The Lost Books of the Bible: The Great Rejected Texts Page 61

  9 Abraham took the book of the purchase and placed it in his treasures, and these are the words that Abraham wrote in the book, namely:

  10 That the cave and the field Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite and from his descendants, and from those that go out of his city, and from their descendants forever, are to be a purchase to Abraham and to his descendants and to those that go forth from his loins, for a possession of a burial place forever. And he put a signet to it and testified it with witnesses.

  11 The field and the cave that was in it and all that place were made sure to belong to Abraham and to his descendants after him, from the children of Heth; behold it is before Mamre in Hebron which is in the land of Canaan.

  12 After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah there, and that place and all its boundary became to Abraham and to his descendants for a possession of a burial place.

  13 And Abraham buried Sarah with pomp as observed at the interment of kings, and she was buried in very fine and beautiful garments.

  14 At her bier was Shem, his sons Eber and Abimelech, together with Anar, Ashcol and Mamre, and all the grandees of the land followed her bier.

  15 The days of Sarah were one hundred and twenty-seven years and she died, and Abraham made a great and heavy mourning, and he performed the rites of mourning for seven days.

  16 And all the inhabitants of the land comforted Abraham and Isaac his son on account of Sarah.

  17 When the days of their mourning passed by Abraham sent away his son Isaac. He went to the house of Shem and Eber, to learn the ways of the Lord and his instructions, and Abraham remained there three years.

  18 At that time Abraham rose up with all his servants, and they went and returned homeward to Beersheba, and Abraham and all his servants remained in Beersheba.

  19 At the revolution of the year Abimelech king of the Philistines died in that year; he was one hundred and ninety-three years old at his death. Abraham went with his people to the land of the Philistines, and they comforted the whole household and all his servants, and then he turned and went home.

  20 It was after the death of Abimelech that the people of Gerar took Benmalich his son, and he was only twelve years old, and they made him lay the place of his father.

  21 And they called his name Abimelech after the name of his father, for thus it was their custom to do in Gerar. Abimelech reigned instead of Abimelech his father, and he sat on his throne.

  22 And Lot the son of Haran also died in those days, in the thirty-ninth year of the life of Isaac; all the days that Lot lived were one hundred and forty years and he died.

  23 And these are the children of Lot, that were born to him by his daughters; the name of the first born was Moab, and the name of the second was Benami.

  24 The two sons of Lot went and took themselves wives from the land of Canaan, and they gave birth to children to them. The children of Moab were Ed, Mayon, Tarsus, and Kanvil, four sons; these are fathers to the children of Moab to this day.

  25 And all the families of the children of Lot went to dwell wherever they should light on, for they were prolific and increased abundantly.

  26 And they went and built themselves cities in the land where they lived, and they called the names of the cities which they built after their own names.

  27 Nahor the son of Terah, brother to Abraham, died in those days in the fortieth year of the life of Isaac. All the days of Nahor were one hundred and seventy-two years; he died and was buried in Haran.

  28 And when Abraham heard that his brother was dead he grieved sadly, and he mourned over his brother many days.

  29 Abraham called for Eliezer his head servant to give him orders concerning his house, and he came and stood before him.

  30 And Abraham said to him, Behold I am old, I do not know the day of my death; for I am advanced in days; now therefore rise up, go forth and do not take a wife for my son from this place and from this land, from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom we dwell.

  31 But go to my land and to my birthplace, and take from there a wife for my son. The Lord God of Heaven and earth who took me from my father's house and brought me to this place, and said to me, To your offspring will I give this land for an inheritance forever, he will send his angel before you and prosper your way, that you may obtain a wife for my son from my family and from my father's house.

  32 The servant answered his master Abraham and said, Behold I go to your birthplace and to your father's house, and take a wife for your son from there; but if the woman be not willing to follow me to this land, shall I take your son back to the land of your birthplace?

  33 And Abraham said to him, See that you do not bring my son here again, for the Lord before whom I have walked will send his angel before you and prosper your way.

  34 Eliezer did as Abraham ordered him, and Eliezer swore to Abraham his master on this matter; and Eliezer rose up and took ten camels of the camels of his master, and ten men from his master's servants with him, and they rose up and went to Haran, the city of Abraham and Nahor, in order to fetch a wife for Isaac the son of Abraham. While they were gone Abraham sent to the house of Shem and Eber, and they brought from there his son Isaac.

  35 Isaac came home to his father's house to Beersheba, while Eliezer and his men came to Haran; and they stopped in the city by the watering place, and he made his camels to kneel down by the water and they remained there.

  36 Eliezer, Abraham's servant, prayed and said, O God of Abraham my master; send me I pray you good speed this day and show kindness to my master, that you shall appoint this day a wife for my master's son from his family.

  37 And the Lord listened to the voice of Eliezer, for the sake of his servant Abraham, and he happened to meet with the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, brother to Abraham, and Eliezer came to her house.

  38 Eliezer related to them all his concerns, and that he was Abraham's servant; they greatly rejoiced at him.

  39 And they all blessed the Lord who brought this thing about; they gave him Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel, for a wife for Isaac.

  40 The young woman was of a beautiful appearance; she was a virgin, and Rebecca was ten years old in those days.

  41 And Bethuel and Laban and his children made a feast on that night, and Eliezer and his men came and ate and drank and rejoiced there on that night.

  42 Eliezer rose up in the morning, he and the men that were with him, and he called to the whole household of Bethuel, saying, Send me away that I may go to my master; they rose up and sent away Rebecca and her nurse Deborah, the daughter of Uz, and they gave her silver and gold, men servants and maid servants, and they blessed her.

  43 And they sent Eliezer away with his men and the servants took Rebecca; he went and returned to his master to the land of Canaan.

  44 Isaac took Rebecca and she became his wife, and he brought her into the tent.

  45 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebecca, the daughter of his uncle Bethuel, for a wife.

  CHAPTER 25

  1 It was at that time that Abraham again took a wife in his old age, and her name was Keturah, from the land of Canaan.

  2 She gave birth to, to him: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuach, being six sons. And the children of Zimran were Abihen, Molich and Narim.

  3 The sons of Jokshan were Sheba and Dedan, and the sons of Medan were Amida, Joab, Gochi, Elisha and Nothach; and the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Chanoch, Abida and Eldaah.

  4 The sons of Ishbak were Makiro, Beyodua and Tator.

  5 The sons of Shuach were Bildad, Mamdad, Munan and Meban; all these are the families of the children of Keturah the Canaanitish woman which she gave birth to, to Abraham the Hebrew.

  6 And Abraham sent all these away, and he gave them gifts; they went away from his son Isaac to dwell wherever they would find a place.

  7 And all these went to the mountain at the east, and they built themselves six cities in which they lived to this day.

  8 But
the children of Sheba and Dedan, children of Jokshan, with their children, did not dwell with their brothers in their cities; they journeyed and encamped in the countries and wildernesses to this day.

  9 And the children of Midian, son of Abraham, went to the east of the land of Cush. There they found a large valley in the eastern country, and remained there and built a city. They lived therein; that is the land of Midian to this day.

  10 Midian lived in the city which he built, he and his five sons and all belonging to him.

  11 And these are the names of the sons of Midian according to their names in their cities: Ephah, Epher, Chanoch, Abida and Eldaah.

  12 And the sons of Ephah were Methach, Meshar, Avi and Tzanua, and the sons of Epher were Ephron, Zur, Alirun and Medin; the sons of Chanoch were Reuel, Rekem, Azi, Alyoshub and Alad.

  13 The sons of Abida were Chur, Melud, Kerury, Molchi; and the sons of Eldaah were Miker, and Reba, and Malchiyah and Gabol. These are the names of the Midianites according to their families, and afterward the families of Midian spread throughout the land of Midian.

  14 These are the generations of Ishmael the son of Abraham, whom Hagar, Sarah's handmaid, gave birth to, to Abraham.

  15 And Ishmael took a wife from the land of Egypt, and her name was Ribah, the same is Meribah.

  16 And Ribah gave birth to, to Ishmael: Nebayoth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam and their sister Bosmath.

  17 And Ishmael cast away his wife Ribah, and she went from him and returned to Egypt to the house of her father. She lived there, for she had been very bad in the sight of Ishmael, and in the sight of his father Abraham.

  18 And Ishmael afterward took a wife from the land of Canaan, and her name was Malchuth, and she gave birth to, to him: Nishma, Dumah, Masa, Chadad, Tema, Yetur, Naphish and Kedma.

  19 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, being twelve princes according to their nations. And the families of Ishmael afterward spread forth, and Ishmael took his children and all the property that he had gained, together with the souls of his household and all belonging to him, and they went to dwell where they should find a place.

  20 They went and lived near the wilderness of Paran, and their dwelling was from Havilah to Shur, that is before Egypt as you come toward Assyria.

  21 Ishmael and his sons lived in the land, and they had children born to them, and they were prolific and increased abundantly.

  22 These are the names of the sons of Nebayoth the first born of Ishmael: Mend, Send, Mayon; and the sons of Kedar were Alyon, Kezem, Chamad and Eli.

  23 The sons of Adbeel were Chamad and Jabin; and the sons of Mibsam were Obadiah, Ebedmelech and Yeush; these are the families of the children of Ribah the wife of Ishmael.

  24 The sons of Mishma the son of Ishmael were Shamua, Zecaryon and Obed; and the sons of Dumah were Kezed, Eli, Machmad and Amed.

  25 The sons of Masa were Melon, Mula and Ebidadon; and the sons of Chadad were Azur, Minzar and Ebedmelech; and the sons of Tema were Seir, Sadon and Yakol.

  26 The sons of Yetur were Merith, Yaish, Alyo, and Pachoth; and the sons of Naphish were Ebed-Tamed, Abiyasaph and Mir; and the sons of Kedma were Calip, Tachti, and Omir; these were the children of Malchuth the wife of Ishmael according to their families.

  27 All these are the families of Ishmael according to their generations, and they lived in those lands wherein they had built themselves cities to this day.

  28 Rebecca the daughter of Bethuel, the wife of Abraham's son Isaac, was unable to conceive in those days, she had no children. Isaac lived with his father in the land of Canaan, and the Lord was with Isaac. Arpachshad the son of Shem the son of Noah died in those days, in the forty-eighth year of the life of Isaac, and all the days that Arpachshad lived were four hundred and thirty-eight years, and he died.

  CHAPTER 26

  1 In the fifty-ninth year of the life of Isaac the son of Abraham, Rebecca his wife was still unable to conceive in those days.

  2 And Rebecca said to Isaac, Truly I have heard, my lord, that your mother Sarah was unable to conceive in her days until my Lord Abraham, your father, prayed for her and she conceived by him.

  3 Now therefore stand up, you also pray to God and he will hear your prayer and remember us through his mercies.

  4 And Isaac answered his wife Rebecca, saying, Abraham has already prayed for me to God to reproduce his descendants, now therefore this barrenness must proceed to us from you.

  5 And Rebecca said to him, But arise now you also and pray, that the Lord may hear your prayer and grant me children. Isaac listened to the words of his wife, and Isaac and his wife rose up and went to the land of Moriah to pray there and to seek the Lord, and when they had reached that place Isaac stood up and prayed to the Lord on account of his wife because she was unable to conceive.

  6 And Isaac said, O Lord God of heaven and earth, whose goodness and mercies fill the earth, you who did take my father from his father's house and from his birthplace, and brought him to this land, and did say to him, To your descendants I will give the land, and you did promise him and did declare to him, I will reproduce your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand of the sea, now may your words be verified which you did speak to my father.

  7 For you are the Lord our God, our eyes are toward you to give us descendants of men, as you did promise us, for you are the Lord our God and our eyes are directed toward you only.

  8 And the Lord heard the prayer of Isaac the son of Abraham; the Lord was entreated of him and Rebecca his wife conceived.

  9 And in about seven months after the children struggled together within her, it pained her greatly and she was wearied on account of them. She said to all the women who were then in the land, Did such a thing happen to you as it has to me? And they said to her, No.

  10 And she said to them, Why am I alone in this among all the women that were on earth? And she went to the land of Moriah to seek the Lord on account of this; she went to Shem and Eber his son to make inquiries of them in this matter, that they should seek the Lord in this thing respecting her.

  11 She also asked Abraham to seek and inquire of the Lord about all that had befallen her.

  12 They all inquired of the Lord concerning this matter, and they brought her word from the Lord and told her, Two children are in your womb, and two nations shall rise from them; one nation shall be stronger than the other, and the greater shall serve the younger.

  13 When her days to be delivered were completed, she knelt down, and behold there were twins in her womb, as the Lord had spoken to her.

  14 The first came out red all over like a hairy garment, and all the people of the land called his name Esau, saying, This one was made complete from the womb.

  15 And after that came his brother, and his hand took hold of Esau's heel, therefore they called his name Jacob.

  16 Isaac, the son of Abraham, was sixty years old when he had them.

  17 The boys grew up to their fifteenth year, and they came among the society of men. Esau was a designing and deceitful man, and an expert hunter in the field; Jacob was a man perfect and wise, dwelling in tents, feeding flocks and learning the instructions of the Lord and the commands of his father and mother.

  18 Isaac and the children of his household lived with his father Abraham in the land of Canaan, as God had commanded them.

  19 Ishmael the son of Abraham went with his children and all belonging to them; they returned there to the land of Havilah, and they lived there.

  20 And all the children of Abraham's concubines went to dwell in the land of the east, for Abraham had sent them away from his son and had given them presents, and they went away.

  21 Abraham gave all that he had to his son Isaac, and he also gave him all his treasures.

  22 And he commanded him saying, Do you not know and understand the Lord is God in heaven and in earth, and there is no other beside him?

  23 It was he who took me from my father's house, and from my birthplace, and gave me all the delights on ea
rth; who delivered me from the counsel of the wicked, for in him I did trust.

  24 He brought me to this place, and delivered me from Ur Casdim, and said to me, To your descendants I will give all these land and they shall inherit them when they keep my commandments, my statutes and my judgments that I have commanded you, and which I shall command them.

  25 Now therefore my son, listen to my voice, and keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I commanded you. Do not turn from the right way either to the right or to the left, in order that it may be well with you and your children after you forever.

  26 And remember the wonderful works of the Lord and his kindness that he has shown toward us, in having delivered us from the hands of our enemies; the Lord our God caused them to fall into our hands; now therefore keep all that I have commanded you and turn not away from the commandments of your God; serve none beside him, in order that it may be well with you and your descendants after you.

  27 Teach your children and your descendants the instructions of the Lord and his commandments, and teach them the upright way in which they should go, in order that it may be well with them forever.

  28 Isaac answered his father and said to him, That which my Lord has commanded thatI will do, and I will not depart from the commands of the Lord my God; I will keep all that he commanded me. And Abraham blessed his son Isaac, and also his children, and Abraham taught Jacob the instruction of the Lord and his ways.

  29 It was at that time that Abraham died, in the fifteenth year of the life of Jacob and Esau, the sons of Isaac, and all the days of Abraham were one hundred and seventy-five years. He died and was gathered to his people in good old age, old and satisfied with days, and Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him.

  30 When the inhabitants of Canaan heard that Abraham was dead, they all came with their kings and princes and all their men to bury Abraham.

  31 All the inhabitants of the land of Haran, all the families of the house of Abraham, all the princes and grandees, and the sons of Abraham by the concubines, all came when they heard of Abraham's death. They rewarded Abraham's kindness, and comforted Isaac his son, and they buried Abraham in the cave which he bought from Ephron the Hittite and his children, for the possession of a burial place.