Discovery BoxGenesis 24:3-8
Context24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise 1 by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire 2 a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living. 24:4 You must go instead to my country and to my relatives 3 to find 4 a wife for my son Isaac.”
24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me 5 to this land? Must I then 6 take your son back to the land from which you came?”
24:6 “Be careful 7 never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. 8 24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, 9 promised me with a solemn oath, 10 ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel 11 before you so that you may find 12 a wife for my son from there. 24:8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, 13 you will be free 14 from this oath of mine. But you must not take my son back there!”
[24:3] 1 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose.
[24:3] 2 tn Heb “because you must not take.”
[24:4] 3 tn Heb “for to my country and my relatives you must go.”
[24:5] 5 tn Heb “to go after me.”
[24:5] 6 tn In the Hebrew text the construction is emphatic; the infinitive absolute precedes the imperfect. However, it is difficult to reflect this emphasis in an English translation.
[24:6] 7 tn Heb “guard yourself.”
[24:6] 8 tn The introductory clause “And Abraham said to him” has been moved to the end of the opening sentence of direct discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:7] 9 tn Or “the land of my birth.”
[24:7] 10 tn Heb “and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying.”
[24:7] 11 tn Or “his messenger.”
[24:7] 12 tn Heb “before you and you will take.”
[24:8] 13 tn Heb “ to go after you.”
[24:8] 14 sn You will be free. If the prospective bride was not willing to accompany the servant back to Canaan, the servant would be released from his oath to Abraham.
