Genesis 24:3-8

Context
24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise¹ by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire² 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 relatives³ to find⁴ a wife for my son Isaac.”

24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me⁵ to this land? Must I then⁶ take your son back to the land from which you came?”

24:6 “Be careful⁷ 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 angel¹¹ before you so that you may find¹² 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 free¹⁴ from this oath of mine. But you must not take my son back there!”

[24:3] ¹tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose.

[24:3] ²tn Heb “because you must not take.”

[24:4] ³tn Heb “for to my country and my relatives you must go.”

[24:4] ⁴tn Heb “and take.”

[24:5] ⁵tn Heb “to go after me.”

[24:5] ⁶tn 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] ⁷tn Heb “guard yourself.”

[24:6] ⁸tn 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] ⁹tn Or “the land of my birth.”

[24:7] ¹⁰tn Heb “and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying.”

[24:7] ¹¹tn Or “his messenger.”

[24:7] ¹²tn Heb “before you and you will take.”

[24:8] ¹³tn Heb “ to go after you.”

[24:8] ¹⁴sn 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.