now there was a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of abraham. so isaac went to gerar, to abimelech king of the philistines. and the Lord appeared to him and said, "do not go down to egypt; stay in the land of which I shall tell you. sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father abraham. and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and I will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws."

when her days to delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in the womb. now the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him esau. and afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding on to esau's heel, so his name was called jacob; and isaac was 60 years old when she gave birth to them. when the boys grew up, esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents. now isaac loved esau, because he had a taste for game; but rebekah loved jacob. and when jacob had cooked stew, esau came in from the field and he was famished; and esau said to jacob, "please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for i am famished." therefore his name was called edom. but jacob said, "first sell me your birthright." and esau said, "behold, i am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?" and jacob said, "first swear to me"; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to jacob. then jacob gave esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and ...

now these are the records of the generations of isaac, abraham's son: abraham became the father of isaac; and isaac was 40 years old when he took rebekah, the daughter of bethuel the aramean of paddan-aram, the sister of laban the aramean, to be his wife. and isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord answered him and rebekah his wife conceived. but the children struggled together within her; and she said, "if it is so, why then am i this way?" so she went to inquire of the Lord. and the Lord said to her, "two nations are in your womb; and two peoples shall be separated from your body; and one people shall be stronger than the other; and the older shall serve the younger."

now these are the records of the generations of ishmael, abraham's son, whom hagar the egyptian, sarah's maid, bore to abraham; and these are the names of the sons of ishmael, by their names, in the order of their birth: nebaioth, the first-born of ishmael, and kedar and adbeel and mibsam and mishma and dumah and massa, hadad and tema, jetur, naphish and kedemah. these are the sons of ishmael and these are their names, by their villages, and by their camps; 12 princes according to their tribes. and these are the years of the life of ishmael, 137 years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people. and they settled from havilah to shur which is east of egypt as one goes toward assyria; he settled in defiance of all his relatives.

now abraham took another wife, whose name was keturah. and she bore him to zimran and jokshan and medan midian and ishbak and shuah. and jokshan became the father of sheba and dedan. and the sons of dedan were asshurim and letushim and leummim. and the sons of midian were ephah and epher and hanoch and abida and eldaah. all these were the sons of keturah. now the abraham gave all that he had to isaac; but to the sons of his concubines, abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and he sent them away from his son isaac eastward, to the land of the east. and these are all the years of abraham's life that he lived, 175 years. and abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age, and old man and satisfied with life; and he was gathered to his people. then his sons isaac and ishmael buried him in the cave of machpelah, in the field of ephron the son of zohar the hittite, facing mamre, the field which abraham purchased from the sons of heth; there abraham was buried with sarah his wife.

then rebekah arose with her maids, and they mounted the camels and followed the man. so the servant took rebekah and departed. now isaac had come from going to beer-lahai-roi; for he was living in the negev. and isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming. and rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw isaac she dismounted from the camel. and she said to the servant, "who is that man walking in the field to meet us?" and the servant said, "he is my master." then she took her veil and covered herself. and the servant told isaac all the things he had done. then isaac brought her into his mother sarah's tent, and he took rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her; thus isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

then laban and bethuel answered and said, "the matter comes from the Lord, so we cannot speak to you bad or good. behold, rebekah is before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has spoken." and it came about when abraham's servant heard their words, that he bowed himself to the ground before the Lord. and the servant brought out articles of silver and articles of gold, and garments, and gave them to rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. when they arose in the morning, he said, "send me away to my master." but her brother and her mother said, "let the girl stay with us a few days, say 10; afterward she may go." and he said to them, "do not delay me, since the Lord has prospered my way. send me away that i may go to my master." and they said, "we will call the girl and consult her wishes." then they called rebekah and said to her, "will you go with this man?" and she said, "i ...

so he said, "i am abraham's servant. and the Lord has greatly blessed my master, so that he has become rich; and he has given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and servants and maids, and camels and donkeys. "now sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master in her old age; and he has given him all that he has. and my master made me swear, saying, 'you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the canaanites, in whose land i live; but you shall go to my father's house, and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.' "and i said to my master, 'suppose the woman does not follow me.' "and he said to me, 'the Lord, before whom i have walked, will send His angel with you to make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my relatives, and from my father's house; then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my relatives, and from my father's house; then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my relatives; and if they do not give ...

then the girl ran and told her mother's household about these things. now rebekah had a brother whose name was laban; and laban ran outside to the man at the spring; and it came about then when he saw the ring, and the bracelets on his sister's wrists, and when he heard the words of rebekah his sister, saying, "this is what the man said to me," he went to the man; and behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. and he said, "come in, blessed of the Lord! why do you stand outside since i have prepared the house, and a place for the camels?" so the man entered the house. then laban unloaded the camels, and he gave straw and feed to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. but when food was set before him to eat, he said, "i will not eat until i have told my business." and [laban] said, "speak on."

then the servant took 10 camels from the camels of his master, and set out with a variety of good things of his master's in his hand; and he arose, and went to mesopotamia, to the city of nahor. and he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. and he said, "o Lord, the God of my master abraham, please grant me success today, and show lovingkindness to my master abraham. behold, i am standing by the spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water, now may it be that the girl to whom i say, 'please, let down your jar so that i may drink,' and who answers, 'drink, and i will water your camels also'; --may she be the one whom Thou hast appointed for thy servant isaac; and by this i shall know that Thou hast shown lovingkindness to my master." and it came about before he had finished speaking, that behold, rebekah who was born to bethuel the son of milcah, the wife of abraham's brother nahor, came out with her jar ...

now abraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed abraham in every way. and abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he owned, "please place your hand under my thigh, and i will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the canaanites, among whom i live, but you shall go to my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son isaac." and the servant said to him, "suppose the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land; should i take your son back to the land where you came?" then abraham said to him, "beware lest you take my son back there!" the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's home and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, "to your descendants, I will give this land,' He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. but if the ...

now ephron was sitting among the sons of heth; and ephron the hittite answered abraham in the hearing of the sons of heth; even of all who went in at the gate of his city, saying, "no, my lord, hear me; i give you the field, and i give you the cave that is in it. in the presence of the sons of my people i give it to you; bury your dead." and abraham bowed before the people of the land. and he spoke to ephron in the people of the land, saying, "if you will only please listen to me; i will give the price of the field, accept it from me, that i may bury my dead there." then ephron answered abraham, saying to him, "my lord, listen to me; a piece of land worth 400 shekels of silver, what is that between me and you? so bury your dead." and abraham listened to ephron; and abraham weighed out for ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the sons of heth, 400 shekels of silver, commercial standard. so ephron's field, which was in machpelah, which faced mamre, the field and cave which was in it, and all ...

now sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of sarah. and sarah died in kirath-arba (that is, hebron) in the land of canaan; and abraham went in to mourn for sarah and to weep for her. then abraham rose from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of heth, saying, "i am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me a burial site among you, that i may bury my head out of my sight." and the sons of heth answered abraham, saying to him, "hear us, my lord, you are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of graves; none of us will refuse you his grave for burying your dead." so abraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the sons of heth. and he spoke with them, saying, "if it is your wish for me to bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and approach ephron the son of zohar for me, that he may give me the cave of machpelah which he owns, which is at the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in your presence for ...

now it came about after these things, that it was told abraham, saying, "behold, milcah also has borne children to your brother nahor: uz his first-born and buz his brother and kemuel the father of aram and chesed and hazo and pildash and jidlaph and bethuel." and bethuel became the father of rebekah: these 8 milcah bore to nahor, abraham's brother. and his concubine, whose name was reumah, also bore tebah and gaham and tahash and maacah.

then the angel of the Lord called to abraham a second time from heaven, and said, "be Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed, as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." so abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to beersheeba; and abraham lived at beersheeba.

then they came to the place of which God had told him; and abraham built the altar there, and arranged the wood, and bound his son isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. and abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. but the angel of the Lord called to him from Heaven and said, "abraham! abraham!" and he said "here i am." and He said, "do not stretch out your hand against the lad and do nothing to him; for now i know that you fear God, since you have not witheld your son, your only son from Me." then abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. and abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, "in the mount of the Lord it will be provided."

now it came about after these things, that God tested abraham, and said to him, "abraham!" and he said, "here i am." and He said, "take now your son, your only son, whom you love, isaac, and go to the land of moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which i will tell you." so abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took 2 of his young men with him and isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God told him. on the 3rd day abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. and abraham said to his young men, "stay here with the donkey, and i and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship and return to you." and abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. so the two of them walked together. and isaac spoke to abraham his father and said, "my father!" and he said, "here i am, my son." and he said, ...

now it came about at that time, that abimelech and phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to abraham, saying, "God is with you in all that you do; now therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me, or with my offspring, or with my posterity; but according to the kindness that i have shown to you, you shall now show to me, and to the land in which you have sojourned." and abraham said, "i swear it." but abraham complained to abimelech because of the well of water which the servants of abimelech had seized. and abimelech said, "i do not know who has done this thing; neither did you tell me, nor did i hear of it until today." and abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them to abimelech; and the two of them made a covenant. then abraham set 7 ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. and abimelech said to abraham, "what do these 7 ewe lambs mean, which you have set by themselves?" and he said, "you shall take these 7 ewe lambs from my hand in order that it may be a witness to me, that i dug this well." therefore ...

and the water in the skin was used up, and she left the boy [ishmael] under one of the bushes. then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said, "do not let me see the boy die." and she sat opposite him, and lifted up her voice and wept. and God heard the lad crying; and the angel of God called to hagar from heaven, and said to her, "what is the matter with you, hagar? do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. arise, lift up the lad, and hold him by the hand; for I will make a great nation of him." Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. and God was with the lad, and he grew; and he lived in the wilderness, and became an archer. and he lived in the wilderness of paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of egypt.

and the child grew and was weaned, and abraham made a great feast on the day that isaac was weaned. now sarah saw the son of hagar the egyptian, whom she had borne to abraham, mocking. therefore she said to abraham, "drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son isaac." and the matter distressed abraham greatly because of his son. but God said to abraham, "do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever sarah tells you, listen to her, for through isaac your descendants shall be named. and of the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is also your descendant." so abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave them to hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. and she departed, and wandered about in the wildnerness of beersheeba.

then the Lord took note of sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for sarah as He had promised. so sarah conceived and bore a son to abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. and abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom sarah bore to him, isaac. then abraham circumcised his son isaac when he was 8 days old, as God had commanded him. now abraham was 100 years old when his son isaac was born to him. and sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me." and she said, "who would have said to abraham that sarah would nurse children? yet i have borne him a son in his old age."

so abimelech arose early in the morning and called all his servants and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were greatly frightened. then abimelech called abraham and said to him, "what have you done to us? and how have i sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? you have done to me things that ought not to be done." and abimelech said to abraham, "what you have encountered, that you have done this thing?" and abraham said, "because i thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place; and they will kill me because of my wife; besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife; and it came about when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that i said to her, 'this is the kindness which you will show to me: everywhere we go, say of me, "he is my brother."'" abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants, and gave them to abraham, and restored his wife sarah to him. and abimelech said, "behold, my ...

now abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the negev, and settled between kaddesh and shur; then he sojourned in gerar. and abraham said of sarah his wife, "she is my sister." so abimelech king of gerar sent and took sarah. but God came to abimelech in a dream of the night and said to him, "behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married." now abimelech had not come near her; and he said, "Lord, wilt Thou slay a nation, even though blameless? did he not say to me, 'she is my sister'? and she herself said, 'he is my brother.' in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands i have done this." then God said to him in the dream, "yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. now therefore, restore the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live. but if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and ...

and lot went up from zoar, and stayed in the mountains, and his 2 daughters with him; for he was afraid to stay in zoar; and he stayed in a cave, he and his 2 daughters. then the first-born said to the younger, "our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of the earth. come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him, that we may preserve our family through our father." so they made their father drink wine that night, and the first-born went in and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. and it came about on the morrow, that the first-born said to the younger, "behold, i lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve our family through our father." so they made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger arose and lay with him; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. thus both the daughters of lot ...

the sun had risen over the earth when lot came to zoar. then the Lord rained on sodom and gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. but his wife, from behind him, looked back; an she became a pillar of salt. now abraham arose early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord; and he looked down toward sodom and gomorrah, and toward all the land of the valley, and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a furnace. thus it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, that God remembered abraham, and sent lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which lot lived.