Category: Genesis

[22:20] Some time later Abraham learned that Milcah had borne eight children to his brother Nahor:

[22:21] Uz the first-born, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram,

[22:22] Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel,

[22:23] Rebecca's father. Milcah bore these eight sons to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

[22:24] Reumah, Nahor's concubine, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

[23:1] Sarah lived to be 127 years old.

[23:2] She died in Hebron in the land of Canaan, and Abraham mourned her death.

[23:3] He left the place where his wife's body was lying, went to the Hittites, and said,

[23:4] “I am a foreigner living here among you; sell me some land, so that I can bury my wife.”

[23:5] They answered,

[23:6] “Listen to us, sir. We look upon you as a mighty leader; bury your wife in the best grave that we have. Any of us would be glad to give you a grave, so that you can bury her.”

[23:7] Then Abraham bowed before them

[23:8] and said, “If you are willing to let me bury my wife here, please ask Ephron son of Zohar

[23:9] to sell me Machpelah Cave, which is near the edge of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for its full price, here in your presence, so that I can own it as a burial ground.”

[23:10] Ephron himself was sitting with the other Hittites at the meeting place at the city gate; he answered in the hearing of everyone there,

[23:11] “Listen, sir; I will give you the whole field and the cave that is in it. Here in the presence of my own people, I will give it to you, so that you can bury your wife.”

[23:12] But Abraham bowed before the Hittites

[23:13] and said to Ephron, so that everyone could hear, “May I ask you, please, to listen. I will buy the whole field. Accept my payment, and I will bury my wife there.”

[23:14] Ephron answered,

[23:15] “Sir, land worth only four hundred pieces of silver—what is that between us? Bury your wife in it.”

[23:16] Abraham agreed and weighed out the amount that Ephron had mentioned in the hearing of the people—four hundred pieces of silver, according to the standard weights used by the merchants.

[23:17] That is how the property which had belonged to Ephron at Machpelah east of Mamre, became Abraham's. It included the field, the cave which was in it, and all the trees in the field up to the edge of the property.

[23:18] It was recognized as Abraham's property by all the Hittites who were there at the meeting.

[23:19] Then Abraham buried his wife Sarah in that cave in the land of Canaan.

[23:20] So the field which had belonged to the Hittites, and the cave in it, became the property of Abraham for a burial ground.

[24:1] Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in everything he did.

[24:2] He said to his oldest servant, who was in charge of all that he had, “Place your hand between my thighs and make a vow.

[24:3] I want you to make a vow in the name of the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not choose a wife for my son from the people here in Canaan.

[24:4] You must go back to the country where I was born and get a wife for my son Isaac from among my relatives.”

[24:5] But the servant asked, “What if the young woman will not leave home to come with me to this land? Shall I send your son back to the land you came from?”

[24:6] Abraham answered, “Make sure that you don't send my son back there!

[24:7] The Lord, the God of heaven, brought me from the home of my father and from the land of my relatives, and he solemnly promised me that he would give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel before you, so that you can get a wife there for my son.

[24:8] If the young woman is not willing to come with you, you will be free from this promise. But you must not under any circumstances take my son back there.”

[24:9] So the servant put his hand between the thighs of Abraham, his master, and made a vow to do what Abraham had asked.

[24:10] The servant, who was in charge of Abraham's property, took ten of his master's camels and went to the city where Nahor had lived in northern Mesopotamia.

[24:11] When he arrived, he made the camels kneel down at the well outside the city. It was late afternoon, the time when women came out to get water.

[24:12] He prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today and keep your promise to my master.

[24:13] Here I am at the well where the young women of the city will be coming to get water.

[24:14] I will say to one of them, ‘Please, lower your jar and let me have a drink.’ If she says, ‘Drink, and I will also bring water for your camels,’ may she be the one that you have chosen for your servant Isaac. If this happens, I will know that you have kept your promise to my master.”

[24:15] Before he had finished praying, Rebecca arrived with a water jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham's brother Nahor and his wife Milcah.

[24:16] She was a very beautiful young woman and still a virgin. She went down to the well, filled her jar, and came back.

[24:17] The servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a drink of water from your jar.”

[24:18] She said, “Drink, sir,” and quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and held it while he drank.

[24:19] When he had finished, she said, “I will also bring water for your camels and let them have all they want.”

[24:20] She quickly emptied her jar into the animals' drinking trough and ran to the well to get more water, until she had watered all his camels.

[24:21] The man kept watching her in silence, to see if the Lord had given him success.

[24:22] When she had finished, the man took an expensive gold ring and put it in her nose and put two large gold bracelets on her arms.

[24:23] He said, “Please tell me who your father is. Is there room in his house for my men and me to spend the night?”

[24:24] “My father is Bethuel son of Nahor and Milcah,” she answered.

[24:25] “There is plenty of straw and fodder at our house, and there is a place for you to stay.”

[24:26] Then the man knelt down and worshiped the Lord.

[24:27] He said, “Praise the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has faithfully kept his promise to my master. The Lord has led me straight to my master's relatives.”

[24:28] The young woman ran to her mother's house and told the whole story.

[24:29] Now Rebecca had a brother named Laban, and he ran outside to go to the well where Abraham's servant was.

[24:30] Laban had seen the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms and had heard her say what the man had told her. He went to Abraham's servant, who was standing by his camels at the well,

[24:31] and said, “Come home with me. You are a man whom the Lord has blessed. Why are you standing out here? I have a room ready for you in my house, and there is a place for your camels.”

[24:32] So the man went into the house, and Laban unloaded the camels and gave them straw and fodder. Then he brought water for Abraham's servant and his men to wash their feet.

[24:33] When food was brought, the man said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.” Laban said, “Go on and speak.”

[24:34] “I am the servant of Abraham,” he began.

[24:35] “The Lord has greatly blessed my master and made him a rich man. He has given him flocks of sheep and goats, cattle, silver, gold, male and female slaves, camels, and donkeys.

[24:36] Sarah, my master's wife, bore him a son when she was old, and my master has given everything he owns to him.

[24:37] My master made me promise with a vow to obey his command. He said, ‘Do not choose a wife for my son from the young women in the land of Canaan.

[24:38] Instead, go to my father's people, to my relatives, and choose a wife for him.’

[24:39] And I asked my master, ‘What if she will not come with me?’

[24:40] He answered, ‘The Lord, whom I have always obeyed, will send his angel with you and give you success. You will get for my son a wife from my own people, from my father's family.

[24:41] There is only one way for you to be free from your vow: if you go to my relatives and they refuse you, then you will be free.’

[24:42] “When I came to the well today, I prayed, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, please give me success in what I am doing.

[24:43] Here I am at the well. When a young woman comes out to get water, I will ask her to give me a drink of water from her jar.

[24:44] If she agrees and also offers to bring water for my camels, may she be the one that you have chosen as the wife for my master's son.’

[24:45] Before I had finished my silent prayer, Rebecca came with a water jar on her shoulder and went down to the well to get water. I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’

[24:46] She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she watered the camels.

[24:47] I asked her, ‘Who is your father?’ And she answered, ‘My father is Bethuel son of Nahor and Milcah.’ Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms.

[24:48] I knelt down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me straight to my master's relative, where I found his daughter for my master's son.

[24:49] Now, if you intend to fulfill your responsibility toward my master and treat him fairly, please tell me; if not, say so, and I will decide what to do.”

[24:50] Laban and Bethuel answered, “Since this matter comes from the Lord, it is not for us to make a decision.

[24:51] Here is Rebecca; take her and go. Let her become the wife of your master's son, as the Lord himself has said.”

[24:52] When the servant of Abraham heard this, he bowed down and worshiped the Lord.

[24:53] Then he brought out clothing and silver and gold jewelry, and gave them to Rebecca. He also gave expensive gifts to her brother and to her mother.

[24:54] Then Abraham's servant and the men with him ate and drank, and spent the night there. When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me go back to my master.”

[24:55] But Rebecca's brother and her mother said, “Let her stay with us a week or ten days, and then she may go.”

[24:56] But he said, “Don't make us stay. The Lord has made my journey a success; let me go back to my master.”

[24:57] They answered, “Let's call her and find out what she has to say.”

[24:58] So they called Rebecca and asked, “Do you want to go with this man?” “Yes,” she answered.

[24:59] So they let Rebecca and her old family servant go with Abraham's servant and his men.

[24:60] And they gave Rebecca their blessing in these words: “May you, sister, become the mother of millions! May your descendants conquer the cities of their enemies!”

[24:61] Then Rebecca and her young women got ready and mounted the camels to go with Abraham's servant, and they all started out.

[24:62] Isaac had come into the wilderness of “The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me” and was staying in the southern part of Canaan.

[24:63] He went out in the early evening to take a walk in the fields and saw camels coming.

[24:64] When Rebecca saw Isaac, she got down from her camel

[24:65] and asked Abraham's servant, “Who is that man walking toward us in the field?” “He is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her scarf and covered her face.

[24:66] The servant told Isaac everything he had done.

[24:67] Then Isaac brought Rebecca into the tent that his mother Sarah had lived in, and she became his wife. Isaac loved Rebecca, and so he was comforted for the loss of his mother.

[25:1] Abraham married another woman, whose name was Keturah.

[25:2] She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

[25:3] Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan, and the descendants of Dedan were the Asshurim, the Letushim, and the Leummim.

[25:4] The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were Keturah's descendants.

[25:5] Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac;

[25:6] but while he was still alive, he gave presents to the sons his other wives had borne him. Then he sent these sons to the land of the East, away from his son Isaac.

[25:9] His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in Machpelah Cave, in the field east of Mamre that had belonged to Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.

[25:10] It was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites; both Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried there.

[25:11] After the death of Abraham, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near “The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.”

[25:12] Ishmael, whom Hagar, the Egyptian slave of Sarah, bore to Abraham,

[25:13] had the following sons, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

[25:14] Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

[25:15] Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

[25:16] They were the ancestors of twelve tribes, and their names were given to their villages and camping places.

[25:17] Ishmael was 137 years old when he died.

[25:18] The descendants of Ishmael lived in the territory between Havilah and Shur, to the east of Egypt on the way to Assyria. They lived apart from the other descendants of Abraham.

[25:19] This is the story of Abraham's son Isaac.

[25:20] Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel (an Aramean from Mesopotamia) and sister of Laban.

[25:21] Because Rebecca had no children, Isaac prayed to the Lord for her. The Lord answered his prayer, and Rebecca became pregnant.

[25:22] She was going to have twins, and before they were born, they struggled against each other in her womb. She said, “Why should something like this happen to me?” So she went to ask the Lord for an answer.

[25:23] The Lord said to her, “Two nations are within you; You will give birth to two rival peoples. One will be stronger than the other; The older will serve the younger.”

[25:24] The time came for her to give birth, and she had twin sons.

[25:25] The first one was reddish, and his skin was like a hairy robe, so he was named Esau.

[25:26] The second one was born holding on tightly to the heel of Esau, so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

[25:27] The boys grew up, and Esau became a skilled hunter, a man who loved the outdoors, but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.

[25:28] Isaac preferred Esau, because he enjoyed eating the animals Esau killed, but Rebecca preferred Jacob.

[25:29] One day while Jacob was cooking some bean soup, Esau came in from hunting. He was hungry

[25:30] and said to Jacob, “I'm starving; give me some of that red stuff.” (That is why he was named Edom.)

[25:31] Jacob answered, “I will give it to you if you give me your rights as the first-born son.”

[25:32] Esau said, “All right! I am about to die; what good will my rights do me?”

[25:33] Jacob answered, “First make a vow that you will give me your rights.” Esau made the vow and gave his rights to Jacob.

[25:34] Then Jacob gave him some bread and some of the soup. He ate and drank and then got up and left. That was all Esau cared about his rights as the first-born son.

[26:1] There was another famine in the land besides the earlier one during the time of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.

[26:2] The Lord had appeared to Isaac and had said, “Do not go to Egypt; stay in this land, where I tell you to stay.

[26:3] Live here, and I will be with you and bless you. I am going to give all this territory to you and to your descendants. I will keep the promise I made to your father Abraham.

[26:4] I will give you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky, and I will give them all this territory. All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants.

[26:5] I will bless you, because Abraham obeyed me and kept all my laws and commands.”

[26:6] So Isaac lived at Gerar.

[26:7] When the men there asked about his wife, he said that she was his sister. He would not admit that she was his wife, because he was afraid that the men there would kill him to get Rebecca, who was very beautiful.

[26:8] When Isaac had been there for some time, King Abimelech looked down from his window and saw Isaac and Rebecca making love.

[26:9] Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is your wife! Why did you say she was your sister?” He answered, “I thought I would be killed if I said she was my wife.”

[26:10] “What have you done to us?” Abimelech said. “One of my men might easily have slept with your wife, and you would have been responsible for our guilt.”

[26:11] Abimelech warned all the people: “Anyone who mistreats this man or his wife will be put to death.”

[26:12] Isaac sowed crops in that land, and that year he harvested a hundred times as much as he had sown, because the Lord blessed him.

[26:13] He continued to prosper and became a very rich man.

[26:14] Because he had many herds of sheep and cattle and many servants, the Philistines were jealous of him.

[26:15] So they filled in all the wells which the servants of his father Abraham had dug while Abraham was alive.

[26:16] Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave our country. You have become more powerful than we are.”

[26:17] So Isaac left and set up his camp in Gerar Valley, where he stayed for some time.

[26:18] He dug once again the wells which had been dug during the time of Abraham and which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham's death. Isaac gave the wells the same names that his father had given them.

[26:19] Isaac's servants dug a well in the valley and found water.

[26:20] The shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's shepherds and said, “This water belongs to us.” So Isaac named the well “Quarrel.”

[26:21] Isaac's servants dug another well, and there was a quarrel about that one also, so he named it “Enmity.”

[26:22] He moved away from there and dug another well. There was no dispute about this one, so he named it “Freedom.” He said, “Now the Lord has given us freedom to live in the land, and we will be prosperous here.”

[26:23] Isaac left and went to Beersheba.

[26:24] That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid; I am with you. I will bless you and give you many descendants because of my promise to my servant Abraham.”

[26:25] Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. Then he set up his camp there, and his servants dug another well.

[26:26] Abimelech came from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army to see Isaac.

[26:27] So Isaac asked, “Why have you now come to see me, when you were so unfriendly to me before and made me leave your country?”

[26:28] They answered, “Now we know that the Lord is with you, and we think that there should be a solemn agreement between us. We want you to promise

[26:29] that you will not harm us, just as we did not harm you. We were kind to you and let you go peacefully. Now it is clear that the Lord has blessed you.”

[26:30] Isaac prepared a feast for them, and they ate and drank.

[26:31] Early next morning each man made his promise and sealed it with a vow. Isaac said good-bye to them, and they parted as friends.

[26:32] On that day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well which they had dug. They said, “We have found water.”

[26:33] He named the well “Vow.” That is how the city of Beersheba got its name.