23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. 1 23:2 Then she 2 died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3
23:3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife 4 and said to the sons of Heth, 5 23:4 “I am a temporary settler 6 among you. Grant 7 me ownership 8 of a burial site among you so that I may 9 bury my dead.” 10
23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, 11 23:6 “Listen, sir, 12 you are a mighty prince 13 among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you 14 from burying your dead.”
23:7 Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people, 15 the sons of Heth. 23:8 Then he said to them, “If you agree 16 that I may bury my dead, 17 then hear me out. 18 Ask 19 Ephron the son of Zohar 23:9 if he will sell 20 me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly 21 for the full price, 22 so that I may own it as a burial site.”
23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite 23 replied to Abraham in the hearing 24 of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate 25 of his city – 23:11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell 26 you both the field and the cave that is in it. 27 In the presence of my people 28 I sell it to you. Bury your dead.”
23:12 Abraham bowed before the local people 23:13 and said to Ephron in their hearing, “Hear me, if you will. I pay 29 to you the price 30 of the field. Take it from me so that I may 31 bury my dead there.”
23:14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 23:15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth 32 400 pieces of silver, 33 but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”
23:16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price 34 and weighed 35 out for him 36 the price 37 that Ephron had quoted 38 in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. 39
23:17 So Abraham secured 40 Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, 23:18 as his property in the presence of the sons of Heth before all who entered the gate of Ephron’s city. 41
23:19 After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah next to Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 23:20 So Abraham secured the field and the cave that was in it as a burial site 42 from the sons of Heth.
24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years, 43 and the Lord had blessed him 44 in everything. 24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one 45 in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh 46 24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise 47 by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire 48 a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living. 24:4 You must go instead to my country and to my relatives 49 to find 50 a wife for my son Isaac.”
24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me 51 to this land? Must I then 52 take your son back to the land from which you came?”
24:6 “Be careful 53 never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. 54 24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, 55 promised me with a solemn oath, 56 ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel 57 before you so that you may find 58 a wife for my son from there. 24:8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, 59 you will be free 60 from this oath of mine. But you must not take my son back there!” 24:9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and gave his solemn promise he would carry out his wishes. 61
24:10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal. 62 He journeyed 63 to the region of Aram Naharaim 64 and the city of Nahor. 24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well 65 outside the city. It was evening, 66 the time when the women would go out to draw water. 24:12 He prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today. 67 Be faithful 68 to my master Abraham. 24:13 Here I am, standing by the spring, 69 and the daughters of the people 70 who live in the town are coming out to draw water. 24:14 I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ 71 In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” 72
24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah 73 with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor). 74 24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. 75 She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 24:17 Abraham’s servant 76 ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.” 24:18 “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and quickly lowering 77 her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 24:19 When she had done so, 78 she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 24:20 She quickly emptied 79 her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw more water until she had drawn enough for all his camels. 24:21 Silently the man watched her with interest to determine 80 if the Lord had made his journey successful 81 or not.
24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka 82 and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels 83 and gave them to her. 84 24:23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. 85 “Tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”
24:24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom Milcah bore to Nahor. 86 24:25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added, 87 “and room for you 88 to spend the night.”
24:26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord, 24:27 saying “Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love 89 for my master! The Lord has led me 90 to the house 91 of my master’s relatives!” 92
24:28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about 93 these things. 24:29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.) 94 Laban rushed out to meet the man at the spring. 24:30 When he saw the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and the nose ring 95 and heard his sister Rebekah say, 96 “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing 97 by the camels near the spring. 24:31 Laban said to him, 98 “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord! 99 Why are you standing out here when I have prepared 100 the house and a place for the camels?”
24:32 So Abraham’s servant 101 went to the house and unloaded 102 the camels. Straw and feed were given 103 to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet. 104 24:33 When food was served, 105 he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.” 106 “Tell us,” Laban said. 107
24:34 “I am the servant of Abraham,” he began. 24:35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy. 108 The Lord 109 has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 24:36 My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to him 110 when she was old, 111 and my master 112 has given him everything he owns. 24:37 My master made me swear an oath. He said, ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 24:38 but you must go to the family of my father and to my relatives to find 113 a wife for my son.’ 24:39 But I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not want to go 114 with me?’ 115 24:40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, 116 will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family. 24:41 You will be free from your oath 117 if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from your oath.’ 24:42 When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful, 118 may events unfold as follows: 119 24:43 Here I am, standing by the spring. 120 When 121 the young woman goes out to draw water, I’ll say, “Give me a little water to drink from your jug.” 24:44 Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’
24:45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, 122 along came Rebekah 123 with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 24:46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water. 24:47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.’ 124 I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 24:48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter 125 of my master’s brother for his son. 24:49 Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.” 126
24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. 127 Our wishes are of no concern. 128 24:51 Rebekah stands here before you. Take her and go so that she may become 129 the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decided.” 130
24:52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 24:53 Then he 131 brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother. 24:54 After this, he and the men who were with him ate a meal and stayed there overnight. 132
When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.” 133 24:55 But Rebekah’s 134 brother and her mother replied, “Let the girl stay with us a few more days, perhaps ten. Then she can go.” 24:56 But he said to them, “Don’t detain me – the Lord 135 has granted me success on my journey. Let me leave now so I may return 136 to my master.” 24:57 Then they said, “We’ll call the girl and find out what she wants to do.” 137 24:58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want 138 to go with this man?” She replied, “I want to go.”
24:59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men. 24:60 They blessed Rebekah with these words: 139
“Our sister, may you become the mother 140 of thousands of ten thousands!
May your descendants possess the strongholds 141 of their enemies.”
24:61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with 142 the man. So Abraham’s servant 143 took Rebekah and left.
24:62 Now 144 Isaac came from 145 Beer Lahai Roi, 146 for 147 he was living in the Negev. 148 24:63 He 149 went out to relax 150 in the field in the early evening. 151 Then he looked up 152 and saw that 153 there were camels approaching. 24:64 Rebekah looked up 154 and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 24:65 and asked 155 Abraham’s servant, 156 “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. 157 So she took her veil and covered herself.
24:66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah 158 into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her 159 as his wife and loved her. 160 So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. 161
25:1 Abraham had taken 162 another 163 wife, named Keturah. 25:2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 25:3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. 164 The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 25:4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants 165 of Keturah.
25:5 Everything he owned Abraham left to his son Isaac. 25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines 166 and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. 167
25:7 Abraham lived a total of 168 175 years. 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. 169 He joined his ancestors. 170 25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah 171 near Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hethite. 25:10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the sons of Heth. 172 There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed 173 his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. 174
25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, 175 whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.
25:13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their records: 176 Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 25:14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 25:15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their settlements and their camps – twelve princes 177 according to their clans.
25:17 Ishmael lived a total of 178 137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. 179 25:18 His descendants 180 settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next 181 to Egypt all the way 182 to Asshur. 183 They settled 184 away from all their relatives. 185
25:19 This is the account of Isaac, 186 the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac. 25:20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, 187 the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. 188
25:21 Isaac prayed to 189 the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 25:22 But the children struggled 190 inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” 191 So she asked the Lord, 192 25:23 and the Lord said to her,
“Two nations 193 are in your womb,
and two peoples will be separated from within you.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”
25:24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, 194 there were 195 twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish 196 all over, 197 like a hairy 198 garment, so they named him Esau. 199 25:26 When his brother came out with 200 his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. 201 Isaac was sixty years old 202 when they were born.
25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled 203 hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. 204 25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, 205 but Rebekah loved 206 Jacob.
25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, 207 and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed 208 me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called 209 Edom.) 210
25:31 But Jacob replied, “First 211 sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” 212 25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” 213 So Esau 214 swore an oath to him and sold his birthright 215 to Jacob.
25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. 216 So Esau despised his birthright. 217
26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred 218 in the days of Abraham. 219 Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. 26:2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; 220 settle down in the land that I will point out to you. 221 26:3 Stay 222 in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, 223 for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, 224 and I will fulfill 225 the solemn promise I made 226 to your father Abraham. 26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them 227 all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. 228 26:5 All this will come to pass 229 because Abraham obeyed me 230 and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” 231 26:6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.
26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” 232 He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, 233 “The men of this place will kill me to get 234 Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”
26:8 After Isaac 235 had been there a long time, 236 Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed 237 Isaac caressing 238 his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really 239 your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” 240
26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? 241 One of the men 242 might easily have had sexual relations with 243 your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches 244 this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” 245
26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, 246 because the Lord blessed him. 247 26:13 The man became wealthy. 248 His influence continued to grow 249 until he became very prominent. 26:14 He had 250 so many sheep 251 and cattle 252 and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous 253 of him. 26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up 254 all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.
26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, 255 for you have become much more powerful 256 than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. 257 26:18 Isaac reopened 258 the wells that had been dug 259 back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up 260 after Abraham died. Isaac 261 gave these wells 262 the same names his father had given them. 263
26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing 264 water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled 265 with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac 266 named the well 267 Esek 268 because they argued with him about it. 269 26:21 His servants 270 dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it 271 Sitnah. 272 26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac 273 named it 274 Rehoboth, 275 saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”
26:23 From there Isaac 276 went up to Beer Sheba. 26:24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped 277 the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. 278
26:26 Now Abimelech had come 279 to him from Gerar along with 280 Ahuzzah his friend 281 and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me 282 and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see 283 that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be 284 a pact between us 285 – between us 286 and you. Allow us to make 287 a treaty with you 26:29 so that 288 you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed 289 you, but have always treated you well 290 before sending you away 291 in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” 292
26:30 So Isaac 293 held a feast for them and they celebrated. 294 26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. 295 Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. 296
26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. 297 26:33 So he named it Shibah; 298 that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba 299 to this day.
26:34 When 300 Esau was forty years old, 301 he married 302 Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 26:35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. 303
12:4 So Abram left, 304 just as the Lord had told him to do, 305 and Lot went with him. (Now 306 Abram was 75 years old 307 when he departed from Haran.)
23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite 308 replied to Abraham in the hearing 309 of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate 310 of his city –
24:4 The earth 311 dries up 312 and withers,
the world shrivels up and withers;
the prominent people of the earth 313 fade away.
33:8 Highways are empty, 314
there are no travelers. 315
Treaties are broken, 316
witnesses are despised, 317
human life is treated with disrespect. 318
33:9 The land 319 dries up 320 and withers away;
the forest of Lebanon shrivels up 321 and decays.
Sharon 322 is like the desert; 323
Bashan and Carmel 324 are parched. 325
4:3 Therefore the land will mourn,
and all its inhabitants will perish. 326
The wild animals, 327 the birds of the sky,
and even the fish in the sea will perish.
1:10 The crops of the fields 328 have been destroyed. 329
The ground is in mourning because the grain has perished.
The fresh wine has dried up;
the olive oil languishes.