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G EN ES IS 2 2
that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given
Abraham a son in his old age!”
Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away
8 When Isaac grew up and was about to be
weaned, Abraham prepared a huge feast to celebrate the occasion. 9 But Sarah saw Ishmael—
the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant
Hagar—making fun of her son, Isaac.* 10 So she
turned to Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of
that slave woman and her son. He is not going
to share the inheritance with my son, Isaac.
I won’t have it!”
11 This upset Abraham very much because
Ishmael was his son. 12 But God told Abraham,
“Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is
the son through whom your descendants will
be counted. 13 But I will also make a nation of
the descendants of Hagar’s son because he is
your son, too.”
14 So Abraham got up early the next morning,
prepared food and a container of water, and
strapped them on Hagar’s shoulders. Then he
sent her away with their son, and she wandered
aimlessly in the wilderness of Beersheba.
15 When the water was gone, she put the boy
in the shade of a bush. 16 Then she went and sat
down by herself about a hundred yards* away.
“I don’t want to watch the boy die,” she said, as
she burst into tears.
17 But God heard the boy crying, and the angel
of God called to Hagar from heaven, “Hagar,
what’s wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard
the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Go to him and
comfort him, for I will make a great nation from
his descendants.”
19 Then God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she
saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her
water container and gave the boy a drink.
20 And God was with the boy as he grew up
in the wilderness. He became a skillful archer,
21 and he settled in the wilderness of Paran. His
mother arranged for him to marry a woman
from the land of Egypt.
Abraham’s Covenant with Abimelech
22 About this time, Abimelech came with Phicol,
his army commander, to visit Abraham. “God is
obviously with you, helping you in everything
you do,” Abimelech said. 23 “Swear to me in
God’s name that you will never deceive me, my
children, or any of my descendants. I have been
loyal to you, so now swear that you will be loyal
to me and to this country where you are living
as a foreigner.”
24 Abraham replied, “Yes, I swear to it!”
25 Then Abraham complained to Abimelech
about a well that Abimelech’s servants had
taken by force from Abraham’s servants.
26 “This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Abimelech
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answered. “I have no idea who is responsible.
You have never complained about this before.”
27 Abraham then gave some of his sheep,
goats, and cattle to Abimelech, and they made
a treaty. 28 But Abraham also took seven additional female lambs and set them off by themselves. 29 Abimelech asked, “Why have you set
these seven apart from the others?”
30 Abraham replied, “Please accept these
seven lambs to show your agreement that I dug
this well.” 31 Then he named the place Beersheba (which means “well of the oath”), because that was where they had sworn the oath.
32 After making their covenant at Beersheba,
Abimelech left with Phicol, the commander of
his army, and they returned home to the land
of the Philistines. 33 Then Abraham planted a
tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he worshiped the Lord, the Eternal God.* 34 And Abraham lived as a foreigner in Philistine country
for a long time.
Abraham’s Faith Tested
Some time later, God tested Abraham’s
faith. “Abraham!” God called.
“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”
2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac,
whom you love so much—and go to the land
of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will
show you.”
3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He
saddled his donkey and took two of his servants
with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he
chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and
set out for the place God had told him about.
4 On the third day of their journey, Abraham
looked up and saw the place in the distance.
5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told
the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little
farther. We will worship there, and then we will
come right back.”
6 So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt
offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself
carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them
walked on together, 7 Isaac turned to Abraham
and said, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“We have the fire and the wood,” the boy
said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt
offering?”
8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they
both walked on together.
9 When they arrived at the place where God
had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and
arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son,
Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the
22
21:9 As in Greek version and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew lacks of
her son, Isaac. 21:16 Hebrew a bowshot. 21:33 Hebrew
El-Olam.