Pgs. 68-80

Ch. 18-22

 

SECTION IV.

VAIYERA.

 

XVIII. AND the Lord was revealed to him in the Vale of Mamre; and he sat in the door of the tent while the day was hot. And lie lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, three men stood towards him; and he saw, and ran from the door of the tent to meet them, and worshipped upon the earth. And he said, Lord, if now I have found favour in Thine eyes, pass not, I pray, from Thy servant. Accept now a little water, and wash your feet, and recline under the tree, and take a mouthful of bread, and strengthen your hearts, afterward you shall pass on; because for this you have come over unto your servant. And He said, So do as thou hast spoken. And Abraham hastened to the tent to Sarah, and said, Make haste with three seyin of the flour of meal, mix and make cakes. And to the herd ran Abraham, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave to a young man, and he hastened to dress him. And he took butter and milk, and the calf which he had prepared, and set before them, and he waited upon them under the tree, and they ate. And He said to him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And He said, Returning I will return to thee, according to the time that you shall revive, and, behold, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard in the door of the tent, and it was behind Him. And Abraham and Sarah were old and advanced in days, and with Sarah had ceased to be the way of women. And Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After that I am old shall I have a child, and my lord (being also) old? And the Lord said to Abraham, Wherefore laughed Sarah, saying, Can it be in truth that I shall bring forth, and I being old? What word is hidden from before the Lord? At the time I will return to thee, according to the time that you shall revive, and Sarah shall have a son. And Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not: for she was afraid. And He said, No, but thou didst laugh . . . . And the men arose thence, and looked towards the face of Sedom; and Abraham went with them to accompany them. And the Lord said, Shall I conceal from Abraham what I am doing? And Abraham shall be indeed a people many and strong, and in him shall all the peoples of the earth be blessed; because it is manifest before me that he will instruct his children, and the men of his house after him, to keep the ways which are right before the Lord, to do righteousness and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken concerning him. And the Lord said, The cry[1] of Sedom and Amorah [is heard before Me] because it is great, and the guilt of them is very mighty: I will now see, and will judge, whether they do according to the report of them which hath ascended before me. I will deal with them thoroughly unless they convert; but if they convert, I will not punish. And the men turned away from thence, and went toward Sedom. And Abraham yet ministered in prayer before the Lord. And Abraham approached, and said, Wilt Thou, in anger, destroy the righteous with the guilty ? If perhaps there be fifty righteous within the city, wilt Thou in anger destroy and not forgive the place for the fifty righteous who are within it? More true are Thy judgments than that Thou shouldst do a thing like that, to destroy the just with the guilty, and that the just should be as the guilty! Thy judgments are true! Can the Judge of all the earth but do justice? And the Lord said, If I find in Sedom fifty righteous in the midst of the city, I will spare all the place for their sake.[2] And Abraham answered and said, Behold, I have done a great thing, to speak before the Lord, and I dust and ashes! Perhaps of the fifty righteous there may be wanting five: shall all the city perish through five? And He said, I will not destroy, if I find there forty and five. And he added yet to speak before Him, and said, Perhaps forty may be found there. And He said, I will not make the end on account of the forty. And he said, Let not the anger of the Lord now kindle, and I will speak. Perhaps thirty shall be found there. And He said, I will not make the end if I find there thirty. And he said, Behold, I have done a great thing to speak before the Lord: perhaps twenty shall be found there. And He said, I will not destroy for the sake of twenty. And he said, Let not now the anger of the Lord kindle, and I will speak only this time: perhaps ten may be found there. And He said, I will not destroy for the sake of the ten! And the Glory of the Lord ascended when He had ceased to speak with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

 

XIX. And two angels entered into Sedom in the evening; and Lot sat in the gate of Sedom. And Lot saw, and arose to present himself before them, and he bowed with his face to the earth. And he said, I pray my lords (ribboni) to turn aside unto the house of your servant and lodge, and wash your feet; and rising early you shall go on your way. And they said, Not so, but in the wide place will we lodge. And he was greatly in earnest with them, and they turned aside with him, and entered into his house: and he made them a supper, and dressed unleavened cakes for them, and they ate. As yet they had not slept; and the men of the city, the men of Sedom, gathered against the house, from the youth unto the old man, all the people from the extremes; and they cried to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men who came to thee to‑night? Bring them forth to us, and we will know them. And Lot went out to them to the gate, and the door he shut after him. And he said, I pray you, my brethren, do not (so) wickedly. Behold, now, I have two daughters, who have not known man, I would bring them to you, and you should do to them what pleases in your eyes; only to these men do nothing, because they have entered under the shadow of my dwelling.[3] And they said, Go in, however! And they said, One came to sojourn, and, behold, he judgeth judgment! Now will we do worse to thee than to them; and they prevailed against the man, against Lot, greatly, and came nigh to shatter the door. And the men put forth their hands, and brought in Lot to be with them in the house, and shut the door. And the men who were at the gate of the house they smote with blindness,[4] from the little to the great, and they were wearied to find the gate. And the men said to Lot, Whomsoever thou hast yet here, thy son-in‑law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and all that thou hast in the city, lead out from the place: for we will destroy this place, because their cry is great before the Lord, and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went forth, and spake with his sons‑in‑law, the takers of his daughters, and said, Arise, come forth from this place; for the Lord will destroy the city. And he was as a trifler in the eyes of his sons‑in‑law. And it was as the morning rose that the angels were urgent upon Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife and thy two daughters who are found faithful with thee, lest thou be smitten with the punishment of the city. But he delayed; and the men laid hold of his hands, and of the hand of his wife, and of the hand of his two daughters; for the Lord had mercy upon him; and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it was when he had brought them without, he said, Be merciful on thy life, look not behind thee, and stand not in all the plain, escape to the mountain for deliverance, lest thou perish. And Lot said to them, Be entreated, O Lord; behold now, Thy servant hath found mercy before Thee, and Thou hast magnified Thy goodness which Thou hast shown me in saving my life, and I cannot take refuge in the mountain, lest evil befall me, and I die. Behold now, this city is nigh, to flee there; and it is (but) small; let me now escape thither. Is it not small? and my life shall be sustained. And He said to him, Behold, I have accepted thee[5] in this thing also, in that I will not overthrow the city for which thou hast prayed. Haste, escape thither; for I cannot do anything until thou be come thither. Therefore be called the name of the city Zoar.[6] The sun had come forth upon the earth, and Lot entered Zoar. And the Lord rained upon Sedom and upon Amorah sulphur and fire from before the Lord from the heavens, and destroyed those cities and all the plain, and all the dwellers in the cities and the herbage of the earth. And his wife looked behind her, and she became a statue of salt. And Abraham ascended in the morning[7] to the place where he had ministered in prayer before the Lord; and he looked toward Sedom and Amorah, and upon all the place of the plain land, and saw, and, behold, the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it was when the Lord destroyed the cities of the plain, that the Lord remembered Abraham, and sent Lot from the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt. And Lot went up from Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him: for he feared to dwell in Zoar; and he dwelt in a cavern, he and his two daughters. And the elder said to the younger, Our father is aged, and there is no man in the earth to go in unto us according to the way of all the earth. Come, we will pour father wine, and will lie with him, and raise up sons[8] from our father. And they poured their father wine in that night; and the elder went in and lay with her father; and he knew not, in her lying down nor in her rising up. And it was in the day which followed that the elder said to the younger, Behold, I lay yesterday with the father: let us give wine also in the night, and go thou in, lie with him, and we will raise up sons from our father. And they gave that night also wine to their father, and the younger arose and lay with him; and he knew not, in her lying down nor in her rising up. And the two daughters of Lot conceived from their father; and the elder brought forth a son, and called his name Moab: he is the father of the Moabaee unto this day. And the younger also brought forth a son, and she called his name Bar Ammi: he is the father of the B'ni Ammon unto this day.

 

XX. And Abraham migrated from thence to the southern land, and dwelt between Rekam and Hagra;[9] and he sojourned in Gerar.[10] And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister. And Abimelek, king of Gerar,[11] sent and took Sarah. And the word came from the presence of the Lord to Abimelek in a dream of the night, and said to him, Behold, thou diest, on account of the woman whom thou hast taken, and she a man's wife. But Abimelek had not come nigh her. And he said, Lord, wilt Thou also kill the innocent people? Did he not say to me, She is my sister? And she also said, He is my brother. In the rectitude of my heart, and the cleanness of my bands, have I done this. And the Lord said to him in a dream, It is also manifest to Me that in the integrity of thy heart thou hast done this, and I have also restrained thee from sinning before Me;[12] therefore I have not permitted thee to approach to her. And now return the mares wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for thee, and thou shalt live. But if thou wilt not return (her), know that dying thou shalt die,[13] thou, and ail who are thine. And Abimelek arose in the morning, and called all his servants, and spake all these words before them; and the men feared greatly. And Abimelek called Abraham, and said to him, What hast thou done to us, and in what have I sinned against thee, that thou shouldst have brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin?[14] Works which are not worthy to be done hast thou done with me. And Abimelek said to Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou didst this thing? And Abraham spake, Because I said, Perhaps the fear of the Lord is not in this place, and they will kill me on account of my wife. Never­theless, in truth she is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. And it was, when the people erred after the works of their hands, the Lord did bring me near to the fear of Himself, from (among) the house[15] of my father. And I said to her, This is thy favour which thou canst do for me; in every place through which we pass, say of me, He is my brother. And Abimelek took sheep, and oxen, and servants, and handmaidens, and gave to Abraham, and returned to him Sarah his wife. And Abimelek said, Behold, my land is before thee: where it is pleasant in thine eyes, dwell. And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given a thousand seleen of silver to thy brother; behold, that is to thee a veil[16] of honour, for my having sent to take thee, and to see thee, and all that is with thee; and concerning all whatever thou hast spoken thou art reproved. And Abraham prayed before the Lord, and the Lord healed Abimelek, and his wife, and his handmaids, and they were revived: for the Lord had shut all the wombs of the house of Abimelek, on account of Sarah, the wife of Abraham.

 

XXI. And the Lord remembered Sarah as He had said; and the Lord did unto Sarah according as He had spoken. And Sarah conceived and bare unto Abraham a son in his old age, in the time of which the Lord had told him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bare to him, Izhak. And Abraham circumcised Izhak his son (when) the son of eight days, as the Lord had commanded him. And Abraham was the son of a hundred years when Izhak his son was born to him. And Sarah said, The Lord hath made me to have gladness; every one who heareth will give me joy. And she said, Faithful is He who spake unto Abraham, and certified that Sarah should suckle children; for she hath born a son in his old age. And the child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast in the day when Izhak was weaned.[17] And Sarah observed the son of Hagar the Mizritha, whom she bare to Abraham, deriding. And she said, Cast out this handmaid and her son; for the son of the handmaid shall not inherit with my son, with Izhak. And the word was evil exceedingly in the eyes of Abraham, on account of his son. And the Lord said to Abraham, Let it not be evil in thine eyes concerning the youth and concerning thine handmaid. All that Sarah saith to thee receive from her, because in Izhak shall thy sons be called to thee. And also the son of the handmaid will I set for a people, because he is thy son. And Abraham rose up in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave to Hagar, setting upon her shoulder, and the youth,[18] and dismissed her. And she went, and wandered in the desert of the well of Shava (Beara de Shava). And the water was finished from the skin; and she laid the youth under one of the trees, and went and sat over against, as far off as a bow flight: for she said, I cannot see the death of the child . . . . And she sat over against, and lifted up her voice and wept. And the voice of the youth was heard before the Lord; and the Angel of the Lord called to Hagar from the heavens, and said to her, What to thee, Hagar? Fear not, for the voice of the youth is heard before the Lord in the place where he is. Arise, take up the youth and strengthen thine hand in him,[19] because for a great people have I appointed him. And the Lord opened[20] her eyes, and she saw the well of waters, and went and filled the skin with water, and gave the youth to drink. And the Word of the Lord was the Helper of the youth, and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became a master of the bow. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took for him a wife from the land of Mizraim.

 

And it was in that time that Abimelek and Phikol, chief of his host, spake to Abraham, saying, The Word of the Lord is thy Helper in everything thou doest; and now swear to me here, by the Word of the Lord, that thou wilt not be false with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son; and that according to the good which I have done to thee thou wilt do with me and with the land in which thou art a sojourner. And Abraham said, I will swear. And Abraham reproved Abimelek, on account of the well of waters which the servants of Abimelek had taken by force.[21] And Abimelek said, I knew not if this thing had been done, and thou also hadst not shown me, nor have I heard, but this day. And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave to Abimelek, and they struck both of them a covenant. And Abraham made seven lambs stand apart; and Abimelek said to Abraham, What are these seven lambs which thou hast made to stand apart? And he said, That thou mayest take the seven lambs seven lambs from my hand, to testify for me that I have digged that well. There­fore he called that place Beer Shava, because there they sware together. And they struck a covenant at Beer Shava. And Abimelek and Phikol,[22] the chief of his host, arose, and returned to the land of the Phelishtaee. And he planted a tree[23] in Beer Shava, and prayed there in the name of the Lord, the Most High God.[24] And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Phelislitaee many days.

 

XXII. And it was after these things that the Lord tempted Abraham; and He said to him, Abraham! And he said, Behold, I am. And He said, Take now thy son, thy only, whom thou lovest, Izhak, and go into the land of worship, and offer him before Me there, a burnt offering, upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee. And Abraham arose in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Izhak his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which the Lord had spoken to him. And in the third day Abraham lifted, up his eyes, and saw the place from afar. And Abraham said to his young men, Wait you here with the ass, and I and the young man will ascend yonder and worship, and return to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid on Izhak his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife, and they went both of them as one. And Izhak spake to Abraham his father, and said, Father! And he said, Behold, I am, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? And Abraham said, The lamb for the burnt offering is revealed before the Lord, my son. And they went, both of them, as one. And they came to the place of which the Lord had told him. And Abraham builded there the altar, and set in order the woods, and bound Izhak his son, and laid him upon the altar above the woods. And Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to cut off his son. And the Angel of the Lord called to him from the heavens, and said, Abraham, Abraham! And he said, Behold, I am. And he said to him, Stretch not out thy hand upon the youth, neither do any thing to him: for now I know that thou fearest the Lord, and that thou hast not spared thy only son[25] for Me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes after these (words), and saw, and behold, one ram, holden in the bush by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham worshipped and prayed there in that place, and said before the Lord, Here shall generations worship: wherefore it shall be paid in that day, In this mountain Abraham worshipped before the Lord.[26] And the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham the second time from the heavens, and said, By my Word have I sworn, saith the Lord, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not spared thy only son, therefore, blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thy sons as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the sea shore; and thy sons shall inherit the cities of their enemies. And all the peoples of the earth shall be blessed through thy son: forasmuch as thou hast received My word. And Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together unto Beer Shava, and Abraham dwelt in Beer Shava.

 

And it was after these things it was shown to Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcha, also, hath born sons to Nachor, thy brother: Uts his first‑born, and Booz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram, and Kesed, and Chazu, and Phildash, and Yedlaph, and Bethuel. And Bethuel begat Revekah. These eight bare Milcha to Nahor, brother of Abraham. And his concubine, whose name was Reuma, she also bare Tebach, and Gacham, and Tachash, and Maaka.

 

 

[1] Kebelath.

[1] Sam. Vers. "I will tolerate all the place."

[1] "Under the shadow of my family." --Sam. Vers.

[1] Or, "with diziziness of the eyes." Shabriria, which Castel defines, "Scotomata, subita oculum tenebra cum vertigine."

[1] "Accepted thy face."

[1] Little.

[1] Sam. Vers. beshelu shoker, "in the stillness of the morning."

[1] Sam. Vers. "and we shall live in the sons of our father."

[1] Heb. "between Kadesh and Shur."

[1] Sam. Vers. "Askelon."

[1] Sam. Vers. "Shultan of Askelon."

[1] Sam. Vers. "from becoming unclean berfore Me."

[1] Sam. Vers. "perishing thou shalt perish."

[1] Sam. Vers. "a great pollution."

[1] Sam. Vers. "tabernacle."

[1] Or, "covering of the eyes."

[1] Sam. Vers. "in the day of the (pelututh ) liberation of his son."

[1] Rabia, "a growing child."

[1] Or, "on him;" "hold him firmly." So the Latin Apprenhende manu tua eum. The Samaritan Version has, "Take the youth, and fortify thy hand in him."

[1] Or, "illuminated."

[1] Sam. Vers. "had taken fraudulently."

[1] Sam. Vers. "Pumkol," a name meaning as the Hebrew form.

[1] Sam. Vers. "a paradise."

[1] Sam. Vers. "vision."

[1] Sam. Vers. "the son of thy heart."

[1] Sam. Vers. "In the mountain the Lord will see, will multiply."