New King James Version
Genesis 24:3
3and 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;
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 Living Translation (NLT)Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women.
Context of Genesis 24:3
1Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh, 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; 4but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 5And 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?”
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 therefore, swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt.”
- Genesis 26:28But they said, “We have certainly seen that the Lord is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you,
- Genesis 31:44Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”
- Genesis 50:25Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.”
- Exodus 20:7“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
- Exodus 22:11then an oath of the Lord shall be between them both, that he has not put his hand into his neighbor’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept that, and he shall not make it good.
- Exodus 23:13“And in all that I have said to you, be circumspect and make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.
- Leviticus 19:12And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
- Numbers 5:21then the priest shall put the woman under the oath of the curse, and he shall say to the woman—“the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your thigh rot and your belly swell;
- Deuteronomy 6:13You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.
- Deuteronomy 10:20You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name.
- Joshua 2:12Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token,
- 1 Samuel 20:17Now Jonathan again caused David to vow, because he loved him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
- Nehemiah 13:25So I contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves.
- Isaiah 45:23I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath.
- Isaiah 48:1“Hear this, O house of Jacob, Who are called by the name of Israel, And have come forth from the wellsprings of Judah; Who swear by the name of the Lord, And make mention of the God of Israel, But not in truth or in righteousness;
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries