What does Genesis 24:55 mean?

Abraham's servant has been successful in his mission. He has secured not just an appropriate wife for Abraham's son; he has found an exceptional young woman of Abraham's own immediate family (Genesis 24:3–4; 12–19). Now he is eager to get on the road back to Canaan. Perhaps he just can't wait to show Abraham how the Lord has blessed their quest, or maybe he is concerned about the family changing their minds. The journey back to Canaan would have taken some time, as well, so any further delays would have only added to a long wait for Abraham and Isaac.

In any case, Rebekah's brother Laban and her mother are not ready to let her go quite so quickly. Most Bible translations understand the text as a request for her to stay with them for another 10 days or so. However, some scholars believe the original language to be a request for Rebekah to stay for as long as a year.

Given what's at stake, their request feels reasonable to us. To send a daughter off with a man they had known for less than a day to be married and settled in a strange land far away must have been emotional. Marriage, at that time, often involved a complete separation from family. However, this event is still sudden and unexpected. Most of us would expect some time to process the idea and perhaps hear more about Abraham, Isaac, and this new life they were sending Rebekah off to.

As the following verses make clear, however, the servant wasn't interested in waiting even a day to depart.