Genesis 24

Abraham Instructs His Servant

1 By now Abraham was old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.2 So Abraham said to the senior servant of his household who was in charge of all that he owned, “Take a solemn oath.3 I want you to swear by the Lord God of heaven and earth that you will not get my son a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I’m living.

4 Instead, you will go to the land of my relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.”
5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman doesn’t want to come back to this land with me? Should I take your son all the way back to the land you came from?”6 “Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said to him.

7 “The Lord God of heaven took me from my father’s home and the land of my family. He spoke to me and swore this oath: ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’
“God will send his angel ahead of you, and you will get my son a wife from there.8 If the woman doesn’t want to come back with you, then you’ll be free from this oath that you swear to me. But don’t take my son back there.”

9 So the servant did as his master Abraham commanded and swore the oath to him concerning this.
10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and left, taking with him all of his master’s best things. He traveled to Aram Naharaim, Nahor’s city.

Abraham’s Servant Finds a Wife for Isaac

11 The servant had the camels kneel down outside the city by the well. It was evening, when the women would go out to draw water.12 Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today. Show your kindness to Abraham.13 Here I am standing by the spring, and the girls of the city are coming out to draw water.

14 I will ask a girl, ‘May I please have a drink from your jar?’ If she answers, ‘Have a drink, and I’ll also water your camels,’ let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. This way I’ll know that you’ve shown your kindness to my master.”
15 Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.

16 The girl was a very attractive virgin. No man had ever had sexual intercourse with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came back.
17 The servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a drink of water.”18 “Drink, sir,” she said. She quickly lowered her jar to her hand and gave him a drink.19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I’ll also keep drawing water for your camels until they’ve had enough to drink.”20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the water trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels.

21 The man was silently watching her to see whether or not the Lord had made his trip successful.
22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a fifth of an ounce and two gold bracelets weighing four ounces.

23 He asked, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me whether there is room in your father’s house for us to spend the night.”
24 She answered him, “I’m the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah and Nahor.

25 We have plenty of straw and feed for your camels and room for you to spend the night.”
26 The man knelt, bowing to the Lord with his face touching the ground.

27 He said, “Praise the Lord, the God of my master Abraham. The Lord hasn’t failed to be kind and faithful to my master. The Lord has led me on this trip to the home of my master’s relatives.”
28 The girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things.29 Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban.30 He saw the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and heard her tell what the man had said to her. Immediately, Laban ran out to the man by the spring.t He came to the man, who was standing with the camels by the spring.

31 He said, “Come in, you whom the Lord has blessed. Why are you standing out here? I have straightened up the house and made a place for the camels.”
32 So the man went into the house. The camels were unloaded and given straw and feed. Then water was brought for him and his men to wash their feet.

33 When the food was put in front of him, he said, “I won’t eat until I’ve said what I have to say.”
“Speak up,” Laban said.34 “I am Abraham’s servant,” he said.35 “The Lord has blessed my master, and he has become wealthy. The Lord has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys.36 My master’s wife Sarah gave him a son in her old age, and my master has given that son everything he has.37 My master made me swear this oath: ‘Don’t get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I’m living.

38 Instead, go to my father’s home and to my relatives, and get my son a wife.’
39 “I asked my master, ‘What if the woman won’t come back with me?’40 “He answered me, ‘I have been living the way the Lord wants me to. The Lord will send his angel with you to make your trip successful. You will get my son a wife from my relatives and from my father’s family.

41 Then you will be free from your oath to me. You will also be free of your oath to me if my relatives are not willing to do this when you go to them.’
42 “When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘Lord God of my master Abraham, please make my trip successful.43 I’m standing by the spring. I’ll say to the young woman who comes out to draw water, “Please give me a drink of water.”

44 If she says to me, “Not only may you have a drink, but I will also draw water for your camels,” let her be the woman the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’
45 “Before I had finished praying, Rebekah came with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water.“So I asked her, ‘May I have a drink?’

46 She quickly lowered her jar and said, ‘Have a drink, and I’ll water your camels too.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels.
47 “Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’“She answered, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor and Milcah.’“I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists.48 I knelt, bowing down to the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham. The Lord led me in the right direction to get the daughter of my master’s relative for his son.

49 Tell me whether or not you’re going to show my master true kindness so that I will know what to do.”
50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord. We can’t say anything to you one way or another.

51 Here’s Rebekah! Take her and go! She will become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has said.”
52 When Abraham’s servant heard their answer, he bowed down to the Lord.53 The servant took out gold and silver jewelry and clothes and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave expensive presents to her brother and mother.

54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me go back to my master.”
55 Her brother and mother replied, “Let the girl stay with us ten days or so. After that she may go.”56 He said to them, “Don’t delay me now that the Lord has made my trip successful. Let me go back to my master.”57 So they said, “We’ll call the girl and ask her.”58 They called for Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?”She said, “Yes, I’ll go.”59 So they let their sister Rebekah and her nurse go with Abraham’s servant and his men.

60 They gave Rebekah a blessing:
“May you, our sister, become the mother of many thousands of children.May your descendants take possession of their enemies’ cities.”61 Then Rebekah and her maids left. Riding on camels, they followed the man. The servant took Rebekah and left.

Isaac and Rebekah Are Married

62 Isaac had just come back from Beer Lahai Roi, since he was living in the Negev.63 Toward evening Isaac went out into the field to meditate.t When he looked up, he saw camels coming.64 When Rebekah saw Isaac, she got down from her camel.

65 She asked the servant, “Who is that man over there coming through the field to meet us?”
“That is my master,” the servant answered. Then she took her veil and covered herself.66 The servant reported to Isaac everything he had done.

67 Isaac took her into his mother Sarah’s tent. He married Rebekah. She became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

Genesis 25

Abraham’s Second Marriage and His Death—1 Chronicles 1:32–33

1 Abraham married again, and his wife’s name was Keturah.2 Keturah gave birth to these sons of Abraham: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s descendants were the Assyrians, the Letushites, and the Leummites.

4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These were the descendants of Keturah.
5 Abraham left everything he had to Isaac.

6 But while he was still living, Abraham had given gifts to the sons of his concubines.t He sent them away from his son Isaac to a land in the east.
7 Abraham lived 175 years.8 Then he took his last breath, and died at a very old age. After a long and full life, he joined his ancestors in death.9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron, son of Zohar the Hittite. The cave is east of Mamre.10 This was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah.

11 After Abraham died, God blessed his son Isaac, who settled near Beer Lahai Roi.

The 12 Tribes of Ishmael—1 Chronicles 1:29–31

12 This is the account of the descendants of Abraham’s son Ishmael. He was the son of Sarah’s Egyptian slave Hagar and Abraham.13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa,15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

16 These are the sons of Ishmael and their names listed by their settlements and camps—12 leaders of their tribes.
17 Ishmael lived 137 years. Then he took his last breath and died. He joined his ancestors in death.

18 His descendants lived as nomads from the region of Havilah to Shur, which is near Egypt, in the direction of Assyria. They all fought with each other.

Esau and Jacob

19 This is the account of Abraham’s son Isaac and his descendants. Abraham was the father of Isaac.20 Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.21 Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.

22 When the children inside her were struggling with each other, she said, “If it’s like this now, what will become of me?”t So she went to ask the Lord.
23 The Lord said to her,“Two countries are in your womb.Two nations will go their separate ways from birth.One nation will be stronger than the other,and the older will serve the younger.”24 When the time came for her to give birth, she had twins.25 The first one born was red. His whole body was covered with hair, so they named him Esau [Hairy].

26 Afterwards, his brother was born with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, and so he was named Jacob [Heel]. Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.
27 They grew up. Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman. Jacob remained a quiet man, staying around the tents.

28 Because Isaac liked to eat the meat of wild animals, he loved Esau. However, Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 Once, Jacob was preparing a meal when Esau, exhausted, came in from outdoors.

30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Let me have the whole pot of red stuff to eat—that red stuff—I’m exhausted.” This is why he was called Edom.t
31 Jacob responded, “First, sell me your rights as firstborn.”32 “I’m about to die.” Esau said. “What good is my inheritance to me?”33 “First, swear an oath,” Jacob said. So Esau swore an oath to him and sold him his rights as firstborn.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau a meal of bread and lentils. He ate and drank, and then he got up and left.
This is how Esau showed his contempt for his rights as firstborn.

Genesis 26

The Lord’s First Promise to Isaac

1 There was a famine in the land in addition to the earlier one during Abraham’s time. So Isaac went to King Abimelech of the Philistines in Gerar.2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Don’t go to Egypt. Stay where I tell you.3 Live here in this land for a while, and I will be with you and bless you. I will give all these lands to you and your descendants. I will keep the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and give all these lands to your descendants. Through your descendant all the nations of the earth will be blessed.5 I will bless you because Abraham obeyed me and completed the duties, commands, laws, and instructions I gave him.”

6 So Isaac lived in Gerar.

Isaac and Rebekah at Gerar

7 When the men of that place asked about his wife, Isaac answered, “She’s my sister.” He was afraid to say “my wife.” He thought that the men of that place would kill him to get Rebekah, because she was an attractive woman.

8 When he had been there a long time, King Abimelech of the Philistines looked out of his window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.
9 Abimelech called for Isaac and said, “So she’s really your wife! How could you say, ‘She’s my sister’?”Isaac answered him, “I thought I would be killed because of her.”10 Then Abimelech said, “What have you done to us! One of the people might have easily gone to bed with your wife, and then you would have made us guilty of sin.”

11 So Abimelech ordered his people, “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death.”
12 Isaac planted crops in that land. In that same year he harvested a hundred times as much as he had planted because the Lord had blessed him.13 He continued to be successful, becoming very rich.14 Because he owned so many flocks, herds, and servants, the Philistines became jealous of him.

15 So the Philistines filled in all the wells that his father’s servants had dug during his father Abraham’s lifetime.
16 Finally, Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us! You’ve become more powerful than we are.”17 So Isaac moved away. He set up his tents in the Gerar Valley and lived there.

18 He dug out the wells that had been dug during his father Abraham’s lifetime. The Philistines had filled them in after Abraham’s death. He gave them the same names that his father had given them.
19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a spring-fed well.20 The herders from Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herders, claiming, “This water is ours!” So Isaac named the well Esek [Argument], because they had argued with him.21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one too. So Isaac named it Sitnah [Accusation].

22 He moved on from there and dug another well. They didn’t quarrel over this one. So he named it Rehoboth [Roomy] and said, “Now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in this land.”

The LORD’s Second Promise to Isaac

23 He went from there to Beersheba.24 That night the Lord appeared to Isaac, and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Don’t be afraid, because I am with you. I will bless you and increase the number of your descendants for my servant Abraham’s sake.”

25 So Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. He also pitched his tent in that place, and his servants dug a well there.

Isaac’s Agreement With Abimelech

26 Abimelech, his friend Ahuzzath, and Phicol, the commander of his army, came from Gerar to see Isaac.

27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and sent me away from you?”
28 They answered, “We have seen that the Lord is with you. So we thought, ‘There should be a solemn agreement between us.’ We’d like to make an agreement with you

29 that you will not harm us, since we have not touched you. We have done only good to you and let you go in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.”
30 Isaac prepared a special dinner for them, and they ate and drank.

31 Early the next morning they exchanged oaths. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left peacefully.
32 That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about a well they had dug. They said to him, “We’ve found water.”

33 So he named it Shibah [Oath]. That is why the name of the city is still Beersheba today.

Esau’s Marriages

34 When Esau was 40 years old, he married Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite. He also married Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite.

35 These women brought Isaac and Rebekah a lot of grief.