Genesis 24:5

5 And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land. Must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?

Genesis 24:5 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 24:5

And the servant said unto him
Before he would take the oath, being cautious of it, and desirous of knowing how far it reached, and what it would or would not oblige him to, which was prudently done: peradventure the woman will not be to follow me into this land;
supposing this should be the case, as it is not unlikely that the woman would object to coming along with him to the land of Canaan, and insist upon Isaac's coming into her country, and dwelling there, what must then be done? must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou
camest?
that is, must I agree with the woman on these terms, and promise that Isaac shall come and dwell with her in Mesopotamia? Now there was good reason for the servant's putting this question, since he was neither ignorant of the call of Abraham out of that laud, no more to return to it, nor of the promise of the land of Canaan to him and his posterity: and as for bringing Isaac "again", where he never had been in person, this may be accounted for by his being in the loins of Abraham when he was there, and came from thence, as Levi is said to be in his loins when he paid tithes to Melchizedek, and to pay them in him, ( Hebrews 7:9 Hebrews 7:10 ) ; and in like manner he might be said to be brought again, or return to Abraham's country, should he ever go there, as all the seed of Abraham are said in the fourth generation to come to Canaan again, though they had none of them been in person there before, ( Genesis 15:16 ) ; besides, as Drusius observes, to bring again, or return, signifies sometimes only to bring on, or to go to some certain place, see ( Ruth 1:10 Ruth 1:22 ) ; however, the justness of the expression is confirmed by Abraham's answer in the next words.

Genesis 24:5 In-Context

3 And I will make thee swear by Jehovah, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thou wilt not take a wife for 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 for my son Isaac.
5 And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land. Must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?
6 And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.
7 Jehovah, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house, and from the land of my nativity, and who spake unto me, and who sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land. He will send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife for my son from thence.
The American Standard Version is in the public domain.