Genesis - Chapter 22 { LISTEN ONLY THIS CHAPTER - PLAY HERE }
1 It happened some time later that God put Abraham to the test. 'Abraham, Abraham!' he called. 'Here I am,' he replied.
2 God said, 'Take your son, your only son, your beloved Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, where you are to offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I shall point out to you.'
3 Early next morning Abraham saddled his donkey and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He chopped wood for the burnt offering and started on his journey to the place which God had indicated to him.
4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
5 Then Abraham said to his servants, 'Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I are going over there; we shall worship and then come back to you.'
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering, loaded it on Isaac, and carried in his own hands the fire and the knife. Then the two of them set out together.
7 Isaac spoke to his father Abraham. 'Father?' he said. 'Yes, my son,' he replied. 'Look,' he said, 'here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?'
8 Abraham replied, 'My son, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.' And the two of them went on together.
9 When they arrived at the place which God had indicated to him, Abraham built an altar there, and arranged the wood. Then he bound his son and put him on the altar on top of the wood.
10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.
11 But the angel of Yahweh called to him from heaven. 'Abraham, Abraham!' he said. 'Here I am,' he replied.
12 'Do not raise your hand against the boy,' the angel said. 'Do not harm him, for now I know you fear God. You have not refused me your own beloved son.'
13 Then looking up, Abraham saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. Abraham took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.
14 Abraham called this place 'Yahweh provides', and hence the saying today: 'On the mountain Yahweh provides.'
15 The angel of Yahweh called Abraham a second time from heaven.
16 'I swear by my own self, Yahweh declares, that because you have done this, because you have not refused me your own beloved son,
17 I will shower blessings on you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will gain possession of the gates of their enemies.
18 All nations on earth will bless themselves by your descendants, because you have obeyed my command.'
19 Abraham went back to his servants, and together they set out for Beersheba, and Abraham settled in Beersheba.
20 It happened some time later that Abraham received word that Milcah, too, had now borne sons to his brother Nahor:
21 Uz his first-born, Buz his brother, Kemuel father of Aram,
22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, Bethuel
23 (and Bethuel was the father of Rebekah). These were the eight children Milcah gave Nahor, Abraham's brother.
24 He had a concubine named Reumah, and she too had children: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maacah.
Genesis - Chapter 23 { LISTEN ONLY THIS CHAPTER - PLAY HERE }
1 The length of Sarah's life was a hundred and twenty-seven years.
2 She died at Kiriath-Arba -- now Hebron -- in the land of Canaan, and Abraham proceeded to mourn and bewail her.
3 Then rising from beside his dead, Abraham spoke to the Hittites,
4 'I am a stranger resident here,' he said. 'Let me have a burial site of my own here, so that I can remove my dead for burial.'
5 The Hittites replied to Abraham,
6 'Please listen to us, my lord, we regard you as a prince of God; bury your dead in the best of our tombs; not one of us would refuse you his tomb for you to bury your dead.'
7 At this, Abraham rose and bowed low to the local people, the Hittites,
8 and pleaded with them as follows, 'If you consent to my removing my dead for burial, you must agree to intercede for me with Ephron son of Zohar,
9 for him to let me have the cave he owns at Machpelah, which is on the edge of his field. Let him sell it to me in your presence at its full price, for a burial site of my own.'
10 Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all the inhabitants of his town.
11 'No, my lord, listen to me,' he said. 'I give you the field and the cave in it; I make this gift in the presence of my kinsmen. Bury your dead.'
12 Abraham bowed low to the local people
13 and, in the hearing of the local people, replied to Ephron as follows, 'Be good enough to listen to me. I shall pay the price of the field; accept it from me and I shall bury my dead there.'
14 Ephron replied to Abraham,
15 'Please listen to me, my lord. What is a plot of land for four hundred shekels of silver between me and you? Bury your dead.'
16 Abraham agreed to Ephron's terms, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver he had stipulated in the hearing of the Hittites, namely four hundred shekels of silver, according to the current commercial rate.
17 Thus Ephron's field at Machpelah, facing Mamre -- the field and the cave in it and all the trees anywhere within the boundaries of the field -- passed
18 into Abraham's possession in the sight of the Hittites, of all the inhabitants of his town.
19 And after this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre -- now Hebron -- in the land of Canaan.
20 And so the field and the cave in it passed from the Hittites into Abraham's possession as a burial site of his own.
Genesis - Chapter 24 { LISTEN ONLY THIS CHAPTER - PLAY HERE }
1 By now Abraham was an old man, well on in years, and Yahweh had blessed Abraham in every way.
2 Abraham said to the senior servant in his household, the steward of all his property, 'Place your hand under my thigh:
3 I am going to make you swear by Yahweh, God of heaven and God of earth, that you will not choose a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live
4 but will go to my native land and my own kinsfolk to choose a wife for my son Isaac.'
5 The servant asked him, 'What if the girl does not want to follow me to this country? Should I then take your son back to the country from which you come?'
6 Abraham replied, 'On no account are you to take my son back there.
7 Yahweh, God of heaven and God of earth, who took me from my father's home, and from the land of my kinsfolk, and who promised me on oath, "I shall give this country to your descendants"-he will now send his angel ahead of you, so that you can get a wife for my son from there.
8 If then the girl refuses to follow you, you will be quit of this oath to me. Only do not take my son back there.'
9 And the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham, and swore to him that he would do it.
10 The servant took ten of his master's camels and, carrying all kinds of gifts from his master, set out for the city of Nahor in Aram Naharaim.
11 In the evening, at the time when women come out to draw water, he made the camels kneel outside the town near the well.
12 And he said, 'Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, give me success today and show faithful love to my master Abraham.
13 While I stand by the spring as the young women from the town come out to draw water,
14 I shall say to one of the girls, "Please lower your pitcher and let me drink." And if she answers, "Drink, and I shall water your camels too," let her be the one you have decreed for your servant Isaac; by this I shall know you have shown faithful love to my master'
15 He had not finished speaking when out came Rebekah -- who was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor -- with a pitcher on her shoulder.
16 The girl was very beautiful, and a virgin; no man had touched her. She went down to the spring, filled her pitcher and came up again.
17 Running towards her, the servant said, 'Please give me a sip of water from your pitcher.'
18 She replied, 'Drink, my lord,' and quickly lowered her pitcher on her arm and gave him a drink.
19 When she had finished letting him drink, she said, 'I shall draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough.'
20 She quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran to the well again to draw, and drew for all the camels.
21 All the while, the man stood watching her, not daring to speak, wondering whether Yahweh had made his journey successful or not.
22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing half a shekel, and put it through her nose, and put two bracelets weighing ten gold shekels on her arms,
23 and said, 'Whose daughter are you? Please tell me. Is there room at your father's house for us to spend the night?'
24 She replied, 'I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son whom Milcah bore to Nahor.'
25 And she went on, 'We have plenty of straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.'
26 Then the man bowed down and worshipped Yahweh
27 saying, 'Blessed be Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, for not withholding his faithful love from my master. Yahweh has led me straight to the house of my master's brother.'
28 The girl ran to her mother's house to tell what had happened.
29 Now Rebekah had a brother called Laban, and Laban ran out to the man at the spring.
30 As soon as he had seen the ring and the bracelets his sister was wearing, and had heard his sister Rebekah saying, 'This is what the man said to me,' he went to the man and found him still standing by his camels at the spring.
31 He said to him, 'Come in, blessed of Yahweh, why stay out here when I have cleared the house and made room for the camels?'
32 The man went to the house, and Laban unloaded the camels. He provided straw and fodder for the camels and water for him and his companions to wash their feet.
33 They offered him food, but he said, 'I will eat nothing before I have said what I have to say.' Laban said, 'Speak.'
34 He said, 'I am Abraham's servant.
35 Yahweh has loaded my master with blessings, and Abraham is now very rich. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, men and women slaves, camels and donkeys.
36 Sarah, my master's wife, bore my master a son in his old age, and he has made over all his property to him.
37 My master made me take this oath, "You are not to choose a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose country I live.
38 Instead, you are to go to my father's home and to my own kinsfolk to choose a wife for my son."
39 I said to my master, "Suppose the girl will not agree to come with me?"
40 and his reply was, "Yahweh, in whose presence I have walked, will send his angel with you and make your journey successful, for you to choose a wife for my son from my own kinsfolk, from my father's house.
41 Then you will be quit of my curse: if you go to my family and they refuse you, you will be quit of my curse."
42 Arriving today at the spring I said, "Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, please grant a successful outcome to the course I propose to take.
43 While I stand by the spring, if a girl comes out to draw water and I say to her, 'Please give me a little water to drink from your pitcher,'
44 if she replies, 'Drink by all means, and I shall draw water for your camels too,' let her be the girl whom Yahweh has decreed for my master's son."
45 I was still saying this in my mind when Rebekah came out, her pitcher on her shoulder. She came down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, "Please give me a drink."
46 Quickly she lowered her pitcher saying, "Drink, and I shall water your camels too."
47 I asked her, "Whose daughter are you?" She replied, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, whom Milcah bore to Nahor." Then I put this ring through her nose and these bracelets on her arms.
48 I bowed down and worshipped Yahweh, and I blessed Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, who had led me by a direct path to choose the daughter of my master's brother for his son.
49 Now tell me whether you are prepared to show constant and faithful love to my master; if not, say so, and I shall know what to do.'
50 Laban and Bethuel replied, 'This is from Yahweh; it is not for us to say yes or no to you.
51 Rebekah is there before you. Take her and go; and let her become the wife of your master's son, as Yahweh has decreed.'
52 On hearing this, Abraham's servant bowed to the ground before Yahweh.
53 He brought out silver and gold ornaments and clothes which he gave to Rebekah; he also gave rich presents to her brother and to her mother.
54 They ate and drank, he and his companions, and spent the night there. Next morning when they were up, he said, 'Let me go back to my master.'
55 Rebekah's brother and mother replied, 'Let the girl stay with us for ten days or so; then she can go.'
56 But he replied, 'Do not delay me, since Yahweh has made my journey successful; let me leave and go back to my master.'
57 They replied, 'Let us call the girl and find out what she has to say.'
58 They called Rebekah and asked her, 'Will you go with this man?' She replied, 'I will.'
59 Accordingly they let their sister Rebekah go, with her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men.
60 They blessed Rebekah and said to her: Sister of ours, from you may there spring thousands and tens of thousands! May your descendants gain possession of the gates of their enemies!
61 And forthwith, Rebekah and her maids mounted the camels, and followed the man. The servant took Rebekah and departed.
62 Isaac meanwhile had come back from the well of Lahai Roi and was living in the Negeb.
63 While Isaac was out walking towards evening in the fields, he looked up and saw camels approaching.
64 And Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac. She jumped down from her camel,
65 and asked the servant, 'Who is that man walking through the fields towards us?' The servant replied, 'That is my master.' So she took her veil and covered herself up.
66 The servant told Isaac the whole story.
67 Then Isaac took her into his tent. He married Rebekah and made her his wife. And in his love for her, Isaac was consoled for the loss of his mother.
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