there, in that place, and said, I pray through the mercies that are before Thee, O Lord, before whom it is manifest that it was not in the depth of my heart to turn away from doing Thy decree with joy, that when the children of Izhak my son shall offer in the hour of affliction, this may be a memorial for them; and Thou mayest hear them and deliver them, and that all generations to come may say, In this mountain Abraham bound Izhak his son, and there the Shekina of the Lord was revealed unto him.

[Jerusalem. And Abraham prayed in the name of the Word of the Lord, and said, Thou art the Lord who seest, and art not seen. I pray for mercy before Thee, O Lord. It is wholly manifest and known before Thee that in my heart there was no dividing, in the time that Thou didst command me to offer Izhak my son, and to make him dust and ashes before Thee; but that forthwith I arose in the morning and performed Thy word with joy, and I have fulfilled Thy word. And now I pray for mercies before Thee, O Lord God, that when the children of Izhak offer in the hour of need, the binding of Izhak their father Thou mayest remember on their behalf, and remit and forgive their sins, and deliver them out of all need. That the generations who are to arise after him may say, In the mountain of the house of the sanctuary of the Lord did Abraham offer Izhak his son, and in this mountain of the house of the sanctuary was revealed unto him the glory of the Shekinah of the Lord.]

And the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham the second time from the heavens, and said, By My Word have I sworn, saith the Lord, forasmuch as thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thy only begotten, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy sons as the stars of the

heavens, and they shall be as the sand which is upon the shore of the sea, and thy sons shall inherit the cities before their enemies. And all the peoples of the earth shall be blessed through the righteousness of thy son, because thou hast obeyed My word.

And the angels on high took Izhak and brought him into the school (medresha) of Shem the Great; and he was there three years. And in the same day Abraham returned to his young men ; and they arose and went together to the Well of the Seven, and Abraham dwelt at Beira-desheva.

And it was after these things, after Abraham had bound Izhak, that Satana came and told unto Sarah that Abraham had killed Izhak. And Sarah arose, and cried out, and was strangled, and died from agony. But Abraham had come, and was resting in the way. And it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcha also hath borne; she hath enlargement, through the righteousness of her sister, to bring forth sons unto Nachor thy brother Uts, his firstborn, and Booz, his brother, and Kemuel, master of the Aramean magicians, and Keshed, and Chazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel. And Bethuel begat Rivekeh. These eight bare Milcha to Nachor the brother of Abraham. And his concubine, whose name was Rëuma, she also bare Tebach, and Gacham, and Tachash, and Maacha. [Jerusalem. And his concubine...and her name...]

SECTION V.

CHAIYEY SARAH.

XXIII. And the days of the life of Sarah were an hundred and twenty and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died in Kiryath Arba, which is Hebron. [Jerusalem. And Sarah died in the city of the giants.]

And Abraham came from the mountain of worship, and found that she was dead; and he sat to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up from the sight of the face of his dead, and spake with the sons of Hittah, saying, I am a sojourner and dweller with you; I pray sell me the inheritance of a sepulchre among you, and I will bury my dead there. And the sons of Hittah responded unto Abraham, saying to him, Attend to us, our lord. Great before the Lord art thou among us, in the best of our sepulchres bury thy dead: there is not a man of us who will refuse thee his sepulchre, that thou mayest bury thy dead. And Abraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the sons of Hittah. And he spake with them, saying, If it be with the consent of your mind that I bury my dead. from before my face, receive of me, and intercede for me before Ephron bar Zochar that he sell me his double cave which is built in the side of his field, for the full price in silver let him give it me among you, for an inheritance of sepulture. But Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Hittah, of all who entered the gate of his city, saying, My lord, listen to me: the field I give thee, and the cave which is in it, to thee I give it, as a gift before the sons of my people I give it to thee; go, bury thy dead.

And Abraham bowed before the sons of Hittah.

And

he spake with Ephron before the people of the land, saying. Nevertheless, if thou art willing to do me a favour, hear me: I will give thee in silver the price of the field; take (it) of me, and I will bury my dead there. And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, My lord, hear me: the land, as to its price, would be four hundred sileen of silver; between me and thee what is that? Bury thy dead. And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron, and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named before the sons of Hittah, four hundred sileen of silver, good, passing at every table, and receivable in all transactions. [Jerusalem. Four hundred sileen of silver, passing at every table, and receivable in all transactions.] And he confirmed the purchase of the field of Ephron, in which (was) the double (cave) which is before Mamre, The field, and the cave that is therein, and all the trees that were in the field, in all the boundaries thereof round about,—Unto Abraham, for a purchased possession, in the presence of the sons of Hittah, (even) of all who entered in at the gate of the city. And afterwards Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field Kapheilta which is before Mamre, that is, Hebron in the land of Kenaau. And the field and the cave therein were confirmed unto Abraham for an inheritance of sepulture from the sons of Hittah.

XXIV. And Abraham was old with days, and the Word of the Lord had blessed Abraham with every kind of blessing. And Abraham said to Eliezer his servant, the senior of his house, who had rule over all his property, Put now thy hand upon the section of my circumcision. [Jerusalem. And Abraham said to his servant, the ruler who had rule over all that was his,

3 "The Double."

Put now thy hand under the thigh of my covenant.] And swear to me in the name of the Word of the Lord God, whose habitation is in heaven on high, the God whose dominion is over the earth, that thou wilt not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Kenaanites among whom I dwell; but that thou wilt go to the land and the house of my kindred, and take a wife for my son, for Izhak. And the domestic said to him, Perhaps the woman may not be willing to come after me to this land; shall I, returning, make thy son return to the land from whence thou camest? And Abraham said to him, Beware, lest thou make my son return thither! The Lord God, whose seat is in heaven on high, who took me from my father's house, and from the land of my birth; and who spake to me, and sware to me, saying, To thy son will I give this land; He will seasonably send His angel, and thou shalt take a wife for my son from thence. But if the woman be not willing to come after thee, thou shalt be innocent from this my oath; only make not my son return thither. And the servant put his hand upon the circumcised part of Abraham his lord, and sware to him according to this thing.

And the servant took ten camels from the camels of his lord, and went for all the goodly treasures of his lord were in his hand; and he arose and went unto Aram, which was by the Pherat, to the city of Nachor. [Jerusalem. And all the goodly treasures of his lord were in his hand; and he arose and went to Aram, which is by Pherat Naharaim.] And he made the camels lie down without the city by the fountain of waters, at the time of evening, the time when the fillers (of water) come forth. And he said, Lord God of my master Abraham, prepare thou a proper woman before me to-day, and deal graciously with my master