It seems that the taking of oaths was something established by men, not God. While it can be a wrong thing to do (Matthew 5:33-37), it isn’t necessarily so. An oath was taken by men to the Lord, who was greater than all, to witness what was said or done, and the oath was intended to end any strife between men (Hebrews 6:16). The first oath recorded in the Bible is the one, which Abraham swore to Abimelech that he wouldn’t deal falsely with him or his descendants (Genesis 21:23-24). Abimelech wanted Abraham to swear by God, the God who had been with Abraham in all that he did (Genesis 21:22). Presumably, Abimelech had in mind the same God who had come to him in a dream and effectively destroyed him, unless he returned Sarah to Abraham, and unless Abraham prayed for him (Genesis 20:2-7). Abimelech was, no doubt, a polytheist, but he had Abraham swear by his, vis-à-vis Abraham’s, God. The second oath recorded in the Bible is the one made by God, himself, to Abraham, when he attempted to offer up Isaac as a burnt sacrifice (Genesis 22:16), and this was done, presumably, to show Abraham that there was none greater than he, vis-à-vis Abraham’s God, to whom Abraham had earlier taken his oath.
We are told that, at this time in the text, Abraham was very old, and the Lord had blessed him in everything he did (Genesis 24:1). We know that Abraham was 100 years old, when Isaac was born (Genesis 21:5), and the text also concludes that Isaac was 40 years old, when he married Rebekah (Genesis 24:67; cp. 25:20). Therefore, Abraham must have been 140 years old at this time.
So, Abraham called for his eldest servant who ruled over all that he had. Actually, the Hebrew word is zaqen (H2205) and means elder, not necessarily the oldest servant. This was the servant who had chief authority in Abraham’s house, perhaps Eliezer of Damascus,[1] the eldest servant born in Abraham’s house, the firstborn, who would have inherited Abraham’s wealth, if he had no heir (cp. Genesis 15:2-3). He was called by Abraham, who was about to send him to Haran and he wanted him to swear concerning the matter of taking a wife for Isaac (Genesis 24:2-4). Abraham was sending his servant to Abraham’s family in Haran to take a wife for Isaac his son. He was not to take a wife for him out of the families of the Canaanites.
Men have rituals, they perform in matters of great importance. Not long ago, for example, men placed their left hand on a Bible and raised their right hand to swear that their testimony, which they were about to give in a court of law, would be true. Abraham caused his servant to place his hand under his thigh (Genesis 24:2), which was probably a euphemism for Abraham’s genitals, for the same Hebrew word used for thigh (yarek; H3409) in verse-2 is used for Jacob’s loins elsewhere (cp. Genesis 46:26; Exodus 1:5). It’s the place that had the mark of the Lord’s covenant with Abraham (circumcision; cp. Genesis 17:10). Therefore, to swear in this manner was to swear by Abraham’s God (Genesis 24:3).
Before swearing, Abraham’s servant wished to understand the limits of his oath. He wanted to know what he should do if the woman in Abraham’s family wasn’t willing to go with him, should he then bring Isaac to Mesopotamia, from where Abraham came (Genesis 24:5). However, Abraham told his servant that he should never do such a thing. God called him out from among his kindred, and Isaac would certainly not be taken back there. Abraham assured his servant that the Lord would guide him in the thing Abraham wished him to do. Nevertheless, if the woman refused to come, the servant was released from his oath (Genesis 24:6-8). So, Abraham’s servant reached under his master’s thigh and swore he would do as he said (Genesis 24:9).
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[1] The text never identifies this servant, but, if we compare the description of the servant in chapter 24 with what is said about Eliezer in chapter 15, it leads one to believe they are one and the same person.
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