What Actually Transpired between Abraham's Agent and Rifka's family? The Interpretations of Rashi, Ramban, Radak and Shadal

(א) וְאַבְרָהָ֣ם זָקֵ֔ן בָּ֖א בַּיָּמִ֑ים וַֽיהֹוָ֛ה בֵּרַ֥ךְ אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֖ם בַּכֹּֽל׃ (ב) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אַבְרָהָ֗ם אֶל־עַבְדּוֹ֙ זְקַ֣ן בֵּית֔וֹ הַמֹּשֵׁ֖ל בְּכׇל־אֲשֶׁר־ל֑וֹ שִֽׂים־נָ֥א יָדְךָ֖ תַּ֥חַת יְרֵכִֽי׃ (ג) וְאַשְׁבִּ֣יעֲךָ֔ בַּֽיהֹוָה֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וֵֽאלֹהֵ֖י הָאָ֑רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹֽא־תִקַּ֤ח אִשָּׁה֙ לִבְנִ֔י מִבְּנוֹת֙ הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֔י אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָנֹכִ֖י יוֹשֵׁ֥ב בְּקִרְבּֽוֹ׃ (ד) כִּ֧י אֶל־אַרְצִ֛י וְאֶל־מוֹלַדְתִּ֖י תֵּלֵ֑ךְ וְלָקַחְתָּ֥ אִשָּׁ֖ה לִבְנִ֥י לְיִצְחָֽק׃

(ה) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלָיו֙ הָעֶ֔בֶד אוּלַי֙ לֹא־תֹאבֶ֣ה הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה לָלֶ֥כֶת אַחֲרַ֖י אֶל־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֑את הֶֽהָשֵׁ֤ב אָשִׁיב֙ אֶת־בִּנְךָ֔ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יָצָ֥אתָ מִשָּֽׁם׃ (ו) וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֵלָ֖יו אַבְרָהָ֑ם הִשָּׁ֣מֶר לְךָ֔ פֶּן־תָּשִׁ֥יב אֶת־בְּנִ֖י שָֽׁמָּה׃ (ז) יְהֹוָ֣ה ׀ אֱלֹהֵ֣י הַשָּׁמַ֗יִם אֲשֶׁ֨ר לְקָחַ֜נִי מִבֵּ֣ית אָבִי֮ וּמֵאֶ֣רֶץ מֽוֹלַדְתִּי֒ וַאֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּר־לִ֜י וַאֲשֶׁ֤ר נִֽשְׁבַּֽע־לִי֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לְזַ֨רְעֲךָ֔ אֶתֵּ֖ן אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֑את ה֗וּא יִשְׁלַ֤ח מַלְאָכוֹ֙ לְפָנֶ֔יךָ וְלָקַחְתָּ֥ אִשָּׁ֛ה לִבְנִ֖י מִשָּֽׁם׃ (ח) וְאִם־לֹ֨א תֹאבֶ֤ה הָֽאִשָּׁה֙ לָלֶ֣כֶת אַחֲרֶ֔יךָ וְנִקִּ֕יתָ מִשְּׁבֻעָתִ֖י זֹ֑את רַ֣ק אֶת־בְּנִ֔י לֹ֥א תָשֵׁ֖ב שָֽׁמָּה׃....

וַיֵּ֛לֶךְ אֶל־אֲרַ֥ם נַֽהֲרַ֖יִם אֶל־עִ֥יר נָחֽוֹר׃ (יא) וַיַּבְרֵ֧ךְ הַגְּמַלִּ֛ים מִח֥וּץ לָעִ֖יר אֶל־בְּאֵ֣ר הַמָּ֑יִם לְעֵ֣ת עֶ֔רֶב לְעֵ֖ת צֵ֥את הַשֹּׁאֲבֹֽת׃ (יב) וַיֹּאמַ֓ר ׀ יְהֹוָ֗ה אֱלֹהֵי֙ אֲדֹנִ֣י אַבְרָהָ֔ם הַקְרֵה־נָ֥א לְפָנַ֖י הַיּ֑וֹם וַעֲשֵׂה־חֶ֕סֶד עִ֖ם אֲדֹנִ֥י אַבְרָהָֽם׃ (יג) הִנֵּ֛ה אָנֹכִ֥י נִצָּ֖ב עַל־עֵ֣ין הַמָּ֑יִם וּבְנוֹת֙ אַנְשֵׁ֣י הָעִ֔יר יֹצְאֹ֖ת לִשְׁאֹ֥ב מָֽיִם׃ (יד) וְהָיָ֣ה הַֽנַּעֲרָ֗ אֲשֶׁ֨ר אֹמַ֤ר אֵלֶ֙יהָ֙ הַטִּי־נָ֤א כַדֵּךְ֙ וְאֶשְׁתֶּ֔ה וְאָמְרָ֣ה שְׁתֵ֔ה וְגַם־גְּמַלֶּ֖יךָ אַשְׁקֶ֑ה אֹתָ֤הּ הֹכַ֙חְתָּ֙ לְעַבְדְּךָ֣ לְיִצְחָ֔ק וּבָ֣הּ אֵדַ֔ע כִּי־עָשִׂ֥יתָ חֶ֖סֶד עִם־אֲדֹנִֽי׃

(טו) וַֽיְהִי־ה֗וּא טֶ֘רֶם֮ כִּלָּ֣ה לְדַבֵּר֒ וְהִנֵּ֧ה רִבְקָ֣ה יֹצֵ֗את אֲשֶׁ֤ר יֻלְּדָה֙ לִבְתוּאֵ֣ל בֶּן־מִלְכָּ֔ה אֵ֥שֶׁת נָח֖וֹר אֲחִ֣י אַבְרָהָ֑ם וְכַדָּ֖הּ עַל־שִׁכְמָֽהּ׃ (טז) וְהַֽנַּעֲרָ֗ טֹבַ֤ת מַרְאֶה֙ מְאֹ֔ד בְּתוּלָ֕ה וְאִ֖ישׁ לֹ֣א יְדָעָ֑הּ וַתֵּ֣רֶד הָעַ֔יְנָה וַתְּמַלֵּ֥א כַדָּ֖הּ וַתָּֽעַל׃ (יז) וַיָּ֥רׇץ הָעֶ֖בֶד לִקְרָאתָ֑הּ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר הַגְמִיאִ֥ינִי נָ֛א מְעַט־מַ֖יִם מִכַּדֵּֽךְ׃ (יח) וַתֹּ֖אמֶר שְׁתֵ֣ה אֲדֹנִ֑י וַתְּמַהֵ֗ר וַתֹּ֧רֶד כַּדָּ֛הּ עַל־יָדָ֖הּ וַתַּשְׁקֵֽהוּ׃ (יט) וַתְּכַ֖ל לְהַשְׁקֹת֑וֹ וַתֹּ֗אמֶר גַּ֤ם לִגְמַלֶּ֙יךָ֙ אֶשְׁאָ֔ב עַ֥ד אִם־כִּלּ֖וּ לִשְׁתֹּֽת׃ (כ) וַתְּמַהֵ֗ר וַתְּעַ֤ר כַּדָּהּ֙ אֶל־הַשֹּׁ֔קֶת וַתָּ֥רׇץ ע֛וֹד אֶֽל־הַבְּאֵ֖ר לִשְׁאֹ֑ב וַתִּשְׁאַ֖ב לְכׇל־גְּמַלָּֽיו׃

(כא) וְהָאִ֥ישׁ מִשְׁתָּאֵ֖ה לָ֑הּ מַחֲרִ֕ישׁ לָדַ֗עַת הַֽהִצְלִ֧יחַ יְהֹוָ֛ה דַּרְכּ֖וֹ אִם־לֹֽא׃ (כב) וַיְהִ֗י כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר כִּלּ֤וּ הַגְּמַלִּים֙ לִשְׁתּ֔וֹת וַיִּקַּ֤ח הָאִישׁ֙ נֶ֣זֶם זָהָ֔ב בֶּ֖קַע מִשְׁקָל֑וֹ וּשְׁנֵ֤י צְמִידִים֙ עַל־יָדֶ֔יהָ עֲשָׂרָ֥ה זָהָ֖ב מִשְׁקָלָֽם׃

(כג) וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ בַּת־מִ֣י אַ֔תְּ הַגִּ֥ידִי נָ֖א לִ֑י הֲיֵ֧שׁ בֵּית־אָבִ֛יךְ מָק֥וֹם לָ֖נוּ לָלִֽין׃ (כד) וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֔יו בַּת־בְּתוּאֵ֖ל אָנֹ֑כִי בֶּן־מִלְכָּ֕ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָלְדָ֖ה לְנָחֽוֹר׃ (כה) וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֔יו גַּם־תֶּ֥בֶן גַּם־מִסְפּ֖וֹא רַ֣ב עִמָּ֑נוּ גַּם־מָק֖וֹם לָלֽוּן׃

(כו) וַיִּקֹּ֣ד הָאִ֔ישׁ וַיִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּ לַֽיהֹוָֽה׃ (כז) וַיֹּ֗אמֶר בָּר֤וּךְ יְהֹוָה֙ אֱלֹהֵי֙ אֲדֹנִ֣י אַבְרָהָ֔ם אֲ֠שֶׁ֠ר לֹֽא־עָזַ֥ב חַסְדּ֛וֹ וַאֲמִתּ֖וֹ מֵעִ֣ם אֲדֹנִ֑י אָנֹכִ֗י בַּדֶּ֙רֶךְ֙ נָחַ֣נִי יְהֹוָ֔ה בֵּ֖ית אֲחֵ֥י אֲדֹנִֽי׃ (כח) וַתָּ֙רׇץ֙ הַֽנַּעֲרָ֔ וַתַּגֵּ֖ד לְבֵ֣ית אִמָּ֑הּ כַּדְּבָרִ֖ים הָאֵֽלֶּה׃ (כט) וּלְרִבְקָ֥ה אָ֖ח וּשְׁמ֣וֹ לָבָ֑ן וַיָּ֨רׇץ לָבָ֧ן אֶל־הָאִ֛ישׁ הַח֖וּצָה אֶל־הָעָֽיִן׃ (ל) וַיְהִ֣י ׀ כִּרְאֹ֣ת אֶת־הַנֶּ֗זֶם וְֽאֶת־הַצְּמִדִים֮ עַל־יְדֵ֣י אֲחֹתוֹ֒ וּכְשׇׁמְע֗וֹ אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֞י רִבְקָ֤ה אֲחֹתוֹ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר כֹּֽה־דִבֶּ֥ר אֵלַ֖י הָאִ֑ישׁ וַיָּבֹא֙ אֶל־הָאִ֔ישׁ וְהִנֵּ֛ה עֹמֵ֥ד עַל־הַגְּמַלִּ֖ים עַל־הָעָֽיִן׃

(לא) וַיֹּ֕אמֶר בּ֖וֹא בְּר֣וּךְ יְהֹוָ֑ה לָ֤מָּה תַעֲמֹד֙ בַּח֔וּץ וְאָנֹכִי֙ פִּנִּ֣יתִי הַבַּ֔יִת וּמָק֖וֹם לַגְּמַלִּֽים׃ (לב) וַיָּבֹ֤א הָאִישׁ֙ הַבַּ֔יְתָה וַיְפַתַּ֖ח הַגְּמַלִּ֑ים וַיִּתֵּ֨ן תֶּ֤בֶן וּמִסְפּוֹא֙ לַגְּמַלִּ֔ים וּמַ֙יִם֙ לִרְחֹ֣ץ רַגְלָ֔יו וְרַגְלֵ֥י הָאֲנָשִׁ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר אִתּֽוֹ׃ (לג) (ויישם) [וַיּוּשַׂ֤ם] לְפָנָיו֙ לֶאֱכֹ֔ל וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ לֹ֣א אֹכַ֔ל עַ֥ד אִם־דִּבַּ֖רְתִּי דְּבָרָ֑י וַיֹּ֖אמֶר דַּבֵּֽר׃ (לד) וַיֹּאמַ֑ר עֶ֥בֶד אַבְרָהָ֖ם אָנֹֽכִי׃ (לה) וַיהֹוָ֞ה בֵּרַ֧ךְ אֶת־אֲדֹנִ֛י מְאֹ֖ד וַיִּגְדָּ֑ל וַיִּתֶּן־ל֞וֹ צֹ֤אן וּבָקָר֙ וְכֶ֣סֶף וְזָהָ֔ב וַעֲבָדִם֙ וּשְׁפָחֹ֔ת וּגְמַלִּ֖ים וַחֲמֹרִֽים׃ (לו) וַתֵּ֡לֶד שָׂרָה֩ אֵ֨שֶׁת אֲדֹנִ֥י בֵן֙ לַֽאדֹנִ֔י אַחֲרֵ֖י זִקְנָתָ֑הּ וַיִּתֶּן־ל֖וֹ אֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר־לֽוֹ׃ (לז) וַיַּשְׁבִּעֵ֥נִי אֲדֹנִ֖י לֵאמֹ֑ר לֹא־תִקַּ֤ח אִשָּׁה֙ לִבְנִ֔י מִבְּנוֹת֙ הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֔י אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָנֹכִ֖י יֹשֵׁ֥ב בְּאַרְצֽוֹ׃ (לח) אִם־לֹ֧א אֶל־בֵּית־אָבִ֛י תֵּלֵ֖ךְ וְאֶל־מִשְׁפַּחְתִּ֑י וְלָקַחְתָּ֥ אִשָּׁ֖ה לִבְנִֽי׃

Genesis 24:1-38

(1) Abraham was now old, advanced in years, and יהוה had blessed Abraham in all things. (2) And Abraham said to the senior servant of his household, who had charge of all that he owned, “Put your hand under my thigh (3) and I will make you swear by יהוה, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell, (4) but will go to the land of my birth and get a wife for my son Isaac.” (5) And the servant said to him, “What if the woman does not consent to follow me to this land, shall I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” (6) Abraham answered him, “On no account must you take my son back there! (7) יהוה, the God of heaven—who took me from my father’s house and from my native land, who promised me on oath, saying, ‘I will assign this land to your offspring’—will send a messenger before you, and you will get a wife for my son from there. (8) And if the woman does not consent to follow you, you shall then be clear of this oath to me; but do not take my son back there.” (9) So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore to him as bidden.*as bidden Lit. “about this matter.” (10) Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and set out, taking with him all the bounty of his master; and he made his way to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor. (11) He made the camels kneel down by the well outside the city, at evening time, the time when women come out to draw water. (12) And he said, “O יהוה, God of my master Abraham’s [house], grant me good fortune this day, and deal graciously with my master Abraham: (13) Here I stand by the spring as the daughters of the townspeople*townspeople Or “town’s householders.” come out to draw water; (14) let the maiden to whom I say, ‘Please, lower your jar that I may drink,’ and who replies, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels’—let her be the one whom You have decreed for Your servant Isaac. Thereby shall I know that You have dealt graciously with my master.” (15) He had scarcely finished speaking, when Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. (16) The maiden was very beautiful—[and] a virgin, no man having known her.*[and] a virgin, no man having known her Or “a young woman whom no man had known.” She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. (17) The servant ran toward her and said, “Please, let me sip a little water from your jar.” (18) “Drink, my lord,” she said, and she quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and let him drink. (19) When she had let him drink his fill, she said, “I will also draw for your camels, until they finish drinking.” (20) Quickly emptying her jar into the trough, she ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. (21) The man,*man Or “agent.” Lit. “participant whose involvement defines the depicted situation.” See note at 18.2 and the Dictionary under ’ish; Agent. meanwhile, stood gazing at her, silently wondering whether יהוה had made his errand successful or not. (22) When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose-ring weighing a half-shekel,*half-shekel Heb. beqa‘. and two gold bands for her arms, ten shekels in weight. (23) “Pray tell me,” he said, “whose daughter are you? Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” (24) She replied, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” (25) And she went on, “There is plenty of straw*straw Heb. teben, shredded straw, which in the East is mixed with feed; cf. v. 32. and feed at home, and also room to spend the night.” (26) The man bowed low in homage to יהוה (27) and said, “Blessed be יהוה, the God of my master Abraham’s [house], who has not withheld steadfast faithfulness from my master. For I have been guided on my errand by יהוה, to the house of my master’s kin.” (28) The maiden ran and told all this to her mother’s household. (29) Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out to the man at the spring— (30) when he saw the nose-ring and the bands on his sister’s arms, and when he heard his sister Rebekah say, “Thus the man spoke to me.” He went up to the man, who was still standing beside the camels at the spring. (31) “Come in, O blessed of יהוה,” he said, “why do you remain outside, when I have made ready the house and a place for the camels?” (32) So the man entered the house, and the camels were unloaded. The camels were given straw and feed, and water was brought to bathe his feet and the feet of the entourage*entourage Lit. “participants”; trad. “men.” See Dictionary under ’ish. under him. (33) But when food was set before him, he said, “I will not eat until I have told my tale.” He said, “Speak, then.” (34) “I am Abraham’s servant,” he began. (35) “יהוה has greatly blessed my master, who has become rich—giving him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and asses. (36) And Sarah, my master’s wife, bore my master a son in her old age, and he has assigned to him everything he owns. (37) Now my master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell; (38) but you shall go to my father’s house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.’

רש"י על בראשית כ״ד:מ״ז

(א) ואשאל. ואשם. שִׁנָּה הַסֵּדֶר, שֶׁהֲרֵי הוּא תְּחִלָּה נָתַן וְאַחַר כָּךְ שָׁאַל, אֶלָּא שֶׁלֹּא יִתְפְּשׂוּהוּ בִּדְבָרָיו וְיֹאמְרוּ הַאֵיךְ נָתַתָּ לָהּ וַעֲדַיִן אֵינְךָ יוֹדֵעַ מִי הִיא:

Rashi on Genesis 24:47

(1) ואשאל...ואשם AND I ASKED HER ... AND I PUT THE RING —He changed the order of proceedings for in fact he had first given the presents and afterwards questioned her. But he did this in order that they should not catch him by his own words and say, "How could you give her anything when you did not yet know who she was!"

רמב"ן על בראשית כ״ד:כ״ב

(א) ויקח האיש נזם זהב ושני צמידים על ידיה הכתוב הזה יחסר המעשה, שהיה צריך שיאמר "ויקח האיש נזם זהב ויתן על אפה ושני צמידים על ידיה." ולכך אני אומר כי פירושו ויקח האיש נזם זהב ושני צמידים שיהיו על ידיה ויאמר לה: בת מי את? ואחרי שאמרה אליו "בת בתואל אנכי" שם הנזם על אפה והצמידים על ידיה כאשר אמר להם. אבל חסר כאן הנתינה. כן במקומות רבים:

Ramban on Genesis 24:22

(1) AND THE MAN TOOK A GOLDEN RING… AND TWO BRACELETS UPON HER HANDS. This verse omits the deed for it should have said: “And the man took a golden ring and put it upon her nose122So it says in Verse 47 here. and two bracelets upon her hands.” Therefore I say that the interpretation of the verse is as follows: And the man took a golden ring and two bracelets which would be upon her hands, and he said to her, Whose daughter art thou?123Verse 23 here. And after she had told him, I am the daughter of Bethuel,124Verse 24 here. he put the ring upon her nose and the bracelets upon her hands, as he told them.125In Verse 47 here. He first asked her who she was, and then he gave her the presents. This interpretation differs from Rashi (in Verse 23) who says that after he had given her the presents, he asked her whose daughter she was, for he was confident that, on account of Abraham’s merit, G-d would make his journey successful. Later, however, in Verse 47, when he recounted the story, he changed the sequence of the two events so that they should not sense the inconsistency and say, “How could you give her anything when you did not know who she was?” Here, however, Scripture omits the actual giving, and similarly in many places.

רד"ק על בראשית כ״ד:ל״ט

.... והאמת כי הוא סדר להם הדברי' כולם כאשר היו ולא נוכל לתת טעם לכל החסרי' והמלאים כי רבו, והנה הוא ספר להם כל הדברים שהיו לו עם אדניו והדברים שהיו לו עם רבקה, וכי האל זמן לו הענין כאשר אמר אברהם, כי האל יצליח דרכו. וכן היה כאשר שאל הוא מאת האל כן זמן לו האל. וכל זה להראותם כי האל אוהב אברהם ועושה רצונו ולא יוכלו למנוע הנערה ממנו כי מה' יצא הדבר.

ובשנות הדברים האלו יש בהם שינוי מלות אבל הטעם אחד כי כן מנהג הכתוב בשנות הדברים שומר הטעמים אבל לא המלות;

כי גם בעשרה דברים שהם עקרי התורה, כששונה אותם במשנה תורה שנה בהם המלים אבל הטעם אחד. והפסוקי' האלה מבוארי' עד ועתה:

Radak on Genesis 24:39

(1) ואמר... אלי, the word veulai is spelled with the letter ו missing, something which gave rise to an interesting aggadic interpretation mentioned already by Rashi. Accordingly, Eliezer himself had hoped to have his daughter marry Yitzchok in the event that the woman he found in Aram Naharyim would be unwilling to relocate in the land of Canaan. This is why he had referred to this possibility with the words אלי, לא תלך האשה אחרי, “to me (if) the woman will not follow me (to the land of Canaan).” The truth is that Eliezer related all the events exactly as they had occurred. We are not able to provide conclusive reasons why the Torah sometimes chose to write certain words defectively, (with a letter missing) or by adding a letter which could have been omitted. There are too many such instances for us to find satisfactory explanations for all of them. Eliezer related the events that had occurred to him in his conversation with his master as well as how G’d had arranged things after he had set out on his mission. His sole purpose was to demonstrate from the course of events that G’d loved Avraham so much that He had made his mission so spectacularly successful up to this point. G’d had responded even to his own prayer in exactly the manner in which he had hoped he would. As a result, the very idea of denying his request would appear out of the question, seeing that it was so clear that the entire sequence of events must have been engineered by G’d, personally. If we find some different nuances here and there in the events as reported by the Torah and as related by Eliezer, this is meaningless, just as different nuances in the wording of the Ten Commandments in the Book of Exodus and the Book of Deuteronomy are not meant to raise concerns as to their authenticity of either version. Everything until the word ועתה in verse 49 is quite clear.

שד"ל על בראשית כ״ד:ל״ח

(א).... וכאן שינה אליעזר, ואע"פ שאברהם התיר לו לקחת מכל בנות העיר, אמר להם שרצונו שלא יקח רק ממשפחתו כדי שיחשבו שהיה אברהם חפץ מאד בקרבתם (דון יצחק). והנה אברהם היה יודע כי בני משפחתו אינם כשרים הרבה יותר משאר אנשי העיר לפיכך אמר לאליעזר שיקח מבית אביו או מבנות המקום ההוא, אך אליעזר שראה שנתקיים נחש שלו והאמין כי אותה הוכיח ה', השתדל שייתנוה בנפש חפצה ובשמחה, כי ישישו בשמעם שאין אברהם חפץ אלא בהם. ועיין מה שכתבתי למעלה סוף פסוק ד'.

Shadal on Genesis 24:38

R. Shmuel David Luzzatto, 1800-1865, Italy

שד"ל על בראשית כ״ד:ד׳

(א) כי אל ארצי ואל מולדתי תלך: תלך אל ארצי ובהיותך שם תלך אל מולדתי כלומר אל משפחתי ולקחת אשה לבני; ממשפחתי אם תמצא, ואם לא תמצא ממשפחתי, תיקח מעירי (דון יצחק).

וכן משמע ממה שאמר אחר זה ולקחת אשה לבני משם, ר"ל מן הארץ או מן העיר ההיא; ועוד סיוע לזה מהנחש שעשה אליעזר, שהרי אם היה מושבע ועומד שלא לקחת אלא ממשפחת אברהם, היה לו לשאול מיד איה בית נחור ולא להמתין שתזדמן לו אשה מן השואבות....

Shadal on Genesis 24:4

Prof. Rabbi Martin Lockshin (TheTorah.com):

"Reaction Against Derash: The medieval pashtanim turned to peshat in the first place because they opposed what they saw as over-reading of the Bible in classical midrash. They consistently dismissed what has been labeled the midrashic principle of omnisignificance, the idea that everything in the Bible has to have significance.

As Rashbam often wrote, "according to the peshat, there is no reason to analyze this further..." By this, he meant that, on the peshat level, nothing more could be legitimately read into or our of the text..... Rashbam often knowingly offered prosaic interpretations of biblical texts in order to demonstrate that not everything was significant.

Thus, it seems that the Jewish creators and strongest proponents of peshat exegesis in the 12th century were so opposed to midrashic over-reading of the Bible that they on occasion under-read the text, as happened in the case of Abraham's servant, causing them to miss fine points that were then left for later exegetes to discover...."

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