sent forth the dove, which returned not any more unto him. 13 Therefore in the six hundredth and first year, the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were lessened upon the earth, and Noe opening the covering of the ark, looked, and saw that the face of the earth was dried. 14 In the second month, the seven and twentieth day of the month, the earth was dried. 15 And God spoke to Noe, saying: 16 Go out of the ark, thou and thy wife, thy sons and the wives of thy sons with thee. 17 All living things that are with thee of all flesh, as well in fowls as in beasts, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, bring out with thee, and go ye upon the earth: increase and multiply upon it. 18 So Noe went out, he and his sons: his wife, and the wives of his sons with him. 12 And God said: This is the sign of the covenant which I give between me and you, and to every living soul that is with you, for perpetual generations. 13 I will set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be the sign of a covenant between me and between the earth. 14 And when I shall cover the sky with clouds, my bow shall appear in the clouds: 15 And I will remember my covenant with you, and with every living soul that beareth flesh: and there shall no more be waters of a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 And the bow shall be in the clouds, and I shall see it, and shall remember the everlasting covenant, that was made between God and every living soul of all flesh which is upon the earth. 17 And God said to Noe: This shall be the sign of the covenant, which I have established, 19 And all living things, and cattle, and creep-between me and all flesh upon the earth. ing things that creep upon the earth, according to their kinds, went out of the ark. 20 And Noe built an altar unto the Lord: and taking of all cattle and fowls that were clean, offered holocausts* upon the altar. 21 And the Lord smelledt a sweet savour, and said: I will no more curse the earth for the sake of man: for the imagination and thought of man's heart are prone to evil from his youth: therefore I will no more destroy every living soul as I have done. 22 All the days of the earth, seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, suminer and winter, night and day, shall not cease. CHAP. IX. 18 And the sons of Noe, who came out of the ark, were Sem, Cham, and Japheth: and Cham is the father of Chanaan. 19 These three are the sons of Noe: and from these was all mankind spread over the whole earth. 20 And Noe a husbandman began to till the ground, and planted a vineyard. 21 And drinking of the wine was made drunk,‡ and was uncovered in his tent. 22 Which when Cham the father of Chanaan had seen, to wit, that his father's nakedness was uncovered, he told it to his two brethren without. 23 But Sem and Japheth put a cloak upon their shoulders, and going backward, covered the nakedness of their father: and their faces were turned away, and they saw not their father's God blesseth Noe; forbiddeth blood; and pro- A said to them: Increase, and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 And let the fear and dread of you be upon all the beasts of the earth, and upon all the fowls of the air, and all that move upon the earth: all the fishes of the sea are delivered into your hand. 3 And every thing that moveth, and liveth shall be meat for you: even as the green herbs have I delivered them all to you: 4 Saving that flesh with blood you shall not eat. 5 For I will require the blood of your lives at the hand of every beast, and at the hand of man, at the hand of every man, and of his brother, will I require the life of man. 6 Whosoever shall shed man's blood, his blood shall be shed: for man was made to the image of God. 7 But increase you and multiply, and go upon the earth, and fill it. 8 Thus also said God to Noe, and to his sons with him: 9 Behold I will establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you: 10 And with every living soul, that is with you, as well in all birds, as in cattle and beasts of the earth, that are come forth out of the ark, and in all the beasts of the earth. 11 I will establish my covenant with you, and all flesh shall be no more destroyed with the waters of a flood, neither shall there be from henceforth a flood to waste the earth. 24 And Noe awaking from the wine, when he had learned what his younger son had done to him, 25 He said: Cursed be Chanaan,§ a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 26 And he said: Blessed be the Lord God of Sem, be Chanaan his servant. 27 May God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Sem, and Chanaan be his servant. 28 And Noe lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. 29 And all his days were in the whole nine hundred and fifty years: and he died. СНАР. Х. The genealogy of the children of Noe, by whom 2 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Thubal, and Mosoch, and Thiras. 3 And the sons of Gomer: Ascenez and Riphath and Thogorma. Drunk. Noe by the judgment of the fathers was not guilty of sin, in being overcome by wine; because he knew not the strength of it. § Cursed be Chanaan. The curses, as well as the blessings, of the patriarchs were prophetical: And this in particular is here recorded by Moses, for the children of Israel, who were to possess the land of Chanaan. But why should Chanaan be cursed for his father's fault? The Hebrews answer that he being then a boy was the first that saw his grandfather's nakedness, and told his father Cham of it; and joined with him in laugh+ Smelled, &c. A figurative expression, de-ing at it: which drew upon him, rather than upon noting that God was pleased with the sacrifices the rest of the children of Cham, this prophetical which his servant offered. *Holocausts, or whole burnt offerings. In which the whole victim was consumed by fire upon God's altar, and no part was reserved for the use of priest or people. curse. 4 And the sons of Javan: Elisa and Tharsis, Cetthim and Dodanim. CHAP. XI. 5 By these were divided the islands of the The tower of Babel. The confusion of tongues. Gentiles in their lands, every one according to The genealogy of Sem down to Abram. his tongue and their families in their nations. 6 And the sons of Cham: Chus, and Mesraim, AND the earth was of one tongue, and of the and Phuth, and Chanaan. 7 And the sons of Chus: Saba, and Hevila, and Sabatha, and Regma, and Sabatacha. The sons of Regma: Saba, and Dadan. 8 Now Chus begot Nemrod: he began to be mighty on the earth. 9 And he was a stout hunterf before the Lord. Hence came a proverb: Even as Nemrod the stout hunter before the Lord. same speech. 2 And when they removed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Sennaar, and dwelt in it. 3 And each one said to his neighbour: Come, let us make brick, and bake them with fire. And they had brick instead of stones, and slime instead of mortar: 4 And they said: Come, let us make a city and a tower, the top whereof may reach to 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was heaven: and let us make our names famous Babylon, and Arach, and Achad, and Chalanne before we be scattered abroad into all lands. in the land of Sennaar. 5 And the Lord came down to see the city and 11 Out of that land came forth Assur, and the tower, which the children of Adam were built Ninive, and the streets of the city, and building. Chale. 6 And he said: Behold, it is one people, and all 12 Resen also between Ninive and Chale: this have one tongue: and they have begun to do this, is the great city. neither will they leave off in their designs, till they accomplish them in deed. 13 And Mesraim begot Ludim, and Anamim and Laabim, Nephtuim, 14 And Phetrusim, and Chasluim; of whom came forth the Philistines, and the Caphtorim. 15 And Chanaan begot Sidon his first-born, the Hethite, 16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorrhite, and the Gergesite, 17 The Hevite and Aracite: the Sinite, 18 And the Aradian, the Samarite, and the Hamathite: and afterwards the families of the Chanaanites were spread abroad. 19 And the limits of Chanaan were from Sidon as one comes to Gerara even to Gaza, until thou enter Sodom and Gomorrha, and Adama, and Seboim even to Lesa. 20 These are the children of Cham in their kindreds and tongues, and generations and lands, and nations. 21 Of Sem also the father of all the children of Heber, the elder brother of Japheth, sons were born. 22 The sons of Sem: Elam and Assur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram. 2 The sons of Aram: Us, and Hull, and Gether; and Mes. 24 But Arphaxad begot Sale, of whom was born Heber. 25 And to Heber were born two sons: the name of the one was Phaleg, because in his days was the earth divided: and his brother's name Jectan. 26 Which Jectan begot Elmodad, and Saleph, and Asarmoth, Jare, 27 And Aduram, and Uzal, and Decla, 28 And Ebal, and Abimael, Saba, 29 And Ophir, and Hevila, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Jectan. 30 And their dwelling was from Messa as we go on as far as Sephar, a mountain in the * The islands. So the Hebrews called all the remote countries, to which they went by ships from Judea, as Greece, Italy, Spain, &c. 7 Come ye therefore, let us go down, and there confound their tongue, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8 And so the Lord scattered them from that place into all lands, and they ceased to build the city. 9 And therefore the name thereof was called Babel, because there the language of the whole earth was confounded: and from thence the Lord scattered them abroad upon the face of all coun tries. 10 These are the generations of Sem: Sem was a hundred years old when he begot Arphaxad, two years after the flood. 11 And Sem lived after he begot Arphaxad, five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. 12 And Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Sale. 13 And Arphaxad lived after he begot Sale, three hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters. 14 Sale also lived thirty years, and begot Heber. 15 And Sale lived after he begot Heber, four hundred and three years: and begot sons and daughters. 16 And Heber lived thirty-four years, and begot Phaleg. 17 And Heber lived after he begot Phaleg, four hundred and thirty years: and begot sons and daughters. 18 Phaleg also lived thirty years, and begot Reu. 19 And Phaleg lived after he begot Reu, two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters. 20 And Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Sarug. 21 And Reu lived after he begot Sarug, two hundred and seven years: and begot sons and daughters. 22 And Sarug lived thirty years, and begot Nachor. 23 And Sarug lived after he begot Nachor, two hundred years: and begot sons and daughters. 24 And Nachor lived nine and twenty years, and begot Thare. 25 And Nachor lived after he begot Thare, a hundred and nineteen years: and begot sons and daughters. 26 And Thare lived seventy years, and begot Abram, and Nachor, and Aran. A stout hunter. Not of beasts but of men; whom by violence and tyranny he brought 27 And these are the generations of Thare: under his dominion. And such as he was, Thare begot Abram, Nachor, and Aran. And not only in the opinion of men, but before the Aran begot Lot. Lord, that is, in his sight who cannot be de ceived. Babel. That is, confusion. 28 And Aran died before Thare his father, in the land of his nativity in Ur of the Chaldees. 29 And Abram and Nachor married wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai: and the name of Nachor's wife, Melcha the daughter of Aran father of Melcha, and father of Jescha. And he had sheep and oxen and he-asses, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels. 17 But the Lord scourged Pharao and his house with most grievous stripes for Sarai Abram's wife. 30 And Sarai was barren, and had no children. 18 And Pharao called Abram, and said to 31 And Thare took Abram his son, and Lot the him: What is this that thou hast done to me? son of Aran, his son's son, and Sarai his daughter- Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy in-law, the wife of Abram his son, and brought them out of Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Chanaan: and they came as far as Haran, and dwelt there. 32 And the days of Thare were two hundred and five years, and he died in Haran. CHAP. XII. The call of Abram and the promise made to him. He sojourneth in Chanaan, and then by occasion of a famine goeth down to Egypt. AND the Lord said to Abram: Go forth out out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and which I shall show thee. 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and magnify thy name, and thou shalt be blessed. 3 I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee, and IN THEE shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed: 4 So Abram went out as the Lord had commanded him, and Lot went with him: Abram was seventy-five years old when he went forth from Haran. 5 And he took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all the substance which they had gathered, and the souls which they had gotten in Haran: and they went out to go into the land of Chanaan. And when they were come into it, 6 Abram passed through the country unto the place of Sichem, as far as the noble vale: now the Chanaanite was at that time in the land. 7 And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him: To thy seed will I give this land. And he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 And passing on from thence to a mountain, that was on the east side of Bethel, he there pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: he built there also an altar to the Lord, and called upon his name. 9 And Abraham went forward going, and proceeding on to the south. 10 And there came a famine in the country: and Abram went down into Egypt, to sojourn there: for the famine was very grievous in the land. 11 And when he was near to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife: I know that thou art a beautiful woman: 12 And that when the Egyptians shall see thee, they will say: She is his wife: and they will kill|| me, and keep thee. 13 Say therefore, I pray thee, that thou art my sister: that I may be well used for thee, and that my soul may live for thy sake. 14 And when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians saw the woman that she was very beautiful. 15 And the princes told Pharao, and praised her before him: and the woman was taken into the house of Pharao. 16 And they used Abram well for her sake. wife? 19 For what cause didst thou say, she was thy sister, that I might take her to my wife? Now therefore there is thy wife, take her, and go thy way. 20 And Pharao gave his men orders concerning Abram: and they led him away and his wife, and all that he had. CHAP. XIII. Abram and Lot part from each other. God's promise to Abram. his Abram went un out of But he and ND up Egypt, him into the south. 2 And he was very rich in possession of gold and silver. 3 And he returned by the way that he came, from the south to Bethel, to the place where before he had pitched his tent between Bethel and Hai: 4 In the place of the altar which he had made before, and there he called upon the name of the Lord." 5 But Lot also who was with Abram, had flocks of sheep, and herds of beasts, and tents. 6 Neither was the land able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, and they could not dwell together. 7 Whereupon also there arose a strife between the herdsmen of Abram and of Lot. And at that time the Chanaanite and the Pherezite dwelled in that country. 8 Abram therefore said to Lot: Let there be no quarrel, I beseech thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen: for we are brethren. 9 Behold the whole land is before thee: depart from me, I pray thee: if thou wilt go to the left hand, I will take the right: if thou choose the right hand, I will pass to the left. 10 And Lot lifting up his eyes, saw all the country about the Jordan, which was watered throughout before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha as the paradise of the Lord, and like Egypt as one comes to Segor. 11 And Lot chose to himself the country about the Jordan, and he departed from the east: and they were separated one brother from the other. 12 Abram dwelt in the land of Chanaan: and Lot abode in the towns, that were about the Jordan, and dwelt in Sodom. 13 And the men of Sodom were very wicked, and sinners before the face of the Lord beyond measure. 14 And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him: Lift up thy eyes, and look from the place, wherein thou now art, to the north and to the south, to the east and to the west. 15 All the land, which thou seest, I will give to thee, and to thy seed for ever. 16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: If any man be able to number the dust of the earth, he shall be able to number thy seed also. My sister. This was no lie; because she was 17 Arise and walk through the land in the his niece, being daughter to his brother Aran, length, and in the breadth thereof: for I will give and therefore, in the style of the Hebrews, she it to thee. might truly be called his sister; as Lot is called Abraham's brother, Gen. xiv. 14. See Gen. xx. 12. 18 So Abram removing his tent, came, and dwelt by the vale of Mambre, which is in Hebron: and he built there an altar to the Lord. CHAP. XIV. The expedition of the four kings: the victory of 2 Made war against Bara king of Sodom, and against Bersa king of Gomorrha, and against Sennaab king of Adama, and against Semeber king of Seboim, and against the king of Bala, which is Segor. 3 All these came together into the woodland vale, which now is the salt sea. 4 For they had served Chodorlahomor twelve years, and in the thirteenth year they revolted from him. 20 And blessed be the most high God, by And he gave him the tithes of all. whose protection, the enemies are in thy hands. 21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram: Give me the persons, and the rest take to thyself 22 And he answered him: I lift up my hand to the Lord God the most high, the possessor of heaven and earth, 23 That from the very woof-thread unto the shoe latchet, I will not take of any things that are thine, lest thou say: I have enriched Abram: 24 Except such things, as the young men have eaten, and the shares of the men, that came with me, Aner, Escol, and Mambre: these shall take their shares. CHAP. XV. 5 And in the fourteenth year came Chodorla- God promiseth seed to Abram. His faith, sacrihomor, and the kings that were with him: and fice and vision. Astarothcarnaim, and TOW they smote the Raphaim in the othea in save of Northwhen these things were done, the word saying: Fear not, Abram, I am thy protector, and thy reward exceeding great. Cariathaim. 6 And the Chorreans in the mountains of Seir, even to the plains of Pharan, which is in the wilderness. 7 And they returned, and came to the fountain of Misphat, the same is Cades: and they smote all the country of the Amalecites, and the Amorrhean that dwelt in Asasonthamar. 8 And the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrha, and the king of Adama, and the king of Seboim, and the king of Bala, which is Segor, went out: and they set themselves against them in battle array in the woodland vale: 9 To wit, against Chodorlahomor king of the Elamites, and Thadal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Sennaar, and Arioch king of Pontus: four kings against five. 10 Now the woodland vale had many pits of slime. And the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrha turned their backs and were overthrown there: and they that remained fled to the mountain. 11 And they took all the substance of the Sodomites, and Gomorrhites, and all their victuals, and went their way: 12 And Lot also, the son of Abram's brother, who dwelt in Sodom, and his substance. 13 And behold one, that had escaped, told Abram the Hebrew, who dwelt in the vale of Mambre the Amorrhite, the brother of Escol, and the brother of Aner: for these had made a league with Abram. 14 Which when Abram had heard, to wit, that his brother Lot was taken, he numbered of the servants born in his house, three hundred and eighteen well appointed: and pursued them to Dan. 15 And dividing his company, he rushed upon them in the night: and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hoba, which is on the left hand of Damascus. 16 And he brought back all the substance, and Lot his brother with his substance, the women also and the people. 17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after he returned from the slaughter of Chodorlahomor, and of the kings that were with him in the vale of Save, which is the king's vale. 18 But Melchisedech the king of Salem, bringing forth bread and wine, for he was the Priest of the most high God, 19 Blessed him, and said: Blessed be Abram by the most high God, who created heaven and earth. Of Slime. Bituminis. This was a kind of pitch, which served for mortar in the building of Babel, Gen. xi. 3. and was used by Noe in pitching the ark. 2 And Abram said: Lord God, what wilt thou give me? I shall go without children: and the son of the steward of my house is this Damascus Eliezer. 3 And Abram added: But to me thou hast not given seed: and lo my servant born in my house, shall be my heir. 4 And immediately the word of the Lord came to him, saying: He shall not be thy heir: but he that shall come out of thy bowels, him shalt thou have for thy heir. 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said to him: Look up to heaven and number the stars if thou canst. And he said to him: So shall thy seed be. 6 Abram believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice. 7 And he said to him: I am the Lord who brought thee out from Ur of the Chaldees to give thee this land, and that thou mightest possess it. 8 But he said: Lord God, whereby may I know that I shall possess it? 9 And the Lord answered, and said: Take me a cow of three years old, and a she-goat of three years, and a ram of three years, a turtle also, and a pigeon. 10 And he took all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid the two pieces of each one against the other: but the birds he divided not. 11 And the fowls came down upon the carcases, and Abram drove them away. 12 And when the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a great and darksome horror seized upon him. 13 And it was said unto him: Know thou beforehand that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land not their own, and they shall bring them under bondage, and afflict them four hundred years. 14 But I will judge the nation which they shall serve, and after this they shall come out with great substance. 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall return hither: for as yet the iniquities of the Amorrhites are not at the full until this present time. 17 And when the sun was set, there arose a dark mist, and there appeared a smoking furnace, and a lamp of fire passing between those divisions. 18 That day God made a covenant with Abram, saying: To thy seed will I give this land from the river of Egypt even to the great river Euphrates. 19 The Cineans, and Cenezites, the Cedmonites, 20 And the Hethites, and the Pherezites, the Raphaim also, 21 And the Amorrhites and the Chanaanites, Abram: but thou shalt be called Abraham:† and the Gergesites, and the Jebusites. Egyptian named Agar, 2 She said to her husband: Behold, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: go in unto my handmaid, it may be I may have children of her at least. And when he agreed to her request, 3 She took Agar, the Egyptian her handmaid, ten years after they first dwelt in the land of Chanaan, and gave her to her husband to wife.* 4 And he went in to her. But she perceiving that she was with child, despised her mistress. 5 And Sarai said to Abram: Thou doest unjustly with me: I gave my handmaid into thy bosom, and she perceiving herself to be with child, despiseth me. The Lord judge between me and thee. 6 And Abram made answer and said to her: Behold thy handmaid is in thy own hand, use her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai afflicted her, she ran away. 7 And the Angel of the Lord having found her, by a fountain of water in the wilderness, which is in the way to Sur in the desert, 8 He said to her: Agar, handmaid of Sarai,| whence comest thou? and whither goest thou? And she answered: I flee from the face of Sarai my mistress. 9 And the Angel of the Lord said to her: Return to thy mistress, and humble thyself under her hand. 10 And again he said: I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, and it shall not be numbered for multitude. 11 And again: Behold, said he, thou art with child, and thou shalt bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Ismael, because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. 12 He shall be a wild man: his hand will be against all men, and all men's hands against him: and he shall pitch his tents over-against all his brethren. 13 And she called the name of the Lord that spoke unto her: Thou the God who hast seen me. For she said: Verily here have I seen the hinder parts of him that seeth me. because I have made thee a father of many nations. 6 And I will make thee increase exceedingly, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. me and thee, and between thy seed after thee in 7 And I will establish my covenant between their generations, by a perpetual covenant: to be a God to thee, and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will give to thee, and to thy seed the land of thy sojournment, all the land of Chanaan for a perpetual possession, and I will be their God. 9 Again God said to Abraham: And thou therefore shalt keep my covenant, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 10 This is my covenant which you shall observe between me and you, and thy seed after thee: All the male-kind of you shall be circumcised: 11 And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, that it may be for a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 An infant of eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man-child in your generations: he that is born in the house, as well as the bought servant shall be circumcised, and whosoever is not of your stock: 13 And my covenant shall be in your flesh for a perpetual covenant. 14 The male, whose flesh of his foreskin shall not be circumcised, that soul shall be destroyed out of his people: because he hath broken my covenant. 15 God said also to Abraham: Sarai thy wife thou shalt not call Sarai, but Sara. 16 And I will bless her, and of her I will give thee a son, whom I will bless, and he shall become nations, and kings of people shall spring from him. 17 Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, saying in his heart: shall a son, thinkest thou, be born to him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sara that is ninety years old bring forth? 18 And he said to God: O that Ismael may live before thee. 19 And God said to Abraham: Sara thy wife shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name Isaac, and I will establish my covenant with him for a perpetual covenant, and with his seed after him. 20 And as for Ismael I have also heard thee. 14 Therefore she called that well, the well of Behold, I will bless him, and increase, and multihim that liveth and seeth me. The same is be-ply him exceedingly: he shall beget twelve chiefs, tween Cades and Barad. 15 And Agar brought forth a son to Abram: who called his name Ismael. 16 Abram was fourscore and six years old when Agar brought him forth Ismael. CHAP. XVII. The covenant of circumcision. AND after he began to be ninety and nine years old, the Lord appeared to him: and said unto him: I am the almighty God: walk before me, and be perfect. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee: and I will multiply thee exceedingly. 3 Abram fell flat on his face. and I will make him a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sara shall bring forth to thee at this time in the next year. 22 And when he had left off speaking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 And Abraham took Ismael his son, and all that were born in his house: and all whom he had bought, every male among the men of his house. and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin forthwith the very same day, as God had commanded him. 24 Abraham was ninety and nine years old, when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ismael his son was full thirteen years 4 And God said to him: I am, and my cove-old at the time of his circumcision. nant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name be called any more 26 The self same day was Abraham circumcised and Ismael his son. 27 And all the men of his house, as well they that were born in his house, as the bought servants and strangers were circumcised with him. To wife. Plurality of wives, though contrary to the primitive institution of marriage, Gen. ii. 24. was by divine dispensation allowed to the patriarchs; which allowance seems to have con- ↑ Abraham. Abram in the Hebrew, signifies tinued during the time of the law of Moses. But a high father: but Abraham, the father of the Christ our Lord reduced marriage to its primitive multitude: Sarai signifies my Lady, but Sara institution. St. Matt. xix. absolutely Lady. |