While I was reading this section of Genesis, I began to wonder what Noah's purpose was
in instructing his servant against finding a Canaanite woman to become the wife
of his son. I had other questions throughout my reading but this is the one that
stuck out to me the most. There was no explanation given about his request in
the rest of Genesis. I wondered if his reason for wanting this was only becuase
he did not want his son to marry a servant or if there was a greater meaning. I
found it interesting that he did not explain his requirement of his son's bride
because it was so importnat to him. When I researched the question I found
several reasons why people believe Abraham did not want a Canaanite as a
daughter-in-law. Some of these reasons that I found went along with my own
thoughts I was having about this story. I believe the importance of this story
for Moses to include it into Genesis was to show what Abraham wanted for his son
and for his family. It was important to him that his son marry into thier own
tribe. These requirements that Abraham gave to his servant would help him find
his future daughter-in-law.
The servant that Aabraham chose to find Isaac
a wife was his servant that he trusted the most. Abraham could not go on the
journey himself and did not want Isaac to settle in his new wife's land. When
Abraham sent his servant to find a wife he specifically instructed the servant
not to bring him a Canaanite woman. He asked his servant to find a woman outside
of the place where they lived but from his own country. The Canaanites were the
servant peoples. Earlier in Genesis, Ham saw the nakedness of his father Noah
which caused Noah to curse Ham's son Canaan. The curse that Noah put on Canaan
was that he will be a servant of servants. This curse fell on the generations of
Canaanites. This could be a reason that Abraham did not want his son to marry a
Canaanite. Abraham may have not wanted his next generation to be of servant
peoples. It is probable that Abraham did not want his son to marry into a cursed
people. Marrying a Canaanite would meant that Isaac would be marrying into a
different tribe of people. Abraham and his sons were believed to be Akkadians
which were a blessed people. Isaac's father might have simply only wanted him to
marry into his own people instead of going to another tribe. Although Abraham
had lived in the Canaanites land for years before he sent his servant to find a
wife for his son, he still felt that his family was not part of thier people.
Canaanites were strangers to him and Abraham did not want them to become part of
his family. It is also said that if a son of Abraham married a Canaanite then
his descendants would lose the blessings that the Lord had given his family.
Abraham wanted Isaac's wife to teach thier future children of God and the truth
and to help keep Isaac righteous.
http://www.trussel.com/hf/patria.htm
http://lavistachurchofchrist.org/LVstudies/Genesis/51_wife.htm
https://www.lds.org/liahona/1985/10/isaac-meets-rebekah?lang=eng
