Genesis 24:2

ESV And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh,
NIV He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh.
NASB Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household who was in charge of all that he owned, 'Please place your hand under my thigh,
CSB Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who managed all he owned, "Place your hand under my thigh,
NLT One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, 'Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh.
KJV 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:
NKJV So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh,

What does Genesis 24:2 mean?

As a wealthy man blessed greatly by God in all things, Abraham would have had many servants. Here he selects his most trusted servant, and the oldest of all his servants, for a crucial assignment. This servant is never named, but we are told that he was in charge of everything Abraham owned. He was Abraham's right-hand man. Earlier in the book of Genesis, Abraham named a man, Eliezer, as his prospective heir, since at that time he had no sons (Genesis 15:2). At that point in time, Eliezer would probably have been considered Abraham's "most trusted" servant. The man Abraham speaks to here, decades later, might be the same person, and many interpreters assume this is the case. However, chapter 24 never specifically names him, so this might well be a different person.

Abraham begins by asking the servant to swear a sacred oath to complete the assignment he's about to give him. That request is concluded in the following verse.
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app: