Said to the servant must often be rendered “asked the servant” or “inquired of Abraham’s servant.”

Who is the man yonder…?: Revised Standard Version yonder has been changed to “over there” in New Revised Standard Version, and so Rebekah asks “Who is the man over there walking in the field to meet us?” or “… coming across the field to meet us?”

It is my master is the servant’s reply. Until now only Abraham has been referred to as my master, so the reader is likely to be confused by this change. To keep the reference the same, some translators want to say “the son of my master”; but this is not what the narrative actually says. A better approach that is followed by some translations is to say “my master Isaac.”

When Rebekah learned that it was Isaac, she took her veil and covered herself. She covered her face to show respect and modesty in the presence of her future husband. A veil is a cloth that can be placed over a woman’s head and face to conceal her face from view. That Jacob did not realize that Leah had been substituted for Rachel was probably due to the veil she wore (Gen 29.21-26). Tamar wore a veil to deceive Judah so he would have intercourse with her (Gen 38.14).

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 .