And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray you, your hand under my thigh:
All Commentaries on Genesis 24:2 Go To Genesis 24
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
For an important thing was being done when a spouse was being sought for the seed of Abraham. But that the servant might learn this which Abraham knew, that he did not desire grandchildren carnally and that he did not have any carnal conception about his progeny, he said to his slave whom he was sending, “Put your hand under my thigh and swear by the God of heaven.” What does the God of heaven want to signify in respect to the thigh of Abraham? Already you understand the hidden meaning: by the thigh, his progeny. Therefore what was that swearing but a signifying that the God of heaven would come in the flesh from the progeny of Abraham? Tractate on the Gospel of John.
