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Abraham was now old, getting on in years,^[a](a) and the Lord had blessed him in everything.

Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who managed all he owned, "Place your hand under my thigh,^(b)

and I will have you swear by the Lord , God of heaven and God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live,^(c)

but will go to my land and my family to take a wife for my son Isaac."

The servant said to him, "Suppose the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Should I have your son go back to the land you came from?"

Abraham answered him, "Make sure that you don't take my son back there.

The Lord , the God of heaven,^(d) who took me from my father's house and from my native land,^(e) who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘I will give this land to your offspring'^(f)—He will send His angel before you,^(g) and you can take a wife for my son from there.

If the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are free from this oath to me,^(h) but don't let my son go back there."

So the servant placed his hand under his master Abraham's thigh and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

The servant took 10 of his master's camels and departed with all kinds of his master's goods in hand. Then he set out for Nahor's town Aram-naharaim.

He made the camels kneel beside a well of water outside the town at evening. This was the time when the women went out to draw water.

" Lord , God of my master Abraham," he prayed, "give me success today,⁽ⁱ⁾ and show kindness to my master Abraham.

I am standing here^(j) at the spring where the daughters of the men of the town are coming out to draw water.

Let the girl to whom I say, ‘Please lower your water jug so that I may drink,' and who responds, ‘Drink, and I'll water your camels also'—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. By this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master."

Before he had finished speaking, there was Rebekah—daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah,^(k) the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor—coming with a jug on her shoulder.

Now the girl was very beautiful,^(l) a young woman who had not known a man intimately. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up.

Then the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please let me have a little water from your jug."

She replied, "Drink, my lord." She quickly lowered her jug to her hand and gave him a drink.

When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I'll also draw water for your camels until they have had enough to drink."^[b]

She quickly emptied her jug into the trough and hurried to the well again to draw water. She drew water for all his camels

while the man silently watched her to see whether or not the Lord had made his journey a success.

After the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing half a shekel, and for her wrists two bracelets weighing 10 shekels of gold.

"Whose daughter are you?" he asked. "Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?"

She answered him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor."

She also said to him, "We have plenty of straw and feed and a place to spend the night."

Then the man bowed down, worshiped the Lord ,^(m)

and said, "Praise the Lord , the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His kindness and faithfulness from my master.⁽ⁿ⁾ As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives."

The girl ran and told her mother's household about these things.

Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban,^(o) and Laban ran out to the man at the spring.

As soon as he had seen the ring and the bracelets on his sister's wrists, and when he had heard his sister Rebekah's words—"The man said this to me!"—he went to the man. He was standing there by the camels at the spring.

Laban said, "Come, you who are blessed by the Lord .^(p) Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels."

So the man came to the house, and the camels were unloaded.^(q) Straw and feed were given to the camels, and water was brought to wash his feet and the feet of the men with him.

A meal was set before him, but he said, "I will not eat until I have said what I have to say." So Laban said, "Please speak."

"I am Abraham's servant," he said.

"The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys.

Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master in her^[c] old age,^(r) and he has given him everything he owns.^(s)

My master put me under this oath: ‘You will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live

but will go to my father's household and to my family to take a wife for my son.'

But I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman will not come back with me?'

He said to me, ‘The Lord before whom I have walked^(t) will send His angel with you and make your journey a success, and you will take a wife for my son from my family and from my father's household.

Then you will be free from my oath if you go to my family and they do not give her to you—you will be free from my oath.'

"Today when I came to the spring, I prayed: Lord , God of my master Abraham, if only You will make my journey successful!

I am standing here at a spring. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, and I say to her: Please let me drink a little water from your jug,

and who responds to me, ‘Drink, and I'll draw water for your camels also'—let her be the woman the Lord has appointed for my master's son.

"Before I had finished praying silently,^(u) there was Rebekah coming with her jug on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her: Please let me have a drink.

She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I'll water your camels also.' So I drank, and she also watered the camels.

Then I asked her: Whose daughter are you? She responded, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.' So I put the ring on her nose^(v) and the bracelets on her wrists.

Then I bowed down, worshiped the Lord , and praised the Lord , the God of my master Abraham, who guided me on the right way to take the granddaughter of my master's brother for his son.

Now, if you are going to show kindness and faithfulness to my master,^(w) tell me; if not, tell me, and I will go elsewhere."^[d]

Laban and Bethuel answered, "This is from the Lord ; we have no choice in the matter.^[e](x)

Rebekah is here in front of you. Take her and go, and let her be a wife for your master's son, just as the Lord has spoken."

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

Then he brought out objects of silver and gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious gifts to her brother and her mother.

Then he and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they got up in the morning, he said, "Send me to my master."

But her brother and mother said, "Let the girl stay with us for about 10 days.^[f] Then she^[g] can go."

But he responded to them, "Do not delay me, since the Lord has made my journey a success. Send me away so that I may go to my master."

So they said, "Let's call the girl and ask her opinion."^[h]

They called Rebekah and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" She replied, "I will go."

So they sent away their sister Rebekah with the one who had nursed and raised her,^[i](y) and Abraham's servant and his men.

They blessed Rebekah, saying to her: Our sister, may you become thousands upon ten thousands.^(z) May your offspring possess the gates of their^[j] enemies.^(aa)

Then Rebekah and her female servants got up, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.

Now Isaac was returning from Beer-lahai-roi,^[k](ab) for he was living in the Negev region.

In the early evening Isaac went out to walk^[l] in the field, and looking up he saw camels coming.

Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she got down from her camel

and asked the servant, "Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?" The servant answered, "It is my master." So she took her veil and covered herself.

Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done.

And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah to be his wife. Isaac loved her, and he was comforted after his mother's death.^(ac)

Now Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah,^(a)

and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. Dedan's sons were the Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.

And Midian's sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were sons of Keturah.

Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac.^(b)

And Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines, but while he was still alive he sent them eastward, away from his son Isaac, to the land of the East.^(c)

This is the length of Abraham's life:^[a] 175 years.

He took his last breath and died at a ripe old age,^(d) old and contented,^[b] and he was gathered to his people.^(e)

His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah^(f) near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.

This was the field that Abraham bought from the Hittites.^(g) Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah.

After Abraham's death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near Beer-lahai-roi.^(h)

These are the family records⁽ⁱ⁾ of Abraham's son Ishmael,^(j) whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's slave, bore to Abraham.

These are the names of Ishmael's sons; their names according to the family records are: Nebaioth, Ishmael's firstborn, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

These are Ishmael's sons, and these are their names by their villages and encampments: 12 leaders^[c](k) of their clans.^[d]

This is the length^[e] of Ishmael's life: 137 years. He took his last breath and died, and was gathered to his people.

And they^[f] settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt as you go toward Asshur. He^[g] lived in opposition to^[h] all his brothers.^(l)

These are the family records of Isaac son of Abraham. Abraham fathered Isaac.^(m)

Isaac was 40 years old when he took as his wife Rebekah⁽ⁿ⁾ daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram^(o) and sister of Laban the Aramean.^(p)

Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless.^(q) The Lord heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.^(r)

But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?"^[i] So she went to inquire of the Lord .^(s)

And the Lord said to her: Two nations are in your womb; two people will come from you and be separated. One people will be stronger than the other,^(t) and the older will serve the younger.^(u)

When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb.

The first one came out red-looking,^[j] covered with hair^[k] like a fur coat, and they named him Esau.^(v)

After this, his brother came out grasping Esau's heel with his hand.^(w) So he was named Jacob.^[l](x) Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.

When the boys grew up, Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman,^[m] but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.^[n]

Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.^(y)

Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field exhausted.

He said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stuff, because I'm exhausted." That is why he was also named Edom.^[o]

Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."

"Look," said Esau, "I'm about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?"

Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore to Jacob and sold his birthright to him.

Then Jacob gave bread and lentil stew to Esau; he ate, drank, got up, and went away. So Esau despised his birthright.^(z)

There was another famine in the land in addition to the one that had occurred in Abraham's time.^(a) And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.^(b)

The Lord appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I tell you about;

stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you.^(c) For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring,^(d) and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.^(e)

I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky, I will give your offspring all these lands, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed^[a] by your offspring,^(f)

because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My mandate, My commands, My statutes, and My instructions."^(g)

So Isaac settled in Gerar.

When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, "She is my sister,"^(h) for he was afraid to say "my wife," thinking,⁽ⁱ⁾ "The men of the place will kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is a beautiful woman."^(j)

When Isaac had been there for some time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see^[b] Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.

Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, "So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister'?" Isaac answered him, "Because I thought I might die on account of her."

Then Abimelech said, "What is this you've done to us? One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us."^(k)

So Abimelech warned all the people with these words: "Whoever harms this man or his wife will certainly die."

Isaac sowed seed in that land, and in that year he reaped^[c] a hundred times what was sown. The Lord blessed him,^(l)

and the man became rich and kept getting richer until he was very wealthy.

He had flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, and many slaves, and the Philistines were envious of him.

The Philistines stopped up all the wells that his father's slaves had dug in the days of his father Abraham,^(m) filling them with dirt.

And Abimelech said to Isaac, "Leave us, for you are much too powerful for us."^[d]

So Isaac left there, camped in the Valley of Gerar, and lived there.

Isaac reopened the water wells that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham and that the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died. He gave them the same names his father had given them.

Then Isaac's slaves dug in the valley and found a well of spring^[e] water there.

But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen and said, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Quarrel^[f] because they quarreled with him.⁽ⁿ⁾

Then they dug another well and quarreled over that one also, so he named it Hostility.^[g]

He moved from there and dug another, and they did not quarrel over it. He named it Open Spaces^[h] and said, "For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land."

From there he went up to Beer-sheba,

and the Lord appeared to him that night and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham.^(o) Do not be afraid, for I am with you.^(p) I will bless you and multiply your offspring because of My servant Abraham."

So he built an altar there,^(q) called on the name of Yahweh, and pitched his tent there. Isaac's slaves also dug a well there.^(r)

Now Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.^(s)

Isaac said to them, "Why have you come to me? You hated me and sent me away from you."

They replied, "We have clearly seen how the Lord has been with you. We think there should be an oath between two parties—between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you:

You will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have only done what was good to you, sending you away in peace. You are now blessed by the Lord ."^(t)

So he prepared a banquet for them, and they ate and drank.

They got up early in the morning and swore an oath to each other.^[i](u) Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace.

On that same day Isaac's slaves came to tell him about the well they had dug, saying to him, "We have found water!"^(v)

He called it Sheba.^[j] Therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba^[k](w) to this day.

When Esau was 40 years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.^(x)

They made life bitter^[l] for Isaac and Rebekah.^(y)

When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could not see,^(a) he called his older son Esau and said to him, "My son." And he answered, "Here I am."

He said, "Look, I am old and do not know the day of my death.

Take your hunting gear, your quiver and bow, and go out in the field to hunt some game for me.^(b)

Then make me a delicious meal that I love and bring it to me to eat, so that I can bless you before I die."^(c)

Now Rebekah was listening to what Isaac said to his son Esau. So while Esau went to the field to hunt some game to bring in,

Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "Listen! I heard your father talking with your brother Esau. He said,

‘Bring me the game and make a delicious meal for me to eat so that I can bless you in the Lord 's presence before I die.'

Now obey every order I give you, my son.

Go to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, and I will make them into a delicious meal for your father—the kind he loves.

Then take it to your father to eat so that he may bless you before he dies."

Jacob answered Rebekah his mother, "Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am a man with smooth skin.^(d)

Suppose my father touches me. Then I will be revealed to him as a deceiver and bring a curse rather than a blessing on myself."

His mother said to him, "Your curse be on me, my son. Just obey me and go get them for me."

So he went and got the goats and brought them to his mother, and his mother made the delicious food his father loved.

Then Rebekah took the best clothes of her older son Esau, which were in the house, and had her younger son Jacob wear them.

She put the skins of the young goats on his hands and the smooth part of his neck.

Then she handed the delicious food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.

When he came to his father, he said, "My father." And he answered, "Here I am. Who are you, my son?"

Jacob replied to his father, "I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may bless me."

But Isaac said to his son, "How did you ever find it so quickly, my son?" He replied, "Because the Lord your God worked it out for me."

Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come closer so I can touch you, my son. Are you really my son Esau or not?"

So Jacob came closer to his father Isaac. When he touched him, he said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau."

He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him.

Again he asked, "Are you really my son Esau?" And he replied, "I am."

Then he said, "Serve me, and let me eat some of my son's game so that I can bless you." Jacob brought it to him, and he ate; he brought him wine, and he drank.

Then his father Isaac said to him, "Please come closer and kiss me, my son."

So he came closer and kissed him. When Isaac smelled^[a] his clothes, he blessed him and said: Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed.

May God give to you— from the dew of the sky^(e) and from the richness of the land^(f)— an abundance of grain and new wine.^(g)

May peoples serve you^(h) and nations bow down to you. Be master over your brothers; may your mother's sons bow down to you. Those who curse you will be cursed, and those who bless you will be blessed.⁽ⁱ⁾

As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob and Jacob had left the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau arrived from the hunt.

He had also made some delicious food and brought it to his father. Then he said to his father, "Let my father get up and eat some of his son's game, so that you may bless me."

But his father Isaac said to him, "Who are you?" He answered, "I am Esau your firstborn son."

Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably. "Who was it then," he said, "who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it all before you came in, and I blessed him. Indeed, he will be blessed!"

When Esau heard his father's words, he cried out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me too, my father!"^(j)

But he replied, "Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing."

So he said, "Isn't he rightly named Jacob?^[b](k) For he has cheated me twice now. He took my birthright, and look, now he has taken my blessing." Then he asked, "Haven't you saved a blessing for me?"

But Isaac answered Esau: "Look, I have made him a master over you, have given him all of his relatives as his servants, and have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then can I do for you, my son?"

Esau said to his father, "Do you only have one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!" And Esau wept loudly.^[c]

Then his father Isaac answered him: Look, your dwelling place will be away from the richness of the land, away from the dew of the sky above.

You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you rebel,^[d] you will break his yoke from your neck.

Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau determined in his heart: "The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob."

When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she summoned her younger son Jacob and said to him, "Listen, your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you.

So now, my son, listen to me. Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran,

and stay with him for a few days until your brother's anger subsides—

until your brother's rage turns away from you and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I lose you both in one day?"

So Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm sick of my life because of these Hittite women.^(l) If Jacob marries a Hittite woman like one of them,^[e] what good is my life?"^(m)