5. Death of Joseph in Egypt (50:15–26)

5. Death of Joseph in Egypt (50:15–26)

F. Events and Deaths from Shechem to Mamre (33:18–35:29) X. The Generations of Esau (36:1–37:1) XI. The Generations of Jacob (37:2–50:26)

A. Joseph's Dreams (37:2–11)

B. Family Tragedy (37:12–38:30) C. Vice Regency over Egypt (chs. 39–41) D. Reunion with Family (chs. 42–45)

E. Transition to Exodus (chs. 46–50)

1. Journey to Egypt (46:1–27) 2. Occupation in Goshen (46:28–47:31) 3. Blessings on the twelve tribes (48:1–49:28) 4. Death and burial of Jacob in Canaan (49:29–50:14) 5. Death of Joseph in Egypt (50:15–26)

Genesis

The Creation of the World

GENESIS 1 ‡In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2†The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

3†And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4‡†And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5†God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

6†And God said, "Let there be an expanse [1] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." 7†And God made [2] the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8And God called the expanse Heaven. [3] And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

9‡And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. 10God called the dry land Earth, [4] and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

11‡†And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants [5] yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth." And it was so. 12The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

14†And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, [6] and for days and years, 15‡and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 16And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness.

And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

20†And God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds [7] fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens." 21So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22†And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." 23And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

24‡†And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so. 25And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

26‡†Then God said, "Let us make man [8] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

27†So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

28†And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." 29‡And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. 31†And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

The Seventh Day, God Rests

GENESIS 2 ‡Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2†And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

The Creation of Man and Woman

4‡‡These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.

5When no bush of the field [1] was yet in the land [2] and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6†and a mist [3] was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— 7†then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8†And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9†And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10†A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11†The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12†And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13†The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. 14†And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15†The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17†but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat [4] of it you shall surely die."

18†Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will

make him a helper fit for [5] him." 19†Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed [6] every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20†The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam [7] there was not found a helper fit for him. 21†So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made [8] into a woman and brought her to the man. 23†Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." [9]

24†Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25†And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

The Fall

GENESIS 3 †Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.

He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You [1] shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" 2‡And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3†but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" 4‡But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6†So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, [2] she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7†Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

8†And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool [3] of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9†But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" [4] 10†And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself." 11†He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" 12†The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." 13†Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

14†The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go,

and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15†I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring [5] and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."

16†To the woman he said, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.

Your desire shall be for [6] your husband, and he shall rule over you."

17‡†And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree

of which I commanded you,

'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days

of your life; 18thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19†By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground,

for out of it you were taken; for you are dust,

and to dust you shall return."

20The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. [7] 21†And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

22‡†Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—" 23therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24†He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Cain and Abel

GENESIS 4 †Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten [1] a man with the help of the LORD." 2†And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3†In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4‡†and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, 5‡but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7†If you do well, will you not be accepted? [2] And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for [3] you, but you must rule over it."

8†Cain spoke to Abel his brother. [4] And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9†Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" 10†And the LORD said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. 11†And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth." 13Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear. [5] 14†Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." 15†Then the LORD said to him, "Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. 16†Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, [6] east of Eden.

17†Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. 18To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19†And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20†Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21†His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. 22†Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

23‡Lamech said to his wives: "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say: I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.

24If Cain's revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech's is seventy-sevenfold."

25†And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, "God has appointed [7] for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him." 26†To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.

Adam's Descendants to Noah

GENESIS 5 ‡‡†This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. 2†Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man [1] when they were created. 3†When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. 4The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters. 5†Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.

6When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh. 7Seth lived after he fathered Enosh 807 years and had other sons and daughters. 8Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.

9When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan. 10Enosh lived after he fathered Kenan 815 years and had other sons and daughters. 11Thus all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.

12When Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel. 13Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalalel 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14Thus all the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died.

15When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared. 16Mahalalel lived after he fathered Jared 830 years and had other sons and daughters. 17Thus all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.

18When Jared had lived 162 years he fathered Enoch. 19Jared lived after he fathered Enoch 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.

21When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. 22Enoch walked with God [2] after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 24†Enoch walked with God, and he was not, [3] for God took him.

25‡When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech. 26Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.

28When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son 29†and called his name Noah, saying, "Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed this one shall bring us relief [4] from our work and from the painful toil of our hands." 30Lamech lived after he fathered Noah 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31Thus all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.

32After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Increasing Corruption on Earth

GENESIS 6 ‡†When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2†the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3†Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not abide in [1] man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years." 4†The Nephilim [2] were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.

5†The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6†And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7†So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them." 8†But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

Noah and the Flood

9‡†These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. 10And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11†Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13†And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end of all flesh, [3] for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14†Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. [4] Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 15‡This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, [5] its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. 16Make a roof [6] for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17†For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. 18†But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.

19‡And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. 20Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. 21Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them." 22Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

GENESIS 7 †Then the LORD said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. 2‡Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, [1] the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, 3†and seven pairs [2] of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. 4†For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing [3] that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground." 5And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him.

6Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. 7And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 8Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, 9two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. 10And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth.

11†In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. 12And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 13On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, 14they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature. 15They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 16†And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the LORD shut him in.

17The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. 19†And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. 20†The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits [4] deep. 21And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. 22Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 23He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground,

man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. 24†And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.

The Flood Subsides

GENESIS 8 †But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, 3and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated, 4†and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.

6At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made 7‡and sent forth a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. 8Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground. 9But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him. 10He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. 11And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. 12Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore.

13In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry. 14‡In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth had dried out. 15Then God said to Noah, 16"Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons' wives with you. 17‡Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—that they may swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth." 18So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him. 19Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark.

God's Covenant with Noah

20†Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21†And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, "I will never again curse [1] the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. 22†While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease."

GENESIS 9 †And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2‡The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. 3Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. 4†But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5†And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.

6†"Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

7And you, [1] be fruitful and multiply, teem on the earth and multiply in it."

8Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9‡‡"Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. 11†I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." 12†And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15†I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16†When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." 17God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."

Noah's Descendants

18†The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19†These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed. [2]

20Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. [3] 21†He drank

of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. 22†And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. 23Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father's nakedness. 24When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, 25‡he said, "Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers."

26†He also said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant.

27†May God enlarge Japheth, [4] and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant."

28After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.

Nations Descended from Noah

GENESIS 10 ‡‡These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.

2The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. 3The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. 4The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 5†From these the coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans, in their nations.

6‡The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. 7The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. 8‡Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. [1] 9He was a mighty hunter before the LORD. Therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD." 10†The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11†From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and 12Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. 13Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, 14Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom [2] the Philistines came), and Caphtorim.

15‡Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth, 16and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, 17the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, 18the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the clans of the Canaanites dispersed. 19And the territory of the Canaanites extended from Sidon in the direction of Gerar as far as Gaza, and in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 20These are the sons of Ham, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.

21‡†To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, children were born. 22The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. 23The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 24Arpachshad fathered Shelah; and Shelah fathered Eber. 25†To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, [3] for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother's name was Joktan. 26Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan. 30The territory in which they lived extended from Mesha in the direction of Sephar to the hill country of the east.

31These are the sons of Shem, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.

32These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.

The Tower of Babel

GENESIS 11 †Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2†And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3‡And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4†Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth." 5And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6†And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7†Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech." 8†So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9†Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused [1] the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

Shem's Descendants

10‡These are the generations of Shem. When Shem was 100 years old, he fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood. 11And Shem lived after he fathered Arpachshad 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he fathered Shelah. 13And Arpachshad lived after he fathered Shelah 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

14†When Shelah had lived 30 years, he fathered Eber. 15And Shelah lived after he fathered Eber 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16When Eber had lived 34 years, he fathered Peleg. 17And Eber lived after he fathered Peleg 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18When Peleg had lived 30 years, he fathered Reu. 19And Peleg lived after he fathered Reu 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20When Reu had lived 32 years, he fathered Serug. 21And Reu lived after he fathered Serug 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22When Serug had lived 30 years, he fathered Nahor. 23And Serug lived after he fathered Nahor 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24When Nahor had lived 29 years, he fathered Terah. 25And Nahor lived after he fathered Terah 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26†When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Terah's Descendants

27‡†Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. 28†Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.

31†Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.

The Call of Abram

GENESIS 12 ‡†Now the LORD said [1] to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2†And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3†I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." [2]

4†So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5†And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6†Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak [3] of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7†Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8†From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD. 9†And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

Abram and Sarai in Egypt

10†Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11†When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, "I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, 12‡and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13†Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake." 14When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15†And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. 16And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

17†But the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 18‡So Pharaoh called Abram and said, "What is this you

have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go." 20†And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.

Abram and Lot Separate

GENESIS 13 ‡So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb.

2Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the LORD. 5†And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6‡so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, 7†and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.

8†Then Abram said to Lot, "Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. [1] 9†Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left." 10†And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11‡So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. 12Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13†Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.

14‡The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. 16I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. 17Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you." 18†So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks [2] of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.

Abram Rescues Lot

GENESIS 14 ‡In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, 2these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 4Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6and the Horites in their hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the border of the wilderness. 7Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh) and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were dwelling in Hazazon-tamar.

8Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim 9with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five. 10†Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country. 11So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12They also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.

13†Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks [1] of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. 14†When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15‡And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. 16Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.

Abram Blessed by Melchizedek

17†After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the

King's Valley). 18†And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor [2] of heaven and earth; 20†and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!"

And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 21‡And the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself." 22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted my hand [3] to the LORD, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, 23that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich.' 24I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share."

God's Covenant with Abram

GENESIS 15 †After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." 2†But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue [1] childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3‡And Abram said, "Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir." 4And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: "This man shall not be your heir; your very own son [2] shall be your heir." 5†And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 6†And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

7†And he said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess." 8†But he said, "O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?" 9‡He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." 10And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12†As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13‡†Then the LORD said to Abram, "Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16†And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."

17†When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18‡On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your offspring I give [3] this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites."

Sarai and Hagar

GENESIS 16 †Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2And Sarai said to Abram, "Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children [1] by her." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3†So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. [2] 5†And Sarai said to Abram, "May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!" 6But Abram said to Sarai, "Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please." Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

7†The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8†And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai." 9The angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress and submit to her." 10†The angel of the LORD also said to her, "I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude." 11†And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son.

You shall call his name Ishmael, [3]

because the LORD has listened to your affliction. 12†He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen."

13†So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "You are a God of seeing," [4] for she said, "Truly here I have seen him who looks after me." [5] 14Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; [6] it lies between Kadesh and Bered.

15†And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16†Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision

GENESIS 17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; [1] walk before me, and be blameless, 2†that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly." 3Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4†"Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5†No longer shall your name be called Abram, [2] but your name shall be Abraham, [3] for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6†I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7†And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8†And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God."

9†And God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11†You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12†He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14†Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."

Isaac's Birth Promised

15†And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah [4] shall be her name. 16†I will bless her, and moreover, I will give [5] you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her." 17†Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" 18†And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!" 19‡†God said, "No, but

Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. [6] I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. 21But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year."

22When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23‡Then Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him. 24Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

GENESIS 18 †And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks [1] of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3†and said, "O Lord, [2] if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant." So they said, "Do as you have said." 6And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quick! Three seahs [3] of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes." 7And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. 8Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

9‡They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "She is in the tent." 10‡The LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?" 13The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' 14‡Is anything too hard [4] for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son." 15But Sarah denied it, [5] saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh."

16Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17‡The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18†seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19†For I have chosen [6] him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him." 20†Then the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21I will go down to see whether they have done altogether [7] according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know."

Abraham Intercedes for Sodom

22So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. 23†Then Abraham drew near and said, "Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24†Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25†Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?" 26And the LORD said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

27†Abraham answered and said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" And he said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there." 29Again he spoke to him and said, "Suppose forty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it." 30Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there." He answered, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there." 31He said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it." 32†Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it." 33†And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

God Rescues Lot

GENESIS 19 †The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2†and said, "My lords, please turn aside to your servant's house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way." They said, "No; we will spend the night in the town square." 3†But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

4†But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5†And they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them." 6‡Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7and said, "I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8†Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof." 9†But they said, "Stand back!" And they said, "This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them." Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 10‡But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.

12Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13†For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it." 14†So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, "Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city." But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.

15As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city." 16†But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17‡And as they brought them out, one said,

"Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away." 18And Lot said to them, "Oh, no, my lords. 19Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!" 21He said to him, "Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. [1]

God Destroys Sodom

23The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24†Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. 25And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26†But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

27And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.

29†So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.

Lot and His Daughters

30†Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 31‡And the firstborn said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth. 32Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father." 33So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose.

34The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, "Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father." 35So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 36Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. 37‡The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. [2] He is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. [3] He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.

Abraham and Abimelech

GENESIS 20 †From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. 2†And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3†But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, "Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife." 4Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, "Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 5Did he not himself say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she herself said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this." 6†Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. 7†Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours."

8So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. 9†Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, "What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done." 10And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What did you see, that you did this thing?" 11‡Abraham said, "I did it because I thought, There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. 12Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13And when God caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her, 'This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, He is my brother.'"

14Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. 15And Abimelech said, "Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you." 16†To Sarah he said, "Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all [1] who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated." 17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18For the LORD had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech

because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

The Birth of Isaac

GENESIS 21 †The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. 2And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. [1] 4†And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5†Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6And Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me." 7And she said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."

God Protects Hagar and Ishmael

8†And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9†But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing. [2] 10†So she said to Abraham, "Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac." 11And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. 12†But God said to Abraham, "Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. 13†And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring." 14†So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

15When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. 16Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, "Let me not look on the death of the child." And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17†And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18†Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation." 19Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. 21†He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his

mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

A Treaty with Abimelech

22‡At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, "God is with you in all that you do. 23Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned." 24And Abraham said, "I will swear."

25When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized, 26Abimelech said, "I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today." 27So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. 28Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. 29And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?" 30He said, "These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this [3] may be a witness for me that I dug this well." 31†Therefore that place was called Beersheba, [4] because there both of them swore an oath. 32†So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33†Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. 34And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines.

The Sacrifice of Isaac

GENESIS 22 †After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." 2†He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." 3So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4†On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5†Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy [1] will go over there and worship and come again to you." 6And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here am I, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" 8Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.

9‡When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11†But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." 12†He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." 13†And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14So Abraham called the name of that place, "The LORD will provide"; [2] as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided." [3]

15‡And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16‡and said, "By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17†I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his [4] enemies, 18†and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed,

because you have obeyed my voice." 19So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.

20‡Now after these things it was told to Abraham, "Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel." 23(Bethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother. 24Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

Sarah's Death and Burial

GENESIS 23 ‡Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2†And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3†And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites, [1] 4†"I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight." 5The Hittites answered Abraham, 6†"Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God [2] among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead." 7Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. 8And he said to them, "If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar, 9that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place."

10†Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city, 11†"No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead." 12Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. 13And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, "But if you will, hear me: I give the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there." 14Ephron answered Abraham, 15"My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels [3] of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead." 16†Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.

17‡So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, was made over 18to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19†After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20†The field and the cave that is in it were made over to Abraham as property for a burying place by the Hittites.

Isaac and Rebekah

GENESIS 24 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. 2‡†And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh, 3‡that I may make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, 4but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac." 5The servant said to him, "Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?" 6‡Abraham said to him, "See to it that you do not take my son back there. 7†The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, 'To your offspring I will give this land,' he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there." 9†So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.

10†Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia [1] to the city of Nahor. 11And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water. 12‡And he said, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14†Let the young woman to whom I shall say, 'Please let down your jar that I may drink,' and who shall say, 'Drink, and I will water your camels'— let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this [2] I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master."

15Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder. 16The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden [3] whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. 17Then the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water to drink from your jar." 18She said, "Drink, my lord." And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. 19When she had

finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking." 20†So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels. 21The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the LORD had prospered his journey or not.

22†When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel, [4] and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, 23and said, "Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?" 24†She said to him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor." 25She added, "We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night." 26The man bowed his head and worshiped the LORD 27and said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the LORD has led me in the way to the house of my master's kinsmen." 28Then the young woman ran and told her mother's household about these things.

29‡Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring. 30As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, "Thus the man spoke to me," he went to the man. And behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. 31He said, "Come in, O blessed of the LORD. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels." 32So the man came to the house and unharnessed the camels, and gave straw and fodder to the camels, and there was water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33†Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, "I will not eat until I have said what I have to say." He said, "Speak on."

34So he said, "I am Abraham's servant. 35The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys. 36And Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and to him he has given all that he has. 37My master made me swear, saying, 'You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell, 38but you shall go to my father's house and to my clan and take a wife for my son.' 39I said to my master, 'Perhaps the woman will not follow me.' 40But he said to me, 'The LORD, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son from my clan and from my

father's house. 41Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my clan. And if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.'

42"I came today to the spring and said, 'O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, if now you are prospering the way that I go, 43behold, I am standing by the spring of water. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, to whom I shall say, "Please give me a little water from your jar to drink," 44and who will say to me, "Drink, and I will draw for your camels also," let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master's son.'

45"Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, 'Please let me drink.' 46She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I will give your camels drink also.' So I drank, and she gave the camels drink also. 47Then I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him.' So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms. 48Then I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way [5] to take the daughter of my master's kinsman for his son. 49†Now then, if you are going to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left."

50‡Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, "The thing has come from the LORD; we cannot speak to you bad or good. 51Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has spoken."

52When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before the LORD. 53†And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments. 54†And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they arose in the morning, he said, "Send me away to my master." 55Her brother and her mother said, "Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go." 56But he said to them, "Do not delay me, since the LORD has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master." 57‡They said, "Let us call the young woman and ask her." 58And they called Rebekah and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" She said, "I will go." 59†So they sent away Rebekah their sister

and her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men. 60†And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, "Our sister, may you become thousands of ten thousands, and may your offspring possess the gate of those who hate him!" [6]

61Then Rebekah and her young women arose and rode on the camels and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah and went his way.

62†Now Isaac had returned from Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb. 63†And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming. 64And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel 65†and said to the servant, "Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?" The servant said, "It is my master." So she took her veil and covered herself. 66And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67†Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

Abraham's Death and His Descendants

GENESIS 25 ‡Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5‡Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. 6But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.

7These are the days of the years of Abraham's life, 175 years. 8†Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9‡Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, 10the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife. 11After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.

12‡These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham. 13‡These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16†These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes. 17(These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.) 18They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled [1] over against all his kinsmen.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

19‡These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham fathered Isaac, 20†and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. 21†And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22†The children struggled together within her, and she said, "If it is thus, why is this happening to me?" [2] So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23†And the LORD said to her, "Two

nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you [3] shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger."

24†When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25†The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. 26Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob. [4] Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

27‡When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. 28Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau Sells His Birthright

29Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. 30†And Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!" (Therefore his name was called Edom. [5]) 31†Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright now." 32Esau said, "I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?" 33Jacob said, "Swear to me now." So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34†Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

God's Promise to Isaac

GENESIS 26 †Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2‡And the LORD appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. 3‡Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. 4†I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, 5because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

Isaac and Abimelech

6‡So Isaac settled in Gerar. 7When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister," for he feared to say, "My wife," thinking, "lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah," because she was attractive in appearance. 8When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with [1] Rebekah his wife. 9So Abimelech called Isaac and said, "Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac said to him, "Because I thought, 'Lest I die because of her.'" 10Abimelech 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." 11†So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, "Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death."

12‡And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him, 13and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. 14He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. 15†(Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.) 16And Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we."

17So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of

Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them. 19But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, 20the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, "The water is ours." So he called the name of the well Esek, [2] because they contended with him. 21Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah. [3] 22†And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, [4] saying, "For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land."

23From there he went up to Beersheba. 24‡And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake." 25So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's servants dug a well.

26†When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army, 27Isaac said to them, "Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?" 28†They said, "We see plainly that the LORD has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, 29that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD." 30†So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. 32That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, "We have found water." 33†He called it Shibah; [5] therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

34When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, 35†and they made life bitter [6] for Isaac and Rebekah.

Isaac Blesses Jacob

GENESIS 27 †When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, "My son"; and he answered, "Here I am." 2He said, "Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, 4†and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die."

5†Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, 6Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, 7'Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the LORD before I die.' 8Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. 9Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. 10And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies." 11But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. 12†Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing." 13†His mother said to him, "Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me."

14So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. 15†Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

18So he went in to his father and said, "My father." And he said, "Here I am. Who are you, my son?" 19Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me." 20†But Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?" He answered, "Because the LORD your God granted me success." 21Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not." 22So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau." 23And he did not recognize him, because his hands

were hairy like his brother Esau's hands. So he blessed him. 24He said, "Are you really my son Esau?" He answered, "I am." 25Then he said, "Bring it near to me, that I may eat of my son's game and bless you." So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.

26Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come near and kiss me, my son." 27‡So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said, "See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed!

28May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. 29Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses

you!"

30As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31He also prepared delicious food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, "Let my father arise and eat of his son's game, that you may bless me." 32His father Isaac said to him, "Who are you?" He answered, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau." 33†Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, "Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed." 34†As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, O my father!" 35But he said, "Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing." 36Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? [1] For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing." Then he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" 37Isaac answered and said to Esau, "Behold, I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?" 38Esau said to his father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father." And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

39‡Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: "Behold, away from [2] the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from [3] the dew of heaven on high.

40†By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck."

41†Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob." 42But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, "Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you. 43Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran 44and stay with him a while, until your brother's fury turns away— 45†until your brother's anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?"

46†Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I loathe my life because of the Hittite women. [4] If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?"

Jacob Sent to Laban

GENESIS 28 ‡Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him, "You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. 2†Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother's father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother. 3‡†God Almighty [1] bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. 4May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!" 5†Thus Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

Esau Marries an Ishmaelite

6Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he directed him, "You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women," 7and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. 8So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father, 9†Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth.

Jacob's Dream

10‡†Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11†And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. 12†And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder [2] set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13And behold, the LORD stood above it [3] and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15†Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." 16Then Jacob awoke from his sleep

and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." 17And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

18‡So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19He called the name of that place Bethel, [4] but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, 22†and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you."

Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel

GENESIS 29 ‡Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. 2‡As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well's mouth was large, 3and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well.

4Jacob said to them, "My brothers, where do you come from?" They said, "We are from Haran." 5†He said to them, "Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?" They said, "We know him." 6‡He said to them, "Is it well with him?" They said, "It is well; and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep!" 7He said, "Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them." 8But they said, "We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep."

9†While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10‡Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. 11Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. 12And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's kinsman, and that he was Rebekah's son, and she ran and told her father.

13As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son, he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things, 14†and Laban said to him, "Surely you are my bone and my flesh!" And he stayed with him a month.

15Then Laban said to Jacob, "Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?" 16Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17†Leah's eyes were weak, [1] but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. 18‡Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, "I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel." 19Laban said, "It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me." 20So Jacob

served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

21Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed." 22So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast. 23‡†But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. 24(Laban gave [2] his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 25And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?" 26Laban said, "It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27‡Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years." 28†Jacob did so, and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 29(Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 30So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years.

Jacob's Children

31†When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, [3] for she said, "Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me." 33She conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also." And she called his name Simeon. [4] 34Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, "Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore his name was called Levi. [5] 35And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "This time I will praise the LORD." Therefore she called his name Judah. [6] Then she ceased bearing.

GENESIS 30 ‡†When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I shall die!" 2†Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?" 3†Then she said, "Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf, [1] that even I may have children [2] through her." 4So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6Then Rachel said, "God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son." Therefore she called his name Dan. [3] 7Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8Then Rachel said, "With mighty wrestlings [4] I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed." So she called his name Naphtali. [5]

9When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10Then Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11And Leah said, "Good fortune has come!" so she called his name Gad. [6] 12Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13And Leah said, "Happy am I! For women have called me happy." So she called his name Asher. [7]

14†In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes." 15‡But she said to her, "Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?" Rachel said, "Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes." 16When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So he lay with her that night. 17And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18Leah said, "God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband." So she called his name Issachar. [8]

19And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. 20†Then Leah said, "God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons." So she called his name Zebulun. [9] 21†Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.

22†Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. 23She conceived and bore a son and said, "God has taken away my

reproach." 24†And she called his name Joseph, [10] saying, "May the LORD add to me another son!"

Jacob's Prosperity

25†As soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country. 26Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, that I may go, for you know the service that I have given you." 27†But Laban said to him, "If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that [11] the LORD has blessed me because of you. 28†Name your wages, and I will give it." 29Jacob said to him, "You yourself know how I have served you, and how your livestock has fared with me. 30For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?" 31‡He said, "What shall I give you?" Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it: 32let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages. 33So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen." 34Laban said, "Good! Let it be as you have said." 35But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb that was black, and put them in the charge of his sons. 36And he set a distance of three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob pastured the rest of Laban's flock.

37‡Then Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. 38He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, 39the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. 40And Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban. He put his own droves apart and did not put them with Laban's flock. 41Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the sticks, 42but for the feebler of the flock he would not lay them there. So the feebler would be Laban's, and the

stronger Jacob's. 43Thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

Jacob Flees from Laban

GENESIS 31 ‡Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, "Jacob has taken all that was our father's, and from what was our father's he has gained all this wealth." 2And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before. 3†Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you."

4†So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was 5†and said to them, "I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me. 6‡You know that I have served your father with all my strength, 7yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me. 8If he said, 'The spotted shall be your wages,' then all the flock bore spotted; and if he said, 'The striped shall be your wages,' then all the flock bore striped. 9Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me. 10‡In the breeding season of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled. 11†Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob,' and I said, 'Here I am!' 12And he said, 'Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13†I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.'" 14‡Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, "Is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father's house? 15Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and he has indeed devoured our money. 16All the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do."

17So Jacob arose and set his sons and his wives on camels. 18He drove away all his livestock, all his property that he had gained, the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac. 19†Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father's household gods. 20†And Jacob tricked [1] Laban the Aramean, by not telling him that he intended to flee. 21†He fled with all that he had and arose and crossed the Euphrates, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.

22When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled, 23†he took his

kinsmen with him and pursued him for seven days and followed close after him into the hill country of Gilead. 24†But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, "Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad."

25And Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen pitched tents in the hill country of Gilead. 26†And Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done, that you have tricked me and driven away my daughters like captives of the sword? 27‡Why did you flee secretly and trick me, and did not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with mirth and songs, with tambourine and lyre? 28And why did you not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell? Now you have done foolishly. 29It is in my power to do you harm. But the God of your [2] father spoke to me last night, saying, 'Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.' 30†And now you have gone away because you longed greatly for your father's house, but why did you steal my gods?" 31†Jacob answered and said to Laban, "Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. 32Anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our kinsmen point out what I have that is yours, and take it." Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

33So Laban went into Jacob's tent and into Leah's tent and into the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find them. And he went out of Leah's tent and entered Rachel's. 34‡Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel's saddle and sat on them. Laban felt all about the tent, but did not find them. 35†And she said to her father, "Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me." So he searched but did not find the household gods.

36Then Jacob became angry and berated Laban. Jacob said to Laban, "What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me? 37†For you have felt through all my goods; what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen, that they may decide between us two. 38‡These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks. 39What was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it myself. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40There I was: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. 41These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen

years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. 42†If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night."

43†Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, "The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day for these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne? 44†Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I. And let it be a witness between you and me." 45So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46And Jacob said to his kinsmen, "Gather stones." And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47‡Laban called it Jegarsahadutha, [3] but Jacob called it Galeed. [4] 48Laban said, "This heap is a witness between you and me today." Therefore he named it Galeed, 49and Mizpah, [5] for he said, "The LORD watch between you and me, when we are out of one another's sight. 50If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me."

51Then Laban said to Jacob, "See this heap and the pillar, which I have set between you and me. 52This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm. 53†The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us." So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac, 54and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country.

55 [6] Early in the morning Laban arose and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned home.

Jacob Fears Esau

GENESIS 32 †Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2†And when Jacob saw them he said, "This is God's camp!" So he called the name of that place Mahanaim. [1]

3†And Jacob sent [2] messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom, 4instructing them, "Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, 'I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now. 5I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight.'"

6And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, "We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him." 7†Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps, 8thinking, "If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape."

9‡And Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,' 10I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. 11Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. 12But you said, 'I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.'"

13‡So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took a present for his brother Esau, 14two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, "Pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove." 17He instructed the first, "When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, 'To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you?' 18then you shall say, 'They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present sent to my lord Esau. And moreover, he is behind us.'" 19He likewise instructed the second and

the third and all who followed the droves, "You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him, 20and you shall say, 'Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us.'" For he thought, "I may appease him [3] with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me." [4] 21So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.

Jacob Wrestles with God

22‡†The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, [5] and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24†And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26Then he said, "Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." 27And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." 28†Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, [6] for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." 29Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him. 30†So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, [7] saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered." 31The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32†Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh.

Jacob Meets Esau

GENESIS 33 ‡And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants. 2And he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. 3‡He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

4But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. 5‡And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, "Who are these with you?" Jacob said, "The children whom God has graciously given your servant." 6Then the servants drew near, they and their children, and bowed down. 7Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down. And last Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down. 8Esau said, "What do you mean by all this company [1] that I met?" Jacob answered, "To find favor in the sight of my lord." 9But Esau said, "I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself." 10†Jacob said, "No, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me. 11Please accept my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough." Thus he urged him, and he took it.

12Then Esau said, "Let us journey on our way, and I will go ahead of [2] you." 13But Jacob said to him, "My lord knows that the children are frail, and that the nursing flocks and herds are a care to me. If they are driven hard for one day, all the flocks will die. 14Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly, at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir."

15†So Esau said, "Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me." But he said, "What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord." 16‡So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. 17But Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth. [3]

18†And Jacob came safely [4] to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of

Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city. 19†And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, he bought for a hundred pieces of money [5] the piece of land on which he had pitched his tent. 20†There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel. [6]

The Defiling of Dinah

GENESIS 34 ‡†Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. 2†And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her. 3And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. 4So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, "Get me this girl for my wife."

5†Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. 6‡And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7†The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing must not be done.

8But Hamor spoke with them, saying, "The soul of my son Shechem longs for your [1] daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife. 9Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you. Dwell and trade in it, and get property in it." 11Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. 12Ask me for as great a bride price [2] and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife."

13‡The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14They said to them, "We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. 15Only on this condition will we agree with you—that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised. 16Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. 17But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone."

18Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor's son Shechem. 19†And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father's house. 20†So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying,

21"These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people—when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us." 24And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

25‡On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. 26They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem's house and went away. 27†The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. 29All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered.

30†Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household." 31But they said, "Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?"

God Blesses and Renames Jacob

GENESIS 35 †God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau." 2‡So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments. 3Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone." 4†So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem.

5†And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, 7†and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, [1] because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. 8And Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth. [2]

9God appeared [3] to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 10And God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name." So he called his name Israel. 11†And God said to him, "I am God Almighty: [4] be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. [5] 12The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you." 13†Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him. 14†And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. 15So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac

16†Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance [6] from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. 17And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, "Do not fear, for you have another son." 18†And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called

his name Ben-oni; [7] but his father called him Benjamin. [8] 19So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), 20†and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel's tomb, which is there to this day. 21†Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.

22†While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine. And Israel heard of it.

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. 23The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant: Dan and Naphtali. 26The sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

27†And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned. 28Now the days of Isaac were 180 years. 29†And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Esau's Descendants

GENESIS 36 ‡‡†These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom). 2Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter [1] of Zibeon the Hivite, 3and Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. 4And Adah bore to Esau, Eliphaz; Basemath bore Reuel; 5and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

6Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock, all his beasts, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land away from his brother Jacob. 7†For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. The land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock. 8†So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is Edom.) 9These are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. 10‡These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. 11The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12(Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau's wife. 13These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. 14These are the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

15†These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. 17These are the sons of Reuel, Esau's son: the chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. 18These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife: the chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the chiefs born of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. 19These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.

20‡These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. 22The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna. 23These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan,

Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father. 25These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. 26These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 27These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 29These are the chiefs of the Horites: the chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, chief by chief in the land of Seir.

31‡These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites. 32Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah. 33Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. 34Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. 35Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place, the name of his city being Avith. 36Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. 37Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates [2] reigned in his place. 38Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. 39Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place, the name of his city being Pau; his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.

40These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their clans and their dwelling places, by their names: the chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43†Magdiel, and Iram; these are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of Edom), according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession.

Joseph's Dreams

GENESIS 37 †Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan.

2‡†These are the generations of Jacob.

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3‡†Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. [1] 4But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

5‡Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. 6He said to them, "Hear this dream that I have dreamed: 7Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf." 8His brothers said to him, "Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?" So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

9Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, "Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me." 10But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?" 11†And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

12‡‡Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem. 13And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." And he said to him, "Here I am." 14So he said to him, "Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word." So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, "What

are you seeking?" 16"I am seeking my brothers," he said. "Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock." 17†And the man said, "They have gone away, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

18‡They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer. 20Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. [2] Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams." 21But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, "Let us not take his life." 22And Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him"— that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

25†Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27†Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers listened to him. 28†Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels [3] of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.

29†When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes 30and returned to his brothers and said, "The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?" 31‡Then they took Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, "This we have found; please identify whether it is your son's robe or not." 33And he identified it and said, "It is my son's robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces." 34Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35†All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, "No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning." Thus his father wept for him. 36†Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.

Judah and Tamar

GENESIS 38 ‡†It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2‡There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went in to her, 3and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. 4She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. 5Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. Judah [1] was in Chezib when she bore him.

6‡And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD put him to death. 8Then Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother." 9But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother's wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. 10And what he did was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and he put him to death also. 11†Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father's house, till Shelah my son grows up"—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained in her father's house.

12†In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua's daughter, died. When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13†And when Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep," 14‡she took off her widow's garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage. 15When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16He turned to her at the roadside and said, "Come, let me come in to you," for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, "What will you give me, that you may come in to me?" 17He answered, "I will send you a young goat from the flock." And she said, "If you give me a pledge, until you send it—" 18†He said, "What pledge shall I give you?" She replied, "Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand." So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. 19Then she arose and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.

20‡When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman's hand, he did not find her. 21And he asked the men of the place, "Where is the cult prostitute [2] who was at Enaim at the roadside?" And they said, "No cult prostitute has been here." 22So he returned to Judah and said, "I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, 'No cult prostitute has been here.'" 23And Judah replied, "Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her."

24†About three months later Judah was told, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. [3] Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality." [4] And Judah said, "Bring her out, and let her be burned." 25As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, "By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant." And she said, "Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff." 26†Then Judah identified them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not know her again.

27When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb. 28And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, "This one came out first." 29†But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, "What a breach you have made for yourself!" Therefore his name was called Perez. [5] 30Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.

Joseph and Potiphar's Wife

GENESIS 39 †Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2‡†The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3His master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. 4So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. 5†From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had, in house and field. 6†So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.

Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. 7And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, "Lie with me." 8But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. 9†He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" 10‡And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.

11But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, 12†she caught him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me." But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. 13And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, 14she called to the men of her household and said to them, "See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house." 16Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, 17†and she told him the same story, saying, "The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. 18But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house."

19‡As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, "This is the

way your servant treated me," his anger was kindled. 20And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. 21†But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22‡And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed.

Joseph Interprets Two Prisoners' Dreams

GENESIS 40 †Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt. 2†And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3‡and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. 4The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody.

5†And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. 6When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. 7So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house, "Why are your faces downcast today?" 8†They said to him, "We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them." And Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me."

9‡So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, "In my dream there was a vine before me, 10and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. 11Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand." 12Then Joseph said to him, "This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days. 13In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh's cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer. 14‡Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. 15†For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit."

16†When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, "I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head, 17and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head." 18And Joseph answered and said, "This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. 19In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat the flesh from you."

20†On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 21He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. 22But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dreams

GENESIS 41 †After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, 2and behold, there came up out of the Nile seven cows attractive and plump, and they fed in the reed grass. 3And behold, seven other cows, ugly and thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. 4And the ugly, thin cows ate up the seven attractive, plump cows. And Pharaoh awoke. 5And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time. And behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. 6And behold, after them sprouted seven ears, thin and blighted by the east wind. 7And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump, full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. 8†So in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

9†Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "I remember my offenses today. 10When Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, 11we dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own interpretation. 12A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream. 13And as he interpreted to us, so it came about. I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged."

14†Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh. 15And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it." 16†Joseph answered Pharaoh, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer." [1] 17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Behold, in my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile. 18Seven cows, plump and attractive, came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass. 19Seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and thin, such as I had never seen in all the land of Egypt. 20And the thin, ugly cows ate up the first seven plump cows, 21but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were still as ugly as at the beginning. Then I awoke. 22I also saw in my dream seven ears growing on one stalk, full and good. 23Seven ears, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprouted after them, 24and the thin

ears swallowed up the seven good ears. And I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me."

25†Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one. 27The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine. 28It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, 30but after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land, 31and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe. 32And the doubling of Pharaoh's dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about. 33‡Now therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land [2] of Egypt during the seven plentiful years. 35And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. 36That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine."

Joseph Rises to Power

37‡This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. 38†And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?" [3] 39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. 40You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. [4] Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you." 41†And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt." 42†Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. 43‡†And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, "Bow the knee!" [5] Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. 44Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." 45†And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphenath-paneah. And he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. So Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

46†Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. 47During the seven plentiful years the earth produced abundantly, 48and he gathered up all the food of these seven years, which occurred in the land of Egypt, and put the food in the cities. He put in every city the food from the fields around it. 49And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured.

50†Before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph. Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore them to him. 51‡Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. "For," he said, "God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house." [6] 52The name of the second he called Ephraim, "For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction." [7]

53The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end, 54‡and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55‡When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do."

56So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses [8] and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.

Joseph's Brothers Go to Egypt

GENESIS 42 ‡When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why do you look at one another?" 2And he said, "Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die." 3So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4†But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him. 5Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

6†Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. 7Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. "Where do you come from?" he said. They said, "From the land of Canaan, to buy food." 8And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. 9‡†And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. And he said to them, "You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land." 10They said to him, "No, my lord, your servants have come to buy food. 11We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants have never been spies."

12He said to them, "No, it is the nakedness of the land that you have come to see." 13And they said, "We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more." 14But Joseph said to them, "It is as I said to you. You are spies. 15†By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies." 17And he put them all together in custody for three days.

18On the third day Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 19‡if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households, 20and bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die." And they did so. 21†Then they said to one another, "In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he

begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us." 22†And Reuben answered them, "Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood." 23They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them. 24†Then he turned away from them and wept. And he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. 25And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, and to replace every man's money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. This was done for them.

26Then they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed. 27And as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. 28†He said to his brothers, "My money has been put back; here it is in the mouth of my sack!" At this their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, "What is this that God has done to us?"

29When they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying, 30"The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us and took us to be spies of the land. 31But we said to him, 'We are honest men; we have never been spies. 32We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no more, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.' 33Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, 'By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your households, and go your way. 34Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I shall know that you are not spies but honest men, and I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall trade in the land.'"

35As they emptied their sacks, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack. And when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. 36†And Jacob their father said to them, "You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me." 37†Then Reuben said to his father, "Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you." 38But he said, "My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol."

Joseph's Brothers Return to Egypt

GENESIS 43 Now the famine was severe in the land. 2And when they had eaten the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, "Go again, buy us a little food." 3†But Judah said to him, "The man solemnly warned us, saying, 'You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.' 4If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5But if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, 'You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.'" 6Israel said, "Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?" 7They replied, "The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?' What we told him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, 'Bring your brother down'?" 8And Judah said to Israel his father, "Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. 9†I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. 10If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice."

11†Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight. 13Take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man. 14†May God Almighty [1] grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved."

15So the men took this present, and they took double the money with them, and Benjamin. They arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, "Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon." 17The man did as Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph's house. 18And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph's house, and they said, "It is because of the money, which was replaced in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may assault us and fall upon us to make us servants and seize our donkeys." 19So they went up to the

steward of Joseph's house and spoke with him at the door of the house, 20and said, "Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food. 21And when we came to the lodging place we opened our sacks, and there was each man's money in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. So we have brought it again with us, 22and we have brought other money down with us to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks." 23†He replied, "Peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. I received your money." Then he brought Simeon out to them. 24And when the man had brought the men into Joseph's house and given them water, and they had washed their feet, and when he had given their donkeys fodder, 25they prepared the present for Joseph's coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there.

26†When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present that they had with them and bowed down to him to the ground. 27And he inquired about their welfare and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?" 28They said, "Your servant our father is well; he is still alive." And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves. 29†And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, "Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious to you, my son!" 30†Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there. 31Then he washed his face and came out. And controlling himself he said, "Serve the food." 32†They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. 33†And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth. And the men looked at one another in amazement. 34†Portions were taken to them from Joseph's table, but Benjamin's portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry [2] with him.

Joseph Tests His Brothers

GENESIS 44 Then he commanded the steward of his house, "Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man's money in the mouth of his sack, 2†and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain." And he did as Joseph told him.

3As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their donkeys. 4They had gone only a short distance from the city. Now Joseph said to his steward, "Up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, 'Why have you repaid evil for good? [1] 5†Is it not from this that my lord drinks, and by this that he practices divination? You have done evil in doing this.'"

6When he overtook them, he spoke to them these words. 7‡They said to him, "Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! 8Behold, the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord's house? 9Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be my lord's servants." 10He said, "Let it be as you say: he who is found with it shall be my servant, and the rest of you shall be innocent." 11Then each man quickly lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack. 12†And he searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. 13†Then they tore their clothes, and every man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.

14†When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground. 15†Joseph said to them, "What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?" 16†And Judah said, "What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord's servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found." 17But he said, "Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father."

18‡Then Judah went up to him and said, "Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not your anger burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself. 19My lord asked his servants, saying, 'Have

you a father, or a brother?' 20And we said to my lord, 'We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother's children, and his father loves him.' 21Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.' 22We said to my lord, 'The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.' 23Then you said to your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again.'

24"When we went back to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25And when our father said, 'Go again, buy us a little food,' 26we said, 'We cannot go down. If our youngest brother goes with us, then we will go down. For we cannot see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.' 27Then your servant my father said to us, 'You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28One left me, and I said, Surely he has been torn to pieces, and I have never seen him since. 29If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs in evil to Sheol.'

30"Now therefore, as soon as I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy's life, 31as soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. 32For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying, 'If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.' 33Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. 34For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father."

Joseph Provides for His Brothers and Family

GENESIS 45 ‡Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, "Make everyone go out from me." So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.

4So Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, please." And they came near. And he said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6†For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7†And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8†So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. 10†You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.' 12And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. 13You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here." 14‡Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him.

16†When the report was heard in Pharaoh's house, "Joseph's brothers have come," it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. 17And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers, 'Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan, 18and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.' 19And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, 'Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20Have no concern for [1] your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.'"

21The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22To each and all of them he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels [2] of silver and five changes of clothes. 23To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. 24†Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, "Do not quarrel on the way."

25So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. 26†And they told him, "Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. 27But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28And Israel said, "It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die."

Joseph Brings His Family to Egypt

GENESIS 46 †So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2‡And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And he said, "Here am I." 3Then he said, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. 4†I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes."

5Then Jacob set out from Beersheba. The sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6†They also took their livestock and their goods, which they had gained in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him, 7his sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters. All his offspring he brought with him into Egypt.

8‡†Now these are the names of the descendants of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons. Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, 9and the sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 10The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. 11The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan); and the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. 13The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Yob, and Shimron. 14The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 15These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, together with his daughter Dinah; altogether his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three.

16The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. 17The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, with Serah their sister. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. 18These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob—sixteen persons.

19The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife: Joseph and Benjamin. 20And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera the priest of On, bore to him. 21And the sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. 22These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob—fourteen persons in all.

23The sons of Dan: Hushim. 24The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. 25These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob—seven persons in all.

26†All the persons belonging to Jacob who came into Egypt, who were his own descendants, not including Jacob's sons' wives, were sixty-six persons in all. 27†And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two. All the persons of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were seventy.

Jacob and Joseph Reunited

28†He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him in Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen. 29Then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He presented himself to him and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. 30Israel said to Joseph, "Now let me die, since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive." 31‡Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, "I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32And the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.' 33When Pharaoh calls you and says, 'What is your occupation?' 34you shall say, 'Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,' in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians."

Jacob's Family Settles in Goshen

GENESIS 47 ‡So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, "My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen." 2And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. 3Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" And they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were." 4They said to Pharaoh, "We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen." 5Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock."

7‡Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8And Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many are the days of the years of your life?" 9†And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning." 10And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. 11†Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12†And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their dependents.

Joseph and the Famine

13‡Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine. 14And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. 15†And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, "Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone." 16‡And Joseph answered, "Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone." 17So they brought their

livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, "We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord's. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. 19Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate."

20So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh's. 21As for the people, he made servants of them [1] from one end of Egypt to the other. 22Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land.

23Then Joseph said to the people, "Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24And at the harvests you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones." 25‡And they said, "You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh." 26So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh's.

27‡Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. 28And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years.

29†And when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, "If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal kindly and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt, 30but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place." He answered, "I will do as you have said." 31†And he said, "Swear to me"; and he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed. [2]

Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh

GENESIS 48 After this, Joseph was told, "Behold, your father is ill." So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2And it was told to Jacob, "Your son Joseph has come to you." Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. 3‡And Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty [1] appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4†and said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.' 5And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. 6And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. 7As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance [2] to go to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)."

8†When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, "Who are these?" 9Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here." And he said, "Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them." 10Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11And Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also." 12Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near him. 14†And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn). 15‡†And he blessed Joseph and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, 16†the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude [3] in the midst of the earth."

17When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. 18And Joseph said to his father, "Not this way, my father; since

this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head." 19†But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude [4] of nations." 20So he blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying, 'God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.'"

Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21†Then Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. 22†Moreover, I have given to you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope [5] that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow."

Jacob Blesses His Sons

GENESIS 49 ‡†Then Jacob called his sons and said, "Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come.

2‡"Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob, listen to Israel your father. 3‡"Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. 4Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father's bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch! 5‡"Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords. 6Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men,

and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen. 7Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob

and scatter them in Israel. 8‡"Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you. 9Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion

and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; [1]

and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. 11Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine

and his vesture in the blood of grapes. 12His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. 13†"Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea; he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon. 14‡"Issachar is a strong donkey, crouching between the sheepfolds. [2] 15He saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant, so he bowed his shoulder to bear,

and became a servant at forced labor. 16‡"Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. 17Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels

so that his rider falls backward. 18I wait for your salvation, O LORD. 19†"Raiders shall raid Gad, [3] but he shall raid at their heels. 20†"Asher's food shall be rich, and he shall yield royal delicacies. 21†"Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears beautiful fawns. [4] 22‡"Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall. [5] 23The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him severely, 24yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms [6] were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, [7] the Stone of Israel), 25by the God of

your father who will help you, by the Almighty [8] who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,

blessings of the breasts and of the womb. 26The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents, up to the bounties of the everlasting hills. [9] May they be on the head of Joseph,

and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers. 27†"Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey and at evening dividing the spoil."

Jacob's Death and Burial

28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. 29‡Then he commanded them and said to them, "I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 31†There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— 32the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites." 33†When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and

was gathered to his people.

GENESIS 50 Then Joseph fell on his father's face and wept over him and kissed him. 2‡And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. 3‡Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.

4And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 5My father made me swear, saying, 'I am about to die: in my tomb that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.' Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return." 6And Pharaoh answered, "Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear." 7‡So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen. 9And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company. 10When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he made a mourning for his father seven days. 11When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, "This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians." Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim; [1] it is beyond the Jordan. 12Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them, 13for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 14After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

God's Good Purposes

15‡When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him." 16So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, "Your father gave this command before he died, 17'Say to Joseph, Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.' And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, "Behold, we are

your servants." 19†But Joseph said to them, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20†As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people [2] should be kept alive, as they are today. 21So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones." Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

The Death of Joseph

22So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years. 23And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation. The children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were counted as Joseph's own. [3] 24†And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." 25Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here." 26†So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Footnotes

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 1

[1] 1:6 Or a canopy; also verses 7, 8, 14, 15, 17, 20

[2] 1:7 Or fashioned; also verse 16

[3] 1:8 Or Sky; also verses 9, 14, 15, 17, 20, 26, 28, 30; 2:1

[4] 1:10 Or Land; also verses 11, 12, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30; 2:1

[5] 1:11 Or small plants; also verses 12, 29

[6] 1:14 Or appointed times

[7] 1:20 Or flying things; see Leviticus 11:19-20

[8] 1:26 The Hebrew word for man (adam) is the generic term for mankind and

becomes the proper name Adam

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 2

[1] 2:5 Or open country

[2] 2:5 Or earth; also verse 6

[3] 2:6 Or spring

[4] 2:17 Or when you eat

[5] 2:18 Or corresponding to; also verse 20

[6] 2:19 Or And out of the ground the LORD God formed

[7] 2:20 Or the man

[8] 2:22 Hebrew built

[9] 2:23 The Hebrew words for woman (ishshah) and man (ish) sound alike

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 3

[1] 3:1 In Hebrew you is plural in verses 1-5

[2] 3:6 Or to give insight

[3] 3:8 Hebrew wind

[4] 3:9 In Hebrew you is singular in verses 9 and 11

[5] 3:15 Hebrew seed; so throughout Genesis [6] 3:16 Or against

[7] 3:20 Eve sounds like the Hebrew for life-giver and resembles the word for

living

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 4

[1] 4:1 Cain sounds like the Hebrew for gotten

[2] 4:7 Hebrew will there not be a lifting up [of your face]?

[3] 4:7 Or against

[4] 4:8 Hebrew; Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate add Let us go out to the

field

[5] 4:13 Or My guilt is too great to bear

[6] 4:16 Nod means wandering

[7] 4:25 Seth sounds like the Hebrew for he appointed

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 5

[1] 5:2 Hebrew adam

[2] 5:22 Septuagint pleased God

[3] 5:24 Septuagint was not found

[4] 5:29 Noah sounds like the Hebrew for rest

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 6

[1] 6:3 Or My Spirit shall not contend with

[2] 6:4 Or giants

[3] 6:13 Hebrew The end of all flesh has come before me

[4] 6:14 An unknown kind of tree; transliterated from Hebrew [5] 6:15 A cubit

was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [6] 6:16 Or skylight

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 7

[1] 7:2 Or seven of each kind of clean animal

[2] 7:3 Or seven of each kind

[3] 7:4 Hebrew all existence; also verse 23

[4] 7:20 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 8

[1] 8:21 Or dishonor

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 9

[1] 9:7 In Hebrew you is plural

[2] 9:19 Or from these the whole earth was populated

[3] 9:20 Or Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard

[4] 9:27 Japheth sounds like the Hebrew for enlarge

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 10

[1] 10:8 Or he began to be a mighty man on the earth

[2] 10:14 Or from where

[3] 10:25 Peleg means division

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 11

[1] 11:9 Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 12

[1] 12:1 Or had said

[2] 12:3 Or by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves

[3] 12:6 Or terebinth

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 13

[1] 13:8 Hebrew we are men, brothers

[2] 13:18 Or terebinths

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 14

[1] 14:13 Or terebinths

[2] 14:19 Or Creator; also verse 22

[3] 14:22 Or I have taken a solemn oath

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 15

[1] 15:2 Or I shall die

[2] 15:4 Hebrew what will come out of your own loins

[3] 15:18 Or have given

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 16

[1] 16:2 Hebrew be built up, which sounds like the Hebrew for children

[2] 16:4 Hebrew her mistress was dishonorable in her eyes; similarly in verse 5

[3] 16:11 Ishmael means God hears

[4] 16:13 Or You are a God who sees me

[5] 16:13 Hebrew Have I really seen him here who sees me? or Would I have

looked here for the one who sees me?

[6] 16:14 Beer-lahai-roi means the well of the Living One who sees me

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 17

[1] 17:1 Hebrew El Shaddai

[2] 17:5 Abram means exalted father

[3] 17:5 Abraham means father of a multitude

[4] 17:15 Sarai and Sarah mean princess

[5] 17:16 Hebrew have given

[6] 17:19 Isaac means he laughs

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 18

[1] 18:1 Or terebinths

[2] 18:3 Or My lord

[3] 18:6 A seah was about 7 quarts or 7.3 liters [4] 18:14 Or wonderful

[5] 18:15 Or acted falsely

[6] 18:19 Hebrew known

[7] 18:21 Or they deserve destruction; Hebrew they have made a complete end

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 19

[1] 19:22 Zoar means little

[2] 19:37 Moab sounds like the Hebrew for from father

[3] 19:38 Ben-ammi means son of my people

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 20

[1] 20:16 Hebrew It is a covering of eyes for all

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 21

[1] 21:3 Isaac means he laughs

[2] 21:9 Possibly laughing in mockery

[3] 21:30 Or you

[4] 21:31 Beersheba means well of seven or well of the oath

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 22

[1] 22:5 Or young man; also verse 12

[2] 22:14 Or will see

[3] 22:14 Or he will be seen

[4] 22:17 Or their

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 23

[1] 23:3 Hebrew sons of Heth; also verses 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20

[2] 23:6 Or a mighty prince

[3] 23:15 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 24

[1] 24:10 Hebrew Aram-naharaim

[2] 24:14 Or By her

[3] 24:16 Or a woman of marriageable age

[4] 24:22 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [5] 24:48 Or faithfully

[6] 24:60 Or hate them

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 25

[1] 25:18 Hebrew fell

[2] 25:22 Or why do I live?

[3] 25:23 Or from birth

[4] 25:26 Jacob means He takes by the heel, or He cheats

[5] 25:30 Edom sounds like the Hebrew for red

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 26

[1] 26:8 Hebrew may suggest an intimate relationship [2] 26:20 Esek means

contention

[3] 26:21 Sitnah means enmity

[4] 26:22 Rehoboth means broad places, or room

[5] 26:33 Shibah sounds like the Hebrew for oath

[6] 26:35 Hebrew they were bitterness of spirit

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 27

[1] 27:36 Jacob means He takes by the heel, or He cheats

[2] 27:39 Or Behold, of

[3] 27:39 Or and of

[4] 27:46 Hebrew daughters of Heth

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 28

[1] 28:3 Hebrew El Shaddai

[2] 28:12 Or a flight of steps

[3] 28:13 Or beside him

[4] 28:19 Bethel means the house of God

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 29

[1] 29:17 Or soft

[2] 29:24 Or had given; also verse 29

[3] 29:32 Reuben means See, a son

[4] 29:33 Simeon sounds like the Hebrew for heard

[5] 29:34 Levi sounds like the Hebrew for attached

[6] 29:35 Judah sounds like the Hebrew for praise

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 30

[1] 30:3 Hebrew on my knees

[2] 30:3 Hebrew be built up, which sounds like the Hebrew for children

[3] 30:6 Dan sounds like the Hebrew for judged

[4] 30:8 Hebrew With wrestlings of God

[5] 30:8 Naphtali sounds like the Hebrew for wrestling

[6] 30:11 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for good fortune

[7] 30:13 Asher sounds like the Hebrew for happy

[8] 30:18 Issachar sounds like the Hebrew for wages, or hire

[9] 30:20 Zebulun sounds like the Hebrew for honor

[10] 30:24 Joseph means May he add, and sounds like the Hebrew for taken

away

[11] 30:27 Or have become rich and

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 31

[1] 31:20 Hebrew stole the heart of; also verses 26, 27

[2] 31:29 The Hebrew for your is plural here [3] 31:47 Aramaic the heap of

witness

[4] 31:47 Hebrew the heap of witness

[5] 31:49 Mizpah means watchpost

[6] 31:55 Ch 32:1 in Hebrew

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 32

[1] 32:2 Mahanaim means two camps

[2] 32:3 Or had sent

[3] 32:20 Hebrew appease his face

[4] 32:20 Hebrew he will lift my face

[5] 32:22 Or sons

[6] 32:28 Israel means He strives with God, or God strives

[7] 32:30 Peniel means the face of God

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 33

[1] 33:8 Hebrew camp

[2] 33:12 Or along with

[3] 33:17 Succoth means booths

[4] 33:18 Or peacefully

[5] 33:19 Hebrew a hundred qesitah; a unit of money of unknown value [6]

33:20 El-Elohe-Israel means God, the God of Israel

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 34

[1] 34:8 The Hebrew for your is plural here [2] 34:12 Or engagement present

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 35

[1] 35:7 El-bethel means God of Bethel

[2] 35:8 Allon-bacuth means oak of weeping

[3] 35:9 Or had appeared

[4] 35:11 Hebrew El Shaddai

[5] 35:11 Hebrew from your loins

[6] 35:16 Or about two hours' distance

[7] 35:18 Ben-oni could mean son of my sorrow, or son of my strength

[8] 35:18 Benjamin means son of the right hand

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 36

[1] 36:2 Hebrew; Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac son; also verse 14

[2] 36:37 Hebrew the River

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 37

[1] 37:3 See Septuagint, Vulgate; or (with Syriac) a robe with long sleeves. The

meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain; also verses 23, 32

[2] 37:20 Or cisterns; also verses 22, 24

[3] 37:28 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 38

[1] 38:5 Hebrew He

[2] 38:21 Hebrew sacred woman; a woman who served a pagan deity by

prostitution; also verse 22

[3] 38:24 Or has committed prostitution

[4] 38:24 Or by prostitution

[5] 38:29 Perez means a breach

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 41

[1] 41:16 Or (compare Samaritan, Septuagint) Without God it is not possible to

give Pharaoh an answer about his welfare

[2] 41:34 Or over the land and organize the land

[3] 41:38 Or of the gods

[4] 41:40 Hebrew and according to your command all my people shall kiss the

ground

[5] 41:43 Abrek, probably an Egyptian word, similar in sound to the Hebrew

word meaning to kneel

[6] 41:51 Manasseh sounds like the Hebrew for making to forget

[7] 41:52 Ephraim sounds like the Hebrew for making fruitful

[8] 41:56 Hebrew all that was in them

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 43

[1] 43:14 Hebrew El Shaddai

[2] 43:34 Hebrew and became intoxicated

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 44

[1] 44:4 Septuagint (compare Vulgate) adds Why have you stolen my silver cup?

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 45

[1] 45:20 Hebrew Let your eye not pity

[2] 45:22 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 47

[1] 47:21 Samaritan, Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew he removed them to the cities

[2] 47:31 Hebrew; Septuagint staff

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 48

[1] 48:3 Hebrew El Shaddai

[2] 48:7 Or about two hours' distance

[3] 48:16 Or let them be like fish for multitude

[4] 48:19 Hebrew fullness

[5] 48:22 Or one portion of the land; Hebrew shekem, which sounds like the

town and district called Shechem

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 49

[1] 49:10 By a slight revocalization; a slight emendation yields (compare

Septuagint, Syriac, Targum) until he comes to whom it belongs; Hebrew until Shiloh comes, or until he comes to Shiloh

[2] 49:14 Or between its saddlebags

[3] 49:19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for raiders and raid

[4] 49:21 Or he gives beautiful words, or that bears fawns of the fold

[5] 49:22 Or Joseph is a wild donkey, a wild donkey beside a spring, his wild

colts beside the wall

[6] 49:24 Hebrew the arms of his hands

[7] 49:24 Or by the name of the Shepherd

[8] 49:25 Hebrew Shaddai

[9] 49:26 A slight emendation yields (compare Septuagint) the blessings of the

eternal mountains, the bounties of the everlasting hills

Footnotes for Genesis, Chapter 50

[1] 50:11 Abel-mizraim means mourning (or meadow) of Egypt

[2] 50:20 Or a numerous people

[3] 50:23 Hebrew were born on Joseph's knees

Study Notes

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:1–2:3 This description of God creating heaven and earth is understood to be: 1) recent, i.e., thousands not millions of years ago; 2) ex nihilo, i.e., out of nothing; and 3) special, i.e., in six consecutive 24-hour periods called "days" and further distinguished as such by this phrase, "there was evening and there was morning." Scripture does not support a creation date earlier than about 10,000 years ago. In the beginning. While God exists eternally (Ps. 90:2), this marked the beginning of the universe in time and space. In explaining Israel's identity and purpose to her on the plains of Moab, God wanted his people to know about the origin of the world in which they found themselves. God. Elohim is a general term for deity and a name for the True God, though used also at times for pagan gods (Gen. 31:30), angels (Ps. 8:5), men (Ps. 82:6), and judges (Ex. 21:6). Moses made no attempt to defend the existence of God, which is assumed, or explain what he was like in person and works, which is treated elsewhere (cf. Isa. 43:10, 13). Both are to be believed by faith (cf. Heb. 11:3, 6). created. This word is used here of God's creative activity alone, although it occasionally is used elsewhere of matter that already existed (Isa. 65:18). Context demands in no uncertain terms that this was a creation without preexisting material (as does other Scripture: cf. Isa. 40:28; 45:8, 12, 18; 48:13; Jer. 10:16; Acts 17:24). the heavens and the earth. All of God's creation is incorporated into this summary statement that includes all six, consecutive days of creation.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:2 without form and void. This means "not finished in its shape and as yet uninhabited by creatures" (cf. Isa. 45:18, 19; Jer. 4:23). God would quickly (in six days) decorate his initial creation (Gen. 1:2–2:3). deep. Sometimes referred to as primordial waters, this is the term used to describe the earth's water-covered surface before the dry land emerged (1:9–10). Jonah used this word to describe the watery abyss in which he found himself submerged (Jonah 2:5). Spirit of God. Not only did God the Holy Spirit participate in creation, but so did God the Son (cf. John 1:1–3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:3 God said. God effortlessly spoke light into existence (cf. Ps. 33:6; 148:5). This dispelled the darkness of Gen. 1:2. light. The greater and lesser lights (the sun and moon) were created later (1:14–19) on the fourth day. Here, God was the provider of light (2 Cor. 4:6) and will in eternity future be the

source of light (cf. Rev. 21:23).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:4 good. Good for the purposes it was intended to serve (cf. v. 31).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:4–5 separated . . . called. After the initial creation, God continued to complete his universe. Once God separated certain things, he then named them. Separating and naming were acts of dominion and served as a pattern for man, who would also name a portion of God's creation over which God gave him dominion (2:19–20).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:5 first day. God established the pattern of creation in seven days, which constituted a complete week. "Day" can refer to: 1) the light portion of a 24-hour period (1:5, 14); 2) an extended period of time (2:4); or 3) the 24hour period which basically refers to a full rotation of the earth on its axis, called evening and morning. This cannot mean an age, but only a day, reckoned by the Jews from sunset to sunset (1:8, 13, 19, 23, 31). "Day" with numerical adjectives in Hebrew always refers to a 24-hour period. Comparing the order of the week in Ex. 20:8–11 with the creation week confirms this understanding of the time element. Such a cycle of light and dark means that the earth was rotating on its axis, so that there was a source of light on one side of the earth, though the sun was not yet created (Gen. 1:16).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:6 expanse. The portion of God's creation named "heavens," that which man saw when he looked up, i.e., the atmospheric and stellar heaven.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:7 under the expanse. Refers to subterranean reservoirs (cf. 7:11). above the expanse. This could possibly have been a canopy of water vapor that acted to make the earth like a hothouse, provided uniform temperature, inhibited mass air movements, caused mist to fall, and filtered out ultraviolet rays, thus extending life.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:9–10 dry land. This was caused by a tremendous, cataclysmic upheaval of the earth's surface, and the rising and sinking of the land, which caused the waters to plunge into the low places, forming the seas, the continents and islands, the rivers and lakes (cf. Job 38:4–11; Ps. 104:6–9).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:11–12 according to its kind. God set in motion a providential process whereby the vegetable kingdom could reproduce through

seeds which would maintain each one's unique characteristics. The same phrase is used to describe the perpetuating reproduction of animals within their created species (vv. 21, 24, 25), and indicates that evolution, which proposes reproduction across species lines, is a false explanation of origins.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:11 yielding seed. The principle of reproduction that marks all life (cf. vv. 22, 24, 28).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:14 lights. Cf. v. 16. For three days there had been light (v. 4) in the day as though there were a sun, and lesser light at night as though there were the moon and stars. God could have left it that way, but did not. He created the "lights, sun, moon, and stars," not for light, but to serve as markers for signs, seasons, days, and years. signs. Certainly to include: 1) weather (Matt. 16:2–3); 2) testimony to God (Ps. 8; 19; Rom. 1:14–20; 3) divine judgment (Joel 2:30–31; Matt. 24:29); and 4) navigation (Matt. 2:1–2). seasons. It is the earth's movement in relation to the sun and moon that determines the seasons and the calendar.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:15–18 two great lights . . . to separate the light from the darkness. It was God (not some other deity) who created the lights. Israel had originally come from Mesopotamia, where the celestial bodies were worshiped, and more recently from Egypt, where the sun was worshiped as a primary deity. God was revealing to them that the very stars, moons, and planets that Israel's neighbors had worshiped were the products of his creation. Later, they became worshipers of the "host of heaven" (see note on 2 Kings 17:16), which led to their being taken captive out of the Promised Land.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:20 living creatures. These creatures, including the extraordinarily large ones, included all sorts of fish and mammals, even dinosaurs (see notes on Job 40:15–41:1).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:22 blessed. This is the first occurrence of the word "bless" in Scripture. God's admonition to "be fruitful and multiply" was the substance of the blessing.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:24–25 livestock . . . beasts. This probably represents all kinds of large, four-legged animals.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:24 beasts of the earth. Different from and larger than the clan of cattle, this would include dinosaurs like Behemoth (Job 40:15ff.).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:26 us . . . our. The first clear indication of the triunity of God (cf. 3:22; 11:7). The very name of God, Elohim (1:1), is a plural form of El. man. The crowning point of creation, a living human, was made in God's image to rule creation. our image. This defined man's unique relation to God. Man is a living being capable of embodying God's communicable attributes (cf. 9:6; Rom. 8:29; Col. 3:10; James 3:9). In his rational life, he was like God in that he could reason and had intellect, will, and emotion. In the moral sense, he was like God because he was good and sinless.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:26–28 dominion over. This defined man's unique relation to creation. Man was God's representative in ruling over the creation. The command to rule separated him from the rest of living creation and defined his relationship as above the rest of creation (cf. Ps. 8:6–8).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:27 male and female. Cf. Matt. 19:4 and Mark 10:6. While these two persons equally shared God's image and together exercised dominion over creation, they were by divine design physically diverse in order to accomplish God's mandate to multiply, i.e., neither one could reproduce offspring without the other.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:28 blessed. This second blessing (cf. v. 22) involved reproduction and dominion. Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. God, having just created the universe, created his representative (dominion over) and representation (cf. image and likeness). Man would fill the earth and oversee its operation. "Subdue" does not suggest a wild and unruly condition for the creation because God himself pronounced it "good." Rather, it speaks of a productive ordering of the earth and its inhabitants to yield its riches and accomplish God's purposes.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:29–30 for food . . . for food. Prior to the curse (3:14–19), both mankind and beasts were vegetarians.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 1:31 very good. What had been pronounced good individually (vv. 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25) was now called "very good" collectively. The words anticipated God's conclusion that it was "not good" for a man to be alone (2:18), which occurred on the sixth day.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:1–3 These words affirm that God had completed his work. Four times it is said that he finished his work, and three times it is said that this

included all his work. Present processes in the universe reflect God sustaining that completed creation, not more creation (cf. Heb. 1:3).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:2 finished . . . rested. God certainly did not rest due to weariness; rather, establishing the pattern for man's work cycle, he only modeled the need for rest. Later, the Sabbath ordinance of Moses found its basis in the creation week (cf. Ex. 20:8–11). The Sabbath was God's sacred ordained day in the weekly cycle. Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27) and Gen. 2:3 stated that God "made it holy" or set apart the Sabbath day because he rested in it. Later, it was set aside for a day of worship in the Mosaic law (see note on Ex. 20:8). Hebrews 4:4 distinguishes between physical rest and the redemptive rest to which it pointed. Colossians 2:16 makes it clear that the Mosaic "Sabbath" has no symbolic or ritual place in the New Covenant. The church began worshiping on the first day of the week to commemorate the resurrection of Christ (Acts 20:7).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:4–4:26 The history of the heavens and the earth (v. 4).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:4–25 This section fills in the details of man's creation on day six. How did Moses obtain this account, so different from the absurd fictions of the pagans? Not from any human source, for man was not in existence to witness it. Not from the light of reason, for though intellect can know the eternal power of the Godhead (Rom. 1:18–20) and that God made all things, it cannot know how. None but the Creator himself could give this data and, therefore, it is through faith that one understands that the worlds were formed by the word of God (Heb. 11:3).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:6 mist . . . going up from the land. "Mist" should be translated "flow." It indicates that water came up from beneath the ground as springs and spread over the whole earth in an uninterrupted cycle of water. After the fall, rain became the primary means of watering the earth and allowed for floods and droughts that did not exist originally. Rains also allowed for God to judge through floods and droughts.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:7 formed. Many of the words used in this account of the creation of man picture a master craftsman at work shaping a work of art to which he gives life (1 Cor. 15:45). This adds detail to the statement of fact in Gen. 1:27 (cf. 1 Tim. 2:13). Cf. Ps. 139:14. Made from dirt, a man's value is not in the physical components that form his body, but in the quality of life that

forms his soul (see Job 33:4).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:8 garden . . . Eden. The Babylonians called the lush green land from which water flowed edenu; today, the term "oasis" describes such a place. This was a magnificent garden paradise, unlike any the world has seen since, where God fellowshiped with those he created in his image. The exact location of Eden is unknown; if "in the east" was used in relationship to where Moses was when he wrote, then it could have been in the area of Babylon, the Mesopotamian Valley.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:9 tree of life. A real tree, with special properties to sustain eternal life. It was placed in the center of the garden, where it must have been observed by Adam, and its fruit perhaps eaten by him, thus sustaining his life (2:16). Such a tree, symbolic of eternal life, will be in the new heavens and new earth (see note on Rev. 22:2). tree . . . knowledge. Cf. Gen. 2:16; 3:1–6, 11, 22. It was perhaps given that title because it was a test of obedience by which our first parents were tried, whether they would be good or bad—obey God or disobey his command.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:10 out of. That is to say "the source," and likely refers to some great spring gushing up inside the garden from some subterranean reservoir. There was no rain at that time.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:11 Pishon . . . Havilah. Locations are uncertain. This represents pre-flood geography, now dramatically altered.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:12 bdellium. A gum resin. This refers more to appearance than color, i.e., it had the appearance of a pale resin.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:13 Gihon . . . Cush. The river location is uncertain. Cush could be modern-day Ethiopia.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:14 Tigris . . . Assyria. The post-flood Tigris River runs northwest to southeast of the city of Babylon through the Mesopotamian Valley. Euphrates. A river that runs parallel (northwest to southeast) to the Tigris and empties into the Persian Gulf after joining the Tigris.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:15 work it and keep it. Work was an important and dignified part of representing the image of God and serving him, even before the fall. Cf. Rev. 22:3.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:17 surely die. To "die" has the basic idea of separation. It can mean spiritual separation, physical separation, and/or eternal separation. At the moment of their sin, Adam and Eve died spiritually, but because God was merciful they did not die physically until later (5:5). There is no reason given for this prohibition, other than it was a test (see note on v. 9). There was nothing magical about that tree, but eating from it after it had been forbidden by God would indeed give man the knowledge of evil—since evil can be defined as disobeying God. Man already had the knowledge of good.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:18 not good. When God saw his creation as very good (1:31), he viewed it as being to that point the perfect outcome to his creative plan. However, in observing man's state as not good, he was commenting on his incompleteness before the end of the sixth day because the woman, Adam's counterpart, had not yet been created. The words of this verse emphasize man's need for a companion, a helper, and an equal. He was incomplete without someone to complement him in fulfilling the task of filling, multiplying, and taking dominion over the earth. This points to Adam's inadequacy, not Eve's insufficiency (cf. 1 Cor. 11:9). Woman was made by God to meet man's deficiency (cf. 1 Tim. 2:14).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:19 This was not a new creation of animals. They were created before man on the fifth and sixth days (1:20–25). Here the Lord God was calling attention to the fact that he created them out of the ground as he did man, but man, who was a living soul in the image of God, was to name them, signifying his rule over them.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:20 gave names to. Naming is an act of discerning something about the creature so as to appropriately identify it and also an act of leadership or authority over that which was named. There is no kinship with any animal since none was a fitting companion for Adam.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:21 one of his ribs. This could also be "sides," including surrounding flesh ("flesh of my flesh," v. 23). Divine surgery by the Creator presented no problems. This would also imply the first act of healing in Scripture.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:23 bone of my bones. Adam's poem focuses on naming the delight of his heart in this newly found companion. The man (Hb. ish) names her "woman" (Hb. isha) because she had her source in him (the root of the word

"woman" is "soft"). She truly was made of bone from his bones and flesh from his flesh. Cf. 1 Cor. 11:8. The English words man/woman sustain the same relationship as the Hebrew words, hinting at that original creation.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:24 leave . . . hold fast to. The marital relationship was established as the first human institution. The responsibility to honor one's parents (Ex. 20:12) does not cease with leaving and the union of husband with wife (Matt. 19:5; Mark 10:7, 8; 1 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 5:31), but does represent the inauguration of a new and primary responsibility. "Hold fast" carries the sense of a permanent or indissoluble union, so that divorce was not considered (cf. Gen. 2:16). "One flesh" speaks of a complete unity of parts making a whole, e.g., one cluster, many grapes (Num. 13:23) or one God in three persons (Deut. 6:4); thus this marital union was complete and whole with two people. This also implies their sexual completeness. One man and one woman constitute the pair to reproduce. The "one flesh" is primarily seen in the child born of that union, the one perfect result of the union of two. Cf. uses of this verse in Matt. 19:5, 6; Mark 10:8; 1 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 5:31. Permanent monogamy was and continues to be God's design and law for marriage.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 2:25 both naked . . . not ashamed. With no knowledge of evil before the fall, even nakedness was shameless and innocent. They found their complete gratification in the joy of their one union and their service to God. With no inward principle of evil to work on, the solicitation to sin had to come from without, and it did.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:1 the serpent. The word means "snake." The apostle John identified this creature as Satan (cf. Rev. 12:9; 20:2) as did Paul (2 Cor. 11:3). The serpent, a manifestation of Satan, appears for the first time before the fall of man. The rebellion of Satan, therefore, had occurred sometime after Gen. 1:31 (when everything in creation was good), but before 3:1. Cf. Ezek. 28:11–15 for a possible description of Satan's dazzling beauty and Isa. 14:13–14 for Satan's motivation to challenge God's authority (cf. 1 John 3:8). Satan, being a fallen archangel and, thus, a supernatural spirit, had possessed the body of a snake in its pre-fall form (cf. Gen. 3:14 for post-fall form). more crafty. Deceitful; cf. Matt. 10:16. to the woman. She was the object of his attack, being the weaker one and needing the protection of her husband. He found her alone and unfortified by Adam's experience and counsel. Cf. 2 Tim. 3:6. Though sinless, she was temptable and seducible. Did God actually say . . . ? In effect Satan said, "Is it true that he has restricted you from the delights of this place? This is

not like one who is truly good and kind. There must be some mistake." He insinuated doubt as to her understanding of God's will, appearing as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14) to lead her to the supposed true interpretation. She received him without fear or surprise, but as some credible messenger from heaven with the true understanding, because of his cunning.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:2–3 In her answer, Eve extolled the great liberty that they had; they could eat all the fruit, with only one exception.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:3 not . . . touch it. An addition to the original prohibition as recorded (cf. Gen. 2:17). Adam may have so instructed her for her protection.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:4–5 not surely die. Satan, emboldened by her openness to him, spoke this direct lie. This lie actually led her and Adam to spiritual death (separation from God). So, Satan is called a liar and murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). His lies always promise great benefits (as in Gen. 3:5). Eve experienced this result—she and Adam did know good and evil; but by personal corruption, they did not know as God knows in perfect holiness.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:6 good . . . delight . . . to be desired. She decided that Satan was telling the truth and she had misunderstood God, but she didn't know what she was doing. It was not overt rebellion against God, but seduction and deception to make her believe her act was the right thing to do (cf. v. 13). The NT confirms that Eve was deceived (2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14; Rev. 12:9). he ate. A direct transgression without deception (see note on 1 Tim. 2:13–14).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:7 opened . . . knew . . . sewed. The innocence noted in 2:25 had been replaced by guilt and shame (3:8–10), and from then on they had to rely on their conscience to distinguish between good and their newly acquired capacity to see and know evil.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:8 God appeared, as before, in tones of goodness and kindness, walking in some visible form (perhaps Shekinah light as he later appeared in Ex. 33:18–23; 34:5–8, 29; 40:34–38). He came not in fury, but in the same condescending way he had walked with Adam and Eve before.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:9 Where are you? The question was God's way of bringing man to explain why he was hiding, rather than expressing ignorance about man's location. Shame, remorse, confusion, guilt, and fear all led to their clandestine behavior. There was no place to hide; there never is. See Ps. 139:1–

12.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:10 the sound of you. The sound of v. 8, which probably was God calling for Adam and Eve. Adam responded with the language of fear and sorrow, but not confession.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:11 Adam's sin was evidenced by his new knowledge of the evil of nakedness, but God still waited for Adam to confess to what God knew they had done. The basic reluctance of sinful people to admit their iniquity is here established. Repentance is still the issue. When sinners refuse to repent, they suffer judgment; when they do repent, they receive forgiveness.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:12 The woman whom you gave. Adam pitifully put the responsibility on God for giving him Eve. That only magnified the tragedy in that Adam had knowingly transgressed God's prohibition, but still would not be open and confess his sin, taking full responsibility for his action, which was not made under deception (1 Tim. 2:14).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:13 The serpent deceived me. The woman's desperate effort to pass the blame to the serpent, which was partially true (1 Tim. 2:14), did not absolve her of the responsibility for her distrust and disobedience toward God.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:14 to the serpent. The cattle and all the rest of creation were cursed (see Rom. 8:20–23; cf. Jer. 12:4) as a result of Adam and Eve's eating, but the serpent was uniquely cursed by being made to slither on its belly. It probably had legs before this curse. Now snakes represent all that is odious, disgusting, and low. They are branded with infamy and avoided with fear. Cf. Isa. 65:25 and Mic. 7:17.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:15 After cursing the physical serpent, God turned to the spiritual serpent, the lying seducer, Satan, and cursed him. bruise your head . . . bruise his heel. This "first gospel" is prophetic of the struggle and its outcome between "your offspring" (Satan and unbelievers, who are called the devil's children in John 8:44) and her offspring (Christ, a descendant of Eve, and those in him), which began in the garden. In the midst of the curse passage, a message of hope shone forth—the woman's offspring called "he" is Christ, who will one day defeat the Serpent. Satan could only "bruise" Christ's heel (cause him to suffer), while Christ will bruise Satan's head (destroy him with a fatal blow).

Paul, in a passage strongly reminiscent of Gen. 3, encouraged the believers in Rome, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet" (Rom. 16:20). Believers should recognize that they participate in the crushing of Satan because, along with their savior and because of his finished work on the cross, they also are of the woman's seed. For more on the destruction of Satan, see Heb. 2:14–15 and Rev. 20:10.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:16 pain in childbearing. This is a constant reminder that a woman gave birth to sin in the human race and passes it on to all her children. She can be delivered from this curse by raising godly children, as indicated in 1 Tim. 2:15 (see note there. Your desire . . . he shall rule. Just as the woman and her seed will engage in a war with the serpent, i.e., Satan and his seed (Gen. 3:15), because of sin and the curse, the man and the woman will face struggles in their own relationship. Sin has turned the harmonious system of God-ordained roles into distasteful struggles of self-will. Lifelong companions, husbands and wives, will need God's help in getting along as a result. The woman's desire will be to lord it over her husband, but the husband will rule by divine design (Eph. 5:22–25). This interpretation of the curse is based upon the identical Hebrew words and grammar being used in Gen. 4:7 (see note there to show the conflict man will have with sin as it seeks to rule him.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:17 Because you have listened. The reason given for the curse on the ground and human death is that man turned his back on the voice of God, to follow his wife in eating that from which God had ordered him to abstain. The woman sinned because she acted independently of her husband, disdaining his leadership, counsel, and protection. The man sinned because he abandoned his leadership and followed the wishes of his wife. In both cases, God's intended roles were reversed.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:17–18 cursed is the ground because of you. God cursed the object of man's labor and made it reluctantly, yet richly, yield his food through hard work.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:19 return to the ground. I.e., to die (cf. 2:7). Man, by sin, became mortal. Although he did not die the moment he ate (by God's mercy), he was changed immediately and became liable to all the sufferings and miseries of life, to death, and to the pains of hell forever. Adam lived 930 years (5:5).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:21 garments of skins. The first physical deaths should

have been the man and his wife, but it was an animal—a shadow of the reality that God would someday kill a substitute to redeem sinners.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:22 like one of us. See note on 1:26. This was spoken out of compassion for the man and woman, who only in limited ways were like the Trinity, knowing good and evil—not by holy omniscience, but by personal experience (cf. Isa. 6:3; Hab. 1:13; Rev. 4:8).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:22–23 and live forever. See note on 2:9. God told man that he would surely die if he ate of the forbidden tree. But God's concern may also have been that man not live forever in his pitifully cursed condition. Taken in the broader context of Scripture, driving the man and his wife out of the garden was an act of merciful grace to prevent them from being sustained forever by the tree of life.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 3:24 cherubim. Later in Israel's history, two cherubim or angelic figures guarded the ark of the covenant and the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle (Ex. 25:18–22), where God communed with his people. flaming sword. An unexplainable phenomenon, perhaps associated directly with the cherubim or the flaming, fiery Shekinah presence of God himself.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:1 knew Eve his wife. The act of sexual intercourse was considered the only means by which God himself gave children. He was acknowledged as the sovereign giver of all life.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:2 again, she bore. Some think the boys may have been twins, since no time element intervenes between vv. 1–2. keeper of sheep . . . worker of the ground. Both occupations were respectable; in fact, most people subsisted through a combination of both. God's focus was not on their vocation, but on the nature of their respective offerings.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:3 fruit of the ground. Produce in general.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:4 firstborn . . . fat. The best animals.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:4–5 Abel's offering was acceptable (cf. Heb. 11:4), not just because it was an animal, nor just because it was the very best of what he had, nor even that it was the culmination of a zealous heart for God; but, because it was in every way obediently given according to what God must have revealed (though not recorded in Genesis). Cain, disdaining the divine instruction, just

brought what he wanted to bring: some of his crop.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:5–6 angry. Rather than being repentant for his sinful disobedience, he was hostile toward God, whom he could not kill, and jealous of his brother, whom he could kill (cf. 1 John 3:12; Jude 11).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:7 do well . . . be accepted. God reminded Cain that if he had obeyed God and offered the animal sacrifices God had required, his sacrifices would have been acceptable. It wasn't personal preference on God's part, or disdain for Cain's vocation, or the quality of his produce that caused God to reject his sacrifice. sin is crouching at the door. God told Cain that if he chose not to obey his commands, ever-present sin, crouched and waiting to pounce like a lion, would fulfill its desire to overpower him (cf. 3:16).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:8 The first murder in Scripture (cf. Matt. 23:35; Luke 11:51; Heb. 12:24). Cain rejected the wisdom spoken to him by God himself, rejected doing well, refused to repent, and thus crouching sin pounced and turned him into a killer. Cf. 1 John 3:10–12.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:9 am I my brother's keeper? Cain's sarcasm was a play on words, based on the fact that Abel was the "keeper" of sheep. Lying was the third sin resulting from Cain's attitude of indifference to God's commands. Sin was ruling over him (v. 7).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:10 voice . . . blood. A figure of speech to indicate that Abel's death was well known to God.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:11 cursed from the ground. A second curse came from God affecting just the productivity of the soil Cain would till. To a farmer like Cain, this curse was severe, and meant that Cain would all his life be, "a fugitive and a wanderer" (vv. 12, 14).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:14 whoever . . . kill me. This shows that the population of the earth was, by then, greatly increased. As a wanderer and scavenger in an agrarian world, Cain would be easy prey for those who wanted his life.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:15 mark. While not described here, it involved some sort of identifiable mark that he was under divine protection, which was mercifully given. At the same time, the mark that saved him was the lifelong sign of his shame.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:16 Nod. An unknown location.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:17 Cain knew his wife. Cain's wife obviously was one of Adam's later daughters (5:4). By Moses' time, this kind of close marriage was forbidden (Lev. 18:7–17), because of genetic decay. Enoch. His name means "initiation," and was symbolic of the new city where Cain would try to mitigate his curse.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:19 two wives. No reason is given on Lamech's part for the first recorded instance of bigamy. He led the Cainites in open rebellion against God (cf. 2:24) by his violation of marriage law.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:20 Jabal. He invented tents and the nomadic life of herdsmen so common in the Middle East and elsewhere.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:21 Jubal. He invented both stringed and wind instruments.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:22 Tubal-cain. He invented metallurgy.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:23–24 Lamech killed someone in self-defense. He told his wives that they need not fear any harm coming to them for the killing because if anyone tried to retaliate, he would retaliate and kill them. He thought that if God promised sevenfold vengeance on anyone killing Cain, he would give 77-fold vengeance on anyone attacking Lamech.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:25 Seth. With Cain removed as the older brother and heir of the family blessing, and with Abel dead, God graciously gave Adam and Eve a godly son through whom the seed of redemption (3:15) would be passed all the way to Jesus Christ (Luke 3:38).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 4:26 people began to call upon the name of the Lord. As men realized their inherent sinfulness with no human means to appease God's righteous indignation and wrath over their multiplied iniquities, they turned to God for mercy and grace in hopes of a restored personal relationship.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 5:1–6:8 generations of Adam. Ten specific families are mentioned. Most likely, in accord with other biblical genealogies, this listing is representative rather than complete (cf. Ruth 4:18–22).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 5:1–32 Adam . . . Noah. The genealogy connects Adam to

the Noahic family which not only survived the flood, but also became first in God's re-creation. Two recurring phrases carry redemption history forward: "he had other sons and daughters" and "and he died." These lines, which get repeated for each successive descendant of Adam, echo two contrasting realities; God had said "you shall surely die" (2:17), but he had also commanded them to "be fruitful and multiply" (1:28).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 5:1 the likeness of God. See notes on 1:26.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 5:2 named them Man. In naming man, God declared his own dominion over all creation (Matt. 19:4; Mark 10:6).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 5:3 in his own likeness, after his image. The human image and likeness in which God created mankind was procreatively passed to the second generation and to all generations that follow.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 5:5 930 years. These are literal years marking unusual length of life, which are accounted for by the pre-flood environment provided by the earth being under a canopy of water, filtering out the ultraviolet rays of the sun and producing a much more moderate and healthful condition. See notes on 1:7 and 2:6. and he died. God told Adam that if he ate of the tree he would surely die (2:17). It included spiritual death immediately and then physical death later.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 5:24 walked with God . . . was not, for God took him. Enoch is the only break in the chapter from the incessant comment, "and he died." Cf. 4:17, 18; 1 Chron. 1:3; Luke 3:37; Heb. 11:5; Jude 14. Only one other man is said to have enjoyed this intimacy of relationship in walking with God, Noah (Gen. 6:9). Enoch experienced being taken to heaven alive by God, as did Elijah later (2 Kings 2:1–12).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 5:25–27 Methuselah. The man who lived the longest life on record. He died the year of the flood judgment (cf. 7:6).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 5:29 this one shall bring us relief. Comfort and relief would come through the godly life of Noah, who is "an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith" (Heb. 11:7).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:1–4 The account that follows records an act of degradation that reveals the end-point of God's patience.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:1 Such long lifespans as indicated in the record of ch. 5 caused massive increase in earth's population.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:2 sons of God . . . daughters of man. The sons of God, identified elsewhere almost exclusively as angels (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7), saw and took wives of the human race. This produced an unnatural union which violated the God-ordained order of human marriage and procreation (Gen. 2:24). Some have argued that the sons of God were the sons of Seth who cohabited with the daughters of Cain; others suggest they were perhaps human kings wanting to build harems. But the passage puts strong emphasis on the angelic vs. human contrast. The NT places this account in sequence with other Genesis events and identifies it as involving fallen angels who indwelt men (see notes on 2 Pet. 2:4, 5; Jude 6). Matthew 22:30 does not necessarily negate the possibility that angels are capable of procreation, but just that they do not marry. To procreate physically, they had to possess human, male bodies.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:3 My Spirit. Cf. Gen. 1:2. The Holy Spirit played a most active role in the OT. The Spirit had been striving to call men to repentance and righteousness, especially as Scripture notes, through the preaching of Enoch and Noah (1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5; Jude 14). 120. The span of time until the flood (cf. 1 Pet. 3:20), in which man was given opportunity to respond to the warning that God's Spirit would not always be patient.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:4 Nephilim. This word is from a root meaning "to fall," indicating that they were strong men who "fell" on others in the sense of overpowering them (the only other use of this term is in Num. 13:33). They were already in the earth when the "mighty men" and "men of renown" were born. The fallen ones are not the offspring from the union in 6:1–2.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:5 his heart was only evil continually. This is one of the strongest and clearest statements about man's sinful nature. Sin begins in the thought-life (see notes on James 1:13–15). The people of Noah's day were exceedingly wicked, from the inside out. Cf. Jer. 17:9–10; Matt. 12:34–35; 15:18–19; Mark 7:21; Luke 6:45.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:6 sorry . . . grieved. Sin sorrowed God who is holy and without blemish (Eph. 4:30). Cf. Ex. 32:14; 1 Sam. 15:11; Jer. 26:3.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:7 God promised total destruction when his patience ran out

(cf. Eccles. 8:11).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:8 But Noah found favor. Lest one believe that Noah was spared because of his good works alone (cf. Heb. 11:7), God makes it clear that Noah was a man who believed in God as Creator, Sovereign, and the only Savior from sin. He found grace for himself, because he humbled himself and sought it (cf. 4:26). See notes on Isa. 55:6–7; he was obedient, as well (Gen. 6:22; 7:5; James 4:6–10).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:9–9:29 The generations of Noah.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:9 a righteous man, blameless . . . walked with God. Cf. Ezek. 14:14, 20 and 2 Pet. 2:5. The order is one of increasing spiritual quality before God: "righteous" is to live by God's righteous standards; "blameless" sets him apart by a comparison with those of his day; and that he "walked with God" puts him in a class with Enoch (Gen. 5:24).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:11 corrupt . . . filled with violence. Cf. 6:3, 5. The seed of Satan, the fallen rejectors of God, deceitful and destructive, had dominated the world.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:13 I will destroy them with the earth. Destroy did not mean annihilation, but rather referred to the flood judgment, both of the earth and its inhabitants.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:14 ark. A hollow chest, a box designed to float on water (Ex. 2:3). gopher wood. Probably cedar or cypress trees, abundant in the mountains of Armenia.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:15–16 While the ark was not designed for beauty or speed, these dimensions provided extraordinary stability in the tumultuous floodwaters. A cubit was about 18 inches long, making the ark 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. A gigantic box of that size would be very stable in the water, impossible to capsize. The volume of space in the ark was 1.4 million cubic feet, equal to the capacity of 522 standard railroad box cars, which could carry 125,000 sheep. It had three stories, each 15 feet high; each deck was equipped with various rooms (lit., "nests"). "Pitch" was a resin substance to seal the seams and cracks in the wood. The "door" may have actually been a low wall around the flat roof to catch water for all on the ark.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:17 flood of waters. Other notable Scriptures on the worldwide flood brought by God include: Job 12:15; 22:16; Ps. 29:10; Isa. 54:9; Matt. 24:37–39; Luke 17:26–27; Heb. 11:7; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5; 3:5–6.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:18 But I will establish my covenant with you. In contrast with the rest of the created order that God was to destroy, Noah and his family were not only to be preserved, but they were to enjoy the provision and protection of a covenant relationship with God. This is the first mention of "covenant" in Scripture. This pledged covenant is actually made and explained in 9:9–17 (see notes there).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 6:19–20 There are fewer than 18,000 species living on earth today. This number may have been doubled to allow for now-extinct creatures. With two of each, a total of 72,000 creatures is reasonable as indicated in the note on 6:15–16; the cubic space could hold 125,000 sheep, and since the average size of land animals is less than a sheep, perhaps less than 60 percent of the space was used. The very large animals were surely represented by young. There was ample room also for the one million species of insects, as well as food for a year for everyone (v. 21).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 7:1 righteous. Cf. 6:9 and Job 1:1.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 7:2–3 seven . . . seven. The extra six pairs of clean animals and birds would be used for sacrifice (8:20) and food (9:3).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 7:3 to keep their offspring alive. So that God could use them to replenish the earth.

GENESIS—NOTE ON 7:4 God allowed one more week for sinners to repent. rain . . . forty days and forty nights. A worldwide rain for this length of time is impossible in post-flood atmospheric conditions, but not then. The canopy that covered the whole earth (see note on 1:7), a thermal water blanket encircling the earth, was to be condensed and dumped all over the globe (7:10).

GENESIS—NOTE ON 7:11 month . . . day. The calendar system of Noah's day is unknown, although it appears that one month equaled 30 days. If calculated by the Jewish calendar of Moses' day, it would be about May. This period of God's grace was ended (cf. 6:3, 8; 7:4). all the fountains of the great deep burst forth. The subterranean waters sprang up from inside the earth to form the seas and rivers (1:10; 2:10–14), which were not produced by rainfall (since there was

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