Study Desk

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood, and bound Isaac his son and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood.

Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.

Then Abraham looked up and glanced around, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering (ascending sacrifice) instead of his son.

So Abraham returned to his servants, and they got up and went with him to Beersheba; and Abraham settled in Beersheba.

Uz the firstborn and Buz his brother and Kemuel the father of Aram,

Then Abraham stood up before his dead [wife's body], and spoke to the sons of Heth (Hittites), saying,

"Listen to us, my lord; you are a prince of God [a mighty prince] among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our graves; none of us will refuse you his grave or hinder you from burying your dead [wife]."

so that he may give (sell) me the cave of Machpelah which he owns—it is at the end of his field; let him give it to me here in your presence for the full price as a burial site [which I may keep forever among you]."

Now Ephron was present there among the sons of Heth; so within the hearing of all the sons of Heth and all who were entering the gate of his city, Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham, saying,

So Abraham listened to Ephron [and agreed to his terms]; and he weighed out for Ephron the [amount of] silver which he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.

to Abraham as his possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who were entering at the gate of his city.

After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah to the east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

Abraham said to his servant [Eliezer of Damascus], the oldest of his household, who had charge over all that Abraham owned, "Please, put your hand under my thigh [as is customary for affirming a solemn oath],

"The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house, from the land of my family and my birth, who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, 'To your descendants I will give this land'—He will send His angel before you [to guide you], and you will take a wife from there for my son [and bring her here].

So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

Then the servant took ten of his master's camels, and set out, taking some of his master's good things with him; so he got up and journeyed to Mesopotamia [between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers], to the city of Nahor [the home of Abraham's brother].

So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, and ran again to the well and drew water for all his camels.

Meanwhile, the man stood gazing at Rebekah in [reverent] silence, [waiting] to know if the LORD had made his trip successful or not.

The man bowed his head and worshiped the LORD.

He said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not denied His lovingkindness and His truth to my master. As for me, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brothers."