the Lord made a woman out of the rib. The Lord God brought her to the man,

and the man exclaimed, “Here is someone like me! She is part of my body, my own flesh and bones. She came from me, a man. So I will name her Woman!”

That's why a man will leave his own father and mother. He marries a woman, and the two of them become like one person.

The First Sin

The snake was sneakier than any of the other wild animals that the Lord God had made. One day it came to the woman and asked, “Did God tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”

The woman answered, “God said we could eat fruit from any tree in the garden,

The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too.

Late in the afternoon, when the breeze began to blow, the man and woman heard the Lord God walking in the garden. So they hid behind some trees.

“It was the woman you put here with me,” the man said. “She gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it.”

The Lord God then asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The snake tricked me,” she answered, “and I ate some of that fruit.”

You and this woman will hate each other; your descendants and hers will always be enemies. One of hers will strike you on the head, and you will strike him on the heel.”

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “You will suffer terribly when you give birth. But you will still desire your husband, and he will rule over you.”

Hagar and Ishmael

Abram's wife Sarai had not been able to have any children. But she owned a young Egyptian slave woman named Hagar,

Then Sarai said to Abram, “It's all your fault! I gave you my slave woman, but she has been hateful to me ever since she found out she was pregnant. You have done me wrong, and you will have to answer to the Lord for this.”

But God came to Abimelech in a dream and said, “You have taken a married woman into your home, and for this you will die!”

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

One day, Sarah noticed Hagar's son Ishmael playing, and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that Egyptian slave woman and her son! I don't want him to inherit anything. It should all go to my son.”

But God said, “Abraham, don't worry about your slave woman and the boy. Just do what Sarah tells you. Isaac will inherit your family name,

but the son of the slave woman is also your son, and I will make his descendants into a great nation.”

God blessed Ishmael, and as the boy grew older, he became an expert at hunting with his bow and arrows. He lived in the Paran Desert, and his mother chose an Egyptian woman for him to marry.

But the servant asked, “What if the young woman I choose refuses to leave home and come here with me? Should I send Isaac there to look for a wife?”

If the woman refuses to come along, you don't have to keep this promise. But don't ever take my son back there.”

While he was still praying, a beautiful unmarried young woman came by with a water jar on her shoulder. She was Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Abraham's brother Nahor and his wife Milcah. Rebekah walked past Abraham's servant, then went over to the well, and filled her water jar. When she started back,

Abraham's servant did not say a word, but he watched everything Rebekah did, because he wanted to know for certain if this was the woman the Lord had chosen.

I asked my master, “What if the young woman refuses to come with me?”

while I am here at the well. When a young woman comes out to get water, I'll ask her to give me a drink.

Now please tell me if you are willing to do the right thing for my master. Will you treat him fairly, or do I have to look for another young woman?