When the man was asleep, he removed one of the man's ribs and closed up the flesh where it had been. Then the LORD God formed the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man.

When the woman saw that the tree produced good food, was attractive in appearance, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. Then she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate some, too.

"I'll place hostility between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. He'll strike you on the head, and you'll strike him on the heel."

Adah gave birth to Jabal, who became the ancestor of those who live in tents and herd livestock.

God also said, "Here's the symbol that represents the covenant that I'm making between me and you and every living being with you, for all future generations:

When Pharaoh's officials saw her, they brought her to the attention of Pharaoh and took the woman to Pharaoh's palace.

He treated Abram well because of her, so Abram acquired sheep, oxen, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.

Why did you say, "She is my sister,' so that I took her as a wife for myself? Now, here is your wife! Take her and get out!"

Your descendants will return here in the fourth generation, since the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet run its course."

So Sarai told Abram, "You are well aware that the LORD has prevented me from giving birth to a child. Go have sex with my servant, so that I may possibly bear a son through her."

Abram listened to Sarai's suggestion, so Abram's wife Sarai took her Egyptian servant, Hagar, and gave her as a wife to her husband Abram. This took place ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.

He had sex with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she realized that she was pregnant, she looked with contempt on her mistress.

Then Sarai told Abram, "My suffering is your fault! I gave you my servant so you could have sex with her, and when she discovered that she was pregnant, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!"

Abram answered Sarai, "Look, your servant is under your control, so do to her as you wish." So Sarai dealt so harshly with Hagar that she ran away from Sarai.

The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the desert on the road to Shur.

The angel of the LORD told her, "You must go back to your mistress and submit to her authority."

The angel of the LORD also told her, "I will greatly multiply your offspring, who will be too many to count.

"Look, you are pregnant and will give birth to a son," the angel of the LORD continued to say to her. "You will name him Ishmael, because the LORD has heard your cry of misery.

So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "You are "God who sees,' because I have truly seen the one who looks after me."

Here is my covenant that you are to observe, between me and you and your descendants: Every male among you is to be circumcised.

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

I will bless her. Furthermore, I will give you a son from her. I will bless her, so that nations, kings, and people will come from her."

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.

Look here, I have two daughters who are virgins. Let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them whatever you wish, only don't do anything to these men, because they're here under my protection."

But they replied, "Get out of the way! This man came here as a foreigner, and now he's acting like a judge! So we're going to deal more harshly with you than with them." Then they pushed hard against the man (that is, against Lot), intending to break down the door.

"Do you have anyone else here in the city?" the angels asked Lot. "A son-in-law? Sons? Daughters? Get them out of this place,

because we're going to destroy it. Their outcry has come to the attention of the LORD, so he sent us here to destroy it!"

Lot then went out and told his sons-in-law (they had married his daughters), "Get out of here! The LORD is going to destroy this city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

As dawn was breaking, the angels pressured Lot. "Get going!" they told him. "Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be engulfed by the devastation that's coming to this city."

So they had their father drink wine that night, and the older one had sexual relations with her father, but he was not aware when she lay down or when she got up.

Now Abimelech had not yet come near her, so he asked, "LORD, will you destroy an innocent nation?

Then God replied to him in the dream, "I know that you did this with pure intentions, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore, I didn't allow you to touch her.

Now then, return the man's wife. As a matter of fact, he's a prophet and can intercede for you so you'll live. But if you don't return her, be aware that you and all who are yours will certainly die."

When God caused me to journey from my father's house, I asked her to do me this favor and say, "He's my brother.'"

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!"

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.

God heard the boy's voice, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven. He asked her, "What's wrong with you, Hagar? Don't be afraid, because God has heard the voice of the youth where he is.

Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went, filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink.

Therefore swear an oath here by God that you won't deal falsely with me, my sons, or my descendants. Just as I've dealt graciously with you, won't you do so with me and with the land in which you live as a foreigner?"

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

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."

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?"

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

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'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.

I've stationed myself here by the spring as the women of the town come to draw water.

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.

The woman was very beautiful, young, and had not had sexual relations with a man. Going down to the spring, she filled her jug and turned for home.

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

"Drink, sir!" she replied as she quickly lowered her jug on her arm to offer him a drink.

She quickly emptied her jug into the trough and ran to the well to draw again until she had drawn enough water for all ten of the servant's camels.

The man stared at her in silence, waiting to see whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful.

When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a half shekel and two bracelets for her wrists, weighing 10 shekels and presented them to her.

He asked her, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?"

The young woman then ran ahead and informed her mother's household what had happened.

And so it was, as soon as he saw the nose ring and bracelets on his sister's wrists, and as soon as he heard what his sister Rebekah was saying about what the man had spoken to her, he went out to the man who was still standing by the camels at the spring!

"Come on," Laban said. "The LORD has blessed you! So why are you standing out here when I've prepared some space in the house and a place for the camels?"

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.

Only then will you be released from fulfilling my oath. However, when you come to my family, if they don't give her to you, you'll be released from fulfilling my oath.'

here I am standing by the spring. May it be that the young woman who comes out to draw water, from whom I request a little water from her jug to drink,

"Before I had finished praying, along came Rebekah with her jug on her shoulder! She went to the spring and drew some water. I asked her to please let me have a drink.

She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and told me, "Have a drink while I also water your camels.' So I drank, and she also gave my camels water to drink.

"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.

So here's Rebekah she's right in front of you. Take her and go, so she can become a wife for your master's son, just as the LORD has decreed."

Then the servant brought out some silver and gold items, along with some clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave gifts to her brother and to her mother.

But her brother and mother said, "Let the young lady stay with us a few days at least ten and after that she may go."

So they called Rebekah and asked her, "Do you want to go with this man?" "I will go," she replied.

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.

Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she quickly dismounted from her camel

"That's my master," the servant told her. So she reached for a veil and covered herself. Then the servant informed Isaac about everything he had done.

Later, Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent that had belonged to his mother Sarah and married her. Isaac loved her, and that's how he was comforted following the loss of his mother.

Here's a list of the names of Ishmael's sons, recorded by their names and descendants: Nebaioth was the firstborn, followed by Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

But when the infants kept on wrestling each other inside her womb, she asked herself, "Why is this happening?" So she asked the LORD for an explanation.

Sure enough, when her due date arrived, she delivered twin sons.

Later on, the men of that place asked about his wife, so he replied, "She's my sister," because he was afraid to call her "my wife." He kept thinking, ""otherwise, the men around here will kill me on account of Rebekah, since she's very beautiful."

So Abimelech called Isaac and confronted him. "She is definitely your wife!" he accused him, "So why did you claim, "She's my sister?'" Isaac responded, "Because I had thought ""otherwise, I'll die on account of her.'"

Rebekah gave these instructions to her son Jacob: "Quick! Pay attention!" she said. "I heard your father talking to your brother Esau. He told him,

Then Rebekah took some garments that belonged to her elder son Esau the best ones available and put them on her younger son Jacob.

Then she handed the delicious food and bread that she had prepared to her son Jacob,

So Isaac told Jacob, "Come here, my son, so I can feel you and know for sure whether or not you're my son Esau."

Isaac replied, "Your brother came here deceitfully and stole your blessing."

Eventually, what Rebekah's older son Esau had been saying was reported to her, so she sent for her younger son Jacob and warned him, "Look! Your brother is planning to get even by killing you.

Now pay attention! I'm here with you, and I'm going to be watching over you wherever you go. I'm going to bring you back to this land, because I won't ever leave you until I've accomplished what I've promised about you."

So he asked them, "How's he doing?" "Very well," they answered. "As a matter of fact, look over there! That's his daughter Rachel, coming here with his sheep."

While he was still talking with them, Rachel arrived with her father's sheep, since she was a shepherdess.

Jacob told Rachel that he was related to her father, since he was Rebekah's son, so she ran and told her father.

"It's better that I give her to you than to another man," Laban replied, "so stay with me."

Jacob served seven years for Rachel, but it seemed like only a few days because of his love for her.

Eventually, Jacob told Laban, "Bring me my wife, now that my time of service has been completed, so I can go be with her."

That night Laban took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob. He had marital relations with her.

Laban also gave his servant woman Zilpah to Leah to be her maidservant.

Laban also gave his woman servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her maidservant.

Jacob also married Rachel, since he loved her. He served Laban another full seven years' work for Rachel.

Later, the LORD noticed that Leah was being neglected, so he made her fertile, while Rachel remained childless.

Rachel noticed that she was not bearing children for Jacob, so because she envied her sister Leah, she told Jacob, "If you don't give me sons, I'm going to die!"

That made Jacob angry with Rachel, so he asked her, "Can I take God's place, who has not allowed you to conceive?"

Rachel responded, "Here's my handmaid Bilhah. Go have sex with her. She can bear children on my knees so I can have children through her."

So Rachel gave Jacob her woman servant Bilhah to be his wife, and Jacob had sex with her.

When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing children, she took her woman servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.