Study Desk

When Abram heard that his relative was taken captive, he summoned his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen of them, and he went in pursuit up to Dan.

And he divided his trained men against them at night, he and his servants. And he defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, which is north of Damascus.

And he brought back all the possessions. And he also brought back Lot, his relative, and his possessions, and the women and the people as well.

After his return from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the Valley of the King).

Then Sarai, the wife of Abram, took Hagar, her Egyptian servant, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband as his wife.

And the angel of Yahweh said to her: "Behold, you are pregnant and shall have a son. And you shall call his name Ishmael, for Yahweh has listened to your suffering.

And he shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand will be against everyone, and the hand of everyone will be against him, and he will live in hostility with all his brothers."

And Hagar had a child for Abram, a son. And Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore to him, Ishmael.

Then Abram fell upon his face and God spoke with him, saying,

And as for any uncircumcised male who has not circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.

And Abraham fell upon his face and laughed. And he said in his heart, "Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old, or can Sarah bear a child at ninety?"

And God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear a son for you, and you shall call his name Isaac. And I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant to his offspring after him.

And Abraham took Ishmael his son and all who were born of his house, and all those acquired by his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on the same day that God spoke with him.

Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin.

And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin.

Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the same day.

And all the men of his house, those born in the house, and those acquired by money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, three men were standing near him. And he saw them and ran from the doorway of the tent to meet them. And he bowed down to the ground.

For I have chosen him, that he will command his children and his household after him that they will keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice, so that Yahweh may bring upon Abraham that which he said to him."

Then Yahweh left, as he finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.