Commentary for Genesis 24:8

'ונקית משבעתי וגו THEN SHALT THOU BE CLEAR FROM THIS MY OATH etc. — and take a wife for him from the daughters of Aner or Eshcol or Mamre.

THEN THOU SHALT BE CLEAR FROM THIS MY OATH. Abraham did not permit him to take a wife for Isaac from the daughters of Canaan, but he would be free [from the oath if Isaac were to do it on his own] and the Eternal do that which is good in His sight.¹⁰⁰II Samuel 10:12.
But Rashi wrote, “And take a wife for him from the daughters of Aner, Eshkol or Mamre.” Now if they were Canaanites, far be it from him! And in truth they were of the seed of Canaan for Scripture says, Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshkol, and brother of Aner.¹⁰¹Above, 14:13. And in Bereshith Rabbah, the Rabbis have said:¹⁰²59:11. “That thou shalt not take a wife, etc.¹⁰³Verse 3 here. He warned him against the daughters of Canaan, Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre.” For it was with reference to Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre that Abraham said, Among whom I dwell,¹⁰³Verse 3 here. since he did not dwell among all the Canaanites as they were many nations. But he warned him against these his confederates, and all the more against the others. But the verse, Then thou shalt be clear from this my oath, means that the servant would be free from the oath if Isaac would want to do it on his own, and Abraham relied on his knowledge that his righteous son Isaac would listen to his father and that he would beware of them and go instead to Ishmael or to Lot and the other nations.
It is possible that from this my oath is a hint to that which he said, And thou shalt take a wife unto my son from there,¹⁰⁴Verse 7 here. since perhaps the oath was for everything, [meaning that the oath covered two points: a) that he should not take for him a wife from the daughters of Canaan, and b) that he should go to his family. In case they refused, he would be free from the second oath, while the first oath would always remain in effect]. Accordingly, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath does not allude to that which Abraham told him, Thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites,¹⁰³Verse 3 here. [since he never freed him from this oath]. This explains the word zoth (this) — [thou shalt be clear from ‘this’ my oath — implying there was another oath from which he was not freed]. Therefore, the servant said, That I may turn to the right hand, or to the left,¹⁰⁵Further, Verse 49. and he did not say, “I would return [to the land of Canaan,” since he was not freed from the oath not to take a wife from the daughters of Canaan].

ונקית משבועתי זאת, "and you will be relieved of this oath of mine." This means that Eliezer will be relieved of the duty to take a wife for Isaac from Abraham's birthplace; the oath not to take a wife for Isaac from the local Canaanites would remain in force, however, seeing it was something under his control.

ואם לא, the meaning is clear.

ונקית משבועתי זאת, “and you will be absolved from this oath to me.” According to Rashi, this implied that under the circumstances just described, Eliezer would be free to take one of the daughters of Oner, Eshkol, or Mamre, Avraham’s closest allies I the land of Canaan.. Nachmanides is appalled at the thought that Avraham would have given his consent for Yitzchok to marry a daughter of these Canaanites, the Torah having described Mamre specifically as an Emorite (Genesis 14,13). In fact, according to Bereshit Rabbah, the warning not to marry Canaanite girls was aimed especially at these girls of Oner Eshkol and Mamre as Avraham had specifically described himself as dwelling in their land. (quoting from Eliezer’s speech at the house of Bethuel). Therefore, Avraham’s warning was directed specifically at girls from Yitzchok’s immediate environment. Seeing that Avraham entertained covenantal relations with these three Emorites it would have seemed natural to reinforce such ties by intermarriage between these families. It is quite possible that Eliezer’s oath applied to all Canaanites, and that although Eliezer would be released from the part of the oath directing him to find a wife for Yitzchok from Avraham’s family, but he would not be released from the part forbidding him to select a Canaanite wife for him. This is why Avraha,m did not say (comprehensively) “you will then be released from your oath,” but משבועתי זאת, “from this (part) oath.” Eliezer had also threatened to “turn right or left,” he had not threatened to return to Canaan to look further. He could have had in mind either Ishmael, or the family of Lot.

And you may take a wife for him from the daughters of Aner, Eshkol and Mamrei. [Rashi knows this] because Avraham said (v. 3), “[You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites] among whom I live.” Avraham commanded Eliezer from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live.” Avraham commanded Eliezer not to take a wife from the people they lived among, i.e., Aner, Eshkol and Mamrei, who were Avraham’s allies. So when it is written here, “You are absolved from this oath,” it also refers to Aner, Eshkol and Mamrei.

Sollte gleichwohl — Gott zwingt ja nicht — das dir zugeführte Weib nicht wollen, so bist du frei von diesem meinem Schwure, nur tue du nichts gegen die göttliche Bestimmung. Es kommt viel mehr darauf an, nicht das Unrechte zu tun (und unrecht ist alles, was wir als dem Willen Gottes entgegen erkennen), als dass das Rechte durch uns geschehe. Die Mittel zum Rechten gibt Gott, hüten wir uns nur, das Unrechte zu tun. Dies liegt in dem — ואם לא וגוי, du bist dann frei, du kannst weiter nichts tun; nur glaube dann nicht, dass du dann noch überhaupt etwas, und daher auch das Entgegengesetzte tun müssest, nur bringe meinen Sohn nicht dorthin zurück. Eine Rückkehr Isaaks zur Familie in Aram wäre ein Aufgeben der ganzen abrahamitischen Bestimmung gewesen, die nur isoliert, also in der Fremde zu lösen war. Als Jakob dorthin wieder zurückkehrte, war das Stammhaus noch in der kanaanitischen Isolierung und zog ihn alsbald nach der Geburt seiner Söhne dorthin wieder zurück.

ונקית משבועתי זאת, “you will be absolved from this oath I demand from you.” The apparently unnecessary word: “this,” is to warn Eliezer that the only part of the oath he will be absolved from if the woman refuses to leave her home, is Yitzchok must not go there to wed her. He would still be obligated to look for a suitable wife for Yitzchok. According to this interpretation, we must assume that the “friends” of Avraham, Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre, were not of Canaanitic descent.

רק את בני, “only my son etc.;” according to Rashi the restriction applied only to Avraham’s son Yitzchok, as he had been a offered as an Elevation Offering on G-d’s altar on the Holy Mountain of Moriah. It is therefore not appropriate for him to leave the Holy Land for any purpose.

רק את בני וגו ONLY [BRING NOT] MY SON [THITHER] etc. — The word רק narrows and limits (מעוט) the sense: it is only my son who may not go back there, but Jacob, my son’s son, in the end will go back there to find a wife (Genesis Rabbah 59:10).

רק את בני לא תשב שמה; "only do not bring my son back there." Abraham did not make Eliezer take an oath concerning this part of his instructions. This was only an answer to Eliezer's question how to act if the bride to be refused to come to the land of Canaan.

נכה ,נקה ,נקית, Grundbedeutung schlagen, stoßen; נקה: alles Fremdartige völlig abgestoßen haben. טהר mehr die Durchsichtigkeit, die innere Reinheit, נקי die äußere, (siehe zu Kap.20. 5): Dann bist du rein von diesem Eide, dann berührt er dich nicht mehr.

רק את בני לא תשב שמה, “as long as you do not bring my son back to the land from which I emigrated.” The words: “bring back”, is somewhat strange seeing that Yitzchok had never been in Charan, having been born in Canaan. Although Yitzchok had indeed never been in Charan, the term שיבה for “returning” is applicable to him because of Eliezer who had been going to the land of Canaan with Avraham and now as Yitzchok’s emissary (accepting tokens of marriage) While it is true that this was not a return in the full sense of the word, Eliezer had already been there with Avraham before the latter left Charan. We find a similar situation in Ruth 2,6, when Ruth is “returning” to the land of Israel with her mother-in-law Naomi, and although Ruth had never been there before, she too is described by one of Boaz’s hired hands as “returning” from the land of Moab. The reason why she was so described was that she was accompanying her mother-in-law who was definitely returning in the full sense of the word.

לא תשב שמה, “do not cause to go back there.” Avraham says that he does not want his son to leave the ancestral earth G-d had promised him.