chanced upon the maiden as he desired, he also saw her surpassing hospitality. She hastened the text goes on, remember, to empty the water jar into the trough, and ran to draw more at the well, and watered all the camels. See her heightened enthusiasm. The verse She hastened to empty the water jar into the trough and ran to the well shows the maiden’s indescribable enthusiasm in neither snubbing him as a stranger nor declining his request on the pretext of prudence but rather saying with great restraint, Drink, sir.^[1] I ask you to consider how very proper, despite her tender years, was her modesty, her surpassing humility and the extremity of her hospitality. What riches, at any rate, do these qualities not far surpass? Are there treasures you would value more highly than these qualities? This is the greatest gift; this constitutes countless blessings, a treasure never expended.

Rebekah is found at a well. Rebekah in turn finds Isaac at a well. There she gazed upon his countenance for the first time. There she dismounted from the camels.^[1] There she sees Isaac, who was pointed out to her by the servant. Do you think these are the only words related about wells?

The dutiful servant therefore now saw God’s providence distinctly. He kept observing her closely, the text goes on, and remained silent so as to know if the Lord had made his journey successful or not.^[1] What is the meaning of kept observing her closely? He kept studying the maiden’s very words, her gaze, her walk, her appearance, everything else about her, and waited to see if the Lord had successfully conducted his journey or not. You see, what had happened so far, the text is saying, showed the maiden’s great virtue that exceeded ordinary limits. Hence, to reward her for her response and the offer of water, the text goes on, he pressed upon her golden earrings and two bracelets.^[2] He carefully made enquiries about her, asking, Whose daughter are you? and Is there room in your father’s house for us to rest?^[3]