Genesis 24:58

Genesis 24:58, in plain English

They asked Rebekah directly: Will you go with this man?

Why it's here

This is the moment where Rebekah becomes an active participant in her own story, not just a person things happen to. She's being asked to make one of the biggest decisions of her life—to leave everything familiar and travel to a stranger's home to marry someone she's never met.

Who's speaking

Rebekah's family, asking her directly

Where it sits in the story

Her choice matters. God's will is real, but it works through human choice. Rebekah is being invited to step into her calling voluntarily.

The scholarly reading

They ask Rebekah directly: 'Will you go with this man?'—a simple, uncoerced question about her willingness.

Language and setting

The direct question—'ha-tislekhi im-ha'ish ha-ze'—grants Rebekah genuine choice. Interestingly, no pressure is applied; she's given space to refuse. This represents what contemporary feminist biblical scholars, following Phyllis Trible's work, recognize as an unusual moment of female consent in patriarchal narrative. Her answer will be her own, not predetermined by family, covenant, or even divine providence.

Voice

Rebekah's brother and mother, asking Rebekah directly

Significance

The question affirms that covenant participation requires willing consent—God's purposes cannot override human freedom. Rebekah's forthcoming choice becomes as significant as Abraham's earlier obedience.

56But he replied, “Do not delay me, since the LORD has made my journey a success. Send me on my way so that I may go to my master.”

57So they said, “We will call the girl and ask her opinion.”

58They called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?”

59So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men.

60And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands upon thousands. May your offspring possess the gates of their enemies.”

Read all of Genesis 24 — A servant, a prayer, a woman at a well. One of the Bible's most beautiful stories of providence unfolds in the smallest details.