Genesis 24:22

And it was when the camels had been satisfied with drink, that the man took an earring of gold, of a drachma in weight, the counterpart of the drachma of the head (money) which her children presented for the work of the sanctuary; and he set two golden bracelets upon her hands, in weight ten sileen of gold; the sum of their weight being the counterpart of the two tables on which were inscribed the Ten Words.

AND THE MAN TOOK A GOLDEN RING… AND TWO BRACELETS UPON HER HANDS. This verse omits the deed for it should have said: “And the man took a golden ring and put it upon her nose and two bracelets upon her hands.” Therefore I say that the interpretation of the verse is as follows: And the man took a golden ring and two bracelets which would be upon her hands, and he said to her, Whose daughter art thou? And after she had told him, I am the daughter of Bethuel, he put the ring upon her nose and the bracelets upon her hands, as he told them. Here, however, Scripture omits the actual giving, and similarly in many places.

ויקח האיש נזם זהב, one is entitled to assume that Eliezer first had asked her about whose family she belonged to (verse 23) The reason why things were not written in this order is in order not to interrupt the sequence of the story by questions and answers. This is why the Torah reported first about Eliezer giving Rivkah the jewelry.

בקע, a half shekel in weight. The word occurs in a similar meaning in Exodus 14,15 נטה ידך על הים ובקעהו, “incline your hand over the sea and divide it!”

כאשר כלו הגמלים לשתות, this was some time after Rivkah had finished drawing water. In the meantime the servant had realised that she had not acted as if she expected any reward for having extended herself on his and his camels’ behalf. It had become clear to him that her actions had been motivated only by the desire to be helpful.

ושני צמידים על ידיה, according to the size that fitted her wrists; this is similar to Exodus 28,22 ועשית עלי החושן שרשות גבלות, “you shall construct around it plaited chains of beaten gold,” or Exodus 25,11 ועשית עליו זר זהב, “you shall construct around it a golden border.” In each of these instances the measurements of the chains or border had to fit the pricipal artifact.

ויהי...ויקח, “he took out the jewelry planning to give it to her after he had asked her the relevant questions. This is also how he describes the sequence of what occurred at the well when he relates the nature of his mission in Betuel’s home before eating the first course of the meal served (verse 46)

בקע, a half shekel. He placed it on her nose as mentioned in verse 46. Similarly, in sequence, he placed the other pieces of jewelry on her hands, bracelets

weighing ten pieces of gold (ten סלעים in weight according to Onkelos).

ויקח האיש נזם זהב, “the man (Eliezer) took out a golden nose ring, etc.;” The sage Rabbi Moshe, interprets this verse as its face value, understanding the words to mean that in preparation of events, Eliezer took out of his satchel jewelry which he would give to Rebecca if she would meet the conditions he had outlined, (and which she was of course quite unaware of). He then asked her about her family status, and when told that she was member of Avraham’s family he gave here the jewelry as a gift. The Torah abbreviated somewhat in its report of what happened, something that is not unusual. That this is so is clear from the sequence of events Eliezer described during the meal, when he filled in the words that have been omitted here. Even here, (contrary to the way some people interpret our verse) the Torah did not write that he gave her the jewelry before having established her family status.