Genesis Unit 9 (20:1-22:19)

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20:1 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the land of the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. 20:2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife: 'She is my sister.' And Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. 20:3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him: 'Behold, thou shalt die, because of the woman whom thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife.' 20:4 Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said: 'my Lord, wilt Thou slay even a righteous nation? 20:5 Said he not himself unto me: She is my sister? and she, even she herself said: He is my brother. In the simplicity of my heart and the innocency of my hands have I done this.' 20:6 And God said unto him in the dream: 'Yea, I know that in the simplicity of thy heart thou hast done this, and I also withheld thee from sinning against Me. Therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. 20:7 Now therefore restore the man's wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live; and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.' 20:8 And Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears; and the men were sore afraid. 20:9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him: 'What hast thou done unto us? and wherein have I sinned against thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.' 20:10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham: 'What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?' 20:11 And Abraham said: 'Because I thought: Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake. 20:12 And moreover she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and so she became my wife. 20:13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her: This is thy kindness which thou shalt show unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me: He is my brother.' 20:14 And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and men-servants and women-servants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. 20:15 And Abimelech said: 'Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.' 20:16 And unto Sarah he said: 'Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is for thee a covering of the eyes to all that are with thee; and before all men thou art righted.' 20:17 And Abraham prayed unto God; and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maid-servants; and they bore children. 20:18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife. {S}

21:1 And the LORD remembered Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as He had spoken. 21:2 And Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 21:3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. 21:4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 21:5 And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. 21:6 And Sarah said: 'God hath made laughter for me; every one that heareth will laugh on account of me.' 21:7 And she said: 'Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should give children suck? for I have borne him a son in his old age.' 21:8 And the child grew, and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 21:9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne unto Abraham, making sport. 21:10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham: 'Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.' 21:11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight on account of his son. 21:12 And God said unto Abraham: 'Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah saith unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall seed be called to thee. 21:13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.' 21:14 And Abraham arose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away; and she departed, and strayed in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. 21:15 And the water in the bottle was spent, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. 21:16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow-shot; for she said: 'Let me not look upon the death of the child.' And she sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept. 21:17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her: 'What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. 21:18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him fast by thy hand; for I will make him a great nation.' 21:19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. 21:20 And God was with the lad, and he grew; and he dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21:21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. {P}

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A 21:22 And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phicol the captain of his host spoke unto Abraham, saying: 'God is with thee in all that thou doest. 21:23 Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son; but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.' 21:24 And Abraham said: 'I will swear.'

A 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did prove Abraham, and said unto him: 'Abraham'; and he said: 'Here am I.' 22:2 And He said: 'Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.' 22:3 And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he cleaved the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. 22:4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. 22:5 And Abraham said unto his young men: 'Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship, and come back to you.' 22:6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife; and they went both of them together. 22:7 And Isaac spoke unto Abraham his father, and said: 'My father.' And he said: 'Here am I, my son.' And he said: 'Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?' 22:8 And Abraham said: 'God will provide Himself the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.' So they went both of them together. 22:9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 22:10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

B 21:25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of the well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away. 21:26 And Abimelech said: 'I know not who hath done this thing; neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to-day.' 21:27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and they two made a covenant.

B 22:11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said: 'Abraham, Abraham.' And he said: 'Here am I.' 22:12 And he said: 'Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him; for now I know that thou art a God-fearing man, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from Me.' 22:13 And Abraham lifted up 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 stead of his son. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Adonai-jireh; as it is said to this day: 'In the mount where the LORD is seen.'

C 21:28 And Abraham set seven ewe-lambs of the flock by themselves. 21:29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham: 'What mean these seven ewe-lambs which thou hast set by themselves?' 21:30 And he said: 'Verily, these seven ewe-lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that it may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.' 21:31 Wherefore that place was called Beer-sheba; because there they swore both of them. 21:32 So they made a covenant at Beer-sheba; and Abimelech rose up, and Phicol the captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines. 21:33 And Abraham planted a tamarisk-tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. 21:34 And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days. {P}

C 22:15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham a second time out of heaven, 22:16 and said: 'By Myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, 22:17 that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 22:18 and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast hearkened to My voice.' 22:19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba. {P}