Abraham's decisions

Johan

Hi - I have a question regarding Abraham.

He was called out out of a Pagan country, into Canaan a Pagan country.

Why do you think he insisted that only woman from he's own land would be acceptable for he's sons.

MJ. Smith

I would suggest that a broader question's results might be useful e.g. "In patriarchal times who were the potential spouses of a son i.e. what were the kinship constraints?" In an all smart search this yields:

In patriarchal times, kinship constraints for potential spouses were complex and culturally specific. The preferred marriage partner was typically a patrilateral cross-cousin, specifically a father’s brother’s daughter. Marriages were endogamous, meaning they occurred as close to the conjugal family as incest laws permitted, with cross-cousin marriages on the paternal side being considered ideal[1][2].

Marriages were fundamentally about fusing two extended families, with the honor of each family playing a key role. Marriage contracts were negotiated to ensure balanced reciprocity, and a bride-price was required to compensate for the loss of a family member. Interestingly, the strongest unit of loyalty was the descent group of siblings, rather than the marital relationship[2].

Anthropologists have noted that cross-cousin marriage was a common norm in many societies. The preference for such marriages was rooted in cultural kinship systems, where cross-cousins were considered ideal mates because they were outside one’s immediate lineage or clan, despite being closely related[3]. These kinship patterns were distinct to each cultural group and fundamentally different from modern Western family views, making an understanding of these social and cultural patterns crucial to interpreting biblical references to family[4].

[1] John J. Pilch, A Cultural Handbook to the Bible (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company: Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K., 2012), 124.
[2] Bruce J. Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh, Social-Science Commentary on the Gospel of John (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1998), 167.
[3] Robert A. Oden, “Jacob as Father, Husband, and Nephew: Kinship Studies and the Patriarchal Narratives,” Journal of Biblical Literature 102 (1983): 197–198.
[4] William Raccah, “Sociology and the Old Testament,” in The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

Note that the relevant issue is kinship not geography - the geography is simply the result of some of the extended family moving and some not.