Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please put your hand under my thigh.
Parallel translations
- KJV And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:
- BSB So Abraham instructed the chief servant of his household, who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh,
- NKJV So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh,
- NASB Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household who was in charge of all that he owned, “Please place your hand under my thigh,
- NLT One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Abraham charges his trusted senior servant with a solemn oath, hand under his thigh. He entrusts the crucial task of finding Isaac's wife to a faithful steward.
Overview
The hand-under-the-thigh gesture accompanied a most solemn oath, likely tied to the covenant of circumcision and the line of promised offspring. Abraham commits the future of the covenant to a proven, godly servant. His care shows how seriously he regarded preserving a holy line.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Gen 47:29The time came near that Israel must die, and he called his son Joseph, and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please don’t bury me in Egypt,
- Gen 39:4–6Joseph found favor in his sight. He ministered to him, and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
- Gen 15:2Abram said, “Lord Yahweh, what will you give me, since I go childless, and he who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”
- Gen 24:9–10The servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
- Gen 39:8–9But he refused, and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, my master doesn’t know what is with me in the house, and he has put all that he has into my hand.
- Gen 44:1He commanded the steward of his house, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in his sack’s mouth.
- 1 Chr 29:24All the princes, the mighty men, and also all of the sons of king David submitted themselves to Solomon the king.
- 1 Tim 5:17Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and in teaching.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 24:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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