Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible




And he gave him the ordinance of circumcision; and so he begat Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs. Verse ConceptsExclusivenessCircumcision, physicalThe Number TwelveSacramentsAbraham, God's Covenant WithLess Than A Year OldTwelve BeingsCircumcisionGifts Of GodGod's Covenant With The PatriarchsOther Gifts Of God

What then is the preeminence of the Jew? or what the profit of circumcision? Verse ConceptsAdvantagesNecessity Of CircumcisionJews

And he received the symbol of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which was in uncircumcision, so that he became the father of all that believe in uncircumcision, that righteousness may also be accounted to them, Verse ConceptsCircumcision, spiritualPraiseSealsAbraham, God's Covenant WithAbraham, New Testament ReferencesReckoningRighteous By FaithRighteousness imputed

neither, because they are a posterity of Abraham, are they all children; but in Isaac shall your posterity be called; that is, the children of the flesh are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are accounted the posterity. For this was the word of promise; According to this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son. read more.
And not only this, but Rebecca also being with child by one, by our father Isaac??11 for the children not yet being born, nor having done any thing good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might continue, not of works but of him that calls,??12 it was said to her that the older shall serve the younger; as it is written; Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.

For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is bound to perform the whole law. Verse ConceptsNecessityCircumcisionUnder The Lawthe Law of moses


And he gave him the ordinance of circumcision; and so he begat Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs. Verse ConceptsExclusivenessCircumcision, physicalThe Number TwelveSacramentsAbraham, God's Covenant WithLess Than A Year OldTwelve BeingsCircumcisionGifts Of GodGod's Covenant With The PatriarchsOther Gifts Of God

And he received the symbol of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which was in uncircumcision, so that he became the father of all that believe in uncircumcision, that righteousness may also be accounted to them, Verse ConceptsCircumcision, spiritualPraiseSealsAbraham, God's Covenant WithAbraham, New Testament ReferencesReckoningRighteous By FaithRighteousness imputed


Moses gave you circumcision, not that it is of Moses but of the fathers, and you circumcise a man on the sabbath. Verse ConceptsAbraham, Family And DescendantsCircumcision, physicalPatriarchsAncestorsCircumcision

And he gave him the ordinance of circumcision; and so he begat Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs. Verse ConceptsExclusivenessCircumcision, physicalThe Number TwelveSacramentsAbraham, God's Covenant WithLess Than A Year OldTwelve BeingsCircumcisionGifts Of GodGod's Covenant With The PatriarchsOther Gifts Of God

And Peter answering, and the apostles, said, It is necessary to obey God rather than man. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you took and hung on a cross; him has God exalted, a Prince and Saviour at his right hand, to give a change of mind to Israel and the forgiveness of sins. read more.
And we are his witnesses of these things, and also the Holy Spirit which God has given to those that obey him.

And calling them, they charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to obey you rather than God, judge; for we cannot but tell what we have seen and heard.


And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him saying, Do you answer nothing? see how many things they charge against you. And Jesus answered him not any more; so that Pilate wondered.

Then Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we are to-day examined concerning the good work done to the sick man, by what means he has been cured, be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazoraean, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him has this man stood before you sound. read more.
This is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the head of a corner. And there is salvation in no other; for there is no other name given under heaven among men, by which we can be saved.

And the chief priest said, Are these things then so? And he said, Men, brothers, and fathers, hear. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, Go out from your country and your kindred, and come to a land which I will show you. read more.
Then going out from the land of the Chaldeans, he lived in Haran. And thence, after the death of his father, he removed into this land in which you now live. And [God] gave him no inheritance in it, not the breadth of a foot, and promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his posterity after him, when as yet he had no son. And God said thus; that his posterity should be a stranger in a foreign land, and they shall enslave it and treat it injuriously four hundred years; and the nation which they shall serve will I judge, said God, and after that they shall come forth and serve me in this place. And he gave him the ordinance of circumcision; and so he begat Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs envying Joseph sold him into Egypt; and God was with him and delivered him from all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and [he] made him governor over Egypt and all his house. And there came a famine on all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers found no provisions. But Jacob hearing that there was grain in Egypt, sent our fathers the first time; and the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph's family was made known to Pharaoh. And Joseph sent and called for his father Jacob, and all the family of seventy-five souls. And Jacob went down to Egypt, and died, he and our fathers; and they carried him back to Shechem and buried him in the tomb which Abraham bought for money of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem. But when the time of the promise which God made with an oath to Abraham was at hand, the people increased and became numerous in Egypt, till another king arose who knew not Joseph. This [king] dealt deceitfully with our race, and treated injuriously our fathers, causing their infants to be exposed that they might not be preserved alive. At that time Moses was born, and was beautiful in the sight of God, and was nourished three months in his father's house; but being exposed, the daughter of Pharaoh took him up and nourished him as her own son. And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in his words and works. And when he was forty years old, it came into his mind to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. And seeing one injured he defended him, and executed judgment for the oppressed, smiting the Egyptian. And he thought his brothers would understand that God would give them salvation by his hand; but they understood not. On the following day also he showed himself to them as they contended, and urged them to peace, saying, Men, you are brothers; why do you injure one another? But he that injured his neighbor repelled him, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Will you kill me as you did the Egyptian, yesterday? And Moses fled at that saying, and lived a stranger in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons. And forty years being completed there appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, an angel in a flame of fire, in a bush. And Moses seeing it, wondered at the sight; and coming near to look at it, there was a voice of the Lord, I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. And Moses being afraid dared not look at it. And the Lord said to him, Put off your shoes from your feet; for the place on which you stand is holy ground. I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and have come down to deliver them; and now come, I will send you to Egypt. This is the Moses whom they denied, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge? Him did God send to be a ruler and a redeemer by the hand of the angel that appeared to him in the bush. This man brought them out, having performed prodigies and miracles in Egypt, and at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years. This is the Moses who said to the children of Israel, A prophet shall God raise up for you, of your brothers, like me. This is he that was with the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, who received the living oracles to give us, whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him away and turned back in their hearts to Egypt, saying to Aaron, Make us gods to go before us; for this Moses who led us up out of Egypt, we know not what has happened to him. And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their hands. And God turned and gave them up to serve the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets; Did you offer victims and sacrifices to me forty years in the wilderness, house of Israel, and take up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of the god Rephan, figures which you made to worship? I will even remove you beyond Babylon. Our fathers in the wilderness received the tabernacle of the testimony, as he that spoke to Moses charged him to make it according to the pattern which he had seen; which also our fathers receiving it in succession brought with Joshua into the possession of the nations, whom God expelled before the face of our fathers till the days of David; who found favor with God and desired to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. And Solomon built him a house. But the Most High dwells not in [temples] made with hands, as the prophet says; Heaven is my throne, and the earth my footstool; what house will you build me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? has not my hand made all these things? Stiff necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always fight against the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, you also do. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you now have become betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by orders of angels and have not kept it. And when they heard these things they were enraged in their minds and gnashed their teeth upon him. But he being full of the Holy Spirit, looking steadily to heaven saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

And Paul looking steadily at the Sanhedrim, said, Men and brothers, I have lived before God in all good conscience to this day. And the chief priest Ananias commanded those standing by to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, God is about to strike you, whitewashed wall; and do you sit to judge me according to the law, and command me to be struck contrary to the law? read more.
And those standing by said, Do you revile God's chief priest? And Paul said, I knew not brothers that he was a chief priest; for it is written, You shall not speak evil of the ruler of your people. And Paul knowing that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, cried in the Sanhedrim, Men and brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of Pharisees; for the hope and resurrection of the dead am I under trial. And having said this, there was a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the multitude were divided.


AND when it was morning all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to kill him. And having bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate, the procurator.

AND Jesus having gone into the temple, the chief priests and elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority do you do these things? and who gave you this authority? Verse ConceptsChief priestsLeaders, SpiritualEntering The TempleChrist TeachingChrist In The TempleGod Appointing His SonResolving Conflict

And immediately in the morning, the chief priests taking counsel with the elders, and scribes, and all the Sanhedrim, bound Jesus, and brought and delivered him to Pilate. Verse Conceptsenemies, of Jesus Christelders, as community leadersBad Decision Making ExamplesRopesTeachers Of The LawCommitteesHanding Over ChristOpposition To Christ From ScribesThe Chief Priests ConvenedTying Up

Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were assembled in the court of the chief priest, who was called Caiaphas, and they took counsel to seize Jesus by stratagem, and kill him. But they said, Not at the feast, lest there be a tumult among the people.

And having taken Jesus, they led him away to Caiaphas, the chief priest, where the scribes and elders were assembled. But Peter followed him at a distance, even to the court of the chief priest, and going in sat with the officers to see the end. And the chief priests and all the sanhedrim sought false testimony against Jesus to kill him, read more.
and did not find it, though many false witnesses came forward. But afterwards, two coming forward said, This man said, I can destroy the temple of God and build it in three days. And the chief priest rising up said to him, Do you answer nothing? What do these testify against you? But Jesus was silent. And the chief priest answering, said to him, I adjure you, by the living God, to tell me if you are the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said to him, As you say; but I tell you that hereafter you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of the power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. Then the chief priest rent his clothes, saying, He has blasphemed; what further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think? And they answered and said, He is worthy of death. Then they spit in his face, and struck him with their fists, and some struck him with the palms of their hands, saying, Prophesy to us, Christ, who is it that struck you?

And immediately, while he was yet speaking, Judas the Iscariot, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude, with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, and scribes, and elders. And the traitor had given them this signal, saying, Whom I shall kiss, he is the one; take him, and lead him away safely. And coming, he immediately approached him, and said, Rabbi! Rabbi! and kissed him. read more.
And they laid hands on him and took him. And one of those who stood by drew a sword and struck the servant of the chief priest, and cut off his car. And Jesus answered and said to them, Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to apprehend me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not take me. But [it was done] that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. And all forsook him and fled. And one young man followed him with a linen cloth wrapped about his naked body. And the young men caught him; and leaving the linen cloth he escaped from them naked. AND they led away Jesus to the chief priest; and all the chief priests, and elders, and scribes came together to him. And Peter followed him at a distance, till he came into the court of the chief priest; and he sat with the officers and warmed himself before the light. And the chief priests and all the Sanhedrim sought testimony against Jesus to kill him, and did not find it. For many testified falsely against him, but their testimony did not agree; and some arose and testified falsely against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days will build another made without hands. And neither in this did their testimony agree. And the chief priest standing up in the midst asked Jesus, saying, Do you not answer any thing to what these testify against you? And he was silent, and answered nothing. Again the chief priest asked him, and said to him, Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am; and you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of the power, and coming with the clouds of heaven. And the high priest rent his clothes, and said, What further need have we of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy; what do you think? And they all condemned him to be deserving of death. And some spit on him; and they blindfolded him, and beat him with the fist, and said to him, Prophesy. And the officers beat him with open hands.

And Jesus said to the chief priests, and commanders of the temple, and elders who came against him, Have you come with swords and clubs, as against a robber? When I was daily with you in the temple you stretched not out your hands upon me but this is your hour, and the power of darkness. And apprehending him, they led him away, and conducted him to the house of the chief priest; and Peter followed at a distance. read more.
And they having kindled a fire in the midst of the court, and sat down, Peter sat in the midst of them. And a certain female servant seeing him sitting by the light, and looking steadily at him, said, This man also was with him. But he denied him, saying, I do not know him, woman. And after a little, another seeing him, said, You also are one of them. But Peter said, Man, I am not. And about an hour intervening, another strongly affirmed, saying, Certainly, this man was also with him; for he is also a Galilean. But Peter said, Man, I know not what you say. And immediately, while he was yet speaking, a cock crew. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter; and Peter was reminded of the Lord's word, that he said to him, Before a cock crows to-day you shall deny me thrice; and going out, Peter wept bitterly. And the men having him in custody mocked him, beating him; and blindfolding him they asked him, saying, Prophecy who it is that struck you? And they reviled him with many other words. And when it was day, the eldership of the people, and the chief priests, and scribes were assembled, and they brought him into their sanhedrim, saying, If you are the Christ, tell us? And he said to them, If I tell you you will not believe; and if I ask you will not answer. But from this time the Son of man will sit on the right hand of the power of God. And they all said, Are you the Son of God then? And he said to them, I am as you say. And they said, What further need have we of testimony? for we ourselves have heard from his mouth.

And while they were speaking to the people, the priests, and the commander of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being displeased because they taught the people and declared by Jesus the resurrection of the dead; and they laid hands on them and put them in prison till the next day; for it was now evening. read more.
But many of those that heard the word believed, and the number of the men became about five thousand. And on the next day the rulers, and elders, and scribes assembled at Jerusalem, and Annas the chief priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and all that were of the family of the chief priesthood, and placing them in the midst, asked, By what power, or by what name, have you done this? Then Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we are to-day examined concerning the good work done to the sick man, by what means he has been cured, be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazoraean, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him has this man stood before you sound. This is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the head of a corner. And there is salvation in no other; for there is no other name given under heaven among men, by which we can be saved. And seeing the boldness of Peter and John, and supposing that they were illiterate and common men, they wondered, and perceived that they had been with Jesus; and seeing the man standing with them cured, they could not dispute it. And commanding them to withdraw from the Sanhedrim, they conferred one with another, saying, What shall we do to these men? for that a notable miracle has been performed by them is manifest to all that live at Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it; but that it spread no further among the people, let us threaten them severely, [and charge them] to speak no more to any man in this name. And calling them, they charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to obey you rather than God, judge; for we cannot but tell what we have seen and heard. And threatening them still further, they dismissed them, not being able to punish them, on account of the people, because all glorified God for what was done;

But some members of the synagogue called that of the Libertines and Cyrenians and Alexandrians and of those from Cilicia and Asia, arose and disputed with Stephen, and were not able to resist the wisdom and spirit with which he spoke. Then they bribed men who said, We heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God. read more.
And they stirred up both the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and coming suddenly they seized him and led him to the Sanhedrim, and brought forward false witnesses who said, This man speaks incessantly against this holy place, and the law; for we have heard him say, that Jesus this Nazoraean will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses gave us. And all who sat in the Sanhedrin looking steadily at him saw his face like the face of an angel.

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And the chief priest said, Are these things then so? And he said, Men, brothers, and fathers, hear. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, Go out from your country and your kindred, and come to a land which I will show you. read more.
Then going out from the land of the Chaldeans, he lived in Haran. And thence, after the death of his father, he removed into this land in which you now live. And [God] gave him no inheritance in it, not the breadth of a foot, and promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his posterity after him, when as yet he had no son. And God said thus; that his posterity should be a stranger in a foreign land, and they shall enslave it and treat it injuriously four hundred years; and the nation which they shall serve will I judge, said God, and after that they shall come forth and serve me in this place. And he gave him the ordinance of circumcision; and so he begat Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs envying Joseph sold him into Egypt; and God was with him and delivered him from all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and [he] made him governor over Egypt and all his house. And there came a famine on all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers found no provisions. But Jacob hearing that there was grain in Egypt, sent our fathers the first time; and the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph's family was made known to Pharaoh. And Joseph sent and called for his father Jacob, and all the family of seventy-five souls. And Jacob went down to Egypt, and died, he and our fathers; and they carried him back to Shechem and buried him in the tomb which Abraham bought for money of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem. But when the time of the promise which God made with an oath to Abraham was at hand, the people increased and became numerous in Egypt, till another king arose who knew not Joseph. This [king] dealt deceitfully with our race, and treated injuriously our fathers, causing their infants to be exposed that they might not be preserved alive. At that time Moses was born, and was beautiful in the sight of God, and was nourished three months in his father's house; but being exposed, the daughter of Pharaoh took him up and nourished him as her own son. And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in his words and works. And when he was forty years old, it came into his mind to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. And seeing one injured he defended him, and executed judgment for the oppressed, smiting the Egyptian. And he thought his brothers would understand that God would give them salvation by his hand; but they understood not. On the following day also he showed himself to them as they contended, and urged them to peace, saying, Men, you are brothers; why do you injure one another? But he that injured his neighbor repelled him, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Will you kill me as you did the Egyptian, yesterday? And Moses fled at that saying, and lived a stranger in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons. And forty years being completed there appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, an angel in a flame of fire, in a bush. And Moses seeing it, wondered at the sight; and coming near to look at it, there was a voice of the Lord, I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. And Moses being afraid dared not look at it. And the Lord said to him, Put off your shoes from your feet; for the place on which you stand is holy ground. I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and have come down to deliver them; and now come, I will send you to Egypt. This is the Moses whom they denied, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge? Him did God send to be a ruler and a redeemer by the hand of the angel that appeared to him in the bush. This man brought them out, having performed prodigies and miracles in Egypt, and at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years. This is the Moses who said to the children of Israel, A prophet shall God raise up for you, of your brothers, like me. This is he that was with the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, who received the living oracles to give us, whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him away and turned back in their hearts to Egypt, saying to Aaron, Make us gods to go before us; for this Moses who led us up out of Egypt, we know not what has happened to him. And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their hands. And God turned and gave them up to serve the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets; Did you offer victims and sacrifices to me forty years in the wilderness, house of Israel, and take up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of the god Rephan, figures which you made to worship? I will even remove you beyond Babylon. Our fathers in the wilderness received the tabernacle of the testimony, as he that spoke to Moses charged him to make it according to the pattern which he had seen; which also our fathers receiving it in succession brought with Joshua into the possession of the nations, whom God expelled before the face of our fathers till the days of David; who found favor with God and desired to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. And Solomon built him a house. But the Most High dwells not in [temples] made with hands, as the prophet says; Heaven is my throne, and the earth my footstool; what house will you build me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? has not my hand made all these things? Stiff necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always fight against the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, you also do. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you now have become betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by orders of angels and have not kept it. And when they heard these things they were enraged in their minds and gnashed their teeth upon him. But he being full of the Holy Spirit, looking steadily to heaven saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. And crying with a loud voice they stopped their ears and rushed upon him with one accord, and casting him out of the city, stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul, and they stoned Stephen, calling and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

And he gave him the ordinance of circumcision; and so he begat Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs. Verse ConceptsExclusivenessCircumcision, physicalThe Number TwelveSacramentsAbraham, God's Covenant WithLess Than A Year OldTwelve BeingsCircumcisionGifts Of GodGod's Covenant With The PatriarchsOther Gifts Of God




Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? Verse ConceptsAncestorsAbraham, New Testament ReferencesJustified By WorksWorks Of Faith






and said to him, Go out from your country and your kindred, and come to a land which I will show you. Then going out from the land of the Chaldeans, he lived in Haran. And thence, after the death of his father, he removed into this land in which you now live. And [God] gave him no inheritance in it, not the breadth of a foot, and promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his posterity after him, when as yet he had no son. read more.
And God said thus; that his posterity should be a stranger in a foreign land, and they shall enslave it and treat it injuriously four hundred years; and the nation which they shall serve will I judge, said God, and after that they shall come forth and serve me in this place. And he gave him the ordinance of circumcision; and so he begat Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.

By faith Abraham being called obeyed and went out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance, and went out not knowing where he was going. By faith he resided temporarily in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, co-heirs of the same promise; for he looked for the city which has foundations [fixed abodes] whose designer and builder is God. read more.
By faith also Sarah herself received power to become a mother, even beyond the usual age, because she regarded him faithful that promised. Wherefore also there were born of one, and those of one dead, [a posterity] like the stars of heaven for multitude, and like the sands on the sea-shore innumerable. All these died in faith not having received the promises, but having seen and saluted them from a distance, and having professed that they were foreigners and strangers on the earth. For those who say such things show that they seek a native country. And if they had remembered that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return; but now they seek a better, that is a heavenly [country]. Wherefore God is not ashamed of them to be called their God; for he has prepared for them a city. By faith Abraham when tried offered Isaac, and he that received the promises offered his only son,

And the chief priest said, Are these things then so? And he said, Men, brothers, and fathers, hear. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, Go out from your country and your kindred, and come to a land which I will show you. read more.
Then going out from the land of the Chaldeans, he lived in Haran. And thence, after the death of his father, he removed into this land in which you now live. And [God] gave him no inheritance in it, not the breadth of a foot, and promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his posterity after him, when as yet he had no son. And God said thus; that his posterity should be a stranger in a foreign land, and they shall enslave it and treat it injuriously four hundred years; and the nation which they shall serve will I judge, said God, and after that they shall come forth and serve me in this place. And he gave him the ordinance of circumcision; and so he begat Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs envying Joseph sold him into Egypt; and God was with him and delivered him from all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and [he] made him governor over Egypt and all his house. And there came a famine on all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers found no provisions. But Jacob hearing that there was grain in Egypt, sent our fathers the first time; and the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph's family was made known to Pharaoh. And Joseph sent and called for his father Jacob, and all the family of seventy-five souls. And Jacob went down to Egypt, and died, he and our fathers; and they carried him back to Shechem and buried him in the tomb which Abraham bought for money of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem. But when the time of the promise which God made with an oath to Abraham was at hand, the people increased and became numerous in Egypt, till another king arose who knew not Joseph. This [king] dealt deceitfully with our race, and treated injuriously our fathers, causing their infants to be exposed that they might not be preserved alive. At that time Moses was born, and was beautiful in the sight of God, and was nourished three months in his father's house; but being exposed, the daughter of Pharaoh took him up and nourished him as her own son. And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in his words and works. And when he was forty years old, it came into his mind to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. And seeing one injured he defended him, and executed judgment for the oppressed, smiting the Egyptian. And he thought his brothers would understand that God would give them salvation by his hand; but they understood not. On the following day also he showed himself to them as they contended, and urged them to peace, saying, Men, you are brothers; why do you injure one another? But he that injured his neighbor repelled him, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Will you kill me as you did the Egyptian, yesterday? And Moses fled at that saying, and lived a stranger in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons. And forty years being completed there appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, an angel in a flame of fire, in a bush. And Moses seeing it, wondered at the sight; and coming near to look at it, there was a voice of the Lord, I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. And Moses being afraid dared not look at it. And the Lord said to him, Put off your shoes from your feet; for the place on which you stand is holy ground. I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and have come down to deliver them; and now come, I will send you to Egypt. This is the Moses whom they denied, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge? Him did God send to be a ruler and a redeemer by the hand of the angel that appeared to him in the bush. This man brought them out, having performed prodigies and miracles in Egypt, and at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years. This is the Moses who said to the children of Israel, A prophet shall God raise up for you, of your brothers, like me. This is he that was with the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, who received the living oracles to give us, whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him away and turned back in their hearts to Egypt, saying to Aaron, Make us gods to go before us; for this Moses who led us up out of Egypt, we know not what has happened to him. And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their hands. And God turned and gave them up to serve the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets; Did you offer victims and sacrifices to me forty years in the wilderness, house of Israel, and take up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of the god Rephan, figures which you made to worship? I will even remove you beyond Babylon. Our fathers in the wilderness received the tabernacle of the testimony, as he that spoke to Moses charged him to make it according to the pattern which he had seen; which also our fathers receiving it in succession brought with Joshua into the possession of the nations, whom God expelled before the face of our fathers till the days of David; who found favor with God and desired to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. And Solomon built him a house. But the Most High dwells not in [temples] made with hands, as the prophet says; Heaven is my throne, and the earth my footstool; what house will you build me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? has not my hand made all these things? Stiff necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always fight against the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, you also do. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you now have become betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by orders of angels and have not kept it. And when they heard these things they were enraged in their minds and gnashed their teeth upon him. But he being full of the Holy Spirit, looking steadily to heaven saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.