^24:16Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her.³³ She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up.

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Footnotes

33 Heb “And the young woman was very good of appearance, a virgin, and a man she had not known.” Some argue that the Hebrew noun translated “virgin” (בְּתוּלָה, bétulah) is better understood in a general sense, “young woman” (see Joel 1:8, where the word appears to refer to one who is married). In this case the circumstantial clause (“and a man she had not known”) would be restrictive, rather than descriptive. If the term actually means “virgin,” one wonders why the circumstantial clause is necessary (see Judg 21:12 as well). Perhaps the repetition emphasizes her sexual purity as a prerequisite for her role as the mother of the covenant community.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Now the girl was very beautiful, a virgin—no man had been intimate with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up.

NLTNew Living Translation

Rebekah was very beautiful and old enough to be married, but she was still a virgin. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Now the girl was very pleasing in appearance. She was a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up.

KJV 1900King James Version

And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.

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