New International Version
Genesis 24:5
5The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?”
Genesis 24:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?
- English Standard Version (ESV)The servant said to him, "Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?”
- New Living Translation (NLT)The servant asked, “But what if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to travel so far from home? Should I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives in the land you came from?”
Context of Genesis 24:5
3I 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, 4but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?” 6“Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said. 7“The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.
Read all of Genesis 24Genesis 24:5 word by word
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלָיו֙ הָעֶ֔בֶד אוּלַי֙ לֹא־תֹאבֶ֣ה הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה לָלֶ֥כֶת אַחֲרַ֖י אֶל־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֑את הֶֽהָשֵׁ֤ב אָשִׁיב֙ אֶת־בִּנְךָ֔ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יָצָ֥אתָ מִשָּֽׁם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the servantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto him, Peradventure the womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
- will not be willingאָבָה'âbâh · be willingH14
- to followיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- meאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- unto this landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- must I needs bringשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- thy sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- from whence thou camestיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
Cross-references for Genesis 24:5
- Genesis 24:58So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” “I will go,” she said.
- Exodus 20:7“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
- Exodus 9:2If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back,
- Proverbs 13:16All who are prudent act with knowledge, but fools expose their folly.
- Jeremiah 4:2and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ then the nations will invoke blessings by him and in him they will boast.”
Commentaries on Genesis 24:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Peradventure the woman will not be willing - We may see, says Calmet, by this and other passages of Scripture, Joshua 9:18, what the sentiments of the ancients were relative to an oath. They believed they were bound precisely by what was spoken, and had no liberty to interpret the intentions of those to whom the oath was made.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. 1-9Trusting in the Lord's promise, Abraham had his main servant promise to find a wife for Isaac (probably Eliezer, 15:2). Abraham told his servant to return to his relatives in his homeland, 724 kilometers away (about 450 miles). Abraham was faithful to the covenant by planning for Isaac's future.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-91. And Abraham was old ... take a wife--His anxiety to see his son married was natural to his position as a pastoral chief interested in preserving the honor of his tribe, and still more as a patriarch who had regard to the divine promise of a numerous posterity.Read the comment
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
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