Yes — God commanded that Isaac not marry a Canaanite and that his bride come from Abraham's own country and kindred.
Abraham had been told of God that Isaac's wife was not to be a citizen of Canaan. Since there were plenty of eligible women in Canaan, the restriction was not about availability; it was a divine directive to go back up to Haran in Syria, where Abraham's relatives had remained, and take a wife from there.
Genesis 24:3-4 — This is the exact command Abraham gave his servant: do not take a Canaanite wife for Isaac, but go to Abraham's own country and kindred.
Genesis 24:3–4 records Abraham's charge to his servant concerning Isaac's bride: "And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac." The same prohibition appears again when Isaac charges Jacob in Genesis 28:1: "And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan." In both places the biblical reason is the same: the covenant family is not to intermarry with the Canaanites; the wife is to come from the family's homeland.
Les makes clear that this was not Abraham's personal preference. "Abraham had been told of God that Isaac's wife was not to be a citizen of Canaan" (Clip 6). On a map, Les points out that Haran was where Terah's offspring continued to live after Terah died, while Abraham came down into Canaan (Clip 1). Abraham's servant was sent back up to that region, now Syria, to the land of Abraham's relatives (Clip 4). The reason for the geographic restriction was the character of the Canaanites. Les describes them as pagan, idolatrous, and immoral, and he contrasts Esau, whose two Canaanite wives were a grief to Isaac and Rebekah, with the later charge to Jacob not to take a Canaanite wife (Clip 5). Les also notes that God had distinctly said that they were not to marry a Canaanite (Clip 2). The issue was not that there were no women in Canaan; it was that God's command directed the family line to remain separate from Canaan.
Les says God had distinctly said that they were not to marry a Canaanite (Clip 2). He describes the Canaanites as pagan, idolatrous, and immoral, and he points out that Esau's two Canaanite wives were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah (Clip 5). Abraham had been told of God that Isaac's wife was not to be a citizen of Canaan (Clip 6), and the same command is repeated to Jacob in Genesis 28:1.
Using a map, Les identifies Haran as the place where Terah's offspring continued to live after Terah died, before Abraham came down into Canaan (Clip 1). Abraham's servant was sent back up to this land, which Les identifies as Syria, to Abraham's relatives (Clip 4). This corresponds to the instruction in Genesis 24:4 to go to Abraham's country and to his kindred.
Esau married two Canaanite women, and this was a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah (Clip 5). Later, when Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please Isaac his father, he married a daughter of Ishmael, but Les shows that this did not correct his Canaanite mistake (Clip 7). In contrast, Isaac charged Jacob not to take a wife of the daughters of Canaan, and Jacob went out from Beersheba toward Haran (Clips 5, 7; Genesis 28:1).
The Birthright Explained: Why God Chose Jacob Over Esau
and associates himself with Isaac in the burial of Abraham in the cave of Mephila. Now we know that this is in the city of Hebron, which is still a valid city in Palestine, and it's a city that is under constant controversy between the Arabs and the Jews, because again of this family relationship Hebron is the burial place of Abraham and Sarah, and I think Isaac and Rebekah if I'm not mistaken.
Haran: The Place of Abraham's Kindred
Les shows that Abraham's servant went back up to the Haran region of Syria — the place where Terah's descendants had remained — because the command was not to take a Canaanite wife.
Marriage Restrictions and Family Interconnections
Les notes that God had distinctly said they were not to marry a Canaanite, while other family lines, such as Ishmael's Egyptian marriage, were intertwined.
Abraham's Oath to the Servant
Les quotes Genesis 24:3–4, showing the exact command: not to take a daughter of the Canaanites, but to go to Abraham's country and kindred.
Back to Syria and Kindred
Les repeats the Genesis 24 command and clarifies that the place was Syria, the land of Abraham's relatives, while noting the Middle Eastern families are blood-related.
Canaanites Were Pagan, Idolatrous, and Immoral
Les contrasts Esau's Canaanite wives, which grieved Isaac and Rebekah, with Isaac's charge that Jacob not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.
Divine Command, Not a Human Choice
Les states plainly that Abraham had been told of God that Isaac's wife was not to be a citizen of Canaan, making this a theological necessity rather than a preference.
Esau's Failed Correction and Jacob's Journey
Les shows that Esau's later marriage to Ishmael's daughter did not fix his Canaanite mistake, and that Jacob left toward Haran, the place of the family, in obedience to the instruction.
Genesis 24:3: And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:
Abraham binds his servant with an oath not to choose a Canaanite bride for Isaac.
Genesis 24:4: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.
This positive command sends the servant back to the homeland of Abraham's family.
Genesis 28:1: And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
Isaac applies the same marriage restriction to Jacob, showing it was a continuing standard for the covenant line.
The biblical command recorded in Genesis 24 was that Isaac should not marry a Canaanite and should take a wife from Abraham's country and kindred. Les says Abraham had been told of God that Isaac's wife was not to be a citizen of Canaan. The servant then went to that family and brought back the bride.
Haran was where Terah's offspring had continued to live after Terah died, and it was the land of Abraham's relatives, whom Les identifies as Syrians. Abraham's servant went back up to that region under the command not to take a Canaanite wife.
Yes, they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah. Esau had married two Canaanite women, and later, when he saw this displeased his father, he married Ishmael's daughter, but that did not fix the problem.
Watch the Teaching: The Birthright Explained: Why God Chose Jacob Over Esau