A- Gen_12:1-20; Gen_13:1-18; Gen_14:1-24; Gen_15:1-21; Gen_16:1-16; Gen_17:1-27
Pgs.58-68
Ch. 12-17
SECTION III. LECH LECHA.
XII. AND the Lord said to ABRAM, Go thou away from thycountry, 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 magnifythy 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 ofthe earth shall be blessed. And Abram went away, according as the Lord had spokento him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was a son of seventy and five years inhis forthgoing from Charan. And Abram took Sara his wife, and Lot his brother’sson, and all the possessions which they possessed, and the souls whom they hadmade subject to the law in Charan, and went forth to go into the land ofKenaan; and they came unto the land of Kenaan. And Abram traversed through theland unto the place of Shekim[1] <\l > unto the plain of Moreh;[2] <\l >and the Kenaanah was then in the land. And the Lord revealed Himself untoAbram, and said, To thy sons will I give this land. And he builded there analtar before the Lord who had been revealed to him. And he ascended from thenceto the mountain east of Beth El, and spread out his tabernacle, having Beth Elon 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 tothe south. 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 ashe drew nigh to enter Mizraim he said to Sara his wife, Behold, now I know thatthou art a woman beautiful in sight; and it will be that when the Mizraee seethee they will say, This is his wife; and they will kill me, and thee willthey reserve. Say now, thou art my sister, that it may be well with methrough thee, and my life may be preserved through thy words. And it was thatwhen Abram had entered into Mizraim, the Mizraee saw the woman that she wassingularly fair; and the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and extolled her toPharaoh; and the woman was taken to the house of Pharaoh. And Abram was welltreated 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, andupon the men of his house, for the affair of Sara the wife of Abram. AndPharaoh called Abram and said, What is this that thou hast done to me ? Whydidst thou not show me that she is thy wife? Why saidst thou, She is my sister,-sothat I would have taken her to me to wife? And now, behold thy wife: take, andgo. And Pharaoh instructed the men concerning him, and they, conducted himaway, and his wife, and all that he had.
XIII. AndAbram went up from Mizraim, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot withhim, unto the south. And Abram was exceeding strong in cattle, in silver, andin gold; and he proceeded according to his encampments from the south, and untoBethel, unto the place where he had spread his tabernacle at the first, betweenBethel[3] <\l > and Ai; to the place of the altarwhich he had there made at the first: and Abram prayed there in the Name of the Lord. And Lot also, whowent with Abram, had sheep and oxen and tents. And the land could not supportthem, that they might dwell together. And there was contention between theshepherds of the flock of Abram and the shepherds of the flock of Lot; and theKenaanah and: the Pherizaah then dwelt in the land. And Abram said to Lot, Letthere not now be contention between me and thee, and between my shepherds andthy 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 ofYardena that it was altogether a watered place, before the Lord had destroyedSedom and Amorah,-as the garden of the Lord, as the land of Mizraimcoming unto Zoar. And Lot chose to him all the plain of Yardena; and Lot wentforth before, and they were separated each man from his brother. Abram dwelt inthe land of Kenaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain, and extended untoSedom. And the men of Sedom were wicked in their riches, and guilty in their bodiesbefore the Lord greatly. And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot was separatedfrom him, Lift up now thine eyes and see, from the place where thou art, thenceto the north and to the south, and to the east and to the west; for all thisland that thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy children for ever. AndI will place thy children numerous as the dust of the earth; so that as it isnot possible for a man to number the dust of the earth, so also thy sons shallnot 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 dweltin the plain of Mamre which is near Hebron,[4] <\l > and builded there an altar before the Lord.
XIV. And it was in the days of Amraphel, king ofBabel, Ariok, king of Elasar, Kedar-laomer, king of Elam, and Thidal,king of peoples, (that) they made war with Bera, king of Sedom, and withBirsha, king of Amora, Shenab, king of Admah, Shemeber, king of Zeboim, and theking of Bela, which is Zoar. All these were assembled at the plain of thefield, which is (now) the place of the sea of salt. Twelve years they hadserved Kedar-laomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. And in thefourteenth year came Kedar-laomer, and the kings who were with him, andsmote the giants who were in Ashtaroth Karnaim, and the mighty who were inChemta, and the terrible ones who were in Shaveh Kiryathaim, and the Horaee whowere in the mountain of Seir, unto the plain of Paran which lieth upon thedesert. 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 Amoraahwho dwelt in Ein-gadey.[5] <\l > And the king of Sedom, and the kingof Amoraah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboim, and tile king ofBela, which is Zoar, went forth and set the battle in array against them in theplain of the field, with Kedar-laomer king of Elam, and Thidal,[6] <\l >king of peoples, and Amraphel, king of Babel, and Ariok, king of Elasar; fourkings against five. And the plain of the field had many pits, from which, theyraised asphalta; and the kings of Sedom and Amorah fled, and they fell there;and they who remained fled to the mountain. And they took all the possession ofSedom and Amorah, and, all their food, and went. And they captured Lot and hissubstance, 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 ofMoreh Amoraah, the brother of Eshkol and brother of Aner; and they were Abram’smen of covenant. And Abram heard that his brother had been captured; and hearmed the young men born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursuedunto Dan. And he divided against them by night, he and his servants, and smotethem, and pursued them unto Hoba,[7] <\l > which was northward of Damasek. Andhe recovered all the substance, and Lot also, the son of his brother; and hissubstance he recovered, the women also, and the people. And the king of Sedomcame out to meet him after returning from the smiting of Kedar-laomer andthe kings who were with him, at the plain of Mephana, which was the king’splace of racing. And Malki-zedek, king of Yerushelem,[8] <\l >brought forth bread and wine (chemar), and he was minister (meshamesh) before EL ILLAAH,[9] <\l > and he blessed him, and said:
"Blessedbe Abram before El Illah, Whose possession is heaven and earth; And blessed be El Illah,[10] <\l > Who hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand." And he gave himone in ten of the whole. And the king of Sedom said to Abram, Give me thesouls, and the substance take thou. And Abram said to the king of Sedom, I haveuplifted my hands in prayer before the Lord God most high, whose possession is heaven and earth: if froma thread unto the sole of a sandal I take of all that is thine, (and not thatthou shouldst say, I have enriched Abram,) except of the food for the youngmen, and the share of the men who went with me, Amer, Eshkol, and Mamre, thesewill receive their shares.
XV. After these things the word (pithgama) of the Lord came to Abram in prophecy,[11] <\l >saying, Fear not, Abram: My Word (Memra) shall be thy strength, and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said,Lord God, what wilt Thou give me, and I go without a child: and this son ofbusiness (bar phargama) who is inMy house is the Damasekah Elieser? And Abram said, Behold, Thou hast not givenme a child, and, behold, the son of my house is my heir. And, lo, the word (pithgama)of the Lord was with him, saying, Thisshall not be thy heir, but a son whom thou shalt beget will be thine heir. AndHe led him without, and said, Behold now the heavens, and number the stars, ifthou art able to number them; and He said to him, So will be thy sons.[12] <\l >And he believed in the Word of the Lord, (Memra da Yeya,) and He reckoned it to him unto justification. And Hesaid to him, I am the Lord, who brought thee forth from Ura of the Kasdaee, togive thee this land to inherit it. And he said, Lord God, by what may I know thatI shall inherit it? And He said to him, Bring Me three calves, and three goats,and three rams, and a turtle dove, and the young of a pigeon. And he broughtbefore Him all these. And be divided them equally, and set the divisions adivision against his fellow; but the birds he did not divide. And the fowldescended upon the divisions, and Abram drave them away. And it was sunset, andsleep fell upon Abram: and, lo, a horror of great darkness fellupon him. And He said unto Abram, Knowing thou shalt know that thy sons will besojourners (or aliens) in a land not theirs, and they will serve among them;and they will afflict them four hundred years. And the people whom they willserve I will judge, and go forth with much substance. And thou shalt be gatheredto thy fathers in peace, and shalt be buried[13] <\l > in good old age. Andin the fourth age (or generation) they will return hither; because not (yet)complete is the guilt of the Amoraah. And it was at the going away of the sun,and there was darkness. And behold a furnace that burned, and a flame of firewhich passed between those divisions. In that day the Lord compacted with Abrama covenant, saying, To thy sons will I give this land; from the river ofMizraim unto the great river, the river of Pherat,[14] <\l > theShalmaee, and the Kenizaee, and the Kadmonaee, and the Hittaee, and thePherizaee, and the Gibbaraee, and the Amoraee, and the Kenaanaee, and theGirgashaee, and the Yebusaee.
XVI. AndSara wife of Abram had no child; and she had an handmaid, a Mizretha, and hername was Hagar. And Sara said to Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained mefrom childbearing; go in now to my handmaid, if, perhaps, I may have sons fromher. And Abram received the word of Sara. And Sara wife of Abram took Hagar herhandmaid, the Mizretha, at the end of ten years of Abram’s dwelling in the landof Kenaan, and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife; and he went inunto Hagar, and she conceived, and she saw that she had conceived, and hermistress was despised in her eyes. And Sara said to Abram, I have (a cause of)judgment[15] <\l > against thee. I have given myhandmaid to thee, and she seeth that she hath conceived, and I am despised inher eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee. And Abram said to Sara, Behold,thy handmaid is in thy hand, do to her as is pleasing in thine eyes: and Saraafflicted her, and she fled from before her. And the Angel of the Lord foundher at the fountain of water in the wilderness, at the fountain in the way ofHagra. And he said, Hagar handmaid of Sara, whence comest thou, and whither artthou going? And she said, From before Sara my mistress do I escape. And theAngel of the Lord said to her, Return to thy mistress and be subject[16] <\l >under her hand. And the Angel of the Lord said to her: Multiplying I willmultiply thy sons, and they shall not be numbered for multitude. And the Angelof the Lord said to her, Behold, thou hast conceived, and shalt give birth to ason, and thou shalt call his name Yishmael, because the Lord hath heard thyprayer. And he will be untameable by man, and he will be needy to every one,and also all men will be needy to him, and before the face of all his brethrenwill he dwell. And she prayed in the Name of the Lord who had spoken with her;and she said: Thou art Eloha, seeing all:[17] <\l > for she said, I alsohave begun to see after that He hath been revealed to me. Therefore she calledthe name of the well, The well at which appeared the Angel of the Covenant:behold, it is between Rekam and Hagra. And Hagar bare to Abram a son, and Abramcalled the name of his son whom Hagar bare Yishmael. And Abram was son ofeighty and six years when Hagar bare Yishmael unto Abram.
XVII. And Abram was son of ninety andnine years: and the Lord was revealed to Abram, and said to him, I am EI-shadai;[18] <\l > servebefore Me, and be perfect;[19] <\l > I and I will set a covenant betweenMy Word and thee, and I will multiply thee exceedingly much. And Abram fell onhis face: and the Lord spake with him, saying, Behold, I have dedicated Mycovenant with thee, and thou shalt be the father of many peoples, and thy nameshall no more be called Abram; but thy name shall be Abraham, because thefather of many peoples have I appointed (given) thee. And I will spread theeabroad very greatly, and I will appoint to thee that assemblies and kings whoshall rule the peoples, from thee shall come forth. And I will establish Mycovenant between My Word and thee, and thy sons after thee unto perpetualgenerations, to be unto thee a God, and to thy sons after thee. And I will giveto thee and to thy sons after thee the land of thy habitation, all the land ofKenaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be unto them Eloha. And theLord said to Abraham, And thou My covenant shalt keep, thou and thy sons afterthee in their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep between MyWord and you and thy sons after thee, to circumcise every male that is amongyou. And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be forthe sign of the covenant between My Word and you. And the son of eight daysshall be circumcised among you; every male in your generations, born in thehouse, or bought with money, of every son of the peoples, who is not of thysons, circumcising you shall circumcise the one born in the house, and him boughtwith money; and it shall be My covenant in your flesh for a covenant for ever.And the male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that manshall perish from the people (because) he hath made void My covenant.
Andthe Lord said to Abraham, The name of Sara thy wife shall not be called Sara,for Sarah shall be her name: and I will bless her, and I will also give thee ason from her; and I will bless her, and assemblies and kings which havedominion over peoples from her shall be. And Abraham fell upon his face andrejoiced, and said in his heart, Will the son of a hundred years have a child,and Sarah the daughter of ninety years bring forth? And Abraham said before theLord, O that Yishmael may be established before thee! And the Lord said, Inverity Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his nameIzhak; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant tohis sons after him. And concerning Yishmael I have accepted thy prayer. Behold,I have blessed him, and I will spread him abroad very greatly. Twelve princeswill he beget, and I will set him (as) a great people. But My covenant I willestablish with Izhak, whom Sarah shall bear to thee, at this time, in the yearfollowing. And when He had ended to speak with him, the Glory of the Lord[20] <\l >ascended up from Abraham. And Abraham took Yishmael his son, and every one bornin his house, and every one bought with his money, every male, the men of thehouse of Abraham, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in that very sameday when the Lord had spoken with him. And Abraham was son of ninety and nineyears, when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin. And Yishmael his son wasson of thirteen years, when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised. In thatsame day Abraham was circumcised, and Yishmael his son, and all the men of hishouse, (whether) born in his house, or bought with money from the sons of theGentiles, were circumcised with him.
[1] Sam. Ver."unto the city of Shekam."
[1] Sam. Vers."the plain or valley of vision."
[1] Sam. Vers."between Beth-chaila and Kaphrah."
[1] PeschitoSyr. ’And Abraham dwelt among the oak groves of Mare Amuroyo, which isHebron."
[1] Sam. Ver."Haphinith."
[1] Sam. Ver."Thidal, king-shultan of the Chaimai."
[1] Sam. Ver."Phoga."
[1] Sam. Ver. MalekShalem.
[1] Sam. Ver."And he was Kohen of the Most Mighty."
[1] Sam. Vers."the Most Mighty, who, a shield, hath delivered," &c.
[1] The Sam.has also benabia, "inprophecy."
[1] Sam. Vers.chalipik, "thy successors."
[1] Sam. Vers."gathered.’
[1] Sam. Vers."the river of Shalmah."
[1] Sam. Vers"oppression."
[1] Sam. Vers."humble thyself."
[1] Sam. Vers.Ath chiulah chezuah, "Thou theMighty seest." The Syriac has, "Thou art Aloha in vision."
[1] Sam. Vers.Anah Chiulah Sapukah, "I am theMighty, the Sufficient." Syr. El Shadai Aloha.
[1]Shelim.
[1] Sam. Vers."the Angel of the Lord."
[1] <\l > Sam. Ver. "unto the city ofShekam."
[2] <\l > Sam. Vers. "the plain or valleyof vision."
[3] <\l > Sam. Vers. "between Beth-chailaand Kaphrah."
[4] <\l > Peschito Syr. ’And Abraham dweltamong the oak groves of Mare Amuroyo, which is Hebron."
[5] <\l > Sam. Ver. "Haphinith."
[6] <\l > Sam. Ver. "Thidal, king-shultanof the Chaimai."
[7] <\l > Sam. Ver. "Phoga."
[8] <\l > Sam. Ver. Malek Shalem.
[9] <\l > Sam. Ver. "And he was Kohen ofthe Most Mighty."
[10] <\l > Sam. Vers. "the Most Mighty,who, a shield, hath delivered," &c.
[11] <\l > The Sam. has also benabia, "in prophecy."
[12] <\l > Sam. Vers. chalipik, "thy successors."
[13] <\l > Sam. Vers. "gathered.’
[14] <\l > Sam. Vers. "the river ofShalmah."
[15] <\l > Sam. Vers "oppression."
[16] <\l > Sam. Vers. "humblethyself."
[17] <\l > Sam. Vers. Ath chiulah chezuah, "Thou the Mighty seest." The Syriac has,"Thou art Aloha in vision."
[18] <\l > Sam. Vers. Anah Chiulah Sapukah, "I am the Mighty, the Sufficient." Syr. ElShadai Aloha.
[19] <\l >Shelim.
[20] <\l > Sam. Vers. "the Angel of theLord."