Genesis 5 — GNB — Biblija.net

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ This is the list of the descendants of Adam. (When God created human beings, he made them like himself. ² He created them male and female, blessed them, and named them “Human Beings.”) ^* ³ When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son who was like him, and he named him Seth. ⁴ After that, Adam lived another 800 years. He had other children ⁵ and died at the age of 930.

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ When Seth was 105, he had a son, Enosh,

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ and then lived another 807 years. He had other children ⁸ and died at the age of 912.

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ When Enosh was 90, he had a son, Kenan,

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ and then lived another 815 years. He had other children ¹¹ and died at the age of 905.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² When Kenan was 70, he had a son, Mahalalel, ¹³ and then lived another 840 years. He had other children

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ and died at the age of 910.

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ When Mahalalel was 65, he had a son, Jared,

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ and then lived another 830 years. He had other children

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ and died at the age of 895.

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ When Jared was 162, he had a son, Enoch,

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ and then lived another 800 years. He had other children

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ and died at the age of 962. ²¹ When Enoch was 65, he had a son, Methuselah.

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²² After that, Enoch lived in fellowship with God for 300 years and had other children.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ He lived to be 365 years old. ²⁴ He spent his life in fellowship with God, and then he disappeared, because God took him away.

Jacob's Bargain with Laban

²⁵ When Methuselah was 187, he had a son, Lamech,

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ and then lived another 782 years. He had other children

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ and died at the age of 969. ²⁸ When Lamech was 182, he had a son ^* ²⁹ and said, “From the very ground on which the Lord put a curse, this child will bring us relief from all our hard work”; so he named him Noah.

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

Esau Begs for Isaac's Blessing

³⁰ Lamech lived another 595 years. He had other children ^*

The Children Born to Jacob

³¹ and died at the age of 777. ³² After Noah was 500 years old, he had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ When people had spread all over the world, and daughters were being born, ² some of the heavenly beings saw that these young women were beautiful, so they took the ones they liked. ^* ³ Then the Lord said, “I will not allow people to live forever; they are mortal. From now on they will live no longer than 120 years.” ⁴ In those days, and even later, there were giants on the earth who were descendants of human women and the heavenly beings. They were the great heroes and famous men of long ago. ⁵ When the Lord saw how wicked everyone on earth was and how evil their thoughts were all the time,

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ he was sorry that he had ever made them and put them on the earth. He was so filled with regret

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ that he said, “I will wipe out these people I have created, and also the animals and the birds, because I am sorry that I made any of them.” ⁸ But the Lord was pleased with Noah.

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ -10 This is the story of Noah. He had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Noah had no faults and was the only good man of his time. He lived in fellowship with God, ¹¹ but everyone else was evil in God's sight, and violence had spread everywhere.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² God looked at the world and saw that it was evil, for the people were all living evil lives. ¹³ God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to all people. I will destroy them completely, because the world is full of their violent deeds.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Build a boat for yourself out of good timber; make rooms in it and cover it with tar inside and out.

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ Make it 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ Make a roof for the boat and leave a space of 18 inches between the roof and the sides. Build it with three decks and put a door in the side.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ I am going to send a flood on the earth to destroy every living being. Everything on the earth will die,

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ but I will make a covenant with you. Go into the boat with your wife, your sons, and their wives.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ -20 Take into the boat with you a male and a female of every kind of animal and of every kind of bird, in order to keep them alive. ²¹ Take along all kinds of food for you and for them.”

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²² Noah did everything that God commanded.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ The Lord said to Noah, “Go into the boat with your whole family; I have found that you are the only one in all the world who does what is right. ² Take with you seven pairs of each kind of ritually clean animal, but only one pair of each kind of unclean animal. ^* ³ Take also seven pairs of each kind of bird. Do this so that every kind of animal and bird will be kept alive to reproduce again on the earth. ⁴ Seven days from now I am going to send rain that will fall for forty days and nights, in order to destroy all the living beings that I have made.” ⁵ And Noah did everything that the Lord commanded.

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ Noah was six hundred years old when the flood came on the earth.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ He and his wife, and his sons and their wives, went into the boat to escape the flood. ⁸ A male and a female of every kind of animal and bird, whether ritually clean or unclean,

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ went into the boat with Noah, as God had commanded.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ Seven days later the flood came. ¹¹ When Noah was six hundred years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month all the outlets of the vast body of water beneath the earth burst open, all the floodgates of the sky were opened,

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² and rain fell on the earth for forty days and nights. ¹³ On that same day Noah and his wife went into the boat with their three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ With them went every kind of animal, domestic and wild, large and small, and every kind of bird.

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ A male and a female of each kind of living being went into the boat with Noah,

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ as God had commanded. Then the Lord shut the door behind Noah.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ The flood continued for forty days, and the water became deep enough for the boat to float.

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ The water became deeper, and the boat drifted on the surface.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ It became so deep that it covered the highest mountains;

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ it went on rising until it was about twenty-five feet above the tops of the mountains. ²¹ Every living being on the earth died—every bird, every animal, and every person.

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²² Everything on earth that breathed died.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ The Lord destroyed all living beings on the earth—human beings, animals, and birds. The only ones left were Noah and those who were with him in the boat. ²⁴ The water did not start going down for a hundred and fifty days.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ God had not forgotten Noah and all the animals with him in the boat; he caused a wind to blow, and the water started going down. ² The outlets of the water beneath the earth and the floodgates of the sky were closed. The rain stopped, ^* ³ and the water gradually went down for 150 days. ⁴ On the seventeenth day of the seventh month the boat came to rest on a mountain in the Ararat range. ⁵ The water kept going down, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains appeared.

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ After forty days Noah opened a window

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ and sent out a raven. It did not come back, but kept flying around until the water was completely gone. ⁸ Meanwhile, Noah sent out a dove to see if the water had gone down,

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ but since the water still covered all the land, the dove did not find a place to light. It flew back to the boat, and Noah reached out and took it in.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ He waited another seven days and sent out the dove again. ¹¹ It returned to him in the evening with a fresh olive leaf in its beak. So Noah knew that the water had gone down.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² Then he waited another seven days and sent out the dove once more; this time it did not come back. ¹³ When Noah was 601 years old, on the first day of the first month, the water was gone. Noah removed the covering of the boat, looked around, and saw that the ground was getting dry.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ God said to Noah,

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ “Go out of the boat with your wife, your sons, and their wives.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ Take all the birds and animals out with you, so that they may reproduce and spread over all the earth.”

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ So Noah went out of the boat with his wife, his sons, and their wives.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ All the animals and birds went out of the boat in groups of their own kind.

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ Noah built an altar to the Lord; he took one of each kind of ritually clean animal and bird, and burned them whole as a sacrifice on the altar. ²¹ The odor of the sacrifice pleased the Lord, and he said to himself, “Never again will I put the earth under a curse because of what people do; I know that from the time they are young their thoughts are evil. Never again will I destroy all living beings, as I have done this time.

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²² As long as the world exists, there will be a time for planting and a time for harvest. There will always be cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.”

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ God blessed Noah and his sons and said, “Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth. ² All the animals, birds, and fish will live in fear of you. They are all placed under your power. ^* ³ Now you can eat them, as well as green plants; I give them all to you for food. ⁴ The one thing you must not eat is meat with blood still in it; I forbid this because the life is in the blood. ⁵ If anyone takes human life, he will be punished. I will punish with death any animal that takes a human life.

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ Human beings were made like God, so whoever murders one of them will be killed by someone else.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ “You must have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth.” ⁸ God said to Noah and his sons,

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ “I am now making my covenant with you and with your descendants,

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ and with all living beings—all birds and all animals—everything that came out of the boat with you. ¹¹ With these words I make my covenant with you: I promise that never again will all living beings be destroyed by a flood; never again will a flood destroy the earth.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² As a sign of this everlasting covenant which I am making with you and with all living beings, ¹³ I am putting my bow in the clouds. It will be the sign of my covenant with the world.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Whenever I cover the sky with clouds and the rainbow appears,

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ I will remember my promise to you and to all the animals that a flood will never again destroy all living beings.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ When the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between me and all living beings on earth.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ That is the sign of the promise which I am making to all living beings.”

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ The sons of Noah who went out of the boat were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ These three sons of Noah were the ancestors of all the people on earth.

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ Noah, who was a farmer, was the first man to plant a vineyard. ²¹ After he drank some of the wine, he became drunk, took off his clothes, and lay naked in his tent.

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²² When Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked, he went out and told his two brothers.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ Then Shem and Japheth took a robe and held it behind them on their shoulders. They walked backward into the tent and covered their father, keeping their faces turned away so as not to see him naked. ²⁴ When Noah sobered up and learned what his youngest son had done to him,

Jacob's Bargain with Laban

²⁵ he said,
“A curse on Canaan!
He will be a slave to his brothers.

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ Give praise to the Lord, the God of Shem!
Canaan will be the slave of Shem.

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ May God cause Japheth to increase!
May his descendants live with the people of Shem!
Canaan will be the slave of Japheth.” ²⁸ After the flood Noah lived 350 years ^* ²⁹ and died at the age of 950.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ These are the descendants of Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. These three had sons after the flood. ² The sons of Japheth—Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras—were the ancestors of the peoples who bear their names. ^* ³ The descendants of Gomer were the people of Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. ⁴ The descendants of Javan were the people of Elishah, Spain, Cyprus, and Rhodes; ⁵ they were the ancestors of the people who live along the coast and on the islands. These are the descendants of Japheth, living in their different tribes and countries, each group speaking its own language.

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ The sons of Ham—Cush, Egypt, Libya, and Canaan—were the ancestors of the peoples who bear their names.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ The descendants of Cush were the people of Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The descendants of Raamah were the people of Sheba and Dedan. ⁸ Cush had a son named Nimrod, who became the world's first great conqueror.

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ By the Lord's help he was a great hunter, and that is why people say, “May the Lord make you as great a hunter as Nimrod!”

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ At first his kingdom included Babylon, Erech, and Accad, all three of them in Babylonia. ¹¹ From that land he went to Assyria and built the cities of Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah,

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city of Calah. ¹³ The descendants of Egypt were the people of Lydia, Anam, Lehab, Naphtuh,

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Pathrus, Casluh, and of Crete, from whom the Philistines are descended.

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ Canaan's sons—Sidon, the oldest, and Heth—were the ancestors of the peoples who bear their names.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ Canaan was also the ancestor of the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. The different tribes of the Canaanites spread out,

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ until the Canaanite borders reached from Sidon southward to Gerar near Gaza, and eastward to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim near Lasha.

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ These are the descendants of Ham, living in their different tribes and countries, each group speaking its own language. ²¹ Shem, the older brother of Japheth, was the ancestor of all the Hebrews.

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²² Shem's sons—Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram—were the ancestors of the peoples who bear their names.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ The descendants of Aram were the people of Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshek. ²⁴ Arpachshad was the father of Shelah, who was the father of Eber.

Jacob's Bargain with Laban

²⁵ Eber had two sons: one was named Peleg, because during his time the people of the world were divided; and the other was named Joktan.

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ The descendants of Joktan were the people of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, ²⁸ Obal, Abimael, Sheba, ^* ²⁹ Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All of them were descended from Joktan.

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

Esau Begs for Isaac's Blessing

³⁰ The land in which they lived extended from Mesha to Sephar in the eastern hill country. ^*

The Children Born to Jacob

³¹ These are the descendants of Shem, living in their different tribes and countries, each group speaking its own language. ³² All these peoples are the descendants of Noah, nation by nation, according to their different lines of descent. After the flood all the nations of the earth were descended from the sons of Noah.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ At first, the people of the whole world had only one language and used the same words. ² As they wandered about in the East, they came to a plain in Babylonia and settled there. ^* ³ They said to one another, “Come on! Let's make bricks and bake them hard.” So they had bricks to build with and tar to hold them together. ⁴ They said, “Now let's build a city with a tower that reaches the sky, so that we can make a name for ourselves and not be scattered all over the earth.” ⁵ Then the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which they had built,

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ and he said, “Now then, these are all one people and they speak one language; this is just the beginning of what they are going to do. Soon they will be able to do anything they want!

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ Let us go down and mix up their language so that they will not understand each other.” ⁸ So the Lord scattered them all over the earth, and they stopped building the city.

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ The city was called Babylon, because there the Lord mixed up the language of all the people, and from there he scattered them all over the earth.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ These are the descendants of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he had a son, Arpachshad. ¹¹ After that, he lived another 500 years and had other children.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² When Arpachshad was 35 years old, he had a son, Shelah; ¹³ after that, he lived another 403 years and had other children.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ When Shelah was 30 years old, he had a son, Eber;

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ after that, he lived another 403 years and had other children.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ When Eber was 34 years old, he had a son, Peleg;

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ after that, he lived another 430 years and had other children.

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ When Peleg was 30 years old, he had a son, Reu;

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ after that, he lived another 209 years and had other children.

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ When Reu was 32 years old, he had a son, Serug; ²¹ after that, he lived another 207 years and had other children.

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²² When Serug was 30 years old, he had a son, Nahor;

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ after that, he lived another 200 years and had other children. ²⁴ When Nahor was 29 years old, he had a son, Terah;

Jacob's Bargain with Laban

²⁵ after that, he lived another 119 years and had other children.

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ After Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ These are the descendants of Terah, who was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot, ²⁸ and Haran died in his hometown of Ur in Babylonia, while his father was still living. ^* ²⁹ Abram married Sarai, and Nahor married Milcah, the daughter of Haran, who was also the father of Iscah.

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

Esau Begs for Isaac's Blessing

³⁰ Sarai was not able to have children. ^*

The Children Born to Jacob

³¹ Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, who was the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, Abram's wife, and with them he left the city of Ur in Babylonia to go to the land of Canaan. They went as far as Haran and settled there. ³² Terah died there at the age of 205.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's home, and go to a land that I am going to show you. ² I will give you many descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will bless you and make your name famous, so that you will be a blessing.
^* ³ I will bless those who bless you,
But I will curse those who curse you.
And through you I will bless all the nations.” ⁴ When Abram was seventy-five years old, he started out from Haran, as the Lord had told him to do; and Lot went with him. ⁵ Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the wealth and all the slaves they had acquired in Haran, and they started out for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan,

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ Abram traveled through the land until he came to the sacred tree of Moreh, the holy place at Shechem. (At that time the Canaanites were still living in the land.)

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ The Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “This is the country that I am going to give to your descendants.” Then Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. ⁸ After that, he moved on south to the hill country east of the city of Bethel and set up his camp between Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There also he built an altar and worshiped the Lord.

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ Then he moved on from place to place, going toward the southern part of Canaan.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ But there was a famine in Canaan, and it was so bad that Abram went farther south to Egypt, to live there for a while. ¹¹ When he was about to cross the border into Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “You are a beautiful woman.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² When the Egyptians see you, they will assume that you are my wife, and so they will kill me and let you live. ¹³ Tell them that you are my sister; then because of you they will let me live and treat me well.”

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ When he crossed the border into Egypt, the Egyptians did see that his wife was beautiful.

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ Some of the court officials saw her and told the king how beautiful she was; so she was taken to his palace.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ Because of her the king treated Abram well and gave him flocks of sheep and goats, cattle, donkeys, slaves, and camels.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ But because the king had taken Sarai, the Lord sent terrible diseases on him and on the people of his palace.

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ Then the king sent for Abram and asked him, “What have you done to me? Why didn't you tell me that she was your wife?

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ Why did you say that she was your sister, and let me take her as my wife? Here is your wife; take her and get out!”

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ The king gave orders to his men, so they took Abram and put him out of the country, together with his wife and everything he owned.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ Abram went north out of Egypt to the southern part of Canaan with his wife and everything he owned, and Lot went with him. ² Abram was a very rich man, with sheep, goats, and cattle, as well as silver and gold. ^* ³ Then he left there and moved from place to place, going toward Bethel. He reached the place between Bethel and Ai where he had camped before ⁴ and had built an altar. There he worshiped the Lord. ⁵ Lot also had sheep, goats, and cattle, as well as his own family and servants.

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ And so there was not enough pasture land for the two of them to stay together, because they had too many animals.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ So quarrels broke out between the men who took care of Abram's animals and those who took care of Lot's animals. (At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were still living in the land.) ⁸ Then Abram said to Lot, “We are relatives, and your men and my men shouldn't be quarreling.

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ So let's separate. Choose any part of the land you want. You go one way, and I'll go the other.”

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ Lot looked around and saw that the whole Jordan Valley, all the way to Zoar, had plenty of water, like the Garden of the Lord or like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord had destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.) ¹¹ So Lot chose the whole Jordan Valley for himself and moved away toward the east. That is how the two men parted.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² Abram stayed in the land of Canaan, and Lot settled among the cities in the valley and camped near Sodom, ¹³ whose people were wicked and sinned against the Lord.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ After Lot had left, the Lord said to Abram, “From where you are, look carefully in all directions.

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ I am going to give you and your descendants all the land that you see, and it will be yours forever.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ I am going to give you so many descendants that no one will be able to count them all; it would be as easy to count all the specks of dust on earth!

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ Now, go and look over the whole land, because I am going to give it all to you.”

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ So Abram moved his camp and settled near the sacred trees of Mamre at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ Four kings, Amraphel of Babylonia, Arioch of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer of Elam, and Tidal of Goiim, ² went to war against five other kings: Bera of Sodom, Birsha of Gomorrah, Shinab of Admah, Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (or Zoar). ^* ³ These five kings had formed an alliance and joined forces in Siddim Valley, which is now the Dead Sea. ⁴ They had been under the control of Chedorlaomer for twelve years, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled against him. ⁵ In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and his allies came with their armies and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in the plain of Kiriathaim,

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ and the Horites in the mountains of Edom, pursuing them as far as Elparan on the edge of the desert.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ Then they turned around and came back to Kadesh (then known as Enmishpat). They conquered all the land of the Amalekites and defeated the Amorites who lived in Hazazon Tamar. ⁸ Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela drew up their armies for battle in Siddim Valley and fought

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ against the kings of Elam, Goiim, Babylonia, and Ellasar, five kings against four.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ The valley was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah tried to run away from the battle, they fell into the pits; but the other three kings escaped to the mountains. ¹¹ The four kings took everything in Sodom and Gomorrah, including the food, and went away.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² Lot, Abram's nephew, was living in Sodom, so they took him and all his possessions. ¹³ But a man escaped and reported all this to Abram, the Hebrew, who was living near the sacred trees belonging to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his brothers Eshcol and Aner were Abram's allies.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ When Abram heard that his nephew had been captured, he called together all the fighting men in his camp, 318 in all, and pursued the four kings all the way to Dan.

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ There he divided his men into groups, attacked the enemy by night, and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus,

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ and got back all the loot that had been taken. He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other prisoners.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ When Abram came back from his victory over Chedorlaomer and the other kings, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in Shaveh Valley (also called King's Valley).

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ And Melchizedek, who was king of Salem and also a priest of the Most High God, brought bread and wine to Abram,

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ blessed him, and said, “May the Most High God, who made heaven and earth, bless Abram!

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ May the Most High God, who gave you victory over your enemies, be praised!” And Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the loot he had recovered. ²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Keep the loot, but give me back all my people.”

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²² Abram answered, “I solemnly swear before the Lord, the Most High God, Maker of heaven and earth,

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ that I will not keep anything of yours, not even a thread or a sandal strap. Then you can never say, ‘I am the one who made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ I will take nothing for myself. I will accept only what my men have used. But let my allies, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, take their share.”

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ After this, Abram had a vision and heard the Lord say to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I will shield you from danger and give you a great reward.” ² But Abram answered, “Sovereign Lord, what good will your reward do me, since I have no children? My only heir is Eliezer of Damascus. ^* ³ You have given me no children, and one of my slaves will inherit my property.” ⁴ Then he heard the Lord speaking to him again: “This slave Eliezer will not inherit your property; your own son will be your heir.” ⁵ The Lord took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and try to count the stars; you will have as many descendants as that.”

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ Abram put his trust in the Lord, and because of this the Lord was pleased with him and accepted him.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ Then the Lord said to him, “I am the Lord, who led you out of Ur in Babylonia, to give you this land as your own.” ⁸ But Abram asked, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that it will be mine?”

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ He answered, “Bring me a cow, a goat, and a ram, each of them three years old, and a dove and a pigeon.”

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ Abram brought the animals to God, cut them in half, and placed the halves opposite each other in two rows; but he did not cut up the birds. ¹¹ Vultures came down on the bodies, but Abram drove them off.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² When the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and fear and terror came over him. ¹³ The Lord said to him, “Your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land; they will be slaves there and will be treated cruelly for four hundred years.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and when they leave that foreign land, they will take great wealth with them.

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ You yourself will live to a ripe old age, die in peace, and be buried.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ It will be four generations before your descendants come back here, because I will not drive out the Amorites until they become so wicked that they must be punished.”

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch suddenly appeared and passed between the pieces of the animals.

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ Then and there the Lord made a covenant with Abram. He said, “I promise to give your descendants all this land from the border of Egypt to the Euphrates River,

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ including the lands of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, ²¹ the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ Abram's wife Sarai had not borne him any children. But she had an Egyptian slave woman named Hagar, ² and so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Why don't you sleep with my slave? Perhaps she can have a child for me.” Abram agreed with what Sarai said. ^* ³ So she gave Hagar to him to be his concubine. (This happened after Abram had lived in Canaan for ten years.) ⁴ Abram had intercourse with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she found out that she was pregnant, she became proud and despised Sarai. ⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, “It's your fault that Hagar despises me. I myself gave her to you, and ever since she found out that she was pregnant, she has despised me. May the Lord judge which of us is right, you or me!”

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ Abram answered, “Very well, she is your slave and under your control; do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so cruelly that she ran away.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ The angel of the Lord met Hagar at a spring in the desert on the road to Shur ⁸ and said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She answered, “I am running away from my mistress.”

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ He said, “Go back to her and be her slave.”

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ Then he said, “I will give you so many descendants that no one will be able to count them. ¹¹ You are going to have a son, and you will name him Ishmael, because the Lord has heard your cry of distress.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² But your son will live like a wild donkey; he will be against everyone, and everyone will be against him. He will live apart from all his relatives.” ¹³ Hagar asked herself, “Have I really seen God and lived to tell about it?” So she called the Lord, who had spoken to her, “A God Who Sees.”

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ That is why people call the well between Kadesh and Bered “The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.”

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ Hagar bore Abram a son, and he named him Ishmael.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old at the time.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the Almighty God. Obey me and always do what is right. ² I will make my covenant with you and give you many descendants.” ^* ³ Abram bowed down with his face touching the ground, and God said, ⁴ “I make this covenant with you: I promise that you will be the ancestor of many nations. ⁵ Your name will no longer be Abram, but Abraham, because I am making you the ancestor of many nations.

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ I will give you many descendants, and some of them will be kings. You will have so many descendants that they will become nations.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ “I will keep my promise to you and to your descendants in future generations as an everlasting covenant. I will be your God and the God of your descendants. ⁸ I will give to you and to your descendants this land in which you are now a foreigner. The whole land of Canaan will belong to your descendants forever, and I will be their God.”

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ God said to Abraham, “You also must agree to keep the covenant with me, both you and your descendants in future generations.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ You and your descendants must all agree to circumcise every male among you. ¹¹ -12 From now on you must circumcise every baby boy when he is eight days old, including slaves born in your homes and slaves bought from foreigners. This will show that there is a covenant between you and me. ¹³ Each one must be circumcised, and this will be a physical sign to show that my covenant with you is everlasting.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Any male who has not been circumcised will no longer be considered one of my people, because he has not kept the covenant with me.”

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ God said to Abraham, “You must no longer call your wife Sarai; from now on her name is Sarah.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will become the mother of nations, and there will be kings among her descendants.”

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ Abraham bowed down with his face touching the ground, but he began to laugh when he thought, “Can a man have a child when he is a hundred years old? Can Sarah have a child at ninety?”

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ He asked God, “Why not let Ishmael be my heir?”

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ But God said, “No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son and you will name him Isaac. I will keep my covenant with him and with his descendants forever. It is an everlasting covenant.

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ I have heard your request about Ishmael, so I will bless him and give him many children and many descendants. He will be the father of twelve princes, and I will make a great nation of his descendants. ²¹ But I will keep my covenant with your son Isaac, who will be born to Sarah about this time next year.”

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²² When God finished speaking to Abraham, he left him.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ On that same day Abraham obeyed God and circumcised his son Ishmael and all the other males in his household, including the slaves born in his home and those he had bought. ²⁴ Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised,

Jacob's Bargain with Laban

²⁵ and his son Ishmael was thirteen.

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ They were both circumcised on the same day,

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ together with all of Abraham's slaves.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ The Lord appeared to Abraham at the sacred trees of Mamre. As Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day, ² he looked up and saw three men standing there. As soon as he saw them, he ran out to meet them. Bowing down with his face touching the ground, ^* ³ he said, “Sirs, please do not pass by my home without stopping; I am here to serve you. ⁴ Let me bring some water for you to wash your feet; you can rest here beneath this tree. ⁵ I will also bring a bit of food; it will give you strength to continue your journey. You have honored me by coming to my home, so let me serve you.” They replied, “Thank you; we accept.”

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick, take a sack of your best flour, and bake some bread.”

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ Then he ran to the herd and picked out a calf that was tender and fat, and gave it to a servant, who hurried to get it ready. ⁸ He took some cream, some milk, and the meat, and set the food before the men. There under the tree he served them himself, and they ate.

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ Then they asked him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” “She is there in the tent,” he answered.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ One of them said, “Nine months from now I will come back, and your wife Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was behind him, at the door of the tent, listening. ¹¹ Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah had stopped having her monthly periods.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² So Sarah laughed to herself and said, “Now that I am old and worn out, can I still enjoy sex? And besides, my husband is old too.” ¹³ Then the Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can I really have a child when I am so old?’

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the Lord? As I said, nine months from now I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ Because Sarah was afraid, she denied it. “I didn't laugh,” she said. “Yes, you did,” he replied. “You laughed.”

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ Then the men left and went to a place where they could look down at Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on their way.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ And the Lord said to himself, “I will not hide from Abraham what I am going to do.

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ His descendants will become a great and mighty nation, and through him I will bless all the nations.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ I have chosen him in order that he may command his sons and his descendants to obey me and to do what is right and just. If they do, I will do everything for him that I have promised.”

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ Then the Lord said to Abraham, “There are terrible accusations against Sodom and Gomorrah, and their sin is very great. ²¹ I must go down to find out whether or not the accusations which I have heard are true.”

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²² Then the two men left and went on toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ Abraham approached the Lord and asked, “Are you really going to destroy the innocent with the guilty? ²⁴ If there are fifty innocent people in the city, will you destroy the whole city? Won't you spare it in order to save the fifty?

Jacob's Bargain with Laban

²⁵ Surely you won't kill the innocent with the guilty. That's impossible! You can't do that. If you did, the innocent would be punished along with the guilty. That is impossible. The judge of all the earth has to act justly.”

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ The Lord answered, “If I find fifty innocent people in Sodom, I will spare the whole city for their sake.”

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ Abraham spoke again: “Please forgive my boldness in continuing to speak to you, Lord. I am only a man and have no right to say anything. ²⁸ But perhaps there will be only forty-five innocent people instead of fifty. Will you destroy the whole city because there are five too few?” The Lord answered, “I will not destroy the city if I find forty-five innocent people.” ^* ²⁹ Abraham spoke again: “Perhaps there will be only forty.” He replied, “I will not destroy it if there are forty.”

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

Esau Begs for Isaac's Blessing

³⁰ Abraham said, “Please don't be angry, Lord, but I must speak again. What if there are only thirty?” He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty.” ^*

The Children Born to Jacob

³¹ Abraham said, “Please forgive my boldness in continuing to speak to you, Lord. Suppose that only twenty are found?” He said, “I will not destroy the city if I find twenty.” ³² Abraham said, “Please don't be angry, Lord, and I will speak only once more. What if only ten are found?” He said, “I will not destroy it if there are ten.” ³³ After he had finished speaking with Abraham, the Lord went away, and Abraham returned home.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ When the two angels came to Sodom that evening, Lot was sitting at the city gate. As soon as he saw them, he got up and went to meet them. He bowed down before them ² and said, “Sirs, I am here to serve you. Please come to my house. You can wash your feet and spend the night. In the morning you can get up early and go on your way.” But they answered, “No, we will spend the night here in the city square.” ^* ³ He kept on urging them, and finally they went with him to his house. Lot ordered his servants to bake some bread and prepare a fine meal for the guests. When it was ready, they ate it. ⁴ Before the guests went to bed, the men of Sodom surrounded the house. All the men of the city, both young and old, were there. ⁵ They called out to Lot and asked, “Where are the men who came to stay with you tonight? Bring them out to us!” The men of Sodom wanted to have sex with them.

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ Lot went outside and closed the door behind him.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ He said to them, “Friends, I beg you, don't do such a wicked thing! ⁸ Look, I have two daughters who are still virgins. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do whatever you want with them. But don't do anything to these men; they are guests in my house, and I must protect them.”

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ But they said, “Get out of our way, you foreigner! Who are you to tell us what to do? Out of our way, or we will treat you worse than them.” They pushed Lot back and moved up to break down the door.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ But the two men inside reached out, pulled Lot back into the house, and shut the door. ¹¹ Then they struck all the men outside with blindness, so that they couldn't find the door.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² The two men said to Lot, “If you have anyone else here—sons, daughters, sons-in-law, or any other relatives living in the city—get them out of here, ¹³ because we are going to destroy this place. The Lord has heard the terrible accusations against these people and has sent us to destroy Sodom.”

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Then Lot went to the men that his daughters were going to marry, and said, “Hurry up and get out of here; the Lord is going to destroy this place.” But they thought he was joking.

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ At dawn the angels tried to make Lot hurry. “Quick!” they said. “Take your wife and your two daughters and get out, so that you will not lose your lives when the city is destroyed.”

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ Lot hesitated. The Lord, however, had pity on him; so the men took him, his wife, and his two daughters by the hand and led them out of the city.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ Then one of the angels said, “Run for your lives! Don't look back and don't stop in the valley. Run to the hills, so that you won't be killed.”

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ But Lot answered, “No, please don't make us do that, sir.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ You have done me a great favor and saved my life. But the hills are too far away; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die before I get there.

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ Do you see that little town? It is near enough. Let me go over there—you can see it is just a small place—and I will be safe.” ²¹ He answered, “All right, I agree. I won't destroy that town.

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²² Hurry! Run! I can't do anything until you get there.” Because Lot called it small, the town was named Zoar.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ The sun was rising when Lot reached Zoar. ²⁴ Suddenly the Lord rained burning sulfur on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah

Jacob's Bargain with Laban

²⁵ and destroyed them and the whole valley, along with all the people there and everything that grew on the land.

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ But Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ Early the next morning Abraham hurried to the place where he had stood in the presence of the Lord. ²⁸ He looked down at Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole valley and saw smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a huge furnace. ^* ²⁹ But when God destroyed the cities of the valley where Lot was living, he kept Abraham in mind and allowed Lot to escape to safety.

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

Esau Begs for Isaac's Blessing

³⁰ Because Lot was afraid to stay in Zoar, he and his two daughters moved up into the hills and lived in a cave. ^*

The Children Born to Jacob

³¹ The older daughter said to her sister, “Our father is getting old, and there are no men in the whole world to marry us so that we can have children. ³² Come on, let's get our father drunk, so that we can sleep with him and have children by him.” ³³ That night they gave him wine to drink, and the older daughter had intercourse with him. But he was so drunk that he didn't know it.

Esau's Foreign Wives

³⁴ The next day the older daughter said to her sister, “I slept with him last night; now let's get him drunk again tonight, and you sleep with him. Then each of us will have a child by our father.” ³⁵ So that night they got him drunk, and the younger daughter had intercourse with him. Again he was so drunk that he didn't know it. ³⁶ In this way both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their own father. ³⁷ The older daughter had a son, whom she named Moab. He was the ancestor of the present-day Moabites. ³⁸ The younger daughter also had a son, whom she named Benammi. He was the ancestor of the present-day Ammonites.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ Abraham moved from Mamre to the southern part of Canaan and lived between Kadesh and Shur. Later, while he was living in Gerar, ² he said that his wife Sarah was his sister. So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him. ^* ³ One night God appeared to him in a dream and said, “You are going to die, because you have taken this woman; she is already married.” ⁴ But Abimelech had not come near her, and he said, “Lord, I am innocent! Would you destroy me and my people? ⁵ Abraham himself said that she was his sister, and she said the same thing. I did this with a clear conscience, and I have done no wrong.”

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ God replied in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did it with a clear conscience; so I kept you from sinning against me and did not let you touch her.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ But now, give the woman back to her husband. He is a prophet, and he will pray for you, so that you will not die. But if you do not give her back, I warn you that you are going to die, you and all your people.” ⁸ Early the next morning Abimelech called all his officials and told them what had happened, and they were terrified.

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? What wrong have I done to you to make you bring this disaster on me and my kingdom? No one should ever do what you have done to me.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ Why did you do it?” ¹¹ Abraham answered, “I thought that there would be no one here who has reverence for God and that they would kill me to get my wife.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² She really is my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not of my mother, and I married her. ¹³ So when God sent me from my father's house into foreign lands, I said to her, ‘You can show how loyal you are to me by telling everyone that I am your brother.’”

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Then Abimelech gave Sarah back to Abraham, and at the same time he gave him sheep, cattle, and slaves.

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ He said to Abraham, “Here is my whole land; live anywhere you like.”

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ He said to Sarah, “I am giving your brother a thousand pieces of silver as proof to all who are with you that you are innocent; everyone will know that you have done no wrong.”

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ -18 Because of what had happened to Sarah, Abraham's wife, the Lord had made it impossible for any woman in Abimelech's palace to have children. So Abraham prayed for Abimelech, and God healed him. He also healed his wife and his slave women, so that they could have children.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ The Lord blessed Sarah, as he had promised, ² and she became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham when he was old. The boy was born at the time God had said he would be born. ^* ³ Abraham named him Isaac, ⁴ and when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded. ⁵ Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born.

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ Sarah said, “God has brought me joy and laughter. Everyone who hears about it will laugh with me.”

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ Then she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” ⁸ The child grew, and on the day that he was weaned, Abraham gave a great feast.

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ One day Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, was playing with Sarah's son Isaac.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ Sarah saw them and said to Abraham, “Send this slave and her son away. The son of this woman must not get any part of your wealth, which my son Isaac should inherit.” ¹¹ This troubled Abraham very much, because Ishmael also was his son.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² But God said to Abraham, “Don't be worried about the boy and your slave Hagar. Do whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that you will have the descendants I have promised. ¹³ I will also give many children to the son of the slave woman, so that they will become a nation. He too is your son.”

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Early the next morning Abraham gave Hagar some food and a leather bag full of water. He put the child on her back and sent her away. She left and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba.

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ When the water was all gone, she left the child under a bush

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ and sat down about a hundred yards away. She said to herself, “I can't bear to see my child die.” While she was sitting there, she began to cry.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ God heard the boy crying, and from heaven the angel of God spoke to Hagar, “What are you troubled about, Hagar? Don't be afraid. God has heard the boy crying.

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ Get up, go and pick him up, and comfort him. I will make a great nation out of his descendants.”

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well. She went and filled the leather bag with water and gave some to the boy.

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ God was with the boy as he grew up; he lived in the wilderness of Paran and became a skillful hunter. ²¹ His mother got an Egyptian wife for him.

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²² At that time Abimelech went with Phicol, the commander of his army, and said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ So make a vow here in the presence of God that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. I have been loyal to you, so promise that you will also be loyal to me and to this country in which you are living.” ²⁴ Abraham said, “I promise.”

Jacob's Bargain with Laban

²⁵ Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well which the servants of Abimelech had seized.

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ Abimelech said, “I don't know who did this. You didn't tell me about it, and this is the first I have heard of it.”

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ Then Abraham gave some sheep and cattle to Abimelech, and the two of them made an agreement. ²⁸ Abraham separated seven lambs from his flock, ^* ²⁹ and Abimelech asked him, “Why did you do that?”

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

Esau Begs for Isaac's Blessing

³⁰ Abraham answered, “Accept these seven lambs. By doing this, you admit that I am the one who dug this well.” ^*

The Children Born to Jacob

³¹ And so the place was called Beersheba, because it was there that the two of them made a vow. ³² After they had made this agreement at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol went back to Philistia. ³³ Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and worshiped the Lord, the Everlasting God.

Esau's Foreign Wives

³⁴ Abraham lived in Philistia for a long time.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ Some time later God tested Abraham; he called to him, “Abraham!” And Abraham answered, “Yes, here I am!” ² “Take your son,” God said, “your only son, Isaac, whom you love so much, and go to the land of Moriah. There on a mountain that I will show you, offer him as a sacrifice to me.” ^* ³ Early the next morning Abraham cut some wood for the sacrifice, loaded his donkey, and took Isaac and two servants with him. They started out for the place that God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day Abraham saw the place in the distance. ⁵ Then he said to the servants, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there and worship, and then we will come back to you.”

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ Abraham made Isaac carry the wood for the sacrifice, and he himself carried a knife and live coals for starting the fire. As they walked along together,

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ Isaac spoke up, “Father!” He answered, “Yes, my son?” Isaac asked, “I see that you have the coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” ⁸ Abraham answered, “God himself will provide one.” And the two of them walked on together.

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ When they came to the place which God had told him about, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. He tied up his son and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ Then he picked up the knife to kill him. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” He answered, “Yes, here I am.”

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² “Don't hurt the boy or do anything to him,” he said. “Now I know that you honor and obey God, because you have not kept back your only son from him.” ¹³ Abraham looked around and saw a ram caught in a bush by its horns. He went and got it and offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Abraham named that place “The Lord Provides.” And even today people say, “On the Lord's mountain he provides.”

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time,

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ “I make a vow by my own name—the Lord is speaking—that I will richly bless you. Because you did this and did not keep back your only son from me,

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ I promise that I will give you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand along the seashore. Your descendants will conquer their enemies.

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants—all because you obeyed my command.”

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ Abraham went back to his servants, and they went together to Beersheba, where Abraham settled.

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ Some time later Abraham learned that Milcah had borne eight children to his brother Nahor: ²¹ Uz the first-born, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram,

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²² Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel,

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ Rebecca's father. Milcah bore these eight sons to Nahor, Abraham's brother. ²⁴ Reumah, Nahor's concubine, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ Sarah lived to be 127 years old. ² She died in Hebron in the land of Canaan, and Abraham mourned her death. ^* ³ He left the place where his wife's body was lying, went to the Hittites, and said, ⁴ “I am a foreigner living here among you; sell me some land, so that I can bury my wife.” ⁵ They answered,

Esau Takes Another Wife

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

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ Then Abraham bowed before them ⁸ and said, “If you are willing to let me bury my wife here, please ask Ephron son of Zohar

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

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

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ Ephron himself was sitting with the other Hittites at the meeting place at the city gate; he answered in the hearing of everyone there, ¹¹ “Listen, sir; I will give you the whole field and the cave that is in it. Here in the presence of my own people, I will give it to you, so that you can bury your wife.”

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² But Abraham bowed before the Hittites ¹³ and said to Ephron, so that everyone could hear, “May I ask you, please, to listen. I will buy the whole field. Accept my payment, and I will bury my wife there.”

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Ephron answered,

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

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

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

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

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

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

Noah and His Sons

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

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ Then Abraham buried his wife Sarah in that cave in the land of Canaan.

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

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

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in everything he did. ² He said to his oldest servant, who was in charge of all that he had, “Place your hand between my thighs and make a vow. ^* ³ I want you to make a vow in the name of the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not choose a wife for my son from the people here in Canaan. ⁴ You must go back to the country where I was born and get a wife for my son Isaac from among my relatives.” ⁵ But the servant asked, “What if the young woman will not leave home to come with me to this land? Shall I send your son back to the land you came from?”

Esau Takes Another Wife

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

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ The Lord, the God of heaven, brought me from the home of my father and from the land of my relatives, and he solemnly promised me that he would give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel before you, so that you can get a wife there for my son. ⁸ If the young woman is not willing to come with you, you will be free from this promise. But you must not under any circumstances take my son back there.”

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

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

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ The servant, who was in charge of Abraham's property, took ten of his master's camels and went to the city where Nahor had lived in northern Mesopotamia. ¹¹ When he arrived, he made the camels kneel down at the well outside the city. It was late afternoon, the time when women came out to get water.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² He prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today and keep your promise to my master. ¹³ Here I am at the well where the young women of the city will be coming to get water.

Abram Moves to Hebron

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

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

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

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

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

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

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

Noah and His Sons

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

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

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

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ She quickly emptied her jar into the animals' drinking trough and ran to the well to get more water, until she had watered all his camels. ²¹ The man kept watching her in silence, to see if the Lord had given him success.

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

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

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ He said, “Please tell me who your father is. Is there room in his house for my men and me to spend the night?” ²⁴ “My father is Bethuel son of Nahor and Milcah,” she answered.

Jacob's Bargain with Laban

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

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ Then the man knelt down and worshiped the Lord.

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ He said, “Praise the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has faithfully kept his promise to my master. The Lord has led me straight to my master's relatives.” ²⁸ The young woman ran to her mother's house and told the whole story. ^* ²⁹ Now Rebecca had a brother named Laban, and he ran outside to go to the well where Abraham's servant was.

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

Esau Begs for Isaac's Blessing

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

The Children Born to Jacob

³¹ and said, “Come home with me. You are a man whom the Lord has blessed. Why are you standing out here? I have a room ready for you in my house, and there is a place for your camels.” ³² So the man went into the house, and Laban unloaded the camels and gave them straw and fodder. Then he brought water for Abraham's servant and his men to wash their feet. ³³ When food was brought, the man said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.” Laban said, “Go on and speak.”

Esau's Foreign Wives

³⁴ “I am the servant of Abraham,” he began. ³⁵ “The Lord has greatly blessed my master and made him a rich man. He has given him flocks of sheep and goats, cattle, silver, gold, male and female slaves, camels, and donkeys. ³⁶ Sarah, my master's wife, bore him a son when she was old, and my master has given everything he owns to him. ³⁷ My master made me promise with a vow to obey his command. He said, ‘Do not choose a wife for my son from the young women in the land of Canaan. ³⁸ Instead, go to my father's people, to my relatives, and choose a wife for him.’ ³⁹ And I asked my master, ‘What if she will not come with me?’ ⁴⁰ He answered, ‘The Lord, whom I have always obeyed, will send his angel with you and give you success. You will get for my son a wife from my own people, from my father's family. ⁴¹ There is only one way for you to be free from your vow: if you go to my relatives and they refuse you, then you will be free.’ ⁴² “When I came to the well today, I prayed, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, please give me success in what I am doing.

The Agreement between Jacob and Laban

⁴³ Here I am at the well. When a young woman comes out to get water, I will ask her to give me a drink of water from her jar. ⁴⁴ If she agrees and also offers to bring water for my camels, may she be the one that you have chosen as the wife for my master's son.’ ⁴⁵ Before I had finished my silent prayer, Rebecca came with a water jar on her shoulder and went down to the well to get water. I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’

Isaac Sends Jacob to Laban

⁴⁶ She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she watered the camels. ⁴⁷ I asked her, ‘Who is your father?’ And she answered, ‘My father is Bethuel son of Nahor and Milcah.’ Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms. ^* ^* ⁴⁸ I knelt down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me straight to my master's relative, where I found his daughter for my master's son. ⁴⁹ Now, if you intend to fulfill your responsibility toward my master and treat him fairly, please tell me; if not, say so, and I will decide what to do.” ^* ⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel answered, “Since this matter comes from the Lord, it is not for us to make a decision. ⁵¹ Here is Rebecca; take her and go. Let her become the wife of your master's son, as the Lord himself has said.” ⁵² When the servant of Abraham heard this, he bowed down and worshiped the Lord. ⁵³ Then he brought out clothing and silver and gold jewelry, and gave them to Rebecca. He also gave expensive gifts to her brother and to her mother. ^* ⁵⁴ Then Abraham's servant and the men with him ate and drank, and spent the night there. When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me go back to my master.” ⁵⁵ But Rebecca's brother and her mother said, “Let her stay with us a week or ten days, and then she may go.” ⁵⁶ But he said, “Don't make us stay. The Lord has made my journey a success; let me go back to my master.” ⁵⁷ They answered, “Let's call her and find out what she has to say.” ⁵⁸ So they called Rebecca and asked, “Do you want to go with this man?” “Yes,” she answered. ⁵⁹ So they let Rebecca and her old family servant go with Abraham's servant and his men. ⁶⁰ And they gave Rebecca their blessing in these words:
“May you, sister, become the mother of millions!
May your descendants conquer the cities of their enemies!” ⁶¹ Then Rebecca and her young women got ready and mounted the camels to go with Abraham's servant, and they all started out. ⁶² Isaac had come into the wilderness of “The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me” and was staying in the southern part of Canaan. ^* ⁶³ He went out in the early evening to take a walk in the fields and saw camels coming. ⁶⁴ When Rebecca saw Isaac, she got down from her camel ⁶⁵ and asked Abraham's servant, “Who is that man walking toward us in the field?” “He is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her scarf and covered her face. ⁶⁶ The servant told Isaac everything he had done. ⁶⁷ Then Isaac brought Rebecca into the tent that his mother Sarah had lived in, and she became his wife. Isaac loved Rebecca, and so he was comforted for the loss of his mother.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ Abraham married another woman, whose name was Keturah. ² She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. ^* ³ Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan, and the descendants of Dedan were the Asshurim, the Letushim, and the Leummim. ⁴ The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were Keturah's descendants. ⁵ Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac;

Esau Takes Another Wife

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

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ -8 Abraham died at the ripe old age of 175.

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

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

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ It was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites; both Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried there. ¹¹ After the death of Abraham, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near “The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.”

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² Ishmael, whom Hagar, the Egyptian slave of Sarah, bore to Abraham, ¹³ had the following sons, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

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

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ Ishmael was 137 years old when he died.

Noah and His Sons

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

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ This is the story of Abraham's son Isaac.

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel (an Aramean from Mesopotamia) and sister of Laban. ²¹ Because Rebecca had no children, Isaac prayed to the Lord for her. The Lord answered his prayer, and Rebecca became pregnant.

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

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

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ The Lord said to her,
“Two nations are within you;
You will give birth to two rival peoples.
One will be stronger than the other;
The older will serve the younger.” ²⁴ The time came for her to give birth, and she had twin sons.

Jacob's Bargain with Laban

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

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

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

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ The boys grew up, and Esau became a skilled hunter, a man who loved the outdoors, but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home. ²⁸ Isaac preferred Esau, because he enjoyed eating the animals Esau killed, but Rebecca preferred Jacob. ^* ²⁹ One day while Jacob was cooking some bean soup, Esau came in from hunting. He was hungry

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

Esau Begs for Isaac's Blessing

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

The Children Born to Jacob

³¹ Jacob answered, “I will give it to you if you give me your rights as the first-born son.” ³² Esau said, “All right! I am about to die; what good will my rights do me?” ³³ Jacob answered, “First make a vow that you will give me your rights.” Esau made the vow and gave his rights to Jacob.

Esau's Foreign Wives

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

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ There was another famine in the land besides the earlier one during the time of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar. ² The Lord had appeared to Isaac and had said, “Do not go to Egypt; stay in this land, where I tell you to stay. ^* ³ Live here, and I will be with you and bless you. I am going to give all this territory to you and to your descendants. I will keep the promise I made to your father Abraham. ⁴ I will give you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky, and I will give them all this territory. All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants. ⁵ I will bless you, because Abraham obeyed me and kept all my laws and commands.”

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ So Isaac lived at Gerar.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ When the men there asked about his wife, he said that she was his sister. He would not admit that she was his wife, because he was afraid that the men there would kill him to get Rebecca, who was very beautiful. ⁸ When Isaac had been there for some time, King Abimelech looked down from his window and saw Isaac and Rebecca making love.

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

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

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ “What have you done to us?” Abimelech said. “One of my men might easily have slept with your wife, and you would have been responsible for our guilt.” ¹¹ Abimelech warned all the people: “Anyone who mistreats this man or his wife will be put to death.”

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² Isaac sowed crops in that land, and that year he harvested a hundred times as much as he had sown, because the Lord blessed him. ¹³ He continued to prosper and became a very rich man.

Abram Moves to Hebron

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

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

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

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

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

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

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

Noah and His Sons

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

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ Isaac's servants dug a well in the valley and found water.

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ The shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's shepherds and said, “This water belongs to us.” So Isaac named the well “Quarrel.” ²¹ Isaac's servants dug another well, and there was a quarrel about that one also, so he named it “Enmity.”

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

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

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ Isaac left and went to Beersheba. ²⁴ That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid; I am with you. I will bless you and give you many descendants because of my promise to my servant Abraham.”

Jacob's Bargain with Laban

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

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

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

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ So Isaac asked, “Why have you now come to see me, when you were so unfriendly to me before and made me leave your country?” ²⁸ They answered, “Now we know that the Lord is with you, and we think that there should be a solemn agreement between us. We want you to promise ^* ²⁹ that you will not harm us, just as we did not harm you. We were kind to you and let you go peacefully. Now it is clear that the Lord has blessed you.”

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

Esau Begs for Isaac's Blessing

³⁰ Isaac prepared a feast for them, and they ate and drank. ^*

The Children Born to Jacob

³¹ Early next morning each man made his promise and sealed it with a vow. Isaac said good-bye to them, and they parted as friends. ³² On that day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well which they had dug. They said, “We have found water.” ³³ He named the well “Vow.” That is how the city of Beersheba got its name.

Esau's Foreign Wives

³⁴ When Esau was forty years old, he married two Hittites, Judith the daughter of Beeri, and Basemath the daughter of Elon. ³⁵ They made life miserable for Isaac and Rebecca.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ Isaac was now old and had become blind. He sent for his older son Esau and said to him, “Son!” “Yes,” he answered. ² Isaac said, “You see that I am old and may die soon. ^* ³ Take your bow and arrows, go out into the country, and kill an animal for me. ⁴ Cook me some of that tasty food that I like, and bring it to me. After I have eaten it, I will give you my final blessing before I die.” ⁵ While Isaac was talking to Esau, Rebecca was listening. So when Esau went out to hunt,

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ she said to Jacob, “I have just heard your father say to Esau,

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ ‘Bring me an animal and cook it for me. After I have eaten it, I will give you my blessing in the presence of the Lord before I die.’ ⁸ Now, son,” Rebecca continued, “listen to me and do what I say.

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ Go to the flock and pick out two fat young goats, so that I can cook them and make some of that food your father likes so much.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ You can take it to him to eat, and he will give you his blessing before he dies.” ¹¹ But Jacob said to his mother, “You know that Esau is a hairy man, but I have smooth skin.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² Perhaps my father will touch me and find out that I am deceiving him; in this way, I will bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.” ¹³ His mother answered, “Let any curse against you fall on me, my son; just do as I say, and go and get the goats for me.”

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ So he went to get them and brought them to her, and she cooked the kind of food that his father liked.

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ Then she took Esau's best clothes, which she kept in the house, and put them on Jacob.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ She put the skins of the goats on his arms and on the hairless part of his neck.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ She handed him the tasty food, along with the bread she had baked.

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ Then Jacob went to his father and said, “Father!” “Yes,” he answered. “Which of my sons are you?”

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ Jacob answered, “I am your older son Esau; I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of the meat that I have brought you, so that you can give me your blessing.”

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ Isaac said, “How did you find it so quickly, son?” Jacob answered, “The Lord your God helped me find it.” ²¹ Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so that I can touch you. Are you really Esau?”

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²² Jacob moved closer to his father, who felt him and said, “Your voice sounds like Jacob's voice, but your arms feel like Esau's arms.”

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ He did not recognize Jacob, because his arms were hairy like Esau's. He was about to give him his blessing, ²⁴ but asked again, “Are you really Esau?” “I am,” he answered.

Jacob's Bargain with Laban

²⁵ Isaac said, “Bring me some of the meat. After I eat it, I will give you my blessing.” Jacob brought it to him, and he also brought him some wine to drink.

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ Then his father said to him, “Come closer and kiss me, son.”

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ As he came up to kiss him, Isaac smelled his clothes—so he gave him his blessing. He said, “The pleasant smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed. ²⁸ May God give you dew from heaven and make your fields fertile! May he give you plenty of grain and wine! ^* ²⁹ May nations be your servants, and may peoples bow down before you. May you rule over all your relatives, and may your mother's descendants bow down before you. May those who curse you be cursed, and may those who bless you be blessed.”

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

Esau Begs for Isaac's Blessing

³⁰ Isaac finished giving his blessing, and as soon as Jacob left, his brother Esau came in from hunting. ^*

The Children Born to Jacob

³¹ He also cooked some tasty food and took it to his father. He said, “Please, father, sit up and eat some of the meat that I have brought you, so that you can give me your blessing.” ³² “Who are you?” Isaac asked. “Your older son Esau,” he answered. ³³ Isaac began to tremble and shake all over, and he asked, “Who was it, then, who killed an animal and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came. I gave him my final blessing, and so it is his forever.”

Esau's Foreign Wives

³⁴ When Esau heard this, he cried out loudly and bitterly and said, “Give me your blessing also, father!” ³⁵ Isaac answered, “Your brother came and deceived me. He has taken away your blessing.” ³⁶ Esau said, “This is the second time that he has cheated me. No wonder his name is Jacob. He took my rights as the first-born son, and now he has taken away my blessing. Haven't you saved a blessing for me?” ³⁷ Isaac answered, “I have already made him master over you, and I have made all his relatives his slaves. I have given him grain and wine. Now there is nothing that I can do for you, son!” ³⁸ Esau continued to plead with his father: “Do you have only one blessing, father? Bless me too, father!” He began to cry. ³⁹ Then Isaac said to him,
“No dew from heaven for you,
No fertile fields for you.
⁴⁰ You will live by your sword,
But be your brother's slave.
Yet when you rebel,
You will break away from his control.” ⁴¹ Esau hated Jacob, because his father had given Jacob the blessing. He thought, “The time to mourn my father's death is near; then I will kill Jacob.” ⁴² But when Rebecca heard about Esau's plan, she sent for Jacob and said, “Listen, your brother Esau is planning to get even with you and kill you.

The Agreement between Jacob and Laban

⁴³ Now, son, do what I say. Go at once to my brother Laban in Haran, ⁴⁴ and stay with him for a while, until your brother's anger cools down ⁴⁵ and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send someone to bring you back. Why should I lose both of my sons on the same day?”

Isaac Sends Jacob to Laban

⁴⁶ Rebecca said to Isaac, “I am sick and tired of Esau's foreign wives. If Jacob also marries one of these Hittites, I might as well die.”

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ Isaac called Jacob, greeted him, and told him, “Don't marry a Canaanite. ² Go instead to Mesopotamia, to the home of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of the young women there, one of your uncle Laban's daughters. ^* ³ May Almighty God bless your marriage and give you many children, so that you will become the father of many nations! ⁴ May he bless you and your descendants as he blessed Abraham, and may you take possession of this land, in which you have lived and which God gave to Abraham!” ⁵ Isaac sent Jacob away to Mesopotamia, to Laban, who was the son of Bethuel the Aramean and the brother of Rebecca, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Mesopotamia to find a wife. He also learned that when Isaac blessed him, he commanded him not to marry a Canaanite woman.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ He found out that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Mesopotamia. ⁸ Esau then understood that his father Isaac did not approve of Canaanite women.

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ So he went to Ishmael son of Abraham and married his daughter Mahalath, who was the sister of Nebaioth.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ Jacob left Beersheba and started toward Haran. ¹¹ At sunset he came to a holy place and camped there. He lay down to sleep, resting his head on a stone.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² He dreamed that he saw a stairway reaching from earth to heaven, with angels going up and coming down on it. ¹³ And there was the Lord standing beside him. “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham and Isaac,” he said. “I will give to you and to your descendants this land on which you are lying.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ They will be as numerous as the specks of dust on the earth. They will extend their territory in all directions, and through you and your descendants I will bless all the nations.

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ Remember, I will be with you and protect you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done all that I have promised you.”

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ Jacob woke up and said, “The Lord is here! He is in this place, and I didn't know it!”

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ He was afraid and said, “What a terrifying place this is! It must be the house of God; it must be the gate that opens into heaven.”

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ Jacob got up early next morning, took the stone that was under his head, and set it up as a memorial. Then he poured olive oil on it to dedicate it to God.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ He named the place Bethel. (The town there was once known as Luz.)

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow to the Lord: “If you will be with me and protect me on the journey I am making and give me food and clothing, ²¹ and if I return safely to my father's home, then you will be my God.

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²² This memorial stone which I have set up will be the place where you are worshiped, and I will give you a tenth of everything you give me.”

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ Jacob continued on his way and went toward the land of the East. ² Suddenly he came upon a well out in the fields with three flocks of sheep lying around it. The flocks were watered from this well, which had a large stone over the opening. ^* ³ Whenever all the flocks came together there, the shepherds would roll the stone back and water them. Then they would put the stone back in place. ⁴ Jacob asked the shepherds, “My friends, where are you from?” “From Haran,” they answered. ⁵ He asked, “Do you know Laban, grandson of Nahor?” “Yes, we do,” they answered.

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ “Is he well?” he asked. “He is well,” they answered. “Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with his flock.”

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ Jacob said, “Since it is still broad daylight and not yet time to bring the flocks in, why don't you water them and take them back to pasture?” ⁸ They answered, “We can't do that until all the flocks are here and the stone has been rolled back; then we will water the flocks.”

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ While Jacob was still talking with them, Rachel arrived with the flock.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ When Jacob saw Rachel with his uncle Laban's flock, he went to the well, rolled the stone back, and watered the sheep. ¹¹ Then he kissed her and began to cry for joy.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² He told her, “I am your father's relative, the son of Rebecca.” She ran to tell her father; ¹³ and when he heard the news about his nephew Jacob, he ran to meet him, hugged him and kissed him, and brought him into the house. When Jacob told Laban everything that had happened,

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Laban said, “Yes, indeed, you are my own flesh and blood.” Jacob stayed there a whole month.

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ Laban said to Jacob, “You shouldn't work for me for nothing just because you are my relative. How much pay do you want?”

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ Laban had two daughters; the older was named Leah, and the younger Rachel.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ Leah had lovely eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful.

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ Jacob was in love with Rachel, so he said, “I will work seven years for you, if you will let me marry Rachel.”

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ Laban answered, “I would rather give her to you than to anyone else; stay here with me.”

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ Jacob worked seven years so that he could have Rachel, and the time seemed like only a few days to him, because he loved her. ²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “The time is up; let me marry your daughter.”

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²² So Laban gave a wedding feast and invited everyone.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ But that night, instead of Rachel, he took Leah to Jacob, and Jacob had intercourse with her. ( ²⁴ Laban gave his slave woman Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maid.)

Jacob's Bargain with Laban

²⁵ Not until the next morning did Jacob discover that it was Leah. He went to Laban and said, “Why did you do this to me? I worked to get Rachel. Why have you tricked me?”

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ Laban answered, “It is not the custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older.

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ Wait until the week's marriage celebrations are over, and I will give you Rachel, if you will work for me another seven years.” ²⁸ Jacob agreed, and when the week of marriage celebrations was over, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. ( ^* ²⁹ Laban gave his slave woman Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maid.)

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

Esau Begs for Isaac's Blessing

³⁰ Jacob had intercourse with Rachel also, and he loved her more than Leah. Then he worked for Laban another seven years. ^*

The Children Born to Jacob

³¹ When the Lord saw that Leah was loved less than Rachel, he made it possible for her to have children, but Rachel remained childless. ³² Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She said, “The Lord has seen my trouble, and now my husband will love me”; so she named him Reuben. ³³ She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “The Lord has given me this son also, because he heard that I was not loved”; so she named him Simeon.

Esau's Foreign Wives

³⁴ Once again she became pregnant and gave birth to another son. She said, “Now my husband will be bound more tightly to me, because I have borne him three sons”; so she named him Levi. ³⁵ Then she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord”; so she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ But Rachel had not borne Jacob any children, and so she became jealous of her sister and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I will die.” ² Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “I can't take the place of God. He is the one who keeps you from having children.” ^* ³ She said, “Here is my slave Bilhah; sleep with her, so that she can have a child for me. In this way I can become a mother through her.” ⁴ So she gave Bilhah to her husband, and he had intercourse with her. ⁵ Bilhah became pregnant and bore Jacob a son.

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ Rachel said, “God has judged in my favor. He has heard my prayer and has given me a son”; so she named him Dan.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ Bilhah became pregnant again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ Rachel said, “I have fought a hard fight with my sister, but I have won”; so she named him Naphtali.

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ When Leah realized that she had stopped having children, she gave her slave Zilpah to Jacob as his wife.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ Then Zilpah bore Jacob a son. ¹¹ Leah said, “I have been lucky”; so she named him Gad.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² Zilpah bore Jacob another son, ¹³ and Leah said, “How happy I am! Now women will call me happy”; so she named him Asher.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ During the wheat harvest Reuben went into the fields and found mandrakes, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son's mandrakes.”

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ Leah answered, “Isn't it enough that you have taken away my husband? Now you are even trying to take away my son's mandrakes.” Rachel said, “If you will give me your son's mandrakes, you can sleep with Jacob tonight.”

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ When Jacob came in from the fields in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You are going to sleep with me tonight, because I have paid for you with my son's mandrakes.” So he had intercourse with her that night.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ God answered Leah's prayer, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son.

Noah and His Sons

¹⁸ Leah said, “God has given me my reward, because I gave my slave to my husband”; so she named her son Issachar.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ Leah became pregnant again and bore Jacob a sixth son.

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ She said, “God has given me a fine gift. Now my husband will accept me, because I have borne him six sons”; so she named him Zebulun. ²¹ Later she bore a daughter, whom she named Dinah.

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²² Then God remembered Rachel; he answered her prayer and made it possible for her to have children.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She said, “God has taken away my disgrace by giving me a son. ²⁴ May the Lord give me another son”; so she named him Joseph.

Jacob's Bargain with Laban

²⁵ After the birth of Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Let me go, so that I can return home.

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ Give me my wives and children that I have earned by working for you, and I will leave. You know how well I have served you.”

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ Laban said to him, “Let me say this: I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you. ²⁸ Name your wages, and I will pay them.” ^* ²⁹ Jacob answered, “You know how I have worked for you and how your flocks have prospered under my care.

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

Esau Begs for Isaac's Blessing

³⁰ The little you had before I came has grown enormously, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I went. Now it is time for me to look out for my own interests.” ^*

The Children Born to Jacob

³¹ “What shall I pay you?” Laban asked. Jacob answered, “I don't want any wages. I will continue to take care of your flocks if you agree to this suggestion: ³² Let me go through all your flocks today and take every black lamb and every spotted or speckled young goat. That is all the wages I want. ³³ In the future you can easily find out if I have been honest. When you come to check up on my wages, if I have any goat that isn't speckled or spotted or any sheep that isn't black, you will know that it has been stolen.”

Esau's Foreign Wives

³⁴ Laban answered, “Agreed. We will do as you suggest.” ³⁵ But that day Laban removed the male goats that had stripes or spots and all the females that were speckled and spotted or which had white on them; he also removed all the black sheep. He put his sons in charge of them, ³⁶ and then went away from Jacob with this flock as far as he could travel in three days. Jacob took care of the rest of Laban's flocks. ³⁷ Jacob got green branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees and stripped off some of the bark so that the branches had white stripes on them. ³⁸ He placed these branches in front of the flocks at their drinking troughs. He put them there, because the animals mated when they came to drink. ³⁹ So when the goats bred in front of the branches, they produced young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted. ⁴⁰ Jacob kept the sheep separate from the goats and made them face in the direction of the streaked and black animals of Laban's flock. In this way he built up his own flock and kept it apart from Laban's. ⁴¹ When the healthy animals were mating, Jacob put the branches in front of them at the drinking troughs, so that they would breed among the branches. ⁴² But he did not put the branches in front of the weak animals. Soon Laban had all the weak animals, and Jacob all the healthy ones.

The Agreement between Jacob and Laban

⁴³ In this way Jacob became very wealthy. He had many flocks, slaves, camels, and donkeys.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ Jacob heard that Laban's sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father. He got all his wealth from what our father owned.” ² He also saw that Laban was no longer as friendly as he had been earlier. ^* ³ Then the Lord said to him, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives. I will be with you.” ⁴ So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to meet him in the field where his flocks were. ⁵ He said to them, “I have noticed that your father is not as friendly toward me as he used to be; but my father's God has been with me.

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ You both know that I have worked for your father with all my strength.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ Yet he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not let him harm me. ⁸ Whenever Laban said, ‘The speckled goats shall be your wages,’ all the flocks produced speckled young. When he said, ‘The striped goats shall be your wages,’ all the flocks produced striped young.

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ God has taken flocks away from your father and given them to me.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ “During the breeding season I had a dream, and I saw that the male goats that were mating were striped, spotted, and speckled. ¹¹ The angel of God spoke to me in the dream and said, ‘Jacob!’ ‘Yes,’ I answered.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² ‘Look,’ he continued, ‘all the male goats that are mating are striped, spotted, and speckled. I am making this happen because I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. ¹³ I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel, where you dedicated a stone as a memorial by pouring olive oil on it and where you made a vow to me. Now get ready and go back to the land where you were born.’”

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Rachel and Leah answered Jacob, “There is nothing left for us to inherit from our father.

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵ He treats us like foreigners. He sold us, and now he has spent all the money he was paid for us.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ All this wealth which God has taken from our father belongs to us and to our children. Do whatever God has told you.”

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ -18 So Jacob got ready to go back to his father in the land of Canaan. He put his children and his wives on the camels, and drove all his flocks ahead of him, with everything that he had gotten in Mesopotamia.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and during his absence Rachel stole the household gods that belonged to her father.

Noah Offers a Sacrifice

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ Jacob deceived Laban by not letting him know that he was leaving. ²¹ He took everything he owned and left in a hurry. He crossed the Euphrates River and started for the hill country of Gilead.

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

Laban Pursues Jacob

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²² Three days later Laban was told that Jacob had fled.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ He took his men with him and pursued Jacob for seven days until he caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁴ In a dream that night God came to Laban and said to him, “Be careful not to threaten Jacob in any way.”

Jacob's Bargain with Laban

²⁵ Jacob had set up his camp on a mountain, and Laban set up his camp with his relatives in the hill country of Gilead.

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ Laban said to Jacob, “Why did you deceive me and carry off my daughters like women captured in war?

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ Why did you deceive me and slip away without telling me? If you had told me, I would have sent you on your way with rejoicing and singing to the music of tambourines and harps. ²⁸ You did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters good-bye. That was a foolish thing to do! ^* ²⁹ I have the power to do you harm, but last night the God of your father warned me not to threaten you in any way.

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

Esau Begs for Isaac's Blessing

³⁰ I know that you left because you were so anxious to get back home, but why did you steal my household gods?” ^*

The Children Born to Jacob

³¹ Jacob answered, “I was afraid, because I thought that you might take your daughters away from me. ³² But if you find that anyone here has your gods, he will be put to death. Here, with our men as witnesses, look for anything that belongs to you and take what is yours.” Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen Laban's gods. ³³ Laban went and searched Jacob's tent; then he went into Leah's tent, and the tent of the two slave women, but he did not find his gods. Then he went into Rachel's tent.

Esau's Foreign Wives

³⁴ Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in a camel's saddlebag and was sitting on them. Laban searched through the whole tent, but did not find them. ³⁵ Rachel said to her father, “Do not be angry with me, sir, but I am not able to stand up in your presence; I am having my monthly period.” Laban searched but did not find his household gods. ³⁶ Then Jacob lost his temper. “What crime have I committed?” he asked angrily. “What law have I broken that gives you the right to hunt me down? ³⁷ Now that you have searched through all my belongings, what household article have you found that belongs to you? Put it out here where your men and mine can see it, and let them decide which one of us is right. ³⁸ I have been with you now for twenty years; your sheep and your goats have not failed to reproduce, and I have not eaten any rams from your flocks. ³⁹ Whenever a sheep was killed by wild animals, I always bore the loss myself. I didn't take it to you to show that it was not my fault. You demanded that I make good anything that was stolen during the day or during the night. ⁴⁰ Many times I suffered from the heat during the day and from the cold at night. I was not able to sleep. ⁴¹ It was like that for the whole twenty years I was with you. For fourteen years I worked to win your two daughters—and six years for your flocks. And even then, you changed my wages ten times. ⁴² If the God of my fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac, had not been with me, you would have already sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my trouble and the work I have done, and last night he gave his judgment.”

The Agreement between Jacob and Laban

⁴³ Laban answered Jacob, “These young women are my daughters; their children belong to me, and these flocks are mine. In fact, everything you see here belongs to me. But since I can do nothing to keep my daughters and their children, ⁴⁴ I am ready to make an agreement with you. Let us make a pile of stones to remind us of our agreement.” ⁴⁵ So Jacob got a stone and set it up as a memorial.

Isaac Sends Jacob to Laban

⁴⁶ He told his men to gather some rocks and pile them up. Then they ate a meal beside the pile of rocks. ⁴⁷ Laban named it Jegar Sahadutha, while Jacob named it Galeed. ^* ^* ⁴⁸ Laban said to Jacob, “This pile of rocks will be a reminder for both of us.” That is why that place was named Galeed. ⁴⁹ Laban also said, “May the Lord keep an eye on us while we are separated from each other.” So the place was also named Mizpah. ^* ⁵⁰ Laban went on, “If you mistreat my daughters or if you marry other women, even though I don't know about it, remember that God is watching us. ⁵¹ Here are the rocks that I have piled up between us, and here is the memorial stone. ⁵² Both this pile and this memorial stone are reminders. I will never go beyond this pile to attack you, and you must never go beyond it or beyond this memorial stone to attack me. ⁵³ The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor will judge between us.” Then, in the name of the God whom his father Isaac worshiped, Jacob solemnly vowed to keep this promise. ^* ⁵⁴ He killed an animal, which he offered as a sacrifice on the mountain, and he invited his men to the meal. After they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain. ⁵⁵ Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters good-bye, and left to go back home.

The Descendants of Adam

Human Wickedness

The Flood

The End of the Flood

God's Covenant with Noah

The Descendants of Noah's Sons

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Jacob Flees from Laban

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ As Jacob went on his way, some angels met him. ² When he saw them, he said, “This is God's camp”; so he named the place Mahanaim. ^* ³ Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the country of Edom. ⁴ He instructed them to say: “I, Jacob, your obedient servant, report to my master Esau that I have been staying with Laban and that I have delayed my return until now. ⁵ I own cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and slaves. I am sending you word, sir, in the hope of gaining your favor.”

Esau Takes Another Wife

⁶ When the messengers came back to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and he is already on his way to meet you. He has four hundred men with him.”

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ Jacob was frightened and worried. He divided into two groups the people who were with him, and also his sheep, goats, cattle, and camels. ⁸ He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks the first group, the other may be able to escape.”

Noah

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ Then Jacob prayed, “God of my grandfather Abraham and God of my father Isaac, hear me! You told me, Lord, to go back to my land and to my relatives, and you would make everything go well for me.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ I am not worth all the kindness and faithfulness that you have shown me, your servant. I crossed the Jordan with nothing but a walking stick, and now I have come back with these two groups. ¹¹ Save me, I pray, from my brother Esau. I am afraid—afraid that he is coming to attack us and destroy us all, even the women and children.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael