1 And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.

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 But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

I mentioned in the previous chapter that the purchase of Sarah’s tomb would be the last duty that Abraham personally fulfilled. Here we see him concerned about whom his son will marry, but he is too old to handle the matter on his own. So he calls his eldest servant and solemnly charges him to find a worthy wife in Abraham’s place.

The land that Abraham instructed his servant to search was the one where his brother Nahor had lived. Nahor had not come to Canaan with Terah, Abraham, and Lot. He had parted ways with them many decades ago. But Abraham had received word that Nahor’s household had grown, with eight new sons and grandchildren. Grandchildren who had never met Abraham or seen the land of Canaan. Was there a daughter among them who would be willing to throw in with a people and a place that were entirely unknown to her?