The Six Days of Creation

When Elohim began to fashion the sky and the land, the land was desolate and empty. Darkness was over the face of the Deep, and the breath of Elohim shook over the waters.

“May light appear,” Elohim said, and light appeared.

He saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. He called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” Evening came, and morning came: the first day.

“May an expanse appear in the midst of the waters, and may it be a division between them,” Elohim said.

He made the expanse to separate the waters beneath from the waters above, and it was so, and he called it “sky.” Evening came, and morning came: the second day.

“May the waters beneath the sky be bound to one place, and may dry ground appear,” Elohim said.

It was so. He called the dry ground “land” and the gathering of waters “sea”, and he saw that it was good.

“May the land burst with green: every kind of seed-bearing plant and fruit bearing tree.”

It was so; the land brought forth green: every kind of seed-bearing plant and fruit-bearing tree, and Elohim saw that it was good. Evening came, and morning came: the third day.

“May there be luminaries in the expanse of the sky, to divide the day and the night,” Elohim said. “May they mark seasons, days, and years, and may they be lights in the expanse of the sky to shine over the land.”

It was so; he made two great luminaries, the greater to have dominion over the day and the lesser to have dominion over the night, and also the stars, and he set them in the expanse of the sky to shine over the land, to rule over the day and the night, and to divide the light from the darkness, and he saw that it was good. Evening came, and morning came: the fourth day.

“May the waters swarm with life,” Elohim said. “May birds soar over the land, over the face of the expanse of the sky.”

He fashioned the great serpents, all life that swarms in the waters, and every kind of winged bird, and he saw that it was good. He blessed them, saying, “Bear fruit, increase, and fill the waters of the sea, and may the birds increase over the land.” Evening came, and morning came: the fifth day.

“May the land bring forth life: every kind of livestock, crawling thing, and wild animal,” Elohim said.

It was so; he made every kind of wild animal and livestock, and everything that crawls along the earth, and he saw that it was good.

“May we make humans in our image, like us,” he said. “May they subjugate the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, and everything that crawls across the land.”

He fashioned humans in his image, male and female. He blessed them, and he said to them, “Bear fruit, increase, and fill the land. Enslave it, and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all life that crawls across the land. Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant and fruit-bearing tree for food, and I have given every green plant as food to to all the wild animals, all the birds of the sky, and everything that crawls across the land.”

He saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good. Evening came, and morning came: the sixth day.

The sky, the land, and all their host were completed. Elohim finished his work on the seventh day, and he rested from all that he had done. He blessed and hallowed the seventh day, for on it he rested from all his work that he had done.

The Generations of the Skies and the Land

These are the generations of the skies and the land when they were fashioned, on the day Yahweh Elohim made them.

All of the shrubs and plants of the field had not yet sprouted, for Yahweh Elohim had not caused it to rain over the land, and there was no human to serve the earth. He formed a man from the dust of the earth, breathed the breath of life into his nose, and the man became a living being. He then planted a garden in Eden, in the east. There he put the man whom he had formed, and he caused every beautiful tree with delicious fruit to sprout from the earth. The Tree of Life was in the middle of the garden, and also the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

A river going out from Eden watered the garden, and from there it split into four rivers. The name of the first was Pishon – it encircled all the land of Chawilah, where there was gold. The gold of that land was good, and there was also resin and onyx. The name of the second river was Gihon – it encircled all the land of Kush. The name of the third river was Hiddeqel – it flowed east of Ashur. The fourth river was Perath.

Yahweh Elohim took the man and laid him in the Garden of Eden to serve and protect it.

“You are free to eat from every tree of the garden,” he commanded the man. “But, you may not eat from Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die. Now, it is not good that the man is by himself. I will make a helper for him, corresponding to him.”

He formed from the earth every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called them, that was their name. The man named all the livestock, the birds of the sky, and the beasts of the field, but he did not find a helper corresponding to him.

Yahweh Elohim caused a trance to fall over the man, and he slept. He took one of his ribs, and he shut the flesh beneath it. He built a woman from the rib which he had taken from the man, and he brought her to the man.

“This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh,” the man said. “She will be called ‘woman’, for she was taken from man. Thus, a man will forsake his father and mother and cling to his wife, and they will be one flesh.”

The man and his wife were naked, and they did not feel shame.

The serpent was craftier than all the beasts of the field which Yahweh Elohim had made.

“Did Elohim truly say you may not eat from every tree of the garden?” he asked the woman.

“We may eat from the fruit of the trees of the garden,” the woman said to the serpent, “but Elohim said, ‘You may not eat from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, or touch it, or you will die.'”

“You certainly will not die,” the serpent said. “Elohim knows that on the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.”

The woman saw that the tree was good for food, beautiful, and desirable for wisdom. She took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves and made garments for themselves.

They heard the voice of Yahweh Elohim as he walked in the garden in the day’s breeze, and they hid themselves from his face in the trees of the garden.

“Where are you?” he called to the man.

“I heard your voice in the garden,” the man said.  “I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid.”

“Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree which I commanded you to not eat from?”

“The woman you gave to me gave me the fruit, and I ate.”

“What have you done?” Yahweh Elohim said to the woman.

“The serpent deceived me, and I ate,” the woman replied.

“Because you have done this, you are cursed beyond all the livestock and all the beasts of the field,” Yahweh Elohim said to the serpent. “You will walk on your belly, and you will eat dust all the days of your life. I will put hostility between you and the woman, between your seed and hers. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”

“I will greatly increase your sorrow and your childbearing,” he said to the woman. “You will bear children in pain. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule you.”

“The earth will be cursed on your account because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate from the tree which I commanded you to not eat from,” he said to the man. “You will eat in sorrow all the days of your life. The earth will sprout thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. You will only eat bread by the sweat of your brow, until you return to the earth, for you were taken from it. You are dust, and you will return to dust.”

The man named his wife Chawwah, for she became the mother of all life. Yahweh Elohim made tunics of skin for the man and his wife, and he clothed them.

“Behold,” he said. “The man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. If he stretches out his hand, takes from the the Tree of Life, and eats, he will live forever.”

He sent him from the Garden of Eden, to serve the earth from which he had been taken. He expelled the man, and he placed cherubim and the flame of a spinning sword east of the Garden of Eden, to guard the way to the Tree of Life.

The man slept with his wife Chawwah, and she conceived, and she bore Qayin.

“I have gotten a man,” she said to Yahweh.

Then, she bore his brother Hevel. Hevel was a herder of flocks, and Qayin was a servant of the earth.

When the time had come, Qayin brought an offering to Yahweh from the fruit of the earth. Hevel also brought the firstborn of his flock and their fat. Yahweh gazed upon Hevel and his offering, but not upon Qayin and his offering. Qayin burned with anger, and his face fell.

“Why do you burn with anger?” Yahweh said to Qayin. “Why has your face fallen? Will you not be exalted if you do well? If you do not do well, sin is lying at the doorway. Its longing will be for you;  you must rule over it.”

Qayin spoke to his brother Hevel. When they were in the field, Qayin stood against him, and he killed him.

“Where is your brother Hevel?” Yahweh said to Qayin.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”

“What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the earth. Now you are more cursed than the earth which has opened its mouth to take your brother’s blood from your hand. When you serve the earth, it will not give its strength to you. You will be a pitiful wanderer in the land.”

“My iniquity greater than I can carry,” Qayin said. “Behold, today you have expelled me from the face of the earth. I will be hidden from your face, and I will become a pitiful wanderer throughout the land. Anyone who finds me will kill me.”

“For that reason, anyone who kills Qayin will suffer vengeance seven times,” Yahweh said. He put a mark on Qayin, so that anyone who found him would not strike him.

Qayin left the face of Yahweh, and he dwelt east of Eden in the Land of Nod. He slept with his wife, and she conceived. She bore Hanok, and Qayin built a city. He named the city Hanok, like the name of his son. Irad was born to Hanok, and Irad fathered Mehuyael. Mehuyael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lemek.

Lemek took two wives. The name of the first was Adhah, and the name of the second was Tsillah. Adhah bore Yaval – he became the father of those who dwell in tents with cattle. The name of his brother was Yuval. He became the father of all who play strings and pipes. Tsillah bore Tuval-Qayin. He forged every tool of bronze and iron. His sister was Na’mah.

“Adhah and Tsillah,” Lemek said to his wives. “Hear my voice. Wives of Lemek, give ear to my speech. I have killed a man for wounding me, and a youth for bruising me. If Qayin is avenged seven times, then Lemek is avenged seventy-seven times.”

The man slept with his wife again, and she bore a son. She named him Sheth, “because Elohim has given me another seed in the place of Hevel, whom Qayin killed.”

A son was born to Sheth, and he named him Enosh; then, Yahweh’s name began to be invoked.

The Generations of Adham

This is the record of the generations of Adham; on the day Elohim fashioned humans, he made them in his likeness. He fashioned them male and female, and he blessed them, and he named them “human.”

Adham lived 130 years, and then he fathered a child in his image, like him, and he named him Sheth. The days of Adham after he fathered Sheth were 800 years, and he fathered sons and daughters. All the days that Adham lived were 930 years, and then he died.

Sheth lived 105 years, and then he fathered Enosh. He lived 807 years after he fathered Enosh, and he fathered sons and daughters. All the days of Sheth were 912 years, and then he died.

Enosh lived 90 years, and then he fathered Qenan. He lived 815 years after he fathered Qenan, and he fathered sons and daughters. All the days of Enosh were 905 years, and then he died.

Qeynan lived 70 years, and then he fathered Mahlalel. He lived 840 years after he fathered Mahlalel, and he fathered sons and daughters. All the days of Qeynan were 910 years, and then he died.

Mahlalel lived 65 years, and then he fathered Yered. He lived 830 years after he fathered Yered, and he fathered sons and daughters. All the days of Mahlalel were 895 years, and then he died.

Yered lived 162 years, and then he fathered Hanok. He lived 800 years after he fathered Hanok, and he fathered sons and daughters. All the days of Yered were 962 years, and then he died.

Hanok lived 65 years, and then he fathered Methushelah. Hanok walked with the gods for 300 years after he fathered Methushelah, and he fathered sons and daughters. All the days of Hanok were 365 years. Hanok walked with the gods, and he was not, for Elohim took him.

Methushelah lived 187 years, and then he fathered Lemek. He lived 782 years after he fathered Lemek, and he fathered sons and daughters. All the days of Methushelah were 969 years, and then he died.

Lemek lived 182 years, and then he fathered a son. He named him Noach.

“He will comfort us in our deeds and in the sorrow of our hands which comes from the earth Yahweh cursed,” Lemek said.

He lived 595 years after he fathered Noach, and he fathered sons and daughters. All the days of Lemek were 777 years, and then he died.

Noach lived 500 years, and then he fathered Shem, Ham, and Yafeth.

Humans began to increase over the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them. The sons of the gods saw that the daughters of the humans were beautiful, and they took wives for themselves from whomever they chose.

“My spirit will not judge humans forever, for they are also flesh,” Yahweh said. “Their days will be 120 years.”

The Nefilim were in the land in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of the gods came to the daughters of the humans, who bore for them those champions who of old were men of fame. Yahweh saw that humanity’s evil was great across the land, and all purposes of their hearts’ thoughts were evil, all the time. Yahweh was sorry that he had made them, and his heart was grieved.

“I will obliterate from the face of the earth the humans whom I fashioned,” Yahweh said. “Humans, livestock, the crawling things, and the birds of the sky, for I am sorry I made them.”

But, Noach found favor in the eyes of Yahweh.

The Generations of Noach

These are the generations of Noach.

Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his time; he walked with the gods. He fathered three sons – Shem, Cham, and Yafeth.

The land was corrupted before the face of the gods, and it was filled with violence. Elohim saw the land, and behold, it was corrupted, for all flesh had corrupted its way over the land.

“The end of all flesh has come before me, for because of them the land is full of violence,” Elohim said to Noach. “Behold, I will ruin them and the land. Make a cedar ship with rooms in it, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. This is how you will make it – the ship will be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. Make a lantern in the ship, and finish it a cubit from the top. Put a door in the side, and make lower, second, and third levels.

“Behold, I am sending a flood over the land, to ruin all flesh beneath the sky that has the breath of life in it. All that is in the land will breathe its last. I will set up my covenant with you. Go into the ship, you and your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives. Take two, a male and a female from all life and all flesh, into the ship to live with you. Two of every kind of bird, livestock, and crawling thing will go to live with you. Take from every kind of food and gather it to you, and it will be food for you and for them.”

Noach did everything as Elohim commanded him.

“Go, you and all your house, into the ship,” Yahweh said to Noach. “I have seen that you are righteous before my face in this time. Take seven pairs from all the pure livestock, male and female, and one pair from all the impure livestock, as well as seven pairs of the birds of the skies, to keep their seed alive over the face of the land, for in seven days I will cause rain to fall over the land for forty days and forty nights, to wipe out everything that I have made from the face of the earth.”

Noach did everything as Yahweh commanded him. He was six hundred years old when the flood came over the land. He took his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives into the ship with him, away from the floodwaters. The pure livestock, the impure livestock, the birds, and all that crawls over the earth came to Noach and the ship two by two, male and female, as Elohim had commanded him.

Seven days passed, and the floodwaters came over the land. In the six hundredth year of Noach’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, the springs of the Deep burst and the floodgates opened. It rained for forty days and forty nights.

On that day, Noach went into the ship with his sons Shem, Cham, and Yafeth, his wife, and the three wives of his sons, along with every kind of life: livestock and crawling things and birds of every feather. All flesh that had the breath of life came two by two to Noach and the ship. Those who came in were male and female of every kind, as Elohim had commanded him, and Yahweh shut them in.

The flood was over the land for forty days, and the waters increased and raised the ship over the land. They strengthened and increased greatly over the land, and the ship moved over the face of the water. The waters grew more and more, until all of the high mountains under the skies were completely covered beneath fifteen cubits of water.

All flesh that crawled over the land died – birds, livestock, everything that swarms, and humans. Everything on dry land with the breath of life in its nose died. He wiped out everything on the face of the earth – humans, livestock, crawling things, and the birds of the sky. Only Noach and those with him in the ship remained.

The waters dominated the land for one hundred and fifty days. Elohim remembered Noach and the life with him in the ship; he breathed over the land and the waters decreased. The springs of the Deep and the floodgates were shut up, and the rain was restrained. The waters receded from the land, coming and going, and at the end of the one hundred and fifty days they had decreased.

On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ship rested upon the mountains of Ararat. The waters flowed and decreased until the tenth month. On the first day of the month, the peaks of the mountains could be seen.

After forty days, Noach opened a window in the ship. He sent a raven to go to and fro until the waters had dried from the land. He then sent a dove to see if the waters had abated from the earth. The dove found no resting place, and it returned to him, for the waters were still over the land. Noach reached out, took the dove, and pulled her into the ship. He waited seven more days, and again sent the dove from the ship. The dove came to him in the evening, and behold, an olive leaf was plucked off in her mouth, and Noach knew that the waters had abated from the land. He waited seven more days, sent the dove out, and it never returned to him.

In his six hundred and first year, on the first day of the first month, the waters had dried up. Noach removed the ship’s covering, and behold, he saw that the face of the earth was dry. On the twenty seventh day of the second month, the land was dry.

“Leave the ship,” Elohim said to Noach. “You and your wife, your sons and your sons’ wives. Bring all life that is with you – birds, livestock, and crawling things – so that they will swarm over the land, bear fruit, and increase.”

Noach, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went out, as did all life, crawling things, and birds, according to their families. Noach built an altar to Yahweh, and he made a sacrifice of the pure livestock and birds.

Yahweh smelled the soothing scent.

“I will never again curse the earth on account of humanity,” he said to himself. “From youth the purpose of their hearts is evil. Never again will I strike all life as I have done. For all the days of the earth, planting and harvest, cold and heat, spring and autumn, and day and night will not rest.”

Elohim blessed Noach and his sons.

“Bear fruit, increase, and fill the land,” he said to them. “The fear and dread of you will be upon all creatures of the land, all birds of the sky, all that crawls over the earth, and all fish of the sea. They have been delivered into your hand. All crawling things which have life in them will be your food. I have given you everything, as I had given you the green plants. You may not eat flesh that has its life, its blood, in it. I will require your blood for your lives, from the hand of every beast and person. I will require it from every man for his brother. Whoever spills a person’s blood will have their blood spilled by others, for humans were made in the image of Elohim. Bear fruit, increase, swarm in the land, and increase in it.

“Behold, I am setting up my covenant with you and with your seed that follows you, and with everything that is with you – birds and livestock and all that came out of the ship with you. I am setting up my covenant with you. Never again will all flesh be cut down by floodwaters. Never again will a flood destroy the land.

“This is the mark of the covenant I am taking between me, you, and all life with you, for all ages to come. I have set my bow in the clouds, and it will be a mark of the covenant between me and the land. When I send clouds over the land, my bow will appear, and I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and between all life, and never again will floodwaters destroy the living. The bow will be in the clouds, and I will see it and remember the eternal covenant between Elohim and all life in the land. This is the sign of the covenant I have set up between me and all life in the land.”

Shem, Cham, and Yafeth were the sons of Noach who went out of the ship. Cham was the father of Kena’an. From these three sons of Noach, the land was filled.

Noach became a man of the earth, and he planted a vineyard. He drank the wine and became drunk, and he became uncovered in his tent. Cham, the father of Kena’an, saw his father’s nakedness, and made it known to his two brothers who were outside.

Shem and Yafeth took a garment and put it across their shoulders. They walked backwards and covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned backwards, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.

Noach woke up from his wine, and he knew what his youngest son had done to him.

“Cursed is Kena’an,” he said. “He will be a slave of slaves to his brothers. Blessed is Yahweh, god of Shem. May Kena’an be Shem’s slave. Elohim will expand Yafeth, and he will dwell in Shem’s tents. May Kena’an be Yafeth’s slave.”

After the flood, Noach lived three hundred and fifty years. All the days of Noach were nine hundred and fifty years, and then he died.

The Generations of the Sons of Noach

These are the generations of the sons of Noach – Shem, Cham, and Yafeth. Sons were born to them after the flood.

The sons of Yafeth were Gomer, Magog, Madhay, Yawan, Tuval, Meshek, and Tiras. The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Rifath, and Togharmah. The sons of Yawan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodhanim. From these, the islands of the nations were split, each man to his language and tribe.

The sons of Cham were Kush, Mitsrayim, Put, and Kena’an. The sons of Kush were Seva, Chawilah, Savtah, Ra’mah, and Savtekha. The sons of Ra’mah were Sheva and Dedhan. Kush fathered Nimrodh, who became a champion in the land. He was a master hunter before the face of Yahweh; thus, it is said, “Like Nimrodh, a master hunter before the face of Yahweh.”

This was the beginning of the his kingdom – Bavel, Erek, Akkadh, and Kalneh, in the land of Shin’ar. Ashur went out from that land and built Nineweh, Rechovoth, Kalach, and Resen, the great city, between Nineweh and Kalach.

Mitsrayim fathered Ludhim, Anamim, Lehavim, Naftuchim, Pathrusim, Kasluchim, from whom came Pelishtim, and Kaftorim. Kena’an fathered Tsidhon, his firstborn, and Cheth, Yevusi, Emori, Girgashi, Chiwwi, Arqi, Sini, Arwadhi, Tsemari, and Chamathi – after this, the tribes of Kena’an were scattered. The border of Kena’an was from Tsidhon to Gerar until Azzah, to Sedhom and Amorah and Adhman and Tsevoyim until Lasha. These were the sons of Cham, by their tribes and languages, in their lands and nations.

Sons were also born to Shem. He was the father of all the sons of Ever, and the elder brother of Yafeth. The sons of Shem were Eylam, Ashur, Arpachshadh, Ludh, and Aram. The sons of Aram were Uts, Chul, Gether, and Mash. Arpachshadh fathered Qeynan, and Qeynan fathered Shalach, and Shalach fathered Ever.

Two sons were born to Ever. The name of the first was Peleg, for in his day the land was split. His brother’s name was Yaqetan. Yaqetan fathered Almodhadh, Shalef, Chatsarmaweth, Yarach, Hadhoram, Uzzal, Diqlah, Oval, Avima’el, Sheva, Ofir, Chawilah, and Yovav. All of these were the sons of Yaqetan. Their abode was from Mesha to Sefar, the mountains of the east. These were the sons of Shem, by their tribes and languages, in their lands and nations.

These were the tribes of the sons of Noach, by their lineages and nations, and from these the nations were split across the land after the flood.

All the land was of a single language. As they journeyed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shin’ar, and they dwelled there.

“Let’s bake bricks,” they said to one another, using brick instead of stones and tar instead of cement. “Let’s build a city and a tower, and its head will be in the sky. We’ll make a name for ourselves, or else we’ll be scattered across the land.”

Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of the humans had built.

“Behold,” he said. “All the people and their language are one, and they have begun to build this city and tower. Now, nothing will be impossible for them, and they will be able to do everything they devise. Let’s descend and mix their language, so that they won’t be able to understand one another.”

Yahweh scattered them from there across the face of the land, and they stopped building the city. For that reason, it’s called Bavel, for there Yahweh mixed the language of all the land, and from there he scattered the people over the face of the land.

The Generations of Shem

These are the generations of Shem.

Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he fathered Arpachshadh. He lived 500 years after the birth of Arpachshadh, and he fathered sons and daughters.

Arpachshadh lived 35 years and became the father of Qeynan. He lived 403 years after the birth of Qeynan, and he fathered sons and daughters.

Qeynan lived 30 years, and he fathered Shelach. He lived 330 years, and he fathered sons and daughters.

Shelach lived 30 years, and he fathered Ever. He lived 403 years after the birth of Ever, and he fathered sons and daughters.

Ever lived 34 years, and he fathered Pelegh. He lived 430 years after the birth of Pelegh, and he fathered sons and daughters.

Pelegh lived 30 years, and he fathered Re`u. He lived 209 years after the birth of Re`u, and he fathered sons and daughters.

Re`u lived 32 years, and he fathered Serugh. He lived 207 years after the birth of Serugh, and he fathered sons and daughters.

Serugh lived 30 years, and he fathered Nachor. He lived 200 years after the birth of Nachor, and he fathered sons and daughters.

Nachor lived 29 years, and he fathered Terach. He lived 119 years after the birth of Terach, and he fathered sons and daughters.

Terach lived 70 years, and he fathered Avram, Nachor, and Haran.

The Generations of Terach

These are the generations of Terach.

Terach fathered Avram, Nachor, and Haran, and Haran fathered Lot. Haran died in the presence of his father Terach in Ur Kasdim, the land of his birth. Avram and Nachor took wives. Avram’s wife was named Saray, and Nachor’s wife was named Milkah. She was the daughter of Haran, who fathered Milkah and Yiskah. Saray was barren, and she had no children.

Terach took his son Avram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Saray, and they left Ur Kasdim for the land of Kena’an, and they dwelled at Charan. Terach was 205 years old when he died in Charan.

“Leave your land and your kindred,” Yahweh said to Avram. “Go from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you, and I will magnify your name. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. Through you, all of the tribes of the earth will be blessed.”

Avram left, as Yahweh told him, and Lot went with him. He was seventy-five years old when he left Charan. Avram took his wife Saray and his nephew Lot, and all the property and people they had gathered in Charan, and they left for the land of Kena’an.

Avram passed through the land until he came to Shekhem and the terebinths of Moreh. The Kena’ani were in the land at that time. Yahweh appeared to Avram.

“I will give this land to your seed,” he said.

Avram built an altar to Yahweh who had appeared to him.

He moved from there towards the mountains to the east of the House of El, and he set up his tent with the House of El on the west and Ay from the east. He built an altar to Yahweh there, and he called on the name of Yahweh. Avram then journeyed towards the Neghev.

There was a heavy famine in the land, and Avram went down to Mitsrayim to stay there.

“I know that you are a beautiful woman,” he said to his wife Saray as they approached Mitsrayim. “When the Mitsrim see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’, and they will kill me but let you live. Say that you are my sister. For your sake, they will be good to me and let me live.”

When Avram went into Mitsrayim, the Mitsrim saw that his wife was very beautiful. The princes of Par’oh saw her, and they praised her to him, and they took her to his house. They were good to Avram for her sake, and they gave him sheep, cattle, donkeys, slaves, maids, and camels.

Yahweh struck Par’oh and his house with a great plague on behalf of Avram’s wife Saray. Par’oh called for Avram.

“What have you done to me?” he asked. “Why didn’t you tell me that she’s your wife? Why did you say that she’s your sister? I took her as my wife. Now, take your wife and go.”

Par’oh commanded his men, and they sent Avram away with his wife and all of his possessions. He went up from Mitsrayim to the Neghev with his wife, all of his possessions, and Lot. He was very rich in cattle, silver, and gold.

He journeyed from the Neghev towards the House of El, coming to the place where his tent had been before, between the House of El and Ay, to the place where he had made the altar, and he called upon the name of Yahweh.

Lot was traveling with Avram, and he also had sheep, cattle, and tents. The land couldn’t support them living together, for their possessions were great, and they were unable to dwell together. There was strife between Avram’s shepherds and Lot’s shepherds, and the Kena’ani and the Perizzi were also dwelling in the land.

“There shouldn’t be strife between me and you and between my shepherds and yours,” Avram said to Lot. “We are brothers. Isn’t all of the land before you? Separate from me. If you go to the left, I will go to the right. If you go to the right, I will go to the left.”

Lot looked up, and he saw that the whole plain of Yarden towards Tso’ar was watered like the garden of Yahweh and the land of Mitsrayim, before Yahweh destroyed Sedhom and Amorah. He chose the plain of Yarden, and he traveled eastward, separating from his brother. Avram dwelled in the land of Kena’an, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and he camped near Sedhom. The men of Sedhom were evil, and they were great sinners before Yahweh.

“Look up,” Yahweh said to Avram after Lot had separated from him. “Look out from the place where you are, to the north, to the south, to the east, and to the west. I will give all the land you are seeing to you and your seed forever. I will make your seed like the dust of the land. If anyone can count the dust, then they could also count your seed. Rise. Walk the length and width of the land, for I am giving it to you.”

Avram packed his tent, and he went to dwell at the terebinths of Mamre in Chevron, and he built an altar to Yahweh there.

At that time, Amrafel king of Shin’ar, Aryok king of Ellasar, Kedharla’omer king of Eylam, and Tidh’al king of Goyim made war against Bera king of Sedhom, Birsha king of Amorah, Shin’av king of Adhmah, Shem’ever king of Tsevoyim, and the king of Bela, which is Tso’ar. They all united in the valley of Siddim, at the Sea of Salt. They had served Kedharla’omer for twelve years, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

In the fourteenth year, Kedharla’omer and the kings who were with him attacked the Refa’im in Astarte of the Horns, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in the Plain of the Two Cities, and the Choriy at their Mount Se’ir, as far as the terebinth of Par’an in the wilderness.

They returned, and they went to the Eye of Judgment, which is Qadhesh, and they attacked the entire field of the Amaleqi, and also the Emori who were dwelling in the Valley of the Palms.

The kings of Sedhom, Amorah, Adhman, Tsevoyim, and Bela, which is Tso’ar, went out and made war in the valley of Siddim against Kedharla’omer king of Elam, Tidh’al king of Goyim, Amrafel king of Shin’ar, and Aryok king of Ellasar – four kings against five.

There were tar pits in the valley of Siddim, and the kings of Sedhom and Amorah fled. They fell there, and those who remained fled to the mountains. Kedhorla’omer and his allies took all the property and food of Sedhom and Amorah, and then they left. They also took Avram’s nephew Lot and all of his possessions, because he was living in Sedhom.

A refugee came and told Avram the Ivri, who was dwelling at the terebinths of Mamre the Emori, the brother of Eshkol and Aner, his allies. Avram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, and he brought 318 trained men from his house and pursued the captors as far as Dan. Avram divided his slaves against their enemies at night, and they attacked them and pursued them to Chovah, north of Dammeseq. He returned all of the property, women, and people, including his nephew Lot and Lot’s property.

The king of Sedhom went out to the valley of the plain, which is the Valley of the King, to meet Avram after he returned from attacking Kedharla’omer and his allies. Malkitsedheq, king of Shalem, brought out bread and wine. He was the priest of El Elyon, and he blessed Avram.

“Blessed is Avram to El Elyon, possessor of the skies and the land,” he said. “Blessed is El Elyon, who delivered your enemies into your hands.”

He gave him a tenth of everything.

“Give me the people and take the property for yourself,” the king of Sedhom said to Avram.

“I have raised my hand to Yahweh, El Elyon, possessor of the skies and the land,” Avram said to the king of Sedhom. “I will not take even a thread or a sandal strap from anything that is yours, so that you cannot say ‘I made Avram rich.’ I will take only that which the youths have eaten, and may Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre, the men who are with me, take their portion.”

After these things had happened, the word of Yahweh came to Avram in a vision, saying, “Fear not, Avram. I am your shield, and your reward will greatly increase.”

“My lord Yahweh,” Avram said. “What will you give me? I am childless, and my house’s heir is Eli’ezer of Dammeseq. You have not given me a seed, and my servant will be my heir.”

“This man will not be your heir,” said his god Yahweh. “A child of your own will be your heir.”

He brought Avram outside.

“Look towards the sky,” he said. “Count the stars, if you can count them. Thus will be your seed.”

Avram trusted Yahweh, and credited righteousness to him.

“I am Yahweh,” Yahweh said. “I brought you from Ur Kasdim to give you this land to inherit.”

“My lord Yahweh,” Avram said. “How will I know that I will inherit it?”

“Bring me a three-year old heifer, a three-year old goat, a three-year old ram, a turtledove, and a nestling.”

Avram brought everything. He cut them in half and set them side by side. He did not cut the birds. Birds of prey descended upon the corpses, and Avram dispersed them. As the sun went down, a trance fell upon Avram, and dread and darkness fell upon him.

“Know that your seed will be strangers in a land that is not theirs,” Yahweh said to him. “For four hundred years, they will serve and be afflicted. I will judge the nation that they will serve, and they will leave it with great wealth. You will go to your fathers in peace, and you will be buried at a good, old age. They will return here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Emori is not complete.”

When the sun set and it was twilight, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch had passed between the animal parts. On that day, Yahweh made a covenant with Avram.

“I give this land to your seed,” he said. “From the river of Mitsrayim to the great river Perath, the land of the Qeyni, the Qenizzi, the Qadhmoni, the Chitti, the Perizzi, the Refa’iym, the Emori, the Kena’ani, the Girgashi, and the Yevusi.”

Avram’s wife Saray had not borne any children to him. She had a Mitsri maid named Haghar.

“Yahweh has restrained me from bearing children,” Saray said to Avram. “Go to my maid. Maybe I can have children through her.”

Avram listened to Saray’s voice. In the tenth year that they had dwelled in the land of Kena’an, Saray took Haghar the Mitsri and gave her to Avram to be his wife. He slept with Haghar, and she conceived. When she noticed that she was pregnant, she cursed her mistress.

“You’re responsible for my pain,” Saray said to Avram. “I gave my maid to you, and when she saw that she was pregnant, she cursed me. May Yahweh judge between me and you.”

“Your maid is in your hands,” Avram said. “Do with her what you feel is right.”

Saray oppressed her, and Haghar fled. A messenger of Yahweh found her near a spring in the wilderness along the road to Shur.

“Haghar, maid of Saray, where have you come from and where are you going?” he said.

“I fled from my mistress, Saray,” she said.

“Return to your mistress and submit to her hand. I will magnify your seed, and they will be too many to count. You are pregnant, and you will bear a son. You will name him Yishma’el, for Yahweh has heard your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him. He will dwell before all of his brothers.”

She called upon the name of Yahweh.

“You are a god of sight,” she said. “Have I seen the one who sees me?”

For that reason, the spring between Qadhesh and Baredh is called “The Well of the Living One who Sees Me.”

Haghar bore Avram a son, and he named him Yishma’el. When Yishma’el was born, Avram was eighty-six years old.

When Avram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to him.

“I am the Destroyer,” he said. “Walk before me and be perfect. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and I will magnify you exceedingly.”

Avram fell upon his face, and Elohim spoke to him.

“My covenant is with you. You will be the father of an abundance of nations. You will no longer be named Avram. Your name will be Avraham, for I have made you a father of an abundance of nations. I will make you very fruitful. I will make you into nations, and kings will go out from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you forever in their generations, and I will be Elohim to you and your seed after you.

“I will give the land that you are staying in, all the land of Kena’an, as an eternal possession for you and your seed after you, and I will be Elohim to them. You will preserve my covenant, you and your seed after you, through their generations.

“This is my covenant which you will keep between me, you, and your seed after you: you will cut all the males among you. You will be cut in the flesh of your foreskin, and it will be a mark of the covenant between me and you. Through your generations, all males among you will be cut on the eighth day, both those born of your house and those purchased with silver from foreigners who are not your seed. Those born of your house or purchased with silver must be cut. My eternal covenant will be in their flesh. Any male whose foreskin is not cut will be cut off from his people, for he has broken my covenant.

“Do not call your wife Saray, for Sarah is her name. I will bless her, and through her I will give you a son. I will bless her, and she will become nations. Kings of nations will come from her.”

Avraham fell upon his face and laughed.

“Will a son be born to a man who is one hundred years old?” he asked himself. “Will Sarah bear children at ninety? If only Yishma’el could live before you.”

“Truly, your wife Sarah will bear you a son,” Elohim said. “You will name him Yitschaq, and I will establish my covenant with him, an eternal covenant with his seed after him. As for Yishma’el, I have heard you. I have blessed him. I will make him fruitful and magnify him greatly. He will father twelve lords, and I will make him a great nation. But, I will establish my covenant with Yitschaq whom Sarah will bear to you one year from now.”

Elohim finished speaking to Avraham, and he ascended from him. On that same day, Avraham took all the males of his house – his son Yishma’el, everyone born of his house, and everyone purchased with silver – and he cut the flesh of their foreskin, as Elohim had told him. He was ninety-nine years old when he cut the flesh of his foreskin, and his son Yishma’el was thirteen years old. On that very day, Avraham and his son Yishma’el were circumcised, along with all of the men born of his house and all of those purchased from foreigners with silver.

Yahweh appeared to Avraham at the terebinths of Mamre, while he was sitting near the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. Avraham looked up, and he saw three men standing near him. He ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them, and he bowed to the ground.

“My lords,” he said. “If I’ve found favor in your eyes, please don’t pass by your slave. Please, let a little water be brought to wash your feet, and rest under the tree. I’ll get a little bread to refresh you, and then you can pass on. This is why you’ve come upon your slave.”

“Do as you’ve said,” they said.

Avraham hurried into the tent to Sarah.

“Quickly knead three measures of fine flour and make cakes,” he said.

He ran to the cattle and took a good, tender calf, and he gave it to a youth to prepare, then he set curds, milk, and the prepared calf before the men. While they ate, he stood near them beneath the tree.

“Where is your wife, Sarah?” they said.

“She’s in the tent,” Avraham said.

“I will return to you in this season, and your wife Sarah will have a son.”

Sarah heard from the entrance to the tent which was behind them. Avraham and Sarah were old, and she was past the age of childbearing. She laughed to herself.

“Will I have this pleasure now that I am worn out and my lord is old?” she asked.

“Why did Sarah laugh?” Yahweh said. “Why did she ask if she would bear a child, even if she is old?”

“Is anything too difficult for Yahweh? I will return to you at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

Sarah denied this.

“I did not laugh,” she said, because she was afraid.

“No,” he said. “You did laugh.”

The men arose from there and looked to Sedhom. Avraham walked with them, to send them off.

“Should I hide from Avraham what I am going to do?” Yahweh asked. “Avraham will be a great, vast nation, and all the nations of the land will be blessed through him. I know him, that he will command his sons and his house after him to do righteousness and judgement, so that I can bring upon him the things I’ve spoken of.

“The outcry of Sedhom and Amorah is great, and their sin is very heavy. I will descend and see if what they have done is as I have heard, and if not, I will know.”

The men turned from there and went to Sedhom, but Avraham was standing before Yahweh. He approached him.

“Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” he asked. “Maybe there are fifty righteous ones in the midst of the city. Will you sweep them away and not spare the place for the sake of the righteous? Surely you wouldn’t do this, to let the righteous die with the wicked and be treated the same? Shouldn’t the judge of the all the land do what is just?”

“If I find fifty righteous people in the midst of the city of Sedhom, I will spare the whole place on their account,” Yahweh said.

“I have dared to speak to my lord, though I am dust and ash,” Avraham answered. “What if there are forty-five righteous people? Would you destroy the entire city because of those five?”

“I will not destroy the city if I find forty-five righteous people there.”

Again, Avraham spoke to him.

“What if forty righteous people are found there?”

“I will not destroy the city on account of the forty.”

“May my lord not be angry, and I will speak. What if thirty righteous people are found there?”

“I will not destroy the city if I find thirty righteous people there.”

“I have dared to speak to my lord. What if twenty righteous people are found there?”

“I will not destroy the city on account of the twenty.”

“May my lord not be angry, and I will speak once more. What if ten righteous people are found there?”

“I will not destroy the city on account of the ten.”

Yahweh left, as he had finished speaking to Avraham, and Avraham returned home.

The two messengers went to Sedhom in the evening, and Lot was dwelling at the gates of the city. When Lot saw them, he stood to call to them, and he bowed low to the ground.

“Please,” he said. “My lords, turn aside to your slave’s house, lodge, and wash your feet. Then, you may rise early and return to your journey.”

“No,” they said. “We will lodge in the square.”

Lot pressed them, and they turned aside and went into his house. He made a feast and baked matzah, and they ate. Before they lay down, all the men of Sedhom, young and old, surrounded the house. They called to Lot.

“Where are the men who came to you tonight?” they asked. “Bring them to us, so that we can have sex with them.”

Lot went outside to them, and he shut the door behind him.

“Please,” he said. “My brothers, don’t do anything evil. I have two virgin daughters. I’ll bring them out to you. Do to them what seems right to you, but don’t do a thing to these men, for they are in my care.”

“Stand back,” they said. “This one came as a foreigner, and now he judges us. We will do worse to you than them.”

They pressed against Lot to break the door. The two men reached out, pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. They blinded the men at the doorway, young and old, and the men exhausted themselves trying to find the door.

“Who is here with you?” the two men asked Lot. “Bring your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, and anyone with you in the city out of this place. We are going to destroy this place, for its outcry is great before Yahweh, and he has sent us to destroy it.”

Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, the ones married to his daughters.

“Rise,” he said. “Get away from this place, for Yahweh is going to destroy the city.”

They thought he was joking.

As dawn rose, the messengers pressed Lot.

“Rise,” they said. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you are swept away with the city’s iniquity.”

He lingered, and the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and his two daughters’ hands, for he had Yahweh’s compassion, and they led them outside the city.

“Run for your life,” one of them said when they were outside the city. “Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be swept away.”

“Please, my lords,” Lot said. “Your slave has found favor in your eyes, and in saving my life you have been exceedingly kind to me, but I am unable to escape to the mountains. Evil will cling to me, and I will die. This city is near enough to escape to, and it’s small, isn’t it? Please, let me escape there and my life will be saved.”

“I accept this,” he said. “I will not overturn this city you speak of. Hurry and escape there, for until you do, I cannot do anything.”

This is why the city is called Tso’ar.

The sun had risen over the land when Lot came to Tso’ar. Yahweh rained sulfur and fire from the sky upon Sedhom and Amorah. He overthrew the cities, the entire plain, all who dwelled in the cities, and all that sprouted from the ground. His wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Avraham rose in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before Yahweh. He looked toward Sedhom, Amorah, and all the land of the plain, and he saw fumes rising from the land like a kiln. When Elohim destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Avraham, and he sent Lot from the midst of the destruction that overthrew the cities where he lived.

Lot left Tso’ar and dwelled in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters, for he was afraid to dwell in Tso’ar.

“Our father is old,” the firstborn said to the younger. “There is no man in the land who can marry us, as is the custom everywhere. Come, let’s give our father wine, and then we can sleep with him and preserve our seed through our father.”

That night, they gave their father wine. The firstborn went and slept with her father, and he didn’t know when she lay and when she rose.

“I slept with my father last night,” the firstborn said to the younger in the morning. “Tonight, we’ll give him more wine. Go, sleep with him, and we will preserve our seed through our father.”

That night, they gave wine to their father again. The younger one went and slept with him, and he didn’t know when she lay and when she rose. The two daughters of Lot conceived by their father.

The firstborn bore a son, and she named him Mo’av. He is the father of Mo’av today. The younger also bore a son, and she named him Ben-Ammiy. He is the father of Ammon today.

Avraham journeyed from there and went toward the land of the Neghev. He dwelled between Qadhesh and Shuv, and then he stayed in Gerar.

“She is my sister,” Avraham said concerning Sarah, his wife.

Avimelek, king of Gerar, sent for her and took her. Elohim came to Avimelek in a dream one night.

“You will die because of the woman you took,” he said. “A lord already rules over her.”

Avimelek had not approached her.

“My lord,” he said. “Would you destroy a righteous nation? Didn’t he tell me that she is his sister? And didn’t she say that he is her brother? I’ve done this with an innocent heart and pure hands.”

“I know that you did this with an innocent heart,” Elohim said. “I withheld you from sinning against me. That’s why I didn’t let you touch her. Now, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet. He will intervene for you, and you will life. If you do not return her, know that you and all your people will surely die.”

Avimelek rose in the morning. He called all his slaves and repeated all of these words, and they were terrified. Avimelek called Avraham.

“What did you do to us?” he asked. “What sin have I committed against you, that you would bring such a great offense on me and my kingdom? You have done things to me which should not be done. What did you see that made you do this?”

“I said, ‘there is no fear of Elohim in this place,'” Avraham said. “They will kill me because of my wife. And truly, she is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, so I married her. When the gods made me wander away from the house of my father, I said to her, ‘This is the your kindness you can do for me: everywhere we go, say that I am your brother.'”

Avimelek took sheeps, cattle, slaves, and maids, and he gave them to Avraham, and he returned Sarah, his wife, to him.

“My land is before you,” Avimelek said. “Dwell wherever you see fit.”

“I’ve given one thousand pieces of silver to your brother,” he said to Sarah. “It is a covering of the eyes, before everybody here.”

She was vindicated. Avraham prayed to Elohim, and Elohim healed Avimelek, his wife, and his maids, and they bore children, for Yahweh had closed up all of the wombs of Avimelek’s house because of Sarah, Avraham’s wife.

Yahweh visited Sarah, as he had said, and did to her as he had spoken. She conceived, and she bore a son to Avraham in his old age, at the time Elohim had mentioned. Avraham named his son whom Sarah had borne Yitschaq. On the eighth day, he cut his son Yitschaq, as Elohim had commanded him. He was 100 years old when his son was born.

“Elohim has given me laughter,” Sarah said. “Everyone who hears this will laugh with me. Who would have said to Avraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet, I have borne him a son in his old age.”

The child grew and was weaned, and Avraham made a great feast on the day that Yitschaq was weaned. Sarah saw the son of Haghar the Mitsri, whom she had borne to Avraham, laughing.

“Drive out this maid and her son,” she said to Avraham. “The son of this maid will not inherit alongside my son, Yitschaq.”

This greatly afflicted Avraham, for the sake of his son.

“Don’t be upset because of the youth or your maid,” Elohim said to Avraham. “Listen to everything Sarah tells you, for it is through Yitschaq that your seed will be named. I will make your maid’s son a nation as well, for he is your seed.”

Avraham rose in the morning. He took bread and a skin of water, and he gave them to Haghar, and he put the child on her shoulder. He sent her away to wander in the wilderness of the Pit of the Oath. When the water from the skin was gone, Hagher threw the child beneath a shrub. She walked off and sat a bowshot away.

“I won’t watch the child die,” she said, and she raised her voice and wept.

Elohim heard the youth’s voice, and the messenger of Elohim called to Haghar from the skies.

“What’s wrong, Haghar?” he asked. “Don’t fear, for Elohim has heard the youth’s voice.Rise. Carry the youth. Hold him in your hand, for I will make him a great nation.”

Elohim opened her eyes, and she saw a well. She went and filled the skin with water, and gave a drink to the youth. Elohim was with him. He grew and dwelled in the wilderness, and became a great archer. He dwelled in the wilderness of Pa’ran, and his mother gave him a wife from the land of Mitsrayim.

“Elohim is with you in all that you do,” said Avimelek and Pikhol, the prince of his hosts, to Avraham at that time. “Now, swear to me here by Elohim that you won’t cheat me or my offspring. Show the same kindness to me and to the land that you’re staying in that I have shown to you.”

“I swear,” said Avraham.

Avraham complained to Avimelek because his slaves had seized a well.

“I don’t know who did this,” Avimelek said. “You did not tell me, and I didn’t hear about it until today.”

Avraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Avimelek, and they made a covenant. Avraham set seven lambs from the flock by themselves.

“What are these seven lambs that are set by themselves?” asked Avimelek.

“Take these seven lambs from me as a testimony that I dug this well.”

For this reason, that place is called the Pit of the Oath, for the two of them swore an oath there. They made a covenant at the Pit of the Oath. Avimelek and Pikhol, prince of his hosts, rose and returned to the land of the Pelishtim. Avraham planted a tamarisk at the Pit of the Oath, and he called upon the name of Yahweh El Olam. Avraham stayed in the land of the Pelishtim for many days.

After these things had happened, Elohim tested Avraham.

“Avraham,” he said.

“I am here,” Avraham said.

“Take your only son Yitschaq, whom you love, and travel to the land of Moriyyah. There, raise him up as a sacrifice upon the one of the mountains that I will show you.”

In the morning, Avraham got up early and saddled his donkey, and he took two youths and his son Yitschaq with him. He cut wood for the sacrifice, and then he rose and went to the place that Elohim had told him about. On the third day, Avraham looked up and saw the place from a distance.

“Wait here with the donkey,” Avraham said to the youths. “The youth and I will go up there, prostrate ourselves, and return to you.”

Avraham took the wood for the sacrifice, and he put it on his son Yitschaq. He took the fire and the knife, and the two of them left together.

“Father,” Yitschaq said to Avraham.

“I’m here, my son,” Avraham said.

“I see the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the sacrifice?”

“Elohim will provide the sheep for the sacrifice, my son.”

The two of them walked together. They came to the place Elohim had told him about, and Avraham built an altar there. He arranged the wood, and he tied up Yitschaq his son. He then put him on the altar, on top of the wood. Avraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. The messenger of Yahweh called to him from the skies.

“Avraham, Avraham,” he said.

“I’m here,” Avraham said.

“Don’t put your hand on the youth. Don’t do anything to him, for now I know you fear Elohim. You did not withhold your only son from me.”

Avraham looked up and saw a ram with its horns caught in a thicket. He went and took it, and he sacrificed it in place of his son. Avraham named that place Yahweh Provides. Today, it is said on Yahweh’s mountain, he will provide.

The messenger of Yahweh called to Avraham from the skies for a second time.

“I swear by myself that this is the declaration of Yahweh,” he said. “Because you did this and did not withhold your only son from me, I will surely bless you and increase your seed like the stars of the skies and the sand upon the seashore. Your seed will possess the gate of his enemies. Through your seed, all the nations across the land will be blessed, because you listened to my voice.”

Avraham returned to the youths. They rose and left together for the Pit of the Oath, and they dwelled there.

After these things had happened, it was told to Avraham that Milkah had also borne sons to his brother Nachor: Uts, his firstborn, Buz, his brother, Qemuel, the father of Aram, Kesedh, Chazo, Pildash, Yidhlaf, and Bethu’el. Bethu’el fathered Rivqah. Milkah bore these eight to Nachor, Avraham’s brother. His concubine Re’umah bore Tevach, Gacham, Tachash, and Ma’khah.

Sarah lived 127 years. She died in the City of the Four, which is Chevron, in the land of Kena’an, and Avraham mourned and wept for Sarah. Avraham rose up from his dead, and he spoke to the sons of Cheth.

“I am a stranger and foreigner among you,” he said. “Give me a burial site, and I will bury my dead out of my sight.”

The sons of Cheth answered him.

“Listen to us, my lord,” they said. “You are a prince of Elohim among us. Bury your dead in our best grave. None of us will withhold his grave from you to bury your dead.”

Avraham rose, and he bowed to the people of the land, to the sons of Cheth.

“If it’s your will that I bury my dead, then listen to me and meet with Efron, son of Tsochar, for me,” he said. “Give me the cave of Makhpelah. He owns it, and it’s at the end of his field. I’ll pay the full price before you for the burial site.”

Efron the Chittiy was sitting among the sons of Cheth. He answered Avraham before all the sons of Cheth at the gate of his city.

“No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me. I’ll give you the field and the cave, here in the sight of the sons of my people. Bury your dead.”

Avraham bowed before the people of the land.

“Listen to me,” he said. “I’ll give you silver for the field. Take it from me, and I’ll bury my dead there.”

Efron answered Avraham.

“My lord, listen to me. The land is worth 400 sheqels of silver. What is that between us? Bury your dead.”

Avraham heard Efron, and he weighed out the silver that had been spoken of in the hearing of the sons of Cheth – 400 sheqels of silver, according to the merchants. Efron’s field in Makhpelah, facing Mamre – the field, the cave within it, and all the trees within the borders of the field – was handed over to Avraham, in the sight of all the sons of Cheth who were at the city’s gate.

After, Avraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field of Makhpelah, facing Mamre, which is Hevron, in the land of Kena’an. The field and the cave within it were handed over to Avraham as a burial site from the sons of Cheth.

Avraham was old, and Yahweh blessed Avraham in every way.

“Put your hand under my thigh,” Avraham said to the eldest slave of his house, who ruled over all his property. “Swear to me by Yahweh, god of the skies and the land, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Kena’ani with whom I am living. Go to the land of my birth and take a wife for my son Yitschaq.”

“What if no woman is willing to follow me back to this land?” the slave asked. “Shall I return your son to the land from which you came?”

“Do not return my son there,” Avraham said to him.

“Yahweh, god of the skies, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, who spoke to me, who swore to me, said, ‘I will give this land to your seed.’ He will send his messenger before you, and you will bring a woman to my son from there. If she is unwilling to follow you back, then you are released from this oath, but you will not return my son there.”

His slave put his hand under the thigh of his lord Avraham, and he swore these things to him. The slave took ten of his lord’s camels, loaded with all kinds of good things from his lord. He left for Aram of the Rivers, for the city of Nachor.

He made the camels kneel outside the city at evening, near a well. It was the time when women would go to draw water.

“Yahweh,” he said. “God of my lord, Avraham. Give me success today, and show kindness to my lord, Avraham. I am standing at the well, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. May it be the maiden to whom I say ‘please, hand me your jar so that I may drink.’ May she say, ‘drink, and I’ll also give a drink to your camels.’ May she be the one whom you chose for your slave Yitschaq. In this, I will know you’ve done kindness to my lord.”

Before he had finished saying this, Rivqah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was born to Bethu’el son of Milkah, wife of Nachor, the brother of Avraham. She was very beautiful and a virgin. No man had slept with her. She went down to the well, filled her jar, and came back up.

The slave ran to meet her.

“Please,” he said. “May I have a little water from your jar?”

“Drink, my lord,” she said, and she quickly handed her jar to him to give him a drink.

“I’ll also draw water for your camels, until they’ve had enough to drink,” she said, after she had given him a drink. She quickly emptied her jar into trough, and again ran to the well to draw water for his camels.

The man watched her silently to see if Yahweh had made his journey successful or not. When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold ring, weighing half a sheqel, and two bracelets weighing ten sheqels.

“Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “Please, tell me. Is there room at your father’s house for us to lodge?”

“I am the daughter of Bethu’el’,” she said. “Whom Milkah bore to Nachor. We have plenty of straw and fodder with us, and a place to lodge.”

The man bowed and worshipped Yahweh.

“Blessed is Yahweh, god of my lord, Avraham,” he said. “He did not forsake his kindness and his truth from my lord. Yahweh has led me down the path to the house of my lord’s brother.”

The maiden ran to tell these words to her mother’s house. Rivqah had a brother named Lavan. He ran out to the man by the well as soon has he had seen the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s hands and heard what she had to say. He found the man standing with his camels by the well.

“Come, blessed of Yahweh,” he said. “Why are you standing outside? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”

The man went toward the house and unloaded the camels. He gave them straw and fodder, and also water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. Food was put before him to eat.

“I will not eat until I say what I have come to say,” the slave said.

“Speak,” Lavan said.

“I am Avraham’s slave,” he said. “Yahweh has greatly blessed my lord, and he has become great. He has given him sheep, cattle, silver, gold, slaves, maids, camels, and donkeys. My lord’s wife Sarah bore him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. My lord made me swear to him, saying, ‘don’t take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Kena’ani, in whose land I am dwelling. Instead, go to my father’s house, to my tribe, and take a wife for my son.’

“I said to my lord, ‘perhaps no woman will follow me back.’ He told me, ‘Yahweh, before whom I walk, will send his messenger with you to make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my tribe and from my father’s house. Then, you will be released from my oath, for you will have gone to my tribe. If they do not give a woman to you, then you will be released from my oath.’

“Today, I went to the well, and I said, ‘Yahweh, god of my lord Avraham, please make this journey I am making successful. I am standing by the well. May a girl go out to draw water, and if I say to her, ‘please, let me drink a little water from your jar,’ and she says to me, ‘you may drink, and I’ll also draw water for your camels,’ then may she be the woman whom Yahweh has chosen for my lord’s son.’

“Before I finished speaking to myself, Rivqah came out with her jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the well. She drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please, may I have a drink?’ She quickly handed me her jar, and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water, too.’ I drank, and she gave water to my camels.

“‘Whose daughter are you?’ I asked. ‘Bethu’el son of Nachor, whom Milkah bore to him,’ she said. I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her hands. I bowed and worshipped Yahweh, and I blessed Yahweh, god of my lord, Avraham, who led me on a true path to take the daughter of my lord’s brother to his son. Now, if you will deal kindly and truthfully with my lord, tell me, and if not, tell me, and I will turn to the right or the left.”

“This word comes from Yahweh,” said Lavan and Bethu’el. “We cannot tell you right or wrong. Here is Rivqah. Take her and go, and may she be your lord’s son’s wife, as Yahweh said.”

When Avraham’s slave heard their words, he bowed low to Yahweh. He brought out silver and gold jewelry and clothing, and he gave them to Rivqah. He also gave valuables to her brother and mother. He and the men with him ate and drank, and they lodged for the night. In the morning, they rose.

“Send me to my lord,” he said.

“Let the maiden dwell with us for ten days or so,” said her brother and mother. “After that, she can go.”

“Don’t detain me,” he said to them. “Yahweh has made my journey successful. Send me to my lord.”

“Let’s call the maiden and ask what she thinks,” they said.

They called Rivqah.

“Will you go with this man?” they asked.

“I will,” she said.

They sent Rivqah, her nurse, Avraham’s slave, and his men on their way. They blessed Rivqah.

“Our sister,” they said. “May you become tens of thousands, and may your seed inherit the gates of those they hate.”

Rivqah and her maids rose and rode upon the camels, and they followed the man, and the slave took Rivqah and left.

Yitschaq came from the Well of the Living One who Sees Me. He was dwelling in the land of the Neghev. He went out to meditate in the field as it became evening. He looked up and saw camels coming.

Rivqah looked up and saw Yitschaq, and she fell from her camel.

“Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?” she asked the slave.

“He is my lord,” the slave said.

She took her veil and covered herself. The slave recounted to Yitschaq everything that he had done. Yitschaq brought her to the tent of his mother, Sarah. He took Rivqah as his wife, and he loved her, and he was comforted for the loss of his mother.

Avraham took another wife, whose name was Qeturah. She bore to him Zimran, Yaqeshan, Medhan, Midhyan, Yishbaq, and Shuach. Yaqeshan fathered Sheva and Dedhan, and the sons of Dedhan were Ashurim, Letushim, and Le’ummim. The sons of Midhyan were Eyfah, Efer, Chanok, Avidhah, and Elda’ah. All of these were the sons of Qeturah.

Avraham gave all of his possessions to Yitschaq. While he was still alive, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines. He sent them away from Yitschaq, his son, to a land in the east.

Avraham lived 175 years. He breathed out and died at a good age, old and satisfied, and he was gathered to his people. His sons, Yitschaq and Yishma’el, buried him in the cave of Makhpelah, in the field of Efron son of Tsochar the Chittiy, facing Mamre, which he had gotten from the sons of Cheth. There, Avraham was buried with his wife, Sarah.

After Avraham’s death, Elohim blessed his son, Yitschaq. Yitschaq dwelled at the Well of the Living One who Sees Me.

The Generations of Yishma’el

These are the generations of Yishma’el son of Avraham, whom Haghar the Mitsri, maid of Sarah, bore to Avraham.

These are the names of Yishma’el’s sons, by their names and according to their generations: Nevayoth the firstborn, Qedhar, Adhbe’el, Mivsam, Mishma, Dhumah, Massa, Chadhadh, Theyma, Yetur, Nafiysh, and Qedhemah. These are the sons of Yishma’el, and these are their names according to their villages and fortresses: twelve lords of their tribes.

Yishma’el lived 137 years. He breathed out, died, and was gathered to his people. His sons settled from Chawilah to Shur near Mitsrayim, in the direction of Ashur. He died in the presence of all his brothers.

The Generations of Yitschaq

These are the generations of Yitschaq, son of Avraham.

Avraham fathered Yitschaq. He was forty years old when he married Rivqah, daughter of Bethu’el the Aramiy of the Field of Aram, sister of Lavan the Aramiy.

Yitschaq prayed to Yahweh on his wife’s behalf, for she was barren. Yahweh heard him, and his wife Rivqah conceived. Her sons fought one another inside her.

“Why is this happening to me?” she asked, and she sought Yahweh.

“Two nations are in your belly,” Yahweh said to her. “From your bowels, two peoples will be divided. One will be stronger than the other, and the greater will serve the lesser.”

There were twins in her belly when her time came to give birth. The first came out entirely red, like a hairy cloak. They named him Esaw. Next, his brother came out, and his hand was grasping Esaw’s heel. He was named Ya’aqov. Yitschaq was sixty years old when Rivqah bore sons to him.

The youths grew up. Esaw was a hunter and a man of the field, while Ya’aqov was a peaceful tent-dweller. Yitschaq, who ate game, loved Esaw, while Rivqah loved Ya’aqov.

Ya’aqov was boiling stew, and Esaw came in weary from the field.

“Give me that red stuff,” Esaw said to Ya’aqov. “I’m weary.” For this reason, he is called Edhom. ­­­

“Sell me your birthright, right now,” Ya’aqov said.

“I’m going to die. What do I care about my birthright?”

“Swear it to me, today.”

Esaw swore to him, and he sold his birthright to Ya’aqov. Ya’aqov gave Esaw bread and lentil stew. Esaw ate and drank, then he rose and left, and he despised his birthright.

There was a famine in the land, besides the earlier famine that happened in the days of Avraham. Yitschaq went to Gerar, to Avimelekh, king of the Pelishtim. Yahweh appeared to him.

“Do not go down to Mitsrayim,” Yahweh said. “Settle in the land which I will tell you about. Stay in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I will give all of these lands to you and your seed, and I will maintain the oath that I swore to your father, Avraham. I will multiply your seed like the stars in the sky, and I will give them all of these lands. Through them, all nations will be blessed, because Avraham listened to my voice, and he kept my observances, commandments, statutes, and instructions.”

Yitschaq dwelled in Gerar. The men of that place asked about his wife.

“She is my sister,” he said. He feared that they would kill him if he said that she was his wife, for she was beautiful.

When Yitschaq had been there for a long time, Avimelekh, king of the Pelishtim, looked out from a window. He saw Yitschaq laughing with his wife Rivqah. Avimelekh called to Yitschaq.

“She’s surely your wife,” he said. “Why did you say that she’s your sister?”

“I thought I’d be killed,” Yitschaq said.

“What is this you’ve done to us? One of us could have easily slept with your wife, and then you would have brought guilt upon us.”

Avimelekh then commanded all of his people.

“Anyone who touches this man or his wife will surely die,” he said.

Yitschaq planted in that land. That year, he reaped a hundredfold, and Yahweh blessed him. He carried on, becoming very wealthy. He had flocks of sheep, cattle, and a great household, and the Pelishtim envied him. They closed up all the wells that his father’s slaves had dug during the days of Avraham, and they filled them with dirt.

“Depart from us,” Avimelekh said to Yitschaq. “You have grown too powerful for us.”

Yitschaq departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar, and he dwelled there. Yitschaq reopened the wells dug in the days of his father, Avraham, which the Pelishtim had closed up after Avraham’s death. He renamed them the same names that his father had used. Yitschaq’s slaves dug in the valley, and they found a well of living water.

The shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Yitschaq’s shepherds.

“This is our water,” they said.

Yitschaq named the well Contention, because they contended with him. They dug another well, and they also quarreled over that one, and he named it Hostility. He moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over that one. Yitschaq named it Expanse, saying, “Yahweh has given us space, and we will bear fruit in the land.”

He went up from there to the Pit of the Oath. That night, Yahweh appeared to him.

“I am the god of your father, Avraham,” he said. “Don’t be afraid. I am with you, and I will bless you. I will multiply your seed for the sake of Avraham, my slave.”

Yitschaq built an altar there, and he called on the name of Yahweh. He camped there, and his slaves dug a well. Avimelekh came to him from Gerar, with his companion Achuzzath and Pikhol, prince of his host.

“Why have you come to me?” Yitschaq asked them. “You hate me, and you sent me away from you.”

“We clearly saw that Yahweh was with you,” they said. “Please, let there be an oath between us and you. Let’s make a covenant. Do no evil to us, just as we’ve never harmed you. We were good to you, and we sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of Yahweh.

Yitschaq made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. They rose early in the morning, and every man swore to the other. Yitschaq sent them away, and they left him in peace. That day, Yitschaq’s slaves came to him and told him about the well that they had dug, saying that they had found water. He called it Oath, and for that reason the name of the city is the Pit of the Oath until this day.

Esaw was forty years old when he married Yehudith, daughter of Be’eriy the Chittiy, and Basemath, daughter of Eylon the Chittiy. They brought misery to Yitschaq and Rivqah.

Yitschaq was old, and his eyesight dimmed. He called for Esaw, his older son.

“My son,” he said to him.

“Here I am,” Esaw said.

“Look at me. I am old, and I do not know the day of my death. Now, grab your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out into the field. Hunt some game for me. Make me some of the delicious food that I love. Bring it to me and I will eat it, so that my soul can bless you before I die.”

Rivqah heard what Yitschaq was saying to his son Esaw. He went out to the field to hunt game and bring it back.

“I heard your father speaking to your brother Esaw,” Rivqah said to her son Ya’aqov. “He told Esaw to bring him some game and prepare some delicious food, so that he could eat it and bless him in the presence of Yahweh before his death. Now, my son, listen to my voice and what I’m commanding you to do. Go to the flock and bring me two good, young female goats. I’ll make the kind of delicious food your father loves. Then, bring it to your father so that he can eat it and bless you before his death.”

“My brother Esaw is a hairy man, but I’m smooth,” Ya’aqov said. “What if he touches me? He’ll know that I’m deceiving him, and I’ll bring a curse upon myself instead of a blessing.”

“Your curse will be upon me, my son,” his mother said to him. “Listen to my voice, go, and bring the goats to me.”

Ya’aqov left, and he brought the goats to his mother, and she made the delicious food that his father loves. Rivqah took Esaw’s best clothing, which were with her in the house, and she clothed Ya’aqov. She clothed his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the skin of the young female goats, and she gave him the food and some bread. Ya’aqov went to his father.

“My father,” he said.

“Here I am,” Yitschaq said. “Who are you, my son?”

“I’m Esaw, your firstborn. I’ve done what you told me to do. Please rise up, sit, and eat, so that your soul may bless me.”

“How did you find it so quickly, my son?”

“Your god, Yahweh, gave it to me.”

“Come here. Let me touch you, my son, to see if you are Esaw or not.”

Ya’aqov approached his father, and he touched him.

“The voice is Ya’aqov’s voice, but the hands are Esaw’s hands,” Yitschaq said, but he did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like his brother Esaw’s hands, so he blessed him. “Are you my son, Esaw?”

“I am,” Ya’aqov said.

“Bring the game to me, so that I can eat it and my soul may bless you.”

Ya’aqov brought it to him and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and he drank it.

“Come here and kiss me, my son,” Yitschaq said.

Ya’aqov approached him, and Yitschaq kissed him. He smelled his clothing, and he blessed him.

“The smell of my son is like the smell of a field that Yahweh has blessed,” he said. “May Elohim give you the dew of the skies, the fat of the land, and multitudes of grain and fresh wine. May people serve you, and may nations bow down to you. May you be master over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. Those who curse you will be cursed, and those who bless you will be blessed.”

After Yitschaq finished blessing Ya’aqov, Ya’aqov left his father’s presence, and his brother Esaw came back from his hunt. He also made delicious food, and he brought it to his father.

“May my father rise and eat some of his son’s game, so that your soul may bless me,” Esaw said.

“Who are you?” Yitschaq said.

“I’m your firstborn son, Esaw.”

Yitschaq began to tremble greatly.

“Then who was it who hunted game and brought it to me?” he asked. “I ate it before you came, and I blessed him, and he will be blessed.”

When Esaw heard his father’s words, he cried loudly and bitterly.

“Bless me too, my father!” he said.

“Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing,” Yitschaq said.

“He was truly named Ya’aqov. He has grabbed my heel twice. He took my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing. Have you not set aside a blessing for me?”

“I’ve made him master over you and all his brothers. I’ve given him slaves, grain, and fresh wine to support him. What, then, can I do for you, my son?”

“Do you only have one blessing, my father? Bless me, too!”

Esaw raised his voice and wept.

“Your dwelling will be away from the fat of the earth and the dew of the skies,” Yitschaq said. “You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. When you become restless, you will tear his yoke from your neck.”

Esaw hated Ya’aqov because of his father’s blessing.

“The days of mourning my father are approaching,” he said to himself. “Then, I will slay my brother Ya’aqov.”

Rivqah leaned what Esaw had said, and she sent for Ya’aqov.

“Your brother Esaw is consoling himself by planning to kill you,” she said. Now, my son, listen to my voice. Get up and flee to my brother Lavan in Charan. Dwell with him for a while until your brother’s fury cools. When that happens and he’s forgotten what you’ve done to him, I’ll send for you and take you from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”

“I’m disgusted with my life because of the daughters of Cheth,” Rivqah said to Yitschaq. “If Ya’aqov marries one of the women of this land, then what good is my life to me?”