Through the Bible – Day 9

₁Abraham married Keturah, ₂and they had six sons: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. ₃Later, Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan, and when Dedan grew up, he had three sons: Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. ₄Midian also had five sons: Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah.

_5-6While Abraham was still alive, he gave gifts to the sons of Hagar and Keturah. He also sent their sons to live in the east far from his son Isaac, and when Abraham died, he left everything to Isaac.

_7-8Abraham died at the ripe old age of one hundred and seventy-five. _9-10His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him east of Hebron in Machpelah Cave that was part of the field Abraham had bought from Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. Abraham was buried there beside his wife Sarah. ₁₁God blessed Isaac after this, and Isaac moved to a place called “The Well of the Living One who Sees Me”.

₁₂Ishmael was the son of Abraham and Hagar, the slave woman of Sarah. ₁₃Ishmael had twelve sons, in this order: Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ₁₄Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ₁₅Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. ₁₆Each of Ishmael's sons was a tribal chief, and a village was named after each of them.

_17-18Ishmael had settled in the land east of his brothers, and his sons settled everywhere from Havilah to Shur, east of Egypt on the way to Asshur. Ishmael was one hundred and thirty-seven when he died.

₁₉Isaac was the son of Abraham, ₂₀and he was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel. She was also the sister of Laban, the Aramean from northern Syria.

Almost twenty years later, ₂₁Rebekah still had no children. So Isaac asked the LORD to let her have a child, and the LORD answered his prayer.

₂₂Before Rebekah gave birth, she knew she was going to have twins, because she could feel them inside her, fighting each other. She thought, “Why is this happening to me?” Finally, she asked the LORD why her twins were fighting, ₂₃and he told her:

₂₄When Rebekah gave birth, ₂₅the first baby was covered with red hair, so he was named Esau. ₂₆The second baby grabbed his brother's heel, so they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

₂₇As Jacob and Esau grew older, Esau liked the outdoors and became a good hunter, while Jacob settled down and became a shepherd. ₂₈Esau would take the meat of wild animals to his father Isaac, and so Isaac loved him more, but Jacob was his mother's favourite son.

₂₉One day, Jacob was cooking some stew, when Esau came home hungry ₃₀and said, “I'm starving to death! Give me some of that red stew at once!” That's how Esau got the name “Edom”.

₃₁Jacob replied, “Sell me your rights as the firstborn son.”

₃₂“I'm about to die,” Esau answered. “What good will those rights do me?”

₃₃But Jacob said, “Promise me your birthrights, here and now!” And that's what Esau did. ₃₄Jacob then gave Esau some bread and some of the bean stew, and when Esau had finished eating and drinking, he just got up and left, showing how little he thought of his rights as the firstborn.

₁Once during Abraham's lifetime, the fields had not produced enough grain, and now the same thing happened. So Isaac went to King Abimelech of the Philistines in the land of Gerar, ₂because the LORD had appeared to Isaac and said:

₆Isaac moved to Gerar ₇with his beautiful wife Rebekah. He was afraid that someone might kill him to get her, and so he told everyone that Rebekah was his sister. ₈After Isaac had been there a long time, King Abimelech looked out of a window and saw Isaac hugging and kissing Rebekah. ₉Abimelech called him in and said, “Rebekah must be your wife! Why did you say she is your sister?”

“Because I thought someone would kill me,” Isaac answered.

₁₀“Don't you know what you've done?” Abimelech exclaimed. “If someone had slept with her, you would have made our whole nation guilty!” ₁₁Then Abimelech warned his people that anyone who even touched Isaac or Rebekah would be put to death.

₁₂Isaac planted grain and had a good harvest that same year. The LORD blessed him, ₁₃and Isaac was so successful that he became very rich. ₁₄In fact, the Philistines were jealous of the large number of sheep, goats, and slaves that Isaac owned, ₁₅and they stopped up the wells that Abraham's servants had dug before his death. ₁₆Finally, Abimelech said, “Isaac, I want you to leave our country. You have become too powerful to stay here.”

₁₇Isaac left and settled in Gerar Valley, ₁₈where he cleaned out those wells that the Philistines had stopped up. Isaac also gave each of the wells the same name that Abraham had given to them. ₁₉While his servants were digging in the valley, they found a spring-fed well. ₂₀But the shepherds of Gerar Valley quarrelled with Isaac's shepherds and claimed the water belonged to them. So the well was named “Quarrel”, because they had quarrelled with Isaac.

₂₁Isaac's servants dug another well, and the shepherds also quarrelled about it. So that well was named “Jealous”. ₂₂Finally, they dug one more well. There was no quarrelling this time, and the well was named “Lots of Room”, because the LORD had given them room and would make them very successful.

₂₃Isaac went on to Beersheba, ₂₄where the LORD appeared to him that night and told him, “Don't be afraid! I am the God who was worshipped by your father Abraham, my servant. I will be with you and bless you, and because of Abraham I will give you many descendants.” ₂₅Isaac built an altar there and worshipped the LORD. Then he set up camp, and his servants started digging a well.

₂₆Meanwhile, Abimelech had left Gerar and was taking his adviser Ahuzzath and his army commander Phicol to see Isaac. ₂₇When they arrived, Isaac asked, “Why are you here? Didn't you send me away because you hated me?”

₂₈They answered, “We now know for certain that the LORD is with you, and we have decided there needs to be a peace treaty between you and us. So let's make a solemn agreement ₂₉not to harm each other. Remember, we have never hurt you, and when we sent you away, we let you go in peace. The LORD has truly blessed you.”

₃₀Isaac gave a big feast for them, and everyone ate and drank. ₃₁Early the next morning Isaac and the others made a solemn agreement, then he let them go in peace.

₃₂Later that same day Isaac's servants came and said, “We've struck water!” ₃₃So Isaac named the well Shibah, and the town is still called Beersheba.

₃₄When Esau was forty, he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. ₃₅But these two women brought a lot of grief to his parents Isaac and Rebekah.

₂₈When Jesus finished speaking, the crowds were surprised at his teaching. ₂₉He taught them like someone with authority, and not like their teachers of the Law of Moses.