In her book Who Calls Me Beautiful? Regina Franklin observes that in 1951 Miss Sweden was 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 151 pounds. But Miss Sweden of 1983 was 2 inches taller and 45 pounds lighter. What qualifies as beauty for one generation does not seem to apply to the next.

In Genesis 24:16, we are told that Rebekah was “very beautiful to behold.” But physical beauty was not the crucial point for Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, who was sent to find a wife for Isaac.

Eliezer’s prayer gives us an important clue about the kind of beauty he sought for his master’s son: “Let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one” (v.14).

Common courtesy could have prompted Rebekah to provide drinking water for a stranger, but to water camels was a different matter entirely. Ten thirsty camels could drink up to 210 gallons. Rebekah clearly had a servant’s heart.

The Bible tells us that Rebekah was beautiful, but it says much more about the beauty of her character. “Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised” (Proverbs 31:30).