Genesis 23-26
Darby Translation
23 And the life of Sarah was a hundred and twenty-seven years: [these were] the years of the life of Sarah.
2 And Sarah died in Kirjath-Arba: that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
3 And Abraham rose up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,
4 I am a stranger and a sojourner with you; give me a possession of a sepulchre with you, that I may bury my dead from before me.
5 And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him,
6 Hear us, my lord: thou art a prince of God among us: in the choicest of our sepulchres bury thy dead: none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre for burying thy dead.
7 And Abraham rose up, and bowed down to the people of the land, to the sons of Heth,
8 and spoke to them, saying, If it be your will that I should bury my dead from before me, hear me, and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar,
9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which is his, which is at the end of his field; for the full money let him give it to me amongst you for a possession of a sepulchre.
10 And Ephron was dwelling among the sons of Heth. And Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham, in the ears of the sons of Heth, [even] of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,
11 No, my lord: hear me. The field give I thee; and the cave that is in it, to thee I give it; before the eyes of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.
12 And Abraham bowed down before the people of the land;
13 and he spoke to Ephron, in the ears of the people of the land, saying, But if only thou wouldst listen to me, I give the money for the field: take [it] of me, and I will bury my dead there.
14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,
15 My lord, hearken to me. A field of four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.
16 And Abraham hearkened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the money that he had named in the ears of the sons of Heth—four hundred shekels of silver, current with the merchant.
17 So the field of Ephron, which was at Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all its borders round about,
18 were assured to Abraham for a possession before the eyes of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.
19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field at Machpelah, opposite to Mamre: that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan.
20 And the field and the cave that was in it were assured to Abraham for a possession of a sepulchre by the sons of Heth.
24 And Abraham was old, [and] advanced in age; and Jehovah had blessed Abraham in all things.
2 And Abraham said to his servant, the eldest of his house, who ruled over all that he had, Put thy hand, I pray thee, under my thigh,
3 and I will make thee swear by Jehovah, the God of the heavens and the God of the earth, that thou take not a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am dwelling;
4 but thou shalt go to my land and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.
5 And the servant said to him, Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land: must I, then, bring thy son again in any case to the land from which thou hast removed?
6 And Abraham said to him, Beware that thou bring not my son thither again.
7 Jehovah the God of the heavens, who took me out of my father's house, and out of the land of my nativity, and who has spoken to me, and who has sworn to me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land—he will send his angel before thee, that thou mayest take a wife for my son thence.
8 And if the woman be not willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be quit of this my oath: only, bring not my son thither again.
9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore unto him concerning that matter.
10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; now all the treasure of his master was under his hand; and he arose and went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor.
11 And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water, at the time of the evening, when the women came out to draw [water].
12 And he said, Jehovah, God of my master Abraham, meet me, I pray thee, [with thy blessing] this day, and deal kindly with my master Abraham.
13 Behold, I stand [here] by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water.
14 And let it come to pass, [that] the maiden to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink, and who will say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also, be she whom thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and hereby I shall know that thou hast dealt kindly with my master.
15 And it came to pass before he had ended speaking, that behold, Rebecca came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother; and [she had] her pitcher upon her shoulder.
16 And the maiden was very fair in countenance; a virgin, and no man had known her. And she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.
17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, sip a little water out of thy pitcher.
18 And she said, Drink, my lord! And she hasted and let down her pitcher on her hand, and gave him to drink.
19 And when she had given him enough to drink, she said, I will draw [water] for thy camels also, until they have drunk enough.
20 And she hasted and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw [water]; and she drew for all his camels.
21 And the man was astonished at her, remaining silent, to know whether Jehovah had made his journey prosperous or not.
22 And it came to pass when the camels had drunk enough, that the man took a gold ring, of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands, ten [shekels] weight of gold,
23 and said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee. Is there room [in] thy father's house for us to lodge?
24 And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.
25 And she said to him, There is straw, and also much provender with us; also room to lodge.
26 And the man stooped, and bowed down before Jehovah,
27 and said, Blessed be Jehovah, God of my master Abraham, who has not withdrawn his loving-kindness and his faithfulness from my master; I being in the way, Jehovah has led me to the house of my master's brethren.
28 And the maiden ran and told these things to her mother's house.
29 And Rebecca had a brother, named Laban; and Laban ran out to the man, to the well.
30 And it came to pass when he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister's hand, and when he heard the words of Rebecca his sister, saying, Thus spoke the man to me—that he came to the man, and behold, he was standing by the camels, by the well.
31 And he said, Come in, blessed of Jehovah! why standest thou outside? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.
32 And the man came into the house; and he ungirded the camels, and gave the camels straw and provender, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men who were with him.
33 And there was set [meat] before him to eat; but he said, I will not eat until I have made known my business. And he said, Speak on.
34 And he said, I am Abraham's servant.
35 And Jehovah has blessed my master greatly, and he is become great; and he has given him sheep and cattle, and silver and gold, and bondmen and bondwomen, and camels and asses.
36 And Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master after she had grown old; and unto him has he given all that he has.
37 And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanite, in whose land I am dwelling;
38 but thou shalt by all means go to my father's house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.
39 And I said to my master, Perhaps the woman will not follow me?
40 And he said to me, Jehovah, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way, that thou mayest take a wife for my son of my family, and out of my father's house.
41 Then shalt thou be quit of my oath, when thou shalt have come to my family. And if they give thee not [one], thou shalt be quit of my oath.
42 And I came this day to the well, and said, Jehovah, God of my master Abraham, if now thou wilt prosper my way on which I go,
43 behold, I stand by the well of water, and let it come to pass that the damsel who cometh forth to draw [water], and to whom I shall say, Give me, I pray thee, a little water out of thy pitcher to drink,
44 and she shall say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels—that she should be the woman whom Jehovah hath appointed for my master's son.
45 Before I ended speaking in my heart, behold, Rebecca came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder, and went down to the well, and drew [water]; and I said to her, Give me, I pray thee, to drink.
46 And she hasted and let down her pitcher from her [shoulder], and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also. And I drank; and she gave the camels drink also.
47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him. And I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her hands.
48 And I stooped, and bowed down before Jehovah; and I blessed Jehovah, God of my master Abraham, who has led me the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son.
49 And now, if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me; and I will turn to the right hand or to the left.
50 And Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceeds from Jehovah: we cannot speak to thee bad or good.
51 Behold, Rebecca is before thee: take [her], and go away; and let her be wife of thy master's son, as Jehovah has said.
52 And it came to pass, when Abraham's servant heard their words, that he bowed down to the earth before Jehovah.
53 And the servant brought forth silver articles, and gold articles, and clothing, and he gave [them] to Rebecca; and he gave to her brother, and to her mother, precious things.
54 And they ate and drank, he and the men that were with him, and lodged. And they rose up in the morning; and he said, Send me away to my master.
55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the maiden abide with us [some] days, or [say] ten; after that she shall go.
56 And he said to them, Do not hinder me, seeing Jehovah has prospered my way: send me away, and I will go to my master.
57 And they said, Let us call the maiden and inquire at her mouth.
58 And they called Rebecca and said to her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.
59 And they sent away Rebecca their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.
60 And they blessed Rebecca, and said to her, Thou art our sister; mayest thou become thousands of tens of thousands; and may thy seed possess the gate of their enemies!
61 And Rebecca arose, and her maids, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man. And the servant took Rebecca, and went away.
62 And Isaac had just returned from Beer-lahai-roi; for he was dwelling in the south country.
63 And Isaac had gone out to meditate in the fields toward the beginning of evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, camels were coming.
64 And Rebecca lifted up her eyes and saw Isaac, and she sprang off the camel.
65 And she had said to the servant, Who is the man that is walking in the fields to meet us? And the servant said, That is my master! Then she took the veil, and covered herself.
66 And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.
67 And Isaac led her into his mother Sarah's tent; and he took Rebecca, and she became his wife, and he loved her. And Isaac was comforted after [the death of] his mother.
25 And Abraham took another wife named Keturah.
2 And she bore him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.
3 And Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan; and the sons of Dedan were the Asshurim, and the Letushim, and the Leummim.
4 And the sons of Midian were Ephah, and Epher, and Enoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were sons of Keturah.
5 And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.
6 And to the sons of the concubines that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and, while he yet lived, sent them away from Isaac his son, eastward to the east country.
7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived: a hundred and seventy-five years.
8 And Abraham expired and died in a good old age, old and full [of days]; and was gathered to his peoples.
9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which was opposite to Mamre—
10 the field that Abraham had purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.
11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer-lahai-roi.
12 And these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's bondwoman, bore to Abraham.
13 And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael by their names according to their generations: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,
14 and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
15 Hadad and Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedmah.
16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, in their hamlets and their encampments—twelve princes of their peoples.
17 And these are the years of the life of Ishmael: a hundred and thirty-seven years; and he expired and died, and was gathered to his peoples.
18 And they dwelt from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite to Egypt, as one goes towards Assyria. He settled before the face of all his brethren.
19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham begot Isaac.
20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebecca as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac entreated Jehovah for his wife, because she was barren; and Jehovah was entreated of him, and Rebecca his wife conceived.
22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If [it be] so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of Jehovah.
23 And Jehovah said to her, Two nations are in thy womb, And two peoples shall be separated from thy bowels; And one people shall be stronger than the other people, And the elder shall serve the younger.
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out red—all over like a hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.
26 And after that came his brother out; and his hand took hold of Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.
27 And the boys grew, and Esau became a man skilled in hunting, a man of the field; and Jacob was a homely man, dwelling in tents.
28 And Isaac loved Esau, because venison was to his taste; and Rebecca loved Jacob.
29 And Jacob had cooked a dish; and Esau came from the field, and he was faint.
30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with the red—the red thing there, for I am faint. Therefore was his name called Edom.
31 And Jacob said, Sell me now thy birthright.
32 And Esau said, Behold, I am going to die, and of what use can the birthright be to me?
33 And Jacob said, Swear unto me now. And he swore unto him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.
34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and the dish of lentils; and he ate and drank, and rose up and went away. Thus Esau despised the birthright.
26 And there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine which had been in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech the king of the Philistines, to Gerar.
2 And Jehovah appeared to him and said, Go not down to Egypt: dwell in the land that I shall tell thee of.
3 Sojourn in this land; and I will be with thee and bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries; and I will perform the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father.
4 And I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and unto thy seed will I give all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves—
5 because that Abraham hearkened to my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
6 And Isaac dwelt at Gerar.
7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, She is my sister; for he feared to say, my wife, [saying to himself,] Lest the men of the place slay me on account of Rebecca—because she was fair in countenance.
8 And it came to pass when he had been there some time, that Abimelech the king of the Philistines looked out of the window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was dallying with Rebecca his wife.
9 Then Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, she is certainly thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? and Isaac said to him, Because I said, Lest I die on account of her.
10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done to us? But a little and one of the people might have lain with thy wife, and thou wouldest have brought a trespass on us.
11 And Abimelech charged all the people, saying, He that touches this man or his wife shall certainly be put to death.
12 And Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold; and Jehovah blessed him.
13 And the man became great, and he became continually greater, until he was very great.
14 And he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great number of servants; and the Philistines envied him.
15 And all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped them and filled them with earth.
16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go from us; for thou art become much mightier than we.
17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his camp in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water that they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and that the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham; and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
19 And Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.
20 But the shepherds of Gerar strove with Isaac's shepherds, saying, The water is ours. And he called the name of the well Esek, because they had quarrelled with him.
21 And they dug another well, and they strove for that also; and he called the name of it Sitnah.
22 And he removed thence and dug another well; and they did not strive for that. And he called the name of it Rehoboth, and said, For now Jehovah has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.
23 And he went up thence to Beer-sheba.
24 And Jehovah appeared to him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.
25 And he built an altar there, and called upon the name of Jehovah. And he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well.
26 And Abimelech, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phichol the captain of his host, went to him from Gerar.
27 And Isaac said to them, Why are ye come to me, seeing ye hate me, and have driven me away from you?
28 And they said, We saw certainly that Jehovah is with thee; and we said, Let there be then an oath between us—between us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee,
29 that thou wilt do us no wrong, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done to thee nothing but good, and have let thee go in peace; thou art now blessed of Jehovah.
30 And he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.
31 And they rose early in the morning, and swore one to another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well that they had dug, and said to him, We have found water.
33 And he called it Shebah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day.
34 And Esau was forty years old, when he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basmath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.
35 And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and to Rebecca.
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