Abraham in the Bible

Meaning: father of a great multitude

Exact Match

Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.

And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

Now the Lord appeared to Abraham by the terebinth trees of Mamre [in Hebron], while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day.

he glanced up and saw three men standing there, not far from him. As soon as he noticed them, Abraham ran from the tent entrance to greet them and bowed low to the ground.

Then Abraham took curds and milk, and the calf that he had prepared, and set them before the men. He served them as they ate under the tree.

and Abraham and Sarah are aged, entering into days -- the way of women hath ceased to be to Sarah;

And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?

And Jehovah saith unto Abraham, 'Why is this? Sarah hath laughed, saying, Is it true really -- I bear -- and I am aged? Is any thing too wonderful for Jehovah? at the appointed time I return unto thee, about the time of life, and Sarah hath a son.'

And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.

And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.

Abraham spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose [only] forty are found there.” And He said, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty [who are righteous].”

Then Abraham said [to Him], “Oh, may the Lord not be angry, and I will speak; suppose thirty [righteous people] are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

"Look," Abraham said, "I've presumed to speak to my LORD" so what if 20 are found there?" "For the sake of those 20," the LORD responded, "I won't destroy it."

Finally, Abraham inquired, "I hope my LORD will not be angry if I speak only once more. What if ten are found there?" He replied, "For the sake of those ten I won't destroy it."

And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.

Did Abraham not say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she herself said, 'He is my brother.' I have done this with a clear conscience and with innocent hands!"

Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.

And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.

So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.

And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.

And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.

Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.

And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.

And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.

And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor;

And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.

And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,

And Abraham said to Ephron, in the hearing of the people of the land, If only you will give ear to me, I will give you the price of the field; take it, and let me put my dead to rest there.

And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.

So Abraham secured Ephron's field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border,

Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.

And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.

And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:

And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.

Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels, and set out, taking some of his master’s good things with him; so he got up and journeyed to Mesopotamia [between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers], to the city of Nahor [the home of Abraham’s brother].

And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.

Now, may the girl to whom I say, Let down your vessel and give me a drink, and who says in answer, Here is a drink for you and let me give water to your camels: may she be the one marked out by you for your servant Isaac: so may I be certain that you have been good to my master Abraham.

And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

Then Abraham's servant ran to meet her and asked her, "Please, let me have a sip of water from your jug."

And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.

So Abraham's servant went to the house and unloaded the camels. Straw and feed were given to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet.

Thematic Bible



The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were Keturah's descendants.


Jehovah appeared to Abram and said: I will give this land to your offspring (seed). He built an altar there to Jehovah, who had appeared to him. From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent. Bethel was on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to Jehovah and called on the name of Jehovah.

This was where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of Jehovah.

Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron. He built an altar to Jehovah there.

I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household; and that they may remain in the righteous and just way of Jehovah. Jehovah will bring to Abraham what he told him.

Give the man's wife back to him now. He is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not give her back, you and all who belong to you are doomed to die.

Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beer-sheba. There he called on the name of Jehovah, the Everlasting God.

Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey. He took two of his servants and his son Isaac with him. He had cut the wood for the burnt offering. Then he set out for the place that God had told him about. Two days later Abraham saw the place in the distance. He said to the servants: Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there and worship. Then we will come back to you. read more.
Abraham made Isaac carry the wood for the sacrifice. Abraham carried a knife and live coals for starting the fire. As they walked along together, 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? Abraham answered: God will provide one. And the two of them walked on together. They came to the place 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. Then he picked up the knife to kill him. Jehovah's angel shouted from heaven: Abraham! Abraham! Here I am! he answered. Do not hurt the boy or harm him in any way! The angel said. Now I know that you truly obey God, because you were willing to offer him your only son. Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the bushes. So he took the ram and sacrificed it in place of his son.

This is because Abraham did everything I told him to do.

You are Jehovah, the true God, who took Abram and made him yours, guiding him from Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham; You saw that his heart was true to you, and made an agreement with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Jebusite and the Girgashite, even to give it to his seed, and you have done what you said; for righteousness is yours.

For this reason it is by faith that it may be according to grace (divine influence) (loving-kindness). The promise may be sure to all descendants! This is not only to that which is of the law, but to that also which is by the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. It is written: I have made you a father of many nations. [This was] in the presence of God, the one in whom he believed. He gives life to the dead, and calls into being that which does not exist. In hope against hope Abraham believed that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken: So your descendants will be.

You are our God. When your people Israel moved into this land, you drove out the people who were living here and gave the land to the descendants of Abraham, your friend, to be theirs from generation to generation.

However you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham, my friend,

The scripture was fulfilled which says: Abraham believed Jehovah and it was reckoned (imputed) (considered) (credited) to him for righteousness. He was called Jehovah's friend (Genesis 15:6) ( Isaiah 41:8).


Abram was ninety-nine years old. Jehovah appeared to him and said: I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless. I will establish my covenant between us. I will greatly increase your numbers. Abram fell on his face and God said to him: read more.
This is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. You will no longer be called Abram (Exalted Father). Your name will be Abraham (means Father of Many). I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as a long lasting covenant between us. It will be for your descendants after you, for the generations to come. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now a guest (alien) (foreigner) (stranger), I will give a long lasting possession to you and your descendants after you. I will be their God. Then God said to Abraham: As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision. It will be the sign of the covenant between us. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised. This includes those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner, those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be a long lasting covenant. Any male not circumcised in the flesh will be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant. God continued: Do not call your wife Sarai any longer. Her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations. Kings of peoples will come from her. Abraham fell to his face. He laughed and said to himself: Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety? Abraham said to God: If only Ishmael might live under your blessing! God replied: Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son! You will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as a long lasting covenant for his descendants after him. Concerning Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him. I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac. Sarah will bear him to you by this time next year. When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.

You will give truth to Jacob, and show loving-kindness (unchanging love) to Abraham. For you have sworn this to our fathers from the days of old.

It was the oath he spoke to Abraham our father.

The promise to Abraham or to his seed that he should be heir of the world was not through the law but through righteousness by faith.

Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcised for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers.

When God made a promise to Abraham, he could swear by no one greater then himself, so he swore by himself. He said: I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.

Abraham believed God and Jehovah considered his faith as his righteousness. (Genesis 15:6) You know that those who have faith are sons of Abraham. The Scripture revealed ahead of time, that God justified the people of the nations by faith. He preached the good news beforehand to Abraham. He said: In you will all the nations be blessed. read more.
So then those who have faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham. Those who are of the works of the Law are under a curse. For it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, by obeying them. The fact that the Law justifies no man before God is evident. The righteous will live by faith. The Law is not based on faith. He that does them will live by them. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. It is written; Cursed is everyone who is hung on a stake. This way the blessing of Abraham might come upon the nations through Christ Jesus and we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brothers, I speak like a man speaks: Though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void, or adds to it. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He did not say to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to your seed, which is Christ. Now this I say: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. If the inheritance is based on the Law, it is no longer based on a promise. However God granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.

If you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise.

It is written, that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman, and one by the freewoman. How is it that the son by the slave woman is born after the flesh; but the son by the freewoman is born through promise? This contains an allegory (symbolic drama). These women symbolize two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children to bondage, which is Hagar. read more.
Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. She corresponds to the Jerusalem that now is. She is in bondage with her children. The Jerusalem above is free. She is our mother. It is written, Rejoice, barren woman who does not give birth. Break forth and cry, you who do not labor; for there are more children of the desolate than of the one who has the husband. Brothers, we are children who belong to the promise, the same as Isaac was. Just like then, the son who was conceived in a natural way according to the flesh persecuted the son conceived in a spiritual way. That is exactly what is happening now! What do the scriptures say? Throw out the slave woman and her son. For the son of the slave woman must not share the inheritance with the son of the free woman. (Genesis 21:10) Brothers, we are not children of a slave woman but of the free woman.


He believed in Jehovah. Jehovah considered Abram's faith as his righteousness.

What shall we say about Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? If Abraham was declared righteous by works, he could boast, but not to God. For what does the scriptures say? Abraham believed Jehovah, and it was counted to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6) read more.
The pay is counted to the man who works. It is not as grace but as a debt. He who does not work but believes in him who justifies (absolves) the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. David also pronounces blessing on the man, to whom God counts righteousness apart from works, saying: Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom, Jehovah will not impute sin. (Psalm 32:2) Is this blessing then pronounced upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say: To Abraham his faith was counted for righteousness. How then was it counted? When he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision: He received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith that he had while he was not circumcised. That way he could be the father of all those who believe, though they are not circumcised, that righteousness might be counted to them. The father of circumcision to those who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the steps of faith of our father Abraham that he had when he was not circumcised. The promise to Abraham or to his seed that he should be heir of the world was not through the law but through righteousness by faith. If those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made of no effect. The law produces wrath (violent passion) (indignation). But where there is no law there is no sin. For this reason it is by faith that it may be according to grace (divine influence) (loving-kindness). The promise may be sure to all descendants! This is not only to that which is of the law, but to that also which is by the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. It is written: I have made you a father of many nations. [This was] in the presence of God, the one in whom he believed. He gives life to the dead, and calls into being that which does not exist. In hope against hope Abraham believed that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken: So your descendants will be. Not being weak in faith he considered his own body now as good as dead (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. Yet, he looked to the promise of God. He did not waver through unbelief, but grew strong through faith. He gave the glory to God! He was fully assured that what he had promised, he was able to perform. It was counted to him as righteousness.

Abraham believed God and Jehovah considered his faith as his righteousness. (Genesis 15:6) You know that those who have faith are sons of Abraham. The Scripture revealed ahead of time, that God justified the people of the nations by faith. He preached the good news beforehand to Abraham. He said: In you will all the nations be blessed. read more.
So then those who have faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham.

By faith, when Abraham was called, he obeyed. He went to a place that he was to receive for an inheritance. He went even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he became an alien in the Promised Land. It was not his land. He lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob. They were heirs with him of the same promise. He looked for the city having real foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

By faith Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. He that had gladly received the promises was offering up his only-begotten son! It was said: In Isaac your descendants will be called. Abraham reasoned that God is able to raise him from the dead. So he figured he would receive him back.

Was Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith acted with his works, and works made faith perfect (complete). The scripture was fulfilled which says: Abraham believed Jehovah and it was reckoned (imputed) (considered) (credited) to him for righteousness. He was called Jehovah's friend (Genesis 15:6) ( Isaiah 41:8). read more.
You see that a man is justified (declared and pronounced righteous) by works, and not by faith alone.


Jehovah said to Abram: Leave your country, your people, and your father's household, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. I will curse whoever curses you. All the people on earth will be blessed through you.

I took Abraham, your ancestor, from the land across the Euphrates and led him through the whole land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac,

You are Jehovah, the true God, who took Abram and made him yours, guiding him from Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham;

Look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was only one. I blessed him and made him many.

He said: Men, brothers and fathers, listen; The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. He said to him: 'Get out of your country and away from your relatives. Go to the land that I will show you.

By faith, when Abraham was called, he obeyed. He went to a place that he was to receive for an inheritance. He went even though he did not know where he was going.


Do not presume that Abraham is your father. I tell you that God can make descendants for Abraham from these stones!

Here is a descendant of Abraham whom Satan has kept in bonds for eighteen years. Should she be released on the Sabbath?

You will cry and grind your teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, while you are thrown out!

Jesus said to him: Salvation has come to this house today. He is also a son of Abraham.

They answered him: We are Abraham's seed, and have never been in bondage to any man. How can you say we will be made free? Jesus answered: Truly I tell you every one who commits sin is a slave of sin. The slave does not abide in the house forever. The son abides forever. read more.
If therefore the Son will make you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham's seed. Yet you seek to kill me. That is because my word has no place among you. I speak the things that I have seen and heard when I was with my Father. You also do the things that you heard from your father. They answered: Our father is Abraham. Jesus replied: If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. You seek to kill me. I told you the truth! I heard it from God. Abraham did not do this.


Hagar bore Abram a son. Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.

Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age. It was at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac (he laughs) to the son Sarah bore him.

Abraham married another woman. Her name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan, and the descendants of Dedan were the Asshurim, the Letushim, and the Leummim. read more.
The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were Keturah's descendants.

The sons born to Keturah, Abraham's concubine: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. The sons of Jokshan: Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Midian: Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah. Abraham was the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel.


God tested Abraham. He said to him: Abraham! Abraham replied: Here I am. Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you. Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey. He took two of his servants and his son Isaac with him. He had cut the wood for the burnt offering. Then he set out for the place that God had told him about. read more.
Two days later Abraham saw the place in the distance. He said to the servants: Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there and worship. Then we will come back to you. Abraham made Isaac carry the wood for the sacrifice. Abraham carried a knife and live coals for starting the fire. As they walked along together, 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? Abraham answered: God will provide one. And the two of them walked on together. They came to the place 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. Then he picked up the knife to kill him. Jehovah's angel shouted from heaven: Abraham! Abraham! Here I am! he answered. Do not hurt the boy or harm him in any way! The angel said. Now I know that you truly obey God, because you were willing to offer him your only son. Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the bushes. So he took the ram and sacrificed it in place of his son. Abraham named that place Jehovah Will Provide. It is still said today: It will be provided on the mountain of Jehovah. The angel of Jehovah called to Abraham from heaven a second time. He said: I am taking an oath on my own name, declares Jehovah, that because you have done this and have not refused to give me your son, your only son, I will certainly bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of their enemies' cities. All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants. This is because you obeyed my command.' Abraham and Isaac went back to the servants who had come with him. They returned to Abraham's home in Beer-sheba.

By faith Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. He that had gladly received the promises was offering up his only-begotten son!

Was Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?


Jehovah said to Abram: Leave your country, your people, and your father's household, and go to the land I will show you.

Jehovah appeared to Abram and said: I will give this land to your offspring (seed). He built an altar there to Jehovah, who had appeared to him.

Then God said to him: I AM JEHOVAH, who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess. Abram replied: O Jehovah God, how will I know that I shall possess it? He (God) said to him: Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon. read more.
Abram brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other. He did not cut the birds in two. When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him. Jehovah said to Abram: Know this for sure; your offspring will be strangers (aliens) in a land that is not theirs. They will be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years. I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve! Afterward they will come out with great possessions. As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace. You shall be buried at a good old age. They shall come back here in the fourth generation. The iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. The sun went down and it was dark. A smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram. He said: To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Son of man, those who live in the ruined cities in Israel are saying: 'Abraham was only one person, and he was given the land. But we are many. Certainly the land has been given to us.'


You are our God. When your people Israel moved into this land, you drove out the people who were living here and gave the land to the descendants of Abraham, your friend, to be theirs from generation to generation.

However you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham, my friend,

The scripture was fulfilled which says: Abraham believed Jehovah and it was reckoned (imputed) (considered) (credited) to him for righteousness. He was called Jehovah's friend (Genesis 15:6) ( Isaiah 41:8).


You will cry and grind your teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, while you are thrown out!

I tell you, many will come from the east and the west, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven:

The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man died and was buried. He was in great torment in the grave (hades). He looked up and saw Abraham, far away, with Lazarus at his side. He called out: Father Abraham! Take pity on me! Please send Lazarus to dip his finger in some water and cool off my tongue. I am in torment in this fire! read more.
Abraham said: Remember, my son, in your lifetime you were given good things, while Lazarus got all the bad things. Now he is enjoying himself while you are in torment. There is a deep pit lying between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so. And no one can cross over to us from where you are. The rich man said: I beg you, father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father's house. Have him go warn my five brothers that they will not come to this place of torment. Abraham said: Your brothers have Moses and the prophets to warn them. They should listen to them. The rich man responded: It is not enough father Abraham! If someone from the dead went to them they would repent. Abraham said: If they would not listen to Moses and the prophets, they would not listen to someone from the dead.


So Abram left, just as Jehovah told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.

Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Abraham lived one hundred and seventy-five years.


Jehovah appeared again to Abraham by the oak grove of Mamre. He was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. He looked up and noticed three men coming toward him. He ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed to the ground. Abraham said: My Lord, if I have now found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. read more.
Please. Let a little water be brought. Wash your feet and rest under the tree. I will bring a bite to eat to refresh you. Stay a while before you continue your journey. They responded: Very well, do as you have said. Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said: Quick! Make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes. Then Abraham ran to the herd. He selected a fat calf and told a servant to butcher it and prepare it. He took butter and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. He stood by them under the tree as they ate. Then they said to him: Where is Sarah your wife? He responded: Here, in the tent. He said: Next year I will give you and Sarah a son. (Sarah was listening in the tent door behind him.) Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself. She said to herself: After I have grown old, shall I have a baby? My lord is old also. Jehovah said to Abraham: Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?' Is anything too hard for Jehovah? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life. Sarah shall have a son! Sarah denied saying: I did not laugh! She was afraid. He said: But you did laugh! Then the men stood up from their meal and started in the direction of Sodom. Abraham went with them to send them on the way.

Jehovah's angel shouted from heaven: Abraham! Abraham! Here I am! he answered.

The angel of Jehovah called to Abraham from heaven a second time.

Jehovah, the God of heaven, took me from my father's house and from the land of my birth. He spoke to me and swore to me. He said: I will give this land to your descendants. He will send his angel before you. You will take a wife for my son from there.


You are Jehovah, the true God, who took Abram and made him yours, guiding him from Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham;

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.

He went out of the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. After his father died, God moved him to this land, where you now dwell.


Look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was only one. I blessed him and made him many.

Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.

Jehovah 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.


She said to Abraham: Get rid of that slave woman and her son. This upset Abraham because of his son Ishmael. God said to Abraham: Do not be upset about the boy and your slave. Listen to what Sarah says, because through Isaac your descendants will carry on your name. read more.
I will make the slave's son into a nation also, because he is your child. Early the next morning Abraham took bread and a container of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder. He also gave her the boy and sent her on her way. So she left and wandered around in the desert near Beer-sheba.

It is written, that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman, and one by the freewoman. How is it that the son by the slave woman is born after the flesh; but the son by the freewoman is born through promise? This contains an allegory (symbolic drama). These women symbolize two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children to bondage, which is Hagar. read more.
Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. She corresponds to the Jerusalem that now is. She is in bondage with her children. The Jerusalem above is free. She is our mother. It is written, Rejoice, barren woman who does not give birth. Break forth and cry, you who do not labor; for there are more children of the desolate than of the one who has the husband. Brothers, we are children who belong to the promise, the same as Isaac was. Just like then, the son who was conceived in a natural way according to the flesh persecuted the son conceived in a spiritual way. That is exactly what is happening now! What do the scriptures say? Throw out the slave woman and her son. For the son of the slave woman must not share the inheritance with the son of the free woman. (Genesis 21:10)


King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said: Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth. Blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand! Abram gave him one tenth of everything.

Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him. Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything to him. He was first of all, by translation of his name, King of Righteousness, and then he was also ruler of Salem, which means, King of Peace. He was without father or mother or genealogy, and neither had beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he continues as a priest forever. read more.
See how great he was! Abraham the patriarch gave him a tenth of the spoils. The descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the Law to take tithes from the people. This is from their brothers, for these are descended from Abraham. But this man does not have their genealogy. He received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. It is beyond dispute that the superior blesses the inferior. In this instance mortal men receive tithes, in the other by the one of whom it is testified that he lives. One might even say that Levi, the priest who takes the tenth from the people, gave his tenth through Abraham. He was still in the loins of his ancestor (not yet born) when Melchizedek met him.


Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age. It was at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac (he laughs) to the son Sarah bore him.

It is written, that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman, and one by the freewoman. How is it that the son by the slave woman is born after the flesh; but the son by the freewoman is born through promise? This contains an allegory (symbolic drama). These women symbolize two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children to bondage, which is Hagar. read more.
Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. She corresponds to the Jerusalem that now is. She is in bondage with her children. The Jerusalem above is free. She is our mother. It is written, Rejoice, barren woman who does not give birth. Break forth and cry, you who do not labor; for there are more children of the desolate than of the one who has the husband. Brothers, we are children who belong to the promise, the same as Isaac was. Just like then, the son who was conceived in a natural way according to the flesh persecuted the son conceived in a spiritual way. That is exactly what is happening now! What do the scriptures say? Throw out the slave woman and her son. For the son of the slave woman must not share the inheritance with the son of the free woman. (Genesis 21:10)


Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. He was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. They were Abram's allies.

Jacob came home to his father Isaac, to Mamre's city, Kiriath-arba (Hebron). Abraham and Isaac had lived there for a while.


In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and subdued the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites in the hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the edge of the wilderness. They turned back and came to En-mishpat (Kadesh), and subdued all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar. read more.
Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Zoar went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim. They fought against King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Shinar, and King Arioch of Ellasar, four kings against five. The Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen (tar) pits. As the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them. The rest fled to the hill country. The enemy took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their food provisions, and went their way. They also captured Lot, son of Abram's brother, who lived in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. He was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. They were Abram's allies. Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive. Abram led his trained men, born in his house, three hundred eighteen of them, in pursuit as far as Dan. He divided his forces against them by night. He and his servants routed them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. Then he brought back all the goods. He also brought back his nephew Lot and all the men and women. As soon as the king of Sodom returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, he went out to meet Abram at the King's Valley of Shaveh. King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said: Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth. Blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand! Abram gave him one tenth of everything. Then the king of Sodom said to Abram: Give me the people, but take the goods for yourself. But Abram said to the king of Sodom: I have sworn to Jehovah, God Most High, maker of heaven and earth: I will take nothing. Not a thread or a sandal strap. You will not be able to say: 'I have made Abram rich.' Let the young men who came with me take their portion: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre.

Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him.


I will take nothing. Not a thread or a sandal strap. You will not be able to say: 'I have made Abram rich.'

Listen to us, my lord. You are a mighty leader among us. Bury your dead in one of our best tombs. Not one of us will withhold from you his tomb for burying your dead. Abraham got up and bowed to the people of that region, the Hittites. He said: If you are willing to let me bury my wife here, please ask Ephron son of Zohar read more.
to sell me Machpelah Cave. It is near the edge of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for its full price here in your presence. Then I can own it as a burial ground. Ephron was sitting with the other Hittites at the meeting place at the city gate. He answered in the hearing of everyone there: Hear me my lord, I give you the field, including the cave. It is yours. With my own people as witnesses, I freely give it to you as a burial place for your dead. Once again, Abraham bowed down. He spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land. He said: If you will only please listen to me. I will give the price of the field. Accept it from me that I may bury my dead there. Ephron answered Abraham: My lord, listen to me. It is a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead. Abraham listened to Ephron. Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, commercial standard.


There was a famine in the land. Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while, because the famine was severe. He was about to enter Egypt. He said to his wife Sarai: I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say: 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me, but will let you live. read more.
Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and my life will be spared because of you. When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. Pharaoh's officials saw her. They praised her to Pharaoh. She was taken into his palace. He treated Abram well for her sake. Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels. Jehovah inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. So Pharaoh summoned Abram. What have you done to me? he asked. Why did you not tell me she was your wife? Why did you say: 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go! Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

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.


Is not the whole land before you? Let us part company. If you go to the left, I will go to the right. If you go to the right, I will go to the left.

Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the well of water that the servants of Abimelech had seized. Abimelech said: I do not know who has done this thing. You did not tell me, nor did I hear of it until today. Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a covenant. read more.
Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. Abimelech asked Abraham: What do these seven ewe lambs mean, which you have set by themselves? He said: You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a witness to me, that I dug this well.


This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision. It will be the sign of the covenant between us. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised. This includes those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner, those who are not your offspring. read more.
Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be a long lasting covenant. Any male not circumcised in the flesh will be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.

On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised. His son Ishmael was thirteen. read more.
Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day. Every male in Abraham's household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.


He went out of the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. After his father died, God moved him to this land, where you now dwell.

So Abram left, just as Jehovah told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran. They set out for the land of Canaan and soon arrived there. Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great (oak) tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.


As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace. You shall be buried at a good old age.

Then he took his last breath and died at a very old age. After a long and full life, he joined his ancestors in death. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre. This was the field Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. Abraham and Sarah his wife were buried there.


Abraham came near and said: Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city. Would you also destroy the place and not spare it because the righteous people are there? Surely you would not do that! Would you slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked? Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? read more.
Jehovah said: If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, I will spare the entire place for their sakes. Then Abraham answered and said: Indeed now, I who am only dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to Jehovah: Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous. Would you destroy the entire city for lack of five? So He (God) said: If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it. Abraham spoke again: Suppose there should be forty found there? God replied: I will not do it for the sake of forty. Abraham then said: Do not be angry, and let me speak. Suppose thirty should be found there? God replied: I will not do it if I find thirty there. Abraham then said: Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to Jehovah: Suppose twenty should be found there? God replied: I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty. Abraham again queried: Please do not be angry as I speak once more: Suppose ten should be found there? God said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten. Jehovah went his way as soon as he finished speaking with Abraham. Abraham returned to his place.


You are Jehovah, the true God, who took Abram and made him yours, guiding him from Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham;

You will no longer be called Abram (Exalted Father). Your name will be Abraham (means Father of Many). I have made you a father of many nations.


Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham. They said: God is with you in all that you do. Swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity. Consider the kindness that I have shown to you. Please show it to me and to the land in which you have sojourned. Abraham said: I swear it. read more.
Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the well of water that the servants of Abimelech had seized. Abimelech said: I do not know who has done this thing. You did not tell me, nor did I hear of it until today. Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a covenant. Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. Abimelech asked Abraham: What do these seven ewe lambs mean, which you have set by themselves? He said: You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a witness to me, that I dug this well. Therefore he called that place Beer-sheba, because there the two of them took an oath. They made a covenant at Beer-sheba. Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, arose and returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beer-sheba. There he called on the name of Jehovah, the Everlasting God. Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for many days.


I will take nothing. Not a thread or a sandal strap. You will not be able to say: 'I have made Abram rich.'


By faith Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. He that had gladly received the promises was offering up his only-begotten son!


Blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand! Abram gave him one tenth of everything.


Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive. Abram led his trained men, born in his house, three hundred eighteen of them, in pursuit as far as Dan.


Is not the whole land before you? Let us part company. If you go to the left, I will go to the right. If you go to the right, I will go to the left.


So Abram left, just as Jehovah told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.


Abraham came near and said: Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city. Would you also destroy the place and not spare it because the righteous people are there? Surely you would not do that! Would you slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked? Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? read more.
Jehovah said: If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, I will spare the entire place for their sakes. Then Abraham answered and said: Indeed now, I who am only dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to Jehovah: Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous. Would you destroy the entire city for lack of five? So He (God) said: If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it. Abraham spoke again: Suppose there should be forty found there? God replied: I will not do it for the sake of forty. Abraham then said: Do not be angry, and let me speak. Suppose thirty should be found there? God replied: I will not do it if I find thirty there. Abraham then said: Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to Jehovah: Suppose twenty should be found there? God replied: I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty. Abraham again queried: Please do not be angry as I speak once more: Suppose ten should be found there? God said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.


Early the next morning Abraham came to the place where he had stood in front of Jehovah. He looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land in the Plain. He saw smoke rising from the land like the thick smoke of a furnace.


Terah lived seventy years. He became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. This is the genealogy of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.


Abraham left the side of his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said: I am a stranger with no permanent home. Let me have some of your property for a tomb that I can bury my dead wife. The Hittites answered Abraham: read more.
Listen to us, my lord. You are a mighty leader among us. Bury your dead in one of our best tombs. Not one of us will withhold from you his tomb for burying your dead. Abraham got up and bowed to the people of that region, the Hittites. He said: If you are willing to let me bury my wife here, please ask Ephron son of Zohar to sell me Machpelah Cave. It is near the edge of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for its full price here in your presence. Then I can own it as a burial ground. Ephron was sitting with the other Hittites at the meeting place at the city gate. He answered in the hearing of everyone there: Hear me my lord, I give you the field, including the cave. It is yours. With my own people as witnesses, I freely give it to you as a burial place for your dead. Once again, Abraham bowed down. He spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land. He said: If you will only please listen to me. I will give the price of the field. Accept it from me that I may bury my dead there. Ephron answered Abraham: My lord, listen to me. It is a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead. Abraham listened to Ephron. Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, commercial standard. Ephron's field at Machpelah, east of Mamre, was sold to Abraham. His property included the field with the cave in it as well as all the trees inside the boundaries of the field. The Hittites together with all who had entered the city gate were the official witnesses for the agreement. Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre (Hebron), in the land of Canaan. The Hittites sold the field and its cave to Abraham as his property to be used as a tomb.


Hagar bore Abram a son. Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.

After Abram lived in Canaan ten years, Sarai, his wife, gave her Egyptian maidservant Hagar to her husband to be his wife.


Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years. These were the years of the life of Sarah. Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to cry because of her death.


Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. While Abraham was still alive, he gave gifts to the sons of Hagar and Keturah. He also sent their sons to live in the east far from his son Isaac.


Joshua said to all the people: This is what Jehovah, the God of Israel says: 'Long ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. One of those ancestors was Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor.


Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah.


From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent. Bethel was on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to Jehovah and called on the name of Jehovah.


Abraham married another woman. Her name was Keturah.


Give the man's wife back to him now. He is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not give her back, you and all who belong to you are doomed to die.




Jehovah appeared to Abram and said: I will give this land to your offspring (seed). He built an altar there to Jehovah, who had appeared to him. From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent. Bethel was on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to Jehovah and called on the name of Jehovah.

Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron. He built an altar to Jehovah there.

They came to the place 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.


Abram said: O Jehovah God, what will you give me? I continue childless! The heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus. Abram also said: You have given me no offspring. So a slave born in my house is to be my heir. The word of Jehovah came to him: This man shall not be your heir. No one but your very own issue shall be your heir.


Abraham came near and said: Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city. Would you also destroy the place and not spare it because the righteous people are there? Surely you would not do that! Would you slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked? Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? read more.
Jehovah said: If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, I will spare the entire place for their sakes. Then Abraham answered and said: Indeed now, I who am only dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to Jehovah: Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous. Would you destroy the entire city for lack of five? So He (God) said: If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it. Abraham spoke again: Suppose there should be forty found there? God replied: I will not do it for the sake of forty. Abraham then said: Do not be angry, and let me speak. Suppose thirty should be found there? God replied: I will not do it if I find thirty there. Abraham then said: Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to Jehovah: Suppose twenty should be found there? God replied: I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty. Abraham again queried: Please do not be angry as I speak once more: Suppose ten should be found there? God said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.


The men left there and went toward Sodom. Abraham still stood before Jehovah. Abraham came near and said: Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city. Would you also destroy the place and not spare it because the righteous people are there? read more.
Surely you would not do that! Would you slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked? Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? Jehovah said: If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, I will spare the entire place for their sakes. Then Abraham answered and said: Indeed now, I who am only dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to Jehovah: Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous. Would you destroy the entire city for lack of five? So He (God) said: If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it. Abraham spoke again: Suppose there should be forty found there? God replied: I will not do it for the sake of forty. Abraham then said: Do not be angry, and let me speak. Suppose thirty should be found there? God replied: I will not do it if I find thirty there. Abraham then said: Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to Jehovah: Suppose twenty should be found there? God replied: I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty. Abraham again queried: Please do not be angry as I speak once more: Suppose ten should be found there? God said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.


After Lot had parted from Abram, Jehovah said to Abram: Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring (descendants) from generation to generation. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth. If anyone could count the dust, your offspring could be counted. read more.
Go walk through the length and breadth of the land that I am giving to you.

The whole land of Canaan, where you are now a guest (alien) (foreigner) (stranger), I will give a long lasting possession to you and your descendants after you. I will be their God.

On that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram. He said: To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,


Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great (oak) tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

Quarreling arose between Abram's herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.


Jehovah said to Abram: Leave your country, your people, and your father's household, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. I will curse whoever curses you. All the people on earth will be blessed through you. read more.
So Abram left, just as Jehovah told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran. They set out for the land of Canaan and soon arrived there.


On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised. His son Ishmael was thirteen. read more.
Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day. Every male in Abraham's household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

Abraham gave the name Isaac (he laughs) to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded him.


Jehovah said to Abram: Leave your country, your people, and your father's household, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. I will curse whoever curses you. All the people on earth will be blessed through you.

Jehovah appeared to Abram and said: I will give this land to your offspring (seed). He built an altar there to Jehovah, who had appeared to him.

God tested Abraham. He said to him: Abraham! Abraham replied: Here I am. Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.

Abram was ninety-nine years old. Jehovah appeared to him and said: I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless. I will establish my covenant between us. I will greatly increase your numbers.

Jehovah's angel shouted from heaven: Abraham! Abraham! Here I am! he answered. Do not hurt the boy or harm him in any way! The angel said. Now I know that you truly obey God, because you were willing to offer him your only son.

He said: I am taking an oath on my own name, declares Jehovah, that because you have done this and have not refused to give me your son, your only son, I will certainly bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of their enemies' cities. All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants. This is because you obeyed my command.'


Jehovah went his way as soon as he finished speaking with Abraham. Abraham returned to his place.


After Abram lived in Canaan ten years, Sarai, his wife, gave her Egyptian maidservant Hagar to her husband to be his wife.

While Abraham was still alive, he gave gifts to the sons of Hagar and Keturah. He also sent their sons to live in the east far from his son Isaac.

The sons born to Keturah, Abraham's concubine: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. The sons of Jokshan: Sheba and Dedan.


Abram was ninety-nine years old. Jehovah appeared to him and said: I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless. I will establish my covenant between us. I will greatly increase your numbers. Abram fell on his face and God said to him: read more.
This is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. You will no longer be called Abram (Exalted Father). Your name will be Abraham (means Father of Many). I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as a long lasting covenant between us. It will be for your descendants after you, for the generations to come. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now a guest (alien) (foreigner) (stranger), I will give a long lasting possession to you and your descendants after you. I will be their God. Then God said to Abraham: As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision. It will be the sign of the covenant between us. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised. This includes those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner, those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be a long lasting covenant. Any male not circumcised in the flesh will be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant. God continued: Do not call your wife Sarai any longer. Her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations. Kings of peoples will come from her. Abraham fell to his face. He laughed and said to himself: Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety? Abraham said to God: If only Ishmael might live under your blessing! God replied: Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son! You will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as a long lasting covenant for his descendants after him. Concerning Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him. I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac. Sarah will bear him to you by this time next year. When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.

Jehovah said to Abram: Leave your country, your people, and your father's household, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. I will curse whoever curses you. All the people on earth will be blessed through you.

It is not because they are Abraham's that they are all children, but: What will be called 'your seed' will be through Isaac. (Genesis 21:12) That is, the children of the flesh are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as seed. The word of promise: According to this time I will come and Sarah will have a son. read more.
Not only that, but Rebecca conceived by Isaac our father. When they had not yet been born nor performed anything good or vile, so the purpose of God regarding the choosing would continue without dependence on works but on the One who calls. She was told: The older will serve the younger. It is written: I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau.

He has remembered his covenant forever! It is the word he commanded to a thousand generations. He made this covenant with Abraham and gave his oath to Isaac. He confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant. read more.
He said: I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance to you.

I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as foreigners. Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel. This is because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage. I have remembered my covenant. Tell the sons of Israel: 'I am Jehovah. I will bring you out from under the oppression of the Egyptians. I will free you from slavery! I will rescue you with my powerful arm and with mighty acts of judgment.' read more.
I will make you my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am Jehovah your God. I brought you out from under the forced labor of the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land I solemnly swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your own possession. I am Jehovah!'


You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant that God made with our fathers. He said to Abraham: 'All the families of the earth will be blessed in your seed.'

Then God said to him: I AM JEHOVAH, who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess. Abram replied: O Jehovah God, how will I know that I shall possess it? He (God) said to him: Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon. read more.
Abram brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other. He did not cut the birds in two. When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him. Jehovah said to Abram: Know this for sure; your offspring will be strangers (aliens) in a land that is not theirs. They will be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years. I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve! Afterward they will come out with great possessions. As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace. You shall be buried at a good old age. They shall come back here in the fourth generation. The iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. The sun went down and it was dark. A smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram. He said: To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,

I will establish my covenant between us. I will greatly increase your numbers. Abram fell on his face and God said to him: This is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. read more.
You will no longer be called Abram (Exalted Father). Your name will be Abraham (means Father of Many). I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as a long lasting covenant between us. It will be for your descendants after you, for the generations to come. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now a guest (alien) (foreigner) (stranger), I will give a long lasting possession to you and your descendants after you. I will be their God. Then God said to Abraham: As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision. It will be the sign of the covenant between us. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised. This includes those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner, those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be a long lasting covenant. Any male not circumcised in the flesh will be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.

He shows mercy towards our fathers and remembers his holy covenant. It was the oath he spoke to Abraham our father. He gave us deliverance out of the hand of our enemies so we could serve him without fear. read more.
May we serve in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He did not say to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to your seed, which is Christ.


Then he took his last breath and died at a very old age. After a long and full life, he joined his ancestors in death.


By faith Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. He that had gladly received the promises was offering up his only-begotten son! It was said: In Isaac your descendants will be called. Abraham reasoned that God is able to raise him from the dead. So he figured he would receive him back.

By faith, when Abraham was called, he obeyed. He went to a place that he was to receive for an inheritance. He went even though he did not know where he was going.


Early the next morning Abraham came to the place where he had stood in front of Jehovah.


The sons of Midian: Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.

The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were Keturah's descendants.


Abraham answered: God will provide one. And the two of them walked on together.


Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad.


I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household; and that they may remain in the righteous and just way of Jehovah. Jehovah will bring to Abraham what he told him.


I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household; and that they may remain in the righteous and just way of Jehovah. Jehovah will bring to Abraham what he told him.


Do not hurt the boy or harm him in any way! The angel said. Now I know that you truly obey God, because you were willing to offer him your only son.


Yet, he looked to the promise of God. He did not waver through unbelief, but grew strong through faith. He gave the glory to God!


Jehovah said to Abram: Leave your country, your people, and your father's household, and go to the land I will show you.


Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. He was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. They were Abram's allies.


Jehovah said to Abram: Leave your country, your people, and your father's household, and go to the land I will show you.

Abraham answered: God will provide one. And the two of them walked on together. They came to the place 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. Then he picked up the knife to kill him. read more.
Jehovah's angel shouted from heaven: Abraham! Abraham! Here I am! he answered. Do not hurt the boy or harm him in any way! The angel said. Now I know that you truly obey God, because you were willing to offer him your only son.


Jehovah appeared to Abram and said: I will give this land to your offspring (seed). He built an altar there to Jehovah, who had appeared to him.

The whole land of Canaan, where you are now a guest (alien) (foreigner) (stranger), I will give a long lasting possession to you and your descendants after you. I will be their God.

All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring (descendants) from generation to generation.


In hope against hope Abraham believed that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken: So your descendants will be.


Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad.


The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He did not say to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to your seed, which is Christ.

All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants. This is because you obeyed my command.'

He does not help the angels, but he helps the seed of Abraham.


Then Abraham answered and said: Indeed now, I who am only dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to Jehovah:


Abraham again queried: Please do not be angry as I speak once more: Suppose ten should be found there? God said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.


Besides, she is my sister. She is my father's daughter, but not my mother's. She is also my wife. When God had me leave my father's home and travel around, I said to her: 'Do me a favor: Wherever we go, say that I am your brother.'


Abraham came near and said: Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city. Would you also destroy the place and not spare it because the righteous people are there? Surely you would not do that! Would you slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked? Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? read more.
Jehovah said: If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, I will spare the entire place for their sakes. Then Abraham answered and said: Indeed now, I who am only dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to Jehovah: Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous. Would you destroy the entire city for lack of five? So He (God) said: If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it. Abraham spoke again: Suppose there should be forty found there? God replied: I will not do it for the sake of forty. Abraham then said: Do not be angry, and let me speak. Suppose thirty should be found there? God replied: I will not do it if I find thirty there. Abraham then said: Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to Jehovah: Suppose twenty should be found there? God replied: I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty. Abraham again queried: Please do not be angry as I speak once more: Suppose ten should be found there? God said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.


Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could have children. Jehovah had made it impossible for any woman in Abimelech's household to have children because of Abraham's wife Sarah.


Jehovah said to Abram: Leave your country, your people, and your father's household, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. I will curse whoever curses you. All the people on earth will be blessed through you.

After Lot had parted from Abram, Jehovah said to Abram: Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring (descendants) from generation to generation. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth. If anyone could count the dust, your offspring could be counted. read more.
Go walk through the length and breadth of the land that I am giving to you.

On that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram. He said: To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,

I will establish my covenant as a long lasting covenant between us. It will be for your descendants after you, for the generations to come. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now a guest (alien) (foreigner) (stranger), I will give a long lasting possession to you and your descendants after you. I will be their God.


He believed in Jehovah. Jehovah considered Abram's faith as his righteousness.


Give the man's wife back to him now. He is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not give her back, you and all who belong to you are doomed to die.


I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household; and that they may remain in the righteous and just way of Jehovah. Jehovah will bring to Abraham what he told him.


I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household; and that they may remain in the righteous and just way of Jehovah. Jehovah will bring to Abraham what he told him.


Abram said to Lot: Let us not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers.


Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad.


Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.


Was Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?

On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him.

Jehovah said to Abram: Leave your country, your people, and your father's household, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. I will curse whoever curses you. All the people on earth will be blessed through you. read more.
So Abram left, just as Jehovah told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.

You saw that his heart was true to you, and made an agreement with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Jebusite and the Girgashite, even to give it to his seed, and you have done what you said; for righteousness is yours.

Do not hurt the boy or harm him in any way! The angel said. Now I know that you truly obey God, because you were willing to offer him your only son.

When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded him.

He said to him: 'Get out of your country and away from your relatives. Go to the land that I will show you. He went out of the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. After his father died, God moved him to this land, where you now dwell. He gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on. Yet he promised that he would give it to him and his seed after him for a possession. This promise was made before he had a child. read more.
God spoke to this effect, that his seed would be alien residents in a strange land. They would enslave them, and mistreat them for four hundred years. I will judge the nation to whom they shall be in bondage,' said God, 'and after they will come serve me in this place.' He gave him the covenant of circumcision. Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him the eighth day. Isaac became father to Jacob and Jacob fathered the twelve family heads.

By faith, when Abraham was called, he obeyed. He went to a place that he was to receive for an inheritance. He went even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he became an alien in the Promised Land. It was not his land. He lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob. They were heirs with him of the same promise. He looked for the city having real foundations, whose builder and maker is God. read more.
By faith Sarah received strength to conceive seed when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who promised. This was to come from one man and him as good as dead. There were born children, as many as the stars of heaven in multitude, and as uncountable as the sand by the seashore. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them from afar. They confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Those who say such things declare that they are seeking a country of their own. If indeed they had been thinking of that country from which they came, they would have had opportunity to return. They desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Because of this, God is not ashamed to be called their God. He has prepared a city for them! By faith Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. He that had gladly received the promises was offering up his only-begotten son!


So Abram left, just as Jehovah told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.

Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you. Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey. He took two of his servants and his son Isaac with him. He had cut the wood for the burnt offering. Then he set out for the place that God had told him about.


By faith Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. He that had gladly received the promises was offering up his only-begotten son! It was said: In Isaac your descendants will be called. Abraham reasoned that God is able to raise him from the dead. So he figured he would receive him back.

God tested Abraham. He said to him: Abraham! Abraham replied: Here I am. Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you. Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey. He took two of his servants and his son Isaac with him. He had cut the wood for the burnt offering. Then he set out for the place that God had told him about. read more.
Two days later Abraham saw the place in the distance. He said to the servants: Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there and worship. Then we will come back to you. Abraham made Isaac carry the wood for the sacrifice. Abraham carried a knife and live coals for starting the fire. As they walked along together, 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? Abraham answered: God will provide one. And the two of them walked on together. They came to the place 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. Then he picked up the knife to kill him. Jehovah's angel shouted from heaven: Abraham! Abraham! Here I am! he answered. Do not hurt the boy or harm him in any way! The angel said. Now I know that you truly obey God, because you were willing to offer him your only son. Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the bushes. So he took the ram and sacrificed it in place of his son. Abraham named that place Jehovah Will Provide. It is still said today: It will be provided on the mountain of Jehovah. The angel of Jehovah called to Abraham from heaven a second time. He said: I am taking an oath on my own name, declares Jehovah, that because you have done this and have not refused to give me your son, your only son, I will certainly bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of their enemies' cities. All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants. This is because you obeyed my command.' Abraham and Isaac went back to the servants who had come with him. They returned to Abraham's home in Beer-sheba.


I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household; and that they may remain in the righteous and just way of Jehovah. Jehovah will bring to Abraham what he told him.


Abraham said to God: If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!


After waiting patiently, Abraham received the promise.


Abram said to Lot: Let us not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Let us part company. If you go to the left, I will go to the right. If you go to the right, I will go to the left.



Abraham again queried: Please do not be angry as I speak once more: Suppose ten should be found there? God said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.


Abraham came near and said: Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city. Would you also destroy the place and not spare it because the righteous people are there? Surely you would not do that! Would you slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked? Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? read more.
Jehovah said: If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, I will spare the entire place for their sakes. Then Abraham answered and said: Indeed now, I who am only dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to Jehovah: Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous. Would you destroy the entire city for lack of five? So He (God) said: If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it. Abraham spoke again: Suppose there should be forty found there? God replied: I will not do it for the sake of forty. Abraham then said: Do not be angry, and let me speak. Suppose thirty should be found there? God replied: I will not do it if I find thirty there. Abraham then said: Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to Jehovah: Suppose twenty should be found there? God replied: I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty. Abraham again queried: Please do not be angry as I speak once more: Suppose ten should be found there? God said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.


Jehovah appeared to Abram and said: I will give this land to your offspring (seed). He built an altar there to Jehovah, who had appeared to him.

I will bless those who bless you. I will curse whoever curses you. All the people on earth will be blessed through you.


I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great. You will be a blessing.


Give the man's wife back to him now. He is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not give her back, you and all who belong to you are doomed to die.


The word of Jehovah came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram; I am your shield. Your reward shall be very great.


Jehovah said to Abram: Leave your country, your people, and your father's household, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. I will curse whoever curses you. All the people on earth will be blessed through you. read more.
So Abram left, just as Jehovah told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran. They set out for the land of Canaan and soon arrived there. Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great (oak) tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Jehovah appeared to Abram and said: I will give this land to your offspring (seed). He built an altar there to Jehovah, who had appeared to him. From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent. Bethel was on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to Jehovah and called on the name of Jehovah.

The men left there and went toward Sodom. Abraham still stood before Jehovah. Abraham came near and said: Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city. Would you also destroy the place and not spare it because the righteous people are there? read more.
Surely you would not do that! Would you slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked? Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? Jehovah said: If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, I will spare the entire place for their sakes. Then Abraham answered and said: Indeed now, I who am only dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to Jehovah: Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous. Would you destroy the entire city for lack of five? So He (God) said: If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it. Abraham spoke again: Suppose there should be forty found there? God replied: I will not do it for the sake of forty. Abraham then said: Do not be angry, and let me speak. Suppose thirty should be found there? God replied: I will not do it if I find thirty there. Abraham then said: Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to Jehovah: Suppose twenty should be found there? God replied: I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty. Abraham again queried: Please do not be angry as I speak once more: Suppose ten should be found there? God said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten. Jehovah went his way as soon as he finished speaking with Abraham. Abraham returned to his place.


Give the man's wife back to him now. He is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not give her back, you and all who belong to you are doomed to die.


Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.

Jehovah 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.


Is this blessing then pronounced upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say: To Abraham his faith was counted for righteousness.

It was counted to him as righteousness.


Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey. He took two of his servants and his son Isaac with him. He had cut the wood for the burnt offering. Then he set out for the place that God had told him about.

Early the next morning Abraham took bread and a container of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder. He also gave her the boy and sent her on her way. So she left and wandered around in the desert near Beer-sheba.

Early the next morning Abraham came to the place where he had stood in front of Jehovah.


Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. He was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. They were Abram's allies. Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive. Abram led his trained men, born in his house, three hundred eighteen of them, in pursuit as far as Dan. He divided his forces against them by night. He and his servants routed them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. read more.
Then he brought back all the goods. He also brought back his nephew Lot and all the men and women. As soon as the king of Sodom returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, he went out to meet Abram at the King's Valley of Shaveh. King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said: Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth. Blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand! Abram gave him one tenth of everything. Then the king of Sodom said to Abram: Give me the people, but take the goods for yourself. But Abram said to the king of Sodom: I have sworn to Jehovah, God Most High, maker of heaven and earth: I will take nothing. Not a thread or a sandal strap. You will not be able to say: 'I have made Abram rich.' Let the young men who came with me take their portion: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre.

I will make you very fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.

He lived in the wilderness of Paran. His mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt. Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham. They said: God is with you in all that you do. Swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity. Consider the kindness that I have shown to you. Please show it to me and to the land in which you have sojourned. read more.
Abraham said: I swear it. Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the well of water that the servants of Abimelech had seized. Abimelech said: I do not know who has done this thing. You did not tell me, nor did I hear of it until today. Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a covenant. Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. Abimelech asked Abraham: What do these seven ewe lambs mean, which you have set by themselves? He said: You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a witness to me, that I dug this well. Therefore he called that place Beer-sheba, because there the two of them took an oath. They made a covenant at Beer-sheba. Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, arose and returned to the land of the Philistines.


Abram replied: O Jehovah God, how will I know that I shall possess it? He (God) said to him: Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon. Abram brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other. He did not cut the birds in two. read more.
When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him. Jehovah said to Abram: Know this for sure; your offspring will be strangers (aliens) in a land that is not theirs. They will be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years. I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve! Afterward they will come out with great possessions. As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace. You shall be buried at a good old age. They shall come back here in the fourth generation. The iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. The sun went down and it was dark. A smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.


He said: Praise Jehovah, the God of my master Abraham. He has faithfully kept his promise to my master. Jehovah has led me straight to my master's relatives.


You will no longer be called Abram (Exalted Father). Your name will be Abraham (means Father of Many). I have made you a father of many nations.

Every family in heaven and on earth obtains its name from him.


I will take nothing. Not a thread or a sandal strap. You will not be able to say: 'I have made Abram rich.'

Is not the whole land before you? Let us part company. If you go to the left, I will go to the right. If you go to the right, I will go to the left.


Is not the whole land before you? Let us part company. If you go to the left, I will go to the right. If you go to the right, I will go to the left.

I will take nothing. Not a thread or a sandal strap. You will not be able to say: 'I have made Abram rich.' Let the young men who came with me take their portion: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre.


References