Tanach · Acharonim on Tanach · Or HaChaim · Torah

Or HaChaim on Genesis 24:1/אור החיים על בראשית כ״ד:א׳

אוְאַבְרָהָם זָקֵן וְגוֹ׳. פֵּרוּשׁ, לְצַד שֶׁרָאָה עַצְמוֹ זָקֵן, וְגַם רָאָה כִּי הִגְדִּיל ה׳ לְהֵיטִיב עִמּוֹ בְּכָל טוּב, חָשׁ עַל הָעֶבֶד הַמּוֹשֵׁל בַּכֹּל וְרוֹאֶה נְכָסִים מְרֻבִּים, וְהָאִישׁ אֲדוֹנֵי הַכֹּל זָקֵן, יַחְשֹׁב מַחְשָׁבוֹת לְהַשִּׂיא בִּתּוֹ לְיִצְחָק כִּי יִתֵּן בַּטּוֹב עֵינוֹ. לָזֶה אָמַר לוֹ שִׂים נָא יָדְךָ וְגוֹ׳, נִתְחַכֵּם לְהַשְׁבִּיעוֹ בְּדֶרֶךְ כְּלָל עַל הַכְּנַעֲנִי, וְאָזְנָיו תִּשְׁמַעְנָה דָּבָר כִּי הַקּוֹל לוֹ קוֹל אֵלָיו שֶׁיְּבַטֵּל דַּעְתּוֹ, כִּי הוּא אָרוּר כְּנַעַן כְּפִי דִּבְרֵיהֶם זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה (בראשית רבה פנ״ט), וְיִצְחָק בָּרוּךְ.
1 ואברהם זקן, And Abraham was old, etc. Inasmuch as Abraham felt that he had aged and also in view of the fact that G'd had greatly blessed him, he worried that the servant who was in charge of all this wealth while his master was visibly aging would develop notions of marrying his daughter to Isaac. Eliezer might want to secure Abraham's wealth for himself through the marriage of his daughter to Abraham's son. This is the reason Abraham made Eliezer swear an oath concerning the fact that his son was not to marry someone of Canaanite descent. Eliezer would thus get the message that his daughter was not suitable marriage material for a son of Abraham who was blessed whereas the Canaanites were cursed (compare Bereshit Rabbah 59,9).