Your name is no longer to be Abram. Instead your name will be Abraham, since I'll make you the father of many nations.

God continued to speak to Abraham, "You and your descendants who are born in the future are to keep my covenant that is, you and your descendants, generation after generation.

God told Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are not to call her Sarai any longer, because her name is to be Sarah.

Abraham fell to the ground, laughed, and told himself, "Can a child be born to a 100-year-old man? Can a 90-year-old Sarah give birth?"

So Abraham responded to God, "If only Ishmael would live in constant awareness that you're always with him!"

With that, God finished talking to Abraham, and ascended, leaving him.

Abraham took his son Ishmael and all the servants born in his house or purchased with his money every male among the men of his household and circumcised them that very day, just as God had spoken to him.

Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised,

Both Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on that very day.

Later, the LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks belonging to Mamre. As Abraham was sitting near the entrance to his tent during the hottest part 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.

Abraham hurried into the tent and told Sarah, "Quick! Take three measures of the best flour, knead it, and make some flat bread."

Next, Abraham ran to the herd, found a choice and tender calf, and gave it to the young men, who went off in a hurry to prepare it.

Now Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. Abraham and Sarah were old really old and Sarah was beyond the age of childbearing.

The LORD asked Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and think, "Am I really going to bear a child, since I'm so old?'

After this, the men set out from there and looked out over Sodom. Abraham went with them to send them off.

"Should I hide from Abraham what I'm about to do," the LORD asked,

"since Abraham's descendants will become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him?

Indeed, I've made myself known to him in order that he may encourage his sons and his household that is born after him to keep the way of the LORD, and to do what is right and just, so that the LORD may bring about for Abraham what he has promised."

Then two of the men turned away from there and walked toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing in the presence of the LORD.

Abraham approached and asked, "Will you actually destroy the righteous along with the wicked?

Abraham answered, "Look, even though I am only dust and ashes, I've ventured to speak to my LORD.

Abraham continued to speak to him, asking, "What if 40 are found there?" The LORD replied, "I won't do it for the sake of those 40."

Abraham then asked, "I hope my LORD will not be angry if I speak. What if 30 are found there?" The LORD answered, "I won't do it for the sake of those 30."

"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."

As soon as he finished talking to Abraham, the LORD left and Abraham returned to where he had been sitting.

Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD earlier.

And so it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham and brought Lot out from the midst of the destruction when he overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.

Abraham traveled from there to the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was living in Gerar as an outsider,

because Abraham kept saying about his wife Sarah, "She is my sister," King Abimelech of Gerar summoned them and took Sarah into his household.

Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked him, "What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such great sin against me and my kingdom? You've done things to me that ought not to have been done."

Abimelech also asked Abraham, "What could you have been thinking when you did this?"

"I thought that there's no fear of God in this place," Abraham replied, "and that they would kill me because of my wife.

So Abimelech took some sheep and oxen, and some male and female servants, gave them to Abraham, returned his wife Sarah to him,

Then Abraham interceded with God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants so they could bear children,

since the LORD had made all the women barren in Abimelech's household on account of Abraham's wife Sarah.

Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age, at the very time that God had told him.

Abraham named his son who was born to him Isaac the very one whom Sarah bore for him!

On the eighth day after his son Isaac had been born, Abraham circumcised him, just as God had commanded him.

Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

She also said, "Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse sons? Yet I have given birth to a son in my husband's old age!"

The child grew and eventually was weaned, so Abraham threw a tremendous banquet on the very day Isaac was weaned.

Nevertheless, when Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian whom Hagar had borne to Abraham making fun of Isaac,

she told Abraham, "Throw out this slave girl, along with her son, because this slave's son will never be a co-heir with my son Isaac!"

Abraham was very troubled about what was being said about his son,

but God told Abraham, "Don't be troubled about the youth and your slave girl. Pay attention to Sarah in everything she tells you, because your offspring are to be named through Isaac.

So early the next morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a leather bottle of water, gave them to Hagar, and placed them on her shoulder. He then sent her away, along with the child. She went off and roamed in the Beer-sheba wilderness.

About that time, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, told Abraham, "God is with you in everything that you're doing.

And Abraham replied, "I agree!"

But then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized.

So Abraham took sheep and oxen and presented them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.

Then Abraham set aside seven ewe lambs,

so Abimelech asked Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set aside?"

Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD God Everlasting.

After this, Abraham resided as a foreigner in Philistine territory for a long period of time.

Sometime later, God tested Abraham. He called out to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am!" he answered.

So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his male servants with him, along with his son Isaac. He cut the wood for the burnt offering and set out to go to the place about which God had spoken to him.

Abraham ordered his two servants, "Both of you are to stay here with the donkey. Now as for the youth and me, we'll go up there, we'll worship, and then we'll return to you."

Then Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac. Abraham carried the fire and the knife. And so the two of them went on together.

Isaac addressed his father Abraham: "My father!" "I'm here, my son," Abraham replied. Isaac asked, "The fire and the wood are here, but where's the lamb for the burnt offering?"

Abraham answered, "God will provide himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son."

The two of them went on together and came to the place about which God had spoken. Abraham built an altar there, arranged the wood, tied up his son Isaac, and placed him on the altar on top of the wood.

Just then, an angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven and said, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he answered.

Then Abraham looked up and behind him to see a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So Abraham went over, grabbed the ram, and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

Abraham named that place, "The LORD Will Provide," as it is told this day, "On the LORD's mountain, he will provide."

The angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven

After this, Abraham returned to his servants and they set out together for Beer-sheba, where Abraham settled.

Now after these things somebody told Abraham, "Look, Milcah has given birth to sons for your brother Nahor.

Bethuel fathered Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight sons to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

She died in Kiriath-arba (that is, in Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

Then Abraham stood up from beside his dead wife and addressed the Hittites. He said,

The Hittites responded to Abraham,

Abraham rose and bowed before the Hittites, the people of the land,

Now since Ephron the Hittite had taken a seat there among the Hittites, he responded publicly to Abraham where the Hittites and everyone who was entering the gate of his city could hear him:

Abraham bowed before the people of the land

So Ephron answered Abraham,

Abraham agreed with Ephron, so he weighed out to Ephron the money to which he had agreed publicly while the Hittites were listening: 400 shekels of silver at the current merchant rate.

to Abraham in the presence of all the Hittites and everyone who was entering the city gate.

After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave at the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre (that is, in Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

And so the field with its cave was deeded by the Hittites to Abraham as a burial site.

Now Abraham had grown old, was well advanced in age, and the LORD had blessed Abraham in every way.

So Abraham instructed his servant, who was the oldest member of his household and in charge of everything he owned, "Make this solemn oath to me

"Make sure not to take my son there," Abraham replied.

So the servant made a solemn oath to his master Abraham regarding this matter.

Then Abraham's servant took ten camels from his master's herd of camels and left on his journey with all kinds of gifts from his master's inventory. Eventually, he traveled as far as Aram-naharaim, Nahor's home town.

That's when he prayed, "LORD God of my master Abraham, help me to succeed today. Please show your gracious love to my master Abraham.

Before he had finished speaking, Rebekah appeared. She was a daughter of Milcah's son Bethuel. (Milcah was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor.) She approached the well, carrying a jug on her shoulder.

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

"Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hasn't held back his gracious love and faithfulness from my master! The LORD has led me to the house of my master's relatives!"

"I'm Abraham's servant," he said.

My master's wife Sarah gave birth to my master's son in her old age, and Abraham has given him everything that belongs to him.

"Abraham told me, "The LORD, who is with me wherever I go, will send his angel with you to make your journey successful. So you are to choose a wife for my son from my family, from my father's household.

"So today I arrived at the spring and prayed, "LORD God of my master Abraham, if you wish to make the journey that I have traveled successful,

"So I gave her a ring for her nose and bracelets for her wrists. I bowed down and worshipped the LORD, and I praised the LORD God of my master Abraham, who led me on the true way to request the daughter of my master's brother for his son.

When Abraham's servant heard what they had said, he bowed down to the ground before the LORD.

So they sent off their sister Rebekah, along with her personal assistant, Abraham's servant, and his men.

Then Rebekah and her young servant women got up, mounted their camels, and followed Abraham's servant, who took Rebekah and went on his way.

Abraham had taken another wife whose name was Keturah.

Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac.