Bible in 90 Days

Abram and Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

17 When^[a] Abram was ninety-nine years old Yahweh appeared to Abram. And he said to him, “I am El-Shaddai;^[b] walk before me and be blameless ² so that^[c] I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you exceedingly.”^{[d] 3} Then Abram fell upon his face and God spoke with him, saying, ⁴ “As for me, behold, my covenant shall be with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. ⁵ Your name shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. ⁶ And I will make you exceedingly^[e] fruitful. I will make you a nation, and kings shall go out from you. ⁷ And I will establish my covenant between me and you, and between your offspring after you, throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant to be as God for you and to your offspring after you. ⁸ And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land in which you are living as an alien,^[f] all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting property. And I will be to them as God.”

⁹ And God said to Abraham, “Now as for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you, throughout their generations. ¹⁰ This is my covenant which you shall keep, between me and you, and also with^[g] your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹ And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. ¹² And at eight days of age^[h] you shall yourselves circumcise every male belonging to your generations and the servant born in your house and the one bought from any foreigner^[i] who is not from your offspring. ¹³ You must certainly circumcise^[j] the servant born in your house and the one bought from any foreigner.^[k] And my covenant shall be with your flesh as an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ And as for any uncircumcised male who has not circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his^[l] people. He has broken my covenant. ¹⁵ And God said to Abraham, “as for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, for Sarah shall be her name. ¹⁶ And I will bless her; moreover, I give to you from her a son. And I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations.^[m] Kings of peoples shall come^[n] from her.” ¹⁷ And Abraham fell upon his face and laughed. And he said in his heart, “Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old,^[o] or can Sarah bear a child at ninety?”^{[p] 18} And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” ¹⁹ And God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear a son for you, and you shall call his name Isaac. And I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant to his offspring after him. ²⁰ And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I will bless him and I will make him fruitful, and I will multiply him exceedingly.^[q] He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. ²¹ But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this appointed time next year.” ²² When^[r] he finished speaking with him, God went up from Abraham. ²³ And Abraham took Ishmael his son and all who were born of his house, and all those acquired by his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on the same day that God spoke with him. ²⁴ Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin. ²⁵ And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin. ²⁶ Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the same day. ²⁷ And all the men of his house, those born in the house, and those acquired by money from a foreigner,^[s] were circumcised with him.

Yahweh Appears to Abraham as a Man

18 And Yahweh appeared to him^[t] by the oaks of Mamre. And he was sitting in the doorway of the tent at the heat of the day. ² And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, three men were standing near^[u] him. And he saw them and ran from the doorway of the tent to meet them. And he bowed down to the ground. ³ And he said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your eyes do not pass by your servant. ⁴ Let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest under the tree. ⁵ And let me bring a piece of bread, then^[v] refresh yourselves.^[w] Afterward you can pass on, once^[x] you have passed by with your servant.” Then they said, “Do so as you have said.” ⁶ Then^[y] Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and he said, “Quickly—make three seahs of fine flour for kneading and make bread cakes!” ⁷ And Abraham ran to the cattle and took a calf,^[z] tender and good, and gave it to the servant, and he made haste to prepare it. ⁸ Then he took curds and milk, and the calf which he prepared, and set it before them. And he was standing by them under the tree while^[aa] they ate. ⁹ And they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “Here, in the tent.” ¹⁰ And he^[ab] said, “I will certainly return to you in the spring,^[ac] and look, Sarah your wife will have a son.” Now Sarah was listening at the doorway of the tent, and which was behind him. ¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age;^[ad] the way of women^[ae] had ceased to be for Sarah. ¹² So^[af] Sarah laughed to herself saying, “After I am worn out and my husband is old, shall this pleasure be to me?” ¹³ Then Yahweh said to Abraham, “What is this that Sarah laughed, saying, ‘Is it indeed true that I will bear a child, now that I have grown old?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too difficult for Yahweh? At the appointed time I will return to you in the spring^[ag] and Sarah shall have a son.” ¹⁵ But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. He^[ah] said, “No, but you did laugh.”

¹⁶ Then the men set out from there, and they looked down upon Sodom. And Abraham went with them to send them on their way.^{[ai] 17} Then Yahweh said, “Shall I conceal from Abraham what I am going to do? ¹⁸ Abraham will surely become a great and strong nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed on account of him. ¹⁹ For I have chosen^[aj] him, that he will command his children and his household after him that they will keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice, so that Yahweh may bring upon Abraham that which he said to him.” ²⁰ Then Yahweh said, “Because the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and because their sin is very serious,^{[ak] 21} I will go down and I will see. Have they done altogether according to its cry of distress which has come to me? If not, I will know.”

Abraham Intercedes for Sodom

²² And the men turned from there and went toward Sodom. And Abraham was still standing before Yahweh. ²³ And Abraham drew near to Yahweh and said, “Will you also sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ If perhaps there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city, will you also sweep them away and not forgive the place on account of the fifty righteous in her midst? ²⁵ Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to kill the righteous with the wicked, that^[al] the righteous would be as the wicked! Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do justice?” ²⁶ And Yahweh said, “If I find fifty righteous in Sodom, in the midst of the city, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” ²⁷ Then Abraham answered and said, “Look, please, I was bold to speak to my Lord, but I am dust and ashes. ²⁸ Perhaps the fifty righteous are lacking five—will you destroy the whole city on account of the five?” And he answered, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” ²⁹ And once again he spoke^[am] to him and said, “What if^[an] forty are found there?” And he answered, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” ³⁰ And he said, “Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if^[ao] thirty be found there?” And he answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” ³¹ And he said, “Please, now, I was bold to speak to my Lord. What if^[ap] twenty be found there?” And he answered, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.” ³² And he said, “Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak only once more. What if^[aq] ten are found there?” And he answered, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.” ³³ Then Yahweh left,^[ar] as he finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

The Rescue of Lot from Sodom

19 And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening. And Lot was sitting in the gateway of Sodom. Then Lot saw them and stood up to meet them. And he bowed down with his face to the ground. ² And he said, “Behold, my lords, please turn aside into the house of your servant and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you can rise early and go on your way.” And they said, “No, but we will spend the night in the square.” ³ But he urged them strongly,^[as] and they turned aside with him and came into his house. And he made a meal for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. ⁴ Before they laid down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man,^[at] surrounded the house. ⁵ And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we may know^[au] them.” ⁶ But Lot went out to them at the entrance, and he shut the door behind him. ⁷ And he said, “No, my brothers, please do not do such a wrong thing. ⁸ Behold, I have two daughters who have not known^[av] a man. Please, let me bring them out to you; then do to them as it seems good in your eyes. Only to these men do not do this thing, since they came under my roof^[aw] for protection.” ⁹ But they said, “Step aside!” Then they said, “This fellow^[ax] came to dwell as a foreigner and he acts as a judge! Now we shall do worse to you than them!” And they pressed very hard against the man, against Lot, and they drew near to break the door. ¹⁰ Then the men reached out with their hands and brought Lot in to them, into the house, and they shut the door. ¹¹ And the men who were at the entrance of the house they struck with blindness, both small and great, and they were unable to find the entrance. ¹² Then the men said to Lot, “Who is here with you? Bring out from the place your sons-in-law, and your sons and your daughters, and all who are with you in the city. ¹³ For we are about to destroy this place, because their cry has become great before Yahweh. Yahweh sent us to destroy it.” ¹⁴ Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were taking^[ay] his daughters and said, “Get up! Go out from this place, because Yahweh is going to destroy the city!” But it seemed like a joke^[az] in the eyes of his sons-in-law. ¹⁵ And as the dawn came up the angels urged Lot saying, “Get up, take your wife and your two daughters who are staying with you,^[ba] lest you be destroyed with the punishment of the city.” ¹⁶ But when he lingered, the men seized him by his hand and his wife’s hand, and his two daughters by hand, on account of the mercy of Yahweh upon him. And they brought him out and set him outside of the city. ¹⁷ And after bringing them outside one said, “Flee for your life; do not look behind you, and do not stand anywhere in the plain. Flee to the mountains lest you be destroyed.” ¹⁸ And Lot said to them, “No, please, my lords. ¹⁹ Behold, your servant has found favor in your eyes and you have shown me great kindness^[bb] in saving my life. But I cannot flee to the mountains, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. ²⁰ Behold, this city is near enough to flee there, and it is a little one. Please, let me flee there. Is it not a little one? Then my life shall be saved.” ²¹ And he said to him, “Behold, I will grant this favor as well;^[bc] that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. ²² Escape there quickly, for I cannot do this thing until you get there.” Therefore, there name of the city was called Zoar.

The Destruction of Sodom

²³ After the sun had risen^[bd] upon the earth and Lot had entered Zoar, ²⁴ Yahweh rained down from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Yahweh. ²⁵ And he overthrew those cities and the whole plain, and the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation of the ground. ²⁶ But his^[be] wife looked back,^[bf] and she became a pillar of salt. ²⁷ And Abraham arose early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before Yahweh. ²⁸ And he looked down upon the surface of Sodom and Gomorrah, and upon the whole surface of the land, the plain. And he saw that,^[bg] behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a smelting furnace. ²⁹ So it was, when God destroyed the cities of the plain that God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out from the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.

Lot and His Daughters

³⁰ And Lot went out from Zoar and settled in the hill country^[bh] with his two daughters, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. So he lived in a cave, he and his two daughters. ³¹ And the firstborn daughter said to the younger one, “Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to come in to us according to the manner of all the land. ³² Come, let us give our father wine to drink and let us lie with him^[bi] that we may secure descendants through our father.”^{[bj] 33} And they gave their father wine to drink that night, and the firstborn went and lay with her father, but he did not know when she lay down or when she got up. ³⁴ And it happened that, the next day the firstborn said to the younger one, “Look, I laid with my father last night. Let us give him wine to drink also tonight, then go and lie with him that we may secure descendants through our father.”^{[bk] 35} And they gave their father wine to drink again that night, and the younger got up and lay with him, but he did not know when she lay down or when she got up. ³⁶ And the two daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. ³⁷ The firstborn gave birth to a son, and she called his name Moab. He is the father of Moab until this day. ³⁸ And the younger, she also gave birth to a son, and she called his name Ben-Ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites^[bl] until this day.

Abraham and Abimelech

20 And Abraham journeyed from there to the land of the Negev, and he settled between Kadesh and Shur. And he dwelled as an alien in Gerar. ² And Abraham said about Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. ³ And God came to Abimelech in a dream at night. And he said to him, “Look, you are a dead man on account of the woman you have taken. For she is a married woman.”^{[bm] 4} Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, “my Lord, will you even kill a righteous people?” ⁵ Did not he himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ With integrity of my heart and with cleanness of my hands I did this.” ⁶ Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes,^[bn] I know that in the integrity of your heart you did this, and I also kept you from sinning^[bo] against me. Therefore, I did not allow you to touch her. ⁷ So now, return the wife of the man, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you and you will live. And if you do not return her,^[bp] know that you will certainly die, and all that are yours.”

⁸ So Abimelech rose early in the morning. And he called all his servants and told them all these things,^[bq] and the men were very afraid. ⁹ And Abimelech called for Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you that you brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin? You have done things to me that should not be done.” ¹⁰ And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What were you thinking^[br] that you did this thing?” ¹¹ And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place; they will kill me on account of the matter of my wife. ¹² Besides,^[bs] she is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother. And she became my wife. ¹³ And it happened that as God caused me to wander from the house of my father I said to her, ‘This is your loyal kindness that you must do for me at every place where we come: say concerning me, “He is my brother.”’” ¹⁴ And Abimelech took sheep and cattle and male slaves and female slaves, and he gave them to Abraham. And he returned Sarah his wife to him. ¹⁵ And Abimelech said, “Here is my land before you; settle where it pleases you.”^{[bt] 16} And to Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver to your brother. It shall be an exoneration.^[bu] You are vindicated before all who are with you.”^{[bv] 17} And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his female servants so that they could bear children again. ¹⁸ For Yahweh had completely closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of the matter of Sarah, the wife of Abraham.

The Birth of Isaac

21 And Yahweh visited Sarah as he had said. And Yahweh did to Sarah as he had promised. ² And she conceived, and Sarah bore to Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him. ³ And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. ⁴ And Abraham circumcised Isaac his son when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. ⁵ And Abraham was one hundred years old when Isaac his son was born to him. ⁶ And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; all who hear will laugh for me.” ⁷ And she said, “Who would announce to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne a son to Abraham in his old age.”

Hagar and Ishmael

⁸ And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. ⁹ And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne Abraham, mocking. ¹⁰ Then she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman will not be heir with my son, with Isaac.” ¹¹ And the matter displeased Abraham very much^[bw] on account of his son. ¹² Then God said to Abraham, “Do not be displeased^[bx] on account of the boy and on account of the slave woman. Listen to everything that Sarah said to you,^[by] for through Isaac your offspring will be named. ¹³ And I will also make the son of the slave woman into a nation, for he is your offspring.” ¹⁴ Then Abraham rose up early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder. And he sent her away with the child, and she went, wandering about in the wilderness, in Beersheba. ¹⁵ And when the water was finished from the skin, she put the child under one of the bushes. ¹⁶ And she went and she sat a good distance away,^[bz] for she said, “Let me not see the child’s death.” So she sat away from him and lifted up her voice and wept. ¹⁷ And God heard the cry^[ca] of the boy and the angel of God called to Hagar from the heavens and said to her, “What is the matter^[cb] Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the cry^[cc] of the boy from where he is.^{[cd] 18} Get up, take up the boy and take him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.” ¹⁹ And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave a drink to the boy. ²⁰ And God was with the boy, and he grew and lived in the wilderness. And he became an expert with a bow.^{[ce] 21} And he lived in the wilderness of Paran. And his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

The Covenant Between Abraham and Abimelech

²² And it happened that at that time, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you, in all that you do. ²³ So now, swear to me here by God that you will not deal with me falsely, or with my descendants, or my posterity. According to the kindness that I have done to you, you shall pledge to do with me and with the land where you have dwelled as an alien.” ²⁴ And Abraham said, “I swear.” ²⁵ Then Abraham complained to Abimelech on account of the well of water that servants of Abimelech had seized. ²⁶ And Abimelech said, “I do not know who did this thing, neither did you tell me, nor have I heard of it except for today.” ²⁷ And Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. And the two of them made^[cf] a covenant. ²⁸ Then Abraham set off seven ewe-lambs of the flock by themselves. ²⁹ And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe-lambs that you have set off by themselves?” ³⁰ And he said, “You shall take the seven ewe-lambs from my hand as proof on my behalf^[cg] that I dug this well.” ³¹ Therefore that place is called Beersheba, because there the two of them swore an oath. ³² And they made^[ch] a covenant at Beersheba. And Abimelech, and Phicol his army commander stood and returned to the land of the Philistines. ³³ And he^[ci] planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of Yahweh, the everlasting God.^{[cj] 34} And Abraham dwelled as an alien in the land of the Philistines many days.

God Tests Abraham

22 And it happened that after these things, God tested Abraham. And he said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ² And he said, “Take your son, your only child, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains where^[ck] I will tell you.” ³ And Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey. And he took two of his servants with him, and Isaac his son. And he chopped wood for a burnt offering. And he got up and went to the place which God had told him. ⁴ On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and he saw the place at a distance. ⁵ And Abraham said to his servants, “You stay here with the donkey, and I and the boy will go up there. We will worship, then we will return to you.” ⁶ And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and placed it on Isaac his son. And he took the fire in his hand and the knife, and the two of them went together. ⁷ And Isaac said to Abraham his father, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” ⁸ And Abraham said, “God will provide^[cl] the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went together.

⁹ And they came to the place that God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood. Then he bound Isaac his son and placed him on the altar atop the wood. ¹⁰ And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. ¹¹ And the angel of Yahweh called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham! Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ¹² And he said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the boy; do not do anything to him. For now I know that you are one who fears^[cm] God, since you have not withheld your son, your only child, from me.” ¹³ And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked. And behold, a ram was caught in the thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. ¹⁴ And Abraham called the name of that place “Yahweh will provide,”^[cn] for which reason^[co] it is said today, “on the mountain of Yahweh it shall be provided.”^{[cp] 15} And the angel of Yahweh called to Abraham a second time from heaven. ¹⁶ And he said, “I swear by myself, declares Yahweh, that because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only child, ¹⁷ that I will certainly bless you and greatly multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is by the shore of the sea. And your offspring will take possession of the gate of his enemies. ¹⁸ All the nations of the earth will be blessed through your offspring, because you have listened to my voice.” ¹⁹ And Abraham returned to his servants, and they got up and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived in Beersheba.

²⁰ And it happened that after these things, it was told to Abraham, “Look, Milcah has also borne children to your brother Nahor: ²¹ Uz his firstborn and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram, ²² and Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” ²³ (Now, Bethuel fathered Rebekah). These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, the brother of Abraham. ²⁴ And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

Sarah’s Death and Burial

23 And Sarah lived^[cq] one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. ² And Sarah died in Kiriath Arba; that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. ³ And Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up from his dead, and he spoke to the Hittites^[cr] and said, ⁴ “I am a stranger and an alien among you; give to me my own burial site^[cs] among you so that I may bury my dead from before me.” ⁵ And the Hittites^[ct] answered Abraham and said to him, ⁶ “Hear us, my lord, you are a mighty prince^[cu] in our midst. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial sites. None of us will withhold his burial site^[cv] from you for burying your dead.” ⁷ And Abraham rose up and bowed to the people of the land, to the Hittites.^{[cw] 8} And he spoke with them, saying, “If you are willing^[cx] that I bury my dead from before me, hear me and intercede for me with Ephron the son of Zohar, ⁹ that he may sell^[cy] to me the cave of Machpelah which belongs to him,^[cz] which is at the end of his field. At full value let him sell^[da] it to me in your midst as a burial site.”^{[db] 10} Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites.^[dc] And Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites^[dd] with respect to all who were entering the gate of his city, and said, ¹¹ “No, my lord, hear me. I give you the field and the cave which is in it, I also give it to you in the sight of the children of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.” ¹² And Abraham bowed before the people of the land. ¹³ And he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If only you will hear me^[de]—I give the price of the field. Take it from me that I may bury my dead there.” ¹⁴ And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, ¹⁵ “My lord, hear me. A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver—what is that between me and you? Bury your dead.” ¹⁶ Then Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed for Ephron the silver that he had named^[df] in the hearing of the Hittites:^[dg] four hundred shekels of silver at the merchants’ current rate.^{[dh] 17} So the field of Ephron which was in the Machpelah, which was near Mamre—the field and the cave which was in it, with all the trees that were in the field, which were within all its surrounding boundaries—passed^{[di] 18} to Abraham as a property in the presence of the Hittites,^[dj] with respect to all who were entering the gate of his city. ¹⁹ And thus afterward Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah near Mamre; that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ And the field and the cave which was in it passed^[dk] to Abraham as a burial site^[dl] from the Hittites.^[dm]

Isaac and Rebekah

24 Now Abraham was old, advanced in age,^[dn] and Yahweh had blessed Abraham in everything. ² And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all he had, “Please put your hand under my thigh ³ that I may make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose midst I am dwelling, ⁴ but that you will go to my land and to my family, and take a wife for my son, for Isaac.” ⁵ And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow^[do] me to this land—must I then return your son to the land from whence you came?” ⁶ Abraham said to him, “You must take care^[dp] that you do not return my son there. ⁷ Yahweh, the God of heaven who took me from the house of my father and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘to your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. ⁸ And if the woman is not willing to follow^[dq] you, then you shall be released from this oath of mine—only you must not return my son there.” ⁹ Then the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and he swore to him concerning this matter. ¹⁰ And the servant took ten camels from his master’s camels, and he went with all kinds of his master’s good things in his hand. And he arose and went to Aram-Naharaim, to the city of Nahor. ¹¹ And he made the camels kneel outside the city at the well of water, at the time of evening, toward the time the women went out to draw water. ¹² And he said, “O Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show loyal love to my master Abraham. ¹³ Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are going out to draw water. ¹⁴ And let it be that the girl to whom I shall say, ‘Please, offer your jar that I may drink’ and who says, ‘Drink—and I will also water your camels,’ she is the one you have chosen for your servant, for Isaac. By her I will know that you have shown loyal love to my master.” ¹⁵ And it happened that before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah—who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham—came out, and her jar was on her shoulder. ¹⁶ Now the girl was very pleasing in appearance. She was a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. ¹⁷ And the servant ran to meet her. And he said, “Please, let me drink a little of the water from your jar.” ¹⁸ And she said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly lowered her jar in her hand and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ When^[dr] she finished giving him a drink she said, “I will also draw water for your camels until they finish drinking.” ²⁰ And she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water. And she drew water for all his camels. ²¹ And the man was gazing at her silently to know if Yahweh had made his journey successful or not. ²² And it happened that as the camels finished drinking the man took a gold ring of a half shekel in weight and two bracelets for her arms, ten shekels in weight, ²³ and said, “Please tell me, whose daughter are you? Is there a place at the house of your father for us to spend the night?” ²⁴ And she said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” ²⁵ Then she said to him, “We have both straw and fodder in abundance, as well as a place to spend the night.” ²⁶ And the man knelt down and worshiped Yahweh. ²⁷ And he said, “Blessed be Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld^[ds] his loyal love and his faithfulness from my master. I was on the way and Yahweh led me to the house of my master’s brother.” ²⁸ Then the girl ran and reported these things to the household of her mother.

²⁹ Now Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban. And Laban ran out to the man toward the spring. ³⁰ And when he saw the ring and the bracelets on the arms of his sister and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, who said, “Thus the man spoke to me,” he went to the man. And behold, he was standing with the camels at the spring. ³¹ And he said, “Come, O blessed one of Yahweh. Why do you stand outside? Now I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.” ³² And the man came to the house and unloaded the camels. And he gave straw and fodder to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. ³³ And food was placed before him^[dt] to eat. And he said, “I will not eat until I have told my errand.”^[du] And he said, “Speak.” ³⁴ And he said, “I am the servant of Abraham. ³⁵ Now Yahweh has blessed my master exceedingly, and he has become great. He has given to him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male slaves and female slaves, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ And Sarah, the wife of my master, has borne a son to my master after her old age. And he^[dv] has given to him all that he has. ³⁷ And my master made me swear, saying, ‘Do not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I am living. ³⁸ But you shall go to the house of my father, and to my family, and you shall take a wife for my son.’ ³⁹ And I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow^[dw] me.’ ⁴⁰ And he said to me, ‘Yahweh, before whom I have walked, shall send his angel with you and will make your journey successful. And you shall take a wife for my son from my family, and from the house of my father. ⁴¹ Then you shall be released from my oath, when you come to my family. And if they will not give a woman to you, then you will be released from my oath.’ ⁴² Then today I came to the spring, and I said, ‘O Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, if you would please make my journey successful,^[dx] upon which I am going. ⁴³ Behold, I am standing by the spring of water. Let it be that the young woman who comes out to draw water and to whom I say, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar,” ⁴⁴ let her say to me, “Drink; I will also draw water for your camels,” she is the woman whom Yahweh has appointed for the son of my master.’ ⁴⁵ I had not yet finished speaking to myself^[dy] when, behold, Rebekah was coming out with^[dz] her jar on her shoulder. And she went down to the spring and drew water. And I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ ⁴⁶ And she hastened and let down her jar from her shoulder^[ea] and said, ‘Drink, and I will give a drink to your camels also.’ Then I drank and she gave a drink to the camels also. ⁴⁷ Then I asked her and said, ‘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 bracelets on her arms. ⁴⁸ And I knelt down and worshiped Yahweh, and I praised Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right way, to take the daughter of the brother of my master for his son. ⁴⁹ So now, if you are going to deal loyally and truly^[eb] with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, so that I may turn to the right or to the left.”^{[ec] 50} Then Laban and Bethuel answered, and they said, “The matter has gone out from Yahweh; we are not able to speak bad or good to you. ⁵¹ Here is Rebekah before you. Take her and go; let her be a wife for the son of your master as Yahweh has spoken.” ⁵² And it happened that when the servant of Abraham heard their words he bowed down to the ground to Yahweh. ⁵³ And the servant brought out silver jewelry and gold jewelry, and garments, and he gave them to Rebekah. And he gave precious gifts to her brother and to her mother. ⁵⁴ And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night. And they got up in the morning, and he said, “Let me go to my master.” ⁵⁵ And her brother and her mother said, “Let the girl remain with us ten days or so; after that she may go.” ⁵⁶ And he said to them, “Do not delay me. Now, Yahweh has made my journey successful. Let me go. I must go to my master.” ⁵⁷ And they said, “Let us call the girl and ask her opinion.”^{[ed] 58} And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” ⁵⁹ So they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and the servant of Abraham and his men. ⁶⁰ And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “You are our sister; may you become countless thousands; and may your offspring take possession of the gate of his enemies.” ⁶¹ And Rebekah and her maidservants arose, and they mounted the camels and followed^[ee] the man. And the servant took Rebekah and left.

⁶² Now Isaac was coming from the direction of Beer-Lahai-Roi. And he was living in the land of the Negev. ⁶³ And Isaac went out to meditate in the field early in the evening,^[ef] and he lifted up his eyes and saw—behold, camels were coming. ⁶⁴ And Rebekah lifted up her eyes and saw Isaac. And she got down from the camel. ⁶⁵ And she said to the servant, “Who is this man walking around in the field to meet us?” And the servant said, “That is my master.” And she took her^[eg] veil and covered herself. ⁶⁶ And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. ⁶⁷ And Isaac brought her to the tent of Sarah his mother. And he took Rebekah, and she became his wife. And Isaac loved her and was comforted after the death of his mother.

The Death and Descendants of Abraham

25 Now Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah. ² And she bore to him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. ³ And Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim and Letushim and Leummim. ⁴ And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All of these were the children of Keturah. ⁵ And Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. ⁶ But to the sons of Abraham’s concubines Abraham gave gifts. And while he was still living he sent them away eastward, away from his son Isaac, to the land of the east. ⁷ Now these are the days of the years of the life of Abraham:^[eh] one hundred and seventy-five years. ⁸ And Abraham passed away and died in a good old age, old and full of years. And he was gathered to his people. ⁹ And Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, son of Zohar the Hittite, that was east of Mamre, ¹⁰ the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites.^[ei] There Abraham was buried and Sarah his wife. ¹¹ And it happened that after the death of Abraham God blessed Isaac his son, and Isaac settled at Beer-Lahai-Roi.

¹² Now these are the generations^[ej] of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, that Hagar the Egyptian, the maidservant of Sarah, bore to Abraham. ¹³ And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names according to their family records. The firstborn of Ishmael was Nebaioth, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ¹⁴ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their villages and by their encampments—12 leaders according to their tribes. ¹⁷ Now these are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. And he passed away and died, and was gathered to his people. ¹⁸ They settled from Havilah to Shur, which was opposite^[ek] Egypt, going toward Asshur, opposite;^[el] he settled^[em] opposite^[en] all his brothers.

Jacob and Esau

¹⁹ Now these are the generations^[eo] of Isaac, the son of Abraham. Abraham fathered Isaac, ²⁰ And Isaac was forty years old^[ep] when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-Aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, as his wife. ²¹ And Isaac prayed to Yahweh on behalf of his wife, for she was barren. And Yahweh responded to his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. ²² And the children in her womb jostled each other, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, why be pregnant?”^[eq] And she went to inquire of Yahweh. ²³ And Yahweh said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from birth^[er] shall be divided. And one people shall be stronger than the other.^[es] And the elder shall serve the younger.” ²⁴ And when her days to give birth were completed,^[et] then—behold—twins were in her womb. ²⁵ And the first came out red, all his body^[eu] was like a hairy coat, so they called his name Esau. ²⁶ And afterward his brother came out, and his hand grasped the heel of Esau, so his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old^[ev] at their birth. ²⁷ And the boys grew up. And Esau was a skilled^[ew] hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents. ²⁸ And Isaac loved Esau because he could eat of his game,^[ex] but Rebekah loved Jacob. ²⁹ Once^[ey] Jacob cooked a thick stew, and Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. ³⁰ And Esau said to Jacob, “Give me some of that red stuff^[ez] to gulp down, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom). ³¹ Then Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright first.”^{[fa] 32} And Esau said, “Look, I am going to die; now what is this birthright to me?” ³³ Then Jacob said, “Swear to me first.”^[fb] And he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. ³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau bread, and thick lentil stew, and he ate and drank. Then he got up and went away. So Esau despised his birthright.

Isaac and Abimelech

26 And there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine which was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, to Gerar. ² And Yahweh appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land which I will show to you. ³ Dwell as an alien in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you, for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham you father. ⁴ And I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and I will give to your descendants all these lands. And all nations of the earth will be blessed through your offspring, ⁵ because Abraham listened to my voice and kept my charge: my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

⁶ So Isaac settled in Gerar. ⁷ When the men of the place asked concerning his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “my wife,” thinking^[fc] “the men of the place will kill me on account of Rebekah, for she was beautiful.”^{[fd] 8} And it happened that, when he had been there a long time,^[fe] Abimelech the king of the Philistines looked through the window, and saw—behold—Isaac was fondling Rebekah his wife. ⁹ And Abimelech called Isaac^[ff] and said, “Surely she is your wife. Now why did you say ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I thought I would die on account of her.” ¹⁰ And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have slept with your wife! Then you would have brought guilt upon us!” ¹¹ Then Abimelech instructed all the people, saying, “The one who touches this man or his wife shall certainly die.”

¹² And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in that same year a hundredfold, and Yahweh blessed him. ¹³ And the man became wealthier and wealthier^[fg] until he was exceedingly wealthy. ¹⁴ And he possessed sheep and cattle and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. ¹⁵ And the Philistines stopped up all the wells that the servants of his father had dug in the days of Abraham his father. They filled them with earth. ¹⁶ And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you have become much too powerful for us.” ¹⁷ So Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar, and settled there. ¹⁸ And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after the death of Abraham. And he gave^[fh] to them the same names^[fi] which his father had given^[fj] them. ¹⁹ And when the servants of Isaac dug in the valley, they found a well of fresh water there. ²⁰ Then the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours.” And he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. ²¹ And they dug another well, and they quarreled over it also. And he called its name Sitnah. ²² Then he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. And he called its name Rehoboth, and said, “Now Yahweh has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” ²³ And from there he went up to Beersheba. ²⁴ And Yahweh appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you, and I will bless you and make your descendants numerous for the sake of my servant Abraham.” ²⁵ And he built an altar there and called on the name of Yahweh. And he pitched his tent there, and the servants of Isaac dug a well there. ²⁶ Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his friend and Phicol his army commander. ²⁷ And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me and sent me away from you.” ²⁸ And they said, “We see clearly that Yahweh has been with you, so we thought^[fk] let there be an oath between us—between us and you—and let us make^[fl] a covenant with you ²⁹ that you may not do us harm just as we have not touched you, but have only done good to you and sent you away in peace. You are now blessed by Yahweh.” ³⁰ So he made a meal for them, and they ate and drank. ³¹ And they arose early in the morning and each one swore to the other,^[fm] and Isaac sent them away. And they left him in peace. ³² And it happened that on that same day the servants of Isaac came and told him about the well that they had dug. And they said, “We have found water!” ³³ And he called it Sheba. Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.

³⁴ And when Esau was forty years old he took as wife Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite. ³⁵ And they made life bitter^[fn] for Isaac and Rebekah.

Jacob Steals Esau’s Blessing

27 And it happened that when Isaac was old and his eyesight was weak,^[fo] he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” And he^[fp] said to him, “Here I am.” ² And he said, “Look, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. ³ So now, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt food for me. ⁴ Then make for me tasty food like I love, and bring it to me. And I will eat it so that I^[fq] can bless you before I die.

⁵ Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to Esau his son, and when Esau went to the field to hunt wild game to bring back, ⁶ Rebekah said to Jacob her son, “Look, I heard your father speaking to Esau your brother saying, ⁷ ‘Bring wild game to me and prepare tasty food so I can eat it and bless you before Yahweh before my death.’ ⁸ So now, my son, listen to my voice, to what I command you. ⁹ Go to the flock and take two good young goats from it for me, and I will prepare them as tasty food for your father, just as he likes. ¹⁰ Then you must take it to your father and he will eat it so that he may bless you before his death.” ¹¹ Then Jacob said to his mother, “Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, but I am a smooth man. ¹² Perhaps my father will feel me and I will be in his eyes as a mocker, and he will bring upon me a curse and not a blessing.” ¹³ Then his mother said to him, “Your curse be upon me, my son, only listen to my voice—go and get them for me.” ¹⁴ So he went and took them, and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared tasty food as his father liked. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took some of her older son Esau’s best garments that were with her in the house, and she put them on Jacob her younger son. ¹⁶ And she put the skins of the young goats over his hands and over the smooth part of his neck. ¹⁷ And she put the tasty food and the bread that she had made into the hand of Jacob, her son. ¹⁸ And he went to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” ¹⁹ And Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please get up, sit up and eat from my wild game so that you^[fr] may bless me.” ²⁰ Then Isaac said to his son, “How^[fs] did you find it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because Yahweh your God caused me to find it.”^{[ft] 21} Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please, come near and let me feel you, my son. Are you really^[fu] my son Esau or not?” ²² And Jacob drew near to Isaac his father. And he felt him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” ²³ And he did not recognize him because his hands were hairy like the hands of Esau his brother. And he blessed him. ²⁴ And he said, “Are you really^[fv] my son Esau?” And he said, “I am.” ²⁵ Then he said, “Bring it near to me that I may eat from the game of my son, so that I^[fw] may bless you.” And he brought it to him, and he ate. And he brought wine to him, and he drank. ²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” ²⁷ And he drew near and kissed him. And he^[fx] smelled the smell of his garments, and he blessed him and said,

³⁰ And as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, immediately after^[fy] Jacob had gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came back from his hunting. ³¹ He too prepared tasty food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat from the wild game of his son, that you^[fz] may bless me.” ³² And Isaac his father said to him, “Who are you?” And he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” ³³ Then Isaac trembled violently.^[ga] Then he said, “Who then was he that hunted wild game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I blessed him? Moreover, he will be blessed!” ³⁴ When Esau heard the words of his father he cried out with a great and exceedingly bitter cry of distress. And he said to his father, “Bless me as well, my father!” ³⁵ And he said, “Your brother came in deceit and took your blessing.” ³⁶ Then he said, “Isn’t that why he is named Jacob?^[gb] He has deceived me these two times. He took my birthright and, look, now he has taken my blessing!” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” ³⁷ Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, I have made him lord over you and I have given him all his brothers as servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. Now what can I do for you, my son?” ³⁸ And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me also, my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. ³⁹ Then Isaac his father answered and said to him,

⁴¹ Then Esau held a grudge against Jacob on account of the blessing with which his father had blessed him. And Esau said in his heart,^[gd] “The days of mourning for my father are coming, then I will kill Jacob my brother.” ⁴² But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. And she sent and called for her younger son Jacob. And she said to him, “Look, Esau your brother is consoling himself concerning you, intending to kill you. ⁴³ Now then, my son, listen to my voice; arise and flee to Haran to Laban my brother. ⁴⁴ Stay with him a few days until the wrath of your brother has turned— ⁴⁵ until the anger of your brother turns from you and he has forgotten what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I lose the two of you in one day?” ⁴⁶ Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I loathe my life because of the Hittite women.^[ge] If Jacob takes a wife from Hittite women^[gf] like these, from the native women,^[gg] what am I living for?”^[gh]

Jacob Flees to Haran

28 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him. And he instructed him and said to him, “You must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. ² Arise, go to Paddan-Aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and take for yourself a wife from there, from the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. ³ Now, may El-Shaddai^[gi] bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, so that you become an assembly of peoples. ⁴ And may he give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojourning, which God gave to Abraham.” ⁵ Then Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau. ⁶ Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-Aram, to take for himself a wife from there, and^[gj] he blessed him and instructed him, saying, “You must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” ⁷ and that Jacob listened to his father and to his mother and went to Paddan-Aram. ⁸ Then Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan were evil in the eyes of Isaac his father, ⁹ then Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, son of Abraham, sister of Nebaioth, as a wife, in addition to the wives he had.

Jacob’s Dream

¹⁰ Then Jacob went out from Beersheba and went to Haran. ¹¹ And he arrived at a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head and slept at that place. ¹² And he dreamed, and behold, a stairway was set on the earth, and its top touched the heavens. And behold, angels of God were going up and going down on it. ¹³ And behold, Yahweh was standing beside him,^[gk] and he said, “I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The ground on which you were sleeping I will give to you and to your descendants. ¹⁴ Your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west, and to the east, and to the north and to the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants. ¹⁵ Now behold, I am with you, and I will keep you wherever you go. And I will bring you to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised to you.” ¹⁶ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely Yahweh is indeed^[gl] in this place and I did not know!” ¹⁷ Then he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is nothing else than the house of God,^[gm] and this is the gate of heaven!” ¹⁸ And Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a stone pillar, and poured oil on top of it. ¹⁹ And he called the name of that place Bethel; however, the name of the city was formerly Luz.