3 and 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;
And Esau is a son of forty years, and he taketh a wife, Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite, and they are a bitterness of spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.
`Jehovah thy God thou dost fear, Him thou dost serve, and to Him thou dost cleave, and by His name thou dost swear.
and Esau seeth that the daughters of Canaan are evil in the eyes of Isaac his father,
`And thou dost not join in marriage with them; thy daughter thou dost not give to his son, and his daughter thou dost not take to thy son, for he doth turn aside thy son from after Me, and they have served other gods, and the anger of Jehovah hath burned against you, and hath destroyed thee hastily.
and Jonathan addeth to cause David to swear, because he loveth him, for with the love of his own soul he hath loved him.
And Hezekiah prayeth before Jehovah, and saith, `O Jehovah, God of Israel, inhabiting the cherubs, Thou `art' God Himself -- Thyself alone -- to all the kingdoms of the earth: Thou hast made the heavens and the earth.
Thou `art' He, O Jehovah, Thyself -- Thou hast made the heavens, the heavens of the heavens, and all their host, the earth and all that `are' on it, the seas and all that `are' in them, and Thou art keeping all of them alive, and the host of the heavens to Thee are bowing themselves.
And I strive with them, and declare them vile, and smite certain of them, and pluck off their hair, and cause them to swear by God, `Ye do not give your daughters to their sons, nor do ye take of their daughters to your sons, and to yourselves.
Become not yoked with others -- unbelievers, for what partaking `is there' to righteousness and lawlessness? and what fellowship to light with darkness? and what concord to Christ with Belial? or what part to a believer with an unbeliever? and what agreement to the sanctuary of God with idols? for ye are a sanctuary of the living God, according as God said -- `I will dwell in them, and will walk among `them', and I will be their God, and they shall be My people, wherefore, come ye forth out of the midst of them, and be separated, saith the Lord, and an unclean thing do not touch, and I -- I will receive you,
So that he who is blessing himself in the earth, Doth bless himself In the God of faithfulness, And he who is swearing in the earth, Doth swear by the God of faithfulness, Because the former distresses have been forgotten, And because they have been hid from Mine eyes.
for men indeed do swear by the greater, and an end of all controversy to them for confirmation `is' the oath,
And those bowing themselves On the roofs to the host of the heavens, And those bowing themselves, Swearing to Jehovah, and swearing by Malcham,
And it hath come to pass, If they learn well the ways of My people, To swear by My name, `Jehovah liveth,' As they taught My people to swear by Baal, Then they have been built up in the midst of My people.
And thou hast sworn -- Jehovah liveth, In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness, And blessed themselves in Him have nations, And in Him they boast themselves.
an oath of Jehovah is between them both, that he hath not put forth his hand against the work of his neighbour, and its owner hath accepted, and he doth not repay;
And Canaan hath begotten Sidon his first-born, and Heth, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite; and afterwards have the families of the Canaanite been scattered. And the border of the Canaanite is from Sidon, `in' thy coming towards Gerar, unto Gaza; `in' thy coming towards Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, unto Lasha.
and he blesseth him, and saith, `Blessed `is' Abram to God Most High, possessing heaven and earth;
And they say, `We have certainly seen that Jehovah hath been with thee, and we say, `Let there be, we pray thee, an oath between us, between us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; do not evil with us, as we have not touched thee, and as we have only done good with thee, and send thee away in peace; thou `art' now blessed of Jehovah.' And he maketh for them a banquet, and they eat and drink, and rise early in the morning, and swear one to another, and Isaac sendeth them away, and they go from him in peace.
and now, come, let us make a covenant, I and thou, and it hath been for a witness between me and thee.' And Jacob taketh a stone, and lifteth it up `for' a standing pillar; and Jacob saith to his brethren, `Gather stones,' and they take stones, and make a heap; and they eat there on the heap; and Laban calleth it Jegar-Sahadutha; and Jacob hath called it Galeed. And Laban saith, `This heap `is' witness between me and thee to-day;' therefore hath he called its name Galeed; Mizpah also, for he said, `Jehovah doth watch between me and thee, for we are hidden one from another; if thou afflict my daughters, or take wives beside my daughters -- there is no man with us -- see, God `is' witness between me and thee.' And Laban saith to Jacob, `Lo, this heap, and lo, the standing pillar which I have cast between me and thee; this heap `is' witness, and the standing pillar `is' witness, that I do not pass over this heap unto thee, and that thou dost not pass over this heap and this standing pillar unto me -- for evil; the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, doth judge between us -- the God of their father,' and Jacob sweareth by the Fear of his father Isaac.
`Thou dost not take up the name of Jehovah thy God for a vain thing, for Jehovah acquitteth not him who taketh up His name for a vain thing.
and sons of God see the daughters of men that they `are' fair, and they take to themselves women of all whom they have chosen.
and thou hast taken of their daughters to thy sons, and their daughters have gone a-whoring after their gods, and have caused thy sons to go a-whoring after their gods;
`And ye do not swear by My name to falsehood, or thou hast polluted the name of thy God; I `am' Jehovah.
(then the priest hath caused the woman to swear with an oath of execration, and the priest hath said to the woman) -- Jehovah doth give thee for an execration, and for a curse, in the midst of thy people, in Jehovah's giving thy thigh to fall, and thy belly to swell,
Jehovah thy God thou dost fear, and Him thou dost serve, and by His name thou dost swear;
Blessed `are' ye of Jehovah, maker of heaven and earth,
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 24
Commentary on Genesis 24 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 24
Marriages and funerals are the changes of families, and the common news among the inhabitants of the villages. In the foregoing chapter we had Abraham burying his wife, here we have him marrying his son. These stories concerning his family, with their minute circumstances, are largely related, while the histories of the kingdoms of the world then in being, with their revolutions, are buried in silence; for the Lord knows those that are his. The subjoining of Isaac's marriage to Sarah's funeral (with a particular reference to it, v. 67) shows us that as "one generation passes away another generation comes;' and thus the entail both of the human nature, and of the covenant, is preserved. Here is,
Gen 24:1-9
Three things we may observe here concerning Abraham:-
Gen 24:10-28
Abraham's servant now begins to make a figure in this story; and, though he is not named, yet much is here recorded to his honour, and for an example to all servants, who shall be honoured if, by faithfully serving God and their masters, they adorn the doctrine of Christ (compare Prov. 27:18 with Titus 2:10); for there is no respect of persons with God, Col. 3:24, 25. A good servant that makes conscience of the duty of his place, and does it in the fear of God, though he make not a figure in the world nor have praise of men, yet shall be owned and accepted of God and have praise of him. Observe here,
Gen 24:29-53
We have here the making up of the marriage between Isaac and Rebekah. It is related very largely and particularly, even to the minute circumstances, which, we should think, might have been spared, while other things of great moment and mystery (as the story of Melchizedek) are related in few words. Thus God conceals that which is curious from the wise and prudent, reveals to babes that which is common and level to their capacity (Mt. 11:25), and rules and saves the world by the foolishness of preaching, 1 Co. 1:21. Thus also we are directed to take notice of God's providence in the little common occurrences of human life, and in them also to exercise our own prudence and other graces; for the scripture was not intended for the use of philosophers and statesmen only, but to make us all wise and virtuous in the conduct of ourselves and families. Here is,
Gen 24:54-61
Rebekah is here taking leave of her father's house; and
Gen 24:62-67
Isaac and Rebekah are, at length, happily brought together. Observe,