Genesis 28:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him, "You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women.

NIV: So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him: "Do not marry a Canaanite woman.

NASB: So Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and commanded him, saying to him, 'You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.

CSB: So Isaac summoned Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, "Do not marry a Canaanite girl.

NLT: So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, and said, 'You must not marry any of these Canaanite women.

KJV: And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

NKJV: Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.

This verse begins by stating that Isaac called Jacob and blessed him. This comes after Jacob's deception, an act of treachery which caused Isaac to literally tremble in a panic (Genesis 27:33). Apparently, Isaac has made peace with those events on some level. He repeats a blessing to Jacob here and in the coming verses, this time knowing exactly who he is talking to.

At the end of the previous chapter, Rebekah became aware of Esau's vengeful intent to murder Jacob (Genesis 27:41). She first urged Jacob to run away and stay with her brother in Mesopotamia until Esau's fury passed (Genesis 27:43). Next she seemingly manipulates Isaac to send Jacob away himself by convincing him that it would be a terrible thing for Jacob to marry a local Canaanite woman (Genesis 27:46). They had both been made miserable by Esau's Hittite wives. Instead, Jacob should find a wife among her brother's people.

Now we find Isaac acting on Rebekah's suggestion, probably still unaware of Esau's plan to kill Jacob. Instead, he has agreed with his wife and also with his own father. Abraham had insisted that Isaac not marry a local Canaanite woman (Genesis 24:3). He did not want Isaac to assimilate into the local population. Now Isaac places a similar requirement on Jacob. It was too late for Esau to not marry locally, but Jacob could still marry from among the women of his mother's people.

Genesis 28:1–5 describes how Isaac sent Jacob to Rebekah's brother Laban, in Paddan-aram in Mesopotamia, to find a wife. Jacob must not marry a Canaanite woman. Rebekah wants Jacob sent away so he won't be killed by his jealous brother, Esau. Esau's rage is due to Jacob tricking Isaac and stealing a blessing. Apparently having made some level of peace with Jacob's deception, Isaac gives Jacob the full blessing of the covenant promises of Abraham.

Isaac sends Jacob away from his household to find a wife in Mesopotamia, in Paddan-aram, where Rebekah's brother lives. First, though, he gives to Jacob the full blessing of the promises of Abraham. Esau marries one of the daughters of Ishmael to try to please Isaac. The Lord appears to Jacob in a dream, giving to him the promises of Abraham personally, along with the assurance that He will be with Jacob to Mesopotamia and back again. Jacob vows that if the Lord does this, he will make the Lord his God and will worship Him and tithe to Him.

The previous chapter concluded with Rebekah urging Jacob to run for his life to her brother's household in Mesopotamia to escape the wrath of Esau. Now Isaac, too, sends Jacob to Laban, except to find a non-Canaanite wife. Hearing this, Esau marries one of the daughters of Ishmael. On the road to Mesopotamia, the Lord appears to Jacob in a dream. God personally delivers the covenant promises of Abraham and assurances to be with Jacob. In awe and fear, Jacob renames the place Bethel, ''house of God,'' and vows to worship the Lord as his God. In the next chapter, Jacob will get a taste of his own deceptive medicine, as he seeks a wife.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.