Genesis 24:8
in Genesis 24And if the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And if the woman be not willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath; only thou shalt not bring my son thither again.
KJV
And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.
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This verse in Genesis 24
Commentary
10 notes on this verseNote, Oaths are to be taken with great caution, and the matter sworn to should be rightly understood and limited, because it is a snare to devour that which is holy, and, after vows, to make the enquiry which should have been made before.
This site's exposition
The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me from my father's house
on Genesis 24:7-8
Abraham quotes his own call back at the servant, the God who brought him from his father's house and his native land. He rests the whole errand on the oath about the land, that God would give it to his offspring. An angel goes ahead of the servant.
This site's exposition
you are released from this oath
Matthew Henry drew a rule from the exchange: the matter of an oath should be understood and limited before it is sworn, because inquiry made after a vow is a snare. The servant had asked first, and Abraham fixed the one condition. Even the release repeats the ban on taking Isaac back.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
But 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.
And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee,....
And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee,....
Note, Oaths are to be taken with great caution, and the matter sworn to should be rightly understood and limited, because it is a snare to devour that which is holy, and, after vows, to make the enquiry which should have been made before.
Those who through grace have escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust, and have brought up their children accordingly, should take heed of doing any thing by which they may be again entangled therein and overcome, 2 Pet. ii.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Genesis is both the book of beginnings and the book of dispensations. You know what use Paul makes of Sarah and Hagar, of Esau and Jacob, and the like. Genesis is, all through, a book instructing the reader in the dispensations of God towards man. Paul saith, in a certain place, "which things are an allegory," by which he did not mean that they were not literal facts, but that, being literal facts, they might also be used instructively as an allegory. So may I say of this chapter. It records what actually was said and done; but at the same time, it bears within it allegorical instruction with regard to heavenly things. The true minister of Christ is like this Eleazar of Damascus; he is sent to find a wife for his Master's son. His great desire is, that many shall be presented unto Christ in the day of his appearing, as the bride, the Lamb's wife. The faithful servant of Abraham, before he started, communed with his master; and this is a lesson to us, who go on our Lord's errands. Let us, before we engage in actual service, see the Master's face, talk with him, and tell to him any difficulties which occur to our minds. Before we get to work, let us know what we are at, and on what footing we stand. Let us hear from our Lord's own mouth what he expects us to do, and how far he will help us in the doing of it. I charge you, my fellow-servants, never to go forth to plead with men for God until you have first pleaded with God for men. Do not attempt to deliver a message which you have not first of all yourself received by his Holy Spirit. Come out of the chamber of fellowship with God into the pulpit of ministry among men, and there will be a freshness and a power about you which none shall be able to resist.
Genesis is both the book of beginnings and the book of dispensations. You know what use Paul makes of Sarah and Hagar, of Esau and Jacob, and the like. Genesis is, all through, a book instructing the reader in the dispensations of God towards man. Paul saith, in a certain place, "which things are an allegory," by which he did not mean that they were not literal facts, but that, being literal facts, they might also be used instructively as an allegory. So may I say of this chapter.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לֹ֨א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֹאבֶ֤ה | toveh | she will be willing | H14 → | |
| הָֽאִשָּׁה֙ | haishah | the woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| לָלֶ֣כֶת | lalekhet | to go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אַחֲרֶ֔יךָ | ʾachareikha | after you | H310 → | 715 times |
| וְנִקִּ֕יתָ | venikita | and you will be free | H5352 → | |
| מִשְּׁבֻעָתִ֖י | mishevuati | from oath my | H7621 → | |
| זֹ֑את | zot | this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| רַ֣ק | rak | only | H7535 → | 109 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנִ֔י | beni | son my | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָשֵׁ֖ב | tashev | you must take back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| שָֽׁמָּה׃ | shamah | there towards | H8033 → | 834 times |
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
לֹ֨אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תֹאבֶ֤הshe will be willing
tovehH14 →
הָֽאִשָּׁה֙the woman
haishahH802 →781 times
לָלֶ֣כֶתto go
lalekhetH1980 →1546 times
אַחֲרֶ֔יךָafter you
ʾachareikhaH310 →715 times
וְנִקִּ֕יתָand you will be free
venikitaH5352 →
מִשְּׁבֻעָתִ֖יfrom oath my
mishevuatiH7621 →
זֹ֑אתthis
zotH2063 →603 times
רַ֣קonly
rakH7535 →109 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּנִ֔יson my
beniH1121 →4930 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תָשֵׁ֖בyou must take back
tashevH7725 →1056 times
שָֽׁמָּה׃there towards
shamahH8033 →834 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
John 8:32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
it leads to
- Romans 8:2
For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death.
- John 8:36
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
- John 17:17
Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.
- 1 Peter 2:16
Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
- John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
- Romans 8:2
Through
Acts 7:2And Stephen declared: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,
it leads to
- Acts 22:1
“Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.”
- Genesis 11:31
And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan.…
- Psalms 29:3
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders; the LORD is heard over many waters.
- Acts 22:1
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
This page draws on Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2047: “No Compromise” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.