By July 2, 2008 Read More →

Genesis 12-36

12 The Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.2) I will make of you a great nation, And I will bless you; I will make your name great, And you shall be a blessing.3) I will bless those who bless you. And curse him that curses you; And all the families of the earth. Shall bless themselves by you.”4 ) Abram went forth as the Lord had commanded him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5) Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the wealth that they had amassed, and the persons that they had acquired in Haran; and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in the land of Canaan, 6) Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, at the terebinth of Moreh. The Canaanites were then in the land.7) The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will assign this land to your heirs.” And he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. 8) From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and he built there an altar to the Lord and invoked the Lord by name. 9) Then Abram journeyed by stages toward the Negeb. 10) There was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11) As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are.” 12) If the Egyptians see you, and think, ‘She is his wife,’ they will kill me and let you live. 13) Please say that you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may remain alive thanks to you.”

14) When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw how very beautiful the woman was. 15) Pharaoh’s courtiers saw her and praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s palace. 16) And because of her, it went well with Abram; he acquired sheep, oxen, asses, male and female slaves, she-asses, and camels.

17) But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his household with mighty plagues on account of Sarai, the wife of Abram. 18) Pharaoh sent for Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me! Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19) Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now, here is your wife; take her and begone!” 20) And Pharaoh put men in charge of him, and they sent him off with his wife and all that he possessed.

13 From Egypt, Abram went up into the Negeb, with his wife and all that he possessed, together with Lot. 2) Now Abram was very rich in cattle, silver, and gold. 3) And he proceeded by stages from the Negeb as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been formerly, between Bethel and Ai, 4) the site of the altar that he had built there at first; and there Abram invoked the Lord by name.5) Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6) So that the land could not support them staying together; for their possessions were so great that they could not remain together. 7) And there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and those of Lot’s cattle.—The Canaanites and Perizzites were then dwelling in the land.—8) Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, between my herdsmen and yours, for we are kinsmen. 9) Is not the whole land before you? Let us separate- if you go north, I will go south; and if you go south, I will go north.” 10) Lot looked about him and saw how well watered was the whole plain of the Jordan, all of it—this was before the Lord had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—all the way to Zoar, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. 11) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they parted from each other; 12) Abram remained in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the Plain, pitching his tents near Sodom. 13) Now the inhabitants of Sodom were very wicked sinners against the Lord. 14) And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had parted from him, “Raise your eyes and look out from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west, 15) for I give all the land that you see to you and your offspring forever. 16) I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, then your offspring too can be counted. 17) Up, walk about the land, through its length and its breadth, for I give it to you.” 18) And Abram moved his tent, and came to dwell at the terebinths of Mamre, which are in Hebron; and he built an altar there to the Lord.

14 Now, when King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim 2) made war on King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar, 3) all the latter joined forces at the Valley of Siddim, now the Dead Sea. 4) Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5) In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim at Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim at Ham, the Emim at Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6and the Horites in their hill country of Seir as far as El-paran, which is by the wilderness. 7) On their way back they came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and subdued all the territory of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Hazazon-tamar. 8) Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar, went forth and engaged them in battle in the Valley of Siddim- 9) King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Shinar, and King Arioch of Ellasar—four kings against those five.

10) Now the Valley of Siddim was dotted with bitumen pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, in their flight, threw themselves into them, while the rest escaped to the hill country. 11) [The invaders] seized all the wealth of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their provisions, and went their way. 12) They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, and his possessions, and departed; for he had settled in Sodom.13) A fugitive brought the news to Abram the Hebrew, who was dwelling at the terebinths of Mamre the Amorite, kinsman of Eshkol and Aner, these being Abram’s allies. 14) When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he mustered his retainers, born into his household, numbering three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15) At night, he and his servants deployed against them and defeated them; and he pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. 16) He brought back all the possessions; he also brought back his kinsman Lot and his possessions, and the women and the rest of the people. 17) When he returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh, which is the Valley of the King. 18) And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High. 19) He blessed him, saying, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20) And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your foes into your hand.” And [Abram] gave him a tenth of everything.

21) Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the possessions for yourself.” 22) But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I swear to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth- 23) I will not take so much as a thread or a sandal strap of what is yours; you shall not say, ‘It is I who made Abram rich.’ 24) For me, nothing but what my servants have used up; as for the share of the men who went with me—Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre—let them take their share.”

15 Some time later, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. He said, “Fear not, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.”2) But Abram said, “O Lord God, what can You give me, seeing that I shall die childless, and the one in charge of my household is Dammesek Eliezer!” 3) Abram said further, “Since You have granted me no offspring, my steward will be my heir.” 4) The word of the Lord came to him in reply, “That one shall not be your heir; none but your very own issue shall be your heir.” 5) He took him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He added, “So shall your offspring be.” 6) And because he put his trust in the Lord, He reckoned it to his merit. 7) Then He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to assign this land to you as a possession.” 8 )And he said, “O Lord God, how shall I know that I am to possess it?” 9) He answered, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young bird.” 10) He brought Him all these and cut them in two, placing each half opposite the other; but he did not cut up the bird. 11)Birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. 12) As the sun was about to set, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a great dark dread descended upon him. 13) And He said to Abram, “Know well that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years; 14) but I will execute judgment on the nation they shall serve, and in the end they shall go free with great wealth. 15) As for you, You shall go to your fathers in peace; You shall be buried at a ripe old age. 16) And they shall return here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”17) When the sun set and it was very dark, there appeared a smoking oven, and a flaming torch which passed between those pieces. 18) On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I assign this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates- 19) the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20) the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21) the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

16 Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. 2) And Sarai said to Abram, “Look, the Lord has kept me from bearing. Consort with my maid; perhaps I shall have a son through her.” And Abram heeded Sarai’s request. 3) So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took her maid, Hagar the Egyptian—after Abram had dwelt in the land of Canaan ten years—and gave her to her husband Abram as concubine. 4) He cohabited with Hagar and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was lowered in her esteem. 5) And Sarai said to Abram, “The wrong done me is your fault! I myself put my maid in your bosom; now that she sees that she is pregnant, I am lowered in her esteem. The Lord decide between you and me!” 6) Abram said to Sarai, “Your maid is in your hands. Deal with her as you think right.” Then Sarai treated her harshly, and she ran away from her.

7) An angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the road to Shur, 8) and said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” And she said, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.”

9) And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Go back to your mistress, and submit to her harsh treatment.” 10) And the angel of the Lord said to her, “I will greatly increase your offspring, And they shall be too many to count.” 11)The angel of the Lord said to her further,“Behold, you are with child. And shall bear a son; You shall call him Ishmael, For the Lord has paid heed to your suffering.12)He shall be a wild ass of a man; His hand against everyone, And everyone’s hand against him; He shall dwell alongside of all his kinsmen.”13) And she called the Lord who spoke to her, “You Are El-roi,” by which she meant, “Have I not gone on seeing after He saw me!” 14) Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it is between Kadesh and Bered.—15) Hagar bore a son to Abram, and Abram gave the son that Hagar bore him the name Ishmael. 16) Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Walk in My ways and be blameless. 2) I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will make you exceedingly numerous.”3) Abram threw himself on his face; and God spoke to him further, 4)“As for Me, this is My covenant with you- You shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5) And you shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I make you the father of a multitude of nations. 6) I will make you exceedingly fertile, and make nations of you; and kings shall come forth from you. 7) I will maintain My covenant between Me and you, and your offspring to come, as an everlasting covenant throughout the ages, to be God to you and to your offspring to come. 8) I assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting holding. I will be their God.”

9) God further said to Abraham, “As for you, you and your offspring to come throughout the ages shall keep My covenant. 10) Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and your offspring to follow which you shall keep- every male among you shall be circumcised. 11) You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12) And throughout the generations, every male among you shall be circumcised at the age of eight days. As for the homeborn slave and the one bought from an outsider who is not of your offspring, 13) they must be circumcised, homeborn, and purchased alike. Thus shall My covenant be marked in your flesh as an everlasting pact. 14) And if any male who is uncircumcised fails to circumcise the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his kin; he has broken My covenant.”

15And God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, you shall not call her Sarai, but her name shall be Sarah. 16I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she shall give rise to nations; rulers of peoples shall issue from her.” 17) Abraham threw himself on his face and laughed, as he said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old, or can Sarah bear a child at ninety?” 18) And Abraham said to God, “O that Ishmael might live by Your favor!” 19) God said, “Nevertheless, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac; and I will maintain My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring to come. 20) As for Ishmael, I have heeded you. I hereby bless him. I will make him fertile and exceedingly numerous. He shall be the father of twelve chieftains, and I will make of him a great nation. 21) But My covenant I will maintain with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year.” 22) And when He was done speaking with him, God was gone from Abraham.

23) Then Abraham took his son Ishmael, and all his homeborn slaves and all those he had bought, every male in Abraham’s household, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins on that very day, as God had spoken to him. 24) Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, 25) and his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26) Thus Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on that very day; 27) and all his household, his homeborn slaves and those that had been bought from outsiders, were circumcised with him.

18 The Lord appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre; he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot. 2) Looking up, he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them and, bowing to the ground, 3) he said, “My lords, if it please you, do not go on past your servant. 4) Let a little water be brought; bathe your feet and recline under the tree. 5And let me fetch a morsel of bread that you may refresh yourselves; then go on—seeing that you have come your servant’s way.” They replied, “Do as you have said.”

Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quick, three seahs of choice flour! Knead and make cakes!” 7) Then Abraham ran to the herd, took a calf, tender and choice, and gave it to a servant-boy, who hastened to prepare it. 8) He took curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared and set these before them; and he waited on them under the tree as they ate.

9) They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he replied, “There, in the tent.” 10) Then one said, “I will return to you next year, and your wife Sarah shall have a son!” Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind him. 11) Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years; Sarah had stopped having the periods of women. 12) And Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “Now that I am withered, am I to have enjoyment—with my husband so old?” 13) Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I in truth bear a child, old as I am?’ 14) Is anything too wondrous for the Lord? I will return to you at the time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15) Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was frightened. But He replied, “You did laugh.”

16) The men set out from there and looked down toward Sodom, Abraham walking with them to see them off. 17) Now Lord had said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18) since Abraham is to become a great and populous nation and all the nations of the earth are to bless themselves by him? 19) For I have singled him out, that he may instruct his children and his posterity to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is just and right, in order that the Lord may bring about for Abraham what He has promised him.” 20) Then the Lord said, “The outrage of Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave! 21) I will go down to see whether they have acted altogether according to the outcry that has reached Me; if not, I will take note.”

22) The men went on from there to Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 23) Abraham came forward and said, “Will You sweep away the innocent along with the guilty? 24) What if there should be fifty innocent within the city; will You then wipe out the place and not forgive it for the sake of the innocent fifty who are in it? 25) Far be it from You to do such a thing, to bring death upon the innocent as well as the guilty, so that innocent and guilty fare alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” 26) And the Lord answered, “If I find within the city of Sodom fifty innocent ones, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” 27Abraham spoke up, saying, “Here I venture to speak to my Lord, I who am but dust and ashes- 28) What if the fifty innocent should lack five? Will You destroy the whole city for want of the five?” And He answered, “I will not destroy if I find forty-five there.” 29) But he spoke to Him again, and said, “What if forty should be found there?” And He answered, “I will not do it, for the sake of the forty.” 30) And he said, “Let not my Lord be angry if I go on- What if thirty should be found there?” And He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31) And he said, “I venture again to speak to my Lord- What if twenty should be found there?” And He answered, “I will not destroy, for the sake of the twenty.” 32) And he said, “Let not my Lord be angry if I speak but this last time- What if ten should be found there?” And He answered, “I will not destroy, for the sake of the ten.” 33) When the Lord had finished speaking to Abraham, He departed; and Abraham returned to his place.

19 The two angels arrived in Sodom in the evening, as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to greet them and, bowing low with his face to the ground, 2) he said, “Please, my lords, turn aside to your servant’s house to spend the night, and bathe your feet; then you may be on your way early.” But they said, “No, we will spend the night in the square.” 3) But he urged them strongly, so they turned his way and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4)They had not yet lain down, when the towns people, the men of Sodom, young and old—all the people to the last man—gathered about the house. 5) And they shouted to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may be intimate with them.” 6)So Lot went out to them to the entrance, shut the door behind him, 7) and said, “I beg you, my friends, do not comit such a wrong. 8) Look, I have two daughters who have not known a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you please; but do not do anything to these men, since they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9) But they said, “Stand back! The fellow,” they said, “came here as an alien, and already he acts the ruler! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” And they pressed hard against the person of Lot, and moved forward to break the door. 10) But the men stretched out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11) And the people who were at the entrance of the house, young and old, they struck with blinding light, so that they were helpless to find the entrance.

12) Then the men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? Sons-in-law, your sons and daughters, or anyone else that you have in the city—bring them out of the place. 13) For we are about to destroy this place; because the outcry against them before the Lord has become so great that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14) So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Up, get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law as one who jests.

15) As dawn broke, the angels urged Lot on, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two remaining daughters, lest you be swept away because of the iniquity of the city.” 16) Still he delayed. So the men seized his hand, and the hands of his wife and his two daughters—in the Lord‘s mercy on him—and brought him out and left him outside the city. 17) When they had brought them outside, one said, “Flee for your life! Do not look behind you, nor stop anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills, lest you be swept away.” 18) But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lord! 19) You have been so gracious to your servant, and have already shown me so much kindness in order to save my life; but I cannot flee to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20) Look, that town there is near enough to flee to; it is such a little place! Let me flee there—it is such a little place—and let my life be saved.” 21) He replied, “Very well, I will grant you this favor too, and I will not annihilate the town of which you have spoken. 22) Hurry, flee there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Hence the town came to be called Zoar.

23) As the sun rose upon the earth and Lot entered Zoar, 24) the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulfurous fire from the Lord out of heaven. 25) He annihilated those cities and the entire Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation of the ground. 26) Lot’s wife looked back, and she thereupon turned into a pillar of salt.

27) Next morning, Abraham hurried to the place where he had stood before the Lord, 28) and, looking down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the Plain, he saw the smoke of the land rising like the smoke of a kiln.

29) Thus it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain and annihilated the cities where Lot dwelt, God was mindful of Abraham and removed Lot from the midst of the upheaval.

30) Lot went up from Zoar and settled in the hill country with his two daughters, for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar; and he and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31) And the older one said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to consort with us in the way of all the world. 32) Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him, that we may maintain life through our father.” 33) That night they made their father drink wine, and the older one went in and lay with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she rose. 34) The next day the older one said to the younger, “See, I lay with Father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go and lie with him, that we may maintain life through our father.” 35) That night also they made their father drink wine, and the younger one went and lay with him; he did not know when she lay down or when she rose.

36) Thus the two daughters of Lot came to be with child by their father. 37) The older one bore a son and named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38) And the younger also bore a son, and she called him Ben-ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.

20 Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negeb and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was sojourning in Gerar, 2) Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him. 3) But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “You are to die because of the woman that you have taken, for she is a married woman.” 4) Now Abimelech had not approached her. He said, “O Lord, will You slay people even though innocent? 5) He himself said to me, ‘She is my sister!’ And she also said, ‘He is my brother.’ When I did this, my heart was blameless and my hands were clean.” 6) And God said to him in the dream, “I knew that you did this with a blameless heart, and so I kept you from sinning against Me. That was why I did not let you touch her. 7) Therefore, restore the man’s wife—since he is a prophet, he will intercede for you—to save your life. If you fail to restore her, know that you shall die, you and all that are yours.”

8) Early next morning, Abimelech called his servants and told them all that had happened; and the men were greatly frightened. 9) Then Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What wrong have I done that you should bring so great a guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done to me things that ought not to be done. 10) What, then,” Abimelech demanded of Abraham, “was your purpose in doing this thing?” 11) “I thought,” said Abraham, “surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. 12) And besides, she is in truth my sister, my father’s daughter though not my mother’s; and she became my wife. 13) So when God made me wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘Let this be the kindness that you shall do me- whatever place we come to, say there of me- He is my brother.’”

14) Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male and female slaves, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored his wife Sarah to him. 15) And Abimelech said, “Here, my land is before you; settle wherever you please.” 16) And to Sarah he said, “I herewith give your brother a thousand pieces of silver; this will serve you as vindication before all who are with you, and you are cleared before everyone.” 17) Abraham then prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his slave girls, so that they bore children; 18) for the Lord had closed fast every womb of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, the wife of Abraham.

21 The Lord took note of Sarah as He had promised, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2) Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken. 3) Abraham gave his newborn son, whom Sarah had borne him, the name of Isaac. 4) And when his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him. 5) Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6) Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” 7) And she added,

“Who would have said to Abraham

That Sarah would suckle children!

Yet I have borne a son in his old age.”

8The child grew up and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

9Sarah saw the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham playing. 10She said to Abraham, “Cast out that slave-woman and her son, for the son of that slave shall not share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.” 11The matter distressed Abraham greatly, for it concerned a son of his. 12But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed over the boy or your slave; whatever Sarah tells you, do as she says, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be continued for you. 13As for the son of the slave-woman, I will make a nation of him, too, for he is your seed.”

14Early next morning Abraham took some bread and a skin of water, and gave them to Hagar. He placed them over her shoulder, together with the child, and sent her away. And she wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. 15When the water was gone from the skin, she left the child under one of the bushes, 16and went and sat down at a distance, a bowshot away; for she thought, “Let me not look on as the child dies.” And sitting thus afar, she burst into tears.

17God heard the cry of the boy, and an angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heeded the cry of the boy where he is. 18Come, lift up the boy and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” 19Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water, and let the boy drink. 20God was with the boy and he grew up; he dwelt in the wilderness and became a bowman. 21He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

22At that time Abimelech and Phicol, chief of his troops, said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything that you do. 23Therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my kith and kin, but will deal with me and with the land in which you have sojourned as loyally as I have dealt with you.” 24And Abraham said, “I swear it.”

25Then Abraham reproached Abimelech for the well of water which the servants of Abimelech had seized. 26But Abimelech said, “I do not know who did this; you did not tell me, nor have I heard of it until today.” 27Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a pact. 28Abraham then set seven ewes of the flock by themselves, 29and Abimelech said to Abraham, “What mean these seven ewes which you have set apart?” 30He replied, “You are to accept these seven ewes from me as proof that I dug this well.” 31Hence that place was called Beer-sheba, for there the two of them swore an oath. 32When they had concluded the pact at Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol, chief of his troops, departed and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33[Abraham] planted a tamarisk at Beer-sheba, and invoked there the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God. 34And Abraham resided in the land of the Philistines a long time.

22Some time afterward, God put Abraham to the test. He said to him, “Abraham,” and he answered, “Here I am.” 2And He said, “Take your son, your favored one, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you.” 3So early next morning, Abraham saddled his ass and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for the burnt offering, and he set out for the place of which God had told him. 4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place from afar. 5Then Abraham said to his servants, “You stay here with the ass. The boy and I will go up there; we will worship and we will return to you.”

6Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. He himself took the firestone and the knife; and the two walked off together. 7Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he answered, “Yes, my son.” And he said, “Here are the firestone and the wood; but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8And Abraham said, “God will see to the sheep for His burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them walked on together.

9They arrived at the place of which God had told him. Abraham built an altar there; he laid out the wood; he bound his son Isaac; he laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10And Abraham picked up the knife to slay his son. 11Then an angel of the Lord called to him from heaven- “Abraham! Abraham!” And he answered, “Here I am.” 12And he said, “Do not raise your hand against the boy, or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your favored one, from Me.” 13When Abraham looked up, his eye fell upon a ram, caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14And Abraham named that site Adonai-yireh, whence the present saying, “On the mount of the Lord there is vision.”

15The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16and said, “By Myself I swear, the Lord declares- Because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your favored one, 17I will bestow My blessing upon you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore; and your descendants shall seize the gates of their foes. 18All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, because you have obeyed My command.” 19Abraham then returned to his servants, and they departed together for Beer-sheba; and Abraham stayed in Beer-sheba.

20Some time later, Abraham was told, “Milcah too has borne children to your brother Nahor- 21Uz the first-born, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram; 22and Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel”—23Bethuel being the father of Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore children- Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

23Sarah’s lifetime—the span of Sarah’s life—came to one hundred and twenty-seven years. 2Sarah died in Kiriath-arba—now Hebron—in the land of Canaan; and Abraham proceeded to mourn for Sarah and to bewail her. 3Then Abraham rose from beside his dead, and spoke to the Hittites, saying, 4“I am a resident alien among you; sell me a burial site among you, that I may remove my dead for burial.” 5And the Hittites replied to Abraham, saying to him, 6“Hear us, my lord- you are the elect of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places; none of us will withhold his burial place from you for burying your dead.” 7Thereupon Abraham bowed low to the people of the land, the Hittites, 8and he said to them, “If it is your wish that I remove my dead for burial, you must agree to intercede for me with Ephron son of Zohar. 9Let him sell me the cave of Machpelah that he owns, which is at the edge of his land. Let him sell it to me, at the full price, for a burial site in your midst.”

10Ephron was present among the Hittites; so Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, all who entered the gate of his town, saying, 11“No, my lord, hear me- I give you the field and I give you the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.” 12Then Abraham bowed low before the people of the land, 13and spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If only you would hear me out! Let me pay the price of the land; accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there.” 14And Ephron replied to Abraham, saying to him, 15“My lord, do hear me! A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver—what is that between you and me? Go and bury your dead.” 16Abraham accepted Ephron’s terms. Abraham paid out to Ephron the money that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites—four hundred shekels of silver at the going merchants’ rate.

17So Ephron’s land in Machpelah, near Mamre—the field with its cave and all the trees anywhere within the confines of that field—passed 18to Abraham as his possession, in the presence of the Hittites, of all who entered the gate of his town. 19And then Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre—now Hebron—in the land of Canaan. 20Thus the field with its cave passed from the Hittites to Abraham, as a burial site.

24 Abraham was now old, advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2And Abraham said to the senior servant of his household, who had charge of all that he owned, “Put your hand under my thigh 3and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell, 4but will go to the land of my birth and get a wife for my son Isaac.” 5And the servant said to him, “What if the woman does not consent to follow me to this land, shall I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” 6Abraham answered him, “On no account must you take my son back there! 7The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from my native land, who promised me on oath, saying, ‘I will assign this land to your offspring’—He will send His angel before you, and you will get a wife for my son from there. 8And if the woman does not consent to follow you, you shall then be clear of this oath to me; but do not take my son back there.” 9So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore to him as bidden.

10Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and set out, taking with him all the bounty of his master; and he made his way to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor. 11He made the camels kneel down by the well outside the city, at evening time, the time when women come out to draw water. 12And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, grant me good fortune this day, and deal graciously with my master Abraham- 13Here I stand by the spring as the daughters of the townsmen come out to draw water; 14let the maiden to whom I say, ‘Please, lower your jar that I may drink,’ and who replies, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels’—let her be the one whom You have decreed for Your servant Isaac. Thereby shall I know that You have dealt graciously with my master.”

15He had scarcely finished speaking, when Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. 16The maiden was very beautiful, a virgin whom no man had known. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. 17The servant ran toward her and said, “Please, let me sip a little water from your jar.” 18“Drink, my lord,” she said, and she quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and let him drink. 19When she had let him drink his fill, she said, “I will also draw for your camels, until they finish drinking.” 20Quickly emptying her jar into the trough, she ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels.

21The man, meanwhile, stood gazing at her, silently wondering whether the Lord had made his errand successful or not. 22When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose-ring weighing a half-shekel, and two gold bands for her arms, ten shekels in weight. 23“Pray tell me,” he said, “whose daughter are you? Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24She replied, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25And she went on, “There is plenty of straw and feed at home, and also room to spend the night.” 26The man bowed low in homage to the Lord 27and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His steadfast faithfulness from my master. For I have been guided on my errand by the Lord, to the house of my master’s kinsmen.”

28The maiden ran and told all this to her mother’s household. 29Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out to the man at the spring—30when he saw the nose-ring and the bands on his sister’s arms, and when he heard his sister Rebekah say, “Thus the man spoke to me.” He went up to the man, who was still standing beside the camels at the spring. 31“Come in, O blessed of the Lord,” he said, “why do you remain outside, when I have made ready the house and a place for the camels?” 32So the man entered the house, and the camels were unloaded. The camels were given straw and feed, and water was brought to bathe his feet and the feet of the men with him. 33But when food was set before him, he said, “I will not eat until I have told my tale.” He said, “Speak, then.”

34“I am Abraham’s servant,” he began. 35“The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich- He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and asses. 36And Sarah, my master’s wife, bore my master a son in her old age, and he has assigned to him everything he owns. 37Now my master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell; 38but you shall go to my father’s house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.’ 39And I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not follow me?’ 40He replied to me, ‘The Lord, whose ways I have followed, will send His angel with you and make your errand successful; and you will get a wife for my son from my kindred, from my father’s house. 41Thus only shall you be freed from my adjuration- if, when you come to my kindred, they refuse you—only then shall you be freed from my adjuration.’

42“I came today to the spring, and I said- O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if You would indeed grant success to the errand on which I am engaged! 43As I stand by the spring of water, let the young woman who comes out to draw and to whom I say, ‘Please, let me drink a little water from your jar,’ 44and who answers, ‘You may drink, and I will also draw for your camels’—let her be the wife whom the Lord has decreed for my master’s son.’ 45I had scarcely finished praying in my heart, when Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder, and went down to the spring and drew. And I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 46She quickly lowered her jar and said, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels. 47I inquired of her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.’ And I put the ring on her nose and the bands on her arms. 48Then I bowed low in homage to the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right way to get the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49And now, if you mean to treat my master with true kindness, tell me; and if not, tell me also, that I may turn right or left.”

50Then Laban and Bethuel answered, “The matter was decreed by the Lord; we cannot speak to you bad or good. 51Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be a wife to your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.” 52When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed low to the ground before the Lord. 53The servant brought out objects of silver and gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; and he gave presents to her brother and her mother. 54Then he and the men with him ate and drank, and they spent the night. When they arose next morning, he said, “Give me leave to go to my master.” 55But her brother and her mother said, “Let the maiden remain with us some ten days; then you may go.” 56He said to them, “Do not delay me, now that the Lord has made my errand successful. Give me leave that I may go to my master.” 57And they said, “Let us call the girl and ask for her reply.” 58They called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will.” 59So they sent off their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

“O sister!

May you grow

Into thousands of myriads;

May your offspring seize

The gates of their foes.”

61Then Rebekah and her maids arose, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went his way.

62Isaac had just come back from the vicinity of Beer-lahai-roi, for he was settled in the region of the Negeb. 63And Isaac went out walking in the field toward evening and, looking up, he saw camels approaching. 64Raising her eyes, Rebekah saw Isaac. She alighted from the camel 65and said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” And the servant said, “That is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. 66The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67Isaac then brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he took Rebekah as his wife. Isaac loved her, and thus found comfort after his mother’s death.

25Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurim, the Letushim, and the Leummim. 4The descendants of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Enoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah. 5Abraham willed all that he owned to Isaac; 6but to Abraham’s sons by concubines Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and he sent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the East.

7This was the total span of Abraham’s life- one hundred and seventy-five years. 8And Abraham breathed his last, dying at a good ripe age, old and contented; and he was gathered to his kin. 9His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre, 10the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites; there Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife. 11After the death of Abraham, God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac settled near Beer-lahai-roi.

12This is the line of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave, bore to Abraham. 13These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, in the order of their birth- Nebaioth, the first-born of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedmah. 16These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names by their villages and by their encampments- twelve chieftains of as many tribes.—17These were the years of the life of Ishmael- one hundred and thirty-seven years; then he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his kin.—18They dwelt from Havilah, by Shur, which is close to Egypt, all the way to Asshur; they camped alongside all their kinsmen.

19This is the story of Isaac, son of Abraham. Abraham begot Isaac. 20Isaac was forty years old when he took to wife Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. 21Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord responded to his plea, and his wife Rebekah conceived. 22But the children struggled in her womb, and she said, “If so, why do I exist?” She went to inquire of the Lord, 23and the Lord answered her,

“Two nations are in your womb,

Two separate peoples shall issue from your body;

One people shall be mightier than the other,

And the older shall serve the younger.”

24When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. 25The first one emerged red, like a hairy mantle all over; so they named him Esau. 26Then his brother emerged, holding on to the heel of Esau; so they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.
27When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the outdoors; but Jacob was a mild man who stayed in camp. 28Isaac favored Esau because he had a taste for game; but Rebekah favored Jacob. 29Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the open, famished. 30And Esau said to Jacob, “Give me some of that red stuff to gulp down, for I am famished”—which is why he was named Edom. 31Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” 32And Esau said, “I am at the point of death, so of what use is my birthright to me?” 33But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34Jacob then gave Esau bread and lentil stew; he ate and drank, and he rose and went away. Thus did Esau spurn the birthright.

26There was a famine in the land—aside from the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham—and Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar. 2The Lord had appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land which I point out to you. 3Reside in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; I will assign all these lands to you and to your heirs, fulfilling the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. 4I will make your heirs as numerous as the stars of heaven, and assign to your heirs all these lands, so that all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your heirs—5inasmuch as Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge- My commandments, My laws, and My teachings.”

6So Isaac stayed in Gerar. 7When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say “my wife,” thinking, “The men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is beautiful.” 8When some time had passed, Abimelech king of the Philistines, looking out of the window, saw Isaac fondling his wife Rebekah. 9Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is your wife! Why then did you say- ‘She is my sister?”‘ Isaac said to him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.” 10Abimelech said, “What have you done to us! One of the people might have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11Abimelech then charged all the people, saying, “Anyone who molests this man or his wife shall be put to death.”

12Isaac sowed in that land and reaped a hundredfold the same year. The Lord blessed him, 13and the man grew richer and richer until he was very wealthy- 14he acquired flocks and herds, and a large household, so that the Philistines envied him. 15And the Philistines stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham, filling them with earth. 16And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you have become far too big for us.”

17So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the wadi of Gerar, where he settled. 18Isaac dug anew the wells which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham and which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham’s death; and he gave them the same names that his father had given them. 19But when Isaac’s servants, digging in the wadi, found there a well of spring water, 20the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” He named that well Esek, because they contended with him. 21And when they dug another well, they disputed over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. 22He moved from there and dug yet another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he called it Rehoboth, saying, “Now at last the Lord has granted us ample space to increase in the land.”

23From there he went up to Beer-sheba. 24That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Fear not, for I am with you, and I will bless you and increase your offspring for the sake of My servant Abraham.” 25So he built an altar there and invoked the Lord by name. Isaac pitched his tent there and his servants started digging a well. 26And Abimelech came to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his councilor and Phicol chief of his troops. 27Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you have been hostile to me and have driven me away from you?” 28And they said, “We now see plainly that the Lord has been with you, and we thought- Let there be a sworn treaty between our two parties, between you and us. Let us make a pact with you 29that you will not do us harm, just as we have not molested you but have always dealt kindly with you and sent you away in peace. From now on, be you blessed of the Lord!” 30Then he made for them a feast, and they ate and drank.

31Early in the morning, they exchanged oaths. Isaac then bade them farewell, and they departed from him in peace. 32That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water!” 33He named it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day.

34When Esau was forty years old, he took to wife Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite; 35and they were a source of bitterness to Isaac and Rebekah.

27When Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” He answered, “Here I am.” 2And he said, “I am old now, and I do not know how soon I may die. 3Take your gear, your quiver and bow, and go out into the open and hunt me some game. 4Then prepare a dish for me such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my innermost blessing before I die.”

5Rebekah had been listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau had gone out into the open to hunt game to bring home, 6Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I overheard your father speaking to your brother Esau, saying, 7‘Bring me some game and prepare a dish for me to eat, that I may bless you, with the Lord‘s approval, before I die.’ 8Now, my son, listen carefully as I instruct you. 9Go to the flock and fetch me two choice kids, and I will make of them a dish for your father, such as he likes. 10Then take it to your father to eat, in order that he may bless you before he dies.” 11Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man and I am smooth-skinned. 12If my father touches me, I shall appear to him as a trickster and bring upon myself a curse, not a blessing.” 13But his mother said to him, “Your curse, my son, be upon me! Just do as I say and go fetch them for me.”

14He got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared a dish such as his father liked. 15Rebekah then took the best clothes of her older son Esau, which were there in the house, and had her younger son Jacob put them on; 16and she covered his hands and the hairless part of his neck with the skins of the kids. 17Then she put in the hands of her son Jacob the dish and the bread that she had prepared.

18He went to his father and said, “Father.” And he said, “Yes, which of my sons are you?” 19Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your first-born; I have done as you told me. Pray sit up and eat of my game, that you may give me your innermost blessing.” 20Isaac said to his son, “How did you succeed so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lord your God granted me good fortune.” 21Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer that I may feel you, my son—whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22So Jacob drew close to his father Isaac, who felt him and wondered. “The voice is the voice of Jacob, yet the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; and so he blessed him.

24He asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” And when he said, “I am,” 25he said, “Serve me and let me eat of my son’s game that I may give you my innermost blessing.” So he served him and he ate, and he brought him wine and he drank. 26Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come close and kiss me, my son”; 27and he went up and kissed him. And he smelled his clothes and he blessed him, saying, “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of the fields that the Lord has blessed.

28“May God give you

Of the dew of heaven and the fat of the earth,

Abundance of new grain and wine.

29Let peoples serve you,

And nations bow to you;

Be master over your brothers,

And let your mother’s sons bow to you.

Cursed be they who curse you,

Blessed they who bless you.”

30No sooner had Jacob left the presence of his father Isaac—after Isaac had finished blessing Jacob—than his brother Esau came back from his hunt. 31He too prepared a dish and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father sit up and eat of his son’s game, so that you may give me your innermost blessing.” 32His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” And he said, “I am your son, Esau, your first-born!” 33Isaac was seized with very violent trembling. “Who was it then,” he demanded, “that hunted game and brought it to me? Moreover, I ate of it before you came, and I blessed him; now he must remain blessed!” 34When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst into wild and bitter sobbing, and said to his father, “Bless me too, Father!” 35But he answered, “Your brother came with guile and took away your blessing.” 36[Esau] said, “Was he, then, named Jacob that he might supplant me these two times? First he took away my birthright and now he has taken away my blessing!” And he added, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37Isaac answered, saying to Esau, “But I have made him master over you- I have given him all his brothers for servants, and sustained him with grain and wine. What, then, can I still do for you, my son?” 38And Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, Father? Bless me too, Father!” And Esau wept aloud. 39And his father Isaac answered, saying to him,

“See, your abode shall enjoy the fat of the earth

And the dew of heaven above.

40Yet by your sword you shall live,

And you shall serve your brother;

But when you grow restive,

You shall break his yoke from your neck.”

41Now Esau harbored a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing which his father had given him, and Esau said to himself, “Let but the mourning period of my father come, and I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. 43Now, my son, listen to me. Flee at once to Haran, to my brother Laban. 44Stay with him a while, until your brother’s fury subsides—45until your brother’s anger against you subsides—and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will fetch you from there. Let me not lose you both in one day!”

46Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am disgusted with my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries a Hittite woman like these, from among the native women, what good will life be to me?”

28So Isaac sent for Jacob and blessed him. He instructed him, saying, “You shall not take a wife from among the Canaanite women. 2Up, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and take a wife there from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother, 3May El Shaddai bless you, make you fertile and numerous, so that you become an assembly of peoples. 4May He grant the blessing of Abraham to you and your offspring, that you may possess the land where you are sojourning, which God assigned to Abraham.”

5Then Isaac sent Jacob off, and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, mother of Jacob and Esau.

6When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, charging him, as he blessed him, “You shall not take a wife from among the Canaanite women,” 7and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and gone to Paddan-aram, 8Esau realized that the Canaanite women displeased his father Isaac. 9So Esau went to Ishmael and took to wife, in addition to the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, sister of Nebaioth.

10Jacob left Beer-sheba, and set out for Haran. 11He came upon a certain place and stopped there for the night, for the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of that place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12He had a dream; a stairway was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky, and angels of God were going up and down on it. 13And the Lord was standing beside him and He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac- the ground on which you are lying I will assign to you and to your offspring. 14Your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you and your descendants. 15Remember, I am with you- I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

16Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is present in this place, and I did not know it!” 17Shaken, he said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven.” 18Early in the morning, Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19He named that site Bethel; but previously the name of the city had been Luz.
20Jacob then made a vow, saying, “If God remains with me, if He protects me on this journey that I am making, and gives me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21and if I return safe to my father’s house—the Lord shall be my God. 22And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, shall be God’s abode; and of all that You give me, I will set aside a tithe for You.”

29Jacob resumed his journey and came to the land of the Easterners. 2There before his eyes was a well in the open. Three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for the flocks were watered from that well. The stone on the mouth of the well was large. 3When all the flocks were gathered there, the stone would be rolled from the mouth of the well and the sheep watered; then the stone would be put back in its place on the mouth of the well.

4Jacob said to them, “My friends, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.” 5He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “Yes, we do.” 6He continued, “Is he well?” They answered, “Yes, he is; and there is his daughter Rachel, coming with the flock.” 7He said, “It is still broad daylight, too early to round up the animals; water the flock and take them to pasture.” 8But they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are rounded up; then the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well and we water the sheep.”

9While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s flock; for she was a shepherdess. 10And when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, and the flock of his uncle Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well, and watered the flock of his uncle Laban. 11Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and broke into tears. 12Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman, that he was Rebekah’s son; and she ran and told her father. 13On hearing the news of his sister’s son Jacob, Laban ran to greet him; he embraced him and kissed him, and took him into his house. He told Laban all that had happened, 14and Laban said to him, “You are truly my bone and flesh.”

When he had stayed with him a month’s time, 15Laban said to Jacob, “Just because you are a kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing?

Comments are closed.