For she [had] said unto the servant,.... As soon as she saw a man walking towards them, who she thought with herself might be Isaac:what man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? for by the course he steered, she perceived that he was coming towards them, and so concluded it must be one of the family, and probably the person she was to be married to; for otherwise, had he not by his look and motion discovered that he knew the servant, and was coming towards them, she would have took no notice of himand the servant [had] said, it is my master: meaning not Abraham, but his son, who also was his master:therefore she took a veil, and covered herself; both out of modesty, and as a token of subjection to him: for the veil was put on when the bride was introduced to the bridegroom, as among the Romans in later times.
The Arab women always have veils when they appear in public, so that their faces cannot be seen; and though in the summer months they walk abroad with less caution, yet then, upon the approach of a stranger, they put on their veils .
Vid. Lucan. l. 2. & Martial. Epigr. l. 2. 74. See Shaw's Travels, p. 228. Tertullian. de Virgin. Veland, c.