Why Are Wells So Significant? (Genesis 23-26)

A Few Thoughts to Consider

Why are there so many “well meetings” in Scripture, and is there anything significant about these encounters?

Wells in the Bible are similar to grocery stores or gas stations today. They were the center of activity in a community, and communities revolved around them. Without water, everything else in society fell apart. In the Bible, we have several critical well encounters. One of these is in Genesis 24, when Abraham’s servant travels to find a wife for his son Isaac.

Keep in mind the customs of that day meant life was very different. For example, in verse 2, Abraham tells his servant to place his hand under his thigh, meaning he wants him to touch his genitals.

At first glance, this appears very strange, but Gordon Wenham notes there is more to the story. He writes,

“Since the OT particularly associates God with life (see the symbolism of the sacrificial law) and Abraham had been circumcised as a mark of the covenant, placing his hand under Abraham’s thigh made an intimate association with some fundamental religious ideas. An oath by the seat of procreation is particularly apt in this instance, when it concerns the finding of a wife for Isaac.”^[1]

Once again, we see this two-fold narrative unfold. There is the plain narrative we read where Abraham’s servant meets Rebecca and sees she is the one for Isaac. Wenham notes, “In this era ‘camels’ were relatively rare, and to take ‘ten’ suggests Abraham’s great wealth.”^[2] With thirsty camels consuming upwards of 25 gallons after a week’s travel,^[3] Rebecca’s actions are extraordinary. Robert Alter points out that Rebekah is “a continuous whirl of purposeful activity. In four short verses (Gen. 24:16, 18–20), she is the subject of eleven verbs of action and one of speech.”^[4]