Genesis 24:39
in Genesis 24Then I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me.
KJV
And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me.
⋯
This verse in Genesis 24
Commentary
6 notes on this verseBut when he has the desired success, he worships God, not the angel. Whatever benefit we have by the ministration of angels, all the glory must be given to the Lord of the angels, Rev. xxii.
This site's exposition
My master made me swear an oath
on Genesis 24:37-41
The servant repeats the oath exactly: no wife from the daughters of the Canaanites, and a wife from his master's kindred and his father's house. He includes the clause that sets him free if the family refuses to give her. He tells them an angel was promised for the road. The retelling runs to sixteen verses in a book that can cover a century in a line.
This site's exposition
What if the woman will not come back
His question is shorter here than at verse 5. There he also asked whether he should take Isaac back to Abraham's country, and Abraham forbade it twice; to this family he gives only the question of her consent. Matthew Henry noticed the servant answering their objections in advance at verse 37.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Then they called the young woman to learn from her [whether she would return with him or not]. Because she heard about the oath that Abraham had made him swear, and about the prayer that the servant had prayed at the well and about the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. See Gill on Gen 24:5.
And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. See Gill on Gen 24:5.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֹמַ֖ר | vaomar | and I said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֑י | ʾadoni | master my | H113 → | 333 times |
| אֻלַ֛י | ʾulai | perhaps | H194 → | 45 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֵלֵ֥ךְ | telekh | she will go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| הָאִשָּׁ֖ה | haishah | the woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| אַחֲרָֽי׃ | ʾacharai | after me | H310 → | 715 times |
וָאֹמַ֖רand I said
vaomarH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֲדֹנִ֑יmaster my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
אֻלַ֛יperhaps
ʾulaiH194 →45 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תֵלֵ֥ךְshe will go
telekhH1980 →1546 times
הָאִשָּׁ֖הthe woman
haishahH802 →781 times
אַחֲרָֽי׃after me
ʾacharaiH310 →715 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 24:5The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the land from which you came?”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:2
and if you can swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then the nations will be blessed by Him, and in Him they will glory.”
- Genesis 24:58
They called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” “I will go,” she replied.
- Proverbs 13:16
Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool displays his folly.
- Exodus 9:2
But if you continue to restrain them and refuse to let them go,
- Exodus 20:7
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
- Jeremiah 4:2
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 21:4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.