Genesis 24 - 27
A Wife for Isaac
24Now aAbraham was old, advanced in age; and Yahweh had bblessed Abraham in every way. 2And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who aruled over all that he owned, “bPlease place your hand under my thigh, 3and I will make you swear by Yahweh, athe God of heaven and the God of earth, that you bshall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of cthe Canaanites, among whom I live, 4but you will go to amy land and to my kin, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 5And the servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land; should I indeed take your son back to the land from where you came?” 6Then Abraham said to him, “aBeware lest you take my son back there! 7“aYahweh, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kin, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘bTo your seed I will give this land,’ He will send cHis angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. 8“But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will abe free from this oath of mine; bonly do not take my son back there.” 9So the servant aplaced his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.
10Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and he went with all kinds of agood things of his master’s in his hand. So he arose and went to 1Mesopotamia, to bthe city of Nahor. 11And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by athe well of water at evening time, bthe time when the women go out to draw water. 12And he said, “aO Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, please bcause this to happen before me today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham. 13“Behold, aI am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; 14now may it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will give water to your camels to drink also’—may she be the one whom You have decided for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness to my master.”
Rebekah Goes with Abraham’s Servant
15aAnd before he had finished speaking, behold, bRebekah who was born to Bethuel the son of cMilcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, was coming out with her jar on her shoulder. 16Now the young woman was avery beautiful in appearance, a virgin, and no man had 1known her; and she went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. 17Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “aPlease give me a little water to drink from your jar.” 18aAnd she said, “Drink, my lord”; and she quickly lowered her jar to her hand and gave him a drink. 19Now when she had finished giving him a drink, ashe said, “I will draw also for your camels until they have finished drinking.” 20So she hurried and emptied her jar into the watering channel and ran again to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. 21aMeanwhile, the man was gazing at her 1in silence, to know whether Yahweh had made his journey successful or not.
22Now it happened that when the camels had finished drinking, the man took a agold ring weighing a 1half-shekel and two bracelets for her 2wrists weighing ten shekels in gold, 23and said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there a place for us to lodge in your father’s house?” 24And she said to him, “aI am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25And she said to him, “We have plenty of both straw and feed, and a place to lodge in.” 26Then the man abowed low and worshiped Yahweh. 27And he said, “aBlessed be Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken bHis lovingkindness and His truth toward my master; as for me, cYahweh has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.”
28Then athe young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things. 29Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was aLaban; and Laban ran outside to the man at the spring. 30Now it happened, when he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s 1wrists, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, “2This is what the man said to me,” he came out to the man; and behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. 31And he said, “aCome in, bblessed of Yahweh! Why do you stand outside since cI have prepared the house and a place for the camels?” 32So the man came into the house. Then 1,aLaban unloaded the camels, and he gave straw and feed to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33Then food was set before him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I have spoken my words.” And he said, “Speak!” 34So he said, “I am aAbraham’s servant. 35“And Yahweh has greatly ablessed my master, so he has become great; and He has given him bflocks and herds, and silver and gold, and male slaves and female slaves, and camels and donkeys. 36“Now aSarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master 1in her old age, and bhe has given him all that he has. 37“aAnd my master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I 1live; 38but you shall go to my father’s house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.’ 39“aThen I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman does not follow me.’ 40“And he said to me, ‘aYahweh, before whom I have bwalked, will send cHis angel with you and will make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house. 41aThen you will be free from my oath, when you come to my relatives. Now if they do not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’
42“So aI came today to the spring and said, ‘O Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, if now You will make my journey on which I go bsuccessful; 43behold, aI am standing by the spring of water, and may it be that the 1maiden who comes out to draw, and to whom I say, “bPlease let me drink a little water from your jar”; 44and she will say to me, “You drink, and I will draw for your camels also”; she is the woman whom Yahweh has decided upon for my master’s son.’
45“Before I had finished aspeaking in my heart, behold, bRebekah was coming out with her jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew, and cI said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 46“Then she hurried and lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘aDrink, and I will also give water to your camels to drink’; so I drank, and she also gave water to the camels to drink. 47“aThen I asked her and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him’; and I put the bring on her nose and the bracelets on her 1wrists. 48“And I abowed low and worshiped Yahweh; and I blessed Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, bwho had guided me in the true way to take the daughter of my master’s 1relative for his son. 49“So now if you are going to ashow lovingkindness and truth with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right or to the left.”
50Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “aThe matter comes from Yahweh; bso we cannot speak to you bad or good. 51“Behold, Rebekah is before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as Yahweh has spoken.”
52Now it happened that when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he abowed himself to the ground 1before Yahweh. 53The servant brought out aarticles of silver and articles of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. 54Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. And then they arose in the morning, and he said, “aSend me away to my master.” 55But her brother and her mother said, “aLet the young woman stay with us a few days, or even ten; afterward she will go.” 56And he said to them, “Do not delay me, since aYahweh has made my way successful. Send me away that I may go to my master.” 57And they said, “We will call the young woman and ask about 1her wishes.” 58Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” 59Thus they sent away their sister Rebekah and aher nurse with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “May you, our sister,aBecome thousands of ten thousands,And may byour seed possessThe gate of those who hate him.”
61Then Rebekah arose with her young women, and they mounted the camels and went after the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went.
Rebekah Becomes Isaac’s Wife
62Now Isaac had come from going to aBeer-lahai-roi, for he 1was living in bthe land of the 2Negev. 63And Isaac went out ato 1muse in the field toward evening; and bhe lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming. 64And Rebekah lifted up her eyes and saw Isaac and dismounted from the camel. 65Then she said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” And the servant said, “He is my master.” Then she took her 1veil and covered herself. 66And the servant recounted to Isaac all the things that he had done. 67Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and ahe took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and bhe loved her. Thus, Isaac was comforted after chis mother’s death.
The Death of Abraham
25Now Abraham took another wife, 1whose name was Keturah. 2aAnd she bore to him Zimran and Jokshan and Medan and Midian and Ishbak and Shuah. 3Now Jokshan 1was the father of Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim and Letushim and Leummim. 4And the sons of Midian were Ephah and Epher and Hanoch and Abida and Eldaah. All these were the sons of Keturah. 5aAnd Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac; 6but to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and he asent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the east.
7These are the days of the years of Abraham’s life that he lived, a175 years. 8And Abraham breathed his last and died ain a good old age, an old man and full of days; and he was bgathered to his people. 9Then his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in athe cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre, 10athe field which Abraham bought from the sons of Heth; there Abraham was buried with Sarah his wife. 11Now it happened after the death of Abraham, that aGod blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac 1lived by bBeer-lahai-roi.
The Generations of Ishmael
12Now these are the generations of aIshmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant-woman, bore to Abraham; 13and these are the names of athe sons of Ishmael, by their names, 1in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael, and Kedar and Adbeel and Mibsam 14and Mishma and Dumah and Massa, 15Hadad and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages, and by their camps; atwelve princes according to their 1tribes. 17These are the years of the life of Ishmael, a137 years; and he breathed his last and died and was bgathered to his people. 18And they dwelt from aHavilah to bShur which is 1east of Egypt 2as one goes toward Assyria; che 3settled in the face of all his brothers.
The Generations of Isaac
19Now these are athe generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham 1became the father of Isaac; 20and Isaac was forty years old when he took aRebekah, the bdaughter of Bethuel the 1Aramean of Paddan-aram, the csister of Laban the 2Aramean, to be his wife. 21And Isaac entreated Yahweh on behalf of his wife because she was barren; and aYahweh 1was moved by his entreaty. So Rebekah his wife bconceived. 22But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why then am I this way?” So she went to ainquire of Yahweh. 23And Yahweh said to her, “aTwo nations are in your womb;bAnd two peoples will be separated from your body;And one people shall be stronger than the other;And cthe older shall serve the younger.”
24And her days to give birth were fulfilled, and behold, there were twins in her womb. 25And the first came forth red, aall over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau. 26Afterward his brother came forth with ahis hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so bhis name was called 1Jacob; and Isaac was csixty years old when she gave birth to them.
Esau Sells His Birthright
27And the boys grew up; Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a 1peaceful man, 2,aliving in tents. 28Isaac loved Esau because 1he had aan appetite for hunted game, bbut Rebekah loved Jacob.
29And Jacob had cooked astew. And Esau came in from the field, and he was 1famished. 30Then Esau said to Jacob, “Please give me a swallow from the red stuff—1this red stuff, for I am 2famished.” Therefore his name was called 3Edom. 31But Jacob said, “1First sell me your abirthright.” 32And Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?” 33And Jacob said, “1First swear to me”; so he swore to him and asold his birthright to Jacob. 34So Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank and rose and went away. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Yahweh Establishes the Oath with Isaac
26Now there was aa famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to bAbimelech king of the Philistines. 2And Yahweh aappeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; bdwell in the land of which I shall tell you. 3“Sojourn in this land, and aI will be with you and bbless you, for cto you and to your seed I will give all these lands, and I will establish dthe oath which I swore to your father Abraham. 4“aAnd I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and I will give your seed all these lands; and bby your seed all the nations of the earth 1shall be blessed; 5because Abraham alistened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
Isaac and Abimelech
6So Isaac 1lived in Gerar. 7Then the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, “aShe is my sister,” for he was bafraid to say, “my wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is cbeautiful in appearance.” 8Now it happened, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out through a window and saw, and behold, Isaac was 1caressing his wife Rebekah. 9Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, surely she is your wife! How then did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’” 10aAnd Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11So Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, “He who atouches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”
12And Isaac sowed in that land and 1reaped in the same year one hundredfold. And aYahweh blessed him, 13and the man abecame great and continued to grow greater until he became very great; 14and ahe had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and many servants, so that the Philistines were jealous of him. 15Now aall the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped up 1by filling them with earth. 16Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are 1,atoo mighty for us.” 17And Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar and 1settled there.
The Quarrel over the Wells
18Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which 1had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, but the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he 2called them by the same names by which his father had called them. 19Then Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of 1flowing water. 20And the herdsmen of Gerar acontended with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours!” So he named the well 1Esek, because they quarreled with him. 21Then they dug another well, and they contended over it also, so he called it 1Sitnah. 22Then he moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not contend over it; so he named it 1Rehoboth, and he said, “2,aAt last Yahweh has made 3room for us, and we will be bfruitful in the land.”
23And he went up from there to aBeersheba. 24And Yahweh aappeared to him that night and said, “bI am the God of your father Abraham;cDo not fear, for I am with you.I dwill bless you and multiply your seed,For the sake of My servant Abraham.”
25So he built an aaltar there and called upon the name of Yahweh and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug out a well.
Isaac’s Oath with Abimelech
26Now aAbimelech came to him from Gerar 1with his adviser Ahuzzath and Phicol the commander of his army. 27And Isaac said to them, “aWhy have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” 28Then they said, “We see plainly athat Yahweh has been with you; so we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us—between 1you and us—and let us cut a covenant with you, 29that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you 1and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the ablessed of Yahweh.’” 30Then ahe made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31In the morning they arose early, and aeach swore to 1the other; then Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. 32Now it happened on that day, that Isaac’s servants came in and told him about the well which they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.” 33So he called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is aBeersheba to this day.
34And Esau was forty years old, aand he took as a wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite; 35and athey 1brought bitterness to Isaac and Rebekah.
Isaac Calls to Bless Esau
27Now it happened that when Isaac was old and ahis eyes were too dim to see, that he called his bolder son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 21,aAnd Isaac said, “Behold now, I am old, and I do not know the day of my death. 3“So now, please take up your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and ahunt game for me; 4and prepare a savory dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that amy soul may bless you before I die.”
5Now Rebekah was listening while Isaac was speaking to his son Esau. Then Esau went to the field to hunt for game to bring to Isaac. 6aBut Rebekah spoke to her son Jacob, saying, “Behold, I heard your father speaking to your brother Esau, saying, 7‘Bring me some game and prepare a savory dish for me, that I may eat and bless you in the presence of Yahweh before my death.’ 8“So now, my son, alisten to my voice 1as I command you. 9“Go now to the flock and 1get for me two choice 2young goats from there, that I may prepare them as a savory dish for your father, such as he loves. 10“Then you shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death.” 11Then Jacob 1answered his mother Rebekah, “Behold, Esau my brother is a ahairy man, and I am a smooth man. 12“aPerhaps my father will feel me, then I will be as a mocker in his sight, and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing.” 13But his mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son; only alisten to my voice, and go, get them for me.” 14So he went and got them and brought them to his mother; and his mother made a savory dish such as his father loved. 15Then Rebekah took the 1best agarments of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and she put them on Jacob her younger son. 16And she put the skins of the 1young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17She also gave the savory dish and the bread, which she had prepared into the hand of her son Jacob.
Isaac Blesses Jacob and Esau
18Then he came to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 19And Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. aRise up, please, sit and eat of my game, that byour soul may bless me.” 20Then Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “aBecause Yahweh your God caused it to happen to me.” 21Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that aI may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22So Jacob came near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23And he did not recognize him because his hands were ahairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. 24And he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he said, “I am.” 25So he said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, that amy soul may bless you.” And he brought it near to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine, and he drank. 26Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come near and kiss me, my son.” 27So he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his garments, and then he ablessed him and said, “See, bthe smell of my sonIs like the smell of a field cwhich Yahweh has blessed;
28Now may aGod give you of the dew of heaven,And of the bfatness of the earth,And an abundance of grain and new wine;29aMay peoples serve you,And nations bow down to you;bBe master of your brothers,cAnd may your mother’s sons bow down to you.dCursed be those who curse you,And blessed be those who bless you.”30Now it happened that as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had hardly gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31Then he also made a savory dish and brought it to his father; and he said to his father, “aLet my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that byour soul may bless me.” 32And Isaac his father said to him, “aWho are you?” And he said, “I am your son, byour firstborn, Esau.” 33Then Isaac 1trembled exceedingly violently and said, “aWho was he then that hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate of all of it before you came and blessed him? bIndeed, he shall be blessed.” 34As Esau heard the words of his father, ahe cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, me also, O my father!” 35And he said, “aYour brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.” 36Then he said, “1Is he not rightly named aJacob, for he has supplanted me these two times? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37But Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, I have made him ayour master, and all his fellow brothers I have given to him 1as servants; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him. Now as for you then, what can I do, my son?” 38And Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” So Esau lifted his voice and awept.
39Then aIsaac his father answered and said to him, “Behold, 1,baway from the fatness of the earth shall be your habitation,And 2away from the dew of heaven from above.
40“By your sword you shall live,And your brother ayou shall serve;But it shall be bwhen you become restless,That you will 1break his yoke from your neck.”41So Esau abore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said in his heart, “bThe days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42Then the words of her elder son Esau were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau is consoling himself concerning you by planning to kill you. 43“So now, my son, alisten to my voice, and arise, 1flee to bHaran, to my brother cLaban! 44“Stay with him aa few days, until your brother’s wrath 1subsides, 45until your brother’s anger 1against you subsides and he forgets awhat you did to him. Then I will send and get you from there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?”