Genesis 24:63

Went out to meditate. The exact meaning of the Hebrew word suach, translated “meditate” in the KJV (margin, “to pray”) and the RSV, is not certain. The idea of meditation is found in the oldest non-Semitic versions of this text, the LXX and the Vulgate. The oldest Semitic versions, the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Targum of Onkelos, render it “to pray.” This was adopted by the great Hebrew grammarian Kimchi of the Middle Ages, the Reformer Luther, and certain other expositors. The fact that Rebekah became a comfort to Isaac while he was still mourning the death of his mother (v. 67) has led some commentators to explain the word suach as meaning “to lament.”

The precise meaning of this word being as yet uncertain, it would seem best to accept for the time being that of the oldest available translations, as the KJV and RSV have done. Isaac may have been meditating upon, or praying for, Eliezer’s safe return with his bride-to-be. He was, to be sure, anticipating their imminent return from Mesopotamia. His future happiness would depend in large measure upon the kind of wife Eliezer should bring back with him. Appropriate indeed it would be for Isaac to kneel and pray for the blessing of God upon his new home! Those husbands and wives whose union comes in answer to prayer will prove to be the greatest blessing to each other.