So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Do not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” he commanded.
Parallel translations
- WEB Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
- KJV And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
- NKJV Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.
- NASB So Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and commanded him, saying to him, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.
- NLT So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, and said, “You must not marry any of these 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
Isaac formally blesses Jacob and commands him not to marry a Canaanite woman.
Overview
Isaac now knowingly and deliberately commissions Jacob as the heir, no longer deceived but acting in faith. The prohibition against Canaanite wives guards the purity of the covenant line from the idolatry of the surrounding nations. This concern for godly marriage anticipates the New Testament call for believers not to be unequally yoked, keeping the people of God distinct and holy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Gen 28:3–4May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a company of peoples.
- Gen 24:3and I will have you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am dwelling,
- 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 24:37My 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,
- 2 Cor 6:14–16Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?
- Gen 6:2the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose.
- Gen 26:34–35When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.
- Gen 49:28These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.
- Exod 34:15–16Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.
- Josh 22:7(To the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given land in Bashan, and to the other half Joshua gave land on the west side of the Jordan among their brothers.) When Joshua sent them to their homes he blessed them,
- Gen 27:27–33So he came near and kissed him. When Isaac smelled his clothing, he blessed him and said: “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed.
- Deut 33:1This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death.
- Gen 27:4Then prepare a tasty dish that I love and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.”
- Gen 34:16Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We will dwell among you and become one people.
- Gen 48:15Then he blessed Joseph and said: “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,
- Gen 34:9Intermarry with us; give us your daughters, and take our daughters for yourselves.
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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 28:1 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.