looked behind her, and she became a statue of salt. And Abraham ascended in the morning to the place where he had ministered in prayer before the Lord; and he looked toward Sodom and Amorah, and upon all the place of the plain land, and saw, and, behold, the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it was when the Lord destroyed the cities of the plain, that the Lord remembered Abraham, and sent Lot from the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt. And Lot went up from Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him for he feared to dwell in Zoar; and he dwelt in a cavern, he and his two daughters. And the elder said to the younger, Our father is aged, and there is no man in the earth to go in unto us according to the way of all the earth. Come, we will pour father wine, and will lie with him, and raise up sons from our father. And they poured their father wine in that night; and the elder went in and lay with her father; and he knew not, in her lying down nor in her rising up. And it was in the day which followed that the elder said to the younger, Behold, I lay yesterday with the father : let us give wine also in the night, and go thou in, lie with him, and we will raise up sons from our father. And they gave that night also wine to their father, and the younger arose and lay with him; and he knew not, in her lying down nor in her rising up. And the two daughters of Lot conceived from their father; and the elder brought forth a son, and called his name Moab : he is the father of the Moabaee unto this day. And the younger also brought forth a son, and she called his name Bar Ammi: he is the father of the B'ni Ammon unto this day.

6 Sam. Vers., beshelu shoker, "in the stillness of the morning." 7 Sam. Vers., "and we shall live in the sons of our father."

E

And Abraham said

And Abimelek,
And the word

Abimelek in a

XX. And Abraham migrated from thence to the southern land, and dwelt between Rekam and Hagra; and he sojourned in Gerar. of Sarah his wife, She is my sister. king of Gerar,1 sent and took Sarah. came from the presence of the Lord to dream of the night, and said to him, Behold, thou diest, on account of the woman whom thou hast taken, and she a man's wife. But Abimelek had not come nigh her. And he said, Lord, wilt Thou also kill the innocent people? Did he not say to me, She is my sister? And she also said, He is my brother. In the rectitude of my heart, and the cleanness of my hands, have I done this. And the Lord said to him in a dream, It is also manifest to Me that in the integrity of thy heart thou hast done this, and I have also restrained thee from sinning before Me; therefore I have not permitted thee to approach to her. And now return the man's wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for thee, and thou shalt live. But if thou wilt not return (her), know that dying thou shalt die, thou, and ail who are thine. And Abimelek arose in the morning, and called all his servants, and spake all these words before them; and the men feared greatly. And Abimelek called Abraham, and said to him, What hast thou done to us, and in what have I sinned against thee, that thou shouldst have brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin ?4 Works which are not worthy to be done hast thou done with me. And Abimelek said to Abraham, What sawest thou, that

2

3

Heb., "between Kadesh and Shur." 9 Sam. Vers., "Askelon." 1 Sam. Vers., "Shultan of Askelon."

Sam. Vers., " from becoming unclean before Me."

3 Sam. Vers., "perishing thou shalt perish."

4 Sam. Vers., "a great pollution."

5

thou didst this thing? And Abraham spake, Because I said, Perhaps the fear of the Lord is not in this place, and they will kill me on account of my wife. Nevertheless, in truth she is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. And it was, when the people erred after the works of their hands, the Lord did bring me near to the fear of Himself, from (among) the house of my father. And I said to her, This is thy favour which thou canst do for me; in every place through which we pass, say of me, He is my brother. And Abimelek took sheep, and oxen, and servants, and handmaidens, and gave to Abraham, and returned to him Sarah his wife. And Abimelek said, Behold, my land is before thee where it is pleasant in thine eyes, dwell. And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given a thousand seleen of silver to thy brother; behold, that is to thee a veil of honour, for my having sent to take thee, and to see thee, and all that is with thee; and concerning all whatever thou hast spoken thou art reproved. And Abraham prayed before the Lord, and the Lord healed Abimelek, and his wife, and his handmaids, and they were revived for the Lord had shut all the wombs of the house of Abimelek, on account of Sarah, the wife of Abraham.

:

6

XXI. And the Lord remembered Sarah as He had said; and the Lord did unto Sarah according as He had spoken. And Sarah conceived and bare unto Abraham a son in his old age, in the time of which the Lord had told him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bare to him, Izhak. And Abraham circumcised Izhak his son (when) the son of eight days, as the Lord had commanded him. And

5 Sam. Vers., "tabernacle."

"Or, "covering of the eyes."

Abraham was the son of a hundred years when Izhak his son was born to him. And Sarah said, The Lord hath made me to have gladness; every one who heareth will give me joy. And she said, Faithful is He who spake unto Abraham, and certified that Sarah should suckle children; for she hath born a son in his old age. And the child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast in the day when Izhak was weaned. And Sarah observed the son of Hagar the Mizritha, whom she bare to Abraham, deriding. And she said, Cast out this handmaid and her son; for the son of the handmaid shall not inherit with my son, with Izhak. And the word was evil exceedingly in the eyes of Abraham, on account of his son. And the Lord said to Abraham, Let it not be evil in thine eyes concerning the youth and concerning thine handmaid. All that Sarah saith to thee receive from her, because in Izhak shall thy sons be called to thee. And also the son of the handmaid will I set for a people, because he is thy son. And Abraham rose up in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave to Hagar, setting upon her shoulder, and the youth, and dismissed her. And she went, and wandered in the desert of the well of Shava (Beara de Shava). And the water was finished from the skin; and she laid the youth under one of the trees, and went and sat over against, as far off as a bow flight: for she said, I cannot see the death of the child......And she sat over against, and lifted up her voice and wept. And the voice of the youth was heard before the Lord; and the Angel of the Lord called to Hagar from the heavens, and said to her, What to thee, Hagar? Fear not, for the voice of the youth is heard before the Lord in the place where he is.

7 Sam. Vers., "in the day of the (pelututh) liberation of his son." 8 Rabia, 'a growing child.”

Arise, take up the youth and strengthen thine hand in him,1 because for a great people have I appointed him. And the Lord opened her eyes, and she saw the well of waters, and went and filled the skin with water, and gave the youth to drink. And the Word of the Lord was the Helper of the youth, and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became a master of the bow. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took for him a wife from the land of Mizraim.

And

And it was in that time that Abimelek and Phikol, chief of his host, spake to Abraham, saying, The Word of the Lord is thy Helper in everything thou doest; and now swear to me here, by the Word of the Lord, that thou wilt not be false with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son; and that according to the good which I have done to thee thou wilt do with me and with the land in which thou art a sojourner. And Abraham said, I will swear. And Abraham reproved Abimelek, on account of the well of waters which the servants of Abimelek had taken by force.3 Abimelek said, I knew not if this thing had been done, and thou also hadst not shown me, nor have I heard, but this day. And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave to Abimelek, and they struck both of them a covenant. And Abraham made seven lambs stand apart; and Abimelek said to Abraham, What are these seven lambs which thou hast made to stand apart? And he said, That thou mayest take the seven lambs from my hand, to testify for me that I have digged that well. Therefore he called that place Beer Shava, because there they sware together. And they struck a covenant at Beer

1 Or, "on him;" "hold him firmly." So the Latin, Apprehende manu tuá eum. The Samaritan Version has, "Take the youth, and fortify thy hand in him."

2. Or,

"illuminated."

te

3 Sam. Vers., " had taken fraudulently."