And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold; The man took a golden ear-ring - נזם זהב nezem zahab. That this could not be an ear-ring is very probable from its being in the singular number. The margin calls it a jewel for the forehead; but it most likely means a jewel for the nose, or nose-ring, which is in universal use through all parts of Arabia and Persia, particularly among young women. They are generally worn in the left nostril. The word is very properly translated επιρῥινιον, an ornament for the nose, by Symmachus.
Half a shekel - For the weight of a shekel, See note Genesis 20:16.
And two bracelets - ושני צמידים usheney tsemidim. As tsemidim comes from צמד tsamad, to join or couple together, it may very properly mean bracelets, or whatever may clasp round the arms or legs; for rings and ornaments are worn round both by females in India and Persia. The small part of the leg is generally decorated in this way, and so is the whole arm from the shoulder to the wrist. As these tsemidim were given to Rebekah for her hands, it sufficiently distinguishes them from a similar ornament used for the ankles.
In different parts of the sacred writings there are allusions to ornaments of various kinds still in use in different Asiatic countries. They are of seven different sorts. 1. for the forehead; 2. for the nose; 3. for the ears; 4. for the arms; 5. for the fingers; 6. for the neck and breast; 7. for the ankles. See Genesis 24:22, Genesis 24:47; also Ezekiel 16:12; Proverbs 11:22; Isaiah 3:21; Genesis 35:4; Exodus 32:2, Exodus 32:3; Job 42:11; Judges 8:24. The principal female ornaments are enumerated in the third chapter of Isaiah, which are very nearly the same that are in use in Persia and India to the present time.