Genesis 24:3

and I will have you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am dwelling,

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Abraham speaks to his chief household servant while preparing to send him away from Canaan. The command occurs immediately after Abraham instructs the servant to place his hand under his thigh as a binding gesture.

The words — וְ/אַשְׁבִּ֣יעֲ/ךָ֔ (ve./'ash.Bi.'a./kha) translates to "so I may make you swear," and בַּֽ/יהוָה֙ (ba./Yah.weh) means "by Yahweh." The phrase establishes the oath's authority by invoking the Creator of the heavens and the earth.

The thread — The restriction against Canaanite marriage appears in Genesis 28:8 as Isaac's known disapproval and Genesis 26:34 regarding Esau's actions. The underlying principle of separating from ungodly alliances is restated in 2 Corinthians 6:14.

Why it lands — The text commands the servant to locate a spouse outside the local Canaanite population. It requires the reader to treat covenant boundaries as non-negotiable when making family decisions.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְאַשְׁבִּ֣יעֲךָ֔ve./'ash.Bi.'a./khaso/ I may make swear/ you בַּֽיהוָה֙ba./Yah.wehby/ Yahweh אֱלֹהֵ֣י'e.lo.Hei[the] God of הַשָּׁמַ֔יִםha./sha.Ma.yimthe/ heavens וֵֽאלֹהֵ֖יve./lo.Heiand/ [the] God of הָאָ֑רֶץha./'A.retzthe/ earth אֲשֶׁ֨ר'a.Sherthat לֹֽא־lo'-not תִקַּ֤חti.Kachyou will take אִשָּׁה֙'i.Shaha wife לִבְנִ֔יli/v.N/ifor/ son/ my מִבְּנוֹת֙mi./be.noTfrom/ [the] daughters of הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֔יha./ke.na.'a.Nithe/ Canaanite[s]אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhom אָנֹכִ֖י'a.no.KhiI יוֹשֵׁ֥בyo.Shev[am] dwelling בְּקִרְבּֽוֹ׃be./kir.B/oin/ midst/ its

King James Version

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:

Cross-references

Genesis 26:34 When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.
2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?
Genesis 28:8 And seeing that his father Isaac disapproved of the Canaanite women,
Deuteronomy 7:3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,
Nehemiah 13:25 I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves!
Genesis 10:15 And Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites,
Exodus 34:16 And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods and cause your sons to do the same.
2 Kings 19:15 And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD: “O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.
Jeremiah 10:11 Thus you are to tell them: “These gods, who have made neither the heavens nor the earth, will perish from this earth and from under these heavens.”
1 Corinthians 7:39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, as long as he belongs to the Lord.