In Genesis 23, Abrahams servant finalizes his promise, by putting his hand under Abes thigh and swearing to do what is asked of him. What is the meaning/purpose of the hand under the thigh promise?
As to raising a hand; or placing hand under thigh. In making an oath, it was customary to raise the right hand. God speaks of himself as doing this, symbolically. (De 32:40; Isaiah 62:8) The angel in Daniel’s vision raised both his right hand and his left to heaven to utter an oath. (Daniel 12:7) Another method of confirming an oath was to place one’s hand under the other’s thigh (hip), as Abraham’s steward did in swearing that he would get a wife for Isaac from Abraham’s relatives (Genesis 24:2, 9), and as Joseph did for Jacob in swearing not to bury Jacob in Egypt. (Genesis 47:29-31) The word “thigh” applies to the upper part of the leg from the hip to the knee, in which the femur is located. According to the Jewish rabbi Rashbam, this method of swearing was used when a superior adjured an inferior, such as a master his servant or a father his son, who also owes him obedience. And according to another Jewish scholar, Abraham Ibn Ezra, it was the custom in those days for a servant to
Related Questions
- In Genesis 23, Abrahams servant finalizes his promise, by putting his hand under Abes thigh and swearing to do what is asked of him. What is the meaning/purpose of the hand under the thigh promise?
- If Adam and Eve were White, what did black people evolve out of?
- Why is Jesus one of the most controversial persons in history?
