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So when I came to the spring today, I prayed: O LORD, God of my master Abraham, if only You would make my journey a success!
Genesis 24:42 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB I came today to the spring, and said, ‘Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, if now you do prosper my way which I go —
  • KJV And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go:
  • NKJV “And this day I came to the well and said, ‘O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go,
  • NASB “So I came today to the spring, and said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, if now You will make my journey on which I have been going successful;
  • NLT “So today when I came to the spring, I prayed this prayer: ‘O Lord, God of my master, Abraham, please give me success on this mission.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The servant tells how he prayed at the spring for Yahweh to prosper his way.

Overview

He recounts his arrival and his earnest petition to the God of his master Abraham. The servant's practice of dependent prayer models seeking God's guidance in concrete decisions. His reliance on Abraham's God shows the covenant faith extending beyond Abraham himself to those in his household.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • Neh 1:11O Lord, may Your ear be attentive to my prayer and to the prayers of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” (At that time I was the cupbearer to the king.)
  • Ps 90:17May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish for us the work of our hands—yes, establish the work of our hands!
  • Rom 1:10in my prayers at all times, asking that now at last by God’s will I may succeed in coming to you.
  • Ps 37:5Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it.
  • Ezra 8:21And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.
  • Gen 24:12–14“O LORD, God of my master Abraham,” he prayed, “please grant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.
  • Gen 24:31“Come, you who are blessed by the LORD,” said Laban. “Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”
  • Acts 10:7–8When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among his attendants.
  • Gen 39:3When his master saw that the LORD was with him and made him prosper in all he did,
  • Acts 10:22“Cornelius the centurion has sent us,” they said. “He is a righteous and God-fearing man with a good reputation among the whole Jewish nation. A holy angel instructed him to request your presence in his home so he could hear a message from you.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 24:42YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 24:42 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.