God’s Word Translation
Genesis 24:3
3I want you to swear by the Lord God of heaven and earth that you will not get my son a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I’m living.
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
1By now Abraham was old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. 2So Abraham said to the senior servant of his household who was in charge of all that he owned, “Take a solemn oath. I want you to swear by the Lord God of heaven and earth that you will not get my son a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I’m living. 4Instead, you will go to the land of my relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.” 5The servant asked him, “What if the woman doesn’t want to come back to this land with me? Should I take your son all the way back to the land you came from?”
Read all of Genesis 24Genesis 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 21:23Now, swear an oath to me here in front of God that you will never cheat me, my children, or my descendants. Show me and the land where you’ve been living the same kindness that I have shown you.”
- Genesis 26:28They answered, “We have seen that the Lord is with you. So we thought, ‘There should be a solemn agreement between us.’ We’d like to make an agreement with you
- Genesis 31:44Now, let’s make an agreement and let it stand as a witness between you and me.”
- Genesis 50:25Joseph made Israel’s sons swear an oath. He said, “God will definitely take care of you. So be sure to carry my bones back with you.”
- Exodus 20:7“Never use the name of the Lord your God carelessly. The Lord will make sure that anyone who carelessly uses his name will be punished.
- Exodus 22:11The case between them must be settled by swearing an oath to the Lord that the neighbor did not take the other person’s animal. The owner must accept the oath. The neighbor doesn’t have to make up for the loss.
- Exodus 23:13“Be careful ⌞to do⌟ everything I told you. “Never mention the names of other gods or let them be heard on your lips.
- Leviticus 19:12“Never swear by my name in order to deceive anyone. This dishonors the name of your God. I am the Lord.
- Numbers 5:21may the Lord make you an example for your people to see what happens when the curse of this oath comes true: The Lord will make your uterus drop and your stomach swell.’ “Then the priest will administer the oath and the curse by saying:
- Deuteronomy 6:13You must fear the Lord your God, serve him, and take your oaths only in his name.
- Deuteronomy 10:20Fear the Lord your God, worship him, be loyal to him, and take your oaths in his name.
- Joshua 2:12Please swear by the Lord that you’ll be as kind to my father’s family as I’ve been to you. Also give me some proof
- 1 Samuel 20:17Once again Jonathan swore an oath to David because of his love for David. He loved David as much as ⌞he loved⌟ himself.
- Nehemiah 13:25So I reprimanded those Jews, cursed them, beat some of them, and pulled out their hair. I made them swear by God: “We won’t allow our daughters to marry their sons, and we won’t allow their daughters to marry us or our sons.”
- Isaiah 45:23I have bound myself with an oath. A word has gone out from my righteous mouth that will not be recalled, “Every knee will bow to me and every tongue will swear ⌞allegiance⌟.”
- Isaiah 48:1Listen to this, descendants of Jacob! You are given the name of Israel. You are descended from Judah. You take oaths by the name of the Lord. You acknowledge the God of Israel, but you are not honest or sincere.
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
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries