Daily Bible Reading, Day 7 (Genesis 24-26)

Genesis 24: Abraham Sends His Servant to Find a Wife for Isaac

Genesis, chapter 24. Now Abraham was old, advanced in age, and Yahweh had blessed Abraham in every way. And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who ruled over all that he owned, Please place your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, but you will go to my land and to my kin, and take a wife for my son Isaac.

And the servant said to him, Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land, should I indeed take your son back to the land from where you came? Then Abraham said to him, Beware, lest you take my son back there, Yahweh, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kin, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, To your seed I will give this land, he will send his angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there.

But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine, only do not take my son back there. So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and he went with all kinds of good things of his master's in his hand. So he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at evening time, the time when the women go out to draw water.

And he said, O Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, please cause this to happen before me today, and show loving kindness to my master Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.

Now may it be that the young woman to whom I say, Please let down your jar so that I may drink, and she says, Drink, and I will give water to your camels to drink also. May she be the one whom you have decided for your servant Isaac, and by this I will know that you have shown loving kindness to my master.

And before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor, was coming out with her jar on her shoulder. Now the young woman was very beautiful in appearance, a virgin, and no man had known.

Her.

And she went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. Then the servant ran to meet her and said, Please give me a little water to drink from your jar. And she said, Drink, my lord, and she quickly lowered her jar to her hand and gave him a drink.

Now when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, I will draw also for your camels until they have finished drinking. So she hurried and emptied her jar into the watering channel and ran again to the well to draw, and she drew for all of his camels.

Meanwhile, the man was gazing at her in silence to know whether Yahweh had made his journey successful or not. Now it happened that when the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel and two bracelets for her wrists, weighing ten shekels in gold, and said, Whose daughter are you?

Please tell me, is there a place for us to lodge in your father's house? And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor. And she said to him, We have plenty of both straw and feed and a place to lodge in.

Then the man bowed low and worshipped Yahweh. And he said, Blessed be Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his lovingkindness and his truth toward my master. As for me, Yahweh has guided me in the way to the house of my master's brothers.

Then the young woman ran and told her mother's household about these things. Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran outside to the man at the spring. Now it happened when he saw the ring of the bracelets on his sister's wrists, and when he had heard the words of Rebekah his sister saying, This is what the man said to me, he came out to the man, and behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring.

And he said, Come in, blessed of Yahweh, why do you stand outside, since I have prepared the house and a place for the camels? So the man came into the house. Then Laban unloaded the camels, and he gave straw and feed to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.

Then food was set before him to eat, but he said, I will not eat until I have spoken my.

Words.

And he said, Speak. So he said, I am Abraham's servant, and Yahweh has greatly blessed my master, so he has become great, and he has given him flocks and herds and silver and gold and male slaves and female slaves and camels and donkeys.

Now Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master in her old age, and he has given him all that he has. And my master made me swear, saying, You shall not take a wife from my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, but you shall go to my father's house and to my family, and take a wife from my son.

Then I said to my master, Suppose the woman does not follow me? And he said to me, Yahweh, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and will make your journey successful, and you will take a wife from my son from my family and from my father's house.

Then you will be free from my oath when you come to my relatives. Now if they do not give her to you, you will be free from my oath. So I came today to the spring and said, O Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, if now you will make my journey on which I go successful, behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and may it be that the maiden who comes out to draw, and to whom I say, Please let me drink a little water from your jar, and she will say to me, You drink, and I will draw for your camels also.

She is the woman whom Yahweh has decided upon for my master's son. Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebecca was coming out with her jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew, and I said to her, Please give me a drink.

Then she hurried and lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, Drink, and I will also give water to your camels to drink. So I drank, and she also gave water to the camels to drink. Then I asked her and said, Whose daughter are you?

And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him. And I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. And I bowed low and worshipped Yahweh, and I blessed Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who had guided me in the true way to take the daughter of my master's relative for his son.

So now, if you are going to show lovingkindness and truth with my master, tell me, and if not tell me, that I may turn to the right or to the left. Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The matter comes from Yahweh, so we cannot speak to you bad or good.

Behold, Rebekah is before you. Take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as Yahweh has spoken. Now it happened that when Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the ground before Yahweh.

The servant brought out articles of silver and articles of gold and garments and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night.

And then they arose in the morning, and he said, Send me away to my master. But her brother and her mother said, Let the young woman stay with us a few days, or even.

Ten.

Afterwards she will go. And he said to them, Do not delay me, since Yahweh has made my way successful. Send me away, that I may go to my master. And they said, We will call the young woman and ask about her wishes.

Then they called Rebekah and said to her, Will you go with this man? And she said, I will go. Thus they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse, with Abraham's servant and his men. And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, May you, our sister, become thousands of ten thousands, and may your seed possess the gate of those who hate him.

Then Rebekah arose with her young women, and they mounted the camels and went after the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went. Now Isaac had come from going to Beerlehi-Roy, for he was living in the land of the Negev.

And Isaac went out to muse in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes and saw Isaac and dismounted from the camel.

Then she said to the servant, Who is that man walking in the field to meet us? And the servant said, He is my master. Then she took her veil and covered herself. And the servant recounted to Isaac all the things that he had done.

Genesis 25: Abraham's Death, Ishmael's Descendants, and Jacob and Esau

Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. Thus Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. Genesis chapter 25. Now Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.

And she bore to him Zimran and Jokshin, and Medan and Midian, and Ishbak and Suah. Now Jokshin was the father of Sheba and Dedan, and the sons of Dedan were Aserhaim and Ledashim and Laomim. And the sons of Midian were Ephah and Epher and Hanok and Abida and Eldah.

These were the sons of Keturah. And Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. But to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and he sent him away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the east.

These are the days of the years of Abraham's life that he lived, one hundred and seventy-five.

Years.

And Abraham breathed his last, and died in a good old age, an old man and full of days, and he was gathered to his people. Then his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre, the field which Abraham bought from the sons of Heth.

There Abraham was buried with Sarah his wife. Now it happened, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac, and Isaac lived by Beer-le-Hi-Roi. Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant-woman, bore to Abraham.

And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names in the order of their birth. Nebaoth, the firstborn of Ishmael, and Kedar and Abdeel and Mibsam, and Mishma and Dumah and Massah, Hadad and Timah, Jeter, Naphish, and Kedmah.

These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their villages and by their camps, twelve princes, according to their tribes. These are the years of the life of Ishmael, one hundred and thirty-seven years.

And he breathed his last, and died, and was gathered to his people. And they dwelt from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt, as one goes toward Assyria. He settled in the face of all his brothers.

Now these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham became the father of Isaac. And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean, of Paddan Aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife.

And Isaac entreated Yahweh on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. And Yahweh was moved by his entreaty. So Rebekah his wife conceived. But the children struggled within her. And she said, If it is so, why then am I this way?

So she went to inquire of Yahweh. And Yahweh said to her, Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be separated from your body. And one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.

And her days to give birth were fulfilled. And behold, there were twins in her womb. And the first came forth red all over like a hairy garment, and they named him Esau. Afterward, his brother came forth with his hand holding on to Esau's heel.

So his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them. And the boys grew up. Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field. But Jacob was a peaceful man living in tents.

Isaac loved Esau because he had an appetite for hunted game. But Rebekah loved Jacob. And Jacob had cooked stew. And Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. Then Esau said to Jacob, Please give me a swallow from the red stuff, this red stuff, for I am famished.

Therefore his name was called Edom. But Jacob said, First, sell me your birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am about to die. So of what use then is the birthright to me? And Jacob said, First, swear to me.

Genesis 26: Isaac in Gerar, the Wells, and the Covenant with Abimelech

So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. So Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went away. Thus Esau despised his birthright. Genesis chapter 26. Now there was a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham.

So Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. And Yahweh appeared to him and said, Do not go down to Egypt, dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and bless you.

For to you and to your seed I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. And I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and I will give your seed all these lands, and by your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.

Because Abraham listened to my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. So Isaac lived in Gerar. Then the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, She is my sister, for he was afraid to say, My wife, thinking lest the men of the place kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is beautiful in appearance.

Now it happened, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out through a window and saw, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife Rebekah. Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, Behold, surely she is your wife.

How then did you say, She is my sister? And Isaac said to him, Because I said, lest I die on account of her. And Abimelech said, What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.

So Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year one hundredfold. And Yahweh blessed him.

And the man became great and continued to grow greater until he became very great. And he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and many servants, so that the Philistines were jealous of him.

Now all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped up by filling them with earth. Then Abimelech said to Isaac, Go away from us, for you are too mighty for us.

And Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar and settled there. Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, but the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham.

And he called them by the same names by which his father had called them. Then Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing water. And the herdsmen of Gerar contended with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, The water is ours.

So he named the well Essek, because they quarreled with him. Then they dug another well, and they contended over it also. So he called it Sitna. Then he moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not contend over it.

So he named it Rehoboth. And he said, At last, Yahweh has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land. And he went up from there to Beersheba. And Yahweh appeared to him that night and said, I am the God of your father Abraham.

Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your seed for the sake of my servant Abraham. So he built an altar there, and called upon the name of Yahweh and pitched his tent there, and there Isaac's servants dug out a well.

Now Abimelech came to him from Gerar with his advisor Ahuzath and Phicol the commander of his army. And Isaac said to them, Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you? Then they said, We see plainly that Yahweh has been with you.

So we said, Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us, and let us cut a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good, and have sent you away in peace.

You are now the blessed of Yahweh. Then he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. In the morning they arose early, and each swore to the other. Then Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

Now it happened on that day that Isaac's servants came in and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, We have found water. So he called it Sheba, therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

And Esau was forty years old, and he took as a wife Judith the daughter of Beri the Hittite, and also Basemath the daughter of Elan the Hittite. And they brought bitterness to Isaac and Rebekah.