Abraham and His Family

Genesis 12–24 (selections)

Biblical Period

Abraham’s Call

Chapter 12

1The Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

2I will make of you a great nation,
And I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
And you shall be a blessing.a
3I will bless those who bless you
And curse him that curses you;
And all the families of the earth
Shall bless themselves by you.”

4Abram went forth as the Lord had commanded him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the wealth that they had amassed, and the persons that they had acquired in Haran; and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in the land of Canaan, 6Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, at the terebinth of Moreh. The Canaanites were then in the land.

7The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will assign this land to your offspring.” And he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. [ . . . ]

God’s Covenant with Abraham

Chapter 15

1Some time later, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. He said,

“Fear not, Abram,
I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great.”

2But Abram said, “O Lord God, what can You give me, seeing that I shall die childless, and the one in charge of my household is Dammesek Eliezer!” 3Abram said further, “Since You have granted me no offspring, my steward will be my heir.” 4The word of the Lord came to him in reply, “That one shall not be your heir; none but your very own issue shall be your heir.” 5He took him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He added, “So shall your offspring be.” 6And because he put his trust in the Lord, He reckoned it to his merit.

7Then He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to assign this land to you as a possession.” [ . . . ] 13And He said to Abram, “Know well that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years; 14but I will execute judgment on the nation they shall serve, and in the end they shall go free with great wealth. 15As for you,

You shall go to your fathers in peace;
You shall be buried at a ripe old age.

16And they shall return here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

17When the sun set and it was very dark, there appeared a smoking oven, and a flaming torch which passed between those pieces. 18On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I assign this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates. [ . . . ]”

Sarai, Hagar, and Ishmael

Chapter 16

1Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. 2And Sarai said to Abram, “Look, the Lord has kept me from bearing. Consort with my maid; perhaps I shall have a son through her.” And Abram heeded Sarai’s request. 3So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took her maid, Hagar the Egyptian—after Abram had dwelt in the land of Canaan ten years—and gave her to her husband Abram as concubine. 4He cohabited with Hagar and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was lowered in her esteem. 5And Sarai said to Abram, “The wrong done me is your fault! I myself put my maid in your bosom; now that she sees that she is pregnant, I am lowered in her esteem. The Lord decide between you and me!” 6Abram said to Sarai, “Your maid is in your hands. Deal with her as you think right.” Then Sarai treated her harshly, and she ran away from her.

7An angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the road to Shur, 8and said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” And she said, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.”

9And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Go back to your mistress, and submit to her harsh treatment.” 10And the angel of the Lord said to her,

“I will greatly increase your offspring,
And they shall be too many to count.”

11The angel of the Lord said to her further,

“Behold, you are with child
And shall bear a son;
You shall call him Ishmael,
For the Lord has paid heed to your suffering.
12He shall be a wild ass of a man;
His hand against everyone,
And everyone’s hand against him;
He shall dwell alongside of all his kinsmen.”

13And she called the Lord who spoke to her, “You Are El-roi,” by which she meant, “Have I not gone on seeing after He saw me!” 14Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it is between Kadesh and Bered.— 15Hagar bore a son to Abram, and Abram gave the son that Hagar bore him the name Ishmael. 16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

God’s Promises to Abraham and Sarah

Chapter 17

1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Walk in My ways and be blameless. 2I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will make you exceedingly numerous.”

3Abram threw himself on his face; and God spoke to him further, 4“As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5And you shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I make you the father of a multitude of nations. 6I will make you exceedingly fertile, and make nations of you; and kings shall come forth from you. 7I will maintain My covenant between Me and you, and your offspring to come, as an everlasting covenant throughout the ages, to be God to you and to your offspring to come. 8I assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting holding. I will be their God.”

9God further said to Abraham, “As for you, you and your offspring to come throughout the ages shall keep My covenant. 10Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and your offspring to follow which you shall keep: every male among you shall be circumcised. 11You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12And throughout the generations, every male among you shall be circumcised at the age of eight days. As for the homeborn slave and the one bought from an outsider who is not of your offspring, 13they must be circumcised, homeborn, and purchased alike. Thus shall My covenant be marked in your flesh as an everlasting pact. 14And if any male who is uncircumcised fails to circumcise the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his kin; he has broken My covenant.”

15And God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, you shall not call her Sarai, but her name shall be Sarah.b 16I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she shall give rise to nations; rulers of peoples shall issue from her.” 17Abraham threw himself on his face and laughed, as he said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old, or can Sarah bear a child at ninety?” 18And Abraham said to God, “O that Ishmael might live by Your favor!” 19God said, “Nevertheless, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac; and I will maintain My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring to come. 20As for Ishmael, I have heeded you. I hereby bless him. I will make him fertile and exceedingly numerous. He shall be the father of twelve chieftains, and I will make of him a great nation. 21But My covenant I will maintain with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year.” 22And when He was done speaking with him, God was gone from Abraham.

23Then Abraham took his son Ishmael, and all his homeborn slaves and all those he had bought, every male in Abraham’s household, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins on that very day, as God had spoken to him. 24Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, 25and his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26Thus Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on that very day; 27and all his household, his homeborn slaves and those that had been bought from outsiders, were circumcised with him.

Relief with hieroglyphs above standing figures while others sit and perform circumcisions.
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Circumcision in an Egyptian relief, Sakkara, Egypt, Sixth Dynasty (ca. 2350–2170 BCE). Priests perform circumcision on boys. The hieroglyphic legend reads “circumcision.” The hands of the boy on the left are held by an assistant while the circumciser says, “Hold on to him; do not let him faint.” The boy on the right steadies himself by placing his hand on the circumciser’s head. In Genesis 17, Abraham, age 99, circumcises himself and the males of his household. In Genesis 21, he circumcises Isaac at 8 days old, as is stipulated in Genesis 17:12, and later in Leviticus, as the law for all Israelite males. See Abraham and His Family Tooltip info icon .

Chapter 18

1The Lord appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre; he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot. 2Looking up, he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them and, bowing to the ground, 3he said, “My lords, if it please you, do not go on past your servant. 4Let a little water be brought; bathe your feet and recline under the tree. 5And let me fetch a morsel of bread that you may refresh yourselves; then go on—seeing that you have come your servant’s way.” They replied, “Do as you have said.”

6Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quick, three seahs of choice flour! Knead and make cakes!” 7Then Abraham ran to the herd, took a calf, tender and choice, and gave it to a servant-boy, who hastened to prepare it. 8He took curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared and set these before them; and he waited on them under the tree as they ate.

9They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he replied, “There, in the tent.” 10Then one said, “I will return to you next year, and your wife Sarah shall have a son!” Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind him. 11Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years; Sarah had stopped having the periods of women. 12And Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “Now that I am withered, am I to have enjoyment—with my husband so old?” 13Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I in truth bear a child, old as I am?’ 14Is anything too wondrous for the Lord? I will return to you at the same season next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was frightened. But He replied, “You did laugh.”

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

16The men set out from there and looked down toward Sodom, Abraham walking with them to see them off. 17Now the Lord had said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18since Abraham is to become a great and populous nation and all the nations of the earth are to bless themselves by him? 19For I have singled him out, that he may instruct his children and his posterity to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is just and right, in order that the Lord may bring about for Abraham what He has promised him.” 20Then the Lord said, “The outrage of Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave! 21I will go down to see whether they have acted altogether according to the outcry that has reached Me; if not, I will take note.”

22The men went on from there to Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 23Abraham came forward and said, “Will You sweep away the innocent along with the guilty? 24What if there should be fifty innocent within the city; will You then wipe out the place and not forgive it for the sake of the innocent fifty who are in it? 25Far be it from You to do such a thing, to bring death upon the innocent as well as the guilty, so that innocent and guilty fare alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” 26And the Lord answered, “If I find within the city of Sodom fifty innocent ones, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” 27Abraham spoke up, saying, “Here I venture to speak to my Lord, I who am but dust and ashes: 28What if the fifty innocent should lack five? Will You destroy the whole city for want of the five?” And He answered, “I will not destroy if I find forty-five there.” 29But he spoke to Him again, and said, “What if forty should be found there?” And He answered, “I will not do it, for the sake of the forty.” 30And he said, “Let not my Lord be angry if I go on: What if thirty should be found there?” And He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31And he said, “I venture again to speak to my Lord: What if twenty should be found there?” And He answered, “I will not destroy, for the sake of the twenty.” 32And he said, “Let not my Lord be angry if I speak but this last time: What if ten should be found there?” And He answered, “I will not destroy, for the sake of the ten.”

33When the Lord had finished speaking to Abraham, He departed; and Abraham returned to his place.

Chapter 19

1The two angels arrived in Sodom in the evening, as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to greet them and, bowing low with his face to the ground, 2he said, “Please, my lords, turn aside to your servant’s house to spend the night, and bathe your feet; then you may be on your way early.” But they said, “No, we will spend the night in the square.” 3But he urged them strongly, so they turned his way and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

4They had not yet lain down, when the townspeople, the men of Sodom, young and old—all the people to the last man—gathered about the house. 5And they shouted to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may be intimate with them.” 6So Lot went out to them to the entrance, shut the door behind him, 7and said, “I beg you, my friends, do not commit such a wrong. 8Look, I have two daughters who have not known a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you please; but do not do anything to these men, since they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9But they said, “Stand back! The fellow,” they said, “came here as an alien, and already he acts the ruler! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” And they pressed hard against the person of Lot, and moved forward to break the door. 10But the men stretched out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11And the people who were at the entrance of the house, young and old, they struck with blinding light, so that they were helpless to find the entrance.

12Then the men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? Sons-in-law, your sons and daughters, or anyone else that you have in the city—bring them out of the place. 13For we are about to destroy this place; because the outcry against them before the Lord has become so great that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Up, get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law as one who jests.

15As dawn broke, the angels urged Lot on, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two remaining daughters, lest you be swept away because of the iniquity of the city.” 16Still he delayed. So the men seized his hand, and the hands of his wife and his two daughters—in the Lord’s mercy on him—and brought him out and left him outside the city. 17When they had brought them outside, one said, “Flee for your life! Do not look behind you, nor stop anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills, lest you be swept away.” 18But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lord! 19You have been so gracious to your servant, and have already shown me so much kindness in order to save my life; but I cannot flee to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20Look, that town there is near enough to flee to; it is such a little place! Let me flee there—it is such a little place—and let my life be saved.” 21He replied, “Very well, I will grant you this favor too, and I will not annihilate the town of which you have spoken. 22Hurry, flee there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Hence the town came to be called Zoar.

23As the sun rose upon the earth and Lot entered Zoar, 24the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulfurous fire from the Lord out of heaven. 25He annihilated those cities and the entire Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation of the ground. 26Lot’s wife looked back, and she thereupon turned into a pillar of salt.

27Next morning, Abraham hurried to the place where he had stood before the Lord, 28and, looking down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the Plain, he saw the smoke of the land rising like the smoke of a kiln.

29Thus it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain and annihilated the cities where Lot dwelt, God was mindful of Abraham and removed Lot from the midst of the upheaval. [ . . . ]

The Birth of Isaac

Chapter 21

1The Lord took note of Sarah as He had promised, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken. 3Abraham gave his newborn son, whom Sarah had borne him, the name of Isaac. 4And when his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him. 5Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” 7And she added,

“Who would have said to Abraham
That Sarah would suckle children!
Yet I have borne a son in his old age.”

8The child grew up and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

The Banishment of Hagar and Ishmael

9Sarah saw the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham playing. 10She said to Abraham, “Cast out that slave-woman and her son, for the son of that slave shall not share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.” 11The matter distressed Abraham greatly, for it concerned a son of his. 12But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed over the boy or your slave; whatever Sarah tells you, do as she says, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be continued for you. 13As for the son of the slave-woman, I will make a nation of him, too, for he is your seed.”

14Early next morning Abraham took some bread and a skin of water, and gave them to Hagar. He placed them over her shoulder, together with the child, and sent her away. And she wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. 15When the water was gone from the skin, she left the child under one of the bushes, 16and went and sat down at a distance, a bowshot away; for she thought, “Let me not look on as the child dies.” And sitting thus afar, she burst into tears.

17God heard the cry of the boy, and an angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heeded the cry of the boy where he is. 18Come, lift up the boy and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” 19Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water, and let the boy drink. 20God was with the boy and he grew up; he dwelt in the wilderness and became a bowman. 21He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt. [ . . . ]

God Tests Abraham

Chapter 22

1Some time afterward, God put Abraham to the test. He said to him, “Abraham,” and he answered, “Here I am.” 2And He said, “Take your son, your favored one, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you.” 3So early next morning, Abraham saddled his ass and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for the burnt offering, and he set out for the place of which God had told him. 4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place from afar. 5Then Abraham said to his servants, “You stay here with the ass. The boy and I will go up there; we will worship and we will return to you.”

6Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. He himself took the firestone and the knife; and the two walked off together. 7Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he answered, “Yes, my son.” And he said, “Here are the firestone and the wood; but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8And Abraham said, “God will see to the sheep for His burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them walked on together.

9They arrived at the place of which God had told him. Abraham built an altar there; he laid out the wood; he bound his son Isaac; he laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10And Abraham picked up the knife to slay his son. 11Then an angel of the Lord called to him from heaven: “Abraham! Abraham!” And he answered, “Here I am.” 12And he said, “Do not raise your hand against the boy, or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your favored one, from Me.” 13When Abraham looked up, his eye fell upon a ram, caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14And Abraham named that site Adonai-yireh,c whence the present saying, “On the mount of the Lord there is vision.”d

15The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16and said, “By Myself I swear, the Lord declares: Because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your favored one, 17I will bestow My blessing upon you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore; and your descendants shall seize the gates of their foes. 18All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, because you have obeyed My command.” 19Abraham then returned to his servants, and they departed together for Beer-sheba; and Abraham stayed in Beer-sheba.

20Some time later, Abraham was told, “Milcah too has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21Uz the first-born, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram; 22and Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel”—23Bethuel being the father of Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore children: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

The Death and Burial of Sarah

Chapter 23

1Sarah’s lifetime—the span of Sarah’s life—came to one hundred and twenty-seven years. 2Sarah died in Kiriath-arba—now Hebron—in the land of Canaan; and Abraham proceeded to mourn for Sarah and to bewail her. 3Then Abraham rose from beside his dead, and spoke to the Hittites, saying, 4“I am a resident alien among you; sell me a burial site among you, that I may remove my dead for burial.” 5And the Hittites replied to Abraham, saying to him, 6“Hear us, my lord: you are the elect of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places; none of us will withhold his burial place from you for burying your dead.” 7There-upon Abraham bowed low to the people of the land, the Hittites, 8and he said to them, “If it is your wish that I remove my dead for burial, you must agree to intercede for me with Ephron son of Zohar. 9Let him sell me the cave of Machpelah that he owns, which is at the edge of his land. Let him sell it to me, at the full price, for a burial site in your midst.”

10Ephron was present among the Hittites; so Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, all who entered the gate of his town, saying, 11“No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and I give you the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.” 12Then Abraham bowed low before the people of the land, 13and spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If only you would hear me out! Let me pay the price of the land; accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there.” 14And Ephron replied to Abraham, saying to him, 15“My lord, do hear me! A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver—what is that between you and me? Go and bury your dead.” 16Abraham accepted Ephron’s terms. Abraham paid out to Ephron the money that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites—four hundred shekels of silver at the going merchants’ rate.

17So Ephron’s land in Machpelah, near Mamre—the field with its cave and all the trees anywhere within the confines of that field—passed 18to Abraham as his possession, in the presence of the Hittites, of all who entered the gate of his town. 19And then Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre—now Hebron—in the land of Canaan. 20Thus the field with its cave passed from the Hittites to Abraham, as a burial site.

The Betrothal of Rebekah

Chapter 24

1Abraham was now old, advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2And Abraham said to the senior servant of his household, who had charge of all that he owned, “Put your hand under my thigh 3and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell, 4but will go to the land of my birth and get a wife for my son Isaac.” 5And the servant said to him, “What if the woman does not consent to follow me to this land, shall I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” 6Abraham answered him, “On no account must you take my son back there! 7The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from my native land, who promised me on oath, saying, ‘I will assign this land to your offspring’—He will send His angel before you, and you will get a wife for my son from there. 8And if the woman does not consent to follow you, you shall then be clear of this oath to me; but do not take my son back there.” 9So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore to him as bidden.

10Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and set out, taking with him all the bounty of his master; and he made his way to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor. 11He made the camels kneel down by the well outside the city, at evening time, the time when women come out to draw water. 12And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, grant me good fortune this day, and deal graciously with my master Abraham: 13Here I stand by the spring as the daughters of the townsmen come out to draw water; 14let the maiden to whom I say, ‘Please, lower your jar that I may drink,’ and who replies, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels’—let her be the one whom You have decreed for Your servant Isaac. Thereby shall I know that You have dealt graciously with my master.”

Photograph of stone well with rope system and two figures standing on the side.
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Well at Beersheba. This well was in use during the ninth and eighth centuries BCE and again in the Persian and Hellenistic periods (6th–2ndcenturies BCE). It is found just outside the city gate. The well was dug deep into the chalk bedrock, and the rows of dressed stones lining its upper part were probably added in the last stages of its use. As a vital public utility, wells were frequented regularly. It was at a well that Abraham’s servant met Rebekah, Jacob met Rachel, and Moses met Zipporah.

15He had scarcely finished speaking, when Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. 16The maiden was very beautiful, a virgin whom no man had known. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. 17The servant ran toward her and said, “Please, let me sip a little water from your jar.” 18“Drink, my lord,” she said, and she quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and let him drink. 19When she had let him drink his fill, she said, “I will also draw for your camels, until they finish drinking.” 20Quickly emptying her jar into the trough, she ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels.

21The man, meanwhile, stood gazing at her, silently wondering whether the Lord had made his errand successful or not. 22When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose-ring weighing a half-shekel, and two gold bands for her arms, ten shekels in weight. 23“Pray tell me,” he said, “whose daughter are you? Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24She replied, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25And she went on, “There is plenty of straw and feed at home, and also room to spend the night.” 26The man bowed low in homage to the Lord 27and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His steadfast faithfulness from my master. For I have been guided on my errand by the Lord, to the house of my master’s kinsmen.”

28The maiden ran and told all this to her mother’s household. 29Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out to the man at the spring— 30when he saw the nose-ring and the bands on his sister’s arms, and when he heard his sister Rebekah say, “Thus the man spoke to me.” He went up to the man, who was still standing beside the camels at the spring. 31“Come in, O blessed of the Lord,” he said, “why do you remain outside, when I have made ready the house and a place for the camels?” 32So the man entered the house, and the camels were unloaded. The camels were given straw and feed, and water was brought to bathe his feet and the feet of the men with him. 33But when food was set before him, he said, “I will not eat until I have told my tale.” He said, “Speak, then.”

34“I am Abraham’s servant,” he began. 35“The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich: He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and asses. 36And Sarah, my master’s wife, bore my master a son in her old age, and he has assigned to him everything he owns. 37Now my master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell; 38but you shall go to my father’s house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.’ 39And I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not follow me?’ 40He replied to me, ‘The Lord, whose ways I have followed, will send His angel with you and make your errand successful; and you will get a wife for my son from my kindred, from my father’s house. 41Thus only shall you be freed from my adjuration: if, when you come to my kindred, they refuse you—only then shall you be freed from my adjuration.’

42“I came today to the spring, and I said: O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if You would indeed grant success to the errand on which I am engaged! 43As I stand by the spring of water, let the young woman who comes out to draw and to whom I say, ‘Please, let me drink a little water from your jar,’ 44and who answers, ‘You may drink, and I will also draw for your camels’—let her be the wife whom the Lord has decreed for my master’s son.’ 45I had scarcely finished praying in my heart, when Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder, and went down to the spring and drew. And I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 46She quickly lowered her jar and said, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels. 47I inquired of her, ‘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 bands on her arms. 48Then I bowed low in homage to the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right way to get the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49And now, if you mean to treat my master with true kindness, tell me; and if not, tell me also, that I may turn right or left.”

50Then Laban and Bethuel answered, “The matter was decreed by the Lord; we cannot speak to you bad or good. 51Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be a wife to your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.” 52When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed low to the ground before the Lord. 53The servant brought out objects of silver and gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; and he gave presents to her brother and her mother. 54Then he and the men with him ate and drank, and they spent the night. When they arose next morning, he said, “Give me leave to go to my master.” 55But her brother and her mother said, “Let the maiden remain with us some ten days; then you may go.” 56He said to them, “Do not delay me, now that the Lord has made my errand successful. Give me leave that I may go to my master.” 57And they said, “Let us call the girl and ask for her reply.” 58They called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will.” 59So they sent off their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

“O sister!
May you grow
Into thousands of myriads;
May your offspring seize
The gates of their foes.”

61Then Rebekah and her maids arose, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went his way.

62Isaac had just come back from the vicinity of Beerlahai-roi, for he was settled in the region of the Negeb. 63And Isaac went out walking in the field toward evening and, looking up, he saw camels approaching. 64Raising her eyes, Rebekah saw Isaac. She alighted from the camel 65and said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” And the servant said, “That is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. 66The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67Isaac then brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he took Rebekah as his wife. Isaac loved her, and thus found comfort after his mother’s death.

Notes

I.e., a standard by which blessing is invoked; cf. v. 3 end.

I.e., “princess.”

I.e., “the Lord will see”; cf. v. 8.

Heb. Behar Adonai yera’eh.

Credits

Reprinted from Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures by permission of the University of Nebraska Press. Copyright 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 1.

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