The Daily Audio Bible

⁵² When Avraham’s servant heard what they said, he prostrated himself on the ground to Adonai. (v) ⁵³ Then the servant brought out silver and gold jewelry, together with clothing, and gave them to Rivkah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and mother. ⁵⁴ He and his men then ate and drank and stayed the night.

In the morning they got up; and he said, “Send me off to my master.” ⁵⁵ Her brother and mother said, “Let the girl stay with us a few days, at least ten. After that, she will go.” ⁵⁶ He answered them, “Don’t delay me, since Adonai has made my trip successful, but let me go back to my master.” ⁵⁷ They said, “We will call the girl and see what she says.” ⁵⁸ They called Rivkah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” and she replied, “I will.”

⁵⁹ So they sent their sister Rivkah away, with her nurse, Avraham’s servant and his men. ⁶⁰ They blessed Rivkah with these words: “Our sister, may you be the mother of millions, and may your descendants possess the cities of those who hate them.” ⁶¹ Then Rivkah and her maids mounted the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rivkah and went on his way.

⁶² Meanwhile, Yitz’chak, one evening after coming along the road from Be’er-Lachai-Ro’i — he was living in the Negev — ⁶³ went out walking in the field; and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. ⁶⁴ Rivkah too looked up; and when she saw Yitz’chak, she quickly dismounted the camel. ⁶⁵ She said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?” When the servant replied, “It’s my master,” she took her veil and covered herself.

⁶⁶ The servant told Yitz’chak everything he had done. ⁶⁷ Then Yitz’chak brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent and took Rivkah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. Thus was Yitz’chak comforted for the loss of his mother.

25 (vi) Avraham took another wife, whose name was K’turah. ² She bore him Zimran, Yokshan, Medan, Midyan, Yishbak; and Shuach. ³ Yokshan fathered Sh’va and D’dan. The sons of D’dan were Ashurim, L’tushim and L’umim. ⁴ The sons of Midyan were ‘Eifah, ‘Efer, Hanokh, Avida and Elda‘ah. All these were descendants of K’turah.

⁵ Avraham gave everything he owned to Yitz’chak. ⁶ But to the sons of the concubines he made grants while he was still living and sent them off to the east, to the land of Kedem, away from Yitz’chak his son.

⁷ This is how long Avraham lived: 175 years. ⁸ Then Avraham breathed his last, dying at a ripe old age, an old man full of years; and he was gathered to his people. ⁹ Yitz’chak and Yishma‘el his sons buried him in the cave of Makhpelah, in the field of ‘Efron the son of Tzochar the Hitti, by Mamre, ¹⁰ the field which Avraham purchased from the sons of Het. Avraham was buried there with Sarah his wife.

¹¹ After Avraham died, God blessed Yitz’chak his son, and Yitz’chak lived near Be’er-Lachai-Ro’i.

(vii) ¹² Here is the genealogy of Yishma‘el, Avraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian woman bore to Avraham. ¹³ These are the names of the sons of Yishma‘el, listed in the order of their birth. The firstborn of Yishma‘el was N’vayot; followed by Kedar, Adbe’el, Mivsam, ¹⁴ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad, Teima, Y’tur, Nafish and Kedmah. (Maftir) ¹⁶ These are the sons of Yishma‘el, and these are their names, according to their settlements and camps, twelve tribal rulers.

¹⁷ This is how long Yishma‘el lived: 137 years. Then he breathed his last, died and was gathered to his people.

¹⁸ Yishma‘el’s sons lived between Havilah and Shur, near Egypt as you go toward Ashur; he settled near all his kinsmen.

Haftarah Hayyei-Sarah: M’lakhim Alef (1 Kings) 1:1–31

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Hayyei-Sarah: Mattityahu (Matthew) 8:19–22; 27:3–10; Luke 9:57–62

Parashah 6: Tol’dot (History) 25:19–28:9

¹⁹ Here is the history of Yitz’chak, Avraham’s son. Avraham fathered Yitz’chak. ²⁰ Yitz’chak was forty years old when he took Rivkah, the daughter of B’tu’el the Arami from Paddan-Aram and sister of Lavan the Arami, to be his wife. ²¹ Yitz’chak prayed to Adonai on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. Adonai heeded his prayer, and Rivkah became pregnant. ²² The children fought with each other inside her so much that she said, “If it’s going to be like this, why go on living?” So she went to inquire of Adonai, ²³ who answered her, “There are two nations in your womb. From birth they will be two rival peoples. One of these peoples will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”

²⁴ When the time for her delivery came, there were twins in her womb. ²⁵ The first to come out was reddish and covered all over with hair, like a coat; so they named him ‘Esav [completely formed, that is, having hair already]. ²⁶ Then his brother emerged, with his hand holding ‘Esav’s heel, so he was called Ya‘akov [he catches by the heel, he supplants]. Yitz’chak was sixty years old when she bore them.

²⁷ The boys grew; and ‘Esav became a skillful hunter, an outdoorsman; while Ya‘akov was a quiet man who stayed in the tents. ²⁸ Yitz’chak favored ‘Esav, because he had a taste for game; Rivkah favored Ya‘akov.

²⁹ One day when Ya‘akov had cooked some stew, ‘Esav came in from the open country, exhausted, ³⁰ and said to Ya‘akov, “Please! Let me gulp down some of that red stuff — that red stuff! I’m exhausted!” (This is why he was called Edom [red].) ³¹ Ya‘akov answered, “First sell me your rights as the firstborn.” ³² “Look, I’m about to die!” said ‘Esav. “What use to me are my rights as the firstborn?” ³³ Ya‘akov said, “First, swear to me!” So he swore to him, thus selling his birthright to Ya‘akov. ³⁴ Then Ya‘akov gave him bread and lentil stew; he ate and drank, got up and went on his way. Thus ‘Esav showed how little he valued his birthright.

26 A famine came over the land, not the same as the first famine, which had taken place when Avraham was alive. Yitz’chak went to G’rar, to Avimelekh king of the P’lishtim. ² Adonai appeared to him and said, “Don’t go down into Egypt, but live where I tell you. ³ Stay in this land, and I will be with you and bless you, because I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants. I will fulfill the oath which I swore to Avraham your father — ⁴ I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, I will give all these lands to your descendants, and by your descendants all the nations of the earth will bless themselves. ⁵ All this is because Avraham heeded what I said and did what I told him to do — he followed my mitzvot, my regulations and my teachings.”

(ii) ⁶ So Yitz’chak settled in G’rar. ⁷ The men of the place asked him about his wife, and out of fear he said, “She is my sister.” He thought, “If I tell them she’s my wife, they might kill me in order to take Rivkah. After all, she is a beautiful woman.” ⁸ But one day, after he had lived there a long time, Avimelekh king of the P’lishtim happened to be looking out of a window when he spotted Yitz’chak caressing Rivkah his wife. ⁹ Avimelekh summoned Yitz’chak and said, “So she is your wife, after all! How come you said, ‘She is my sister’?” Yitz’chak responded, “Because I thought, ‘I could get killed because of her.’” ¹⁰ Avimelekh said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” ¹¹ Then Avimelekh warned all the people: “Whoever touches this man or his wife will certainly be put to death.”

¹² Yitz’chak planted crops in that land and reaped that year a hundred times as much as he had sowed. Adonai had blessed him.

(iii) ¹³ The man became rich and prospered more and more, until he had become very wealthy indeed. ¹⁴ He had flocks, cattle and a large household; and the P’lishtim envied him. ¹⁵ Now the P’lishtim had stopped up and filled with dirt all the wells his father’s servants had dug during the lifetime of Avraham his father. ¹⁶ Avimelekh said to Yitz’chak, “You must go away from us, because you have become much more powerful than we are.”

¹⁸ When Yeshua saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. ¹⁹ A Torah-teacher approached and said to him, “Rabbi, I will follow you wherever you go.” ²⁰ Yeshua said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds flying about have nests, but the Son of Man has no home of his own.” ²¹ Another of the talmidim said to him, “Sir, first let me go and bury my father.” ²² But Yeshua replied, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

²³ He boarded the boat, and his talmidim followed. ²⁴ Then, without warning, a furious storm arose on the lake, so that waves were sweeping over the boat. But Yeshua was sleeping. ²⁵ So they came and roused him, saying, “Sir! Help! We’re about to die!” ²⁶ He said to them, “Why are you afraid? So little trust you have!” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and there was a dead calm. ²⁷ The men were astounded. They asked, “What kind of man is this, that even the winds and sea obey him?”

²⁸ When Yeshua arrived at the other side of the lake, in the Gadarenes’ territory, there came out of the burial caves two men controlled by demons, so violent that no one dared travel on that road. ²⁹ They screamed, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” ³⁰ Now some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. ³¹ The demons begged him, “If you are going to drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” ³² “All right, go!” he told them. So they came out and went into the pigs, whereupon the entire herd rushed down the hillside into the lake and drowned. ³³ The swineherds fled, went off to the town and told the whole story, including what had happened to the demonized men. ³⁴ At this, the whole town came out to meet Yeshua. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their district.