Genesis 24:3

Genesis 24:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And 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:
• New International Version (NIV)I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living,
• English Standard Version (ESV)that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell,
• New King James Version (NKJV)and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell;

Context of Genesis 24:3

1Abraham was now a very old man. The Lord had blessed him in every way. 2Abraham had an important servant in his house. He had authority over everything that belonged to Abraham. Abraham said to him, ‘Come here and make a promise to me. Put your hand between my legs to show that I can trust you. You must make a serious promise to me in front of the Lord. He is the God who rules both heaven and earth. I am living among the Canaanite people, but you must promise this to me: Do not get a Canaanite woman to be a wife for my son. 4Instead, you must go to my own country. Go to my family there to find a wife for my son Isaac.’ 5The servant asked Abraham, ‘What should I do if the woman will not agree? Maybe she will not come back with me to this land? Must I then take your son to the country that you came from?’

Genesis 24:3 word by word

וְאַשְׁבִּ֣יעֲךָ֔ בַּֽיהוָה֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וֵֽאלֹהֵ֖י הָאָ֑רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹֽא־תִקַּ֤ח אִשָּׁה֙ לִבְנִ֔י מִבְּנוֹת֙ הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֔י אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָנֹכִ֖י יוֹשֵׁ֥ב בְּקִרְבּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And I will make thee swearשָׁבַעshâba‛ · to swearH7650
• by the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• the Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• of heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
• of the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• that thou shalt not takeלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• a wifeאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
• unto my sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of the daughtersבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• of the Canaanitesכְּנַעֲנִיkena‛anîy · CanaaniteH3669
• amongקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
• whom I dwellיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427

Cross-references for Genesis 24:3

• Genesis 21:23So please make a promise to me in front of God. Promise that you will never deceive me, or my children, or my descendants. You are living here in this land as a stranger. I have been kind to you, so please show that you will also be kind to us.’
• Genesis 26:28They replied, ‘We saw that the Lord is with you. So we said to one another, “There should be an agreement between us and you.” So let us promise to be friends.
• Genesis 31:44So we should be friends. Let us make an agreement together. It will show that we have agreed to be friends.’
• Genesis 50:25He also said, ‘God will help you to leave Egypt. When that happens, you must carry my bones away from here.’ Joseph made the other sons of Israel promise that they would do that.
• Exodus 20:7You must not speak the name of the Lord your God in a wrong way. The Lord will punish anyone who speaks his name in a wrong way.
• Exodus 22:11Your neighbour must make a serious promise to the Lord. He must promise that he did not take your animal for himself, or hurt it. Then you must accept what he has said. Do not ask your neighbour to pay you any money.
• Exodus 23:13Be careful to obey everything that I have told you. Do not pray to other gods for help. Do not even speak about them.
• Leviticus 19:12You must not use the name of your God to say a promise. This will make my name unclean. I am the Lord.
• Numbers 5:21may the Lord bring the curse on you. The bitter water will cause your female parts to become smaller. Your stomach will become very big.
• Deuteronomy 6:13You must respect and obey the Lord your God. Serve only him. If you make a serious promise, only use his name to make it strong.
• Deuteronomy 10:20Respect and obey the Lord your God. Serve him faithfully. If you make a promise, only use his name to do that.
• Joshua 2:12Now, please use the Lord's name to make a strong promise. I have been kind to you. So promise me that you will be kind to my family. Show me that you will certainly do what you have promised.
• 1 Samuel 20:17Jonathan asked David to promise again that they would be friends. That was because Jonathan loved David as much as he loved his own life.
• Nehemiah 13:25I was angry with them. I asked God to curse them. I hit some of the men. I pulled out the hair of some of them. I told them to make a promise in God's name. I said to them, ‘You must not let your daughters marry the sons of those foreign people. You must not let their daughters marry your sons. You yourselves must not marry foreign women either.
• Isaiah 45:23This is my promise that I say is true. I have spoken it honestly and I will not change it. I promise this: Everybody will go down on their knees in front of me. Everybody will promise to serve me.
• Isaiah 48:1Listen to this, family of Jacob. You are called ‘Israel’, and you are Judah's descendants. You use the name of the Lord when you make promises. You pray to Israel's God. But you do not do those things honestly and fairly.

Commentaries on Genesis 24:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3I will make thee swear - See note on Genesis 24:9. Of the Canaanites - Because these had already been devoted to slavery, etc., and it would have been utterly inconsistent as well with prudence as with the design of God to have united the child and heir of the promise with one who was under a curse, though that curse might be considered to be only of a political nature. See the curse of Canaan, Genesis 9:25; (note).Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-67Verses 1-67 - The Marriage of Isaac 26. קרד qādad “bow the head.” השׁתחוה shâchâh “bow the body.” 29. לבן lābān “Laban, white.” In this circumstantial account of the marriage of Isaac, we have a beautiful picture of ancient manners in the East, the living original of which the present customs of that cradle of mankind are a striking copy. Genesis 24:1-9 Abraham binds the chief servant of his house to seek a wife for his son Isaac among his kindred…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Isaac knew how wicked and threatening the local Canaanite people were, so he maintained separation from them (compare 26:34–35; 27:46; 28:8–9).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. thou shalt not take a wife, &c.--Among pastoral tribes the matrimonial arrangements are made by the parents, and a youth must marry, not among strangers, but in his own tribe--custom giving him a claim, which is seldom or never resisted, to the hand of his first cousin. But Abraham had a far higher motive--a fear lest, if his son married into a Canaanitish family, he might be gradually led away from the true God.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 24:3

• Marriage
• Miscegenation
• Oath
• Women

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Abraham
• Eliezer
• Follow
• Hivites
• Isaac
• Laban
• Light
• Lord

Commentaries on Genesis 24

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings