And when he had made the camels lie down without the town near a well of water in Evening, at the time when women were wont to come out to draw water, he said:

and he causeth the camels to kneel at the outside of the city, at the well of water, at even-time, at the time of the coming out of the women who draw water.

And he made the camels take their rest outside the town by the water-spring in the evening, at the time when the women came to get water.

And when he had made the camels lie down outside of the town, near a well of water, in the evening, at the time when women are accustomed to go out to draw water, he said:

Et genu flectere fecit camelos extra civitatem ad puteum aquae, tempore vespertino, tempore quo egrediuntur mulieres, quae hauriunt.

Made the camels kneel, - for repose. "The time when the maidens that draw water come out." The evening was the cool part of the day. The simple maidens of primitive days attended personally to domestic affairs. The experienced steward might therefore naturally expect to see the high-born damsels of the land at the public well, which had probably given rise to the neighboring town. The prayer of the aged servant is conceived in a spirit of earnest, childlike faith. The matter in hand is of extraordinary importance. A wife is to be found for the heir of promise. This was a special concern of God, and so the single-hearted follower of Abraham makes it. He takes upon himself the choice of a maiden among those that come to draw, to whom he will make the request of a particular act of kindness to a stranger, and he prays God that the intended bride may be known by a ready compliance with his request. The three qualifications, then, in the mind of the venerable domestic for a bride for his master's son, are a pleasing exterior, a kindly disposition, and the approval of God.

He made his camels to kneel down - To rest themselves, or lie down, as the Septuagint has very properly expressed it, Και εκοιμισε τας καμηλους.
The time that women go out to draw water - In Bengal it is the universal practice for the women to go to pools and rivers to fetch water. Companies of four, six, ten, or more, may be seen in every town daily going to fetch water, with the pitchers resting upon their sides; and, on their return from bathing, women frequently bring water home - Ward.

And he made his camels to kneel down,.... Which these creatures are used to do when they are loaded and unloaded, and also when they take rest, and it was for the sake of the latter they were now made to kneel. It seems that this is what is not natural to them, but what they are learned to do: it is said (r),"as soon as a camel is born they tie his four feet under his belly, put a carpet over his back, and stones upon the borders of it, that he may not be able to rise for twenty days together; thus they teach him the habit of bending his knees to rest himself, or when he is to be loaded or unloaded.''This was done
without the city; the city of Nahor, Haran, near to which the servant was now come: and it was
by a well of water: which place was chosen for the refreshment of his camels, as well as of himself and his men. Rauwolff (s) says, that near Haran, now called Orpha,"there is a plentiful well still to this day (1575), called Abraham's well, the water of which hath a more whitish troubledness than others. I have (says he) drank of it several times, out of the conduit that runs from thence into the middle the great camp, and it hath a peculiar pleasantness, and a pleasant sweetness in its taste.''The time of Abraham's servant coming hither was
at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water; which was the custom for women to do, for the necessary uses of their families; as it was especially in the eastern countries: and the Arabian women to this time, after they have been hard at work all day, weaving, or grinding, or making bread, at evening they set out with a pitcher or a goat's skin, and, tying their sucking children behind them, trudge it in this manner two or three miles to fetch water (t).
(r) Calmet's Dictionary in the word "Camel". (s) Travels, par. 2. ch. 10. p. 177. Ed. Ray. (t) Shaw's Travels, p. 241. Ed. 2.

He made his camels kneel down - Perhaps to unload them.