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All quotations must not exceed 60 words and must contain the copyright notice [i.e., "OJB Copyright (c) 1999-2002 by AFI International"]. Quotation may not be made without the permission of AFI International P. O. Box 2056 New York, NY 10163 U.S.A. This material is solely for personal use and is not to be posted publicly on other web pages with the exception of brief quotations not exceeding 60 words. You are free to download, and print a copy of this material, so long as you do not post it on a different Internet site. You may, however, link this site to reference this Bible translation, THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE by linking to www.afii.org/ojbible.html. www.afii.org AFII The Orthodox Jewish Bible Tanakh and Orthodox Jewish Brit Chadasha The Holy Bible Yehoshua Hinei Tzemach Shmo Zecharyah 6:11-12 "R. Joshua ben Levi says (Moshiach's) name is Tzemach..." --Jer. Talmud Berachot Chap 2 Halacha 4 And men shall worship Hashem, everyone from his place, even all the coasts and islands of the Goyim. Tzefanyah 2:11 THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE AFI INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHERS P.O. BOX 2056 NEW YORK, NY 10163-2056 U.S.A. internet www.afii.org (212) 245-4188 THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE Third Edition Copyright (c) 2002,2003 by Artists For Israel International. All rights reserved. AFI INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHERS THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BRIT CHADASHA, third edition Copyright (c) 2002, 2003 by Artists For Israel International. All rights reserved. first and second editions OJBC (c) 1996, 1997 by Artists For Israel International. Published by AFI International Publishers New York City, New York 10163, U.S.A. www.afii.org Library of Congress Control Number: 2002107348 Up to 500 verses of the OJB may be quoted in any form without written permission, provided no complete book of the Bible is quoted. 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ISBN 0-939341-04-2 All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America C O N T E N T S ...THE TRANSLATOR TO THE READER p. vii TORAH BERESHIS (GENESIS) [GN] p.1 SHEMOT (EXODUS) [EX] p. 52 VAYIKRA (LEVITICUS) [[LV] p.94 BAMIDBAR (NUMBERS) [NUM] p.127 DEVARIM (DEUTERONOMY) [DT] p.171 NEVI'IM YEHOSHUA (JOSHUA) [JOSH] p. 209 SHOFETIM (JUDGES) [JUDG] p. 233 SHMUEL ALEF (I SAMUEL) [1SM] p. 256 SHMUEL BAIS (II SAMUEL) [2SM] p. 291 MELACHIM ALEF (I KINGS) [1KGS] p. 317 MELACHIM BAIS (II KINGS) [2KGS] p. 349 YESHAYAH (ISAIAH) [ISA] p. 378 YIRMEYAH (JEREMIAH) [JER] p. 431 YECHEZKEL (EZEKIEL) [EZEK] p. 487 HOSHEA (HOSEA) [HOS] p. 538 YOEL (JOEL) p. 545 AMOS [AM] p. 548 OVADYAH (OBADIAH) [OB] p.553 YONAH (JONAH) [JON] p.554 MICHOH (MICAH) [MIC] p. 556 NACHUM [NAH] p.560 CHABAKUK (HABAKKUK) [HAB] p.562 TZEFANYAH (ZEPHANIAH) [ZEPH] p. 564 CHAGGAI (HAGGAI) [HAG] p. 567 ZECHARYAH (ZECHARIAH) [ZECH] p.568 MALACHI [MAL] p.577 KETUVIM TEHILLIM (PSALMS) [PS] p. 579 MISHLE (PROVERBS) [PROV] p. 644 IYOV (JOB) p. 668 SHIR HASHIRIM (SONG OF SONGS) [SONG] p. 695 RUTH [RUTH] p.700 EKHAH (LAMENTATIONS) [LAM] p.706 KOHELET (ECCLESIASTES) [KOH] p.712 ESTHER [ESTH] p.721 DANIEL [DAN] p.730 EZRA [EZRA] p.746 NECHEMYAH (NEHEMIAH) [NEH] p. 755 DIVREY HAYAMIM ALEF (I CHRONICLES) [1CHR] p.769 DIVREY HAYAMIM BAIS (II CHRONICLES) [2CHR] p. 797 BRIT CHADASHA THE BESURAS HAGEULAH ACCORDING TO MATTITYAHU [MT] p.833 THE BESURAS HAGEULAH ACCORDING TO MARKOS [MK] p.870 THE BESURAS HAGEULAH ACCORDING TO LUKAS [LK] p. 894 THE BESURAS HAGEULAH ACCORDING TO YOCHANAN [YN] p. 935 GEVUROT MEYRUACH HAKODESH (ACTS) [AC] p. 966 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH SHA'UL TO THE BRIT CHADASHA KEHILLAH IN ROME [RO] p. 1005 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH SHA'UL TO THE BRIT CHADASHA KEHILLAH IN CORINTH (I) [1C] p. 1023 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH SHA'UL TO THE BRIT CHADASHA KEHILLAH IN CORINTH (II) [2C] p. 1040 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH SHA'UL TO THE BRIT CHADASHA KEHILLAH IN GALATIA [GA] p. 1051 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH SHA'UL TO THE BRIT CHADASHA KEHILLAH IN EPHESUS [EP] p.1057 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH SHA'UL TO THE BRIT CHADASHA KEHILLAH IN PHILIPPI [PP] p. 1063 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH SHA'UL TO THE BRIT CHADASHA KEHILLAH IN COLOSSAE [CO] p. 1067 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH SHA'UL TO THE BRIT CHADASHA KEHILLAH IN THESSALONIKA (I) [1TH] p. 1071 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH SHA'UL TO THE BRIT CHADASHA KEHILLAH IN THESSALONIKA (II) [2TH] p. 1075 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH SHA'UL TO TIMOTIYOS (I) [1TI] p. 1077 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH SHA'UL TO TIMOTIYOS (II) [2TI] p. 1081 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH SHA'UL TO TITOS [TI] p. 1084 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH SHA'UL TO PHILEMON [PM] p. 1086 MOSHIACH'S LETTER TO THE MA'AMINIM HAMESHICHIYIM FROM AMONG THE YEHUDIM [MJ] p.1087 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH YA'AKOV TO THE BRIT CHADASHA KEHILLAH [YA] p. 1099 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH SHIMON KEFA TO THE BRIT CHADASHA KEHILLAH (I) [1K] p. 1104 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH SHIMON KEFA TO THE BRIT CHADASHA KEHILLAH (II) [2K] p. 1109 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH YOCHANAN TO THE BRIT CHADASHA KEHILLAH (I) [1Y] p. 1112 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH YOCHANAN TO THE BRIT CHADASHA KEHILLAH (II) [2Y] p. 1116 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH THE SHLIACH YOCHANAN TO THE BRIT CHADASHA KEHILLAH (III) [3Y] p. 1117 MOSHIACH'S LETTER THROUGH YEHUDA,THE BROTHER OF THE SHLIACH YA'AKOV, TO THE BRIT CHADASHA KEHILLAH [YD] p. 1118 HISGALUS (REV) [RV] p. 1119 GLOSSARY p. 1141 NOTES ON THE TORAH OF THE OJB p. 1208 OJB INDEX p. 1221 SOME IMPORTANT RABBINIC QUOTATIONS AND SOURCES WHO IS MOSHIACH? THE JEWISH CALENDAR AND THE OJB MESSIANIC BAR MITZVAH ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS cf compare f and following i.e., [Latin] id est, that is T.N. Translator's Note sensus literalis (literal sense, i.e., this translation looks for a word-for-word, literal translation, leaving verb tenses, etc unvarnished, from the original language without the use of nonfrum idioms which are by no means necessary in any case, since the original is the fount of Orthodoxy, leaving all else sadly not "orthodox" enough-see Gevurot MeyRuach Hakodesh 21:19-26) vii THE TRANSLATOR TO THE READER This translation was begun during a time of Theological Doctoral studies in 1971, and was not completed until this year, 2002. Each key word in the original language is transliterated and translated so that the orthodox Jewish meaning will shine through. These key words are listed in a glossary for the benefit of the reader who will thereby be able to pour over every key word of the Hebrew Bible, even rather exhaustively through The Orthodox Jewish Bible. Those who read the Bible with Gentile spectacles need to take another look. It took a lifetime to do this translation because of the research involved. Moreover, the problem with Bibles translated by a committee is that usually none of the committee members actually studies every single word in the original languages. Being led by G-d to spend 31 years doing exactly that, always in Jewish communities, always in the midst of Chasidic Jews, and always surrounded by the finest array of scholarly and rabbinic books-this was a divinely provided, unique advantage. Consequently, part of the OJB is already being translated into Hebrew and Yiddish and Russian, and is available online even now in Spanish and Ladino. But why another translation? Why the OJB? To answer that question, let's look at the OJB rendering of Isaiah 7:14. "Therefore Hashem Himself shall give you an ot (sign); hinei (behold), Ha-Almah (The unmarried young Virgin) shall conceive, and bear Ben (Son), and shall call shmo (his name) Immanu-El (G-d is with us). From Isaiah's writings we learn that stubborn and unteachable people like the proud religious leaders in Isaiah chapter 28 and proud King Ahaz in chapter 7 don't lower themselves to "factor in" signs, but a sign of tongues will be given to the unbelievers in Isaiah chapter 28; and, to Ahaz and the House of David, a sign will be given of the unmarried young virgin conceiving (a potentially scandalous sign, wouldn't you say, when we think of teenage unwed mothers?). Furthermore, this sign will be given, whether Ahaz wants it or not. (Judging from their "young woman" rendering of Ha-Almah, apparently many "Ahaz" Bible translators have not wanted it). When we think of "the" virgin, the only other times in the entire Tanakh that we see the expression ha-Almah (the virgin), is that unmarried young virgin Rikvah (Rebekah) in Genesis 24:43 who is preparing in that passage to conceive the nation of Israel; and that young unmarried virgin Miryam, who is preparing to bring forth the Savior of the Exodus (Ex 2:8). So let's begin our discussion by pointing out that there are only three ha-Almah virgins in Scripture: the mother of Moshiach (Isa 7:14) and the mother of the Nation of Israel (Gn 24:43) and Miryam the virgin pointing us to the Savior of the Exodus (Ex 2:8). But in this passage, Isaiah 7:14, Moshiach is promised. What is at stake in this one word ha-Almah? The answer is: simply everything. If, according to the Hebrew Scriptures, Moshiach was not born of the Almah virgin, then he is not Ben HaElohim, he is not Moshiach, and we are not delivered from death's eternal judgment by the one who is "G-d with us." [See p. 1222 for a long list of places where the word almah occurs in the OJB Index]. So, to say the least, it is worth probing the Scriptures to study this and related words. A passage in Judges chapter 8, mentions royal bearing (verse 18) and also the word pilegesh (concubine, verse 31). See also Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs) chapter 6 verse 8, where that passage infers the royal bearing in the harem of the pilegesh as concubine and the royal bearing of malkah (queen) as legitimate royal wife and the royal bearing of almah (who in the harem has the royal bearing of betulah or virgin, not merely "young woman" since a merely young woman would throw a question on hereditary rights to the throne in that any young woman who was only that, only a woman, only young, and then introduced into the harem other than a virgin could destabilize the dynastic heirdom for the reason that in dynastic monarchy the child would normally be of the king's body begotten and there can be no question about this fact; so in this matter the three classes of women in the harem--[1] malkah, [2] pilegesh and [3] almah=betulah, Song of Songs 6:8---are crucial technical terms having to do with not only sexual matters vis-a-vis the king but political matters visa-vis the succession government of the dynastic monarchy. This matter of royal bearing of the almah as betulah or virgin is decisive in translating Isaiah 7:14 "ha-Almah" as "the virgin" particularly here since the context of "Bais Dovid" (verse 13) shows that a royal almah, not just any almah, is in view; see Shir Hashirim 6:8 "there are threescore melakhot (queens), and fourscore pilagshim (concubines), and-without number--alamot (virgins, singular=almah; alam=young man 1Sm 20:22; 17:56)." [Note: alamot is plural of almah, "virgin," alamot, "virgins."] See Shir Hashirim 1:3; Yeshayah 7:14; Bereshis 24:43; Shemot 2:8; Mishle 30:19 where the word means explicitly or implicitly "virgin" and where "young unmarried woman" is not an adequate rendering, in this case, since the king was hardly interested in only "young unmarried women" in his harem, but demanded "virgin unmarried maidens"; the older Jewish translations like Harkavy's in fact translated the word as "virgin" in Song of Songs 6:8 until it became "politically incorrect" to do so in later, more liberal Jewish translations into English. See Joel 1:8 where betulah is used of a married woman; almah is always a young unmarried betulah in Scripture. We have no word in English to differentiate an unmarried from a married virgin. One might say, we have no word in English to differentiate a young horse from a younger horse--so what? Not so, in English we have a very precise nomenclature for horses. We have "filly" (a young female horse), or "mare" (a fully mature female horse) or "foal" (a horse not yet one year old), or "yearling" (a horse one year old dating from January 1 of the year after the year of foaling). So "young horse" is crudely inadequate in the world of the stables, just as "young woman" is crudely inadequate in the world of the Bible. And just as modern racetrack enthusiasts require more precision in their "horse" vocabulary, so too the Hebrews did with their "woman" vocabulary. An almah is an unmarried, virginal, sexually ripening young woman (all these notions in the definition are crucial); a betulah is a virginal married or unmarried woman, and she may be old, she does not have to be young; a na'arah is a girl or young woman; a zonah is a non-virginal harlot or prostitute; a noefet is an adulteress; an agunah is a woman whose husband's whereabouts are unknown [see Ro 7:2 OJBC]; a pilegesh is a concubine; an isha is a woman/wife; a gerushah is a divorcee; a gevirah is a noble woman or queen mother; a malkah is a queen, etc. Notice all these terms for women are defined vis-a-vis the man, since, according to the opening chapters of Genesis, woman was made for man. "Young woman" is as crudely out of place in Hebrew nomenclature as "young horse" is in racetrack nomenclature; "young woman" is oddly and jarringly imprecise. There is a perfectly good Hebrew word for "young woman" which Boaz says twice in reference to Ruth- "na'arah" ("young woman"), which Boaz uses in Ruth 2:5 and again in Ruth 4:12. Here virginity is not implicit and in fact Ruth is a young widow who had been married before and for some time. Notice the precision of language: Song of Songs 6:8 does not say "ne'arot" without number (ne'arot=young women plural, na'arah = young woman singular); Song of Songs 6:8 says "alamot" without number (alamot=virginal young women, plural of almah). Proverbs speaks of the derech gever (way of a man) with an almah (Prov. 30:19), but when this is referenced in Scripture in Genesis 24:65, the derech (way) of the almah Rivkah (Rebekah) and the gever Yitzchak (Isaac) shows the young woman still a virgin (Gn 24:65). The virgin whose seed (Moshiach) crushes Satan's head (Genesis 3:15) is the almah whose supernatural conception of Moshiach is a sign to the House of David. One more point, in Genesis chapter 24, almah and betulah (in 24:43 and 24:16) are used nearly synonymously. Now, to illustrate, if we say the "lad" sat by the well and then if we say the "boy" walked around the well, and if we are talking about the same person, then obviously we ix are using "lad" and "boy" in some synonymous fashion and it is only our tendentious bias that would have us try to make some vast distinction between the terms. In Genesis chapter 24, Rivkah (Rebekah) is called an "almah" and in the same breath she is also called a "betulah," showing some kind of interchangeable connection between the words. In our illustration, the semantic freight which both "lad" and "boy" carry is youth and also maleness, making it possible to use the terms "lad" and "boy" of the same person interchangeably. One could not seriously, for example, use the term "geezer" (elderly eccentric man) and "lad" interchangeably of the same person, and one could not use the Biblical Hebrew word "zonah" (a non-virgin harlot, prostitute) and "betulah" of the same person interchangeably (the Hebrew Bible never uses zonah and almah regarding the same person); but the Hebrew Bible does in fact use "almah" and "betulah" in Genesis 24:43 and Genesis 24:16 of the same person (Rebekah) because both terms carry the common semantic freight of femaleness and virginity. In Genesis chapter 24, Rivkah is called an almah and she is also called a betulah, showing that, if not virginal, an almah would not be an almah. In Genesis chp 24 HaAlmah is used as a synonym for na'arah-betulah. Virginity is at least implicit in the term "almah" or an almah could not be called a betulah. It would never do in Hebrew, for example, to say that the pilegesh (concubine) approached the well and then say the betulah sat by the well and yet be talking about the same person. Virginity is definitely not implicit in the term pilegesh (concubine). Moreover, as a translation for "almah," "young woman" destroys the virginal conception of the Moshiach, without which he is not Ben HaElohim Moshi'a (Savior) of adam's rebellious, sin-blinded progeny. So we see the verse proves true that says "some twist the Scriptures to their own destruction (2K 3:16)." Those who delude themselves that there is no distinction between "na'arah" (young woman) and "almah" (young virgin) have Biblical useage and context arguing in concert against them. Finally, in Isaiah 7:14 the Jewish rabbis and scholars, who translated the Targum Hashivim [Septuagint Hebrew Bible Greek translation] in the Third Century B.C.E. for the Hellenistic synagogue, translated the Hebrew word "almah" as the Greek word "parthenos"--which Greek word can only mean, according to the standard lexicon, "female of marriageable age with focus on virginity" [see F.W.Danker Greek-Engish Lexicon, page 777]. Notice other times parthenos ("virgin") is used in the Greek NT: Mt 25:1,7,11; Lk 1:27; 1C 7:25; Ac 21:9. The Septuagint translators also translated "haalmah" in Genesis 24:43 as "parthenos" showing that both Rivkah the almah and the mother of the Moshiach, Moshiach who is G-d with us, are both "haalmah" and both "parthenos" and both "the virgin". Let it be said rather bitingly that perhaps these ancient rabbis understood the word "almah" somewhat better than we moderns do. J.A. Motyer writes, "In Song of Solomon 6:8, the alamot [plural of almah], contrasted with queens and concubines, are unmarried and virgin" (The Prophecy of Isaiah, Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester England, 1993). In conclusion, Isaiah was speaking of the unmarried young virgin. This translation is "orthodox" because it is both true to the Scriptures and it preserves the supernatural entrance (virgin) and exit (empty tomb) of the Ben Dovid Ben Elohim Moshiach, the Savior (Goel, Oisleizer) of the World. "G-d-with-us" cannot be Hezekiah because Hezekiah had already been born. Moshiach is called not only "G-d-with-us" but "mighty G-d" (compare Isaiah 9:5[6] and 10:21) and more than once is called Ben HaElohim. (see the OJB translation). Just as Moshiach had a real presence in the wilderness (Num 21:16-18; 1C10:4), Moshiach's real presence in the Bais Dovid forms an eschatological time line: his coming is in the future when the Bais Dovid will suffer subjugation indicated by the fact that desert food, thickened milk and honey, will be the future oppressive diet (see Isaiah 7:22) because of the capitulation of Ahaz to Assyria, with Assyria's imperial despotic evil having various future manifestations from Babylonian to Roman Imperial kingdoms, until the prophecy to the dynasty of the Bais Dovid is literally fulfilled in Moshiach. When this prophecy achieves its fulfillment, history would finally confirm that the time line here covers more than 700 years, with only a handful of years set apart to describe the brief time before Judah's enemies, Syria and the northern kingdom of Israel, will pose no more threat to Judah (see Isaiah 7:16). x The OJB translates Proverbs chapter 30:1-19 and should include a comment that helps to explain how, in spite of teenage unwed mothers, the Isaianic unmarried young virgin conceiving is not as scandalous a sign as may at first appear. The reason is that in conceiving she is still the unwed "virgin," (not an unwed zonah worthy of stoning), and the one conceived is called "G-d" or "El" in Hebrew, even "G-d with us," giving a clear derivative clue to his paternity. Let it be said as a further comment on Proverbs (Mishle) chapter 30 that the Devar Hashem, the Chochmah (Wisdom) that Hashem used to create the world (Psalm 33:6; Prov 8:30), is called here Ben HaElohim (Prov 30:4); thus this title "Ben HaElohim" used also of Moshiach (Psalm 2:7) introduces the revelation that Moshiach is the Chochmah of Hashem, even the very Ben HaElohim, the Seed of the Woman who will crush the head of the cunning Serpent Satan (Genesis 3:15). See verse Proverbs 30:4: "Who hath ascended into Shomayim, or descended? Who hath gathered ruach in the hollows of His hands? Who hath bound the mayim in a cloak? Who hath established all the afsei aretz (ends of the earth)? What is Shmo (His Name), and what is Shem Bno (the Name of His Son), if thou canst tell?" Then we move on to Prov 30:19, "The derech hanesher (way of the eagle) in the sky; the derech nachash (way of a snake) upon a tzur (rock); the derech oniyah (way of a sailing vessel) in the midst of the yam (sea); and the derech gever (way of a man) with an almah (unmarried young virgin-see Gn 24:16, 43, 63- 65)." In short, it would be hard to see these crucial teachings in the text of most other translations; thus the raison d'etre for the OJB version. Finally, a word needs to be said about the translation of the Messiah's name in the OJB. We know that at least one of the languages our Moshiach spoke was a dialect of Western Aramaic (note TALITHA CUMI, GOLGOTHA, MARANATHA). YESHUA is the Aramaic form of YEHOSHUA. Anyone who questions this should look at the Aramaic dictionary at the end of the standard Brown, Driver and Briggs Lexicon where the word YESHUA can be found listed as an Aramaic word. And YEHOSHUA (Hebrew for JOSHUA) is the Hebrew form of YESHUA (~~~~~~ in Greek). Parts of the Tanach are written in Aramaic (e.g. Ezra 4:8-6:18; 7:12-26; Dan 2:4-7:28; Jer 10:10-11; Gn 31:47). This is important because the infallible Bible settles all arguments. To the question "What is the Hebrew translation of the Aramaic word YESHUA?" the Bible tells us the infallible answer by translating the Aramaic word YESHUA in the Aramaic passage in Ezra 5:2 with the Hebrew word YEHOSHUA in the Hebrew passage in Zechariah 6:11-12, which also says that this Yehoshua is a "sign" man and his name is TZEMACH ("BRANCH" [of Dovid], a code name for the soon to come and sprout up [even suddenly, out of dry ground] Moshiach). So the Moshiach's name is YEHOSHUA/YESHUA (not an "either/or" but a "both/and") and in the OJB the decision was made to use the Hebrew form of Moshiach's name rather than the Aramaic form. In the Greek NT the very same Greek word Yoh-tah ee-tah seegh-mah oh-mee-krone eeps-ee-lone final seegh-mah is used for Yehoshua/Yeshua/Joshua Ben Nun in Acts 7:45 and for Yehoshua/Joshua/Yeshua Ben Elohim in Acts 7:55, showing that both Joshua and Yeshua are exactly the same as far as the Greek is concerned, meaning either translation (Yehoshua or Yeshua) is acceptable in faithfully rendering the Greek NT into English. Moshiach's half-brother Yehuda wrote of the emunah (faith) which was once for all time handed down and transmitted to the Kadoshim. The document Yehuda wrote [p. 1118] is one of the most important ever written. Why? Because it is written by one of the Zekenim (Elders, Leaders) of the Messianic Edat Bnei Yisroel in Yerushalayim and is early and authoritative, having been written by Yehuda, one of the brothers of Ya'akov the Shliach, himself one of the "Ammudei HaKehillah" (Pillars of the Kehillah) in the early period of pre-Churban Bayis Sheni Judaism of the Kehillah of Moshiach in Yerushalayim. Ya'akov died in 62 C.E. al kiddish ha-Shem for the sake of his Martyr's Eidus as an Emissary of the Zera Dovid Moshiach and as an eye-witness to the Techiyas Xi HaMoshiach. Both of these, Yehuda and Ya'akov, were half-brothers of Moshiach and, like Moshiach, could indeed claim King Dovid as their direct ancestor. In referring to "the faith which was once for all handed over and transmitted to the Kadoshim," Yehuda is speaking of the body of objective truth which has been handed down as Massorah (universally binding, authorized Jewish teaching of the Zekenim of Israel, that is, Messianic Massorah HaZekenim, Authoritative Jewish Teaching of the Elders of Israel to be passed down from generation to generation). As such, this requires Messianic Shomrim to guard the orthodox Jewish faith (orthos = right, doxa = belief) and contend for it and accurately transmit it through the generations inviolate. It is for the purpose of equipping such Shomrim that the OJB version was translated, a work which really began only four years after the Six Day War, when a revived Jewish interest in the Messiah began world-wide, because, prophetically, Jerusalem was no longer trodden down by Gentiles (Lk 21:24) and the Fig Tree, replanted in 1948, was beginning to blossom (Lk 21:29-31). Over two decades before, preparations had begun for the publication of the New English Bible, the first major new translation of the Bible into English since Tyndale. As Benson Bobrick has said, "Next to the Bible itself, the English Bible was (and is) the most influential book ever published" (Wide As the Waters, Penquin Books, p.11). Commenting on the uniqueness of the OJB, the Jewish, yeshiva-trained, Israeli scholar and author, Yosef Shulam wrote favorably, "It is like nothing I have seen before..." We lift up his favorable assessment to G-d and say to Hashem be the glory, and may the Hebrew shine forth in this English version to every believer on earth! On a more personal note, let me say that this translation reflects the Holy Bible as a well-worn treasure map that I have been studying nearly all my adult life. Without this infallible map, we sit in darkness, without hope and without G-d in the world (Mt 4:16; Ep 2:12). What is the treasure that the Bible maps us toward? Joseph had treasure put in the sacks of his brothers (Gn 43:23), treasure that did not bring them joy because they didn't know their Savior (Gn 43:18). There is a veil over the eyes when the unregenerate person gazes at Scripture (2C 3:14-16), an idol stands at the door of his "inner gate" (Ezek 8:3), and, as long as the "scales" of unregenerate uncircumcision (Ac 9:18) have not been removed, the Scriptures are unfathomed (1C 2:14), and there is no turning to the L-rd, no craving for the pure milk of the Word (1K 2:2), not even a taste for it (Jer 6:10). Some believers stop looking for treasure in their Bibles after a while. They don't stick to the map, don't rely on the Word to chart their course, and after a while they get detoured into a maze of selfhelp books, psychology, intellectual speculation, philosophy, materialism, educational titlemongering , mass media punditry, or motions of empty religiosity. In His mercy, from the ReadMore Bookstore in Hollywood, California, unto this present hour, G-d has been trying to keep me from blundering into any of those sad "rich young Ruler (Mt 19:22)" dead-end streets. Instead, He beckoned me to pursue after the true silver and gold (Prov.3:13-14), for the joy of which a man will go and sell all that he has to purchase that treasure (Mt 13:44; Lk 14:25-30, 33; Pp 3:8). So many times in a bookstore the Bible would cost all I had, and buying it would mean going without food for a time. But G-d was testing me: did I want Him and His Word more than anything in life? Was I willing to turn my back on the treasures of Egypt (MJ 11:26)? Sometimes I let Him down. Other times, trouble, not just poverty, would come in open-air preaching (Jon 3:4), because of the Word (Mt 13:21). Would I encourage myself in the treasure chest of Scripture (1Sm 30:6)? Will you? Dt 28:12 promises that the L-rd will "open up unto thee His good treasure." I know that is true for all who love the truth (2Th 2:10-11; I Yn 4:6)! Mere religion can be unmasked (see Lk 22:52-23:38); beyond mere religion, as one who has examined it, I can assure you the Bible is true to the core. Robert Lewis Stevenson started with an imaginary map and developed a novel called Treasure Island. However, there is a treasure map that is not imaginary, and that map I happened upon as a young professional film actor browsing in Read-More Bookstore on Hollywood Blvd in 1970. That bookstore no longer exists, buried in the sands of time. But the treasure map is still today in my xii hands, the map I happened upon in the mercy and ministry call of Hashem as a young man, the treasure map that is real, and eternal, and leads us to the buried Pearl of Great Price. Mt 13:44 is a parable about a treasure buried by someone in a field, then found by someone else, who immediately reburies or hides it in that field so he can go and sell everything he has in order to purchase that priceless field, the great worth of which he has just discovered. The treasure I found in 1970 I have not reburied but, in the mercy of G-d, the eternal treasure once found in the New English Bible in 1970, is now eternal treasure rediscovered in The Orthodox Jewish Bible in 2002. And what a treasure it is! It is worth more to me now than then, a treasure of such weight of glory, a priceless matmon (Hebrew for "treasure" in Genesis 43:23). Is it true that it costs you everything? Yes, I have known poverty as an open-air minister for 30 years; but I was being tested during that pre-publication "trial period" to see how priceless the Bible was to me before G-d would grant me the privilege and trust me with translating it. Trials can be tests before privileged promotion. And what a privilege! And how unworthy we are. As we prepare to publish, I have begun to go over every verse, making sure not one is missing from the OJB. And as my eyes and fingers go over ancient Bible manuscripts, I have the feeling a miser must have when he counts his gold coins. But we are not being miserly with the Word of G-d; we are making it available free-of-charge on the Internet at http://www.afii.org to enrich the whole world and you are helping us. G-d checked this Bible Society ministry into that afii.org Website on Labor Day weekend 1995, just as He checked me into the Wishing Well Motel in Boynton Beach Florida on Labor Day weekend 1978, even though I was homeless and had only 23 cents. After that, G-d checked this ministry into its first New York City office on Labor Day weekend 1981. Now this weekend, Labor Day weekend 2002, I am writing this as a Preface to the OJB as I send this Holy Bible manuscript in for publication! What Labor Day miracles! And what a privilege to labor for Hashem! And on our Website people all over the world are starting to print their own personal copy of the OJB. Baruch Hashem for meeting us just now, at the perfect time, with His rich store of technology that He has readied for His time! Little did I know what G-d was planning for my life when, as a young man in 1970, a very lost young prodigal son, my hand reached curiously for the brand new hard-bound copy of the New English Bible just published in England and gleaming at me with its bright red jacket cover and crisp clean pages! How blessed I have been in that one never-to-be-forgotten encounter in a Bookstore with the Bible, when G-d had humbled me to the point that I was willing and teachable at last to see what He might have to say to my contritely broken life. In Walter Elwell's definitive Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, (Second Edition, p.765-766), there is an article "Messianic Judaism," which refers to my book on the subject. Consequently, this translation, the OJB, when it appears, will be seen to arise out of the mainstream of believers and not the cult fringes or the heretical periphery. This too is the L-rd's doing. If you think not, visit my house in Oakland City, Indiana, sometime, and, while there, ask yourself just how such a translation as this could have ever come forth from such an unexpected place without an unspeakable amount of help from the L-rd (1C 1:27). But I also thank the L-rd for his unsung workers who helped me format this translation on computer, an extended list that space will not allow room for, but whose names are inscribed in the Sefer HaChayyim referred to in Moshiach's Letter through the Shliach Sha'ul to the Brit Chadasha Kehillah in Philippi, chapter 4, verse 3. May the Holy Name of Eloheinu be praised forever! And may you, standing there looking at this Bible in that "Read-More Bookstore" where you are, yes, may you also have a wonderful adventure just as I have had in my life with the Word of G-d. And may a great blessing overtake you, too, such that you also shall not be able to outrun it. And, most importantly, may Hashem bless you in Moshiach Tzidkeinu ad olam! Omein! Dr. Phillip E. Goble Brooklyn, New York Labor Day weekend, 2002 THE ORTHODOX JEWISH TANAKH TORAH NEVI'IM KETUVIM Baruch HaBah Melech HaMoshiach THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE BERESHIS PARASHAS BERESHIS|||1||| |1| In the beginning Elohim created hashomayim (the heavens, Himel) and haaretz (the earth). |2| And the earth was tohu vavohu (without form, and void); and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Ruach Elohim was hovering upon the face of the waters. |3| And Elohim said, Let there be light: and there was light [Tehillim 33:6,9]. |4| And Elohim saw the light, that it was tov (good); and Elohim divided the ohr (light) from the choshech (darkness). |5| And Elohim called the light Yom (Day), and the darkness He called Lailah (Night). And the erev (evening) and the boker (morning) were Yom Echad (Day One, the First Day, Mk 16:2). |6| And Elohim said, Let there be a raki'a (expanse, dome, firmament) in the midst of the mayim (waters), and let it divide the mayim from the mayim. |7| And Elohim made the raki'a, and divided the waters under the raki'a from the waters which were above the raki'a; and it was so. |8| And Elohim called the raki'a Shomayim (Heaven). And the erev and the boker were Yom Sheni (Day Two, the Second Day). |9| And Elohim said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the yabashah (dry land) appear; and it was so. |10| And Elohim called the yabashah Eretz (Earth); and the mikveh (gathering together of the waters) called He Seas; and Elohim saw that it was tov. |11| And Elohim said, Let the earth bring forth vegetation, the herb yielding zera (seed), and the fruit tree yielding pri (fruit) after its kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth; and it was so. |12| And the earth brought forth vegetation, and herb yielding zera (seed) after its kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after its kind; and Elohim saw that it was tov (good). |13| And the erev and the boker were Yom Shlishi (Day Three, the Third Day).[T.N. Shemot 19:11,15-16; Yehoshua 1:11; Bamidbar 19:11-16; Yonah 1:17; Hoshea 6:2; Melachim Bais 20:5,8; Ezra 6:15; 1C 15:4,20; Notice on Yom HaShlishi (The Third Day, Gen.1:13) is Yom HaBikkurim of the Bria HaOlam, the Firstfruits of the Creation of the World; just as Hoshea 6:2 indicates Yom HaShlishi is the time marker of the Techiyas HaMesim (Resurrection of the Dead), so Yom HaBikkurim fell on Nisan 16, and became a time marker delineating the countdown from the Resurrection of Moshiach Nisan 16, 3793 (33 C.E.) to Shavuos, 3793 and the Matan HaTevilah BeRuach Hakodesh. Lv 23:11]. |14| And Elohim said, Let there be lights in the raki'a of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for otot (signs), and for mo'adim (seasons), and for yamim (days), and shanim (years); |15| And let them be for lights in the raki'a of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so. |16| And Elohim made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; He made the kokhavim (stars) also. |17| And Elohim set them in the raki'a of the heaven to give light upon the earth, |18| And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and Elohim saw that it was tov. |19| And the erev and the boker were Yom Revi'i (Day Four, the Fourth Day). |20| And Elohim said, Let the waters bring forth an abundance of living creatures, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open raki'a of heaven. |21| And Elohim created great sea creatures, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth in abundance, after their kind, and every winged fowl after its kind; and Elohim saw that it was tov. |22| And Elohim blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. |23| And the erev and the boker were Yom Chamishi (Day Five, the Fifth Day). 24| And G-d said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind; and it was so. |25| And G-d made the beast of the earth after its kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after its kind; and G-d saw that it was tov. |26| And G-d said, Let Us make man in Our tzelem, after Our demut: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon ha'aretz (the earth). |27| So G-d created humankind in His own tzelem, in the tzelem Elohim (image of G-d) created He him; zachar (male) and nekevah (female) created He them. |28| And G-d blessed them, and G-d said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. |29| And G-d said, Hinei, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of kol ha'aretz (all the earth), and every etz (tree), in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food. |30| And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for food; and it was so. |31| And G-d saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was tov me'od (very good). And the erev and the boker were Yom Shishi (Day Six, the Sixth Day).T.N. BERESHIS ("in the beginning") begins the first fifth of the "book of the Law of Moses" (SEFER TORATMOSHE 2Kgs. 14:6). In view of the watchword "Sola Scriptura" (the Bible alone is authoritative for faith), we must allow inerrantly inspired Scriptural texts to give us our normative interpretation of Scripture. For example, Genesis chps 1-11 is about the creation of the inhabited world. And the book begins with Adam, who is told to govern the world as the son of G-d, being a type of "the one who is to come" (see Gn 5:1; 1Chr 1:1; Lk 3:38; Ro 5:14; Gn 3:15; 49:10), as expectation begins to build regarding a promised eschatological Redeemer- Ruler, a Moshi'a (Savior) from sin and death, a Great "Descendant" or "Seed" (ZERA). In Genesis we see the "fall," that is, "creation being subjected to futility" (Ro 8:20) and the whole human race being brought under the bondage of the law of sin and death (Ro 6:23). Ro 5:12 tells us how to exegete (interpret) Gn 3. Adam is an epochal figure whose failure and fall determines the character of all encompassed in his epoch; that is, all of Hashem-alienated humanity in need of the epoch of the second Adam, the New Man, the Moshiach, and especially in need of the new life that flows from the Kingdom of G-d and G-d's great King, Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach. When we look at the first man lying on the ground dead (Gn. 5:5), the Bible is showing us the first sinner of a sinning/dying epoch which only the Moshiach's death brings to an end (2C 5:14). But the point here is that humankind in Gn 1:27 is "HaAdam" in Hebrew, and that verse shows Man as having both singularity and plurality (oto and otam, Gn 1:27), thus reflecting his Maker, Elohim, Who also has singularity and plurality in His complexity (compare echad in Gn 2:24 and Dt 6:4). Gn 1:26 uses a majestic plural but the Doctrine of Hashem's Kedushah Meshuleshet (Threefold Holiness) is seen in Elohim (Gn 1:1) and the Dvar Hashem (Gn 1:3) and the Ruach Elohim (Gn 1:2) engaged in the work of creation. When we look at the original language in Zohar Vol.3 Ha'azinu page 288b, we see the text which comments on Daniel 7:13, where the Son of Man Moshiach comes to the Ancient of Days. The Zohar says, "The Ancient One is described as being two (TAVRESH-YUD-FINAL NOON,Aramaic for "two")." G-d and the Moshiach, called by Daniel "the Ancient of Days" and "the Son of Man" are obviously a picture of G-d as "two" in the Bible, and the Zohar owns up to this fact, calling G-d "two." Two sentences prior to that on the same page, the original language of the text of the Zohar says, "The Ancient Holy One [i.e. G-d, Daniel 7:13] is found with three (TAV-LAMMED-TAV, Aramaic for "three") heads or chiefs (RESH-YUD-SHIN-YUD-FINAL NOON Aramaic for "heads"), which are united in One (CHET-DALET Aramaic for "one")." Here we have a picture in the Zohar of the raz (mystery) of G-d's unity, the distinct havayot (subsistences, modes of being) in Adonoi Echad. G-d is echad,one, but a complex one, not three g-ds, only Hashem, One, but with Hashem's Kedushah Meshuleshet (Threefold holiness, Isa 6:3. Granted, Genesis answers all kinds of questions that only get raised for the reader later in the Bible. So it is only when you read Obadiah and Malachi that you really start asking, "Who are the Edomites and when do we first hear of their patriarch Esau?" So Genesis should be read last as well as first. Similarly, when Gog and Magog are mentioned in Ezekiel, when Javan (Greece) is mentioned in Zecharyah (Zechariah), when Babylon (Shinar--Gn14:1) is mentioned in Isaiah, when the Canaanites and the Moabites and the Amorites (Noah's son Ham is the father of the Amorites) are discussed in the rest of the Scriptures, Genesis is the place to turn to get the Bible's theological introduction and overview of their significance and determinative character. Genesis introduces us theologically to all the major questions of life. What is mankind? What is marriage? What is work and rest from work in relation to G-d? In Proverbs it says that wine is a mocker (20:1). How does the Bible first introduce us to that fact? (Hint: see Gn. Chp 9. Read also Lv. 10:8-11; Nu. 6:l4; Lk 1:15; Ro. 14:2l.) How did the evil of polygamy begin? (Note Gn. 4:19 and Lamech's overweening desire for both women and violence--see Gn. 2:24 on monogamy.) What is sin? What is guilt? Does man have to sin? (See Gn. 4:7). How in the human heart did wickedness begin and proliferate over the earth? How did it happen that the lifeblood was set apart as holy in the beginning, when G-d began to institute blood sacrifice as a necessary aspect of the faith of Abraham? Where did Moshe Rabbeinu and Yosef and the Bnei Yisroel come from? How did bondage, especially bondage in Egypt, come about? How can spiritual bondage be circumcised and rolled away from the human heart so that we might be awakened to personal da'as of G-d and become his true sons? Adam, Abel, Seth, Enosh, Enoch, Noah, Shem, Arphachshad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah and Abraham show us sons of G-d, whereas the son the Serpent become a brood "Lamech's" swallowed in a flood of wrath. The coming "Descendant" is the "zera HaIsha (the seed of the woman)" and is also part of the promise given to Abraham. Ga 3:16 interprets in this Messianic sense Gn 12:7; 13:15; 17:7; 22:18 and 24:7. Gd promised many descendents but the fact that the word ZERA or SPERMA is singular Rav Sha'ul takes as a Messianic reference, not merely a reference to the nation. Rav Sha'ul sees the notion of promise, including a promised eschatological covenant (Gn 17:2), as central to the book of Genesis, because the Exodus from Egypt, the conquering of the land of Israel, the coming the King Moshiach, and his inheritance of the nations are all an unfolding of the promise that has its beginning in Genesis (the word "Genesis" is from a Greek word meaning "origin"). Since a gracious promise from a sovereign G-d who creates out of nothing negates any notion of salvation through meritorious works- righteousness, Rav Sha'ul relies on Moses and Habakkuk to say "amen" when Rav Sha'ul teaches that righteousness was credited to Abraham's faith when Abraham became the father of all (Jewish people and Gentiles alike) who believe (see Gn 15:6; Dt 7:7-8; 9:4-6; Habakkuk 2:4). This is the teaching of Moshiach in Yn 6:28-29. Although the book of Genesis tells us the origin of everything from marriage to polygamy and from the Edomites to the Sodomites, Rav Sha'ul shows us the most important doctrine that originates from Genesis, the doctrine of justification by faith alone (Ro 3:28). Important prophecies in Genesis are these: one descendent of Abraham will bless the nations (see Gn 12:1-4; Isa 49:5-6); Abraham's descendants will be slaves 400 years in a land not their own (Genesis 15:13); Abraham's descendants will be delivered in the fourth generation (Gn 15:14-16); the land of Canaan would be given to Abraham's descendants as an inheritance (Gn 15:16-21) and the promise would be given graciously and miraculously through Yitzchak (Isaac) (Gn 17:21; 21:12). |||2||| Thus HaShomayim and Ha'Aretz were finished, and all the tza'va of them. |2| And on Yom HaShevi'i Elohim finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the Yom HaShevi'i from all His work which He had made. |3| Vayevarech Elohim et Yom HaShevi'i, and set it apart as kadosh: because that in it shavat (He had rested) from all His work which bara Elohim (G-d created) and made. |4| These are the toldot of HaShomayim and of Ha'Aretz when they were created, in the Yom that Hashem Elohim made Eretz v'Shomayim, |5| And every plant of the sadeh was not yet in ha'aretz, and every herb of the sadeh had not yet yitzmach (sprung up, T.N. Moshiach is Tzemach [Zecharyah 3:8]); for Hashem Elohim had not caused it to rain upon ha'aretz, and there was not an adam (man) la'avod (to till, to work) haadamah (the ground). |6| But there went up a mist from ha'aretz, and watered the whole face of the adamah. |7| And Hashem Elohim formed the adam of the aphar min haadamah, and breathed into his nostrils the nishmat chayyim; and the adam became a nefesh chayyah. |8| And Hashem Elohim planted a gan (garden) eastward in Eden; and there He put the adam whom He had formed. |9| And out of the adamah made Hashem Elohim to spring up (T.N. see verse 5) kol etz (every tree) that is pleasing to the sight, and tov for food; the Etz HaChayyim (Tree of Life) also in the midst of the gan (garden), and the Etz HaDa'as Tov v'Rah (see 3:22, i.e., representing moral autonomy; contrast Exodus 9:20-21 where the Dvar Hashem is the guide of life, even for Gentiles). |10| And a nahar (river) flowed out of Eden to water the gan (garden); and from there it divided, and became four headwaters. |11| The shem of the first is Pishon; that is it which winds through the kol eretz Chavilah, where there is zahav;|12| And the zahav of that land is tov; there is [the gemstone] bedolach and the even (gemstone) hashoham [T.N.: this onyx gemstone is used in the construction of the Kohen Gadol's Bigdei HaKodesh] |13| And the shem of the second nahar is Gihon; the same is it that winds through kol eretz Cush. |14| And the shem of the third nahar is Chiddekel (Tigris [see Daniel 10:4]): that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth nahar is Euphrates. |15| And Hashem Elohim took the adam and put him in the Gan Eden la'avod (to till, to work) it and to be shomer over it. |16| And Hashem Elohim commanded the adam, saying, Of every etz of the gan thou mayest freely eat; |17| But of the Etz HaDa'as Tov v'Rah, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the yom that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. |18| And Hashem Elohim said, It is not tov that the adam should be alone; I will make him an ezer (a helper) suitable for him.|19| And out of the adamah Hashem Elohim formed every beast of the sadeh, and every oph HaShomayim; and brought them unto the adam to see what he would name them; and whatsoever the adam named kol nefesh chayyah, that was shmo. |20| And the adam gave shemot to all behemah, and to the oph HaShomayim, and to every beast of the sadeh; but for Adam there was not found an ezer for him. |21| And Hashem Elohim caused a tardemah (deep sleep) to fall upon the adam, and he slept; and He took from one of his tzalelot (sides, ribs), and closed up the basar in the place thereof; |22| And the tzela (rib), which Hashem Elohim had taken from the adam, made He an isha, and brought her unto the adam. |23| And the adam said, This is now etzem of my etzem, and basar of my basar; she shall be called Isha, because she was taken out of Ish. |24| Therefore shall an ish leave his av and his em, and shall cleave unto his isha: and they shall be basar echad. |25| And they were both arummim (naked ones), the adam and his isha, and were not ashamed. |||3||| Now the Nachash was more arum (cunning, crafty, wiley) than any beast of the sadeh which Hashem Elohim had made. And he said unto the isha, Really? Hath Elohim said, Ye shall not eat of kol etz hagan? |2| And the isha said unto the Nachash, We may eat of the p'ri etz hagan; |3| But of the p'ri haEtz which is in the middle of the gan (garden), Elohim hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. |4| And the Nachash said unto the isha, Ye shall not surely die; |5| For Elohim doth know that in the yom ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be like Elohim, knowing tov and rah. |6| And when the isha saw that HaEtz was tov for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and HaEtz to be desired to make one have seichel, she took of the p'ri thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her ish with her; and he did eat. |7| And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were eirummim (naked ones); and they sewed aleh te'enah (fig leaves) together, and made themselves khagorot (loin covering girdles). |8| And they heard the kol of Hashem Elohim walking in the gan in the cool of the day; and HaAdam and his isha hid from the presence of Hashem Elohim amongst the etz hagan. |9| And Hashem Elohim called unto HaAdam, and said unto him, Where art thou? |10| And he said, I heard Thy voice in the gan (garden), and I was afraid, because I was eirom (naked); and so I hid. |11| And He said, Who told thee that thou wast eirom (naked)? Hast thou eaten of HaEtz, which I commanded thee that thou not eat thereof? |12| And HaAdam said,The isha whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of HaEtz, and I did eat. |13| And Hashem Elohim said unto the isha, What is this that thou hast done? And the isha said, The Nachash beguiled me, and I did eat. |14| And Hashem Elohim said unto the Nachash, Because thou hast done this, thou art arur (cursed) above kol habehemah, and above every beast of the sadeh; upon thy gakhon (belly) shalt thou go, and aphar shalt thou eat all the days of thy life; |15| And I will put eivah (enmity,personal hostility [see Ezekiel 35:5]) between thee and HaIsha (see HaAlmah, Yeshayah 7:14), and between thy zera and her Zera; it shall bruise thy rosh, and thou shalt crush his akev (heel). |16| Unto HaIsha He said, I will greatly multiply thy itzavon ([labor] pain) and thy childbearing; in pain thou shalt bring forth banim; and thy teshukah (longing, desire) shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. |17| And unto Adam He said, Because thou paid heed unto the voice of thy isha, and hast eaten of HaEtz, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it, arurah (cursed) is haadamah because of thee; in itzavon (pain,suffering, see verse 16) shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; |18| Kotz also and dardar shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the esev of the sadeh; |19| In the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat lechem, till thou return unto haadamah; for out of it wast thou taken; for aphar thou art, and unto aphar shalt thou return. |20| And HaAdam called the shem of his isha Chavah (Eve); because she was the Em kol chai. |21| Unto Adam also and to his isha did Hashem Elohim make kesonos ohr, and clothed them. |22| And Hashem Elohim said, See, HaAdam is become like one of Us, knowing tov v'rah; and now, lest he put forth his yad, and take also of HaEtz HaChayyim, and eat, and chai l'olam (live forever); |23| Therefore Hashem Elohim sent him forth from the Gan Eden, to work haadamah from which place he was taken. |24| So He drove out HaAdam; and He placed miKedem (at the east) of the Gan Eden HaKeruvim, and a flaming cherev which was ever-turning, to be shomer over the Derech Etz HaChayyim (the Way of the Tree of Life, see Yn 14:6 on Derech). |||4||| And HaAdam knew Chavah (Eve) his isha; and she conceived, and bore Kayin (Cain), and said, Kaniti (I have acquired) ish with Hashem. |2| And again she bore his ach Hevel (Abel). And Hevel was a ro'eh tzon, but Kayin was an oved adamah (tiller of soil). |3| And in ketz yamim it came to pass, that Kayin brought of the p'ri haadamah a minchah unto Hashem. |4| And Hevel, he also brought of the bechorot of his tzon and of the chelev thereof. And Hashem regarded [with favor, respect] unto Hevel and to his minchah: |5| But unto Kayin and to his minchah He had not regard . And Kayin was very angry, and his countenance fell. |6| And Hashem said unto Kayin, Why art thou angry? And why is thy countenance fallen? |7| If thou doest right, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not right, chattat croucheth at the petach. And unto thee shall be its teshukah (desire), and thou must rule over it. |8| And Kayin talked with Hevel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the sadeh, that Kayin rose up against Hevel his brother, and killed him. |9| And Hashem said unto Kayin, Where is Hevel thy brother? And he said, I know not; am I shomer achi (my brother's keeper)? |10| And He said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's dahm crieth unto Me from haadamah. |11| And now art thou arur (cursed) from haadamah, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's dahm from thy hand; |12| When thou tillest haadamah, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her ko'ach (strength); na (restless fugitive) vanad (and a wanderer, nomad) shalt thou be in ha'aretz. |13| And Kayin said unto Hashem, My avon (iniquity, punishment for guilt) is greater than I can bear. |14| See, Thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the adamah; and from Thy face shall I be hidden and I shall be a na (restless fugitive) vanad (and a wanderer, nomad) in ha'aretz; and it shall come to pass, that whoever findeth me shall kill me. |15| And Hashem said unto him, Therefore whoever killeth Kayin, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And Hashem placed an ot (mark) upon Kayin, so that none finding him should kill him. |16| And Kayin went out from the presence of Hashem, and dwelt in Eretz Nod, east of Eden. |17| And Kayin knew his isha; and she conceived, and bore Chanokh (Enoch); and he built an ir (city), and called the shem of the ir, after the shem beno, Chanokh (Enoch). |18| And unto Chanokh (Enoch) was born Irad; and Irad fathered Mechuyael; and Mechuyael fathered Metushael; and Metushael fathered Lamech. |19| And Lamech took unto him two nashim; the shem of the one was Adah, and the shem of the second Tzilah. |20| And Adah bore Yaval; he was the av of such as dwell in ohel, and have mikneh. |21| And his brother's shem was Yuval; he was the av of all such as play kinnor (harp) and ugav (flute). |22| And Tzilah, she also bore Tuval-Kayin, a forger of every cutting tool of nechoshet and barzel; and the achot of Tuval-Kayin was Naamah. |23| And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Tzilah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, give heed to my speech; for I have slain an ish for my wounding, and a yeled for my chabburah (see Ga.6:17). |24| If Kayin (Cain) shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and seven times over. |25| And Adam knew his isha again; and she bore a ben, and called shmo Shet; for Elohim, said she, hath appointed me another zera in place of Hevel, whom Kayin killed. |26| And to Shet, to him also there was born a ben; and he called shmo Enosh; then began men to call upon the Shem of Hashem. |||5||| This is the Sefer Toldot Adam. In the yom that barah Elohim Adam, in the demut Elohim He made him; |2| Zakhar and nekevah He created them; and blessed them, and called the shem of them "Adam," in the yom when they were created. |3| And Adam lived a hundred and thirty shanah and fathered in his own demut and after his tzelem (image) and called shmo Shet: |4| And the days of Adam after he had fathered Shet were shemoneh me'ot shanah; and he fathered banim and banot: |5| And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty shanah: and he died. |6| And Shet lived a hundred and five shanah, and fathered Enosh; |7| And Shet lived after he fathered Enosh eight hundred and seven shanah, and fathered banim and banot: |8| And all the days of Shet were nine hundred and twelve shanah; and he died. |9| And Enosh lived ninety shanah, and fathered Kenan; |10| And Enosh lived after he fathered Kenan eight hundred and fifteen shanah, and fathered banim and banot; |11| And all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five shanim; and he died. |12| And Kenan lived seventy shanah and fathered Mahalal'el; |13| And Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalal'el eight hundred and forty shanah, and fathered banim and banot; |14| And all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten shanim; and he died. |15| And Mahalal'el lived sixty and five shanah, and fathered Yered; |16| And Mahalal'el lived after he fathered Yered eight hundred and thirty shanah, and fathered banim and banot; |17| And all the days of Mahalal'el were eight hundred ninety and five shanah; and he died. |18| And Yered lived a hundred sixty and two shanah, and he fathered Chanoch (Enoch): |19| And Yered lived after he fathered Chanoch (Enoch) eight hundred shanah, and fathered banim and banot; |20| And all the days of Yered were nine hundred sixty and two shanah; and he died. |21| And Chanoch lived sixty and five shanah, and fathered Metushelach; |22| And Chanoch walked with HaElohim after he fathered Metushelach three hundred shanah, and fathered banim and banot; |23| And all the days of Chanoch were three hundred sixty and five shanah; |24| And Chanoch walked with HaElohim; and he was not; for Elohim took him. |25| And Metushelach lived a hundred eighty and seven shanah, and fathered Lamech. |26| And Metushelach lived after he fathered Lamech seven hundred eighty and two shanah, and fathered banim and banot; |27| And all the days of Metushelach were nine hundred sixty and nine shanah; and he died. |28| And Lamech lived a hundred eighty and two shanah and fathered ben; |29| And he called shmo Noach, saying, Zeh yenachamenu (this shall comfort us) in our work and toil of our hands, because of the adamah which Hashem hath cursed. |30| And Lamech lived after he fathered Noach five hundred ninety and five shanah, and fathered banim and banot; |31| And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven shanah; and he died. |32| And Noach was five hundred years old; and Noach fathered Shem, Cham, and Yephet. |||6||| And it came to pass, when HaAdam began to multiply on the face of ha'adamah, and banot were born unto them, |2| That the bnei HaElohim saw the banot HaAdam that they were tovot; and they took them nashim of all which they chose. |3| And Hashem said, My Ruach [Hakodesh] shall not always strive with Adam, for that he also is basar: yet his yamim shall be a hundred and twenty shanah. |4| HaNefilim were on ha'aretz in those yamim; and also after that, when the bnei HaElohim came in unto the banot HaAdam, and they bore children to them, the same became gibborim which were of old, men of renown. |5| And Hashem saw that the wickedness of HaAdam was great in ha'aretz and that every yetzer (inclination) of the machshevot (thoughts) of his lev was only rah (evil) continually. |6| And Hashem relented that He had made HaAdam on ha'aretz, and He was hurt in His lev. |7| And Hashem said, I will wipe out HaAdam whom I have created from the face of ha'adamah; both Adam, and Behemah, and the Remes and the Oph HaShomayim; for I relent that I have made them. |8| But Noach found chen (grace, unmerited favor) in the eyes of Hashem. [NOACH] |9| These are the toldot of Noach; Noach was an ish tzaddik and tamim among those of his time, and Noach's halachah was with HaElohim. |10| And Noach fathered three banim: Shem, Cham, and Yephet. |11| Ha'aretz also was corrupt before HaElohim, and ha'aretz was filled with chamas. |12| And Elohim looked upon ha'aretz, and, hinei, it was corrupt; for kol basar had corrupted his derech upon ha'aretz. |13| And Elohim said unto Noach, The ketz (end) of kol basar is come before Me; for ha'aretz is filled with chamas because of them; and, hineni, I will destroy them with ha'aretz. |14| Make thee a tevah (ark) of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the tevah (ark), and shalt coat it within and without with tar. |15| And this is how thou shalt build it: the length of the tevah (ark) shall be three hundred cubits, the width of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. |16| A roof shalt thou make to the tevah (ark), and thou shalt finish it to a cubit from the top; and the door of the tevah (ark) shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third decks shalt thou make it. |17| And, hineni, I, even I, do bring a mabbul of waters upon ha'aretz, to destroy kol basar, wherein is the ruach chayyim, from under Shomayim; and everything that is in ha'aretz shall perish. |18| But with thee will I establish My brit (covenant); and thou shalt come into the tevah (ark), thou, and thy banim, and thy isha, and the nashim of thy banim with thee. |19| And of every living thing of kol basar, two of every kind shalt thou bring into the tevah (ark), to keep them alive with thee; they shall be zachar and nekevah. |20| Of birds after their kind, and of behemah after their kind, of every remes of ha'adamah after its kind, two of every kind shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. |21| And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for ochel for thee, and for them. |22| Thus did Noach; according to all that Elohim commanded him, so did he. |||7||| And Hashem said unto Noach, Come thou and all thy bais into the tevah (ark); for thee have I found tzaddik before Me in dor hazeh. |2| Of every behemah hatehorah thou shalt take to thee by sevens; the male and his mate; and of behemah that are not tehorah by two, the male and his mate. |3| Of also Oph HaShomayim by sevens, the zachar and the nekevah; to keep zera alive upon the face of kol ha'aretz. |4| For shivah yamim from now, and I will cause it to rain upon ha'aretz arba'im yom and arba'im lailah; and every living creature that I have made will I wipe out from off the p'nei ha'adamah. |5| And Noach did according unto all that Hashem commanded him. |6| And Noach was shesh me'ot shanah when the mabbul waters were upon ha'aretz. |7| And Noach entered in, and his banim, and his isha, and nashim of his banim with him, into the tevah (ark), because of the waters of the mabbul. |8| Of behemah hatehorah, and of behemah that are not tehorah, and of haoph, and of every thing that creepeth upon ha'adamah, |9| There went in shnayim shnayim unto Noach into the tevah (ark), the zachar and the nekevah, as Elohim had commanded Noach. |10| And it came to pass after shivat hayamim, that the waters of the mabbul were upon ha'aretz. |11| In the six hundredth year of Noach's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of Shomayim were opened. |12| And the geshem was upon ha'aretz arba'im yom and arba'im lailah. |13| On that very yom entered Noach, and Shem, and Cham, and Yephet, the bnei Noach, and Noach's isha, and the three nashim of his banim with them, into the tevah (ark); |14| They, and every beast after its kind, and kol habehemah after their kind, and every remes that crawls upon ha'aretz after its kind, and kol haoph after its kind, every bird of every sort. |15| And they went in unto Noach into the tevah (ark), shnayim shnayim of kol habasar, wherein is the ruach chayyim. |16| And they that went in, went in zachar and nekevah of kol basar, as Elohim had commanded him; then Hashem shut him in. |17| And the mabbul was arba'im yom upon ha'aretz; and the waters increased, and lifted up the tevah (ark), and it rose above ha'aretz. |18| And the waters rose, and were increased greatly upon ha'aretz; and the tevah (ark) floated upon the face of the waters. |19| And the waters rose exceedingly upon ha'aretz; and all the high hills, that were under kol HaShomayim, were covered. |20| Fifteen cubits upward did the waters rise; and the harim were covered. |21| And kol basar perished that moved upon ha'aretz, both of Oph, and of Behemah, and of Beast, and of every Swarming Thing that swarms upon ha'aretz, and kol haadam; |22| All in whose nostrils was the ruach chayyim, of all that was in the dry land, perished. |23| And every living creature was wiped out which was upon the p'nei haadamah, both Adam, and Behemah, and the Remes, and the Oph HaShomayim; and they were wiped out from ha'aretz: and Noach only remained alive, and they that were with him in the tevah (ark). |24| And the waters flooded upon ha'aretz a hundred and fifty days. |||8||| And Elohim remembered Noach, and every living thing, and all the behemah that was with him in the tevah (ark); and Elohim made a ruach to pass over ha'aretz, and the waters subsided; |2| The ma'ayanot (springs) also of the tehom and the floodgates of Shomayim were stopped, and the geshem from Shomayim was restrained; |3| And the waters receded from on ha'aretz continually; and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. |4| And the tevah (ark) rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. |5| And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the rashei heharim seen. |6| And it came to pass at the end of arba'im yom, that Noach opened the chalon (window) of the tevah (ark) which he had made; |7| And he sent forth the orev (raven), which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off ha'aretz. |8| Also he sent forth a yonah (dove) from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the adamah; |9| But the yonah found no manoach (place of rest) for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the tevah, for the waters were on the p'nei kol ha'aretz; then he reached forth his yad, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the tevah (ark). |10| And he waited yet another shivat yamim; and again he sent forth the yonah out of the tevah (ark); |11| And the yonah returned to him in the erev; and, hinei, in her beak was a zayit (olive) leaf freshly plucked; so Noach had da'as that the mayim were abated from off ha'aretz. |12| And he waited yet another shivat yamim; and sent forth the yonah; which returned not unto him again. |13| And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the mayim were dried up from off ha'aretz; and Noach removed the mikhseh (covering) of the tevah (ark), and looked, and, hinei, the surface of the adamah was dry. |14| And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was ha'aretz dry. |15| And Elohim spoke unto Noach, saying, |16| Go forth of the tevah (ark), thou, and thy isha, and thy banim, and the nashim of thy banim with thee. |17| Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of kol basar, both of bird, and of behemah, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon ha'aretz; that they may multiply abundantly on ha'aretz, and be fruitful, and increase upon ha'aretz. |18| And Noach went forth, and his banim, and his isha, and the nashim of his banim with him; |19| Every animal, every remes, and every bird, and whatsoever creepeth upon ha'aretz, after their kinds, went forth out of the tevah (ark). |20| And Noach built a Mizbe'ach unto Hashem; and took of every behemah hatehorah, and of kol haoph hatahor, and offered olot (burnt offerings) on the Mizbe'ach. |21| And Hashem smelled a re'ach hannichoach; and Hashem said in His lev, I will not again curse the adamah any more ba'avur (because of) haAdam; for the yetzer of the lev haAdam is rah from his ne'urim (youth, childhood); neither will I again strike any more every thing living, as I have done. |22| While ha'aretz remaineth, zera (seedtime) and katzir (harvest), and kor (cold) and chom (heat), and kayitz (summer) and choref (winter), and yom and lailah shall not cease. |||9||| Vayevarech Elohim et Noach and his banim, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish ha'aretz. |2| And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of ha'aretz, and upon every bird of the air, upon all that moveth upon ha'adamah, and upon all the dagim of the yam; into your yad are they delivered. |3| Every remes that liveth shall be food for you; even as the yarok esev (green plant) have I given you all. |4| But basar with the nefesh thereof, which is the dahm thereof, shall ye not eat. |5| And surely your dahm of your nefeshot will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the yad haAdam; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the nefesh haAdam. |6| Shofech dahm (one who sheddeth man's blood), by man shall his dahm be shed; for in the tzelem Elohim made He man. |7| And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly on ha'aretz, and multiply therein. |8| And Elohim spoke unto Noach, and to his banim with him, saying, |9| And I, hineni, I establish My brit (covenant) with you, and with your zera after you; |10| And with kol nefesh that is with you, of the bird, of the behemah, and of every animal of ha'aretz with you; from kol yotzei hatevah (all that go out of the ark), to every creature of ha'aretz. |11| And I will establish My brit (covenant) with you, neither shall kol basar yikaret (be cut off, violently killed) any more by the waters of the mabbul; neither shall there be any more mabbul l'shachat (to destroy) ha'aretz. |12| And Elohim said, This is the ot (sign) of the brit (covenant) which I make between Me and you and every nefesh chayyah (living creature) that is with you, for dorot olam (perpetual generations); |13| I do set My keshet (bow) in the anan (cloud), and it shall be for an ot brit between Me and ha'aretz. |14| And it shall come to pass, when I bring an anan over ha'aretz, that the keshet be'anan (rainbow) shall be seen; |15| And I will remember My brit, which is between Me and you and kol nefesh chayyah of kol basar; and the waters shall no more become a mabbul (flood) l'shachat (to destroy) kol basar. |16| And the keshet shall be in the anan; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the brit olam between Elohim and kol nefesh chayyah of kol basar that is upon ha'aretz. 17| And Elohim said unto Noach, This is the ot habrit, which I have established between Me and kol basar that is upon ha'aretz. |18| And the bnei Noach, that went forth of the tevah, were Shem, and Cham, and Yephet; and Cham is the av of Kena'an (Canaan). |19| Shloshah (Three) are the bnei Noach; and of them was the kol ha'aretz populated. |20| And Noach began to be an ish ha'adamah (a man of the soil), and he planted a kerem (vineyard); |21| And he drank of the yayin, and became shikker (intoxicated); and he lay uncovered inside his ohel. |22| And Cham, the av of Kena'an, saw the erom (nakedness) of his av, and told his two achim on the outside. |23| And Shem and Yephet took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and walked backward, and covered the erom of their av; and their faces were turned the other way, and they saw not the erom of their av. |24| And Noach awoke from his yayin, and had da'as of what his ben katan had done unto him. |25| And he said, Arur (cursed) be Kena'an; an eved of avadim shall he be unto his achim. |26| And he said, Baruch Hashem Elohei Shem; and Kena'an shall be his eved. |27| Elohim shall enlarge Yephet, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Kena'an shall be his eved. |28| And Noach lived after the mabbul three hundred and fifty years. |29| And all the days of Noach were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died. |||10||| Now these are the toldot of the Bnei Noach: Shem, Cham, and Yephet; and unto them were banim born after the mabbul (flood). |2| The Bnei Yephet: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Yavan, and Tuval, and Meshech, and Tiras. |3| And the Bnei Gomer: Ashkenaz, and Riphat, and Togarmah. |4| And the Bnei Yavan: Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. |5| By these were the coastlands of the Goyim divided in their lands; every one after his leshon, after their mishpechot, in their Goyim. |6| And the Bnei Cham: Cush, and Mitzrayim, and Phut, and Kena'an. |7| And the Bnei Cush: Seva, and Chavilah, and Savtah, and Raamah, and Savtecha; and the Bnei Raamah: Sheva, and Dedan. |8| And Cush fathered Nimrod; he began to be a gibbor in ha'aretz. |9| He was a gibbor, a hunter before Hashem; therefore it is said, like Nimrod the gibbor, the hunter before Hashem. |10| And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Akkad, and Calneh, in Eretz Shinar. |11| Out of that land he went forth to Asshur, and built Nineveh, and Rechovot-Ir, and Kelach, |12| And Resen between Nineveh and Kelach; the same is haIr Hagedolah. |13| And Mitzrayim fathered Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehavim, and Naphtuchim, |14| And Patrusim, and Casluchim, out of whom came Pelishtim (Philistines), and Caphtorim. |15| And Kena'an fathered Tzidon his bechor, and Chet, |16| And the Yevusi, and the Emori, and the Girgashi, |17| And the Chivvi, and the Arki, and the Sini, |18| And the Arvadi, and the Tzemari, and the Chamati; and afterward were the mishpechot haKena'ani spread abroad. |19| And the boundary of the Kena'ani was from Tzidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Azah (Gaza); as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Amora (Gomorrah), and Admah, and Tzevoyim, even unto Lesha. |20| These are the Bnei Cham, after their mishpechot, after their leshonot, in their territories, and in their Goyim. |21| Also unto Shem avi kol Bnei Ever, and the older brother of Yephet, even to him were offspring born. |22| The Bnei Shem: Elam, and Asshur, and Arpachshad, and Lud, and Aram. |23| And Bnei Aram: Uz, and Chul, and Geter, and Mash. |24| And Arpachshad fathered Shelach; and Shelach fathered Ever. |25| And unto Ever were born two banim: the shem of one was Peleg; for in his days was ha'aretz divided; and his brother's shem was Yoktan. |26| And Yoktan fathered Almodad, and Sheleph, and Chatzarmavet, and Yerach, |27| And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, |28| And Oval, and Avimael, and Sheva, |29| And Ophir, and Chavilah, and Yovav; all these were the Bnei Yoktan. |30| And their moshav (dwelling) was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar har hakedem. |31| These are the Bnei Shem, after their mishpechot, according to their leshonot, in their territories, after their Goyim. |32| These are the mishpechot of the Bnei Noach, after their toldot, in their Goyim; and by these were the Goyim divided/separated in ha'aretz after the mabbul. |||11|||And the kol HaAretz was of one language and of devarim achadim (common words). |2| And it came to pass, as they migrated from the east, that they found a plain in Eretz Shinar; and they dwelt there. |3| And they said one to another, Come, let us make brick, and bake them thoroughly. And they had brick for even (stone), and bitumen had they for mortar. |4| And they said, Come, let us build us an Ir and a Migdal, whose rosh (top) may reach unto Shomayim; and let us make us a shem, otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of kol HaAretz. |5| And Hashem came down to see the Ir and the Migdal, which Bnei HaAdam built. |6| And Hashem said, See, the Am is echad and they have all one language; and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be impossible for them, which they have proposed to do. |7| Come, let Us go down, and there confuse their sefat, that they may not understand one another's language. |8| So Hashem scattered them abroad from there upon the face of kol Ha'Aretz; and they left off building the Ir. |9| Therefore is the shem of it called Babel; because Hashem did there confuse the language of kol Ha'Aretz; and from there did Hashem scatter them abroad upon the face of kol Ha'Aretz. |10| These are the toldot of Shem: Shem was a hundred years old, and fathered Arpachshad two years after the mabbul; |11| And Shem lived after he fathered Arpachshad five hundred shanah, and fathered banim and banot. |12| And Arpachshad lived five and thirty shanah, and fathered Salah; |13| And Arpachshad lived after he fathered Shelach four hundred and three shanim, and fathered banim and banot. |14| And Shelach lived thirty shanah, and fathered Ever; |15| And Shelach lived after he fathered Ever four hundred and three shanah, and fathered banim and banot. |16| And Ever lived four and thirty shanah, and fathered Peleg; |17| And Ever lived after he fathered Peleg four hundred and thirty shanah, and fathered banim and banot. |18| And Peleg lived thirty shanah, and fathered Reu; |19| And Peleg lived after he fathered Reu two hundred and nine shanim, and fathered banim and banot. |20| And Reu lived two and thirty shanah, and fathered Serug; |21| And Reu lived after he fathered Serug two hundred and seven shanim, and fathered banim and banot. |22| And Serug lived thirty shanah, and fathered Nachor; |23| And Serug lived after he fathered Nachor two hundred shanah, and fathered banim and banot. |24| And Nachor lived nine and twenty shanah, and fathered Terach; |25| And Nachor lived after he fathered Terach a hundred and nineteen shanah, and fathered banim and banot. |26| And Terach lived seventy shanah, and fathered Avram, Nachor, and Haran. |27| Now these are the toldot Terach: Terach fathered Avram, Nachor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. |28| And Haran died before his av Terach in the land of his birth, in Ur Kasdim. |29| And Avram and Nachor took them nashim: the shem eshet Avram was Sarai; and the shem eshet Nachor was Milcah, the bat Haran Avi Milcah, and Avi Yiskah. |30| But Sarai was barren; she had no child. |31| And Terach took Avram bno, and ben bno Lot ben Haran, and Sarai his kallah, eshet Avram bno; and they went forth with them from Ur Kasdim, to go into Eretz Kena'an; and they came unto Charan (Haran), and dwelt there. |32| And the days of Terach were two hundred and five shanim; and Terach died in Charan (Haran). [LECH LECHA] |||12|||Now Hashem had said unto Avram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from the bais avicha, unto ha'aretz that I will show thee; |2| And I will make of thee a goy gadol (great nation), and I will bless thee, and make thy shem great; and thou shalt be a berakhah (blessing); |3| And I will bless the one blessing you, and curse him that curses you; and kol mishpochot haadamah shall be blessed through you.[T.N. There is a berakhah in this verse that many do not know but that every true follower of Moshiach should know.] |4| So Avram departed as Hashem had told him; and Lot went with him; and Avram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Charan. |5| And Avram took Sarai his isha, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had amassed, and the nefesh that they had gotten in Charan; and they went forth to go into the land of Kena'an; and they arrived in the land of Kena'an. |6| And Avram passed through the land unto the makom Shechem, unto Elon Moreh. And the Kena'ani was then in ha'aretz. |7| And Hashem appeared unto Avram, and said, Unto thy zera will I give ha'aretz hazot: and there built he a Mizbe'ach unto Hashem, Who appeared unto him. |8| And he removed from there unto the harah mikedem Beit-El, and pitched his tent, having Beit-El on the west, and Ai on the east; and there he built a Mizbe'ach unto Hashem,and called upon the Shem of Hashem. |9| And Avram journeyed, going on still toward the Negev. |10| And there was a ra'av in the land; and Avram went down into Mitzrayim to sojourn there; for the ra'av was severe in ha'aretz. |11| And it came to pass, when he was about to enter into Mitzrayim, that he said unto Sarai his isha, Hinei now, I know that thou art an isha yafeh to look upon; |12| Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his isha; and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. |13| Say, now, thou art my achot; that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my nefesh shall live on account of thee. |14| And it came to pass, that, when Avram was come into Mitzrayim, the Egyptians beheld the isha that she was yafeh me'od. |15| The sarim of Pharaoh also saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh; and the isha was taken into Bais Pharaoh. |16| And he treated Avram well for her sake: and he acquired sheep and oxen, and male donkeys, and avadim, and shfachot, and female donkeys, and camels. |17| And Hashem plagued Pharaoh and his Bais with nega'im gedolim because of Sarai eshet Avram. |18| And Pharaoh summoned Avram and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy isha? |19| Why saidst thou, She is my achot? So I might have taken her to me to wife; now therefore, hinei, thy wife, take her, and go! |20| And Pharaoh commanded his anashim concerning him; and they sent him away, and his isha, and all that he had. |||13|||And Avram went up out of Mitzrayim, he, and his isha, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negev. |2| And Avram was very rich in cattle, in kesef, and in zahav. |3| And he went on his journeys from the Negev even to Beit-El, unto the makom where his ohel had been at the beginning, between Beit-El and Ai; |4| Unto the makom of the Mizbe'ach, which he had built there at the first; and there Avram called on the Shem of Hashem. |5| And Lot also, which walked with Avram, had tzon, and herds, and ohalim. |6| And ha'aretz was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together; for their rechush was rav, so that they could not dwell together. |7| And there was a riv between the ro'im of the herd of Avram and the ro'im of the herd of Lot; and the Kena'ani and the Perizzi dwelt then in ha'aretz. |8| And Avram said unto Lot, Let there be no merivah now between me and thee, and between my ro'im and thy ro'im; for we are achim. |9| Is not the kol ha'aretz before thee? Separate thyself, now, from me; if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. |10| And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Yarden, that it was well watered everywhere, before Hashem destroyed Sodom and Amora, even as the Gan Hashem, like Eretz Mitzrayim, as you go to Tzoar. |11| Then Lot chose for him all the plain of Yarden; and Lot journeyed mikedem (east); and they separated themselves the one from his brother. |12| Avram dwelled in Eretz Kena'an, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his ohel toward Sodom. |13| But the men of Sodom were ra'im and chatta'im before Hashem exceedingly. |14| And Hashem said unto Avram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the makom where thou art northward, and southward and eastward, and westward: |15| For kol ha'aretz which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy zera ad olam (forever). |16| And I will make thy zera as the dust of ha'aretz; so that if a man can number the aphar of ha'aretz, then shall thy zera also be numbered. |17| Arise, walk through ha'aretz in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. |18| Then Avram moved his ohel, and came and dwelt in Elonei Mamre, which is in Chevron, and built there a Mizbe'ach unto Hashem. |||14|||And it came to pass in the yamim of Amraphel Melech Shinar (i.e., Babylon), Aryoch Melech Ellasar, Kedorlaomer Melech Elam, and Tidal Melech Goyim; |2| That these made milchamah with Bera Melech Sodom, and with Birsha Melech Amora (Gomorrah), Shinav Melech Admah, and Shemever Melech Tzevoyim, and the Melech Bela, which is Tzoar. |3| All these were joined together in the Valley of Siddim which is the Yam HaMelach (i.e., Dead Sea). |4| Twelve shanah they served Kedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. |5| And in the fourteenth year came Kedorlaomer, and the melachim that were with him, and they defeated the Rephaim in Ashterot Karnayim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-Kiryatayim, |6| And the Chori in their Mt Seir, as far as Eil-Paran, which is near the midbar. |7| And they turned, and came to En Mishpat, which is Kadesh, and conquered all the country of the Amaleki, and also the Emori, that dwelt in Chazezon-Tamar. |8| And there went out the Melech Sodom, and the Melech Amora (Gomorrah), and the Melech Admah, and the Melech Tzevoyim, and the Melech Bela (the same is Tzoar); and they joined in milchamah with them in the Valley of Siddim; |9| With Kedorlaomer Melech Elam, and with Tidal Melech Goyim, and Amraphel Melech Shinar, and Aryoch Melech Ellasar; four melachim against five. |10| And the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the Melech Sodom and Amora (Gomorrah) they fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain. |11| And they took all the possessions of Sodom and Amora (Gomorrah), and all their ochel, and went their way. |12| And they took Lot, Avram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his possessions, and departed. |13| And there came one that had escaped, and told Avram HaIvri; for he dwelt in Elonei Mamre the Emori, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner; and these were Ba'alei Brit Avram. |14| And when Avram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained men, born in his own bais, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them as far as Dan. |15| And he divided himself against them, he and his avadim, by lailah, and routed them, and pursued them as far as Chovah, which is on the left hand (north) of Damascus. |16| And he recovered all the possessions, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his possessions, and the nashim also, and the people. |17| And the Melech Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the defeat of Kedorlaomer, and of the melachim that were with him, at the Valley of Shaveh, which is the Valley of the King. |18| And Malki-Tzedek Melech Shalem brought forth lechem and yayin and he was the kohen of El Elyon. |19| And he blessed him, and said, Baruch Avram by El Elyon, Creator of Shomayim v'Aretz; |20| And baruch El Elyon, Who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him ma'aser (tithe) of all. |21| And the Melech Sodom said unto Avram, Give me the nefesh and keep the possessions for thyself. |22| And Avram said to the Melech Sodom, I have lifted up mine hand unto Hashem, El Elyon Creator of Shomayim v'Aretz, |23| That I will not take from a thread even to the thong of a sandal, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Avram rich; |24| Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the chelek of the anashim which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their chelek. |||15|||After these things the Devar Hashem came unto Avram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Avram; I am thy mogen, and thy exceeding great sachar (reward). |2| And Avram said, Adonoi Hashem, what wilt Thou give me, since I go childless, and the Ben Meshek of my Bais is this Eliezer of Dameshek (Damascus)? |3| And Avram said, See, to me Thou hast given no zera; and, hinei, one born in my bais is my yoresh (heir). |4| And, hinei, the Devar Hashem came unto him saying, This shall not be thy yoresh; but he that shall come forth out of thine own body shall be thy yoresh. |5| And He brought him forth outside, and said, Look now toward Shomayim, and count the kokhavim, if thou be able to number them; and He said unto him, So shall thy zera be. |6| And he believed in Hashem; and He credited [emunah (faith)] to him as tzedakah (righteousness). |7| And He said unto him, I am Hashem Who brought thee out of Ur Kasdim, to give thee ha'aretz hazot to be the yoresh of it. |8| And he said, Adonoi Hashem, how can I have da'as that I will be its yoresh? |9| And He said unto him, Bring Me a heifer meshuleshet, and a she goat meshuleshet, and a ram meshulash, and a dove, and a pigeon. |10| And he brought unto Him all these, and divided them in two, and laid each half one opposite another; but the birds divided he not. |11| And when the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Avram drove them away. |12| And when the shemesh was going down, a tardemah fell upon Avram; and, hinei, a horror of great darkness fell upon him. |13| And Hashem said unto Avram, Know of a surety that thy zera shall be a ger in a land not their own, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them arba me'ot shanah; |14| And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with rechush gadol (great substance). |15| And thou shalt go to thy avot in shalom; thou shalt be buried at a good old age. |16| But in the fourth generation they shall come back here again; for the avon (iniquity) of the Emori (Amorite) is not yet full. |17| And it came to pass, that, when the shemesh went down, and it was dark, hinei a smoking fire-pot, and a blazing torch passed between those pieces. |18| On that day Hashem cut a brit (covenant) with Avram, saying, Unto thy zera have I given ha'aretz hazot, from the Wadi of Mitzrayim unto the great river, the river Euphrates: |19| [the land of] the Keni, and the Kenizzi, and the Kadmoni, |20| And the Chitti, and the Perizzi, and the Repha'im, |21| And the Emori, and the Kena'ani, and the Girgashi, and the Yevusi. |||16|||Now Sarai Avram's isha bore him no children; and she had a shifchah, an Egyptian, whose shem was Hagar. |2| And Sarai said unto Avram, Hinei now, Hashem hath restrained me from bearing; go now in unto my shifchah; it may be that I may build family by her. And Avram paid heed to the voice of Sarai. |3| And Sarai Avram's isha took Hagar her shifchah the Egyptian, after Avram had dwelt ten years in Eretz Kena'an, and gave her to her husband Avram to be his isha. |4| And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her gevirah was despised in her eyes. |5| And Sarai said unto Avram, My wrong be upon thee; I have given my shifchah unto thy kheyk; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes; Hashem judge between me and thee. |6| But Avram said unto Sarai, Hinei, thy shifchah is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her face. |7| And the Malach Hashem found her by a spring of mayim in the midbar, near the spring on the road to Shur. |8| And he said, Hagar, Sarai's shifchah, from where camest thou? And where wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my gevirah Sarai. |9| And the Malach Hashem said unto her, Return to thy gevirah, and submit thyself under her hands. |10| And the Malach Hashem said unto her, I will multiply thy zera exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. |11| And the Malach Hashem said unto her, See, thou art with child and shalt bear ben, and shalt call shmo Yishmael; because Hashem shema thy oni (misery). |12| And he will be a pere adam; his yad will be against kol, and kol yad against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. |13| And she called the Shem of Hashem Who spoke unto her, El Roi (G-d Who Sees); for she said, Have I also here seen after Him that seeth me? |14| Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; hinei, it is between Kadesh and Bered. |15| And Hagar bore Avram ben; and Avram called shem bno, which Hagar bore, Yishmael (Ishmael). |16| And Avram was fourscore and six shanah when Hagar bore Yishmael to Avram. |||17|||And when Avram was ninety and nine shanah, Hashem appeared to Avram, and said unto him, I am El Shaddai; walk before Me, and be thou tamim (blameless). |2| And I will confirm My brit (covenant) between Me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. |3| And Avram fell on his face; and Elohim talked with him, saying, |4| As for Me, hinei, My brit (covenant) is with thee, and thou shalt be an Av of many Goyim [see 18:18]. |5| Neither shall thy shem any more be called Avram, but thy shem shall be Avraham; for Av hamon Goyim (Father of a multitude of Goyim) have I made thee. [T.N. Ga 3:29 says "And if you belong to Moshiach (YESHAYAH 53:10), then you are of the ZERAH of Avraham Avinu, you are yoreshim (heirs) according to the havtachah (promise).] |6| And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make Goyim of thee, and Melechim shall come out of thee. |7| And I will establish My Brit (covenant) between Me and thee and thy zera after thee in their dorot for a Brit Olam, to be Elohim unto thee, and to thy zera after thee. |8| And I will give unto thee, and to thy zera after thee, the Eretz wherein thou art now a ger, kol Eretz Kena'an, for an Achuzzah (Possession) Olam (Everlasting); and I will be their Elohim. |9| And Elohim said unto Avraham, Thou shalt be shomer over My Brit therefore, thou, and thy zera after thee in the dorot. |10| This is My Brit (covenant), which ye shall be shomer over, between Me and you and thy zera after thee; every zachar among you shall be circumcised. |11| And ye shall circumcise the basar of your arelah; and it shall be an ot brit (sign of the covenant) between Me and you. |12| And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every zachar in your dorot, he that is born in the bais, or bought with kesef of any foreigner, which is not of thy zera. |13| He that is born in thy bais, and he that is bought with thy kesef, must be circumcised; and My Brit shall be in your basar for a Brit Olam. |14| And the arel (uncircumcised) zachar whose basar of his arelah (foreskin) is not circumcised, that nefesh shall be cut off from his people; My Brit hefer (he broke). |15| And Elohim said unto Avraham, As for Sarai thy isha, thou shalt not call her shem Sarai, but Sarah (Princess) shall her shem be. |16| And I will bless her, and give thee ben also of her; yes, will bless her, and she shall give rise to Goyim; melechim of peoples shall be from her. |17| Then Avraham fell upon his face, and yitzchak (laughed), and said in his lev, Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred shanah? And shall Sarah, that is ninety shanah, bear? |18| And Avraham said unto HaElohim, O that Yishmael might live before Thee! |19| And Elohim said, Sarah thy isha shall bear thee ben indeed; and thou shalt call shmo Yitzchak; and I will establish My Brit (covenant) with him for a Brit Olam, and with his zera after him. |20| And as for Yishmael, I have heard thee; hinei, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve nasi'im (princes, rulers) shall he father, and I will make him a goy gadol (great nation). |21| But My Brit (covenant) will I establish with Yitzchak, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at mo'ed hazeh (this set time) next year. |22| And He left off speaking with him, and Elohim went up from Avraham. |23| And Avraham took Yishmael bno, and all that were born in his bais, and all that were bought with his kesef, every zachar among the men of Avraham's bais; and circumcised the basar of their arelah in the very same day, as Elohim had said unto him. |24| And Avraham was ninety shanah and nine, when he was circumcised in the basar of his arelah. |25| And Yishmael bno was thirteen shanah, when he was circumcised in the basar of his arelah (foreskin). |26| In the very same day was Avraham circumcised, and Yishmael bno. |27| And all the men of his bais, born in the bais, and bought with kesef of the foreigner, were circumcised with him. [VAYYERA] |||18|||And Hashem appeared unto him in the terebinth trees of Mamre; and he sat in the entrance of the ohel (tent) in the heat of the day; |2| And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, hinei, Shloshah Anashim (Three Men, [Yeshayah 6:3]) stood by him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the entrance of the ohel, and prostrated himself on the ground, |3| And said, Adonoi [Hashem, see v.13], if now I have found chen (favor) in Thy sight, pass not on by, please, from Thy servant; |4| Let a little water, please, be brought, and wash Thy feet, and rest under haetz (the tree); |5| And I will bring a morsel of bread, and refresh Ye Your hearts; after that Ye shall pass on; because for this purpose are Ye come to Your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. |6| And Avraham hastened into the ohel unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly shlosh measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes. |7| And Avraham ran unto the herd, and brought a calf tender and tov, and gave it unto a servant; and he hasted to prepare it. |8| And he took curds, and cholov (milk), and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under haetz, and they did eat. |9| And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Hinei, in the ohel. |10| And He said, I will certainly return unto thee at this time next year; and, hinei, Sarah thy wife shall have ben (son). And Sarah heard it in the entrance of the ohel, which was behind him. |11| Now Avraham and Sarah were zekenim (old ones) and well stricken in age; and [in childbearing] it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. |12| Therefore Sarah laughed [titzchak, sounds like Yitzchak] within herself, saying, After I am grown old shall I have pleasure, adoni being old also? |13| And Hashem said unto Avraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I which am old of a surety bear a child? |14| Is any thing too hard for Hashem? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, in due season, and Sarah shall have ben (son). |15| Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And He said, Oh yes but thou didst laugh. |16| And the Anashim rose up from thence, and peered toward S'dom; and Avraham went with them to send them on the way. |17| And Hashem said, Shall I hide from Avraham that thing which I do; |18| Seeing that Avraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and kol goyei ha'aretz (all the nations of the earth) shall be blessed in him? |19| For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall be shomer over the Derech Hashem, to do tzedakah and mishpat; that Hashem may bring upon Avraham that which He hath spoken [promised] of him. |20| And Hashem said, Because the outcry of S'dom and Amora is great, and because their sin is very grievous; |21| I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the crying out [for punishment] of it, which is come unto Me; and if not, I will have da'as. |22| And the Men turned their faces from thence, and went toward S'dom; but Avraham stood yet before Hashem. |23| And Avraham drew near, and said, Wilt Thou also destroy the tzaddik with the rasha? |24| Suppose there be fifty tzaddikim within the city; wilt Thou also destroy and not nasa (spare [take away and bear the guilt of, Yeshayah 53:12]) the place lema'an (for the sake of) the fifty tzaddikim that are therein? [IK 3:18] |25| That be far from Thee to do after this manner, to slay the tzaddik with the rasha; and that the tzaddik should be as the rasha, that be far from Thee: Shall not HaShofet Kol Ha'Aretz (the Judge of All the Earth) do mishpat (right)? |26| And Hashem said, If I find in S'dom fifty tzaddikim within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. |27| And Avraham answered and said, Hinei now, I, which am but aphar and ashes, have taken upon me to speak unto Hashem; |28| Suppose there shall lack five of the fifty tzaddikim; wilt Thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And He said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. |29| And he spoke unto Him yet again, and said, Suppose there shall be forty found there. And He said, I will not do it for forty's sake. |30| And he said unto Him, Oh let not Hashem be angry, and I will speak; suppose there shall thirty be found there. And He said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. |31| And he said, Hinei now, I have taken upon me to speak unto Hashem: suppose there shall be twenty found there. And He said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. |32| And he said, Oh let not Hashem be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: suppose asarah (ten, i.e., a minyan) shall be found there. And He said, I will not destroy it for the sake of haasarah (the ten). |33| And Hashem went His way, as soon as He had left communing with Avraham; and Avraham returned unto his makom. |||19|||And there came two malachim to Sodom at erev; and Lot sat in the sha'ar Sodom; and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; |2| And he said, Hinei, adonai (my masters), turn in, now, into the bais avdechem, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Lo; but we will abide the night in the rekhov. |3| And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his bais; and he made them a mishteh (meal, feast), and did bake matzot, and they did eat. |4| But before they lay down, the men of the Ir, even the anshei Sodom, surrounded the bais, from na'ar to zeken, all the people from every quarter [of the city]; |5| And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the anashim which came in to thee halailah (this night)? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them [carnally]. |6| And Lot went outside unto them, and shut the delet after him, |7| And said, Now, achai (my brethren), do not so wickedly. |8| Hinei now, I have two banot which have not known man; now let me bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes; only unto these anashim do nothing; for therefore came they under the tzel (shadow) of my korah (beam, roof). |9| And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn as a ger (alien), and he will now play the shofet; now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed strongly upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break down the delet. |10| But the anashim put forth their yad, and pulled Lot into the bais to them, and shut the delet. |11| And they struck the men that were at the petach of the bais with blindness, both katan and gadol; so that they wearied themselves to find the petach. |12| And the anashim said unto Lot, Hast thou here any one else? Choson (Son-in-law), and thy banim, and thy banot, and whatsoever thou hast in the Ir, bring them out of this makom (place); |13| For we are the mashchitim (ones destroying) this makom (place), because the cry of them is so gedolah before the face of Hashem; and Hashem hath sent us to destroy it. |14| And Lot went out, and spoke unto his chosonim, which were pledged to marry his banot, and said, Up, get you out of makom hazeh; for Hashem is mashchit (destroying) the Ir (City). But he seemed as one that metzachek (joked) unto his chosonim. |15| And when the shachar came, then the malachim urged Lot, saying, Arise, take thy isha, and thy two banot, which are here or thou be swept away in the avon haIr. |16| And while he lingered hesitating, the anashim laid hold upon his yad, and upon the yad of his isha, and upon the yad of his two banot; Hashem being merciful unto him; and they brought him out and set him outside the Ir. |17| And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth outside, that he said, Flee and escape for thy nefesh; look not back behind thee, neither stop thou anywhere in all the plain; flee and escape to the mountain, lest thou be swept away. |18| And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, Adonoi (My L-rd): |19| Hinei now, thy eved hath found chen in Thy sight, and Thou hast magnified Thy chesed, which Thou hast showed unto me in sparing my nefesh; and I cannot flee to escape to the mountain, lest some ra'ah overtake me, and I die; |20| Hinei now, this Ir is near to run unto, and it is a little one; Oh, let me flee to escape there, (is it not mitzar [small]?) and my nefesh shall live. |21| And He said unto him, Hinei, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow the Ir, for the which thou hast spoken. |22| Haste thee, flee to escape there; for I cannot do anything till thou arrive there. Therefore the shem of the Ir was called Tzoar [sounds like mitzar]. |23| The shemesh rose over ha'aretz when Lot entered Tzoar. |24| Then Hashem rained upon Sodom and upon Amora gofrit and eish from Hashem out of Shomayim; |25| And He overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and tzemach (what grew) upon haadamah. |26| But his isha, from behind him, looked back, and she became a netziv melach (pillar of salt). |27| And Avraham got up early in the boker to the makom where he stood there before Hashem; |28| And he looked down toward Sodom and Amora, and toward all the eretz of the plain, and hinei, he saw kitor (smoke, steam) of the eretz go up like kitor of a furnace. |29| And it came to pass, when Elohim destroyed the cities of the plain, that zikron Avraham came to Elohim, and He sent Lot out of the midst of the hafekhah (upheaval, destruction, overthrow), when He overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt. |30| And Lot left Tzoar, and dwelt in the har, and his two banot with him; for he feared to dwell in Tzoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two banot. |31| And the bechirah said unto the younger, Avinu is old, and there is not an ish in ha'aretz to come in unto us after the derech of kol ha'aretz: |32| Come, let us make avinu drink yayin, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve zera by avinu. |33| And they made their av drink yayin balailah: and the bechirah went in, and lay with her av; and he had da'as not when she lay down, nor when she arose. |34| And it came to pass on the next day, that the bechirah said unto the younger, Hinei, I lay yesternight with avi. Let us make him drink yayin halailah also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve zera by avinu. |35| And they made their av drink yayin balailah also; and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he had da'as not when she lay down, nor when she arose. |36| Thus were both the banot of Lot with child by their av. |37| And the bechirah bore ben, and called shmo Moav; the same is the Avi Moav unto this day. |38| And the younger, she also bore ben, and called shmo Ben-Ammi; the same is the Avi Bnei Ammon unto this day. |||20|||And Avraham journeyed from there toward the Negev region, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. |2| And Avraham said of Sarah his isha, She is my achot; and Avimelech Melech Gerar sent, and took Sarah. |3| But Elohim came to Avimelech in a chalom halailah, and said to him, See, thou art met (dead), for the isha which thou hast taken; for she is be'ulat ba'al (married of a husband). |4| But Avimelech had not come near her; and he said, Adonoi, wilt Thou slay also a goy tzaddik? |5| Said he not unto me, She is my achot? and she, even she herself said, He is achi: in the tohm (integrity, guilelessness) of my lev and with clean hands of my innocency have I done this. |6| And HaElohim said unto him in a chalom, Yea, I have da'as that thou didst this in the tohm (integrity, guilelessness) of thy lev; for I also withheld thee from sinning against Me; therefore allowed I thee not to touch her. |7| Now therefore restore the ish his isha; for he is a navi, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live; and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine. |8| Therefore Avimelech rose early in the boker, and called all his avadim, and told all these things in their ears; and the anashim were very afraid. |9| Then Avimelech called Avraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and how have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my mamlechah (kingdom) a chata'ah gedolah (great sin)? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done. |10| And Avimelech said unto Avraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? |11| And Avraham said, Because I thought, Surely the yirat Elohim is not in this place; and they will slay me on account of my isha. |12| And yet indeed she is my achot; she is the bat avi, but not the bat immi; and she became my isha. |13| And it came to pass, when Elohim caused me to wander from my bais avi, that I said unto her, This is thy chesed which thou shalt show unto me; at every place where we shall come, say of me, He is achi. |14| And Avimelech took tzon, and oxen, and avadim, and shfachot, and gave them unto Avraham, and restored to him Sarah his isha. |15| And Avimelech said, Hinei, my land is before thee; dwell where it pleaseth thee. |16| And unto Sarah he said, Hinei, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of kesef; hinei, it is to thee a kesut einayim (covering of the eyes, exoneration), unto all that are with thee, and with all other; thus she was vindicated. |17| So Avraham davened unto Elohim: and Elohim healed Avimelech, and his isha, and his maidservants so that they bore children. |18| For Hashem had fast closed up kol rechem (every womb) of the bais Avimelech, on account of Sarah Avraham's isha. |||21|||And Hashem visited Sarah as He had said, and Hashem did unto Sarah just as He had spoken. |2| For Sarah conceived, and bore Avraham ben in his old age, at the mo'ed (set time) of which Elohim had given promise unto him. |3| And Avraham called the shem of bno that was born unto him, whom Sarah bore to him, Yitzchak. |4| And Avraham circumcised bno Yitzchak at age shemonat yamim, as Elohim had commanded him. |5| And Avraham was a hundred years old, when bno Yitzchak was born unto him. |6| And she said, Elohim hath brought me tzechok (laughter), so that all that hear yitzchak (will laugh) with me. |7| And she said, Who would have said unto Avraham, that Sarah should nurse banim? for I have borne him ben in his old age. |8| And the yeled grew, and was weaned; and Avraham made a mishteh gadol the same day that Yitzchak was weaned. |9| And Sarah saw the ben of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had borne unto Avraham, metzachek (mocking, scoffing). |10| Therefore she said unto Avraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her ben: for the ben of this bondwoman shall not be heir with beni (my son), even with Yitzchak. |11| And the thing was very grievous in the eyes of Avraham because of bno. |12| And Elohim said unto Avraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the na'ar, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, shema (pay heed) unto her voice; for in Yitzchak shall thy zera be called. |13| And also of the ben haamah will I make a nation, because he is thy zera. |14| And Avraham rose up early in the boker, and took lechem, and a skin of mayim, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the yeled, and sent her away; and she departed, and wandered in the midbar of Beer- Sheva. |15| And the mayim in the skin was done, and she cast the yeled under one of the bushes. |16| And she went off, and sat down about a bowshot away: for she thought, Let me not see the mot hayeled. And she sat there nearby, and lifted up her voice, and wept. |17| And Elohim heard the voice of the na'ar; and the Malach Elohim called to Hagar out of Shomayim, and said unto her, Mah lach, Hagar? fear not; for Elohim hath heard the voice of the na'ar where he is. |18| Arise, lift up the na'ar, and hold him in thine yad; for I will make him a goy gadol. |19| And Elohim opened her eyes, and she saw a be'er of mayim; and she went, and filled the skin with mayim, and gave the na'ar drink. |20| And Elohim was with the na'ar; and he grew, and dwelt in the midbar, and became a roveh keshet (an archer). |21| And he dwelt in the midbar of Paran: and his em got him an isha out of Eretz Mitzrayim. |22| And it came to pass at that time, that Avimelech and Phichol the sar tz'va of his spoke unto Avraham, saying, Elohim is with thee in all that thou doest: |23| Now therefore swear unto me here before Elohim that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my child, nor with my descendant: but according to the chesed that I have showed thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the eretz wherein thou hast sojourned. |24| And Avraham said, I will swear. |25| And Avraham reproved Avimelech because of a be'er hamayim, which Avimelech's avadim had violently seized. |26| And Avimelech said, I know not who hath done this thing; neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but today. |27| And Avraham took tzon and oxen, and gave them unto Avimelech; and both of them made a brit. |28| And Avraham set apart seven ewe lambs of the tzon by themselves. |29| And Avimelech said unto Avraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set apart by themselves? |30| And he said, For these sheva ewe lambs shalt thou accept of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have dug this well. |31| Therefore he called that place Beer-Sheva; because there they swore an oath both of them. |32| Thus they made a brit at Beer-Sheva: then Avimelech rose up, and Phichol the sar tzeva of his, and they returned into eretz Pelishtim. |33| And Avraham planted an eshel (tamarisk tree) in Beer-Sheva, and called there on the Shem of Hashem El Olam. |34| And Avraham sojourned in eretz Pelishtim yamim rabbim. |||22|||And it came to pass after these things, that G-d did test Avraham, and said unto him, Avraham: and he said, Hineini (Behold, here I am). |2| And He said, Take now thy son, thine ben yachid (only son) Yitzchak, whom thou lovest, and get thee into eretz Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. |3| And Avraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and took two of his servants with him, and Yitzchak his son, and cut the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which G-d had told him. |4| Then on Yom HaShlishi Avraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. [1C 15:3] |5| And Avraham said unto his servants, Abide ye here with the donkey; and I and the young man will go over there and nishtachaveh (we will worship) and we will come back again to you. |6| And Avraham took atzei haolah (the wood of the burnt offering), and laid it upon Yitzchak his son; and he took the eish (fire) in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. |7| And Yitzchak spoke unto Avraham his father, and said, Avi (My father): and he said, Hineini, beni (Here am I, my son). And he said, Hinei, the eish (fire) and the wood: but where is the seh (lamb) for a burnt offering? [YESHAYAH 53:7] |8| And Avraham said, My son, G-d will provide Himself a seh (lamb) for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. |9| And they came to the place which G-d had told him of; and Avraham built a mizbe'ach there, and laid the wood in order, and made the akedah (binding) of Yitzchak his son, and laid him on the mizbe'ach upon the wood. |10| And Avraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. |11| And the Malach Hashem called unto him out of Shomayim, and said, Avraham, Avraham: and he said, Hineini. |12| And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the young man, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest G-d, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine ben yachid from Me. |13| And Avraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and hinei behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Avraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. [YESHAYAH 53:8] |14| And Avraham called the name of that place Hashem yireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of Hashem it shall be provided. |15| And the Malach Hashem called unto Avraham out of Shomayim the second time, |16| And said, By Myself have I sworn, saith Hashem, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine ben yachid: |17| That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy zera as the stars of the skies, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy zera shall possess the gate of his enemies; |18| And in thy zera shall kol goyei ha'aretz be blessed; because thou hast obeyed My voice. |19| So Avraham returned unto his servants, and they rose up and went together to Beer Sheva; and Avraham dwelt at Beer Sheva. |20| And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Avraham, saying, Hinei, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nachor; |21| Utz his bechor (firstborn), and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram, |22| And Kesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Yidlaph, and Betuel. |23| And Betuel fathered Rivkah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nachor, Avraham's brother. |24| And his pilegesh, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tevach, and Gacham, and Tachash, and Maachah. [CHAYYE SARAH] |||23|||And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty shanah old: these were the shnei chayyai Sarah. |2| And Sarah died in KiryatArba; the same is Chevron in eretz Kena'an: and Avraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. |3| And Avraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke unto the bnei Chet, saying, |4| I am a ger and a sojourner with you: give me an achuzzah (possession) of a kever with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. |5| And the bnei Chet answered Avraham, saying unto him, |6| Hear us, adoni: thou art a nasi Elohim among us; in the choice of kevareinu bury thy dead; none of us shall with- hold from thee his kever, that thou mayest bury thy dead. |7| And Avraham stood up, and bowed himself to the am ha'aretz, even to the bnei Chet. |8| And he spoke to them, saying, If it be your nefesh (will) that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intercede for me to Ephron ben Tzochar, |9| That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his sadeh; for the kesef maleh (full price) he shall give it me for an achuzzah (possession) of a kever amongst you. |10| And Ephron dwelt among the bnei Chet: and Ephron the Chitti answered Avraham in the hearing of the bnei Chet, even of all that went in at the sha'ar of his city, saying, |11| Lo, adoni, hear me; the sadeh give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the bnei ammi give I it thee; bury thy dead. |12| And Avraham bowed down himself before the am ha'aretz. |13| And he spoke unto Ephron in the hearing of the am ha'aretz, saying, But if thou wilt give it, now, hear me; I will give thee kesef for the sadeh; accept it from me, and I will bury my dead there. |14| And Ephron answered Avraham, saying unto him, |15| Pay heed, adoni, unto me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of kesef; what is that between me and thee? bury therefore thy dead. |16| And Avraham paid heed unto Ephron; and Avraham weighed to Ephron the kesef, which he had named in the hearing of the bnei Chet four hundred shekels of kesef, according to current merchant value. |17| And the sadeh of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was near Mamre, the sadeh, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the sadeh, that were in all the borders round about, were deeded |18| Unto Avraham for a property in the presence of the bnei Chet, before all that went in at the sha'ar of his city. |19| And after this, Avraham buried Sarah his isha in the cave of the sadeh of Machpelah near Mamre; the same is Chevron in the eretz Kena'an. |20| And the sadeh, and the cave that is therein, were deeded unto Avraham for an achuzzah of a kever by the bnei Chet. |||24|||And Avraham was zaken (old), and well stricken in age; and Hashem berach (had blessed) Avraham in all things. |2| And Avraham said unto his eved zekan of his bais, hamoshel (that ruled) over all that he had, Put, now, thy yad under my thigh; |3| And I will make thee swear by Hashem Elohei HaShomayim and Elohei Ha'Aretz, that thou shalt not take an isha unto beni of the Banot HaKena'ani, among whom I dwell: |4| But thou shalt go unto my eretz, and to my moledet, and take an isha unto beni Yitzchak. |5| And the eved said unto him, What if the isha will not be willing to follow me unto HaAretz Hazot: must I needs bring binecha back unto ha'aretz from where thou camest? |6| And Avraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not beni to there! |7| Hashem Elohei HaShomayim, which took me from bais avi,and from the eretz of my moledet, and which spoke unto me, and that swore unto me, saying, Unto thy zera will I give HaAretz Hazot; He shall send His Malach before thee, and thou shalt take an isha unto beni from there. |8| But if the isha will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be released from this my shevu'ah (oath): only do not bring back beni there. |9| And the eved put his yad under yerech Avraham adonav, and swore to him concerning this matter. |10| And the eved took asarah gemalim of the gemalei adonav, and departed; for all the goods of adonav were in his yad: and he arose, and went to Aram Naharayim, [Mesopotamia] unto the Ir Nachor. |11| And he made his gemalim to kneel down outside the Ir near a be'er hamayim at the time of erev, at the time that women go out to draw mayim. |12| And he said Hashem Elohei adoni Avraham, now, send me success this yom, and show chesed unto adoni Avraham. |13| Hinei, I stand here by the ayin hamayim; and the banot anshei haIr come out to draw mayim; |14| And let it come to pass, that the na'arah to whom I shall say, Let down thy jug, now, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy gemalim drink also; let the same be she that Thou hast appointed for Thy eved Yitzchak; and thereby shall I know that Thou hast showed chesed unto adoni. |15| And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, hinei, Rivkah came out, who was born to Beituel Ben Milcah, eshet Nachor, achi Avraham, with her jug upon her shoulder. |16| And the na'arah was tovat mareh me'od, a betulah, neither had any ish known her: and she went down to haayenah (the spring), and filled her jug, and came up. |17| And the eved hurried to meet her, and said, Let me, now, drink a little mayim of thy jug. |18| And she said,Drink, adoni: and she hasted, and let down her jug upon her yad, and gave him drink |19| And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw for thy gemalim also, until they have done drinking. |20| And she hasted, and emptied her jug into the trough, and ran back unto the be'er to draw, and drew for all his gemalim. |21| And the ish gazed at her and held his peace, so as to have da'as whether Hashem had made his derech prosperous or not. |22| And it came to pass, just as the gemalim had done drinking, that the ish took a nezem zahav (gold ring) by weight a beka, and two tzemidim (bracelets) by weight ten [shekels of] gold for her wrists; |23| And said, Whose bat art thou? Tell me, now: is there makom in the bais of thy av for us to spend the night? |24| And she said unto him, I am Bat Beituel Ben Milcah, the ben which she bore unto Nachor. |25| She said moreover unto him, We have both teven (straw) and mispo (fodder) enough, and makom (room) to spend the night. |26| And the ish bowed his head, worshiped Hashem. |27| And he said, Baruch Hashem Elohei adoni Avraham, who hath not left destitute of His chesed and His emes; I being on the derech, Hashem led me to the bais achei adoni. |28| And the na'arah ran, and told them of her bais em these things. |29| And Rivkah had an ach, shmo Lavan; Lavan ran out unto the ish, unto the ayin. |30| And it came to pass, when he saw the nezem and tzemidim upon the wrists of his achot, and when he heard the words of Rivkah his achot, saying, Thus spoke the ish unto me; that he came unto the ish; and, hinei, he stood by the gemalim at the ayin. |31| And he said, Come in, Baruch Hashem; why standest thou outside? for I have prepared the bais, and makom for the gemalim. |32| And the ish came into the bais; and he unloaded his gemalim, and gave teven (straw) and mispo (fodder) for the camels, and mayim to wash his raglayim, and the raglei haanashim that were with him. |33| And there was set ochel before him to eat; but he said, I will not eat, until I have stated my business. And he said, Speak on. |34| And he said, I am eved Avraham. |35| And Hashem hath blessed adoni me'od; and he is become prospered: and He hath given him tzon, and bakar, and kesef, and zahav, and avadim, and shefachot, and gemalim, and chamorim. |36| And Sarah eshet adoni bore ben to adoni when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath. |37| And adoni made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take an isha for beni of the Banot HaKena'ani, in whose land I dwell; |38| But thou shalt go unto bais avi, to my mishpokhot, and take an isha unto beni. |39| And I said unto adoni, What if the isha will not follow me. |40| And he said unto me, Hashem, before Whom I walk, will send His Malach with thee, and prosper thy derech; and thou shalt take an isha for beni of my mishpokhot, and of my bais avi; |41| Then shalt thou be released from this my oath, when thou comest to my mishpokhot; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be released from my oath. |42| And I came this day unto the ayin, and said, Hashem Elohei adoni Avraham, if now Thou do prosper my derech which I go; |43| Hinei, I stand by the ayin hamayim; and it shall come to pass, that when haAlmah [haAlmah used here as synonym for na'arahbetulah, Genesis 24:16; see Isaiah 7:14, p.vii-xii] cometh forth to draw mayim, and I say to her, Give me, now, a little mayim of thy jar to drink; |44| And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy gemalim; let the same be the isha whom Hashem hath appointed for ben adoni. |45| And before I had done davening in mine lev, hinei, Rivkah came forth with her jar on her shoulder; and she went down unto ha'ayenah, and drew: and I said unto her, Let me drink, now. |46| And she made haste, and let down her jar from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy gemalim drink also: so I drank, and she made the gemalim drink also. |47| And I asked her, and said, Whose bat art thou? And she said, Bat Beituel Ben Nachor, the ben whom Milcah bore unto him: and I put the nezem upon her face, and the tzemidim upon her wrists. |48| And I bowed down my head, and worshiped Hashem, and I said a berakhah to Hashem Elohei adoni Avraham, which had led me on the derech emes to take bat achi adoni for bno. |49| And now if ye will do