“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:”
Abraham says to his senior servant — the one in charge of all he had — to put his hand under his thigh, for he is about to give him a solemn oath. The swearing by placing the hand under the thigh was the most solemn oath of the ancient Near East — associated with the source of the household's life and continuity. Genesis 47:29 records Jacob asking Joseph to swear in the same way. The seriousness of the covenant oath reflects the seriousness of the mission: finding a wife for Isaac is the most important act in the continuity of the covenant family. The application: the weight you give to an oath reflects what you believe is at stake. Abraham treats the search for Isaac's wife with the weight appropriate to the covenant.
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