Abraham: The Covenant

They called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” “I will go,” she replied.

So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men.

And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands upon thousands. May your offspring possess the gates of their enemies.”

Then Rebekah and her servant girls got ready, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.

Now Isaac had just returned from Beer-lahai-roi, for he was living in the Negev.

Early in the evening, Isaac went out to the field to meditate, and looking up, he saw the camels approaching.

And when Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she got down from her camel

and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” “It is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.

Then the servant told Isaac all that he had done.

And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah as his wife. And Isaac loved her and was comforted after his mother’s death.

Now Abraham had taken another wife, named Keturah,

and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites, and the Leummites.

The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.

Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac.

But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.

Abraham lived a total of 175 years.

And at a ripe old age he breathed his last and died, old and contented, and was gathered to his people.

His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.

This was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah.

After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near Beer-lahai-roi.

This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham.

These are the names of the sons of Ishmael in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.