Just as a joyous agreement is reached, a sudden hurdle emerges. Rebecca's family attempts to delay her departure, but the negotiations are notably led only by her brother and mother. The complete absence of Bethuel, the patriarch of the family, during this critical moment is striking. The primary approach among commentators is that Bethuel had died the night before. According to this tradition, Bethuel opposed the match and attempted to poison Eliezer to seize his immense wealth. However, an angel intervened, switching their bowls, and Bethuel unknowingly consumed the poison intended for his guest [רש״י, ברטנורא, דעת זקנים, שפתי חכמים].
Other traditions offer different explanations for Bethuel's absence. One perspective suggests that Laban and his mother actually killed Bethuel themselves. By removing the father, they retained the legal right to annul the marriage in the future, as a young woman married off by her brother and mother could later legally refuse the match [חנוכת התורה]. Conversely, some maintain that Bethuel was still alive but simply remained silent. This silence is attributed to Laban being older and more dominant, thus taking charge of the affairs [אבן עזרא, תולדות יצחק]. Alternatively, Bethuel, as a close relative of Isaac, may have deeply desired the union and deliberately stayed quiet to avoid causing any delays [בכור שור, מחוקקי יהודה]. It is also suggested that it was considered immodest for a father to involve himself in preparing a bride's garments and jewelry, naturally shifting the conversation to the mother and brother [בכור שור].
The family's request to delay the departure stems from several possible motives. On a psychological level, a sudden relocation to a foreign land is jarring, and Rebecca needed time to mentally transition and prepare for her new life [ספורנו]. From an economic standpoint, Laban and his mother may have been disappointed that the bulk of Eliezer's wealth was given directly to Rebecca. By stalling, they hoped to pressure him into offering them additional gifts [מלבי״ם, אלשיך]. There is also a practical, legal dimension to their request. The family might have initially assumed Eliezer was merely taking Rebecca to be betrothed by Isaac in Canaan. Once they realized Eliezer had enacted the betrothal right then and there, they demanded the customary preparation time granted to a bride before her wedding [חזקוני].
When specifying the length of the delay, the family asked for a customary period. The primary approach among commentators understands their initial request as a full year, reflecting the standard twelve months granted to a young woman to finalize her wedding preparations [רוב הפרשנים]. A minority view suggests they asked for merely two days [פענח רזא], or perhaps a seven-day mourning period to grieve the sudden death of Bethuel [מזרחי, גור אריה]. Their alternative offer is generally understood as a reduced period of ten months [רוב הפרשנים], though some suggest it meant ten days [פענח רזא]. Proposing a full year and immediately offering a shorter compromise of ten months seems counterintuitive. However, because Eliezer had already provided Rebecca with an abundance of gold and silver jewelry, the time required to prepare her bridal necessities was significantly reduced, allowing the family to settle for ten months [משכיל לדוד]. Another explanation is that they factored in the lengthy travel time required to return to Canaan and simply deducted it from the official year of preparation [גור אריה].