Sarah Dies

23 Sarah lived to be 127 years old. ² She died at Kiriath Arba. Kiriath Arba is also called Hebron. It’s in the land of Canaan. Sarah’s death made Abraham very sad. He went to the place where her body was lying. There he wept over her.

³ Then Abraham got up from beside his wife’s body. He said to the Hittites, ⁴ “I’m an outsider. I’m a stranger among you. Sell me some property where I can bury those in my family who die. Then I can bury my wife.”

⁵ The Hittites replied to Abraham, ⁶ “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your wife in the best place we have to bury our dead. None of us will refuse to sell you a place to bury her.”

⁷ Then Abraham bowed down in front of the Hittites, the people of the land. ⁸ He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my wife, then listen to me. Speak to Zohar’s son Ephron for me. ⁹ Ask him to sell me the cave of Machpelah. It belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price. I want it as a place to bury my dead wife among you.”

¹⁰ Ephron the Hittite was sitting there among his people. He replied to Abraham. All of the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city heard him. ¹¹ “No, sir,” Ephron said. “Listen to me. I will give you the field. I’ll also give you the cave that’s in the field. I will give it to you in front of my people. Bury your wife.”

¹² Again Abraham bowed down in front of the people of the land. ¹³ He spoke to Ephron so they could hear him. He said, “Please listen to me. I’ll pay the price of the field. Accept it from me. Then I can bury my wife there.”

¹⁴ Ephron answered Abraham, ¹⁵ “Sir, listen to me. The land is worth ten pounds of silver. But what’s that between the two of us? Bury your wife.”

¹⁶ Abraham agreed to Ephron’s offer. He weighed out for Ephron the price he had named. The Hittites there had heard the amount. The price was ten pounds of silver. Abraham measured it by the weights that were used by merchants.

¹⁷ So Ephron sold his field to Abraham. The field was in Machpelah near Mamre. Abraham bought the field and the cave that was in it. He also bought all the trees that were inside the borders of the field. Everything was sold ¹⁸ to Abraham as his property. He bought it in front of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. ¹⁹ Then Abraham buried his wife Sarah. He buried her in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre in the land of Canaan. Mamre is at Hebron. ²⁰ So the field and the cave that was in it were sold to Abraham by the Hittites. The property became a place to bury those who died in his family.

Abraham’s Servant Finds a Wife for Isaac

24 By that time Abraham was very old. The Lord had blessed Abraham in every way. ² The best servant in his house was in charge of everything Abraham had. Abraham said to him, “Put your hand under my thigh. ³ The Lord is the God of heaven and the God of earth. I want you to make a promise to me in his name. I’m living among the people of Canaan. But I want you to promise me that you won’t get a wife for my son from their daughters. ⁴ Instead, promise me that you will go to my country and to my own relatives. Get a wife for my son Isaac from there.”

⁵ The servant asked Abraham, “What if the woman doesn’t want to come back with me to this land? Then should I take your son back to the country you came from?”

⁶ “Make sure you don’t take my son back there,” Abraham said. ⁷ “The Lord, the God of heaven, took me away from my father’s family. He brought me out of my own land. He made me a promise. He said, ‘I will give this land to your family after you.’ The Lord will send his angel ahead of you. So you will be able to get a wife for my son from there. ⁸ The woman may not want to come back with you. If she doesn’t, you will be free from your promise. But don’t take my son back there.” ⁹ So the servant put his hand under Abraham’s thigh. He promised to do what his master wanted.

¹⁰ The servant chose ten of his master’s camels and left. He loaded the camels with all kinds of good things from his master. He started out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. ¹¹ He stopped near the well outside the town. There he made the camels get down on their knees. It was almost evening, the time when women go out to get water.

¹² Then he prayed, “Lord, you are the God of my master Abraham. Make me successful today. Be kind to my master Abraham. ¹³ I’m standing beside this spring. The daughters of the people who live in the town are coming out here to get water. ¹⁴ I will speak to a young woman. I’ll say to her, ‘Please lower your jar so I can have a drink.’ Suppose she says, ‘Have a drink of water, and I’ll get some for your camels too.’ Then let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. That’s how I’ll know you have been kind to my master.”

¹⁵ Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out. She was carrying a jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Milkah’s son Bethuel. Milkah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. ¹⁶ The young woman was very beautiful. No man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring. She filled her jar and came up again.

¹⁷ The servant hurried to meet her. He said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”

¹⁸ “Have a drink, sir,” she said. She quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.

¹⁹ After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll get water for your camels too. I’ll keep doing it until they have had enough to drink.” ²⁰ So she quickly emptied her jar into the stone tub. Then she ran back to the well to get more water. She got enough for all his camels. ²¹ The man didn’t say a word. He watched her closely. He wanted to learn whether the Lord had given him success on the journey he had made.

²² The camels finished drinking. Then the man took out a gold nose ring. It weighed about a fifth of an ounce. He also took out two gold bracelets. They weighed about four ounces. ²³ Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you? And please tell me something else. Is there room in your father’s house for us? Can we spend the night there?”

²⁴ She answered, “I’m the daughter of Bethuel. He’s the son Milkah had by Nahor.” ²⁵ She continued, “We have plenty of straw and feed for your camels. We also have room for you to spend the night.”

²⁶ Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord. ²⁷ He said, “I praise the Lord, the God of my master Abraham. The Lord hasn’t stopped being kind and faithful to my master. The Lord has led me on this journey. He has brought me to the house of my master’s relatives.”

²⁸ The young woman ran home. She told her mother’s family what had happened. ²⁹ Rebekah had a brother named Laban. He hurried out to the spring to meet the man. ³⁰ Laban had seen the nose ring. He had seen the bracelets on his sister’s arms. And he had heard Rebekah tell what the man had said to her. So Laban went out to the man. He found him standing by the camels near the spring. ³¹ “The Lord has given you his blessing,” he said. “So come with me. Why are you standing out here? I’ve prepared my house for you. I also have a place for the camels.”

³² So the man went to the house. The camels were unloaded. Straw and feed were brought for the camels. And water was brought for him and his men to wash their feet. ³³ Then food was placed in front of him. But he said, “I won’t eat until I’ve told you what I have to say.”

“Then tell us,” Laban said.

³⁴ So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ The Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he has become rich. The Lord has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold. He has also given him male and female servants, camels and donkeys. ³⁶ My master’s wife Sarah had a son by him when she was old. He has given that son everything he owns. ³⁷ My master made me promise him. He said, ‘I’m living in the land of the people of Canaan. But promise me that you won’t get a wife for my son from their daughters. ³⁸ Instead, go to my father’s family and to my own relatives. Get a wife for my son there.’

³⁹ “Then I asked my master, ‘What if the woman won’t come back with me?’

⁴⁰ “He replied, ‘I have walked faithfully with the Lord. He will send his angel with you. He will give you success on your journey. So you will be able to get a wife for my son. She will be from my own relatives and from my father’s family. ⁴¹ When you go to my relatives, suppose they refuse to give her to you. Then you will be free from the promise you made to me.’

⁴² “Today I came to the spring. I said, ‘Lord, you are the God of my master Abraham. Please make me successful on this journey I’ve made. ⁴³ I’m standing beside this spring. A young woman will come out to get water. I’ll say to her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar.” ⁴⁴ Suppose she says, “Have a drink of water, and I’ll get some for your camels too.” Then let her be the one the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’

⁴⁵ “Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out. She was carrying a jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and got water. I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’

⁴⁶ “She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder. She said, ‘Have a drink, and I’ll get water for your camels too.’ So I drank. She also got water for the camels.

⁴⁷ “I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’

“She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel. He’s the son Milkah had by Nahor.’

“Then I put the ring in her nose. I put the bracelets on her arms. ⁴⁸ And I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham. He had led me on the right road. He had led me to get for my master’s son the granddaughter of my master’s brother. ⁴⁹ Now will you be kind and faithful to my master? If you will, tell me. And if you won’t, tell me. Then I’ll know which way to turn.”

⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel answered, “The Lord has done all of this. We can’t say anything to you one way or the other. ⁵¹ Here is Rebekah. Take her and go. Let her become the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has said.”

⁵² Abraham’s servant heard what they said. So he bowed down to the Lord with his face to the ground. ⁵³ He brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing. He gave all of them to Rebekah. He also gave expensive gifts to her brother and her mother. ⁵⁴ Then Abraham’s servant and the men who were with him ate and drank. They spent the night there.

When they got up the next morning, Abraham’s servant said, “Send me back to my master.”

⁵⁵ But her brother and her mother replied, “Let the young woman stay with us ten days or so. Then you can go.”

⁵⁶ But he said to them, “Don’t make me wait. The Lord has given me success on my journey. Send me on my way so I can go to my master.”

⁵⁷ Then they said, “Let’s get Rebekah and ask her about it.” ⁵⁸ So they sent for her and asked, “Will you go with this man?”

“Yes, I’ll go,” she said.

⁵⁹ So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way with Abraham’s servant and his men. They also sent Rebekah’s servant with her. ⁶⁰ And they gave Rebekah their blessing. They said to her,

⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her female servants got ready. They got on their camels to go back with the man. So Abraham’s servant took Rebekah and left.

⁶² By that time Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi. He was living in the Negev Desert. ⁶³ One evening he went out to the field. He wanted to spend some time thinking. When he looked up, he saw camels approaching. ⁶⁴ Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel. ⁶⁵ She asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?”

“He’s my master,” the servant answered. So she covered her face with her veil.

⁶⁶ Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done. ⁶⁷ Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent that had belonged to his mother Sarah. And he married Rebekah. She became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother died.

Abraham Dies

25 Abraham had married another woman. Her name was Keturah. ² She had Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah by Abraham. ³ Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. The children of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. ⁴ The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All of them were members of Keturah’s family line.

⁵ Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. ⁶ But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines. Then he sent them away from his son Isaac. He sent them to the land of the east.

⁷ Abraham lived a total of 175 years. ⁸ He took his last breath and died when he was very old. He had lived a very long time. Then he joined the members of his family who had already died. ⁹ Abraham’s sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him. They put his body in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre. It was in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite. ¹⁰ Abraham had bought the field from the Hittites. He was buried there with his wife Sarah. ¹¹ After Abraham died, God blessed his son Isaac. At that time Isaac was living near Beer Lahai Roi.

The Sons of Ishmael

¹² Here is the story of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael. Hagar gave birth to Ishmael by Abraham. Hagar was Sarah’s slave from Egypt.

¹³ Here are the names of the sons of Ishmael. They are listed in the order they were born.

¹⁶ All of them were Ishmael’s sons. They were rulers of 12 tribes. They all lived in their own settlements and camps.

¹⁷ Ishmael lived a total of 137 years. Then he took his last breath and died. He joined the members of his family who had already died. ¹⁸ His children settled in the area between Havilah and Shur. It was near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. Ishmael’s children weren’t friendly toward any of the tribes related to them.

Jacob and Esau

¹⁹ Here is the story of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.

Abraham was the father of Isaac. ²⁰ Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah. She was the daughter of Bethuel, the Aramean from Paddan Aram. She was also the sister of Laban, the Aramean.

²¹ Rebekah couldn’t have children. So Isaac prayed to the Lord for her. And the Lord answered his prayer. His wife Rebekah became pregnant. ²² The babies struggled with each other inside her. She said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to ask the Lord what she should do.

²³ The Lord said to her,

²⁴ The time came for Rebekah to have her babies. There were twin boys in her body. ²⁵ The first one to come out was red. His whole body was covered with hair. So they named him Esau. ²⁶ Then his brother came out. His hand was holding onto Esau’s heel. So he was named Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when Rebekah had them.

²⁷ The boys grew up. Esau became a skillful hunter. He liked the open country. But Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. ²⁸ Isaac liked the meat of wild animals. So Esau was his favorite son. But Rebekah’s favorite was Jacob.

²⁹ One day Jacob was cooking some stew. Esau came in from the open country. He was very hungry. ³⁰ He said to Jacob, “Quick! I’m very hungry! Let me have some of that red stew!” That’s why he was also named Edom.

³¹ Jacob replied, “First sell me the rights that belong to you as the oldest son in the family.”

³² “Look, I’m dying of hunger,” Esau said. “What good are those rights to me?”

³³ But Jacob said, “First promise to sell me your rights.” So Esau promised to do it. He sold Jacob all the rights that belonged to him as the oldest son.

³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. Esau ate and drank. Then he got up and left.

So Esau didn’t value the rights that belonged to him as the oldest son.

Isaac and Abimelek

26 There was very little food in the land. The same thing had been true earlier, in Abraham’s time. Isaac went to Abimelek in Gerar. Abimelek was the king of the Philistines. ² The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land where I tell you to live. ³ Stay there for a while. I will be with you and give you my blessing. I will give all these lands to you and your children after you. And I will keep my word that I gave to your father Abraham. ⁴ I will make your children after you as many as the stars in the sky. And I will give them all these lands. All nations on earth will be blessed because of your children. ⁵ I will do all these things because Abraham obeyed me. He did everything I required. He kept my commands, my rules and my instructions.” ⁶ So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

⁷ The men of that place asked him about his wife. He said, “She’s my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She’s my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me because of Rebekah. She’s a beautiful woman.”

⁸ Isaac had been there a long time. One day Abimelek, the king of the Philistines, looked down from a window. He saw Isaac hugging and kissing his wife Rebekah. ⁹ So Abimelek sent for Isaac. He said, “She’s really your wife, isn’t she? Why did you say she was your sister?”

Isaac answered him, “I thought I might lose my life because of her.”

¹⁰ Then Abimelek said, “What have you done to us? What if one of the men slept with your wife? Then you would have made us guilty.”

¹¹ So Abimelek gave orders to all the people. He said, “Anyone who harms this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”

¹² Isaac planted crops in that land. That same year he gathered 100 times more than he planted. That was because the Lord blessed him. ¹³ Isaac became rich. His wealth continued to grow until he became very rich. ¹⁴ He had many flocks and herds and servants. Isaac had so much that the Philistines became jealous of him. ¹⁵ So they stopped up all the wells the servants of his father Abraham had dug. They filled them with dirt.

¹⁶ Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us. You have become too powerful for us.”

¹⁷ So Isaac moved away from there. He camped in the Valley of Gerar, where he made his home. ¹⁸ Isaac opened up the wells again. They had been dug in the time of his father Abraham. The Philistines had stopped them up after Abraham died. Isaac gave the wells the same names his father had given them.

¹⁹ Isaac’s servants dug wells in the valley. There they discovered fresh water. ²⁰ But the people of Gerar who took care of their own herds argued with the people who took care of Isaac’s herds. “The water is ours!” the people of Gerar said. So Isaac named the well Esek. That’s because they argued with him. ²¹ Then Isaac’s servants dug another well. They argued about that one too. So he named it Sitnah. ²² Isaac moved on from there and dug another well. But no one argued about that one. So he named it Rehoboth. He said, “Now the Lord has given us room. Now we will be successful in the land.”

²³ From there Isaac went up to Beersheba. ²⁴ That night the Lord appeared to him. He said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid. I am with you. I will bless you. I will increase the number of your children because of my servant Abraham.”

²⁵ Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. There he set up his tent. And there his servants dug a well.

²⁶ During that time, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar. His personal adviser, Ahuzzath, had come with him. So had his army commander, Phicol. ²⁷ Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You were angry with me and sent me away.”

²⁸ They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you. So we said, ‘There should be an agreement between us and you.’ We want to make a peace treaty with you. ²⁹ Give us your word that you won’t harm us. We didn’t harm you. We always treated you well. We sent you away peacefully. And now the Lord has blessed you.”

³⁰ Then Isaac had a feast prepared for them. They ate and drank. ³¹ Early the next morning the men made a treaty with each other. Then Isaac sent the men of Gerar on their way. And they left peacefully.

³² That day Isaac’s servants came to him. They told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” ³³ So he named it Shibah. To this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.

Jacob Takes Esau’s Blessing

³⁴ When Esau was 40 years old, he got married to Judith. She was the daughter of Beeri the Hittite. Esau also married Basemath. She was the daughter of Elon the Hittite. ³⁵ Isaac and Rebekah became very upset because Esau had married Hittite women.