So the servant put his hand under the thigh: So introduces a consequence. The servant’s fears are set aside, and therefore he agrees to take the oath. Put his hand … thigh should be rendered here as it was in Gen 24.2.

Abraham his master: master should be rendered by a term that a servant would use to refer to his master, owner, or chief. In languages in which the servant-master relationship does not exist, we may need to say, for example, “Abraham, who was the one he worked for.” In some languages this is “Abraham, his big boss.”

Swore to him concerning this matter: for swore see Gen 24.3. Concerning this matter is the narrator’s way of referring to the details of verses 3-8. Some translations say simply “to do as he said.” However, in some languages it may be necessary to say “swore to him to do what Abraham had demanded,” or as Bible en français courant says, “swore to carry out his orders.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .