And Isaac grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day…. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar…and Ishmael., and sent her away…. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and lived in the wilderness, and became an archer.

And it came to pass after these things, that God did test Abraham, and said unto him, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell you of."

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and took hold of the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

And Abraham said unto his young men, "Wait…here with the donkey; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

And Isaac spoke unto Abraham his father, and said, "My father…look the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"

And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering." So they went both of them together. And they came to the place, which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

And Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to kill his son. (By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only…son, of whom it was said, that "in Isaac shall your seed be called": Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead….)

And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!"

And Abraham said, "Here am I."

And the angel of the LORD said, "Lay not your hand upon the lad, neither do…anything unto him: for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from me."

And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering instead of his son.

And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, "By myself have I sworn, says the LORD, for because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son: That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because you have obeyed my voice."

And Abraham was old, and well advanced in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. Then Abraham died in a good old age…and was gathered to his people. And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac lived by the well Lahairoi.

And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian. And Isaac appealed to the LORD for his wife, because she was childless: and the LORD was appealed of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, look, there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red, all over like a hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

And the LORD appeared unto Isaac, and said, "Go not down into Egypt; Live in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you; for unto you, and unto your seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I swore unto Abraham your father; And I will make your seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto your seed all these countries; and in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because…Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

And Isaac lived in Gerar: And the boys grew: …Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, living in tents. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, "You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father; and take…a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother." And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he came upon a certain place, and stayed there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.

And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and look, the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, "I am the LORD God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac: the land on which you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed; And your seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in you and in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Look, I am with you, and will keep you in all places where you go, and will bring you again into this land; for I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken to you of."

And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that you shall give me I will surely give the tenth unto you."

Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east. And Laban, his uncle said to him, "Surely you are my bone and my flesh." And Jacob lived with him the space of a month.

And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. And Jacob loved Rachel; and said to Laban, "I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter."

And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her. And Jacob said unto Laban, "Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her."

And it came to pass in the evening, that Laban took Leah his daughter, and brought her to Jacob; and Jacob went in unto her. And…in the morning, look, it was Leah: and Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done unto me? Did not I serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?"

And Laban said, "It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. Fulfill her week, and we will give you Rachel also for the service which you shall serve with me yet seven other years." And Jacob did so, and fulfilled Leah’s week: and Laban gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.

And Laban said unto Jacob, "I pray you, if I have found favor in your eyes, stay: for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake. …What shall I give you?"

And Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything: if you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flock: I will pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my wages."

And Laban said, "…I would it might be according to your word." And Jacob increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and donkeys.

And the LORD said unto Jacob, "Return unto the land of your fathers, and to your family; and I will be with you." And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah…and said unto them, "The God of my father has been with me. You know that with all my power I have served your father. And your father has deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God allowed him not to hurt me. If Laban said, ‘The speckled shall be your wages’; then all the cattle bore speckled: and if he said, ‘the striped shall be your hire’; then bore all the cattle striped. Thus God has taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.

The angel of God spoke unto me in a dream, saying, "I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar, and where you vowed a vow unto me: now arise, get… out from this land, and return unto the land of your family."

And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, "All the riches which God has taken from our father, that is ours, and our children's: now then, whatever God has said unto you, do."

Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels; and he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods, which he had gotten in Padanaram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.

REFERENCES

Genesis 21:8; 14a, 20; Genesis 22:1a,2-3, 5, 7-10; Hebrews 11:17-19; Genesis 22:11-13, 15-18; Genesis 24:1; Genesis 25:8, 11, 20-21, 24-26; Genesis 26:2a-6; Genesis 25:27-28; Genesis 28:1-2, 10-15, 18, 20-22; Genesis 29:1, 14, 16, 18, 20-21, 23, 25-28; Genesis 30:27, 31-32, 34, 43; Genesis 31:3-4a, 5b-9, 11a, 13-14a, 16-18.

CHAPTER 3