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.
Parallel translations
- WEB Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
- BSB So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Do not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” he commanded.
- 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 28:3–4And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;
- Gen 24:3And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:
- Gen 27:46And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?
- Gen 24:37And 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:
- 2 Cor 6:14–16Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
- Gen 6:2That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
- Gen 26:34–35And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:
- Gen 49:28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
- Exod 34:15–16Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;
- Josh 22:7Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given possession in Bashan: but unto the other half thereof gave Joshua among their brethren on this side Jordan westward. And when Joshua sent them away also unto their tents, then he blessed them,
- Gen 27:27–33And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:
- Deut 33:1And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.
- Gen 27:4And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.
- Gen 34:16Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.
- Gen 48:15And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
- Gen 34:9And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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
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