Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who was in charge of all he had:

“Put your hand under my thigh, and swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the Canaanite women among whom I am living but will go to my country and my own relatives to find a wife for my son Isaac. [...] The servant placed his hand under his master Abraham’s thigh and swore to him concerning this matter. Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram and made his way to the town of Nahor. And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water. Then he prayed: “Lord, God of my master Abraham, grant me success today, and show kindness to my master. See, I am standing beside this fountain, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels’, let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master. Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, who was the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. The young woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the fountain, filled her jar, and came up again. The servant hurried to meet her and said: “Please give me a little water from your jar.” “Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.” So, she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether the Lord had made his journey successful. When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing about 6 grams, and two gold bracelets weighing about 60 grams. Then he asked: “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milcah bore to Nahor.” And she added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night.” Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, saying: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master, as He has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s brother.” (Genesis 24, 2 -5; 9 - 27)

Abraham sent his servant, Eliezer, to look for a wife for his son Isaac among his family in Mesopotamia, as they did not want a Canaanite woman for him, and therefore someone of a different faith. The servant took 10 camels loaded with gifts and when he arrived to the well in the city of Nahor, he prayed for success in his mission. In the Bible, this well is presented as a meeting place where great romances begin.

This scene represents the exact moment where a young woman named Rebekah, great-niece of Abraham and second cousin of Isaac, is giving water to Eliezer and his camels, exactly the sign he prayed for to recognize that the woman would be a suitable wife for his master’s son. When Eliezer tells Rebekah and her family about the purpose of his trip, she accepts to meet Isaac.