1 Then Jacob went on in his journey, and came into the east country.

2 And he saw a well in the field, and three flocks of sheep lying by it: for the beasts were watered out of it, and the mouth thereof was closed with a great stone.

3 And the custom was, when all the sheep were gathered together to roll away the stone, and after the sheep were watered, to put it on the mouth of the well again.

4 And he said to the shepherds: Brethren, whence are you? They answered: Of Haran.

5 And he asked them, saying: Know you Laban the son of Nachor? They said: We know him.

6 He said: Is he in health? He is in health, say they: and behold Rachel his daughter cometh with his flock.

7 And Jacob said: There is yet much day remaining, neither is it time to bring the flocks into the folds again: first give the sheep drink, and so lead them back to feed.

8 They answered: We cannot, till all the cattle be gathered together, and we remove the stone from the well’s mouth, that we may water the flocks.

9 They were yet speaking, and behold Rachel came with her father’s sheep: for she fed the flock.

10 And when Jacob saw her, and knew her to be his cousin-german, and that they were the sheep of Laban, his uncle: he removed the stone wherewith the well was closed.

11 And having watered the flock, he kissed her: and lifting up his voice, wept.

12 And he told her that he was her father’s brother, and the son of Rebecca: but she went in haste and told her father.

13 Who, when he heard that Jacob his sister’s son was come, ran forth to meet him; and embracing him, and heartily kissing him, brought him into his house. And when he had heard the causes of his journey,

14 He answered: Thou art my bone and my flesh. And after the days of one month were expired,

15 He said to him: Because thou art my brother, shalt thou serve me without wages? Tell me what wages thou wilt have.

16 Now he had two daughters, the name of the elder was Lia: and the younger was called Rachel.

17 But Lia was blear eyed: Rachel was well favoured, and of a beautiful countenance.

18 And Jacob being in love with her, said: I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.

19 Laban answered: It is better that I give her to thee than to another man; stay with me.

20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel: and they seemed but a few days, because of the greatness of his love.

21 And he said to Laban: Give me my wife; for now the time is fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.

22 And he, having invited a great number of his friends to the feast, made the marriage.

23 And at night he brought in Lia his daughter to him,

24 Giving his daughter a handmaid, named Zelpha. Now when Jacob had gone in to her according to custom when morning was come he saw it was Lia:

25 And he said to his father in law: What is it that thou didst mean to do? did not I serve thee for Rachel? why hast thou deceived me?

26 Laban answered: It is not the custom in this place, to give the younger in marriage first.

27 Make up the week of days of this match: and I will give thee her also, for the service that thou shalt render me other seven years.

28 He yielded to his pleasure: and after the week was past, he married Rachel:

29 To whom her father gave Bala for her servant.

30 And having at length obtained the marriage he wished for, he preferred the love of the latter before the former, and served with him other seven years.

31 And the Lord seeing that he despised Lia, opened her womb, but her sister remained barren.

32 And she conceived and bore a son, and called his name Ruben, saying: The Lord saw my affliction: now my husband will love me.

33 And again she conceived and bore a son, and said: Because the Lord heard that I was despised, he hath given this also to me: and she called his name Simeon.

34 And she conceived the third time, and bore another son: and said: Now also my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons: and therefore she called his name Levi.

35 The fourth time she conceived and bore a son, and said: now will I praise the Lord: and for this she called him Juda. And she left bearing.

1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, saying: Take not a wife of the stock of Chanaan:

2 But go, and take a journey to Mesopotamia of Syria, to the house of Bathuel thy mother’s father, and take thee a wife thence of the daughters of Laban thy uncle.

3 And God almighty bless thee, and make thee to increase, and multiply thee: that thou mayst be a multitude of people.

4 And give the blessings of Abraham to thee, and to thy seed after thee: that thou mayst possess the land of thy sojournment, which he promised to thy grandfather.

5 And when Isaac had sent him away, he took his journey and went to Mesopotamia of Syria to Laban the son of Bathuel the Syrian, brother to Rebecca his mother.

6 And Esau seeing that his father had blessed Jacob, and had sent him into Mesopotamia of Syria, to marry a wife thence; and that after the blessing he had charged him, saying: Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Chanaan:

7 And that Jacob obeying his parents was gone into Syria:

8 Experiencing also that his father was not well pleased with the daughters of Chanaan:

9 He went to Ismael, and took to wife, besides them he had before, Maheleth the daughter of Ismael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nabajoth.

10 But Jacob being departed from Bersabee, went on to Haran.

11 And when he was come to a certain place, and would rest in it after sunset, he took of the stones that lay there, and putting under his head, slept in the same place.

12 And he saw in his sleep a ladder standing upon the earth, and the top thereof touching heaven: the angels also of God ascending and descending by it;

13 And the Lord leaning upon the ladder, saying to him: I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land, wherein thou sleepest, I will give to thee and to thy seed.

14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth: thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and IN THEE and thy seed all the tribes of the earth SHALL BE BLESSED.

15 And I will be thy keeper whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee back into this land: neither will I leave thee, till I shall have accomplished all that I have said.

16 And when Jacob awaked out of sleep, he said: Indeed the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.

17 And trembling he said: How terrible is this place! this is no other but the house of God, and the gate of heaven.

18 And Jacob, arising in the morning, took the stone, which he had laid under his head, and set it up for a title, pouring oil upon the top of it.

19 And he called the name of the city Bethel, which before was called Luza.

20 And he made a vow, saying: If God shall be with me, and shall keep me in the way by which I walk, and shall give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,

21 And I shall return prosperously to my father’s house: the Lord shall be my God:

22 And this stone, which I have set up for a title, shall be called the house of God: and of all things that thou shalt give to me, I will offer tithes to thee.

1 Now Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, and he could not see: and he called Esau, his elder son, and said to him: My son? And he answered: Here I am.

2 And his father said to him: Thou seest that I am old, and know not the day of my death.

3 Take thy arms, thy quiver, and bow, and go abroad: and when thou hast taken some thing by hunting,

4 Make me savoury meat thereof, as thou knowest I like, and bring it, that I may eat: and my soul may bless thee before I die.

5 And when Rebecca had heard this, and he was gone into the field to fulfill his father’s commandment,

6 She said to her son Jacob: I heard thy father talking with Esau thy brother, and saying to him:

7 Bring me of thy hunting, and make me meats that I may eat, and bless thee in the sight of the Lord, before I die.

8 Now, therefore, my son, follow my counsel:

9 And go thy way to the flock, bring me two kids of the best, that I may make of them meat for thy father, such as he gladly eateth:

10 Which when thou hast brought in, and he hath eaten, he may bless thee before he die.

11 And he answered her: Thou knowest that Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am smooth.

12 If my father shall feel me, and perceive it, I fear lest he will think I would have mocked him, and I shall bring upon me a curse instead of a blessing.

13 And his mother said to him: Upon me be this curse, my son: only hear thou my voice, and go, fetch me the things which I have said.

14 He went, and brought, and gave them to his mother. She dressed meats, such as she knew his father liked.

15 And she put on him very good garments of Esau, which she had at home with her:

16 And the little skins of the kids she put about his hands, and covered the bare of his neck.

17 And she gave him the savoury meat, and delivered him bread that she had baked.

18 Which when he had carried in, he said: My father? But he answered: I hear. Who art thou, my son?

19 And Jacob said: I am Esau thy firstborn: I have done as thou didst command me: arise, sit, and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

20 And Isaac said to his son: How couldst thou find it so quickly, my son? He answered: It was the will of God, that what I sought came quickly in my way.

21 And Isaac said: Come hither, that I may feel thee, my son, and may prove whether thou be my son Esau, or not.

22 He came near to his father, and when he had felt him, Isaac said: The voice indeed is the voice of Jacob; but the hands are the hands of Esau.

23 And he knew him not, because his hairy hands made him like to the elder. Then blessing him,

24 He said: Art thou my son Esau? He answered: I am.

25 Then he said: Bring me the meats of thy hunting, my son, that my soul may bless thee. And when they were brought, and he had eaten, he offered him wine also, which after he had drunk,

26 He said to him: Come near me, and give me a kiss, my son.

27 He came near, and kissed him. And immediately as he smelled the fragrant smell of his garments, blessing him, he said: Behold the smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful field, which the Lord hath blessed.

28 God give thee the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, abundance of corn and wine.

29 And let peoples serve thee, and tribes worship thee: be thou lord of thy brethren, and let thy mother’s children bow down before thee. Cursed be he that curseth thee: and let him that blesseth thee be filled with blessings.

30 Isaac had scarce ended his words, when Jacob being now gone out abroad, Esau came,

31 And brought in to his father meats made of what he had taken in hunting, saying: Arise, my father, and eat of thy son’s venison; that thy soul may bless me.

32 And Isaac said to him: Why! who art thou? He answered: I am thy firstborn son Esau.

33 Isaac was struck with fear, and astonished exceedingly: and wondering beyond what can be believed, said Who is he then that even now brought me venison that he had taken, and I ate of all before thou camest? and I have blessed him, and he shall be blessed.

34 Esau having heard his father’s words, roared out with a great cry: and being in a great consternation, said: Bless me also, my father.

35 And he said: Thy brother came deceitfully and got thy blessing.

36 But he said again: Rightly is his name called Jacob; for he hath supplanted me lo this second time: my first birthright he took away before, and now this second time he hath stolen away my blessing. And again he said to his father: Hast thou not reserved me also a blessing?

37 Isaac answered: I have appointed him thy lord, and have made all his brethren his servants: I have established him with corn and wine, and after this, what shall I do more for thee, my son?

38 And Esau said to him: Hast thou only one blessing, father? I beseech thee bless me also. And when he wept with a loud cry,

39 Isaac being moved, said to him: In the fat of the earth, and in the dew of heaven from above,

40 Shall thy blessing be. Thou shalt live by the sword and shalt serve thy brother: and the time shall come, when thou shalt shake off and loose his yoke from thy neck.

41 Esau therefore always hated Jacob for the blessing wherewith his father had blessed him: and he said in his heart: The days will come of the mourning of my father, and I will kill my brother Jacob.

42 These things were told to Rebecca: and she sent and called Jacob her son, and said to him: Behold Esau thy brother threateneth to kill thee.

43 Now therefore, my son, hear my voice: arise and flee to Laban my brother to Haran:

44 And thou shalt dwell with him a few days, till the wrath of thy brother be assuaged,

45 And his indignation cease, and he forget the things thou hast done to him: afterwards I will send, and bring thee from thence hither. Why shall I be deprived of both my sons in one day?

46 And Rebecca said to Isaac: I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the stock of this land, I choose not to live.

1 And when a famine came in the land, after that barrenness which had happened in the days of Abraham, Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Palestines to Gerara.

2 And the Lord appeared to him and said: Go not down into Egypt, but stay in the land that I shall tell thee.

3 And sojourn in it, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee: for to thee and to thy seed I will give all these countries, to fulfill the oath which I swore to Abraham thy father.

4 And I will multiply thy seed like the stars of heaven: and I will give to thy posterity all these countries: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

5 Because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my precepts and commandments, and observed my ceremonies and laws.

6 So Isaac abode in Gerara.

7 And when he was asked by the men of that place, concerning his wife, he answered: She is my sister; for he was afraid to confess that she was his wife, thinking lest perhaps they would kill him because of her beauty.

8 And when very many days were passed, and he abode there, Abimelech king of the Palestines looking out through a window, saw him playing with Rebecca his wife.

9 And calling for him, he said: It is evident she is thy wife: why didst thou feign her to be thy sister? He answered: I feared lest I should die for her sake.

10 And Abimelech said: Why hast thou deceived us? Some man of the people might have lain with thy wife, and thou hadst brought upon us a great sin. And he commanded all the people, saying:

11 He that shall touch this man’s wife, shall surely be put to death.

12 And Isaac sowed in that land, and he found that same year a hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.

13 And the man was enriched, and he went on prospering and increasing, till he became exceeding great:

14 And he had possessions of sheep and of herds, and a very great family. Wherefore the Palestines envying him,

15 Stopped up at that time all the wells, that the servants of his father Abraham had digged, filling them up with earth:

16 Insomuch that Abimelech himself said to Isaac: Depart from us, for thou art become much mightier than we.

17 So he departed and came to the torrent of Gerara, to dwell there:

18 And he digged again other wells, which the servants of his father Abraham had digged, and which, after his death, the Palestines had of old stopped up: and he called them by the same names by which his father before had called them.

19 And they digged in the torrent, and found living water.

20 But there also the herdsmen of Gerara strove against the herdsmen of Isaac, saying: It is our water. Wherefore he called the name of the well, on occasion of that which had happened, Calumny.

21 And they digged also another; and for that they quarrelled likewise, and he called the name of it, Enmity.

22 Going forward from thence, he digged another well, for which they contended not: therefore he called the name thereof, Latitude, saying: Now hath the Lord given us room, and made us to increase upon the earth.

23 And he went up from that place to Bersabee,

24 Where the Lord appeared to him that same night, saying: I am the God of Abraham thy father; do not fear, for I am with thee: I will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.

25 And he built there an altar: and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent: and commanded his servants to dig a well.

26 To which place when Abimelech, and Ochozath his friend, and Phicol chief captain of his soldiers came from Gerara,

27 Isaac said to them: Why are ye come to me, a man whom you hate, and have thrust out from you?

28 And they answered: We saw that the Lord is with thee, and therefore we said: Let there be an oath between us, and let us make a covenant,

29 That thou do us no harm, as we on our part have touched nothing of thine, nor have done any thing to hurt thee: but with peace have sent thee away increased with the blessing of the Lord.

30 And he made them a feast, and after they had eaten and drunk:

31 Arising in the morning, they swore one to another: and Isaac sent them away peaceably to their own home.

32 And behold the same day the servants of Isaac came, telling him of a well which they had digged, and saying: We have found water.

33 Whereupon he called it Abundance: and the name of the city was called Bersabee, even to this day.

34 And Esau being forty years old, married wives, Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hethite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon of the same place.

35 And they both offended the mind of Isaac and Rebecca.

1 And Abraham married another wife, named Cetura:

2 Who bore him Zamran, and Jecsan, and Madan, and Madian, and Jesboc, and Sue.

3 Jecsan also begot Saba and Dadan. The children of Dadan were Assurim, and Latusim, and Loomin.

4 But of Madian was born Epha, and Opher, and Henoch, and Abida, and Eldaa: all these were the children of Cetura.

5 And Abraham gave all his possessions to Isaac.

6 And to the children of the concubines he gave gifts, and separated them from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, to the east country.

7 And the days of Abraham’s life were a hundred and seventy-five years.

8 And decaying he died in a good old age, and having lived a long time, and being full of days: and was gathered to his people.

9 And Isaac and Ismael his sons buried him in the double cave, which was situated in the field of Ephron the son of Seor the Hethite, over against Mambre;

10 Which he had bought of the children of Heth: there was he buried, and Sara his wife.

11 And after his death, God blessed Isaac his son, who dwelt by the well named Of the living and seeing.

12 These are the generations of Ismael the son of Abraham, whom Agar the Egyptian, Sara’s servant, bore unto him:

13 And these are the names of his children according to their calling and generations. The firstborn of Ismael was Nabajoth, then Cedar, and Adbeel, and Mabsam.

14 And Masma, and Duma, and Massa,

15 Hadar, and Thema, and Jethur, and Naphis, and Cedma.

16 These are the sons of Ismael: and these are their names by their castles and towns, twelve princes of their tribes.

17 And the years of Ismael’s life were a hundred and thirty-seven, and decaying he died, and was gathered unto his people.

18 And he dwelt from Hevila as far as Sur, which looketh towards Egypt, to them that go towards the Assyrians. He died in the presence of all his brethren.

19 These also are the generations of Isaac the son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac:

20 Who when he was forty years old, took to wife Rebecca the daughter of Bathuel the Syrian of Mesopotamia, sister to Laban.

21 And Isaac besought the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and he heard him, and made Rebecca to conceive.

22 But the children struggled in her womb: and she said: If it were to be so with me, what need was there to conceive? And she went to consult the Lord.

23 And he answering said: Two nations are in thy womb, and two peoples shall be divided out of thy womb, and one people shall overcome the other, and the elder shall serve the younger.

24 And when her time was come to be delivered, behold twins were found in her womb.

25 He that came forth first was red, and hairy like a skin: and his name was called Esau. Immediately the other coming forth, held his brother’s foot in his hand, and therefore he was called Jacob.

26 Isaac was threescore years old when the children were born unto him.

27 And when they were grown up, Esau became a skillful hunter, and a husbandman, but Jacob a plain man dwelt in tents.

28 Isaac loved Esau, because he ate of his hunting: and Rebecca loved Jacob.

29 And Jacob boiled pottage: to whom Esau, coming faint out of the field,

30 Said: Give me of this red pottage, for I am exceeding faint. For which reason his name was called Edom.

31 And Jacob said to him: Sell me thy first birthright.

32 He answered: Lo I die, what will the first birthright avail me?

33 Jacob said: Swear therefore to me. Esau swore to him, and sold his first birthright.

34 And so taking bread and the pottage of lentils, he ate, and drank, and went his way; making little account of having sold his first birthright.

1 Now Abraham was old; and advanced in age: and the Lord had blessed him in all things.

2 And he said to the elder servant of his house, who was ruler over all he had: Put thy hand under my thigh,

3 That I may make thee swear by the Lord the God of heaven and earth, that thou take not a wife for my son, of the daughters of the Chanaanites, among whom I dwell:

4 But that thou go to my own country and kindred, and take a wife from thence for my son Isaac.

5 The servant answered: If the woman will not come with me into this land, must I bring thy son back again to the place, from whence thou camest out?

6 And Abraham said: Beware thou never bring my son back again thither.

7 The Lord God of heaven, who took me out of my father’s house, and out of my native country, who spoke to me, and swore to me, saying: To thy seed will I give this land: he will send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take from thence a wife for my son.

8 But if the woman will not follow thee, thou shalt not be bound by the oath; only bring not my son back thither again.

9 The servant therefore put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his lord, and swore to him upon this word.

10 And he took ten camels of his master’s herd, and departed, carrying something of all his goods with him, and he set forward and went on to Mesopotamia to the city of Nachor.

11 And when he had made the camels lie down without the town near a well of water in the evening, at the time when women are wont to come out to draw water, he said:

12 O Lord the God of my master Abraham, meet me today, I beseech thee, and shew kindness to my master Abraham.

13 Behold I stand nigh the spring of water, and the daughters of the inhabitants of this city will come out to draw water.

14 Now, therefore, the maid to whom I shall say: Let down thy pitcher that I may drink: and she shall answer, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let it be the same whom thou hast provided for thy servant Isaac: and by this I shall understand, that thou hast shewn kindness to my master.

15 He had not yet ended these words within himself, and behold Rebecca came out, the daughter of Bathuel, son of Melcha, wife to Nachor the brother of Abraham, having a pitcher on her shoulder:

16 An exceeding comely maid, and a most beautiful virgin, and not known to man: and she went down to the spring, and filled her pitcher and was coming back.

17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said: Give me a little water to drink of thy pitcher.

18 And she answered: Drink, my lord. And quickly she let down the pitcher upon her arm, and gave him drink.

19 And when he had drunk, she said: I will draw water for thy camels also, till they all drink.

20 And pouring out the pitcher into the troughs, she ran back to the well to draw water: and having drawn she gave to all the camels.

21 But he musing beheld her with silence, desirous to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

22 And after that the camels had drunk, the man took out golden earrings, weighing two sicles: and as many bracelets of ten sicles weight.

23 And he said to her: Whose daughter art thou? tell me: is there any place in thy father’s house to lodge?

24 And she answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Melcha, whom she bore to Nachor.

25 And she said moreover to him: We have good store of both straw and hay, and a large place to lodge in.

26 The man bowed himself down, and adored the Lord,

27 Saying: Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not taken away his mercy and truth from my master, and hath brought me the straight way into the house of my master’s brother.

28 Then the maid ran, and told in her mother’s house, all that she had heard.

29 And Rebecca had a brother named Laban, who went out in haste to the man, to the well.

30 And when he had seen the earrings and bracelets in his sister’s hands, and had heard all that she related, saying: Thus and thus the man spoke to me: he came to the man who stood by the camels, and near to the spring of water,

31 And said to him: Come in, thou blessed of the Lord: why standest thou without? I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.

32 And he brought him in into his lodging: and he unharnessed the camels and gave straw and hay, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men that were come with him.

33 And bread was set before him. But he said: I will not eat, till I tell my message. He answered him: Speak.

34 And he said: I am the servant of Abraham:

35 And the Lord hath blessed my master wonderfully, and he is become great: and he hath given him sheep and oxen, silver and gold, men servants and women servants, camels and asses.

36 And Sara my master’s wife hath borne my master a son in her old age, and he hath given him all that he had.

37 And my master made me swear, saying: Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the Chanaanites, in whose land I dwell:

38 But thou shalt go to my father’s house, and shalt take a wife of my own kindred for my son:

39 But I answered my master: What if the woman will not come with me?

40 The Lord, said he, in whose sight I walk, will send his angel with thee, and will direct thy way: and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my own kindred, and of my father’s house.

41 But thou shalt be clear from my curse, when thou shalt come to my kindred, if they will not give thee one.

42 And I came today to the well of water, and said: O Lord God of my master Abraham, if thou hast prospered my way, wherein I now walk,

43 Behold I stand by the well of water, and the virgin, that shall come out to draw water, who shall hear me say: Give me a little water to drink of thy pitcher:

44 And shall say to me: Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman, whom the Lord hath prepared for my master’s son.

45 And whilst I pondered these things secretly with myself, Rebecca appeared coming with a pitcher, which she carried on her shoulder: and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her: Give me a little to drink.

46 And she speedily let down the pitcher from her shoulder, and said to me: Both drink thou, and to thy camels I will give drink. I drank, and she watered the camels.

47 And I asked her, and said: Whose daughter art thou? And she answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Nachor, whom Melcha bore to him. So I put earrings on her to adorn her face, and I put bracelets on her hands.

48 And falling down I adored the Lord, blessing the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath brought me the straight way to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son.

49 Wherefore if you do according to mercy and truth with my master, tell me: but if it please you otherwise, tell me that also, that I may go to the right hand, or to the left.

50 And Laban and Bathuel answered: The word hath proceeded from the Lord, we cannot speak any other thing to thee but his pleasure.

51 Behold Rebecca is before thee, take her and go thy way, and let her be the wife of thy master’s son, as the Lord hath spoken.

52 Which when Abraham’s servant heard, falling down to the ground he adored the Lord.

53 And bringing forth vessels of silver and gold, and garments, he gave them to Rebecca for a present. He offered gifts also to her brothers, and to her mother.

54 And a banquet was made, and they ate and drank together, and lodged there. And in the morning, the servant arose, and said: Let me depart, that I may go to my master.

55 And her brother and mother answered: Let the maid stay at least ten days with us, and afterwards she shall depart.

56 Stay me not, said he, because the Lord hath prospered my way: send me away, that I may go to my master.

57 And they said: Let us call the maid, and ask her will.

58 And they called her, and when she was come, they asked: Wilt thou go with this man? She said: I will go.

59 So they sent her away, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his company,

60 Wishing prosperity to their sister, and saying: Thou art our sister, mayst thou increase to thousands of thousands, and may thy seed possess the gates of their enemies.

61 So Rebecca and her maids, being set upon camels, followed the man: who with speed returned to his master.

62 At the same time Isaac was walking along the way to the well which is called Of the living and the seeing: for he dwelt in the south country.

63 And he was gone forth to meditate in the field, the day being now well spent: and when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw camels coming afar off.

64 Rebecca also, when she saw Isaac, lighted off the camel,

65 And said to the servant: Who is that man who cometh towards us along the field? And he said to her: That man is my master. But she quickly took her cloak, and covered herself.

66 And the servant told Isaac all that he had done.

67 Who brought her into the tent of Sara his mother, and took her to wife: and he loved her so much, that it moderated the sorrow which was occasioned by his mother’s death.

1 And Sara lived a hundred and twenty-seven years.

2 And she died in the city of Arbee which is Hebron, in the land of Chanaan: and Abraham came to mourn and weep for her.

3 And after he rose up from the funeral obsequies, he spoke to the children of Heth, saying:

4 I am a stranger and sojourner among you: give me the right of a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead.

5 The children of Heth answered, saying:

6 My Lord, hear us, thou art a prince of God among us: bury thy dead in our principal sepulchres: and no man shall have power to hinder thee from burying thy dead in his sepulchre.

7 Abraham rose up, and bowed down to the people of the land, to wit the children of Heth:

8 And said to them: If it please your soul that I should bury my dead, hear me, and intercede for me to Ephron the son of Seor.

9 That he may give me the double cave, which he hath in the end of his field: for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me before you, for a possession of a burying place.

10 Now Ephron dwelt in the midst of the children of Heth. And Ephron made answer to Abraham in the hearing of all that went in at the gate of the city, saying:

11 Let it not be so, my lord, but do thou rather hearken to what I say: The field I deliver to thee, and the cave that is therein, in the presence of the children of my people, bury thy dead.

12 Abraham bowed down before the people of the land,

13 And he spoke to Ephron, in the presence of the people: I beseech thee to hear me: I will give money for the field: take it, and so I will bury my dead in it.

14 And Ephron answered:

15 My lord, hear me. The ground which thou desirest, is worth four hundred sicles of silver: this is the price between me and thee: but what is this? bury thy dead.

16 And when Abraham had heard this, he weighed out the money that Ephron had asked, in the hearing of the children of Heth, four hundred sicles of silver of common current money.

17 And the field that before was Ephron’s, wherein was the double cave, looking towards Mambre, both it and the cave, and all the trees thereof in all its limits round about,

18 Was made sure to Abraham for a possession, in the sight of the children of Heth, and of all that went in at the gate of his city.

19 And so Abraham buried Sara his wife, in a double cave of the field, that looked towards Mambre, this is Hebron in the land of Chanaan.

20 And the field was made sure to Abraham, and the cave that was in it, for a possession to bury in, by the children of Heth.

1 After these things, God tempted Abraham, and said to him: Abraham, Abraham. And he answered: Here I am.

2 He said to him: Take thy only begotten son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go into the land of vision: and there thou shalt offer him for an holocaust upon one of the mountains which I will shew thee.

3 So Abraham rising up in the night, saddled his ass: and took with him two young men, and Isaac his son: and when he had cut wood for the holocaust he went his way to the place which God had commanded him.

4 And on the third day, lifting up his eyes, he saw the place afar off.

5 And he said to his young men: Stay you here with the ass: I and the boy will go with speed as far as yonder, and after we have worshipped, will return to you.

6 And he took the wood for the holocaust, and laid it upon Isaac his son: and he himself carried in his hands fire and a sword. And as they two went on together,

7 Isaac said to his father: My father. And he answered: What wilt thou, son? Behold, saith he, fire and wood: where is the victim for the holocaust?

8 And Abraham said: God will provide himself a victim for an holocaust, my son. So they went on together.

9 And they came to the place which God had shewn him, where he built an altar, and laid the wood in order upon it: and when he had bound Isaac his son, he laid him on the altar upon the pile of wood.

10 And he put forth his hand and took the sword, to sacrifice his son.

11 And behold an angel of the Lord from heaven called to him, saying: Abraham, Abraham. And he answered: Here I am.

12 And he said to him: Lay not thy hand upon the boy, neither do thou any thing to him: now I know that thou fearest God, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for my sake.

13 Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw behind his back a ram amongst the briers sticking fast by the horns, which he took and offered for a holocaust instead of his son.

14 And he called the name of that place, The Lord seeth. Whereupon even to this day it is said: In the mountain the Lord will see.

15 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, saying:

16 By my own self have I sworn, saith the Lord: because thou hast done this thing, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for my sake:

17 I will bless thee, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is by the sea shore: thy seed shall possess the gates of their enemies.

18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice.

19 Abraham returned to his young men, and they went to Bersabee together, and he dwelt there.

20 After these things, it was told Abraham that Melcha also had borne children to Nachor his brother.

21 Hus the firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Camuel the father of the Syrians,

22 And Cased, and Azau, and Pheldas, and Jedlaph,

23 And Bathuel, of whom was born Rebecca: These eight did Melcha bear to Nachor Abraham’s brother.

24 And his concubine, named Roma, bore Tabee, and Gaham, and Tahas, and Maacha.

1 And the Lord visited Sara, as he had promised: and fulfilled what he had spoken.

2 And she conceived and bore a son in her old age, at the time that God had foretold her.

3 And Abraham called the name of his son, whom Sara bore him, Isaac.

4 And he circumcised him the eighth day, as God had commanded him,

5 When he was a hundred years old: for at this age of his father was Isaac born.

6 And Sara said: God hath made a laughter for me: whosoever shall hear of it will laugh with me.

7 And again she said: Who would believe that Abraham should hear that Sara gave suck to a son, whom she bore to him in his old age.

8 And the child grew and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast on the day of his weaning.

9 And when Sara had seen the son of Agar the Egyptian playing with Isaac her son, she said to Abraham:

10 Cast out this bondwoman, and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.

11 Abraham took this grievously for his son.

12 And God said to him: Let it not seem grievous to thee for the boy, and for thy bondwoman: in all that Sara hath said to thee, hearken to her voice: for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

13 But I will make the son also of the bondwoman a great nation, because he is thy seed.

14 So Abraham rose up in the morning, and taking bread and a bottle of water, put it upon her shoulder, and delivered the boy, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Bersabee.

15 And when the water in the bottle was spent, she cast the boy under one of the trees that were there.

16 And she went her way, and sat over against him a great way off as far as a bow can carry, for she said: I will not see the boy die: and sitting over against, she lifted up her voice and wept.

17 And God heard the voice of the boy: and an angel of God called to Agar from heaven, saying: What art thou doing, Agar? fear not: for God hath heard the voice of the boy, from the place wherein he is.

18 Arise, take up the boy, and hold him by the hand: for I will make him a great nation.

19 And God opened her eyes: and she saw a well of water, and went and filled the bottle, and gave the boy to drink.

20 And God was with him: and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became a young man, an archer.

21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Pharan, and his mother took a wife for him out of the land of Egypt.

22 At the same time Abimelech, and Phicol the general of his army said to Abraham: God is with thee in all that thou dost.

23 Swear therefore by God, that thou wilt not hurt me, nor my posterity, nor my stock: but according to the kindness that I have done to thee, thou shalt do to me, and to the land wherein thou hast lived a stranger.

24 And Abraham said: I will swear.

25 And he reproved Abimelech for a well of water, which his servants had taken away by force.

26 And Abimelech answered: I knew not who did this thing: and thou didst not tell me, and I heard not of it till today.

27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech: and both of them made a league.

28 And Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs of the flock.

29 And Abimelech said to him: What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set apart?

30 But he said: Thou shalt take seven ewe lambs at my hand: that they may be a testimony for me, that I dug this well.

31 Therefore that place was called Bersabee: because there both of them did swear.

32 And they made a league for the well of oath.

33 And Abimelech, and Phicol the general of his army arose and returned to the land of the Palestines. But Abraham planted a grove in Bersabee, and there called upon the name of the Lord God eternal.

34 And he was a sojourner in the land of the Palestines many days.

1 Abraham removed from thence to the south country, and dwelt between Cades and Sur, and sojourned in Gerara.

2 And he said of Sara his wife: She is my sister. So Abimelech the king of Gerara sent, and took her.

3 And God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and he said to him: Lo thou shalt die for the woman thou hast taken: for she hath a husband.

4 Now Abimelech had not touched her, and he said: Lord, wilt thou slay a nation, that is ignorant and just?

5 Did not he say to me: She is my sister: and she say, He is my brother? in the simplicity of my heart, and cleanness of my hands have I done this.

6 And God said to him: And I know that thou didst it with a sincere heart: and therefore I withheld thee from sinning against me, and I suffered thee not to touch her.

7 Now therefore restore the man his wife, for he is a prophet: and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: but if thou wilt not restore her, know that thou shalt surely die, thou and all that are thine.

8 And Abimelech forthwith rising up in the night, called all his servants: and spoke all these words in their hearing, and all the men were exceedingly afraid.

9 And Abimelech called also for Abraham, and said to him: What hast thou done to us? what have we offended thee in, that thou hast brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done to us what thou oughtest not to do.

10 And again he expostulated with him, and said, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this?

11 Abraham answered: I thought with myself, saying: Perhaps there is not the fear of God in this place: and they will kill me for the sake of my wife:

12 Howbeit, otherwise also she is truly my sister, the daughter of my father, and not the daughter of my mother, and I took her to wife.

13 And after God brought me out of my father’s house, I said to her: Thou shalt do me this kindness: In every place, to which we shall come, thou shalt say that I am thy brother.

14 And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and servants and handmaids, and gave to Abraham: and restored to him Sara, his wife.

15 And said: The land is before you, dwell wheresoever it shall please thee.

16 And to Sara he said: Behold I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: this shall serve thee for a covering of thy eyes to all that are with thee, and whithersoever thou shalt go: and remember thou wast taken.

17 And when Abraham prayed, God healed Abimelech and his wife, and his handmaids, and they bore children:

18 For the Lord had closed up every womb of the house of Abimelech on account of Sara, Abraham’s wife.