Gen 20-24 | ESV | STEP | From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur ; and he sojourned in Gerar .

1 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between ^aKadesh and Shur; and he ^bsojourned in ^cGerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, ^d“She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 ^eBut God came to Abimelech ^fin a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” 4 Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, ^g“Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning ^hagainst me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now then, return the man’s wife, ⁱfor he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you ^jand all who are yours.”

8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” 11 Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ^k‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and ^lthey will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, ^mshe is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 And when ⁿGod caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, ^osay of me, “He is my brother.”’”

14 Then Abimelech ^ptook sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “Behold, ^qmy land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given ^ryour brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is ^sa sign of your innocence in the eyes of all ^{▼▼Hebrew It is a covering of eyes for all} who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” 17 Then ^uAbraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18 For the Lord ^vhad closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

Genesis 21

The Birth of Isaac

1 The Lord ^wvisited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah ^xas he had promised. 2 And Sarah ^yconceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age ^zat the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, ^aaIsaac. ^{▼▼ Isaac means he laughs} 4 And Abraham ^accircumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, ^adas God had commanded him. 5 ^aeAbraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, ^af“God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” 7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? ^agYet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

God Protects Hagar and Ishmael

8 And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah ^ahsaw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, ^ailaughing. ^{▼▼Possibly laughing in mockery} 10 So she said to Abraham, ^ak“Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” 11 And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for ^althrough Isaac shall your offspring be named. 13 And I will make ^ama nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of ^anBeersheba.

15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19 Then ^aoGod opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness ^apand became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

A Treaty with Abimelech

22 At that time ^aqAbimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, ^ar“God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but ^asas I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.” 24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.”

25 When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech’s servants ^athad seized, 26 Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.” 27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men ^aumade a covenant. 28 Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. 29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 30 He said, “These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this ^{▼▼Or you} may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” 31 Therefore ^awthat place was called Beersheba, ^{▼▼ Beersheba means well of seven or well of the oath} because there both of them swore an oath. 32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and ^aycalled there on the name of the Lord, ^azthe Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines.

Genesis 22

The Sacrifice of Isaac

1 After these things ^baGod tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to ^bbthe land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy ^{▼▼Or young man; also verse 12} will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and ^bdlaid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, ^be“God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and ^bflaid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, ^bg“Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for ^bhnow I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, ^bi“The Lord will provide”; ^{▼▼Or will see} as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” ^{▼▼Or he will be seen}

15 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, ^bl“By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring ^bmas the stars of heaven and ^bnas the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess ^bothe gate of his ^{▼▼Or their} enemies, 18 and ^bqin your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, ^brbecause you have obeyed my voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to ^bsBeersheba. And Abraham lived at ^btBeersheba.

20 Now after these things it was told to Abraham, “Behold, ^buMilcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 ^bvUz his firstborn, ^bwBuz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 ( ^bxBethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

Genesis 23

Sarah’s Death and Burial

1 Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 And Sarah died at ^byKiriath-arba (that is, ^bzHebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3 And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites, ^{▼▼Hebrew sons of Heth; also verses 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20} 4 ^cb“I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; ^ccgive me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” 5 The Hittites answered Abraham, 6 “Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God ^{▼▼Or a mighty prince} among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.” 7 Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. 8 And he said to them, “If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar, 9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place.”

10 Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who ^cewent in at the gate of his city, 11 “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.” 12 Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. 13 And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, “But if you will, hear me: I give the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there.” 14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred ^cfshekels ^{▼▼A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams} of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” 16 Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham ^chweighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.

17 So ^cithe field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, was made over 18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 The field and the cave that is in it ^cjwere made over to Abraham as property for a burying place by the Hittites.

Genesis 24

Isaac and Rebekah

1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord ^ckhad blessed Abraham in all things. 2 And Abraham said to his servant, ^clthe oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, ^cm“Put your hand under my thigh, 3 that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that ^cnyou will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, 4 ^cobut will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” 6 Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. 7 The Lord, the God of heaven, ^cpwho took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ^cq‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ ^crhe will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then ^csyou will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant ^ctput his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.

10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to ^cuMesopotamia ^{▼▼Hebrew Aram-naharaim} to the city of Nahor. 11 And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when ^cwwomen go out to draw water. 12 And he said, “O Lord, ^cxGod of my master Abraham, ^cyplease grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, ^czI am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. ^daBy this ^{▼▼Or By her} I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”

15 Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of ^dcMilcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder. 16 The young woman ^ddwas very attractive in appearance, a maiden ^{▼▼Or a woman of marriageable age} whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.” 18 She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. 19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels. 21 The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not.

22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel, ^{▼▼A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams} and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, 23 and said, “Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24 She said to him, ^dg“I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 She added, “We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.” 26 ^dhThe man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord 27 and said, “Blessed be the Lord, ^dithe God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken ^djhis steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord ^dkhas led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen.” 28 Then the young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things.

29 Rebekah had a brother whose name was ^dlLaban. Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring. 30 As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, “Thus the man spoke to me,” he went to the man. And behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. 31 He said, “Come in, ^dmO blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.” 32 So the man came to the house and unharnessed the camels, and gave ^dnstraw and fodder to the camels, and there was ^dowater to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.” He said, “Speak on.”

34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35 The Lord ^dphas greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys. 36 And Sarah my master’s wife ^dqbore a son to my master when she was old, and ^drto him he has given all that he has. 37 ^dsMy master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell, 38 but you shall go to my father’s house and to my clan and take a wife for my son.’ 39 I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ 40 But he said to me, ‘The Lord, ^dtbefore whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and ^duprosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son from my clan and from my father’s house. 41 Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my clan. And if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’

42 “I came today to the spring and said, ^dv‘O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now you ^dware prospering the way that I go, 43 behold, I am standing ^dxby the spring of water. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,” 44 ^dyand who will say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,” let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’

45 “Before I had finished ^dzspeaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ 46 She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels drink also. 47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ ^eaSo I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms. 48 ^ebThen I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, ^ecthe God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way ^{▼▼Or faithfully} to take ^eethe daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son. 49 Now then, if you are going to ^efshow steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”

50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing has come from the Lord; we cannot ^egspeak to you bad or good. 51 Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, ^ehas the Lord has spoken.”

52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, ^eihe bowed himself to the earth before the Lord. 53 And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments. 54 And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they arose in the morning, he said, ^ej“Send me away to my master.” 55 Her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go.” 56 But he said to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master.” 57 They said, “Let us call the young woman and ask her.” 58 And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.” 59 So they sent away Rebekah their sister and ^ekher nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

“Our sister, may you ^elbecome
thousands of ten thousands,
and ^emmay your offspring possess
the gate of those who hate him!” ^{▼▼Or hate them}
61 Then Rebekah and her young women arose and rode on the camels and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah and went his way.

62 Now Isaac had returned from ^eoBeer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb. 63 And Isaac went out ^epto meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming. 64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel 65 and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. 66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was ^eqcomforted after his mother’s ^erdeath.