SECTION III.

LECH LECHA.

XII. And the Lord said to Abram, Go thou away from thy country, and from the house of thy father, to the land which I will show thee. And I will make thee to (be) a great people, and will bless thee, and magnify thy name, and thou shalt be blessed. And I will bless him who blesseth thee, and him who curseth thee I will curse; and through thee all the progenies of the earth shall be blessed. And Abram went away, according as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was a son of seventy and five years in his forthgoing from Charan. And Abram took Sara his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all the possessions which they possessed, and the souls whom they had made subject to the law in Charan, and went forth to go into the land of Kenaan; and they came unto the land of Kenaan. And Abram traversed through the land unto the place of Shekim unto the plain of Moreh ; and the Kenaánah was then in the land. And the Lord revealed Himself unto Abram, and said, To thy sons will I give this land. And he builded there an altar before the Lord who had been revealed to him. And he ascended from thence to the mountain east of Beth El, and spread out his tabernacle, having Beth El on the west and Ai on the east; and he builded there an altar before the Lord, and prayed in the name of the Lord. And Abram migrated, going and migrating to the south.

7 Sam. Vers., "unto the city of Shekam.

Sam. Vers., "the plain or valley of vision."

said to Sara his wife,

And there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Mizraim, to sojourn there, because the famine was strong in the land. And it was that as he drew nigh to enter Mizraim he Behold, now I know that thou art a woman beautiful in sight; and it will be that when the Mizraee see thee they will say, This is his wife; and they will kill me, and thee will they reserve. Say now, thou art my sister, that it may be well with me through thee, and my life may be preserved through thy words. And it was that when Abram had entered into Mizraim, the Mizraee saw the woman that she was singularly fair; and the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and extolled her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken to the house of Pharaoh. And Abram was well treated on account of her. And he had sheep, and oxen, and asses, and servants, and maidens, and camels. And the Lord brought upon Pharaoh great plagues, and upon the men of his house, for the affair of Sara the wife of Abram. And Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this that thou hast done to me? Why didst thou not show me that she is thy wife? Why saidst thou, She is my sister, so that I would have taken her to me to wife? And now, behold thy wife: take, and go. And Pharaoh instructed the men concerning him, and they conducted him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

XIII. And Abram went up from Mizraim, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, unto the south. And Abram was exceeding strong in cattle, in silver, and in gold; and he proceeded according to his encampments from the south, and unto Bethel, unto the place where he had spread his tabernacle at the first, between Bethel and Ai; to the place of the altar

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9 Sam. Vers., "between Beth-chaila and Kaphrah.”

which he had there made at the first: and Abram prayed there in the Name of the Lord. And Lot also, who went with Abram, had sheep and oxen and tents. And the land could not support them, that they might dwell together. And there was contention between the shepherds of the flock of Abram and the shepherds of the flock of Lot; and the Kenaanah and the Pherizaah then dwelt in the land. And Abram said to Lot, Let there not now be contention between me and thee, and between my shepherds and thy shepherds; for men, brethren, are we. Is not all the land before thee? Separate now from me: if thou to the north, I to the south; and if thou to the south, I to the north. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw all the plain of Yardena that it was altogether a watered place, -before the Lord had destroyed Sodom and Amorah,—as the garden of the Lord, as the land of Mizraim coming unto Zoar. And Lot chose to him all the plain of Yardena ; and Lot went forth before, and they were separated each man from his brother. Abram dwelt in the land of Kenaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain, and extended unto Sedom. And the men of Sedom were wicked in their riches, and guilty in their bodies before the Lord greatly. And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes and see, from the place where thou art, thence to the north and to the south, and to the east and to the west; for all this land that thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy children for ever. And I will place thy children numerous as the dust of the earth; so that as it is not possible for a man to number the dust of the earth, so also thy sons shall not be numbered. Arise, go through the land, in its length and in its breadth; for unto thee will I give it. And Abram spread (his tent), and came and dwelt in the plain of

Mamre which is near Hebron,1 and builded there an altar before the Lord.

XIV. And it was in the days of Amraphel, king of Babel, Ariok, king of Elasar, Kedar-laomer, king of Elam, and Thidal, king of peoples, (that) they made war with Bera, king of Sodom, and with Birsha, king of Amora, Shenab, king of Admah, Shemeber, king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. All these were assembled at the plain of the field, which is (now) the place of the sea of salt. Twelve years they had served Kedar-laomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. And in the fourteenth year came Kedar-laomer, and the kings who were with him, and smote the giants who were in Ashtaroth Karnaim, and the mighty who were in Chemta, and the terrible ones who were in Shaveh Kiryathaim, and the Horaee who were in the mountain of Seir, unto the plain of Paran which lieth upon the desert. And they turned, and came to the plain of the division of judgment, which is Rekam, and smote all the fields of the Amalkaah, and also the Amoraah who dwelt in Ein-gadey.2 And the king of Sodom, and the king of Amoraah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar, went forth and set the battle in array against them in the plain of the field, with Kedarlaomer, king of Elam, and Thidal,3 king of peoples, and Amraphel, king of Babel, and Ariok, king of Elasar; four kings against five. And the plain of the field had many pits, from which they raised asphalta; and the kings of Sedom and Amorah fled, and they fell there; and they who remained fled to the mountain. And

1 Peschito Syr.,

"And Abraham dwelt among the oak groves of Mamre Amuroyo, which is by Hebron."

Sam. Vers., "Haphinith."

3 Sam. Vers., "Thidal, king-shultan of the Chamai."

they took all the possession of Sedom and Amorah, and all their food, and went. And they captured Lot and his substance, son of the brother of Abram, and went. And he had dwelt in Sedom. And (one) came from those escaped, and showed to Abram the Ivraah; and he had remained in the plain of Moreh Amoraah, the brother of Eshkol and brother of Aner; and they were Abram's men of covenant. And Abram heard that his brother had been captured; and he armed the young men born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued unto Dan. And he divided against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hoba, which was northward of Damasek. And he recovered all the substance, and Lot also, the son of his brother; and his substance he recovered, the women also, and the people. And the king of Sedom came out to meet him after returning from the smiting of Kedar-laomer and the kings who were with him, at the plain of Mephana, which was the king's place of racing. And Malki-zedek, king of Yerushelem, brought forth bread and wine (chemar), and he was minister (meshamesh) before El Illaah, and he blessed him, and said :

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"Blessed be Abram before El Illaah,

Whose possession is heaven and earth;

And blessed be El Illaah,7

Who hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand."

And he gave him one in ten of the whole. And the king of Sedom said to Abram, Give me the souls, and the substance take thou. And Abram said to the king of Sedom, I have uplifted my hands in prayer before

4 Sam. Vers., "Phoga."

Sam. Vers., Malek Shalem. Sam. Vers., " And he was Kohen of the Most Mighty." 7 Sam. Vers., "the Most Mighty, who, a shield, hath delivered," &c.