Genesis 24 · Verse 3

Genesis 24:3

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:
Genesis 24:3, King James Version

Genesis 24:3 in other translations

BSBand 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,
WEBI will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live.
ASVand I will make thee swear by Jehovah, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thou wilt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:
YLTand I cause thee to swear by Jehovah, God of the heavens, and God of the earth, that thou dost not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanite, in the midst of whom I am dwelling;
DARBYand I will make thee swear by Jehovah, the God of the heavens and the God of the earth, that thou take not a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am dwelling;
BBEAnd take an oath by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not get a wife for my son Isaac from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am living;
WebsterAnd I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thou wilt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell:

What does Genesis 24:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
3. 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.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 I will make thee swear - See note on Gen 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, Gen 9:25 (note).

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 24:1-9

The effect of good example, good teaching, and the worship of God in a family, will generally appear in the piety, faithfulness, prudence, and affection of the servants. To live in such families, or to have such servants, both are blessings from God which should be highly valued, and thankfully acknowledged. But no concern in life is of greater importance to ourselves, to others, or to the church of God, than…

Read the full comment on Genesis 24:1-9 →

Genesis 24:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְאַשְׁבִּ֣יעֲךָ֔ve.'ash.Bi.'a.khaso I may make swear youH7650
בַּֽיהוָה֙ba.Yah.wehby YahwehH3068
אֱלֹהֵ֣י'e.lo.Hei[the] God ofH430
הַשָּׁמַ֔יִםha.sha.Ma.yimthe heavensH8064
וֵֽאלֹהֵ֖יve.lo.Heiand [the] God ofH430
הָאָ֑רֶץha.'A.retzthe earthH776
אֲשֶׁ֨ר'a.SherthatH834
לֹֽא\־lo'-notH3808
תִקַּ֤חti.Kachyou will takeH3947
אִשָּׁה֙'i.Shaha wifeH802
לִבְנִ֔יliv.Nifor son myH1121
מִבְּנוֹת֙mi.be.noTfrom [the] daughters ofH1323
הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֔יha.ke.na.'a.Nithe Canaanite[s]H3669
אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.SherwhomH834
אָנֹכִ֖י'a.no.KhiIH595
יוֹשֵׁ֥בyo.Shev[am] dwellingH3427
בְּקִרְבּֽוֹ\׃be.kir.Boin midst itsH7130

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 24:3

  • Genesis 26:34-35

    And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

  • 2 Corinthians 6:14-17

    Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

  • Nehemiah 13:25

    And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves.

  • Deuteronomy 7:3-4

    Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

  • Genesis 28:8

    And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father;

  • Exodus 34:16

    And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.

  • 1 Corinthians 7:39

    The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.

  • Genesis 10:15-19

    And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth, And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad. …

  • Jeremiah 10:11

    Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.

  • 2 Kings 19:15

    And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.

  • Genesis 14:19

    And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:

  • Deuteronomy 10:20

    Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
swear.
21:23; 26:28-31; 31:44-53; 50:25; Ex 20:7; 22:11; 23:13; Le 19:12
Nu 5:21; De 6:13; 10:20; Jos 2:12; 1Sa 20:17; Ne 13:25; Isa 45:23
Isa 48:1; 65:16; Jer 4:2; 12:16; Zep 1:5; Heb 6:16
the.
14:22; 2Ki 19:15; 2Ch 2:12; Ne 9:6; Ps 115:15; Jer 10:11
that.
6:2,4; 26:34,35; 27:46; 28:1,2,8; Ex 34:16; De 7:3,4; 1Co 7:39
2Co 6:14-17

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 24:2

    And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:

  • Genesis 24:3

    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:

  • Genesis 24:4

    But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

Read all of Genesis 24

Genesis 24:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y te juramentaré por Jehová, Dios de los cielos y Dios de la tierra, que no has de tomar mujer para mi hijo de las hijas de los Cananeos, entre los cuales yo habito;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
et je te ferai jurer par l’ Éternel, le Dieu des cieux et le Dieu de la terre, que tu ne prendras pas de femme pour mon fils d’entre les filles des Cananéens, parmi lesquels j’habite;
German
Elberfelder 1871
und ich werde dich schwören lassen bei Jehova, dem Gott des Himmels und dem Gott der Erde, daß du meinem Sohne nicht ein Weib nehmen wirst von den Töchtern der Kanaaniter, in deren Mitte ich wohne;
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
ut adjurem te per Dominum Deum cæli et terræ, ut non accipias uxorem filio meo de filiabus Chananæorum, inter quos habito: