Study Desk

She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would.

Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!"

This upset Abraham very much because Ishmael was his son.

Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants."

and he settled in the wilderness of Paran. His mother arranged for him to marry a woman from the land of Egypt.

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.

Abraham then gave some of his sheep, goats, and cattle to Abimelech, and they made a treaty.

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.

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.

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 wood.

And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice.

Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

Soon after this, Abraham heard that Milcah, his brother Nahor's wife, had borne Nahor eight sons.

Nahor had four other children from his concubine Reumah. Their names were Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

to let me buy his cave at Machpelah, down at the end of his field. I will pay the full price in the presence of witnesses, so I will have a permanent burial place for my family."

It was transferred to Abraham as his permanent possession in the presence of the Hittite elders at the city gate.

Then Abraham buried his wife, Sarah, there in Canaan, in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre (also called Hebron).

One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, "Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh.

For the Lord , the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son.

So the servant took an oath by putting his hand under the thigh of his master, Abraham. He swore to follow Abraham's instructions.