Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.

He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.”

Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.”

And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision

When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,

And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!”

Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

Abraham Intercedes for Sodom

So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.

But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house.

For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”

And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord.

And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.”

To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.”

And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites,

Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land.

to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city.

The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder.

Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.” He said, “Speak on.”

But he said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son from my clan and from my father's house.

“Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’

Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has spoken.”

When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before the Lord.

and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the Lord before I die.’

And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.”

Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.”

Laban said, “It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.

For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?”

Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the sticks,

And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before.

and said to them, “I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me.

And she said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the household gods.

For you have felt through all my goods; what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen, that they may decide between us two.

And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom,

He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city.

These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites.

But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?”

They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him.

So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me,

Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh.

And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, “Bow the knee!” Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt.

Before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph. Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore them to him.

Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground.

Then he turned away from them and wept. And he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.

I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.

May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”

So the men took this present, and they took double the money with them, and Benjamin. They arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth. And the men looked at one another in amazement.

When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground.

For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.’

Joseph Provides for His Brothers and Family

Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.

And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.

And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.

And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Jacob and Joseph Reunited

He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him in Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen.

The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”

Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.”

Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”

And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are.

And he blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,

So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying, ‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’” Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

“Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you.

So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died:

His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.”