Gen_23:1-20; Gen_24:1-67; Gen_25:1-34

Pgs.80-88

Ch.23-25

SECTION V.

CHAIYEY SARAH.

XXIII. ANDthe life of Sarah was a hundred and twenty and seven years, the years of the lifeof Sarah. And Sarah died in Kiryath-arba, which is Hebron, in the land ofKenaan. And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to lament her. And Abrahamrose up from the presence of his dead, and spake with the sons of Hittah,saying, I am a guest and a sojourner with you: give me the possession of asepulchre with you, that I may bury my dead from before me. And the sons ofHittah answered Abraham, saying to him, Receive from us Ribbona; a princebefore the Lord art thou among us; in the best of our sepulchres bury thy dead.No man of us will refuse his sepulchre to thee for the burial of thy dead. AndAbraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the sons of Hittah. And hespake with them, saying, If you are willing in your minds that I should bury mydead from before me, receive from me, and request^{[1] <l >} for meof Ephron bar Zochar that he will give me the Double Cavern,^{[2] <l >} whichis in the side of his field: for the full amount (shelim) of silverhe shall give it to me among you for the possession of a sepulchre. But Ephronwas sitting in the midst of the sons of Hittah; and Ephron the Hittite answeredAbraham before the sons of Hittah, of all entering the gate of the city,saying, No, my lord; receive of me; I will present to thee the field and thecavern which is in it; to thee will I present it; in sight of the sons of mypeople will I present it to thee. Bury thy dead. And Abraham bowed before thepeople of the land. And he spake with Ephron before the people of the land,saying, Nevertheless, if thou wilt do me a grace, receive from me; I will givemoney for the field; take of me, and I will bury my dead there. And Ephronanswered Abraham, saying to him, My lord, receive of me: the land is worth fourhundred sileen of silver; between me and thee what is it? Bury thy dead. AndAbraham agreed with Ephron, and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver of whichbe had spoken before the sons of Hittah, four hundred sileen of silver, whichis received in merchandise in every city.^{[3] <l >} And Ephron confirmedthe field in which is the double cavern which is before Mamre; the field, andthe cavern that is therein, and all the trees which were in the field, in allits boundaries round about, to Abraham, for a purchase, in the sight^{[4] <l >}of the sons of Hitah, of all entering the gate of the city. And after thisAbraham buried Sarah his wife in the double cavern of the field which is beforeMamre, that is Hebron, in the land of Kenaan. And the field and the cavernwhich is in it were confirmed to Abraham for the possession of a sepulchre fromthe sons of Hittah.

XXIV. And Abraham was old, (and) advanced in days, and theLord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his servant, theelder of his house, who had authority over all which was his, Put now thy hand under my thigh, and I will adjure theeby the Word of the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thouwilt not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Kenaanaee among whomI dwell. But to my country and to my kindred thou wilt go, and take a wife formy son Izhak. And the servant said to him, Perhaps the woman will not bewilling to come after me to this land,-returning am I to return thy sonto the land from which thou hast gone forth? And Abraham said to him, Take carethat thou return not my son thither; the Lord, the God of heaven, who took mefrom the house of my father and from the land of my birth, and who spake to me,and sware to me, saying, I will give thee this land, will send His angel beforethee, and thou wilt take a wife for my son from thence. And if the woman be notwilling to come after thee, thou shalt be absolved from this my oath; onlycause not my son to return thither. And the servant put his hand under thethigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter. And theservant took ten camels of the camels of his lord and went. And all the goodsof his master were in his hand. And he arose and went to Aram, which is uponPhrath, the river, to the city of Nachor. And he made the camels rest withoutthe city at a well of waters in the evening time, at the time when they cameforth to fill. And he said, Lord God of my master Abraham, let it, I pray, beopportune with me this day, and deal thou graciously with my master Abraham.Behold, I stand by the fountain of waters, and the daughters of the men of thecity will come forth to draw water. Let the maiden to whom I shall say, Reachthy waterpot, I pray, that I may drink; and she say, Drink, and I will alsogive thy camels drink,-be she whom Thou hast prepared for Thy servant,for Izhak: and in this I shall know that Thou hast dealt graciously with mymaster. And it was while he had not ceased to speak that, behold,Revekah came forth, (she) who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcha, wife ofNachor, brother of Abraham, and her pitcher upon her shoulder. And the maidenwas very fair to behold; a virgin, and man had not known her; and she descendedto the fountain, and filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant hasted toher presence; and said, Let me taste, I pray, a little water from thy pitcher.And she said, Drink, Ribboni; and she made haste, and held her pitcher upon herhand, and gave him to drink. And when she had ended giving him drink, she said,For thy camels also I will draw, until they shall have enough to drink. And shehastened and poured out her pitcher into the place of watering, and ran againto the well to fill, and she filled for all his camels . And the man wonderedat her, gazing silently, to know whether the Lord had prospered his way or not.And it was when the camels had drunk enough, the man took a ring (qadasha) of gold weighing a shekel, and two bracelets (sherin)for the hand weighing ten sileen of gold.And he said, Whose daughter art thou? Tell me, I pray, whether there be room inthy father’s house sufficient for us to lodge? And she said to him, I am thedaughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcha, whom she bare to Nachor. And she saidto him, There is much straw and provender with us, also room enough to lodge.And the man kneeled, and worshipped before the Lord, and said, Blessed be theLord the God of my master Abraham, who hath not withheld His grace and Histruth from my master; and me hath the Lord led in a right way to the house ofmy master’s brother. And the maiden ran and showed these things to her mother’shouse. And Revekah had a brother whose name was Laban; and Laban ran to the manwithout at the fountain. And it was when he saw the ring and the bracelets uponthe hands of his sister, and heard the words of Revekah his sister, saying, Asthis spake the man with me, that he came to the man, and, behold, he stood bythe camels at the fountain; and he said, Enter, blessed of the Lord;^{[5] <l >}why standest thou without? and I have a prepared house and a proper place forthe camels. And the man entered the house, and he loosed the camels, and gavestraw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the feet ofthe men who were with him. And they set before him to eat. And he said, I willnot eat until I have spoken my words. And he said, Speak. And he said, I am aservant of Abraham; and the Lord hath blessed my master much, and increased,and hath given to him sheep and oxen, silver and gold, servants andhandmaidens, camels and asses. And Sarah the wife of my master bare a son to mymaster after she was old, and he hath given to him all that he hath. And mymaster adjured me, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife for my son from thedaughters of Kenaan in whose land I dwell; but thou shalt go to my father’shouse, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son. And I said to my master,Perhaps the woman will not come after me. And he said to me, The Lord beforewhom I worship will send His angel with thee, and will prosper thy way, andthou shalt take a wife for my son from my kindred and from my father’s house.Then shalt thou be absolved from my oath when thou hast gone to my kindred: andif they will not give unto thee, thou shalt be absolved from my oath. And Icame this day to the fountain, and I said, Lord God of my master Abraham, ifnow it is pleasing before thee to prosper the way in which I go, behold, Istand at the fountain of waters, and a damsel may come forth to fill; and Iwill say to her, Give me to drink, I entreat, a little water from thy pitcher;and she shall say to me, Both for thee and thy camels also I will fill,-lether be the wife whom the Lord hath ordained for my master’s son. And I had notleft speaking in my heart, when, behold, Revekah came forth, with her pitcherupon her shoulder, and went down to the fountain and filled. And I said to her,Let me now drink. And she hastened and let down her pitcher, and said, Drink,and I will give thy camels also drink. And I drank, and the camels also shewatered. And I asked her and said, Whose daughter art thou? and she said, I amthe daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nachor, whom Milcha bare to him. And I setan ornament on her face, and bracelets upon her hand, and bowed down andworshipped before the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham who hadled me in a true way, to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son.And now, if you will act with goodness and truth with my master,show me; and if not, I will turn to the right or to the left. And Labananswered, and Bethuel, and said, From before the Lord the word hath come forth:we have no power to say to thee either evil or good. Behold, Revekah is beforethee; take (her) and go; and let her be the wife of thy master’s son, as theLord hath spoken. And it was, when the servant of Abraham heard these words, heworshipped on the earth before the Lord. And the servant brought out vessels ofsilver and vessels of gold and vestments, and gave to Revekah, and presentsgave he to her brother and to her mother. And they ate and drank, he and the menwho were with him, and they lodged and arose in the morning. And he said, Sendme to my master. And her brother said, and her mother, Let the maiden abidewith us a season of time, or ten months; after that she shall go. And he saidto them, Keep me not back: the Lord will direct my way, and I will proceed tomy master. And they said, We will call the maiden, and hear what she will say.And they called Revekah, and said to her, Wilt thou go with this man? and shesaid, I will go. And they dismissed Revekah their sister, and her nurse, andthe servant of Abraham, and his men. And they blessed Revekah, and said to her,Thou art our sister; be thou (multiplied) unto thousands and myriads, and maythy children inherit the cities of those who hate them. And Revekah arose, andher maidens; and they rode upon camels, and went after the man. And the servanttook Revekah and went. And Izhak ascended in coming from the well over whichthe Angel of Life (malak qayama, "the Eternal Angel") had appeared; and he dwelt in the land of the south.And Izhak went forth to pray in the field, at the presence of the evening; andhe lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, the camels came. And Revekahlifted up her eyes, and saw Izhak; and she bowed herself on the camel. And shesaid to the servant, Who is the man who is walking in the field to meet us? Andthe servant said, He is my master. And she took a mantle and covered herself.And the servant recounted to Izhak all the things which he had done. And Izhakbrought her to the tabernacle: and he saw, and, behold, her works were right asthe works of Sarah his mother. And he took Revekah, and she became his wife,and he loved her. And Izhak was comforted after his mother.

XXV. AndAbraham added, and took a wife, and her namewas Keturah; and she bare to him Zimran, and Yokshan, and Medan, and Midyan,and Yeshbach, and Shuvach. And Yokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan; and the sons ofDedan have been in camps and tabernacles and islands.^{[6] <l >} Andthe sons of Midyan, Eipha, and Epher, and Hanok, and Abidah, and Eldaah: allthese the sons of Keturah. And Abraham gave all that he had unto Izhak. But tothe sons of the concubine of Abraham gave Abraham portions, and sent them fromhis son Izhak, while he yet lived, eastward in the land of the sunrise. Andthese are the days of the years of the life of Abraham that he lived, anhundred and seventy and five years. And Abraham expired, and died in a good oldage, aged, and full of days; and he was gathered unto his people. And Izhak andIshmael his sons buried him in the twofold cave in the field of Ephron barZochar, the Hittah, which is before Mamre; the field which Abraham bought fromthe sons of Hittah: there they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. And it wasafter the death of Abraham that the Lord blessed Izhak his son, and Izhak dweltat the well over which the Eternal Angel had appeared. And these are thegenerations of Ishmael bar Abraham, whom Hagar the Mizretha, the handmaid ofSarah, bare to Abraham. And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael by theirnames in their generations. The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth; and Kedar, andAdbeel, and Mibsam, and Mishma, and Duma, and Massa; Hadad, and Thema, Yetoor,Naphish, and Kedemah. These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their namesin their villages and their towns, twelve chiefs of their peoples.^{[7] <l >}And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, a hundred and thirty and sevenyears. And he expired and died, and was gathered to his people. And they havedwelt from Havilah unto Hagra, which looketh toward Mizraim, reaching untoAthoor. In the presence of all his brethren he dwelt.

^[1] Sam. Vers."consult with."

^[1] MearathKaphelta. Hebrew, Mearath hamakphela, "the double cave;" root,kaphal, "to couple."

^[1] Or,"province."

^[1] "By thetestimony of."

^[1] Sam. Vers."blessed of the Lord who comest."

^[1] Sam. Vers."were Ritorim and Amshakim and Amanim."

^[1] Sam. Vers."according to their elevations."

^{[1] <l >} Sam. Vers. "consult with."

^{[2] <l >}Mearath Kaphelta. Hebrew, Mearath hamakphela, "the double cave;" root, kaphal, "to couple."

^{[3] <l >} Or, "province."

^{[4] <l >} "By the testimony of."

^{[5] <l >} Sam. Vers. "blessed of the Lordwho comest."

^{[6] <l >} Sam. Vers. "were Ritorim andAmshakim and Amanim."

^{[7] <l >} Sam. Vers. "according to theirelevations."