Genesis 20–24

Abraham and Abimelech

20Abraham moved away from there into the Negev Desert. He lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar.

²There Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She’s my sister.” Then Abimelech sent for Sarah and took her. He was the king of Gerar.

³God came to Abimelech in a dream one night. He said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken. She is already married.”

⁴But Abimelech hadn’t gone near her. So he said, “Lord, will you destroy a nation that hasn’t done anything wrong? ⁵Didn’t Abraham say to me, ‘She’s my sister’? And didn’t she also say, ‘He’s my brother’? I had no idea I was doing anything wrong. I’m not guilty.”

⁶Then God spoke to him in the dream. He said, “Yes, I know you had no idea you were doing anything wrong. So I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her.

⁷“Now return the man’s wife to him. He is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will live. But what if you do not return her? Then you can be sure that you and all of your people will die.”

⁸Early the next morning Abimelech sent for all of his officials. He told them everything that had happened. They were really afraid.

⁹Then Abimelech called Abraham in. He said, “What have you done to us? Have I done something wrong to you? Why have you brought so much guilt on me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that shouldn’t be done.”

¹⁰Abimelech also asked Abraham, “Why did you do this?”

¹¹Abraham replied, “I thought, ‘There isn’t any respect for God in this place at all. They will kill me because of my wife.’ ¹²Besides, she really is my sister. She’s the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother. And she became my wife.

¹³“God had me wander away from my father’s house. So I said to her, ‘Here is how you can show your love to me. Everywhere we go, say about me, “He’s my brother.” ’ ”

¹⁴Then Abimelech gave Abraham sheep and cattle and male and female slaves. He also returned his wife Sarah to him. ¹⁵Abimelech said, “Here is my land. Live anywhere you want to.”

¹⁶He said to Sarah, “I’m giving your brother 25 pounds of silver. It will take care of the problem we caused you. And all those who are with you will know that you aren’t guilty of doing anything wrong.”

¹⁷Then Abraham prayed to God. And God healed Abimelech. He also healed his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again. ¹⁸The Lord had kept the women in Abimelech’s house from having children. He had done it because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.

Isaac Is Born

21The Lord was gracious to Sarah, just as he had said he would be. He did for Sarah what he had promised to do. ²Sarah became pregnant. She had a son by Abraham when he was old. He was born at the exact time God had promised him.

³Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah had by him. ⁴When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. He did it exactly as God had commanded him. ⁵Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

⁶Sarah said, “God has given laughter to me. Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.”

⁷She continued, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? But I’ve had a son by him when he is old.”

Abraham Sends Hagar and Ishmael Away

⁸Isaac grew. The time came for his mother to stop nursing him. On that day Abraham had a big dinner prepared.

⁹But Sarah saw Ishmael making fun of Isaac. Ishmael was the son Hagar had by Abraham. Hagar was Sarah’s servant from Egypt.

¹⁰Sarah said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman. Get rid of her son. The slave woman’s son will never have a share of the family’s property with my son Isaac.”

¹¹What Sarah said upset Abraham very much. After all, Ishmael was his son.

¹²But God said to him, “Do not be so upset about the boy and your servant Hagar. Listen to what Sarah tells you, because your family line will continue through Isaac. ¹³I will make the son of your servant into a nation also. I will do it because he is your child.”

¹⁴Early the next morning Abraham got some food and a bottle of water. The bottle was made out of animal skin. He gave the food and water to Hagar. He placed them on her shoulders. Then he sent her away with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.

¹⁵When the water in the bottle was gone, she put the boy under a bush. ¹⁶Then she went off and sat down nearby. She was about as far away as a person can shoot an arrow. She thought, “I can’t stand to watch the boy die.” As she sat nearby, she began to sob.

¹⁷God heard the boy crying. Then the angel of God called out to Hagar from heaven. He said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid. God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. ¹⁸Lift the boy up. Take him by the hand. I will make him into a great nation.”

¹⁹Then God opened Hagar’s eyes. She saw a well of water. So she went and filled the bottle with water. And she gave the boy a drink.

²⁰God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and learned to shoot with a bow. ²¹While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got him a wife from Egypt.

The Peace Treaty at Beersheba

²²At that time Abimelech and Phicol spoke to Abraham. Phicol was the commander of Abimelech’s army. They said, “God is with you in everything you do. ²³Now make a promise to me here while God is watching. Take an oath that you will treat me fairly. Promise that you will treat my children and their children the same way.

“I’ve been kind to you. Now you be kind to me. And be kind to the country where you are living as an outsider.”

²⁴Abraham said, “I promise with an oath that I’ll do it.”

²⁵Then Abraham objected to Abimelech about what Abimelech’s servants had done. They had taken over a well of water.

²⁶But Abimelech said, “I don’t know who has done this. You didn’t tell me. Today is the first time I heard about it.”

²⁷So Abraham gave Abimelech sheep and cattle. The two men made a peace treaty. ²⁸Then Abraham took out seven female lambs from his flock.

²⁹Abimelech asked Abraham, “What’s the meaning of these seven female lambs? Why have you taken them out and put them by themselves?”

³⁰Abraham replied, “Accept the seven lambs from me. They will be a witness that I dug this well.”

³¹That place was named Beersheba. That’s because there the two men made a promise with an oath.

³²After the peace treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelech went back to the land of the Philistines. His army commander Phicol went with him.

³³Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba. There he worshiped the Lord, the God who lives forever. ³⁴Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.

God Puts Abraham to the Test

22Some time later God put Abraham to the test. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” Abraham replied.

²Then God said, “Take your son, your only son. He is the one you love. Take Isaac. Go to Moriah. Give him to me there as a burnt offering. Sacrifice him on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”

³Early the next morning Abraham got up. He put a saddle on his donkey. He took two of his servants and his son Isaac with him. He cut enough wood for the burnt offering. Then he started out for the place God had told him about.

⁴On the third day Abraham looked up. He saw the place a long way off. ⁵He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there and worship. Then we’ll come back to you.”

⁶Abraham put the wood for the burnt offering on his son Isaac. He himself carried the fire and the knife. The two of them walked on together.

⁷Then Isaac spoke up. He said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said. “But where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

⁸Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” The two of them walked on together.

⁹They reached the place God had told Abraham about. There Abraham built an altar. He arranged the wood on it. He tied up his son Isaac. He placed him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰Then he reached out his hand. He took the knife to kill his son.

¹¹But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven. He said, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” Abraham replied.

¹²“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you have respect for God. You have not held back from me your son, your only son.”

¹³Abraham looked up. There in a bush he saw a ram. It was caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram. He sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

¹⁴So Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide. To this day people say, “It will be provided on the mountain of the Lord.”

¹⁵The angel of the Lord called out to Abraham from heaven a second time. ¹⁶He said, “I am taking an oath in my own name. I will bless you because of what you have done,” announces the Lord. “You have not held back your son, your only son.

¹⁷“So I will certainly bless you. I will make your children after you as many as the stars in the sky. I will make them as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. Your children will take over the cities of their enemies. ¹⁸All nations on earth will be blessed because of your children. All of that will happen because you have obeyed me.”

¹⁹Then Abraham returned to his servants. They started out together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

Nahor’s Sons

²⁰Some time later Abraham was told, “Milcah has become a mother. She has had sons by your brother Nahor. ²¹Uz was born first. Then came his brother Buz. Next came Kemuel, the father of Aram. ²²The other sons are Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel.” ²³Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah had the eight sons by Abraham’s brother Nahor. ²⁴Nahor had a concubine named Reumah. She also had sons. They were Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maacah.

Sarah Dies

23Sarah lived to be 127 years old. ²She died at Kiriath Arba. Kiriath Arba is also called Hebron. It’s in the land of Canaan.

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