What does Genesis 24:41 mean?
Abraham's servant is describing to Rebekah and her family the reason for his journey to their home. Abraham has sent the servant back to his people to find a wife for his son Isaac (Genesis 24:3–4).Perhaps to make clear that he, the servant, realizes a woman may not want to travel back to Canaan to marry a stranger, he has told them that he raised this possibility with Abraham. Abraham told him that an angel would go with him to bring success to the quest (Genesis 24:5–8).
Now, though, the servant makes clear to Rebekah, her father, and her brother, that he has fully fulfilled his oath to Abraham simply by coming to Abraham's family and making the attempt to find a willing wife for Isaac. His oath does not require that a woman return with him to Canaan. The servant is bound only to seek out the right woman—not to come back with a marriageable woman at all costs.
