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Comments on Why was it so important to Abraham that Isaac not go back to Abraham's homeland?

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Why was it so important to Abraham that Isaac not go back to Abraham's homeland?

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Genesis 24:1-9 (CSB): Abraham was now old, getting on in years, and the Lord had blessed him in everything. 2 Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will have you swear by the Lord, God of heaven and God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live, 4 but will go to my land and my family to take a wife for my son Isaac.”

5 The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Should I have your son go back to the land you came from?”

6 Abraham answered him, “Make sure that you don’t take my son back there. 7 The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from my native land, who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘I will give this land to your offspring’—he will send his angel before you, and you can take a wife for my son from there. 8 If the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are free from this oath to me, but don’t let my son go back there.” 9 So the servant placed his hand under his master Abraham’s thigh and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

Why did it matter so much to Abraham that he made his servant swear an oath not to take Isaac back to Abraham's homeland? Abraham talks about God's promise to Abraham to give him the land, but it's not like Isaac going on a short trip elsewhere would invalidate God's promise. So what did Abraham care so much about this?

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General comments (4 comments)
General comments
manassehkatz‭ wrote almost 4 years ago

I know some classic Jewish answers to this question. I won't provide those answers here, as I don't know if/how Christianity views this differently than Judaism. If you are interested in the Jewish perspective on this question, feel free to ask at https://judaism.codidact.com/

Peter Taylor‭ wrote almost 4 years ago

How do you get "short trip" from the text?

manassehkatz‭ wrote almost 4 years ago

The presumption is that just as Eliezer (Abraham's servant) went on a short trip to find a wife for Isaac, if Isaac himself were to go, it would also be a short trip. But that is actually not realistic - Jacob went on a similar trip and stayed for 20 years.

curiousdannii‭ wrote almost 4 years ago · edited almost 4 years ago

@Peter Relatively short. Isaac lived a long life, and even a year or two would be 'short' compared to the rest of his life. Of course a long trip wouldn't invalidate God's promises either!