Genesis 24:4. Thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.
The bridegroom does not make choice of his bride; the parents negotiate this important business between themselves, and the young people are expected to acquiesce in the arrangement. In this instance Abraham sends a trusty servant hundreds of miles away to select for his son a wife whom he never saw. Hagar chose a wife for Ishmael (Gen. 21:21). Isaac gave command to Jacob on this important subject (Gen. 28:1). Judah selected a wife for Er (Gen. 38:6). Young men who chose wives for themselves without parental mediation usually afflicted their parents in so doing (Gen. 26:35; 27:46). The sons, however, had sometimes the privilege of suggesting their personal preferences to their parents. Thus Shechem did (Gen. 34:4) and also Samson (Judg. 14:2).