Abraham The Friend Of God And Ma

The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Terah, a descendant of Shem, was the father of Abraham, Nahor and Haran;

and Haran was the father of Lot.



Jehovah said to Abraham, "Go from your country, your relatives, and your

father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you

a great nation; and I will surely bless you and make your name famous,

so that you shall be a blessing. And all the families of the earth shall

ask for themselves a blessing like your own."



So Abraham set out, as Jehovah had commanded him; and Lot went with him.

Abraham was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. He took Sarah his

wife and Lot his brother's son and everything that they had, and started

for the land of Canaan.



Abraham passed through the land to a place called Shechem, to the oak of

Moreh. There Jehovah appeared to Abraham and said, "To your children

will I give this land." There Abraham built an altar to Jehovah who had

appeared to him. From there he removed to the hill near Bethel and

pitched his tent with Bethel on one side and Ai on the other, and there

too he built an altar to Jehovah and prayed to him.



Now Abraham was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold; Lot also,

who went with Abraham, had so many flocks and herds and tents that the

land was not rich enough to support them both. So when there was a

quarrel between Lot's herdsmen and Abraham's herdsmen, Abraham said to

Lot, "I beg of you, let there be no quarrel between me and you, nor

between my herdsmen and yours, for we are relatives. Is not the whole

land before you? I beg of you, separate yourself from me. If you go to

the left, then I will go to the right; or if you go to the right, then I

will go to the left."



So Lot looked about and saw that all the plain of the Jordan, as far as

Zoar, was well watered everywhere, like a garden of Jehovah. So Lot

chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and lived in the

cities of the plain and moved his tent as far as Sodom. But the men of

Sodom were very wicked and sinned against Jehovah.



Jehovah said to Abraham, after Lot had gone away from him, "Lift up your

eyes and look from the place where you are northward, southward,

eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you

and to your children forever. I will make them as many as the dust of

the earth, so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your

children may also be counted. Rise, walk through the length and breadth

of the land, for I will give it to you."



Then Abraham moved his tent and lived in the oak grove of Mamre, which

is in Hebron, and built there an altar to Jehovah.



Jehovah also appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he was sitting

at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day; and, as he looked

up, three men stood there before him. As soon as he saw them, he ran

from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed to the ground and

said, "Sirs, if you are willing to do me a favor, do not, I beg of you,

pass by your servant. Since you have come to your servant, let a little

water be brought, that you may wash your feet, and lie down under the

tree. And let me bring some food, that you may refresh yourselves;

afterward you may go on your way." They replied, "Do as you have said."



So Abraham hastened to Sarah's tent and said, "Make ready quickly four

measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes." Abraham also ran to

the herd, and took a calf that was tender and good, and gave it to the

servant, and he prepared it quickly. Then Abraham took curd and milk,

with the calf which he had prepared, and served them; and he waited on

them under the tree, while they ate.



Then they said to him, "Where is your wife?" He said, "There, within the

tent." One of them said, "I will surely return to you about nine months

from now, and then, Sarah your wife shall have a son."