Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am weary of my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite1 women such as these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?"
Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, "You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women.2 Go at once to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel, your mother's father; and take as wife from there one of the daughters of Laban3, your mother's brother. May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and numerous, that you may become a company of peoples. May he give to you the blessing of Abraham4, to you and to your offspring with you, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien--land that God gave to Abraham."
Thus Isaac sent Jacob away; and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.
[1] The family is threatened unless they maintain racial purity.
[2] Issac makes the desire a command.
[3] He gives Jacob a means to obey the command.
[4] Issac explicitly passes the blessing of Abraham down to his son.
Take-home: The blessings of Abraham, of fertility and the promised land, are passed down another generation. But in order to maintain family unity, the promised land must be kept to and racial purity must be maintained.
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