Genesis 24:16 - Exposition

And the damsel was very fair to look upon . Literally, good of countenance , like Sarah ( Genesis 12:11 ) and Rachel ( Genesis 29:17 ; cf. Genesis 26:7 of Rebekah). A virgin . Bethulah , i . e . one separated and secluded from intercourse with men; from batik , to seclude (cf. Deuteronomy 22:23 , Deuteronomy 22:28 ; 2 Samuel 13:2 , 2 Samuel 13:18 ). Neither had any man known her. A repetition for the sake of emphasis, rather than because bethulah sometimes applies to a married woman ( Joel 1:8 ). And she went down to the well ,—"nearly all wells in the East are in wadys, and have steps down to the water"— and filled her pitcher, and came up —probably wholly unconscious of the old man's admiration, though by no means unprepared for his request, which immediately followed.