10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, (A)“Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for (B)now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, (C)“The Lord will provide”;[a] as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”[b]

15 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, (D)“By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring (E)as the stars of heaven and (F)as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess (G)the gate of his[c] enemies, 18 and (H)in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, (I)because you have obeyed my voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to (J)Beersheba. And Abraham lived at (K)Beersheba.

20 Now after these things it was told to Abraham, “Behold, (L)Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 (M)Uz his firstborn, (N)Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 ((O)Bethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother. 24 Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

Sarah's Death and Burial

23 Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died at (P)Kiriath-arba (that is, (Q)Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites,[d] (R)“I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; (S)give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” The Hittites answered Abraham, “Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God[e] among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.” Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. And he said to them, “If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place.”

10 Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who (T)went in at the gate of his city, 11 “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.” 12 Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. 13 And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, “But if you will, hear me: I give the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there.” 14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred (U)shekels[f] of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” 16 Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham (V)weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.

17 So (W)the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, was made over 18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 The field and the cave that is in it (X)were made over to Abraham as property for a burying place by the Hittites.

Isaac and Rebekah

24 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord (Y)had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his servant, (Z)the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, (AA)“Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that (AB)you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, (AC)but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, (AD)who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, (AE)‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ (AF)he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then (AG)you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.”

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 22:14 Or will see
  2. Genesis 22:14 Or he will be seen
  3. Genesis 22:17 Or their
  4. Genesis 23:3 Hebrew sons of Heth; also verses 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20
  5. Genesis 23:6 Or a mighty prince
  6. Genesis 23:15 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams

10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife(A) to slay his son.(B) 11 But the angel of the Lord(C) called out to him from heaven,(D) “Abraham! Abraham!”(E)

“Here I am,”(F) he replied.

12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God,(G) because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.(H)

13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram[a] caught by its horns.(I) He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.(J) 14 So Abraham called(K) that place The Lord(L) Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.(M)

15 The angel of the Lord(N) called to Abraham from heaven(O) a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself,(P) declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,(Q) 17 I will surely bless you(R) and make your descendants(S) as numerous as the stars in the sky(T) and as the sand on the seashore.(U) Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,(V) 18 and through your offspring[b] all nations on earth will be blessed,[c](W) because you have obeyed me.”(X)

19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba.(Y) And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

Nahor’s Sons

20 Some time later Abraham was told, “Milkah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor:(Z) 21 Uz(AA) the firstborn, Buz(AB) his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel.(AC) 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.(AD) Milkah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor.(AE) 24 His concubine,(AF) whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah.

The Death of Sarah

23 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. She died at Kiriath Arba(AG) (that is, Hebron)(AH) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.(AI)

Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites.[d](AJ) He said, “I am a foreigner and stranger(AK) among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.(AL)

The Hittites replied to Abraham, “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince(AM) among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”

Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar(AN) on my behalf so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah,(AO) which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.”

10 Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites(AP) who had come to the gate(AQ) of his city. 11 “No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give[e](AR) you the field, and I give[f] you the cave that is in it. I give[g] it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.”

12 Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land 13 and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”

14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels[h] of silver,(AS) but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”

16 Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver,(AT) according to the weight current among the merchants.(AU)

17 So Ephron’s field in Machpelah(AV) near Mamre(AW)—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded 18 to Abraham as his property(AX) in the presence of all the Hittites(AY) who had come to the gate(AZ) of the city. 19 Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah(BA) near Mamre (which is at Hebron(BB)) in the land of Canaan.(BC) 20 So the field and the cave in it were deeded(BD) to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.(BE)

Isaac and Rebekah

24 Abraham was now very old,(BF) and the Lord had blessed(BG) him in every way.(BH) He said to the senior servant(BI) in his household, the one in charge of all that he had,(BJ) “Put your hand under my thigh.(BK) I want you to swear(BL) by the Lord, the God of heaven(BM) and the God of earth,(BN) that you will not get a wife for my son(BO) from the daughters of the Canaanites,(BP) among whom I am living,(BQ) but will go to my country and my own relatives(BR) and get a wife for my son Isaac.(BS)

The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land?(BT) Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?(BU)

“Make sure that you do not take my son back there,”(BV) Abraham said. “The Lord, the God of heaven,(BW) who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land(BX) and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring[i](BY) I will give this land’(BZ)—he will send his angel before you(CA) so that you can get a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath(CB) of mine. Only do not take my son back there.”(CC)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 22:13 Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text a ram behind him
  2. Genesis 22:18 Or seed
  3. Genesis 22:18 Or and all nations on earth will use the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20)
  4. Genesis 23:3 Or the descendants of Heth; also in verses 5, 7, 10, 16, 18 and 20
  5. Genesis 23:11 Or sell
  6. Genesis 23:11 Or sell
  7. Genesis 23:11 Or sell
  8. Genesis 23:15 That is, about 10 pounds or about 4.6 kilograms
  9. Genesis 24:7 Or seed