My master made me swear an oath and said, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell,
Parallel translations
- WEB My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live,
- KJV And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:
- NKJV Now my master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell;
- NASB My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live;
- NLT And my master made me take an oath. He said, ‘Do not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women.
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
He reports Abraham's oath that Isaac must not marry a Canaanite. He conveys his master's concern to keep the line separate from idolaters.
Overview
The servant relays the solemn charge forbidding a Canaanite marriage, explaining his mission. This repeats the spiritual concern to preserve the covenant family in the faith. It prepares the family to see that God has led the servant to them by design.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Ezra 9:1–3After these things had been accomplished, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the surrounding peoples whose abominations are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.
- Gen 27:46Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a Hittite wife from among them, what good is my life?”
- Gen 24:2–9So Abraham instructed the chief servant of his household, who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh,
- Gen 6:2the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose.
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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 24:37 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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