complete verse (Genesis 24:32)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 24:32:

  • Kankanaey: “When they arrived then at the house, Laban had- them -come-in. He removed the cargo of the camels and gave- them -fodder. Then he also brought-for his visitors water so-that they would wash their feet.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Abraham’s servant went to his house along with Laban. Laban let them unload the camels [lit.: take down the loads that were on the bodies of the camels] and gave them straw and food. And [he] brought water to wash the feet of Abraham’s servant and his men.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The servant went-with Laban. When- they -arrived at the house, Laban took-down the cargo of the camels and then he gave the camels straw and fodder. He also brought water to the servant and his companions, so-that they could-wash their feet.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “So the servant went to the house, and Laban’s servants unloaded the camels, and brought straw and grain for the camels, and water for him and the men with him to wash their feet.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 24:32

So the man came into the house: came places the point of view inside the house. Good News Translation and others say “went into the house.”

Ungirded the camels: to ungird means to “unload,” “remove the loads,” “take the packs off.” The Hebrew does not make clear whether it was the servant or Laban who unloaded the camels. Some translations prefer to use a passive or impersonal subject. Good News Translation and Revised Standard Version make Laban the agent. Another possibility is that “Laban told his servants to take off the packs from the camels.”

And gave him: Hebrew does not have him, which obscures the sentence in Revised Standard Version.

Straw and provender are as in verse 25. Here it is stated that they are for the camels; the whole action may be expressed as in one translation, “he gave food to the camels and put them in the place where they were to sleep.”

And water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him: for this act of hospitality see 18.4 and comments. This sentence can often be shortened to say, for example, “He brought water for the servant and his men to wash their feet.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .