Genesis 24:10

Ten camels. On the use of domesticated camels in Abraham’s time, see on Genesis 12:16. Abraham left the entire planning and execution of this mission to the discretion of his trusted servant Eliezer. The statement that “all the goods of his master were in his hand” shows him to have been a man of experience and sound judgment. He had now been with Abraham for more than half a century (see Genesis 15:2; 16:3).

Went to Mesopotamia. The Hebrew term here translated Mesopotamia is Aram-naharayim, literally, “Aram of the two rivers.” This land, where the Mitanni flourished at the time of Moses, was called naharina by the Egyptians. It is in northern Mesopotamia between the upper Euphrates and Chabur rivers.

The city of Nahor. Until about 1930 this was thought to be only another name for Haran (see Genesis 27:43; 28:10). However, cuneiform tablets of the 18th century B.C., brought to light in Mari, an Amorite city on the central Euphrates, mention Til-Nahiri, “the city of Nahor,” as a town of the Haran region. The “city of Nahor” was therefore not Haran itself, but a separate settlement founded by Nahor and called after him (see on Genesis 11:31).