Abraham: The Covenant

Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he replied, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent?

Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.”

Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her.

Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and all who belong to you.”

Early the next morning Abimelech got up and summoned all his servants; and when he described to them all that had happened, the men were terrified.

Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.”

Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do such a thing?”

Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’

Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father—though not the daughter of my mother—and she became my wife.

So when God had me journey from my father’s house, I said to Sarah, ‘This is how you can show your loyalty to me: Wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

So Abimelech brought sheep and cattle, menservants and maidservants, and he gave them to Abraham and restored his wife Sarah to him.

And Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you please.”

And he said to Sarah, “See, I am giving your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is your vindication before all who are with you; you are completely cleared.”

Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they could again bear children—

for on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah, the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household.

Now the LORD attended to Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what He had promised.

So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised.

And Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore to him.

When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him.

Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Then Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears of this will laugh with me.”

She added, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

So the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned.

But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking her son,

and she said to Abraham, “Expel the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac!”