Genesis 24:23

Gen 24:23 And said, Whose daughter [art] thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room [in] thy father’s house for us to lodge in?

Ver. 23. Whose daughter art thou?] This he had asked her, before he had put upon her the jewel aforesaid, as may be seen, Gen 24:47.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

24:23-24 God led the servant to Abraham’s family.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

And said, Whose daughter art thou?--After telling her name and family, the kind-hearted damsel hastened home to give notice of a stranger's arrival.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

23. room] Lit. “place” as in Gen_24:25. Cf. Psa_31:8, “in a large room” (A.V.) = “in a large place” (R.V.).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And said,.... After he had given her the earring and the bracelets, he put the following question, according to Jarchi, and so our version seems to intimate the same; but, as it is related in Gen 24:47; the question was put before those were given, therefore some render the words, "and he had said", or, "and after he had said" (f), namely, what follows; though, as Schmidt observes, the matter is easily reconciled, and both accounts stand clear and plain, if it be only remarked, that he took out the earring and bracelets before he put the question, but it was after it that he gave her them, or put them upon her:

whose daughter art thou? the reason of this question is, because by her answer to it he would know whether she was of the family related to Abraham or not; from whom only, according to his oath, he was to take a wife for Isaac, and which would in a good measure satisfy him as to what he had been musing about, whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not:

tell me, I pray thee, is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in? by her answer to this he would know whether her family was wealthy, and so fit to be in connection with his master's; and besides, if she appeared to be the person he hoped she was, he was desirous of lodging in her father's house, that he might have the better opportunity of managing the affair he was come about.

(f) "et dixerat", Drusius; "postquam dixisset", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

And said, or, for he had said; for it is probable he inquired who she was before he gave her those presents.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

ויאמר בת מי את AND HE SAID, WHOSE DAUGHTER ART THOU? — He asked her this after he had given her these presents, for he was confident that, on account of the merit of Abraham, the Holy One blessed be He, had made his journey successful.

ללין TO LODGE IN — the word means one night’s lodging. The word לין is a noun (of the same form as גיל,שיר). She however said (Genesis 24:25) ללון (a verb, “to lodge” generally) meaning many nights’ lodging (Genesis Rabbah 60:6).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ויאמר, he now asked about her family, and whether in the home of such a family there was room to accommodate him and his entourage.

?היש בית אביך מקום ללין, The meaning of the word ללין is a verbal mode meaning the same as להלין, “to provide lodging.” The letter י indicates the transitive conjugation hiphil. The word ללון by comparison which is in the simple conjugation (intransitive) kal, describes what the person enjoying the lodging does, i.e. spend the night. Both the enquiry and the response are the same, i.e. Rivkah answered the question asked, she did not answer obliquely, seeing that she used the verb “to lodge” in a different conjugation. After all, Eliezer had asked her both about lodging for the camels and lodging for himself and his men. It is possible to understand the exchange between Eliezer and Rivkah as meaning: “is there room in your father’s house to provide lodging,” a reference to the camels only, whereas Rivkah responds “not only is there room for the camels but there is also room for the men.” The author quotes Job 24,7 to show that the verb לון when used in the transitive mode ערום ילינו מבלי לבוש, “they will have to spend the night without clothing” also means the same as the intransitive conjugation ילונו.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.