6:6 These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, 6:7 and you must teach ¹  them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, ²  as you lie down, and as you get up. 6:8 You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm ³  and fasten them as symbols ⁴  on your forehead. 6:9 Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and gates. ⁵ 

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ¹  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ²  in Gerar, 20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.

20:3 But God appeared ³  to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead ⁴  because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” ⁵ 

20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, ⁶  would you really slaughter an innocent nation? ⁷  20:5 Did Abraham ⁸  not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ⁹  ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience ¹⁰  and with innocent hands!”

20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. ¹¹  That is why I have kept you ¹²  from sinning against me and why ¹³  I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ¹⁴  he is a prophet ¹⁵  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ¹⁶  But if you don’t give her back, ¹⁷  know that you will surely die ¹⁸  along with all who belong to you.”

20:8 Early in the morning ¹⁹  Abimelech summoned ²⁰  all his servants. When he told them about all these things, ²¹  they ²²  were terrified. 20:9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? ²³  You have done things to me that should not be done!” ²⁴  20:10 Then Abimelech asked ²⁵  Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” ²⁶ 

20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, ²⁷  ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of ²⁸  my wife.’ 20:12 What’s more, ²⁹  she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife. 20:13 When God made me wander ³⁰  from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: ³¹  Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”

20:14 So Abimelech gave ³²  sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him. 20:15 Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.” ³³ 

20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver ³⁴  to your ‘brother.’ ³⁵  This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” ³⁶ 

20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children. 20:18 For the Lord ³⁷  had caused infertility to strike every woman ³⁸  in the household of Abimelech because he took ³⁹  Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

21:1 The Lord visited ⁴⁰  Sarah just as he had said he would and did ⁴¹  for Sarah what he had promised. ⁴²  21:2 So Sarah became pregnant ⁴³  and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him. 21:3 Abraham named his son – whom Sarah bore to him – Isaac. ⁴⁴  21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, ⁴⁵  Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do. ⁴⁶  21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.) ⁴⁷ 

21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. ⁴⁸  Everyone who hears about this ⁴⁹  will laugh ⁵⁰  with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, ⁵¹  “Who would ⁵²  have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”

21:8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham prepared ⁵³  a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. ⁵⁴  21:9 But Sarah noticed ⁵⁵  the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. ⁵⁶  21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish ⁵⁷  that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”

21:11 Sarah’s demand displeased Abraham greatly because Ishmael was his son. ⁵⁸  21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset ⁵⁹  about the boy or your slave wife. Do ⁶⁰  all that Sarah is telling ⁶¹  you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. ⁶²  21:13 But I will also make the son of the slave wife into a great nation, for he is your descendant too.”

21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took ⁶³  some food ⁶⁴  and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, ⁶⁵  and sent her away. So she went wandering ⁶⁶  aimlessly through the wilderness ⁶⁷  of Beer Sheba. 21:15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shoved ⁶⁸  the child under one of the shrubs. 21:16 Then she went and sat down by herself across from him at quite a distance, about a bowshot ⁶⁹  away; for she thought, ⁷⁰  “I refuse to watch the child die.” ⁷¹  So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably. ⁷² 

21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. ⁷³  The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, ⁷⁴  Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard ⁷⁵  the boy’s voice right where he is crying. 21:18 Get up! Help the boy up and hold him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 21:19 Then God enabled Hagar to see a well of water. ⁷⁶  She went over and filled the skin with water, and then gave the boy a drink.

21:20 God was with the boy as he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran. ⁷⁷  His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt. ⁷⁸ 

21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you ⁷⁹  in all that you do. 21:23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name ⁸⁰  that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. ⁸¹  Show me, and the land ⁸²  where you are staying, ⁸³  the same loyalty ⁸⁴  that I have shown you.” ⁸⁵ 

21:24 Abraham said, “I swear to do this.” ⁸⁶  21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint ⁸⁷  against Abimelech concerning a well ⁸⁸  that Abimelech’s servants had seized. ⁸⁹  21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, ⁹⁰  you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today.”

21:27 Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a treaty. ⁹¹  21:28 Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the flock by themselves. 21:29 Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these ⁹²  seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 21:30 He replied, “You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal proof ⁹³  that I dug this well.” ⁹⁴  21:31 That is why he named that place ⁹⁵  Beer Sheba, ⁹⁶  because the two of them swore ⁹⁷  an oath there.

21:32 So they made a treaty ⁹⁸  at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned ⁹⁹  to the land of the Philistines. ¹⁰⁰  21:33 Abraham ¹⁰¹  planted a tamarisk tree ¹⁰²  in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, ¹⁰³  the eternal God. 21:34 So Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for quite some time. ¹⁰⁴ 

22:1 Some time after these things God tested ¹⁰⁵  Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham ¹⁰⁶  replied. 22:2 God ¹⁰⁷  said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac ¹⁰⁸  – and go to the land of Moriah! ¹⁰⁹  Offer him up there as a burnt offering ¹¹⁰  on one of the mountains which I will indicate to ¹¹¹  you.”

22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. ¹¹²  He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out ¹¹³  for the place God had spoken to him about.

22:4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of ¹¹⁴  the place in the distance. 22:5 So he ¹¹⁵  said to his servants, “You two stay ¹¹⁶  here with the donkey while ¹¹⁷  the boy and I go up there. We will worship ¹¹⁸  and then return to you.” ¹¹⁹ 

22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, ¹²⁰  and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, ¹²¹  “My father?” “What is it, ¹²²  my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, ¹²³  “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 22:8 “God will provide ¹²⁴  for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.

22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there ¹²⁵  and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up ¹²⁶  his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter ¹²⁷  his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel ¹²⁸  called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” ¹²⁹  the angel said. ¹³⁰  “Do not do anything to him, for now I know ¹³¹  that you fear ¹³²  God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”

22:13 Abraham looked up ¹³³  and saw ¹³⁴  behind him ¹³⁵  a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he ¹³⁶  went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” ¹³⁷  It is said to this day, ¹³⁸  “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” ¹³⁹ 

22:15 The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven 22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ ¹⁴⁰  decrees the Lord, ¹⁴¹  ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, ¹⁴²  and I will greatly multiply ¹⁴³  your descendants ¹⁴⁴  so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession ¹⁴⁵  of the strongholds ¹⁴⁶  of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, ¹⁴⁷  all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ¹⁴⁸  using the name of your descendants.’”

22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together ¹⁴⁹  for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. ¹⁵⁰ 

22:20 After these things Abraham was told, “Milcah ¹⁵¹  also has borne children to your brother Nahor – 22:21 Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), ¹⁵²  22:22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 22:23 (Now ¹⁵³  Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) These were the eight sons Milcah bore to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 22:24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore him children – Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. ¹⁵⁴  23:2 Then she ¹⁵⁵  died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. ¹⁵⁶ 

23:3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife ¹⁵⁷  and said to the sons of Heth, ¹⁵⁸  23:4 “I am a temporary settler ¹⁵⁹  among you. Grant ¹⁶⁰  me ownership ¹⁶¹  of a burial site among you so that I may ¹⁶²  bury my dead.” ¹⁶³ 

23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, ¹⁶⁴  23:6 “Listen, sir, ¹⁶⁵  you are a mighty prince ¹⁶⁶  among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you ¹⁶⁷  from burying your dead.”

23:7 Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people, ¹⁶⁸  the sons of Heth. 23:8 Then he said to them, “If you agree ¹⁶⁹  that I may bury my dead, ¹⁷⁰  then hear me out. ¹⁷¹  Ask ¹⁷²  Ephron the son of Zohar 23:9 if he will sell ¹⁷³  me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly ¹⁷⁴  for the full price, ¹⁷⁵  so that I may own it as a burial site.”

23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite ¹⁷⁶  replied to Abraham in the hearing ¹⁷⁷  of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate ¹⁷⁸  of his city – 23:11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell ¹⁷⁹  you both the field and the cave that is in it. ¹⁸⁰  In the presence of my people ¹⁸¹  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 ¹⁸²  to you the price ¹⁸³  of the field. Take it from me so that I may ¹⁸⁴  bury my dead there.”

23:14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 23:15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth ¹⁸⁵  400 pieces of silver, ¹⁸⁶  but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”

23:16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price ¹⁸⁷  and weighed ¹⁸⁸  out for him ¹⁸⁹  the price ¹⁹⁰  that Ephron had quoted ¹⁹¹  in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. ¹⁹² 

23:17 So Abraham secured ¹⁹³  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. ¹⁹⁴ 

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 ¹⁹⁵  from the sons of Heth.

24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years, ¹⁹⁶  and the Lord had blessed him ¹⁹⁷  in everything. 24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one ¹⁹⁸  in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh ¹⁹⁹  24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise ²⁰⁰  by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire ²⁰¹  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 ²⁰²  to find ²⁰³  a wife for my son Isaac.”

24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me ²⁰⁴  to this land? Must I then ²⁰⁵  take your son back to the land from which you came?”

24:6 “Be careful ²⁰⁶  never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. ²⁰⁷  24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, ²⁰⁸  promised me with a solemn oath, ²⁰⁹  ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel ²¹⁰  before you so that you may find ²¹¹  a wife for my son from there. 24:8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, ²¹²  you will be free ²¹³  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. ²¹⁴ 

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. ²¹⁵  He journeyed ²¹⁶  to the region of Aram Naharaim ²¹⁷  and the city of Nahor. 24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well ²¹⁸  outside the city. It was evening, ²¹⁹  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. ²²⁰  Be faithful ²²¹  to my master Abraham. 24:13 Here I am, standing by the spring, ²²²  and the daughters of the people ²²³  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.’ ²²⁴  In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” ²²⁵ 

24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah ²²⁶  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). ²²⁷  24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. ²²⁸  She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 24:17 Abraham’s servant ²²⁹  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 ²³⁰  her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 24:19 When she had done so, ²³¹  she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 24:20 She quickly emptied ²³²  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 ²³³  if the Lord had made his journey successful ²³⁴  or not.

24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka ²³⁵  and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels ²³⁶  and gave them to her. ²³⁷  24:23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. ²³⁸  “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. ²³⁹  24:25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added, ²⁴⁰  “and room for you ²⁴¹  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 ²⁴²  for my master! The Lord has led me ²⁴³  to the house ²⁴⁴  of my master’s relatives!” ²⁴⁵ 

24:28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about ²⁴⁶  these things. 24:29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.) ²⁴⁷  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 ²⁴⁸  and heard his sister Rebekah say, ²⁴⁹  “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing ²⁵⁰  by the camels near the spring. 24:31 Laban said to him, ²⁵¹  “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord! ²⁵²  Why are you standing out here when I have prepared ²⁵³  the house and a place for the camels?”

24:32 So Abraham’s servant ²⁵⁴  went to the house and unloaded ²⁵⁵  the camels. Straw and feed were given ²⁵⁶  to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet. ²⁵⁷  24:33 When food was served, ²⁵⁸  he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.” ²⁵⁹  “Tell us,” Laban said. ²⁶⁰ 

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. ²⁶¹  The Lord ²⁶²  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 ²⁶³  when she was old, ²⁶⁴  and my master ²⁶⁵  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 ²⁶⁶  a wife for my son.’ 24:39 But I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not want to go ²⁶⁷  with me?’ ²⁶⁸  24:40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, ²⁶⁹  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 ²⁷⁰  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, ²⁷¹  may events unfold as follows: ²⁷²  24:43 Here I am, standing by the spring. ²⁷³  When ²⁷⁴  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, ²⁷⁵  along came Rebekah ²⁷⁶  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.’ ²⁷⁷  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 ²⁷⁸  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.” ²⁷⁹ 

24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. ²⁸⁰  Our wishes are of no concern. ²⁸¹  24:51 Rebekah stands here before you. Take her and go so that she may become ²⁸²  the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decided.” ²⁸³ 

24:52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 24:53 Then he ²⁸⁴  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. ²⁸⁵ 

When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.” ²⁸⁶  24:55 But Rebekah’s ²⁸⁷  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 ²⁸⁸  has granted me success on my journey. Let me leave now so I may return ²⁸⁹  to my master.” 24:57 Then they said, “We’ll call the girl and find out what she wants to do.” ²⁹⁰  24:58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want ²⁹¹  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: ²⁹² 

“Our sister, may you become the mother ²⁹³  of thousands of ten thousands!

May your descendants possess the strongholds ²⁹⁴  of their enemies.”

24:61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with ²⁹⁵  the man. So Abraham’s servant ²⁹⁶  took Rebekah and left.

24:62 Now ²⁹⁷  Isaac came from ²⁹⁸  Beer Lahai Roi, ²⁹⁹  for ³⁰⁰  he was living in the Negev. ³⁰¹  24:63 He ³⁰²  went out to relax ³⁰³  in the field in the early evening. ³⁰⁴  Then he looked up ³⁰⁵  and saw that ³⁰⁶  there were camels approaching. 24:64 Rebekah looked up ³⁰⁷  and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 24:65 and asked ³⁰⁸  Abraham’s servant, ³⁰⁹  “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. ³¹⁰  So she took her veil and covered herself.

24:66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah ³¹¹  into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her ³¹²  as his wife and loved her. ³¹³  So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. ³¹⁴ 

25:1 Abraham had taken ³¹⁵  another ³¹⁶  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. ³¹⁷  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 ³¹⁸  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 ³¹⁹  and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. ³²⁰ 

25:7 Abraham lived a total of ³²¹  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. ³²²  He joined his ancestors. ³²³  25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah ³²⁴  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. ³²⁵  There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed ³²⁶  his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. ³²⁷ 

25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, ³²⁸  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: ³²⁹  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 ³³⁰  according to their clans.

25:17 Ishmael lived a total of ³³¹  137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. ³³²  25:18 His descendants ³³³  settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next ³³⁴  to Egypt all the way ³³⁵  to Asshur. ³³⁶  They settled ³³⁷  away from all their relatives. ³³⁸ 

25:19 This is the account of Isaac, ³³⁹  the son of Abraham.

Abraham became the father of Isaac. 25:20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, ³⁴⁰  the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. ³⁴¹ 

25:21 Isaac prayed to ³⁴²  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 ³⁴³  inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” ³⁴⁴  So she asked the Lord, ³⁴⁵  25:23 and the Lord said to her,

“Two nations ³⁴⁶  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, ³⁴⁷  there were ³⁴⁸  twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish ³⁴⁹  all over, ³⁵⁰  like a hairy ³⁵¹  garment, so they named him Esau. ³⁵²  25:26 When his brother came out with ³⁵³  his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. ³⁵⁴  Isaac was sixty years old ³⁵⁵  when they were born.

25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled ³⁵⁶  hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. ³⁵⁷  25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, ³⁵⁸  but Rebekah loved ³⁵⁹  Jacob.

25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, ³⁶⁰  and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed ³⁶¹  me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called ³⁶²  Edom.) ³⁶³ 

25:31 But Jacob replied, “First ³⁶⁴  sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” ³⁶⁵  25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” ³⁶⁶  So Esau ³⁶⁷  swore an oath to him and sold his birthright ³⁶⁸  to Jacob.

25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. ³⁶⁹  So Esau despised his birthright. ³⁷⁰