A Wife For Yitzchak

Introduction

Avraham's Command: Canaan vs. Mesopotamia

In Bereshit 24, Avraham makes his servant swear that he will make a long trek to Mesopotamia to find a wife for Yitzchak, rather than taking a wife from amongst the indigenous Canaanite women:

(3) And I will make you swear by Hashem, the God of the heavens and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am dwelling. (4) But you will go to my country and to my birthplace/family, and take a wife for my son Yitzchak.

וְאַשְׁבִּ֣יעֲךָ֔ בַּֽיהוָה֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וֵֽאלֹהֵ֖י הָאָ֑רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹֽא־תִקַּ֤ח אִשָּׁה֙ לִבְנִ֔י מִבְּנוֹת֙ הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֔י אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָנֹכִ֖י יוֹשֵׁ֥ב בְּקִרְבּֽוֹ׃

כִּ֧י אֶל־אַרְצִ֛י וְאֶל־מוֹלַדְתִּ֖י תֵּלֵ֑ךְ וְלָקַחְתָּ֥ אִשָּׁ֖ה לִבְנִ֥י לְיִצְחָֽק׃

Why was the nationality element so crucial for Avraham? What distinguished Mesopotamian women from their Canaanite counterparts?

http://alhatorah.org/Wanted:_A_Wife_for_Yitzchak

Moral Concerns

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch - Samson Raphael Hirsch (June 20, 1808 – December 31, 1888)

Religious Concerns

General Influence