Genesis 24:1-9

Genesis 24:1-9

[1] And Abraham  was old,  and well stricken  in age:  and the LORD  had blessed  Abraham  [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:  [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:  [4] unto my country,  and to my kindred,  and take  a wife  unto my son  Isaac.  [5] And the servant  said  unto him, Peradventure the woman  will not be willing  me  unto this land:  must I needs bring  thy son  again  unto the land  from whence thou camest?  [6] And Abraham  said  unto him, Beware  not  my son  thither again.  [7] The LORD  God  of heaven,  which took me  from my father's  house,  and from the land  of my kindred,  and which spake  unto me, and that sware  unto me, saying,  Unto thy seed  will I give  this land;  he shall send  his angel  before thee,  and thou shalt take  a wife  unto my son  from thence. [8] And if the woman  will not be willing  thee,  then thou shalt be clear  from this my oath:  not my son  thither again.  [9] And the servant  put  his hand  under the thigh  of Abraham  his master,  and sware  to him concerning  that  matter. 

What does Genesis 24:1-9 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The thigh may be a euphemism for the genitals ( Genesis 24:2). [1] The ancients considered the "thigh" to be the source of posterity and the seat of power (cf. Genesis 47:29).
"By putting his hand under Abraham"s thigh, the servant was touching his genitals and thus giving the oath a special solemnity. In the ancient Orient, solemn oaths could be taken holding some sacred object in one"s hand, as it is still customary to take an oath on the Bible before giving evidence in court. Since the OT particularly associates God with life (see the symbolism of the sacrificial law) and Abraham had been circumcised as a mark of the covenant, placing his hand under Abraham"s thigh made an intimate association with some fundamental religious ideas. An oath by the seat of procreation is particularly apt in this instance, when it concerns the finding of a wife for Isaac." [2]
"That act would be significantly symbolic in this instance, for success of the mission would make possible propagation of posterity and fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant." [3]
"Isaac was not regarded as a merely pious candidate for matrimony, but as the heir of the promise, who must therefore be kept from any alliance with the race whose possessions were to come to his descendants, and which was ripening for the judgment to be executed by those descendants." [4]