The Story of Abraham

Quotations from the Qur'an and Genesis

Edited for the Internet by 'a volunteer'

The Koran

Abraham Sura 14

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Alif. Lam. Ra.

14:1 We have revealed to you this Book so that, by their Lord's will, you may lead mankind from darkness to the light; to the path of the Mighty, the Glorious One: the path of God, to whom belongs all that the heavens and the earth contain.

Woe betide the unbelievers, for they shall be sternly punished! Woe betide those who love this life more than the life to come; who debar others from the path of God and seek to make it crooked. They have strayed far into error.

Each apostle We have sent has spoken only in the language of his own people, so that he might make his precepts clear to them. But God leaves in error whom He will and guides whom He pleases. He is the Mighty, the Wise One.

. . .

14:32 It was God who created the heavens and the earth. He has sent down water from the sky with which He brings forth fruits for your sustenance. He has subdued the ships which by His leave sail the ocean in your service. He has subdued the rivers for your benefit, and subdued for you the sun and the moon, which steadfastly pursue their courses. And He has subdued for you the night and the day. Of everything you have asked for He has given you some. If you reckoned up God's favours you could not count them. Truly, man is wicked and thankless.

Abraham said: 'Lord, make this [1] a secure land. Preserve me and my descendants from serving idols. Lord, many have they led astray. He that follows me shall become my brother, but if anyone turns against me, You are surely forgiving and merciful.

14:40 'Lord, I have settled some of my offspring in a barren valley near Your Sacred House, so that they may observe true worship, Lord. Put in the hearts of men kindness towards them, and provide them with the earth's fruits, so that they may give thanks.

1. Mecca.

'Lord, You have knowledge of all that we conceal and all that we reveal: nothing on earth or in heaven is hidden from God. Praise be to God who has given me Ishmael and Isaac in my old age! All prayers are heard by Him.

'Lord, make me and my descendants steadfast in prayer. Lord, accept my prayer. 'Forgive me, Lord, and forgive my parents and all the faithful on the Day of Reckoning.'

Never think that God is unaware of the wrongdoers' actions. He only gives them respite till the day on which all eyes will stare with consternation. They shall rush in terror with heads uplifted and hearts utterly vacant. They shall stare, but see nothing.

Forewarn mankind of the day when the scourge will overtake them; when the wrongdoers will say: 'Lord, grant us respite for a while. We will obey Your call, and follow the apostles.'

But a voice will say to them: 'Did you not once swear that you would never disappear? You lived in the dwellings of those who wronged their souls before you: yet you knew full well how We had dealt with them, and We spoke to you in parables about them.'

They plot, but their plots are known to God, even if their plots could move mountains. Never think that God will break the pledge He gave to His Apostles. Mighty is God, and capable of revenge.

On the day when the earth is changed into a different earth and the heavens into new heavens, mankind shall stand before God, the One, who conquers all. On that day you shall see the guilty bound with chains, their garments pitch, and their faces covered with flames. God will recompense each soul according to its deeds. Swift is God's reckoning.

This is a warning to mankind. Let them take heed and know that He is but one God. Let the wise bear this in mind. (The Qur'an, s14-abraham_dawood)

2:124 When his Lord put Abraham to the proof by enjoining on him certain commandments and Abraham fulfilled them, He said: 'I have appointed you a leader of mankind.'

'And what of my descendants?' asked Abraham. 'My covenant,' said He, 'does not apply to the evil-doers.' We made the House[1] a resort and a sanctuary for mankind, saying:

1. The Ka'bah at Mecca.

'Make the place where Abraham stood a house of worship.' We enjoined Adam and Ishmael to cleanse Our House for those who walk round it, who meditate in it, and who kneel and prostrate themselves.'

2:125 'Lord,' said Abraham, 'make this a secure land and bestow plenty upon its people, those of them that believe in God and the Last Day.'

'As for those that do not,' He answered, 'I shall let them live awhile, and then shall drag them to the scourge of the Fire: an evil fate.'

2:127 Abraham and Ishmael built the House and dedicated it' saying: 'Accept this from us, Lord. You are the One that hears all and knows all. Lord, make us submissive to You; make of our descendants a community that will submit to You. Teach us our rites of worship and turn to us with mercy; You are the Forgiving One the Merciful. Lord, send forth to them an apostle of their own who shall declare to them Your revelations, and shall instruct them in the Book and in wisdom, and shall purify them of sin. You are the Mighty, the Wise One.'

Who but a foolish man would renounce the faith of Abraham? We chose him in this world, and in the world to come he shall abide among the righteous. When his Lord said to him: Submit,' he answered: 'I have submitted to the Lord of the worlds.

Abraham enjoined the faith on his children, and so did Jacob, saying: 'My children, God has chosen for you the true faith. Do not depart this life except in full submission.'

Were you present when death came to Jacob? He said to his children: 'What will you worship when I am gone?' They replied: 'We will worship your God and the God of your forefathers Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac: the One God. To Him we will submit.'(Muslims)

That community has passed away. Theirs is what they did and yours what you have done. You shall not be questioned about their actions.

They say: 'Accept the Jewish or the Christian faith and you shall be rightly guided.' Say: 'By no means! We believe in the faith of Abraham, the upright one. He was no idolater.' Say: 'We believe in God and that which has been revealed to us; in what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes; to Moses and Jesus and the other prophets by their Lord. We make no distinction among any of them, and to Him we submit.'(Muslims)

If they accept your faith, they shall be rightly guided; if they reject it, they shall surely be in schism. Against them God is your all-sufficient defender. He hears all and knows all.

Islam is the Baptism of God, and who is better to baptise than God? And Him do we serve. Say: 'Would you dispute with us about God, who is our Lord and your Lord? We shall both be judged by our works. To Him alone we are devoted.

'Do you claim that Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes, were all Jews or Christians?' Say: 'Who knows better, you or God? Who is more wicked than the man who hides a testimony he has received from God? God is never heedless of what you do.'

2:134 That community has passed away. Theirs is what they did and yours what you have done. You shall not be questioned about their actions. (The Qur'an, s02-cow_dawood)

2:258 Have you not heard of him who argued with Abraham about his Lord because God had bestowed sovereignty upon him? Abraham said: 'My Lord is He who has the power of life and death.'

'I, too,' replied the other, 'have the power of life and death.'

'God brings up the sun from the east,' said Abraham. 'Bring it up yourself from the west.' The unbeliever was confounded. God does not guide the evil-doers. (The Qur'an, s02-cow_dawood)

When Abraham said: 'Show me, Lord, how You will raise the dead,' He replied: 'Have you no faith?'

'Yes,' said Abraham, 'but just to reassure my heart.'

'Take four birds,' said He, 'draw them to you, and cut their bodies to pieces. Scatter them over the mountain-tops, then call them back. They will come swiftly to you. Know that God is mighty and wise.' (The Qur'an, s02-cow_dawood)

3:62 If they turn away, say: 'Bear witness, then, that we submit to God.'

People of the Book, why do you argue about Abraham when both the Torah and the Gospel were not revealed till after him? Have you no sense?

Indeed, you have argued about things of which you have some knowledge. Must you now argue about that of which you know nothing at all? God knows, but you know not.

3:67 Abraham was neither Jew nor Christian. He was an upright man, one who submitted to God. He was no idolater. Surely the men who are nearest to Abraham are those who follow him, this Prophet, and the true believers. God is the guardian of the faithful. Some of the People of the Book wish to mislead you; but they mislead none but themselves, though they may not perceive it. (The Qur'an, s03-imrans_dawood)

3:95 Say: 'God has declared the truth. Follow the faith of Abraham. He was an upright man, no idolater.'

3:96 The first temple ever to be built for mankind was that at Bakkah,[1] a blessed site, a beacon for the nations. In it there are veritable signs and the spot where Abraham stood.

Whoever enters it is safe. Pilgrimage to the House is a duty to God for all who can make the journey. As for the unbelievers, God can surely do without them. (The Qur'an, s03-imrans_dawood)

4:54 Do they envy others what God has of His bounty given them? We gave Abraham's descendants scriptures and prophethood, and an illustrious kingdom. (The Qur'an, s04-women_dawood)

4:125 And who has a nobler religion than he who submits to God, does what is right, and follows the faith of saintly Abraham, whom God chose to be His friend? (The Qur'an, s04-women_dawood)

6:74 Tell of Abraham, who said to Azar, his father: 'Will you worship idols as your gods? Surely you and all your people are in palpable error.'

Thus did We show Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, so that he might become a firm believer. When night drew its shadow over him, he saw a star. 'That,' he said, 'is surely my God.'

But when it faded in the morning light, he said: 'I will not worship gods that fade.' When he beheld the rising moon, he said: 'That is my God.' But when it set, he said: 'If my Lord does not guide me, I shall surely go astray.'

Then, when he beheld the sun shining, he said: 'That must be my God: it is the largest.' But when it set, he said to his people: 'I disown your idols. I will turn my face to Him who has created the heavens and the earth, and will live a righteous life. I am no idolater.'

6:80 His people argued with him. He said: 'Will you argue with me about God, who has given me guidance? I do not fear your idols, unless my Lord so willed. My Lord has knowledge of all things. Will you not be warned?

And how should I fear your idols when you yourselves are not afraid of serving idols not sanctioned by God? Which of us is more deserving of salvation? Tell me, if you know the truth. Those that have faith and do not taint their faith with wrongdoing shall surely earn salvation, while they follow the right path.'

Such was the argument with which We furnished Abraham against his people. We raise whom We will to an exalted rank. Your Lord is wise and all-knowing.

We gave him Isaac and Jacob and guided both as We had guided Noah before them. Among his descendants were David and Solomon, Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron (thus do we reward the righteous); Zacharias and John, Jesus and Elias (all were upright men); and Ishmael, Elisha, Jonah and Lot. All these We exalted above the nations as We exalted some of their fathers, their children, and their brothers. We chose them and guided them to a straight path.

6:88 Such is God's guidance; He bestows it on those of His servants whom He chooses. Had they served other gods besides Him, their labours would have been vain indeed.

On those men We bestowed the Scriptures, wisdom, and prophethood. If these are denied by this generation, We will entrust them to others who will not deny them.

6:90 Those were the men whom God guided. Follow then their guidance and say: 'I demand of you no recompense for this. It is but an admonition to all mankind.'

They have no true notion of God's glory, those that say: 'God has never revealed anything to a mortal.' (The Qur'an, s06-cattle_dawood)

9:113 It is not for the Prophet or the believers to beg forgiveness for idolaters, even though they be related to them, after it has become manifest that they have earned the punishment of Hell. Abraham prayed for his father only to fulfil a promise he had made him.

But when he realized he was an enemy of God, he disowned him. Yet Abraham was a compassionate and tender-hearted man.(The Qur'an, s09-repentence_dawood)

11:69 Our messengers came to Abraham with good news. They said: 'Peace!' 'Peace!' he answered, and hastened to bring them a roasted calf.

11:70 But when he saw their hands being withheld from it, he mistrusted them and was afraid of them. They said: 'Have no fear. We are sent forth to the people of Lot.

His wife, who was standing by, laughed. We bade her rejoice in Isaac, and in Jacob after Isaac.

'Alas!' she replied. 'How shall I bear a child when I am old and my husband is well-advanced in years? This is indeed a strange thing.'

They replied: 'Do you marvel at the ways of God? May God's mercy and blessings be upon you, dear hosts! Worthy of praise is He and glorious.'

And when fear left him as he pondered the good news, Abraham pleaded with Us for the people of Lot. Abraham was gracious, tender-hearted, and devout. We said: 'Abraham, plead no more. Your Lord's will must needs he done. Irrevocable is the scourge which shall smite them.'

And when Our messengers came to Lot, he grew anxious about them, for he was powerless to offer them protection. 'This is indeed a day of woe,' he said.

11:78 His people, long addicted to evil practices, came running towards him. 'My people,' he said, 'here are my daughters: surely they are more wholesome to you. Fear God, and do not shame me by insulting my guests. Is there not one right-minded man among you?'

They replied: 'You know we have no need of your daughters. You know full well what we are seeking.' He cried: 'Would that I had strength enough to overcome you, or could find refuge in some mighty man!'

They said: 'Lot, we are the emissaries of your Lord: they shall not touch you. Depart with your kinsfolk in the dead of night and let none of you turn back, except your wife. She shall suffer the fate of the others. In the morning their hour will come. Is not the morning near?'

And when Our judgement came to pass, We turned their city upside down and let loose upon it a shower of clay stones bearing the tokens of your Lord. The punishment of the unjust was not far off. (The Qur'an, s11-hud_dawood)

15:51 Tell them of Abraham's guests. They went in to him and said: 'Peace,' but he replied: 'We fear your intent.' 'Have no fear,' they answered. 'We come to you with good news. You shall have a son endowed with knowledge.'

He said: 'Do you bring me such news in my old age? What news do you bring me?' They replied: 'We have made known to you the truth. Do not despair.'

He said: 'Who but a sinner would despair of God's mercy? Messengers,' he said, 'what is your errand?' They replied: 'We are sent forth to a guilty nation. The house of Lot alone we shall deliver, except his wife.'

15:60 We had decreed that she should stay with those who were to stay behind.

And when the envoys came to the house of Lot, he said to them: 'I do not know you.' 'No,' they replied. 'We bring you news of that concerning which they are disputing.

15:64 We bring you the truth, for what we say is true. Depart with your kinsfolk in the dead of night. Walk in their rear and let none turn round. Go where you are commanded.'

Such were the instructions We gave him; for the wrong-doers were to be utterly destroyed next morning. The townsfolk came to him rejoicing. He said: 'These are my guests; do not disgrace me. Have fear of God and do not shame me.'

They replied: 'Did we not forbid you to entertain strangers?' He said: 'Here are my daughters: take them, if you are bent on evil.'

By your life, they were reeling in their frenzy! At sunrise the Cry took them. We razed their city to the ground and let loose a shower of clay-stones upon them.

15:77 Surely in this there are signs for prudent men. The road on which their city stood is trodden still. Surely in this there is a sign for true believers. (The Qur'an, s15-al-hijr_dawood)

16:121 Abraham was a paragon of piety, an upright man obedient to God. He was no idolater. He rendered thanks for His favours, so that He chose him and guided him to a straight path. We bestowed on him a blessing in this world, and in the world to come he shall dwell among the righteous.

And now We have revealed to you Our will, saying: 'Follow the faith of saintly Abraham: he was no idolater.'(The Qur'an, s16-bee_dawood)

19:40 You shall also recount in the Book the story of Abraham: He was a saintly man and a prophet. He said to his father: 'Why do you serve a worthless idol, a thing that can neither hear nor see?

Father, things you know nothing of have come to my knowledge: therefore follow me, that I may guide you along an even path. Father, do not worship Satan; for Satan has rebelled against the Lord of Mercy.

19:45 'Father, I fear that a scourge will fall upon you from the Merciful, and you will become one of Satan's minions.' He replied: 'Do you dare renounce my gods, Abraham? Desist, or I will stone you. Leave my house this instant!'

'Peace be with you,' said Abraham. 'I shall implore my Lord to forgive you: for to me He has ever been gracious. But I will not live with you or with your idols. I will pray to my Lord, and may my prayers to my Lord not be in vain.'

19:50 And when Abraham had cast off his people and the idols which they worshipped; We gave him Isaac and Jacob. Each of them We made a prophet, and We bestowed on them gracious gifts and high renown. (The Qur'an, s19-mary_dawood)

21:51 We formerly bestowed guidance on Abraham, for We knew him well. He said to his father and to his people: 'What are these images to which you are so devoted?' They replied: 'They are the gods our fathers worshipped.'

He said: 'Then you and your fathers have surely been in evident error.''Is it the truth that you are preaching,' they asked, 'or is this but a jest?'

'Indeed,' he answered, 'your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. It was He that made them: to this I bear witness. By the Lord, I will overthrow your idols as soon as you have turned your backs.' He broke them all in pieces, except their supreme god, so that they might return to him.

21:60 'Who has done this to our deities?' asked some. 'He must surely be a wicked man.' Others replied: 'We have heard a youth called Abraham speak of them.' They said: 'Then bring him here in sight of all the people, that they may act as witnesses.

'Abraham,' they said, 'was it you who did this to our deities?'

'No,' he replied. 'It was their chief who smote them. Ask them, if they can speak.' Thereupon they turned their thoughts upon themselves and said to each other: 'Surely you are the ones who have done wrong.' Crest-fallen as they were, they said to Abraham 'You know they cannot speak.'

He answered: 'Would you then worship that, instead of God, which can neither help nor harm you? Shame on you and on your idols! Have you no sense?' They cried: 'Burn him and avenge your gods, if you must punish him!'

'Fire,' We said, 'be cool to Abraham and keep him safe.'

21:70 They sought to lay a snare for him, but it was they whom We ruined. We delivered him and Lot, and brought them to the land which We had blessed for all mankind. We gave him Isaac, and then Jacob for a grandson; and We made each a righteous man. We ordained them leaders to give guidance at Our behest, and enjoined on them charity, prayer and almsgiving. They served none but Ourself.

To Lot We gave wisdom and knowledge and delivered him from the city that had committed deeds of abomination; surely they were men of iniquity and evil. We admitted him to Our mercy: he was a righteous man.

Before him Noah invoked Us, and We answered his prayer. We saved him and all his kinsfolk from the great calamity, and delivered him from those who had denied Our revelations. Evil were they; We drowned them all. (The Qur'an, s21-prophets_dawood)

22:25 The unbelievers who debar others from the path of God and from the Sacred Mosque which We provided for mankind, natives and strangers alike, and those who seek to do evil within its walls -- We shall let them taste a grievous punishment.

22:26 When We prepared for Abraham the site of the Sacred Mosque We said: 'Worship none besides Me. Keep My House clean for those who walk around it, and those who stand upright or kneel in worship.'

Exhort all men to make the pilgrimage. They will come to you on foot and on the backs of swift camels from every distant quarter; they will come to avail themselves of many a benefit, and to pronounce on the appointed days the name of God over the cattle which He has given them for food. Eat of their flesh, and feed the poor and the unfortunate.

Then let the pilgrims tidy themselves, make their vows, and circle the Ancient House. Such is God's commandment. He that reveres the sacred rites of God shall fare better in the sight of his Lord.

The flesh of cattle is lawful for you, except for that which has been specified before. Guard yourselves against the filth of idols; and avoid the utterance of falsehoods.

Dedicate yourselves to God, and serve none besides Him. The man who serves other deities besides God is like him who falls from heaven and is snatched by the birds or carried away by the wind to some far-off region. Even such is he.

He that reveres the offerings made to God shows the piety of his heart. Your cattle are useful to you in many ways until the time of their slaughter. Then they are offered for sacrifice at the Ancient House. (The Qur'an, s22-pilgramage_dawood)

Surely, your Lord is the Mighty One, the Merciful. Recount to them the story of Abraham.

26:70 He said to his father and to his people: 'What is that which you worship?' They replied: 'We worship idols and pray to them with all fervour.'

'Do they hear you when you call on them?' he asked. 'Can they help you or do you harm?' They replied: 'This was what our fathers did before us.' He said: 'Do you see those which you have worshipped, you and your forefathers? They are my enemies.

26:78 Not so the Lord of the Worlds, who has created me; who gives me guidance, food and drink; who, when I am sick, restores me; who will cause me to die and bring me back to life hereafter; who, I hope, will forgive me my sins on the Day of Judgement.

'Lord, bestow wisdom upon me, and admit me among the righteous. Make me deserving of praise among posterity and count me among the heirs of the Blissful Garden. Forgive my father, for he has gone astray. 'Do not hold me up to shame on the Day of Resurrection; the day when wealth and offspring will be of no avail, and when none shall be saved but him who comes before his Lord with a pure heart;

26:90 When Paradise shall be brought within sight of the righteous and Hell be revealed to the erring. They will be asked: "Where are your idols now? Can they help you or even help themselves?" And into Hell they shall be hurled, they and those who misled them, and Satan's legions all.

26:96 "By the Lord," they will say to their idols, as they contend with them, "we erred indeed when we made you equals with the Lord of the Worlds. "It was but the evil-doers who led us astray.

26:100 "We have no intercessors now, no loving friend. Could we but live our lives again we would be true believers."' Surely in that there was a sign, yet most of them did not believe.

Surely your Lord is the Mighty One, the Merciful. (The Qur'an, s26-poets_dawood)

29:15 And tell of Abraham. He said to his people: 'Serve God and fear Him. That would be best for you, if you but knew it. You worship idols besides God and fabricate falsehoods. Those whom you serve besides God cannot give you your daily bread. Therefore seek your daily bread from God, and worship Him. Give thanks to Him, for to Him you shall return.

'If you disbelieve, other communities before you likewise disbelieved. Yet an apostle's duty is but to give plain warning.' Do they not see how God conceives Creation, and then renews it? That is easy enough for God.

29:20 Say: 'Roam the earth and see how God has brought the Creation into being. Then will God initiate the Latter Creation. God has power over all things; He punishes whom He will and shows mercy to whom He pleases. To Him shall you be recalled.'

Neither on earth nor in heaven shall you escape His reach: nor have you any besides God to protect or help you. Those that disbelieve God's revelations and deny that they will ever meet Him shall despair of My mercy. Woeful punishment awaits them.

His people's only reply was: 'Kill him!' or 'Burn him!' But from the fire God delivered him. Surely in this there are signs for true believers.

Abraham said: 'You have chosen idols instead of God, but your love of them will last only in this nether life. On the Day of Resurrection you shall disown one another, and you shall curse one another. The Fire shall be your home and none shall help you.'

Lot believed in him. He said: 'I will fly this land whither my Lord bids me. He is the Mighty One, the Wise One.'

We gave him Isaac and Jacob and bestowed on his descendants prophethood and the Book. We gave him his reward in this life, and in the life to come he shall dwell among the righteous.

And We sent forth Lot to his people. He said to them: 'You commit lewd acts which no other nation has committed before you. You lust after men and assault them on your highways. At your gatherings you perpetrate abominations.'

But his people's only answer was: 'Bring down the scourge of God upon us, if what you say be true.' 'Lord,' said he, 'deliver me from these degenerate men.'

And when Our messengers brought Abraham the good news they said: 'We are to destroy the people of this town, for its people have done wrong. Abraham said: 'Lot dwells in it.' 'We well know who dwells in it,' they replied. 'We shall deliver him and all his household, except his wife, who shall remain behind.'

29:33 And when Our messengers came to Lot, he was troubled and distressed on their account. They said: 'Have no fear, and do not grieve. We shall deliver you and all your household, except your wife, who shall remain behind. We shall bring down a scourge from heaven upon the people of this town to punish them for their sins.'

Surely the ruins We left of that city are a veritable sign for men of understanding. (The Qur'an, s29-spider_dawood)

37:83 Abraham was of the self-same faith and came to his Lord with a pure heart. He said to his father and to his people: 'What are these that you worship? Would you serve false deities instead of God? What think you of the Lord of the Worlds?'

37:90 He lifted up his eyes to the stars and said: 'I am sick!' And his people turned their backs and went off. He stole away to their idols and said to them: 'Will you not eat your offerings? Why do you not speak?'

With that he fell upon them, striking them down with his right hand. The people came running to the scene. 'Would you worship that which you have carved with your own hands,' he said, 'when it was God who created you and all that you have made?'

37:100 They replied: 'Build up a pyre and cast him into the blazing flames.' Thus did they scheme against him: but We abased them all. He said: 'I will take refuge with my Lord; He will give me guidance. Lord, grant me a righteous son.'

We gave him news of a gentle son. And when he reached the age when he could work with him, his father said to him: 'My son, I dreamt that I was sacrificing you. Tell me what you think.'

He replied: 'Father, do as you are bidden. God willing, you shall find me steadfast.'

And when they had both submitted to God, and Abraham had laid down his son prostrate upon his face, We called out to him, saying: 'Abraham, you have fulfilled your vision.'

Thus do We reward the righteous. That was indeed a bitter test. We ransomed his son with a noble sacrifice and bestowed on him the praise of later generations. 'Peace be on Abraham!'

37:109 Thus do We reward the righteous. He was one of Our believing servants. (The Qur'an, s37-ranks_dawood)

43:26 Tell of Abraham, who said to his father and to his people: 'I renounce the gods you worship, except Him who created me, for He will rightly guide me.'

He made this an abiding precept among his descendants, so that they might for ever turn to Him. Indeed, I made things pleasant for these and for their fathers until there came to them the truth and an undoubted apostle.

But now that the truth has come to them, they say: 'This is sorcery. We utterly reject it.' (The Qur'an, s43-gold_dawood)

51:21 Have you heard the story of Abraham's honoured guests? They went in to him and said: 'Peace!' 'Peace!' he answered and, seeing that they were strangers, betook himself to his household and returned with a fatted calf. He placed it before them, saying: 'Will you not eat?'

He grew afraid of them, but they said, 'Have no fear,' and told him he was to have a son endowed with knowledge. His wife came crying and beating her face. 'Surely I am a barren old woman,' she said. 'Such is the will of your Lord,' they replied. 'He is the Wise One, the All-knowing.'

51:31 'Messengers,' said Abraham, 'what is your errand?' They replied: 'We are sent forth to a wicked people, so that we may bring down on them a shower of clay-stones marked by your Lord for the destruction of the sinful.'

We saved all the faithful in the town -- We found but one household of true believers -- and left therein a Sign for those who fear the woeful scourge. (The Qur'an, s51-winds_dawood)

60:4 You have a good example in Abraham and those who followed him. They said to their people: 'We disown you and the idols which you worship besides God. We renounce you: enmity and hate shall reign between us until you believe in God only.' (But do not emulate the words of Abraham to his father: 'I shall implore forgiveness for you, although I can in no way protect you from God.')

'Lord, in You we have put our trust; to You we turn and to You we shall come at last. Lord, do not expose us to the designs of the unbelievers. Forgive us, Lord; You are the Mighty, the Wise One.'

Surely in those there is a good example for everyone who puts his hopes in God and in the Last Day. He that pays no heed shall learn that God alone is self-sufficient and worthy of praise. (The Qur'an, s60-tested_dawood)

87:14 Happy shall be the man who keeps himself pure, who remembers the name of his Lord and prays. Yet you prefer this life, although the life to come is better and more lasting.

87:19 All this is written in earlier scriptures; the scriptures of Abraham and Moses. (The Qur'an, s87-high_dawood)

GENESIS 11

27 This is the table of the descendants of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot. Haran died in the presence of his father in the land of his birth, Ur of the Chaldees. Abram and Nahor married wives; Abram's wife was called Sarai, and Nahor's Milcah. She was Haran's daughter; and he was also the father of Milcah and of Iscah. Sarai was barren; she had no child. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai Abram's wife, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldees for the land of Canaan. But when they reached Harran, they settled there. Terah was two hundred and five years old when he died in Harran.

Abraham and Isaac

GENESIS 12

1 THE LORD SAID TO ABRAM, 'Leave your own country, your kinsmen, and your father's house, and go to a country that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you and make your name so great that it shall be used in blessings:

3  Those that bless you I will bless,
        those that curse you, I will execrate.
        All the families on earth
        will pray to be blessed as you are blessed.'

4 And so Abram set out as the Lord had bidden him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the property they had collected, and all the dependants they had acquired in Harran, and they started on their journey to Canaan. When they arrived, Abram passed through the country to the sanctuary at Shechem, the terebinth-tree of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites lived in this land. There the Lord appeared to Abram and said, 'I give this land to your descendants.' So Abram built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. Thence he went on to the hill-country east of Bethel and pitched his tent between Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the Lord by name. Thus Abram journeyed by stages towards the Negeb.

10 There came a famine in the land, so severe that Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while. When he was approaching Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, 'I know very well that you are a beautiful woman, and that when the Egyptians see you, they will say, "She is his wife"; then they will kill me but let you live. Tell them that you are my sister, so that all may go well with me because of you and my life may be spared on your account. When Abram arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was indeed very beautiful. Pharaoh's courtiers saw her and praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into Pharaoh's household. He treated Abram well because of her, and Abram came to possess sheep and cattle and asses, male and female slaves, she-asses, and camels. Bnt the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with grave diseases on account of Abram's wife Sarai. Pharaoh summoned Abram and said to him, 'Why have you treated me like this? Why did you not tell me that she is your wife? Why did you say that she was your sister, so that I took her as a wife? Here she is: take her and be gone.' Then Pharaoh gave his men orders, and they sent Abram away with his wife and all that he had.

GENESIS 13

1 Abram went up from Egypt into the Negeb, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot went with him. Abram was now very rich in cattle and in silver and gold. From the Negeb he journeyed by stages to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where he had pitched his tent in the beginning, where he had set up an altar on the first occasion and had invoked the Lord by name. Now Lot was travelling with Abram, and he too possessed sheep and cattle and tents. The land could not support them both together; for their livestock were so numerous that they could not settle in the same district, and there were quarrels between Abram's herdsmen and Lot's. The Canaanites and the Perizzites were then living in the land. So Abram said to Lot, 'Let there be no quarrelling between us, between my herdsmen and yours; for we are close kinsmen. The whole country is there in front of you; let us part company. If you go left, I will go right; if you go right, I will go left.' Lot looked up and saw how well-watered the whole Plain of the Jordan was; all the way to Zoar it was like the Garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. This was before the Lord had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. So Lot chose all the Plain of the Jordan and took the road on the east side. Thus they parted company. Abram settled in the land of Canaan; but Lot settled among the cities of the Plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.

14 After Lot and Abram had parted, the Lord said to Abram, 'Raise your eyes and look into the distance from the place where you are, north and south, east and west. All the land you can see I will give to you and to your descendants for ever. I will make your descendants countless as the dust of the earth; if anyone could count the dust upon the ground, then he could count your descendants. Now go through the length and breadth of the land, for I give it to you.' So Abram moved his tent and settled by the terebinths of Mamre at Hebron; and there he built an altar to the Lord.

GENESIS 14

1 IT WAS IN THE TIME OF AMRAPHEL king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goyim. They went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admab, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela, that is Zoar. These kings joined forces in the valley of Siddim, which is now the Dead Sea. They had been subject to Kedorlaomer for twelve years, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. Then in the fourteenth year Kedorlaomer and his confederate kings came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashterothkarnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites in the hill-country from Seir as far as El-paran on the edge of the wilderness. On their way back they came to En-mishpat, which is now Kadesh, and laid waste all the country of the Amalekites and also that of the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar. Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboyim, and Bela, which is now Zoar, marched out and drew up their forces against them in the valley of Siddim, against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five. Now the valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits; and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, but the rest escaped to the hill-country. The four kings captured all the flocks and herds of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their provisions, and went away. They also carried off Lot, Abram's nephew, who was living in Sodom, and with him his flocks and herds. But a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew, who at that time was dwelling by the terebinths of Mamre the Amorite. This Mamre was the brother of Esheol and Aner, who were allies of Abram. When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken prisoner, he mustered his retainers, men born in his household, three hundred and eighteen of them, and pursued as far as Dan. Abram and his followers surrounded the enemy by night, attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus; he then brought back all the flocks and herds and also his kinsman Lot with his flocks and herds, together with the women and the other captives. On his return from this defeat of Kedorlaomer and his confederate kings, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh, which is now the King's Valley.

18 Then Melehizedek king of Salem brought food and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he pronounced this blessing on Abram:

19 'Blessed be Abram
        by God Most High,
        creator of heaven and earth.
        And blessed be God Most High,
        who has delivered your enemies into your power.'

20 Abram gave him a tithe of all the booty.

21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, 'Give me the people, and you can take the property'; but Abram said to the king of Sodom, 'I lift my hand and swear by the Lord, God Most High, creator of heaven and earth: not a thread or a shoe-string will I accept of anything that is yours. You shall never say, "I made Abram rich." I will accept nothing but what the young men have eaten and the share of the men who went with me. Aner, Esheol, and Mamre shall have their share.'

GENESIS 15

1 AFTER THIS the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. He said, 'Do not be afraid, Abram, I am giving you a very great reward.' Abram replied, 'Lord GOD, what canst thou give me? I have no standing among men, for the heir to my household is Eliezer of Damascus.' Abram continued, 'Thou hast given me no children, and so my heir must be a slave born in my house.' Then came the word of the Lord to him: 'This man shall not be your heir; your heir shall be a child of your own body.' He took Abram outside and said, 'Look up into the sky, and count the stars if you can. So many', he said, 'shall your descendants be.'

6 Abram put his faith in the Lord, and the Lord counted that faith to him as righteousness; he said to him, 'I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldees to give you this land to occupy.' Abram said, 'O Lord GOD, how can I be sure that I shall occupy it?' The Lord answered, 'Bring me a heifer three years old, a she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtle-dove, and a fledgling.' He brought him all these, halved the animals down the middle and placed each piece opposite its corresponding piece, but he did not halve the birds. When the birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, Abram scared them away. Then, as the sun was going down, a trance came over Abram and great fear came upon him. The Lord said to Abram, 'Know this for certain, that your descendants will be aliens living in a land that is not theirs; they will be slaves, and will be held in oppression there for four hundred years. But I will punish that nation whose slaves they are, and after that they shall come out with great possessions. You yourself shall join your fathers in peace and be buried in a good old age; and the fourth generation shall return here, for the Amorites will not be ripe for punishment till then.' The sun went down and it was dusk, and there appeared a smoking brazier and a flaming torch passing between the divided pieces. That very day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, and he said, 'To your descendants I give this land from the River of Egypt to the Great River, the river Euphrates, the territory of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites.'

GENESIS 16

1 Abram's wife Sarai had borne him no children. Now she had an Egyptian slave-girl whose name was Hagar, and she said to Abram, 'You see that the Lord has not allowed me to bear a child. Take my slave-girl; perhaps I shall found a family through her.' Abram agreed to what his wife said; so Sarai, Abram's wife, brought her slave-girl, Hagar the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife. When this happened Abram had been in Canaan for ten years. He lay with Hagar and she conceived; and when she knew that she was with child, she despised her mistress. Sarai said to Abram, 'I have been wronged and you must answer for it.

5 It was I who gave my slave-girl into your arms, but since she has known that she is with child, she has despised me. May the Lord see justice done between you and me.' Abram replied to Sarai, 'Your slave-girl is in your hands; deal with her as you will.' So Sarai ill-treated her and she ran away.

7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness on the way to Shur, and he said, 'Hagar, Sarai's slave-girl, where have you come from and where are you going?' She answered, 'I am running away from Sarai my mistress.' The angel of the Lord said to her, 'Go back to your mistress and submit to her ill-treatment.' The angel also said, 'I will make your descendants too many to be counted.' And the angel of the Lord said to her:

11 'You are with child and will bear a son.
        You shall name him Ishmael,
        because the Lord has heard of your ill-treatment.
        He shall be a man like the wild ass,
        his hand against every man
        and every man's hand against him;
        and he shall live at odds with all his kinsmen.'

13 She called the Lord who was speaking to her by the name El-Roi, for she said, 'Have I indeed seen God and still lived after that vision?' That is why men call the well Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered. Hagar bore Abram a son, and he named the child she bore him Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael.

GENESIS 17

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, 'I am God Almighty. Live always in my presence and be perfect, so that I may set my covenant between myself and you and multiply your descendants.' Abram threw himself down on his face, and God spoke with him and said, 'I make this covenant, and I make it with you: you shall be the father of a host of nations. Your name shall no longer be Abram, your name shall be Abraham, for I make you father of a host of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations out of you, and kings shall spring from you. I will fulfil my covenant between myself and you and your descendants after you, generation after generation, an everlasting covenant, to be your God, yours and your descendants' after you. As an everlasting possession I will give you and your descendants after you the land in which you now are aliens, all the land of Canaan, and I will be God to your descendants.'

9 God said to Abraham, 'For your part, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation by generation. This is how you shall keep my covenant between myself and you and your descendants after you: circumcise yourselves, every male among you; You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between us. Every male among you in every generation shall be circumcised on the eighth day, both those born in your house and any foreigner, not of your blood but bought with your money. Circumcise both those born in your house and those bought with your money; thus shall my covenant be marked in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. Every uncircumcised male, everyone who has not had the flesh of his foreskin circumcised, shall be cut off from the kin of his father. He has broken my covenant.'

15 God said to Abraham, 'As for Sarai your wife; you shall call her not Sarai, but Sarah. I will bless her and give you a son by her. I will bless her and she shall be the mother of nations; the kings of many people shall spring from her.' Abraham threw himself down on his face; he laughed and said to himself, 'Can a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah bear a son when she is ninety?' He said to God, 'If only Ishmael might live under thy special care!' But God replied, 'No. Your wife Sarah shall bear you a son, and you shall call him Isaac. With him I will fulfil my covenant, an everlasting covenant with his descendants after him. I have heard your prayer for Ishmael. I have blessed him and will make him fruitful. I will multiply his descendants; he shall be father of twelve princes, and I will raise a great nation from him. But my covenant I will fulfil with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.' When he had finished talking with Abraham, God ascended and left him.

23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, everyone who had been born in his household and everyone bought with money, every male in his household, and he circumcised them that very same day in the flesh of their fore-skins as God had told him to do. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin. Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. Both Abraham and Ishmael were circumcised on the same day, and all the men of his household, born in the house or bought with money from foreigners were circumcised with him.

GENESIS 18

1 THE LORD APPEARED TO ABRAHAM by the terebinths of Mamre. As Abraham was sitting at the Opening of his tent in the heat of the day, he looked up and saw three men standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the opening of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. 'Sirs,' he said, 'if I have deserved your favour, do not pass by my humble self without a visit. Let me send for some water so that you may wash your feet and rest under a tree; and let me fetch a little food so that you may refresh yourselves. Afterwards you may continue the journey which has brought you my way.' They said, 'Do by all means as you say.' So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, 'Take three measures of flour quickly, knead it and make some cakes.' Then Abraham ran to the cattle, chose a fine tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurriedly prepared it. He took curds and milk and the calf he had prepared, set it before them, and waited on them himself under the tree while they ate. They asked him where Sarah his wife was, and he said, 'There, in the tent.' The stranger said, 'About this time next year I will be sure to come back to you, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.' Now Sarah was listening at the opening of the tent, and he was close beside it. Both Abraham and Sarah had grown very old, and Sarah was past the age of child-bearing. So Sarah laughed to herself and said, 'I am past bearing children now that I am out of my time, and my husband is old.' The Lord said to Abraham, 'Why did Sarah laugh and say, "Shall I indeed bear a child when I am old?" Is anything impossible for the Lord? In due season I will come back to you; about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.' Sarah lied because she was frightened, and denied that she had laughed; but he said, 'Yes, you did laugh.'

16 The men set out and looked down towards Sodom, and Abraham went with them to start them on their way. The Lord thought to himself, 'Shall I conceal from Abraham what I intend to do? He will become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will pray to be blessed as he is blessed. I have taken care of him on purpose that he may charge his sons and family after him to conform to the way of the Lord and to do what is right and just; thus I shall fulfil all that I have promised for him.' So the Lord said, 'There is a great outcry over Sodom and Gomorrah; their sin is very grave. I must go down and see whether their deeds warrant the outcry which has reached me. I am resolved to know the truth.' When the men turned and went towards Sodom; Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Abraham drew near him and said, 'Wilt thou really sweep away good and bad together? Suppose there are fifty good men in the city; wilt thou really sweep it away, and not pardon the place because of the fifty good men? Far be it from thee to do this to kill good and bad together; for then the good would suffer with the bad. Far be it from thee. Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just?' The Lord said, 'If I find in the city of Sodom fifty good men, I will pardon the whole place for their sake.' Abraham replied, 'May I presume to speak to the Lord, dust and ashes that I am: suppose there are five short of the fifty good men? Wilt thou destroy the whole city for a mere five men?' He said, 'If I find forty-five there I will not destroy it.' Abraham spoke again, 'Suppose forty can be found there?'; and he said, 'For the sake of the forty I will not do it.' Then Abraham said, 'Please do not be angry, O Lord, if I speak again: suppose thirty can be found there?' He answered, 'If I find thirty there I will not do it.' Abraham continued, 'May I presume to speak to the Lord: suppose twenty can be found there?' He replied, 'For the sake of the twenty I will not destroy it.' Abraham said, 'I pray thee not to be angry, O Lord, if I speak just once more: suppose ten can be found there?' He said, 'For the sake of the ten I will not destroy it.' When the Lord had finished talking with Abraham, he left him, and Abraham returned home.

GENESIS 19

1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them he rose to meet them and bowed low with his face to the ground. He said, 'I pray you, sirs, turn aside to my humble home, spend the night there and wash your feet; you can rise early and continue your journey.' 'No,' they answered, 'we will spend the night in the street.' But Lot was so insistent that they did turn aside and enter his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking unleavened cakes, and they ate them. Before they lay down to sleep, the men of Sodom, both young and old, surrounded the house -- everyone without exception. They called to Lot and asked him where the men were who had entered his house that night. 'Bring them out', they shouted, 'so that we can have intercourse with them.'

Lot went out into the doorway to them, closed the door behind him and said, 'No, my friends, do not be so wicked. Look, I have two daughters, both virgins; let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them; but do not touch these men, because they have come under the shelter of my roof.' They said, 'Out of our way! This man has come and settled here as an alien, and does he now take it upon himself to judge us? We will treat you worse than them.' They crowded in on the man Lot and pressed close to smash in the door. But the two men inside reached out, pulled Lot in, and closed the door. Then they struck the men in the doorway with blindness, both small and great, so that they could not find the door.

12 The two men said to Lot, 'Have you anyone else here, sons-in-law, sons, or daughters, or any who belong to you in the city? Get them out of this place, because we are going to destroy it. The outcry against it has been so great that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.' So Lot went out and spoke to his intended sons-in-law. He said, 'Be quick and leave this place; the Lord is going to destroy the city.' But they did not take him seriously.

15 As soon as it was dawn, the angels urged Lot to go, saying, 'Be quick, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.' When he lingered, they took him by the hand; with his wife and his daughters, and, because the Lord had spared him, led him on until he was outside the city. When they had brought them out, they said, 'Flee for your lives; do not look back and do not stop anywhere in the Plain. Flee to the hills or you will be swept away.' Lot replied, 'No, sirs. You have shown your servant favour and you have added to your unfailing care for me by saving my life, but I cannot escape to the hills; I shall be overtaken by the disaster, and die. Look, here is a town, only a small place, near enough for me to reach quickly. Let me escape to it -- it is very small -- and save my life.' He said to him, 'I grant your request: I will not overthrow this town you speak of. But flee there quickly, because I can do nothing until you are there.' That is why the place was called Zoar. The sun had risen over the land as Lot entered Zoar; and then the Lord rained down fire and brimstone from the skies on Sodom and Gomorrah. He overthrew those cities and destroyed all the Plain, with everyone living there and everything growing in the ground. But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she turned in to a pillar of salt.

27 Next morning Abraham rose early and went to the place where he had stood in the presence of the Lord. He looked down towards Sodom and Gomorrals and all the wide extent of the Plain, and there he saw thick smoke rising high from the earth like the smoke of a lime-kiln. Thus, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain, he thought of Abraham and rescued Lot from the disaster, the overthrow of the cities where he had been living.

30 Lot went up from Zoar and settled in the hill-country with his two daughters, because he was afraid to stay in Zoar; he lived with his two daughters in a cave. The elder daughter said to the younger, 'Our father is old and there is not a man in the country to come to us in the usual way. Come now, let us make our father drink wine and then lie with him and in this way keep the family alive through our father.' So that night they gave him wine to drink, and the elder daughter came and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down and when she got up. Next day the elder said to the younger, 'Last night I lay with my father. Let us give him wine to drink again tonight; then you go in and lie with him. So we shall keep the family alive through our father.' So they gave their father wine to drink again that night, and the younger daughter went and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down and when she got up. In this way both Lot's daughters came to be with child by their father. The elder daughter bore a son and called him Moab ; he was the ancestor of the present Moabites. The younger also bore a son, whom she called Ben-ammi; he was the ancestor of the present Ammonites.

GENESIS 20

1 ABRAHAM JOURNEYED BY STAGES from there into the Nageb, and settled between Kadesh and Shur, living as an alien in Gerar. He said that Sarah his wife was his sister, and Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took her. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said, 'You shall die because of this woman whom you have taken. She is a married woman.' Now Abimelech had not gone near her; and he sald, 'Lord, wilt thou destroy an innocent people? Did he not tell me himself that she was his sister, and she herself said that he was her brother. It was with a clear conscience and in all innocence that I did this.' God said to him in the dream, 'Yes: I know that you acted with a clear conscience. Moreover, it was I who held you back from committing a sin against me: that is why I did not let you touch her. Send back the man's wife now; he is a prophet, and he will intercede on your behalf, and you shall live. But if you do not send her back, I tell you that you are doomed to die, you and all that is yours.' So Abimelech rose early in the morning, summoned all his servants and told them the whole story; the men were terrified. Abimelech then summoned Abraham and said to him, 'Why have you treated us like this? What harm have I done to you that you should bring this great sin on me and my kingdom? You have done a thing that ought not to be done.' And he asked Abraham, 'What was your purpose in doing this?' Abraham answered, 'I said to myself, There can be no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me for the sake of my wife. She is in fact my sister, she is my father's daughter though not by the same mother; and she became my wife. When God set me wandering from my father's house, I said to her, "There is duty towards me which you must loyally fulfil: wherever we go, you must say that I am your brother."' Then Abimelech took sheep and cattle, and male and female slaves, gave them to Abraham, and returned his wife Sarah to him. Abimelech said, 'My country lies before you; settle wherever you please.' To Sarah he said, 'I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver, so that your own people may turn a blind eye on it all, and you will be completely vindicated.' Then Abraham interceded with God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his slave-girls, and they bore children; for the Lord had made every woman in Abimelech's household barren on account of Abraham's wife Sarah.

GENESIS 21

1 The Lord showed favour to Sarah as he had promised, and made good what he had said about her. She conceived and bore a son to Abraham for his old age, at the time which God had appointed. The son whom Sarah bore to him, Abraham named Isaac. When Isaac was eight days old Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born. Sarah said, 'God has given me good reason to laugh, -- and everybody who hears will laugh with me.' She said, 'Whoever would have told Abraham that Sarah would suckle children? Yet I have borne him a son for his old age.' The boy grew and was weaned, and on the day of his weaning Abraham gave a feast. Sarah saw the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham laughing at him, and she said to Abraham, 'Drive out this slave-girl and her son; I will not have this slave-girl's son sharing the inhentance with my son Isaac.' Abraham was vexed at this on his son Ishmael's account, but God said to him, 'Do not be vexed on account of the boy and the slave-girl. Do what Sarah says, because you shall have descendants through Isaac. I will make a great nation of the slave-girl's son too, because he is your own child.'

14 Abraham rose early in the morning, took some food and a waterskin full of water and gave it to Hagar; he set the child on her shoulder and sent her away, and she went and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was finished, she thrust the child under a bush, and went and sat down some way off, about two bowshots away, for she said, 'How can I watch the child die?' So she sat some way off, weeping bitterly. God heard the child crying, and the angel of God called from heaven to Hagar, 'What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid: God has heard the child crying where you laid him. Get to your feet, lift the child up and hold him in your arms, because I will make of him a great nation.' Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well full of water; she went to it, filled her waterskin and gave the child a drink. God was with the child, and he grew up and lived in the wilderness of Paran. He became an archer, and his mother found him a wife from Egypt.

22 Now about that time Abimelech, with Phicol the commander of his army, addressed Abraham in these terms: 'God is with you in all that you do. Now swear an oath to me in the name of God, that you will not break faith with me, my offspring, or my descendants. As I have kept faith with you, so shall you keep faith with me and with the country where you have come to live as an alien.' Abraham said, 'I swear.' It happened that Abraham had a complaint against Abimelech about a well which Abimelech's men had seized. Abimelech said, 'I do not know who did this. You never told me, and I have heard nothing about it till now.' So Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech; and the two of them made a pact. Abraham set seven ewe-lambs apart, and when Abimelech asked him why he had set these lambs apart, he said, 'Accept these from me in token that I dug this well.' Therefore that place was called Beersheba, because there the two of them swore an oath. When they had made the pact at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army returned at once to the country of the Philistines, and Abraham planted a strip of ground at Beersheba. There he invoked the Lord, the everlasting God, by name, and he lived as an alien in the country of the Philistines for many a year.

GENESIS 22

1 THE TIME CAME when God put Abraham to the test. 'Abraham', he called, and Abraham replied, 'Here I am.' God said, 'Take your son Isaac, your only son, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him as a sacrifice on one of the hills which I will show you.' So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his ass, and he took with him two of his men and his son Isaac; and he split the firewood for the sacrifice, and set out for the place of which God had spoken. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his men, 'Stay here with the ass while I and the boy go over there; and when we have worshipped we will come back to you.' So Abraham took the wood for the sacrifice and laid it on his son Isaac's shoulder; he himself carried the fire and the knife, and the two of them went on together. Isaac said to Abraham, 'Father', and he answered, 'What is it, my son?' Isaac said, 'Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the young beast for the sacrifice?' Abraham answered, 'God will provide himself with a young beast for a sacrifice, my son.' And the two of them went on together and came to the place of which God had spoken. There Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. Then he stretched out his hand and took the knife to kill his son; but the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, 'Abraham, Abraham.' He answered, 'Here I am.' The angel of the Lord said, 'Do not raise your hand against the boy; do not touch him. Now I know that you are a God-fearing man. You have not withheld from me your son, your only son.' Abraham looked up, and there he saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a sacrifice instead of his son. Abraham named that place Jehovah-jireh; and to this day the saying is: 'In the mountain of the Lord it was provided.' Then the angel of the Lord called from heaven a second time to Abraham, 'This is the word of the Lord: By my own self I swear: inasmuch as you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will bless you abundantly and greatly multiply your descendants until they are as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the sea-shore. Your descendants shall possess the cities of their enemies. All nations on earth shall pray to be blessed as your descendants are blessed, and this because you have obeyed me.'

19 Abraham went back to his men, and together they returned to Beersheba; and there Abraham remained.

20 After this Abraham was told, 'Milcah has borne sons to your brother Nahor: Uz his first-born, then his brother Buz, and Kemuel father of Aram, and Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel; and a daughter, Rebecca, has been born to Bethuel.' These eight Milcah bore to Abraham's brother Nahor. His concubine, whose name was Reumali, also bore him sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maacah.

GENESIS 23

1 Sarah lived for a hundred and twenty-seven years, and died in Kiriatharba, which is Hebron, in Canaan. Abraham went in to mourn over Sarah and to weep for her. At last he rose and left the presence of the dead. He said to the Hittites, 'I am an alien and a settler among you. Give me land enough for a burial-place, so that I can give my dead proper burial.' The Hittites answered Abraham, 'Do, pray, listen to what we have to say, sir. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the best grave we have. There is not one of us who will deny you his grave or hinder you from burying your dead.' Abraham stood up and then bowed low to the Hittites, the people of that country. He said to them, 'If you are willing to let me give my dead proper burial, then listen to me and speak for me to Ephron son of Zohar, asking him to give me the cave that belongs to him at Machpelah, at the far end of his land. Let him give it to me for the full price, so that I may take possession of it as a burial-place within your territory.' Ephron the Hittite was sitting with the others, and he gave Abraham this answer in the hearing of everyone as they came into the city gate: 'No, sir; hear what I have to say. I will make you a gift of the land and I will also give you the cave which is on it. In the presence of all my kinsmen I give it to you; so bury your dead.' Abraham bowed low before the people of the country and said to Ephron in their hearing, 'If you really mean it but do listen to me! I give you the price of the land: take it and I will bury my dead there.' And Ephron answered, 'Do listen to me, sir: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. But what is that between you and me? There you may bury your dead.' Abraham came to an agreement with him and weighed out the amount that Ephron had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of the standard recognized by merchants. Thus the plot of land belonging to Ephron at Machpelah to the east of Mamre, the plot, the cave that is on it, every tree on the plot, within the whole area, became the legal possession of Abraham, in the presence of all the Hittites as they came into the city gate. After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave on the plot of land at Machpelah to the east of Mamre, which is Hebron, in Canaan. Thus the plot and the cave on it became Abraham's possession as a burial-place, by purchase from the Hittites.

GENESIS 24

1 BY THIS TIME Abraham had become a very old man, and the Lord had blessed him in all that he did. Abraham said to his servant, who had been long in his service and was in charge of all his possessions, 'Put your hand under my thigh : -- I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth that you will not take a wife for my son from the women of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell; you must go to my own country and to my own kindred to find a wife for my son Isaac.' The servant said to him, 'What if the woman is unwilling to come with me to this country? Must I in that event take your son back to the land from which you came?' Abraham said to him, 'On no account are you to take my son back there. The Lord the God of heaven who took me from my father's house and the land of my birth, the Lord who swore to me that he would give this land to my descendants -- he will send his angel before you, and from there you shall take a wife for my son. If the woman is unwilling to come with you, then you will be released from your oath to me; but you must not take my son back there.' So the servant put his hand under his master Abraham's thigh and swore an oath in those terms.

10 The servant took ten camels from his master's herds, and also all kinds of gifts from his master; he set out for Aram-naharaim and arrived at the city where Nahor lived. Towards evening, the time when the women come out to draw water, he made the camels kneel down by the well outside the city. He said, 'O Lord God of my master Abraham, give me good fortune this day; keep faith with my master Abraham. Here I stand by the spring, and the women of the city are coming Out to draw water. Let it be like this:

14 I shall say to a girl, "Please lower your jar so that I may drink" and if she answers, "Drink, and I will water your camels also", that will be the girl whom thou dost intend for thy servant Isaac. In this way I shall know that thou hast kept faith with my master.'

15 Before he had finished praying silently, he saw Rebecca coming out with her water-jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor. The girl was very beautiful, a virgin, who had had no intercourse with a man. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. Abraham's servant hurried to meet her and said, 'Give me a sip of water from your jar.' 'Drink, sir', she answered, and at once lowered her jar on to her hand to let him drink. When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, 'Now I will draw water for your camels until they have had enough.' So she quickly emptied her jar into the water-trough, hurried again to the well to draw water and watered all the camels. The man was watching quietly to see whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful. When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose-ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels, also of gold, and said, 'Tell me, please, whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?' She answered, 'I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor and Milcah; and we have plenty of straw and fodder and also room for you to spend the night.' So the man bowed down and prostrated himself to the Lord. He said, 'Blessed be the Lord the God of my master Abraham, who has not failed to keep faith and truth with my master; for I have been guided by the Lord to the house of my master's kinsman.'

28 The girl ran to her mother's house and told them what had happened. Now Rebecca had a brother named Laban; and, when he saw the nose-ring, and also the bracelets on his sister's wrists, and heard his sister Rebecca tell what the man had said to her, he ran out to the man at the spring. When he came to him and found him still standing there by the camels, he said, 'Come in, sir, whom the Lord has blessed. Why stay outside? I have prepared the house, and there is room for the camels.' So he brought the man into the house, unloaded the camels and provided straw and fodder for them, and water for him and all his men to wash their feet. Food was set before him, but he said, 'I will not eat until I have delivered my message.' Laban said, 'Let us hear it.' He answered, 'I am the servant of Abraham. The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become a man of power. The Lord has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and asses. My master's wife Sarah in her old age bore him a son, to whom he has given all that he has. So my master made me swear an oath, saying, "You shall not take a wife for my Son from the women of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell; but you shall go to my father's house and to my family to find a wife for him." So I said to my master, What if the woman will not come with me?" He answered, "The Lord, in whose presence I have lived, will send his angel with you and will make your journey successful. You shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father's house; then you shall be released from the charge I have laid upon you. But if, when you come to my family, they will not give her to you, you shall still be released from the charge." So I came to the spring today, and I said, "O Lord God of my master Abraham, if thou wilt make my journey successful, let it be like this. Here I stand by the spring. When a young woman comes out to draw water, I shall say to her, 'Give me a little water to drink from your jar.' If she answers, 'Yes, do drink, and I will draw water for your camels as well', she is the woman whom the Lord intends for my master's son." Before I had finished praying silently, I saw Rebecca coming out with her water-jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew some water, and I said to her, "Please give me a drink." She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, "Drink; and I will water your camels as well." So I drank, and she also gave my camels water. I asked her whose daughter she was, and she said, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor and Milcah." Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists, and I bowed low and prostrated myself before the Lord. I blessed the Lord the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right road to take my master's niece for his son. Now tell me if you will keep faith and truth with my master. If not, say so, and I will turn elsewhere.'

50 Laban and Bethuel answered, 'This is from the Lord; we can say nothing for or against. Here is Rebecca herself; take her and go. She shall be the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has decreed.' When Abraham's servant heard what they said, he prostrated himself on the ground before the Lord. Then he brought out gold and silver ornaments, and robes, and gave them to Rebecca, and he gave costly gifts to her brother and her mother. He and his men then ate and drank and spent the night there. When they rose in the morning, he said, 'Give me leave to go back to my master.' Her brother and her mother said, 'Let the girl stay with us for a few days, say ten days, and then she shall go.' But he said to them, 'Do not detain me, for the Lord has granted me success. Give me leave to return to my master.' They said, 'Let us call the girl and see what she says.' They called Rebecca and asked her if she would go with the man, and she said, 'Yes, I will go.' So they let their sister Rebecca and her nurse go with Abraham's servant and his men. They blessed Rebecca and said to her:

60 'You are our sister, may you be the mother of myriads;
         may your sons possess the cities of their enemies.'

61 Then Rebecca and her companions mounted their camels at once and followed the man. So the servant took Rebecca and went his way.

62 Isaac meanwhile had moved on as far as Beer-lahai-roi and was living in the Negeb. One evening when he had gone out into the open country hoping to meet them, he looked up and saw camels approaching. When Rebecca raised her eyes and saw Isaac, she slipped hastily from her camel, saying to the servant, 'Who is that man walking across the open towards us?' The servant answered, 'It is my master.' So she took her veil and covered herself. The servant related to Isaac all that had happened. Isaac conducted her into the tent and took her as his wife. So she became his wife, and he loved her and was consoled for the death of his mother.

GENESIS 25

ABRAHAM MARRIED ANOTHER WIFE, whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim and Leummim, and the sons of Midian were Ephak, Epher, Enoch, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.

5 Abraham had given all that he had to Isaac; and he had already in his lifetime given presents to the sons of his concubines, and had sent them away -- eastwards, to a land of the east, out of his son Isaac's way. Abraham had lived for a hundred and seventy-five years when he breathed his last. He died at a good old age, after a very long life, and was gathered to his father's kin. His sons, Isaac and Ishmael, buried him in the cave at Machpelah, on the land of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, the plot which Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. After the death of Abraham, God blessed his son Isaac, who settled-close by Beer-lahai-roi.