Lek-LÇkÁ

The Command to Ù!bram

[10]

12

1 And Yahweh said to Ù!bram, "You go! leave your country and your relatives, and the household of your father, to the land that I will show you!

"And I will make you become a nation, and I will bless you;

and I will make your name great,

and to be a blessing!"

"And I will bless those blessing you,

but those cursing, you I will curse;

and through you will all the families of the earth bless themselves!"

4 So Ù!bram left, just as Yahweh told him to, and LÕÑ went with him; and Ù!bram was 75 years old when he left ÜÁrÁn. And Ù!bram took CÁr1y his woman, and LÕÑ, son of his brother, and all of the possessions they had accumulated, and the persons that they had associated in ÜÁrÁn, and they set out to go to the land of }ÇnÁÚan; and they arrived in the land of }ÇnÁÚan.

6 Ù!bram traveled into the land of }ÇnÁÚan as far as the area of ÿÇkem, as far as ÙÈlÕn MÕreh; then the }ÇnÁÚanÏ were in the country. But Yahweh appeared to Ù!bram, and said, "I will give this country to your seed!" ...so he built there a sacrificial-altar to Yahweh, who appeared to him.

8 He went on from there to the hill at the east of BËt ÙÈl; and he pitched his tent with BËt ÙÈl at the west and JÁÚay [the Ruins] at the east; he built there a sacrificial-altar to Yahweh, and he called upon the Name, Yahweh. Then Ù!bram set out, continuing on to the Negeb.

10 But there was famine in the land, so Ù!bram went down towards Mißrayim to live there because the famine in the land was so severe. As he was about to enter Mißrayim, he said to CÁr1y his woman, "I realize what a beautiful woman you are to look at, and when the MißrÏm see you, they will say, `This is his woman?' ...and they will kill me, but they will keep you alive! Say then that you are my sister so I will be well treated for your sake, and my life might be spared for your sake!"

14 When Ù!bram came to Mißrayim, the MißrÏm saw that the woman was very beautiful! When the officials of ParÚÓh saw her, they boasted of her to ParÚÓh, so she was brought to the House of ParÚÓj. As for Ù!bram, he was well treated because of her, and for him there were sheep, cattle, asses, servants, female-servants, she-asses, and camels. But Yahweh inflicted ParÚÓj with terrible diseases, his household also, on account of CÁr1y, the woman of Ù!bram.

18 ParÚÓj summoned Ù!bram, and he said, "What is this you have done to me? Why did you say, `She is my sister,' [allowing] me to take her to be a wife? ...and now look!; take your woman and go!" And ParÚÓj gave orders to his men about [Ù!bram], and they ejected him, and his woman, with everything which was his.

Ù!bram and LÕÑ Part Company

13

1 So Ù!bram went up from Mißrayim--he, his woman, with all he had--to the Negeb, and LÕÑ with him. Ù!bram became very prestigious with livestock, silver, and gold. And he made journeys from the Negeb as far as BËt ÙÈl, at the place there where his tent first was, between BËt ÙÈl and JÁÚay, at the place where he built the sacrificial-altar the first time, and where he called upon the Name, Yahweh.

5 As for LÕÑ, he was moving sheep, pack animals, and tents also with Ù!bram. But the land was not able to support the habitation of both of them because of their many possessions, and they were not able to dwell together.

7 And a quarrel arose between the herdsmen of Ù!bram and of LÕÑ, and the }ÇnaÚÃnÏ and the PÇrizzÏ then living in the land. And Ù!bram said to LÕÑ, "Do not allow a quarrel between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine because we are men being brothers! Is the entire land not before you?; please, separate from me--if to the left, then I will go right, and if to the right, then I will go left!"

10 And LÕÑ lifted up his eyes, and he saw all the Kikkar JayyardÉn, and how well-watered it was everywhere, like the Garden of Yahweh, like the land of Mißrayim as you go towards ÞÓÚar--before Yahweh destroyed VÇdÓm and ÚÂmÓrÁj. So LÕÑ chose for himself all the Kikkar JayyardÉn; and LÕÑ set out eastward, each separating from his brother. Ù!bram settled in the land of }ÇnÁÚan and LÕÑ settled among the towns of the plain, and he pitched his tent near VÇdÓm. But the men of VÇdÓm were evil and extremely sinful against Yahweh.

14 After LÕÑ parted company, Yahweh said to Ù!bram, "Now lift your eyes and look out from the place where you are there, towards ÞÁfÓn [northward], and to the Negeb [southward], eastward, and seaward [west]! Indeed, all the land you are seeing I will give to you and your descendants through the ages. And I will make your descendants like particles of earth, which if any were able to number the particles of earth, your descendants could also be numbered. Get up, walk through the land across its length and its breadth because I give it to you!"

18 And Ù!bram camped as he traveled and settled at ÙÈlÓnË MamrÉÙ which is at ÜevrÕn, and he built there a sacrificial-altar to Yahweh.

[11]

14

1 Now it was the days of Ù!mrÁfel, king of ÿinÚÁr; Ù!ryÕk, king of ÙEllÁvÁr; }ÇdÁrlÁÚÓmer, king of ÚÊlÁm; and TidÚÁl, king of GÕyim [Nations]. They made war with <er1Ú, king of VÇdÓm; <irþ1Ú, king of Ú#mÓrÁj; ÿinÙÁb, king of Ù!dmÁj; ÿemÙÉber, king of ÞÇvÕyim; and the king of <el1Ú, that is, ÞÓÚar. All of these met in the valley of ýiddÏm, that is, the Sea of Salt [YÁm J1mmelaÝ].

4 They had served }ÇdÁrlÁÚÓmer twelve years, but the thirteenth year they rebelled. So, in the fourteenth year }ÇdÁrlÁÚÓmer, and the kings which were with him, went and defeated the RÇfÁÙÏm of ÚAþtÇrÓt Q1rnayim, the ZûzÏm of JÁm, and the ÙÊmÏm of ÿÁwÉj QiryÁtÁyim; also the ÜÕrÏ in their hill-country of SÉÚÏr, as far as ÙÈl PÁÙrÁn, which is over the wilderness.

7 And they turned and went to ÚÊn MiþpÁÑ, that is QÁdÉþ, and they burnt all the pasture-land of the ÚÂmÁlÉqÏ, as well as the ÚÌmÕrÏ that settled at Ü1ßÇßÓn TÁmÁr.

8 Then the king of VÇdÓm, the king of ÚAmÓrÁh, the king of ÙAdmÁj, the king of ÞÇvÕyim, and the king of Bel1Ú, that is ÞÓÚar, went out and engaged in battle with them in the valley of ýiddÏm--against }ÇdÁrlÁÚÓmer, king of ÚÊlÁm; TidÚÁl, king of GÕyim; Ù!mrÁfel, king of ÿinÚÁr; and ÙAryÕk, king of ÙEllÁvÁr--four kings against the five.

10 The valley of ýiddÏm was full of tar pits and the kings of VÇdÓm and ÚÂmÓrÁj fled, and they quickly went down there, but the rest fled to the hills. [The four kings] seized all the goods of VÇdÓm and ÚÂmÓrÁj, including all their food, then they left. And they carried off LÕÑ, the son of Ù!bram's brother, with his possessions, since he dwelled near VÇdÓm, and they left.

13 One escaping came and informed Ù!bram the ÚIvrÏ; he [still] tented near the Groves of M1mrÉÙ the ÚÌmÕrÏ, the brother of ÙEþkÓl and ÚÀnÉr, and these were holders of treaty with Ù!bram. And when Ù!bram heard that his brother was held captive he called out his trained men, 318 born into his household, and pursued as far as DÁn.

15 And they split up around them by night, and he and his servants routed them and chased them as far as ÜÕbÁj, which is to the north, toward D1mmÁüeq. And he recovered all the goods, and also LÕÑ and his possessions, and he brought back the women and the people.

17 And out came the king of VÇdÓm to meet [Ù!bram] after he returned from defeating }ÇdÁr-lÁÚÓmer and the kings that were with him in the valley of ÿÁwÉj, that is the Valley of the King.

18 And M1lkÏ-Þedeq, king of ÿÁlÉm, brought out food and wine; he was a kÓhÉn to ÙÈl ÙElyÕn [The Highest Deity].

19 And he praised him, saying,

"Praised be Ù!bram by ÙÈl ÙElyÕn,

Creator of heavens and earth!

Praised be ÙÈl ÙElyÕn,

who delivered your foes into your hand!"

21 so he gave to him a tenth of everything. But the king of VÇdÓm said to Ù!bram, "Give the people to me, but keep the goods for yourself!" But Ù!bram said to the king of VÇdÓm, "I raised my hand up to Yahweh ÙÈl ÙElyÕn, creator of heavens and earth. If even a thread, or even a sandal thong ---if I accept from anything that is yours, will you not say, `I made Ù!bram wealthy!'? Nothing for me except what my men have eaten, and the share entitled to the men who went with me--ÚÀnÉr, ÙEþkÓl, and M1mrÉÙ--let them have their share."

[12]

15

1 After these matters, the Word of Yahweh [dÇbar-YHWH] came to Ù!bram in a vision to say, "Do not be afraid, Ù!bram; I am your shield; your reward will be very great!"

2 But Ù!bram said, "ÙÂdÕnÁy Yahweh, what will you give to me? ---I remain childless, and the heir to my estate will be ÙÌlÏÚezer of D1mmaüeq." And Ù!bram said, "Look! you have given no offspring to me! indeed, look! a servant of my household will become my heir!"

4 But then, the Word of Yahweh said to him, "This one will not be your heir! indeed, he who shall come out from your own loins will, instead, be your heir!" And he took him outside and said, "Now, look up at the heavens and count the stars--indeed, are you able to count them?" Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be!"

6 So [Ù!bram] put trust in Yahweh, and it was accounted to him as righteousness. He also said to him,

"I [am] Yahweh,

who caused you to leave from ÙÛr K1üdÏm,

to give you this land to possess it!"

8 But he said, "ÙÂdÕnÁy Yahweh, how will I know that I will possess it?" And he said, "Bring to me a heifer being three years old, and a she-goat being three years old, and a ram being three years old, and a dove, and a young pigeon."

10 So he brought all these to him, and he cut them in two in the middle, and he arranged each half to be opposite of the other, but the birds he did not cut in two. Scavenging birds came down over the carcasses, but Ù!bram drove them off.

12 And the sun was going, and a deep sleep fell over Ù!bram, then terror and an overwhelming darkness fell over him. And [Yahweh] said to Ù!bram, "You must know that your offspring will be strangers in a land not their own, and they shall serve them and be mistreated by them 400 years. But also, the nation that they serve I will punish, and afterwards they will come out with great possessions. But you will go to your fathers in peace, you will be entombed at a good old age. And the fourth generation will return here ---but the wrongdoing of the ÚÌmÕrÏ is still incomplete."

17 When the sun had gone and the darkness had fell, a smoking fire-pot and a fired torch passed between those parts [having been cut in two]. On that day Yahweh cut a covenant with Ù!bram, saying, "I give this land to your offspring--from the river of Mißrayim to the great river, NÁhÁr FÇrÁt; that of the QËnÏ, the QÇnizzÏ, the QadmÓnÏ; the ÜittÏ, the PÇrizzÏ, and the RÇfÁÙÏm; the ÚÌmÕrÏ, the }ÇnaÚÃnÏ, the :irgaþÏ, and the YÇbûsÏ."

Yiþm`ÁÙÉl, Firstborn of Ù!bram

[13]

16

1 And CÁr1y, woman of Ù!bram, had not bore for him, but she had a maidservant from Mißrayim, and her name was JÁ;Ár.

2 CÁr1y said to Ù!bram, "Look, Yahweh has kept me from bearing--go now to my maidservant! perhaps, through her I might have sons." ...and Ù!bram obliged CÁr1y.

3 At the ending of ten years in which Ù!bram had stayed in the land of }ÇnÁÚan, CÁr1y, the woman of Ù!bram, took JÁ;Ár J1mmißrÏt, her maidservant, and gave her to Ù!bram her husband, to be a wife to him. And he went in to JÁ;Ár, and she conceived; and when she realized that she was pregnant, she began to look hatefully at her mistress. And CÁr1y said to Ù!bram, "My mistreatment is because of you! I put my servant in your lap! but she realizes that she is pregnant, and now I am despicable in her eyes ---Yahweh will decide justly between you and I!"

6 But Ù!bram said to CÁr1y, `See here, your servant is in your hands--do as you see fit with her!" ...so CÁr1y humiliated her, and she fled.

7 But the Messenger of Yahweh found her at a spring of water, the spring on the road to ÿûr. And he said, "JÁ;Ár, maidservant of CÁr1y, where is it you have come from, and where do you go?" ...and she said, "I am running from CÁr1y, my mistress."

9 The Messenger of Yahweh said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her hands!" And the Messenger of Yahweh said to her, "I will vastly increase your descendants, and they will be impossible to number because of size!" The Messenger of Yahweh said to her,

"Now you are with child,

indeed, you will bear a son-

you will call his name YiþmÚaÙÉl [ÙÈl Hears]

for Yahweh has heard your distress.


And he will be a man [like] a wild-ass,

his hand against all,

and the hand of all against him;

and in the presence of all his brothers

will he pitch his tent!"

13 And she called out, naming Yahweh, who spoke to her, ÙÈl RoÙÏ [the Mighty One Who Sees] you must be, because..." she said, "surely, I have seen here the back of He who watches over me!" Upon this the well came to be called <ÇÙÉr LaÝay RÓÙÏ [Well of the Living-One Who-Sees]; it is between QÁdÉþ and Bered.

15 And JÁ;Ár bore a son to Ù!bram, and Ù!bram did give the name YiþmÚaÙÉl to his son whom JÁ;Ár bore. And Ù!bram was 86 years of age when JÁ;Ár bore YiþmÚaÙÉl to Ù!bram.

Covenant Reaffirmed with Circumcision

[14]

17

1 When Ù!bram was 99 years of age, Yahweh appeared to Ù!bram, and said to him, "I am ÙÈl ÿadday! walk before me and be blameless! And I will confirm my agreement between you and I, and I will make you great--extremely great!"

3 And Ù!bram fell face down; and ÙÌlÓjÏm declared to him, saying, "As for me, my agreement is with you!; and you will be a father to many nations! And no longer will your name be Ù!bram, instead, it shall be Ù!brajam, because I will make you the father of many nations. And I will make you extremely prolific, and I will give nations from you, and kings will come from you! And I stand by my agreement between you and I, and your descendants after you, throughout their generations --an unending promise to be your ÙÌlÓjÏm, and of your descendants after you! And I will give to you, and your descendants after you, the land of your journeys --the entire land of }ÇnaÚan as an unending possession, indeed, I will be an ÙÌlÓjÏm to them!"

9 Then ÙÌlÓjÏm said to Ù!brajam, "You must observe my agreement--you, and your descendants after you, throughout their generations. This is my obligation that must be observed between you and I, and your descendants after you--every male among you is to be circumcised! The foreskin will be circumcised from you, and this will signify the agreement between you and I. Every male among you must be circumcised on his eighth day, throughout your generations--whether born to your household or bought with money from an alien not of your descendants. You must certainly circumcise him born to your household or bought with money in order that my agreement be in your flesh as an unending agreement. But the foreskinned male who will not be circumcised upon his foreskin--that person is to cut off from his people--he has broken my agreement!"

15 And ÙÌlÓjÏm said to Ù!brajam, "CÁr1y, your woman, you shall no [longer] call CÁr1y because her name is to be called ýÁrÁj. I will bless her, and I will also give you a son by her; and I will bless her so that nations [and] rulers of peoples will proceed from her!"

17 And Ù!brajam went face down, but laughed and said in his heart, `will he be born to a 100 year old man, and indeed, will ýÁrÁj, a 90 year old woman, bear!?'

18 Ù!brajam said to ÙÌlÓjÏm, "If only YiþmÚaÙÉl would live under your influence!"

19 But ÙÌlÓjÏm said, "Ah, however, ýÁrÁj, your woman is bearing a son for you, and you will call his name YißÝÁq, and I will stand by my agreement with him --an unending agreement to his descendants after him! But concerning YiþmÚaÙÉl--I have heard you, and I will bless him, and make him prolific, and I will make him great--extremely great; he will father twelve princes, and I will give him a great nation! But my agreement I will stand by with YißÝÁq, whom ýÁrÁj will bear to you at this time next year!" And ÙÌlÓjÏm finished speaking to Ù!brajam and went up.

23 And Ù!brajam took YiþmÚaÙÉl, his son, and all those born to his household, and all those bought with money --every male- and Ù!brajam circumcised their foreskins on that very day, as ÙÌlÓjÏm instructed him. Ù!brajam was 99 years of age when his foreskin came to be circumcised. And YiþmÚaÙÉl, his son, was 13 years of age when his foreskin came to be circumcised. On that very day Ù!brajam and his son, YiþmÚaÙÉl, were circumcised. And all the men of his household--born so or bought with money from an alien- were circumcised with them.







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