Reply to Stan: Book of Abraham (Part 2)

This is the second part of my reply to Stan Barker. To read part 1, go here: http://entreated.blogspot.com/2007/04/my-reply-to-stan-barker-book-of-abraham.html .

The following is from "Examining the Book of Abraham" by Kevin Mathie (http://tinyurl.com/349hu5 ). "LDS author Grant Palmer explains:

The astronomical phrases and concepts in the Abraham texts were also common in Joseph Smith's environment. For example, in 1816 Thomas Taylor published a two-volume work called The Six Books of Proclus on the Theology of Plato. Volume 2 (pp. 140-146) contains phrases and ideas similar to the astronomical concepts in Abraham 3 and Facsimile No. 2. In these six pages, Taylor calls the planets "governors" and uses the terms "fixed stars and planets" and "grand key." Both works refer to the sun as a planet receiving its light and power from a higher sphere rather than generating its own light through hydrogen-helium fusion (cf. Fac. 2, fig. 5). LDS scholar R. Grant Athay, a research astronomer and director of the University of Colorado Observatory, has written, "At the time that the Book of Abraham was translated ... the energy source of the sun was unknown," and "the concept of one star influencing another was also a common concept of the time" (R. Grant Athay, "Astronomy in the Book of Abraham," Book of Abraham Symposium (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Institute of Religion, 3 Apr. 1970), ix, 60-61). Further reflecting nineteenth-century cosmology, Taylor (cf. Abraham 3:4-10) describes the progression of time among the universal bodies. Like Abraham 3:16-19, certain people of Joseph Smith's day also believed in progressive orders of orbs and the intelligences that inhabited them. According to Athay:

They believed that the surface of the sun was solid, and that it was inhabited by human beings. In fact, they believed that it was inhabited by man. They also believed that all the planets in the solar system were inhabited by man, and the moon as well ... [T]he concept of multiple-world systems, multiple dwellings of man ... was a rather common topic of that time (R. Grant Athay, "Astronomy in the Book of Abraham," Book of Abraham Symposium (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Institute of Religion, 3 Apr. 1970), ix, 60-61. ALSO, Grant Palmer, An Insider's View of Mormon Origins, publ. Signature Books, 2002, pp. 21-22).

Corroborating the fact that this idea of people living on the moon and sun was prevalent within the social structure of the first generation of Latter-day Saints are the following statements.

In 1833, Oliver Cowdery stated:

"It is a pleasing thing to let the mind stretch away and contemplate the vast creations of the Almighty; to see the planets perform their regular revolutions, and observe their exact motions; to view the thousand suns giving light to myriads off globes, moving in their respective orbits, and revolving upon their several axis, all inhabited by intelligent beings..." (The Evening and the Morning Star, Vol. 2 (Dec. 1833): p. 116 - emphasis added)

In a sermon given April 27, 1843 by Hiram Smith on the plurality of gods and worlds, is this comment:

"...every Star that we see is a world and is inhabited the same as this world is peopled. The Sun & Moon is inhabited & the Stars & (Jesus Christ is the light of the Sun, etc.). The Stars are inhabited the same as this Earth. But eny of them are larger then this Earth, & meny that we cannot see without a telliscope are larger then this Earth. They are under the same order as this Earth is undergoing & undergoing the same change." (George Laub Nauvoo Journal, emphasis added)

More specifically, according to Grant Palmer, Joseph Smith owned one particular book that probably greatly influenced his cosmology:

Klaus Hansen, an LDS scholar, has written: "The progressive aspect of Joseph's theology, as well as its cosmology, while in a general way compatible with antebellum thought, bears some remarkable resemblances to Thomas Dick's Philosophy of a Future State, a second edition of which had been published in 1830," Joseph Smith owned a copy of this work, and Oliver Cowdery in December 1836 quoted some lengthy excerpts from it in the Messenger and Advocate [Dec. 1836: 423-25]. Hansen continues:

Some very striking parallels to Smith's theology suggest that the similarities between the two may be more than coincidental. Dick's lengthy book, an ambitious treatise on astronomy and metaphysics, proposed the idea that matter is eternal and indestructible and rejected the notion of a creation ex nihilo. Much of the book dealt with the infinity of the universe, made up of innumberable stars spread out over immeasurable distances. Dick speculated that many of these stars were peopled by "various orders of intelligences" and that these intelligences were "progressive beings" in various stages of evolution toward perfection. In the Book of Abraham, part of which consists of a treatise on astronomy and cosmology, eternal beings of various orders and stages of development likewise populate numerous stars. They, too, are called "intelligences." Dick speculated that "the systems of the universe revolve around a common center... the throne of God." In the Book of Abraham, one star named Kolob "was nearest unto the throne of God." Other stars, in ever diminishing order, were placed in increasing distances from this center.

Hansen observed further that:

According to the Book of Abraham, the patriarch had a knowledge of the times of various planets, "until thou come nigh unto Kolob which Kolob is after the reckoning of the Lord's time; which Kolob is set nigh unto the throne of God, to govern all those planets which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest." One revolution of Kolob "was a day unto the Lord, after his manner of reckoning, it being one thousand years according to the time appointed unto that whereon thou standest. This is the reckoning of the Lord's time according to the reckoning of Kolob." God's time thus conformed perfectly to the laws of Galilean relativity and Newtonian mechanics."

What we find in Abraham 3 and the official scriptures of the LDS church regarding science reflects a Newtonian world concept. The Catholic church's Ptolemaic cosmology was displaced by the new Copernican and Newtonian world model, just as the nineteenth-century, canonized, Newtonian world view is challenged by Einstein's twentieth-century science. Keith Norman, a Mormon scholar, has written that for the LDS church, "it is no longer possible to pretend there is not conflict." He continues:

Scientific cosmology began its leap forward just when Mormon doctrine was becoming stabilized. The revolution in twentieth-century physics precipitated by Einstein dethroned Newtonian physics as the ultimate explanation of the way the universe works. Relativity theory and quantum mechanics, combined with advances in astronomy, have established a vastly different picture of how the universe began, how it is structured and operates, and the nature of matter and energy. ... This new scientific cosmology pose[s] a serious challenge to the Mormon version of the universe.

Many of the astronomical and cosmological ideas found in both Joseph Smith's environment and in the Book of Abraham have become out of vogue, and some of these Newtonian concepts are scientific relics. The evidence suggests that the Book of Abraham reflects concepts of Joseph Smith's time and place rather than those of an ancient world.

In 1833, Oliver Cowdery stated:

"It is a pleasing thing to let the mind stretch away and contemplate the vast creations of the Almighty; to see the planets perform their regular revolutions, and observe their exact motions; to view the thousand suns giving light to myriads off globes, moving in their respective orbits, and revolving upon their several axis, all inhabited by intelligent beings..." (The Evening and the Morning Star, Vol. 2 (Dec. 1833): p. 116 - emphasis added)

In a sermon given April 27, 1843 by Hiram Smith on the plurality of gods and worlds, is this comment:

"...every Star that we see is a world and is inhabited the same as this world is peopled. The Sun & Moon is inhabited & the Stars & (Jesus Christ is the light of the Sun, etc.). The Stars are inhabited the same as this Earth. But eny of them are larger then this Earth, & meny that we cannot see without a telliscope are larger then this Earth. They are under the same order as this Earth is undergoing & undergoing the same change." (George Laub Nauvoo Journal, emphasis added)

More specifically, according to Grant Palmer, Joseph Smith owned one particular book that probably greatly influenced his cosmology:

Klaus Hansen, an LDS scholar, has written: "The progressive aspect of Joseph's theology, as well as its cosmology, while in a general way compatible with antebellum thought, bears some remarkable resemblances to Thomas Dick's Philosophy of a Future State, a second edition of which had been published in 1830," Joseph Smith owned a copy of this work, and Oliver Cowdery in December 1836 quoted some lengthy excerpts from it in the Messenger and Advocate [Dec. 1836: 423-25]. Hansen continues:

Some very striking parallels to Smith's theology suggest that the similarities between the two may be more than coincidental. Dick's lengthy book, an ambitious treatise on astronomy and metaphysics, proposed the idea that matter is eternal and indestructible and rejected the notion of a creation ex nihilo. Much of the book dealt with the infinity of the universe, made up of innumberable stars spread out over immeasurable distances. Dick speculated that many of these stars were peopled by "various orders of intelligences" and that these intelligences were "progressive beings" in various stages of evolution toward perfection. In the Book of Abraham, part of which consists of a treatise on astronomy and cosmology, eternal beings of various orders and stages of development likewise populate numerous stars. They, too, are called "intelligences." Dick speculated that "the systems of the universe revolve around a common center... the throne of God." In the Book of Abraham, one star named Kolob "was nearest unto the throne of God." Other stars, in ever diminishing order, were placed in increasing distances from this center.

Hansen observed further that:

According to the Book of Abraham, the patriarch had a knowledge of the times of various planets, "until thou come nigh unto Kolob which Kolob is after the reckoning of the Lord's time; which Kolob is set nigh unto the throne of God, to govern all those planets which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest." One revolution of Kolob "was a day unto the Lord, after his manner of reckoning, it being one thousand years according to the time appointed unto that whereon thou standest. This is the reckoning of the Lord's time according to the reckoning of Kolob." God's time thus conformed perfectly to the laws of Galilean relativity and Newtonian mechanics."

What we find in Abraham 3 and the official scriptures of the LDS church regarding science reflects a Newtonian world concept. The Catholic church's Ptolemaic cosmology was displaced by the new Copernican and Newtonian world model, just as the nineteenth-century, canonized, Newtonian world view is challenged by Einstein's twentieth-century science. Keith Norman, a Mormon scholar, has written that for the LDS church, "it is no longer possible to pretend there is not conflict." He continues:

Scientific cosmology began its leap forward just when Mormon doctrine was becoming stabilized. The revolution in twentieth-century physics precipitated by Einstein dethroned Newtonian physics as the ultimate explanation of the way the universe works. Relativity theory and quantum mechanics, combined with advances in astronomy, have established a vastly different picture of how the universe began, how it is structured and operates, and the nature of matter and energy. ... This new scientific cosmology pose[s] a serious challenge to the Mormon version of the universe.

Many of the astronomical and cosmological ideas found in both Joseph Smith's environment and in the Book of Abraham have become out of vogue, and some of these Newtonian concepts are scientific relics. The evidence suggests that the Book of Abraham reflects concepts of Joseph Smith's time and place rather than those of an ancient world (Grant Palmer, An Insider's View of Mormon Origins, publ. Signature Books, 2002, pp. 22-25)."

Now that I have used secondary sources to summarize. I will again point you to primary sources. But, first, I would like you to know of the list of books that we have evidence that Joseph owned (http://tinyurl.com/275oqc ). Take special note that during the Illinois period, among the list of books donated by Joseph Smith to the Nauvoo Library and Literary Institute on the 31 January 1844, is one Thomas Dick's Philosophy of a Future State. So, we know that he owned it.

I have gone through the trouble of finding an electronic copy of that book at the University of Michigan (starting on page 62; http://tinyurl.com/2w67l8 ). Below, I have a handful of quotations from the book teaching ideas that will be familiar to many Mormons:

"And the appearance of the heavens in reality receding from the view, would be produced, were the earth to leave its present station among the planets, and to be impelled with a rapid motion towards the distant parts of the solar system, or beyond its boundaries; in which case the sun would appear to fly off with a rapid motion to a distant part of space, till he had diminished to the size of a twinkling star, and the moon and the nearest planets would, in a short time, entirely disappear...The materials of which the earth and its atmosphere are composed will still continue to exist after its present structure is deranged, and will, in all probability, be employed in the arrangement of a new system, purified from the physical evils which now exist, and which may continue to flourish as a monument of divine power and wisdom, throughout an indefinite lapse of ages" (Thomas Dick, Philosophy of a Future State, page 64).

It occurred to me that perhaps many of you might not be familiar with how the last quote fits in with Mormon doctrine. Here is a quote from Brigham Young:

"but when man fell, the earth fell into space, and took up its abode in this planetary system, and the sun became our light. When the Lord said—"Let there be light," there was light, for the earth was brought near the sun that it might reflect upon it so as to give us light by day, and the moon to give us light by night. This is the glory the earth came from, and when it is glorified it will return again unto the presence of the Father, and it will dwell there, and these intelligent beings that I am looking at, if they live worthy of it, will dwell upon this earth" (Journal of Discourses 17:143).

Now back to Thomas Dick:

"Hence it is declared, with respect to the "saints of the Most High," "They that be teachers of wisdom shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever." In short, when we consider the boundless extent of the starry firmament, the scenes of grandeur it displays, the new luminaries, which, in the course of ages, appear to be gradually su*menting its splendor, and the countless myriads of exalted intelligences which doubtless people its expansive regions..." (Thomas Dick, Philosophy of a Future State, page 65).

"It is evident, therefore, that superior intelligences, such as angels, and redeemed men in a future state, must have their attention directed to the science of numbers" (Thomas Dick, Philosophy of a Future State, page 69).

"It is evident, then, that beings of a superior order, or in a higher state of existence, must have a more profound and comprehensive knowledge of numbers than man: in consequence of which they are enabled to survey the universe with more intelligence, and to form more distinct and ample conceptions of the designs and operations of infinite wisdom and omnipotence" (Thomas Dick, Philosophy of a Future State, page 70).

"...of the number of opaque globes which may exist in every region of space, of the distance to which the material world extends, and of the various dispensations of the Almighty towards the diversified orders of intelligences which people his vast empire..." (Thomas Dick, Philosophy of a Future State, page 72).

"...and the magnificence of his works are displayed in all of their variety and lustre to the countless orders of his rational offspring, over which he will continue to eternally preside" (Thomas Dick, Philosophy of a Future State, page 72).

"It is highly probable, in a future world, a considerable portion of our knowledge respecting the distant provinces of the divine empire, will be communicated by superior beings who have visited the different systems dispersed through the universe...We learn from Scripture, that there are intelligences that can wing their way, in a short period of time, from one world to another" (ibid, page 73).

"The grand aim of celestial intelligences will be, to increase in the knowledge and love of God" (ibid, page 74).

Edit: While we are talking about primary sources, I must add the Book of Jasher here. Joseph Smith was familiar with the Book of Jasher and likely used it to help him create the BoA. Most parallels between the BoA and the Traditions of Abraham can be accounted for by looking at the Book of Jasher, together with Josephus and the Bible. Here is a statement that Joseph was familiar with the Book of Jasher:

"But if we believe in present revelation, as published in the Times and Seasons last spring, Abraham, the prophet of the Lord, was laid upon the iron bedstead for slaughter; and the book of Jasher, which has not been disproved as a bad author, says he was cast into the fire of the Chaldees." Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1976), p. 261, quoting Times and Seasons (1 Sep 1842), 3:902.

Here are the relevant sections from the Book of Jasher (http://www.cumorah.com/etexts/jasher.txt ):

Chapter 7. 51v Terah was seventy years old when he begat him, and Terah called the name
of his son that was born to him Abram, because the king had raised him in
those days, and dignified him above all his princes that were with him.

Chapter 8. The Wise Men of Nimrod, by their Divination, Foretell the Evil that
Abram will do to Nimrod's Kingdom, and they seek to kill the Child. Abram,
with his Mother and Nurse are Hid in a cave for Ten Years.

1v And it was in the night that Abram was born, that all the servants of
Terah, and all the wise men of Nimrod, and his conjurors came and ate and
drank in the house of Terah, and they rejoiced with him on that night.

2v And when all the wise men and conjurors went out from the house of Terah,
they lifted up their eyes toward heaven that night to look at the stars, and
they saw, and behold one very large star came from the east and ran in the
heavens, and he swallowed up the four stars from the four sides of the
heavens.

3v And all the wise men of the king and his conjurors were astonished at the
sight, and the sages understood this matter, and they knew its import.

4v And they said to each other, This only betokens the child that has been
born to Terah this night, who will grow up and be fruitful, and multiply, and
possess all the earth, he and his children for ever, and he and his seed will
slay great kings, and inherit their lands.

5v And the wise men and conjurors went home that night, and in the morning all
these wise men and conjurors rose up early, and assembled in an appointed
house.

6v And they spoke and said to each other, Behold the sight that we saw last
night is hidden from the king, it has not been made known to him.

7v And should this thing get known to the king in the latter days, he will say
to us, Why have you concealed this matter from me, and then we shall all
suffer death; therefore, now let us go and tell the king the sight which we
saw, and the interpretation thereof, and we shall then remain clear.

8v And they did so, and they all went to the king and bowed down to him to the
ground, and they said, May the king live, may the king live.

9v We heard that a son was born to Terah the son of Nahor, the prince of thy
host, and we yesternight came to his house, and we ate and drank and rejoiced
with him that night.

10v And when thy servants went out from the house of Terah, to go to our
respective homes to abide there for the night, we lifted up our eyes to
heaven, and we saw a great star coming from the east, and the same star ran
with great speed, and swallowed up four great stars, from the four sides of
the heavens.

11v And thy servants were astonished at the sight which we saw, and were
greatly terrified, and we made our judgment upon the sight, and knew by our
wisdom the proper interpretation thereof, that this thing applies to the child
that is born to Terah, who will grow up and multiply greatly, and become
powerful, and kill all the kings of the earth, and inherit all their lands, he
and his seed forever.

12v And now our lord and king, behold we have truly acquainted thee with what
we have seen concerning this child.

13v If it seemeth good to the king to give his father value for this child, we
will slay him before he shall grow up and increase in the land, and his evil
increase against us, that we and our children perish through his evil.

14v And the king heard their words and they seemed good in his sight, and he
sent and called for Terah, and Terah came before the king.

15v And the king said to Terah, I have been told that a son was yesternight
born to thee, and after this manner was observed in the heavens at his birth.

16v And now therefore give me the child, that we may slay him before his evil
springs up against us, and I will give thee for his value, thy house full of
silver and gold.

17v And Terah answered the king and said to him: My Lord and king, I have
heard thy words, and thy servant shall do all that his king desireth.

18v But my lord and king, I will tell thee what happened to me yesternight,
that I may see what advice the king will give his servant, and then I will
answer the king upon what he has just spoken; and the king said, Speak.

19v And Terah said to the king, Ayon, son of Mored, came to me yesternight,
saying.

20v Give unto me the great and beautiful horse that the king gave thee, and I
will give thee silver and gold, and straw and provender for its value; and I
said to him, Wait till I see the king concerning thy words, and behold
whatever the king saith, that will I do.

21v And now my lord and king, behold I have made this thing known to thee, and
the advice which my king will give unto his servant, that will I follow.

22v And the king heard the words of Terah, and his anger was kindled and he
considered him in the light of a fool.

23v And the king answered Terah, and he said to him, Art thou so silly,
ignorant, or deficient in understanding, to do this thing, to give thy
beautiful horse for silver and gold or even for straw and provender.

24v Art thou so short of silver and gold, that thou shouldst do this thing,
because thou canst not obtain straw and provender to feed thy horse? and what
is silver and gold to thee, or straw and provender, that thou shouldst give
away that fine horse which I gave thee, like which there is none to be had on
the whole earth.

25v And the king left off speaking, and Terah answered the king, saying, Like
unto this has the king spoken to his servant.

26v I beseech thee, my lord and king, what is this which thou didst say unto
me, saying, Give thy son that we may slay him, and I will give thee silver and
gold for his value; what shall I do with silver and gold after the death of my
son? who shall inherit me? surely then at my death, the silver and gold will
return to my king who gave it.

27v And when the king heard the words of Terah, and the parable which he
brought concerning the king, it grieved him greatly and he was vexed at this
thing, and his anger burned within him.

28v And Terah saw that the anger of the king was kindled against him, and he
answered the king, saying, All that I have is in the king's power; whatever
the king desireth to do to his servant, that let him do, yea, even my son, he
is in the king's power, without value in exchange, he and his two brothers
that are older than he.

29v And the king said to Terah, No, but I will purchase thy younger son for a
price.

30v And Terah answered the king, saying, I beseech thee my lord and king to
let thy servant speak a word before thee, and let the king hear the word of
his servant, and Terah said, Let my king give me three days' time till I
consider this matter within myself, and consult with my family concerning the
words of my king; and he pressed the king greatly to agree to this.

31v And the king hearkened to Terah, and he did so and he gave him three days'
time, and Terah went out from the king's presence, and he came home to his
family and spoke to them all the words of the king; and the people were
greatly afraid.

32v And it was in the third day that the king sent to Terah, saying, Send me
thy son for a price as I spoke to thee; and shouldst thou not do this, I will
send and slay all thou hast in thy house, so that thou shalt not even have a
dog remaining.

33v And Terah hastened, (as the thing was urgent from the king), and he took a
child from one of his servants, which his handmaid had born to him that day,
and Terah brought the child to the king and received value for him.

34v And the Lord was with Terah in this matter, that Nimrod might not cause
Abram's death, and the king took the child from Terah and with all his might
dashed his head to the ground, for he thought it had been Abram; and this was
concealed from him from that day, and it was forgotten by the king, as it was
the will of Providence not to suffer Abram's death.

35v And Terah took Abram his son secretly, together with his mother and nurse,
and he concealed them in a cave, and he brought them their provisions monthly.

36v And the Lord was with Abram in the cave and he grew up, and Abram was in
the cave ten years, and the king and his princes, soothsayers and sages,
thought that the king had killed Abram.

Chapter 9. When Ten Years Old, Abram goes to Noah and Shem, Remains with them
for Thirty-nine Years, and is Taught in all the Ways of the Lord. The
Wickedness of Nimrod and his People. They Propose to Build a Tower to Heaven
and Dethrone God. The confusion of Tongues.

1v And Haran, the son of Terah, Abram's oldest brother, took a wife in those
days.

2v Haran was thirty-nine years old when he took her; and the wife of Haran
conceived and bare a son, and he called his name Lot.

3v And she conceived again and bare a daughter, and she called her name Milca;
and she again conceived and bare a daughter, and she called her name Sarai.

4v Haran was forty-two years old when he begat Sarai, which was in the tenth
year of the life of Abram; and in those days Abram and his mother and nurse
went out from the cave, as the king and his subjects had forgotten the affair
of Abram.

5v And when Abram came out from the cave, he went to Noah and his son Shem,
and he remained with them to learn the instruction of the Lord and his ways,
and no man knew where Abram was, and Abram served Noah and Shem his son for a
long time.

6v And Abram was in Noah's house thirty-nine years, and Abram knew the Lord
from three years old, and he went in the ways of the Lord until the day of his
death, as Noah and his son Shem had taught him; and all the sons of the earth
in those days greatly transgressed against the Lord, and they rebelled against
him and they served other gods, and they forgot the Lord who had created them
in the earth; and the inhabitants of the earth made unto themselves, at that
time, every man his god; gods of wood and stone which could neither speak,
hear, nor deliver, and the sons of men served them and they became their gods.

7v And the king and all his servants, and Terah with all his household were
then the first of those that served gods of wood and stone.

8v And Terah had twelve gods of large size, made of wood and stone, after the
twelve months of the year, and he served each one monthly, and every month
Terah would bring his meat offering and drink offering to his gods; thus did
Terah all the days.

9v And all that generation were wicked in the sight of the Lord, and they thus
made every man his god, but they forsook the Lord who had created them.

10v And there was not a man found in those days in the whole earth, who knew
the Lord (for they served each man his own God) except Noah and his household,
and all those who were under his counsel knew the Lord in those days.

11v And Abram the son of Terah was waxing great in those days in the house of
Noah, and no man knew it, and the Lord was with him.

12v And the Lord gave Abram an understanding heart, and he knew all the works
of that generation were vain, and that all their gods were vain and were of no
avail.

13v And Abram saw the sun shining upon the earth, and Abram said unto himself
Surely now this sun that shines upon the earth is God, and him will I serve.

14v And Abram served the sun in that day and he prayed to him, and when
evening came the sun set as usual, and Abram said within himself, Surely this
cannot be God.

15v And Abram still continued to speak within himself, Who is he who made the
heavens and the earth? who created upon earth? where is he.

16v And night darkened over him, and he lifted up his eyes toward the west,
north, south, and east, and he saw that the sun had vanished from the earth,
and the day became dark.

17v And Abram saw the stars and moon before him, and he said, Surely this is
the God who created the whole earth as well as man, and behold these his
servants are gods around him: and Abram served the moon and prayed to it all
that night.

18v And in the morning when it was light and the sun shone upon the earth as
usual, Abram saw all the things that the Lord God had made upon earth.

19v And Abram said unto himself Surely these are not gods that made the earth
and all mankind, but these are the servants of God; and Abram remained in the
house of Noah and there knew the Lord and his ways, and he served the Lord all
the days of his life, and all that generation forgot the Lord, and served
other gods of wood and stone, and rebelled all their days.

20v And king Nimrod reigned securely, and all the earth was under his control,
and all the earth was of one tongue and words of union.

21v And all the princes of Nimrod and his great men took counsel together;
Phut, Mitzraim, Cush and Canaan with their families, and they said to each
other, Come let us build ourselves a city and in it a strong tower, and its
top reaching heaven, and we will make ourselves famed, so that we may reign
upon the whole world, in order that the evil of our enemies may cease from us,
that we may reign, mightily over them, and that we may not become scattered
over the earth on account of their wars.

22v And they all went before the king, and they told the king these words, and
the king agreed with them in this affair, and he did so.

23v And all the families assembled consisting of about six hundred thousand
men, and they went to seek an extensive piece of ground to build the city and
the tower, and they sought in the whole earth and they found none like one
valley at the east of the land of Shinar, about two days' walk, and they
journeyed there and they dwelt there.

24v And they began to make bricks and burn fires to build the city and the
tower that they had imagined to complete.

25v And the building of the tower was unto them a transgression and a sin, and
they began to build it, and whilst they were building against the Lord God of
heaven, they imagined in their hearts to war against him and to ascend into
heaven.

26v And all these people and all the families divided themselves in three
parts; the first said We will ascend into heaven and fight against him; the
second said, We will ascend to heaven and place our own gods there and serve
them; and the third part said, We will ascend to heaven and smite him with
bows and spears; and God knew all their works and all their evil thoughts, and
he saw the city and the tower which they were building.

27v And when they were building they built themselves a great city and a very
high and strong tower; and on account of its height the mortar and bricks did
not reach the builders in their ascent to it, until those who went up had
completed a full year, and after that, they reached to the builders and gave
them the mortar and the bricks; thus was it done daily.

28v And behold these ascended and others descended the whole day; and if a
brick should fall from their hands and get broken, they would all weep over
it, and if a man fell and died, none of them would look at him.

29v And the Lord knew their thoughts, and it came to pass when they were
building they cast the arrows toward the heavens, and all the arrows fell upon
them filled with blood, and when they saw them they said to each other, Surely
we have slain all those that are in heaven.

30v For this was from the Lord in order to cause them to err, and in order to
destroy them from off the face of the ground.

31v And they built the tower and the city, and they did this thing daily until
many days and years were elapsed.

32v And God said to the seventy angels who stood foremost before him, to those
who were near to him, saying, Come let us descend and confuse their tongues,
that one man shall not understand the language of his neighbor, and they did
so unto them.

33v And from that day following, they forgot each man his neighbor's tongue,
and they could not understand to speak in one tongue, and when the builder
took from the hands of his neighbor lime or stone which he did not order, the
builder would cast it away and throw it upon his neighbor, that he would die.

34v And they did so many days, and they killed many of them in this manner.

35v And the Lord smote the three divisions that were there, and he punished
them according to their works and designs; those who said, We will ascend to
heaven and serve our gods, became like apes and elephants; and those who said,
We will smite the heaven with arrows, the Lord killed them, one man through
the hand of his neighbor; and the third division of those who said, We will
ascend to heaven and fight against him, the Lord scattered them throughout the
earth.

36v And those who were left amongst them, when they knew and understood the
evil which was coming upon them, they forsook the building, and they also
became scattered upon the face of the whole earth.

37v And they ceased building the city and the tower; therefore he called that
place Babel, for there the Lord confounded the language of the whole earth;
behold it was at the east of the land of Shinar.

38v And as to the tower which the sons of men built, the earth opened its
mouth and swallowed up one third part thereof, and a fire also descended from
heaven and burned another third, and the other third is left to this day, and
it is of that part which was aloft, and its circumference is three days' walk.

39v And many of the sons of men died in that tower, a people without number.

Chapter 10. The Descendants of Noah, Scattered over the whole earth, build
themselves cities.

1v And Peleg the son of Eber died in those days, in the forty-eighth year of
the life of Abram son of Terah, and all the days of Peleg were two hundred and
thirty-nine years.

2v And when the Lord had scattered the sons of men on account of their sin at
the tower, behold they spread forth into many divisions, and all the sons of
men were dispersed into the four corners of the earth.

3v And all the families became each according to its language, its land, or
its city.

4v And the sons of men built many cities according to their families, in all
the places where they went, and throughout the earth where the Lord had
scattered them.

5v And some of them built cities in places from which they were afterward
extirpated, and they called these cities after their own names, or the names
of their children, or after their particular occurences.

6v And the sons of Japheth the son of Noah went and built themselves cities in
the places where they were scattered, and they called all their cities after
their names, and the sons of Japheth were divided upon the face of the earth
into many divisions and languages.

7v And these are the sons of Japheth according to their families, Gomer,
Magog, Medai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras; these are the children of
Japheth according to their generations.

8v And the children of Gomer, according to their cities, were the Francum, who
dwell in the land of Franza, by the river Franza, by the river Senah.

9v And the children of Rephath are the Bartonim, who dwell in the land of
Bartonia by the river Ledah, which empties its waters in the great sea Gihon,
that is, oceanus.

10v And the children of Tugarma are ten families, and these are their names:
Buzar, Parzunac, Balgar, Elicanum, Ragbib, Tarki, Bid, Zebuc, Ongal and
Tilmaz; all these spread and rested in the north and built themselves cities.

11v And they called their cities after their own names, those are they who
abide by the rivers Hithlah and Italac unto this day.

12v But the families of Angoli, Balgar and Parzunac, they dwell by the great
river Dubnee; and the names of their cities are also according to their own
names.

13v And the children of Javan are the Javanim who dwell in the land of
Makdonia, and the children of Medai are the Orelum that dwell in the land of
Curson, and the children of Tubal are those that dwell in the land of Tuskanah
by the river Pashiah.

14v And the children of Meshech are the Shibashni and the children of Tiras
are Rushash, Cushni, and Ongolis; all these went and built themselves cities;
those are the cities that are situate by the sea Jabus by the river Cura,
which empties itself in the river Tragan.

15v And the children of Elishah are the Almanim, and they also went and built
themselves cities; those are the cities situate between the mountains of Job
and Shibathmo; and of them were the people of Lumbardi who dwell opposite the
mountains of Job and Shibathmo, and they conquered the land of Italia and
remained there unto thi.

16v And the children of Chittim are the Romim who dwell in the valley of
Canopia by the river Tibreu.

17v And the children of Dudonim are those who dwell in the cities of the sea
Gihon, in the land of Bordna.

18v These are the families of the children of Japheth according to their
cities and languages, when they were scattered after the tower, and they
called their cities after their names and occurrences; and these are the names
of all their cities according to their families, which they built in those
days after the tower.

19v And the children of Ham were Cush, Mitzraim, Phut and Canaan according to
their generation and cities.

20v All these went and built themselves cities as they found fit places for
them, and they called their cities after the names of their fathers Cush,
Mitzraim, Phut and Canaan.

21v And the children of Mitzraim are the Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuchim,
Pathrusim, Casluchim and Caphturim, seven families.

22v All these dwell by the river Sihor, that is the brook of Egypt, and they
built themselves cities and called them after their own names.

23v And the children of Pathros and Casloch intermarried together, and from
them went forth the Pelishtim, the Azathim, and the Gerarim, the Githim and
the Ekronim, in all five families; these also built themselves cities, and
they called their cities after the names of their fathers unto this day.

24v And the children of Canaan also built themselves cities, and they called
their cities after their names, eleven cities and others without number.

25v And four men from the family of Ham went to the land of the plain; these
are the names of the four men, Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim.

26v And these men built themselves four cities in the land of the plain, and
they called the names of their cities after their own names.

27v And they and their children and all belonging to them dwelt in those
cities, and they were fruitful and multiplied greatly and dwelt peaceably.

28v And Seir the son of Hur, son of Hivi, son of Canaan, went and found a
valley opposite to Mount Paran, and he built a city there, and he and his
seven sons and his household dwelt there, and he called the city which he
built Seir, according to his name; that is the land of Seir unto this day.

29v These are the families of the children of Ham, according to their
languages and cities, when they were scattered to their countries after the
tower.

30v And some of the children of Shem son of Noah, father of all the children
of Eber, also went and built themselves cities in the places wherein they were
scattered, and they called their cities after their names.

31v And the sons of Shem were Elam, Ashur, Arpachshad, Lud and Aram, and they
built themselves cities and called the names of all their cities after their
names.

32v And Ashur son of Shem and his children and household went forth at that
time, a very large body of them, and they went to a distant land that they
found, and they met with a very extensive valley in the land that they went
to, and they built themselves four cities, and they called them after their
own names and occurrences.

33v And these are the names of the cities which the children of Ashur built,
Ninevah, Resen, Calach and Rehobother; and the children of Ashur dwell there
unto this day.

34v And the children of Aram also went and built themselves a city, and they
called the name of the city Uz after their eldest brother, and they dwell
therein; that is the land of Uz to this day.

35v And in the second year after the tower a man from the house of Ashur,
whose name was Bela, went from the land of Ninevah to sojourn with his
household wherever he could find a place; and they came until opposite the
cities of the plain against Sodom, and they dwelt there.

36v And the man rose up and built there a small city, and called its name
Bela, after his name; that is the land of Zoar unto this day.

37v And these are the families of the children of Shem according to their
language and cities, after they were scattered upon the earth after the tower.

38v And every kingdom, city, and family of the families of the children of
Noah built themselves many cities after this.

39v And they established governments in all their cities, in order to be
regulated by their orders; so did all the families of the children of Noah
forever.

Chapter 11. Nimrod's Wicked Reign. The Idolatry of Terah, Abram's Father. When
Fifty Years old, Abram returns to his Father's House and Discovers his Idols.
Makes a pretext to destroy them. After making Savory Meat for the gods, Abram
takes a Hatchet and destroys them, leaving the Hatchet in the hands of the
larger one, where it is discovered by his Father, who is told by Abram that
the Great God had risen up in anger and Destroyed his Fellows. Terah in his
wrath betrays Abram to the King, who brings him up before the Throne for
Judgment. Abram Warns his Father and the King, before all the Princes, of the
Evils of Idolatry.

1v And Nimrod son of Cush was still in the land of Shinar, and he reigned over
it and dwelt there, and he built cities in the land of Shinar.

2v And these are the names of the four cities which he built, and he called
their names after the occurrences that happened to them in the building of the
tower.

3v And he called the first Babel, saying, Because the Lord there confounded
the language of the whole earth; and the name of the second he called Erech,
because from there God dispersed them.

4v And the third he called Eched, saying there was a great battle at that
place; and the fourth he called Calnah, because his princes and mighty men
were consumed there, and they vexed the Lord, they rebelled and transgressed
against him.

5v And when Nimrod had built these cities in the land of Shinar, he placed in
them the remainder of his people, his princes and his mighty men that were
left in his kingdom.

6v And Nimrod dwelt in Babel, and he there renewed his reign over the rest of
his subjects, and he reigned securely, and the subjects and princes of Nimrod
called his name Amraphel, saying that at the tower his princes and men fell
through his means.

7v And notwithstanding this, Nimrod did not return to the Lord, and he
continued in wickedness and teaching wickedness to the sons of men; and
Mardon, his son, was worse than his father, and continued to add to the
abominations of his father.

8v And he caused the sons of men to sin, therefore it is said, From the wicked
goeth forth wickedness.

9v At that time there was war between the families of the children of Ham, as
they were dwelling in the cities which they had built.

10v And Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, went away from the families of the
children of Ham, and he fought with them and he subdued them, and he went to
the five cities of the plain and he fought against them and he subdued them,
and they were under his control.

11v And they served him twelve years, and they gave him a yearly tax.

12v At that time died Nahor, son of Serug, in the forty-ninth year of the life
of Abram son of Terah.

13v And in the fiftieth year of the life of Abram son of Terah, Abram came
forth from the house of Noah, and went to his father's house.

14v And Abram knew the Lord, and he went in his ways and instructions, and the
Lord his God was with him.

15v And Terah his father was in those days, still captain of the host of king
Nimrod, and he still followed strange gods.

16v And Abram came to his father's house and saw twelve gods standing there in
their temples, and the anger of Abram was kindled when he saw these images in
his father's house.

17v And Abram said, As the Lord liveth these images shall not remain in my
father's house; so shall the Lord who created me do unto me if in three days'
time I do not break them all.

18v And Abram went from them, and his anger burned within him. And Abram
hastened and went from the chamber to his father's outer court, and he found
his father sitting in the court, and all his servants with him, and Abram came
and sat before him.

19v And Abram asked his father, saying, Father, tell me where is God who
created heaven and earth, and all the sons of men upon earth, and who created
thee and me. And Terah answered his son Abram and said, Behold those who
created us are all with us in the house.

20v And Abram said to his father, My lord, shew them to me I pray thee; and
Terah brought Abram into the chamber of the inner court, and Abram saw, and
behold the whole room was full of gods of wood and stone, twelve great images
and others less than they without number.

21v And Terah said to his son, Behold these are they which made all thou seest
upon earth, and which created me and thee, and all mankind.

22v And Terah bowed down to his gods, and he then went away from them, and
Abram, his son, went away with him.

23v And when Abram had gone from them he went to his mother and sat before
her, and he said to his mother, Behold, my father has shown me those who made
heaven and earth, and all the sons of men.

24v Now, therefore, hasten and fetch a kid from the flock, and make of it
savory meat, that I may bring it to my father's gods as an offering for them
to eat; perhaps I may thereby become acceptable to them.

25v And his mother did so, and she fetched a kid, and made savory meat
thereof, and brought it to Abram, and Abram took the savory meat from his
mother and brought it before his father's gods, and he drew nigh to them that
they might eat; and Terah his father, did not know of it.

26v And Abram saw on the day when he was sitting amongst them, that they had
no voice, no hearing, no motion, and not one of them could stretch forth his
hand to eat.

27v And Abram mocked them, and said, Surely the savory meat that I prepared
has not pleased them, or perhaps it was too little for them, and for that
reason they would not eat; therefore tomorrow I will prepare fresh savory
meat, better and more plentiful than this, in order that I may see the result.

28v And it was on the next day that Abram directed his mother concerning the
savory meat, and his mother rose and fetched three fine kids from the flock,
and she made of them some excellent savory meat, such as her son was fond of,
and she gave it to her son Abram; and Terah his father did not know of it.

29v And Abram took the savory meat from his mother, and brought it before his
father's gods into the chamber; and he came nigh unto them that they might
eat, and he placed it before them, and Abram sat before them all day, thinking
perhaps they might eat.

30v And Abram viewed them, and behold they had neither voice nor hearing, nor
did one of them stretch forth his hand to the meat to eat.

31v And in the evening of that day in that house Abram was clothed with the
spirit of God.

32v And he called out and said, Wo unto my father and this wicked generation,
whose hearts are all inclined to vanity, who serve these idols of wood and
stone which can neither eat, smell, hear nor speak, who have mouths without
speech, eyes without sight, ears without hearing, hands without feeling, and
legs which cannot move; like them are those that made them and that trust in
them.

33v And when Abram saw all these things his anger was kindled against his
father, and he hastened and took a hatchet in his hand, and came unto the
chamber of the gods, and he broke all his father's gods.

34v And when he had done breaking the images, he placed the hatchet in the
hand of the great god which was there before them, and he went out; and Terah
his father came home, for he had heard at the door the sound of the striking
of the hatchet; so Terah came into the house to know what this was about.

35v And Terah, having heard the noise of the hatchet in the room of images,
ran to the room to the images, and he met Abram going out.

36v And Terah entered the room and found all the idols fallen down and broken,
and the hatchet in the hand of the largest, which was not broken, and the
savory meat which Abram his son had made was still before them.

37v And when Terah saw this his anger was greatly kindled, and he hastened and
went from the room to Abram.

38v And he found Abram his son still sitting in the house; and he said to him,
What is,this work thou hast done to my gods.

39v And Abram answered Terah his father and he said, Not so my lord, for I
brought savory meat before them, and when I came nigh to them with the meat
that they might eat, they all at once stretched forth their hands to eat
before the great one had put forth his hand to eat.

40v And the large one saw their works that they did before him, and his anger
was violently kindled against them, and he went and took the hatchet that was
in the house and came to them and broke them all, and behold the hatchet is
yet in his hand as thou seest.

41v And Terah's anger was kindled against his son Abram, when he spoke this;
and Terah said to Abram his son in his anger, What is this tale that thou hast
told? Thou speakest lies to me.

42v Is there in these gods spirit, soul or power to do all thou hast told me?
Are they not wood and stone, and have I not myself made them, and canst thou
speak such lies, saying that the large god that was with them smote them? It
is thou that didst place the hatchet in his hands, and then sayest he smote
them all.

43v And Abram answered his father and said to him, And how canst thou then
serve these idols in whom there is no power to do any thing? Can those idols
in which thou trustest deliver thee? can they hear thy prayers when thou
callest upon them? can they deliver thee from the hands of thy enemies, or
will they fight thy battles for thee against thy enemies, that thou shouldst
serve wood and stone which can neither speak nor hear.

44v And now surely it is not good for thee nor for the sons of men that are
connected with thee, to do these things; are you so silly, so foolish or so
short of understanding that you will serve wood and stone, and do after this
manner.

45v And forget the Lord God who made heaven and earth, and who created you in
the earth, and thereby bring a great evil upon your souls in this matter by
serving stone and wood.

46v Did not our fathers in days of old sin in this manner, and the Lord God of
the universe brought the waters of the flood upon them and destroyed the whole
earth.

47v And how can you continue to do this and serve gods of wood and stone, who
cannot hear, or speak, or deliver you from oppression, thereby bringing down
the anger of the God of the universe upon you.

48v Now therefore my father refrain from this, and bring not evil upon thy
soul and the souls of thy household.

49v And Abram hastened and sprang from before his father, and took the hatchet
from his father's largest idol, with which Abram broke it and ran away.

50v And Terah, seeing all that Abram had done, hastened to go from his house,
and he went to the king and he came before Nimrod and stood before him, and he
bowed down to the king; and the king said, What dost thou want.

51v And he said, I beseech thee my lord, to hear me-Now fifty years back a
child was born to me, and thus has he done to my gods and thus has he spoken;
and now therefore, my lord and king, send for him that he may come before
thee, and judge him according to the law, that we may be delivered from his
evil.

52v And the king sent three men of his servants, and they went and brought
Abram before the king. And Nimrod and all his princes and servants were that
day sitting before him, and Terah sat also before them.

53v And the king said to Abram, What is this that thou hast done to thy father
and to his gods? And Abram answered the king in the words that he spoke to his
father, and he said, The large god that was with them in the house did to them
what thou hast heard.

54v And the king said to Abram, Had they power to speak and eat and do as thou
hast said? And Abram answered the king, saying, And if there be no power in
them why dost thou serve them and cause the sons of men to err through thy
follies.

55v Dost thou imagine that they can deliver thee or do anything small or
great, that thou shouldst serve them? And why wilt thou not serve the God of
the whole universe, who created thee and in whose power it is to kill and keep
alive.

56v O foolish, simple, and ignorant king, woe unto thee forever.

57v I thought thou wouldst teach thy servants the upright way, but thou hast
not done this, but hast filled the whole earth with thy sins and the sins of
thy people who have followed thy ways.

58v Dost thou not know, or hast thou not heard, that this evil which thou
doest, our ancestors sinned therein in days of old, and the eternal God
brought the waters of the flood upon them and destroyed them all, and also
destroyed the whole earth on their account? And wilt thou and thy people rise
up now and do like unto this work, in order to bring down the anger of the
Lord God of the universe, and to bring evil upon thee and the whole earth.

59v Now therefore put away this evil deed which thou doest, and serve the God
of the universe, as thy soul is in his hands, and then it will be well with
thee.

60v And if thy wicked heart will not hearken to my words to cause thee to
forsake thy evil ways, and to serve the eternal God, then wilt thou die in
shame in the latter days, thou, thy people and all who are connected with
thee, hearing thy words or walking in thy evil ways.

61v And when Abram had ceased speaking before the king and princes, Abram
lifted up his eyes to the heavens, and he said, The Lord seeth all the wicked,


and he will judge them.

Chapter 12. Abram placed in Prison, and is condemned after ten days to be cast
into a Firey Furnace. His Brother Haran being Falsely Accused is condemned to
the same Fate. As Haran's heart was not right before the Lord, he perished,
but Abram is delivered, and is brought forth Alive. Is Presented with Many
Gifts. The King Dreams of Abram, and again Seeks his Life. Abram flees to the
House of Noah.

1v And when the king heard the words of Abram he ordered him to be put into
prison; and Abram was ten days in prison.

2v And at the end of those days the king ordered that all the kings, princes
and governors of different provinces and the sages should come before him, and
they sat before him, and Abram was still in the house of confinement.

3v And the king said to the princes and sages, Have you heard what Abram, the
son of Terah, has done to his father? Thus has he done to him, and I ordered
him to be brought before me, and thus has he spoken; his heart did not misgive
him, neither did he stir in my presence, and behold now he is confined in the
prison.

4v And therefore decide what judgment is due to this man who reviled the king;
who spoke and did all the things that you heard.

5v And they all answered the king saying, The man who revileth the king should
be hanged upon a tree; but having done all the things that he said, and having
despised our gods, he must therefore be burned to death, for this is the law
in this matter.

6v If it pleaseth the king to do this, let him order his servants to kindle a
fire both night and day in thy brick furnace, and then we will cast this man
into it. And the king did so, and he commanded his servants that they should
prepare a fire for three days and three nights in the king's furnace, that is
in Casdim; and the king ordered them to take Abram from prison and bring him
out to be burned.

7v And all the king's servants, princes, lords, governors, and judges, and all
the inhabitants of the land, about nine hundred thousand men, stood opposite
the furnace to see Abram.

8v And all the women and little ones crowded upon the roofs and towers to see
what was doing with Abram, and they all stood together at a distance; and
there was not a man left that did not come on that day to behold the scene.

9v And when Abram was come, the conjurors of the king and the sages saw Abram,
and they cried out to the king, saying, Our sovereign lord, surely this is the
man whom we know to have been the child at whose birth the great star
swallowed the four stars, which we declared to the king now fifty years since.

10v And behold now his father has also transgressed thy commands, and mocked
thee by bringing thee another child, which thou didst kill.

11v And when the king heard their words, he was exceedingly wroth, and he
ordered Terah to be brought before him.

12v And the king said, Hast thou heard what the conjurors have spoken? Now
tell me truly. how didst thou; and if thou shalt speak truth thou shalt be
acquitted.

13v And seeing that the king's anger was so much kindled, Terah said to the
king, My lord and king, thou hast heard the truth, and what the sages have
spoken is right. And the king said, How couldst thou do this thing, to
transgress my orders and to give me a child that thou didst not beget, and to
take value for him.

14v And Terah answered the king, Because my tender feelings were excited for
my son, at that time, and I took a son of my handmaid, and I brought him to
the king.

15v And the king said Who advised thee to this? Tell me, do not hide aught
from me, and then thou shalt not die.

16v And Terah was greatly terrified in the king's presence, and he said to the
king, It was Haran my eldest son who advised me to this; and Haran was in
those days that Abram was born, two and thirty years old.

17v But Haran did not advise his father to anything, for Terah said this to
the king in order to deliver his soul from the king, for he feared greatly;
and the king said to Terah, Haran thy son who advised thee to this shall die
through fire with Abram; for the sentence of death is upon him for having
rebelled against the king's desire in doing this thing.

18v And Haran at that time felt inclined to follow the ways of Abram, but he
kept it within himself.

19v And Haran said in his heart, Behold now the king has seized Abram on
account of these things which Abram did, and it shall come to pass, that if
Abram prevail over the king I will follow him, but if the king prevail I will
go after the king.

20v And when Terah had spoken this to the king concerning Haran his son, the
king ordered Haran to be seized with Abram.

21v And they brought them both, Abram and Haran his brother, to cast them into
the fire; and all the inhabitants of the land and the king's servants and
princes and all the women and little ones were there, standing that day over
them.

22v And the king's servants took Abram and his brother, and they stripped them
of all their clothes excepting their lower garments which were upon them.

23v And they bound their hands and feet with linen cords, and the servants of
the king lifted them up and cast them both into the furnace.

24v And the Lord loved Abram and he had compassion over him, and the Lord came
down and delivered Abram from the fire and he was not burned.

25v But all the cords with which they bound him were burned, while Abram
remained and walked about in the fire.

26v And Haran died when they had cast him into the fire, and he was burned to
ashes, for his heart was not perfect with the Lord; and those men who cast him
into the fire, the flame of the fire spread over them, and they were burned,
and twelve men of them died.

27v And Abram walked in the midst of the fire three days and three nights, and
all the servants of the king saw him walking in the fire, and they came and
told the king, saying, behold we have seen Abram walking about in the midst of
the fire, and even the lower garments which are upon him are not burned, but
the cord with which he was bound is burned.

28v And when the king heard their words his heart fainted and he would not
believe them; so he sent other faithful princes to see this matter, and they
went and saw it and told it to the king; and the king rose to go and see it,
and he saw Abram walking to and fro in the midst of the fire, and he saw
Haran's body burned, and the king wondered greatly.

29v And the king ordered Abram to be taken out from the fire; and his servants
approached to take him out and they could not, for the fire was round about
and the flame ascending toward them from the furnace.

30v And the king's servants fled from it, and the king rebuked them, saying,
Make haste and bring Abram out of the fire that you shall not die.

31v And the servants of the king again approached to bring Abram out, and the
flames came upon them and burned their faces so that eight of them died.

32v And when the king saw that his servants could not approach the fire lest
they should be burned, the king called to Abram, O servant of the God who is
in heaven, go forth from amidst the fire and come hither before me; and Abram
hearkened to the voice of the king, and he went forth from the fire and came
and stood before the king.

33v And when Abram came out the king and all his servants saw Abram coming
before the king, with his lower garments upon him, for they were not burned,
but the cord with which he was bound was burned.

34v And the king said to Abram, How is it that thou wast not burned in the
fire.

35v And Abram said to the king, The God of heaven and earth in whom I trust
and who has all in his power, he delivered me from the fire into which thou
didst cast me.

36v And Haran the brother of Abram was burned to ashes, and they sought for
his body, and they found it consumed.

37v And Haran was eighty-two years old when he died in the fire of Casdim. And
the king, princes, and inhabitants of the land, seeing that Abram was
delivered from the fire, they came and bowed down to Abram.

38v And Abram said to them, Do not bow down to me, but bow down to the God of
the world who made you, and serve him, and go in his ways for it is he who
delivered me from out of this fire, and it is he who created the souls and
spirits of all men, and formed man in his mother's womb, and brought him forth
into the world, and it is he who will deliver those who trust in him from all
pain.

39v And this thing seemed very wonderful in the eyes of the king and princes,
that Abram was saved from the fire and that Haran was burned; and the king
gave Abram many presents and he gave him his two head servants from the king's
house; the name of one was Oni and the name of the other was Eliezer.

40v And all the kings, princes and servants gave Abram many gifts of silver
and gold and pearl,and the king and his princes sent him away, and he went in
peace.

41v And Abram went forth from the king in peace, and many of the king's
servants followed him, and about three hundred men joined him.

42v And Abram returned on that day and went to his father's house, he and the
men that followed him, and Abram served the Lord his God all the days of his
life, and he walked in his ways and followed his law.

43v And from that day forward Abram inclined the hearts of the sons of men to
serve the Lord.

44v And at that time Nahor and Abram took unto themselves wives, the daughters
of their brother Haran; the wife of Nahor was Milca and the name of Abram's
wife was Sarai. And Sarai, wife of Abram, was barren; she had no offspring in
those days.

45v And at the expiration of two years from Abram's going out of the fire,
that is in the fifty-second year of his life, behold king Nimrod sat in Babel
upon the throne, and the king fell asleep and dreamed that he was standing
with his troops and hosts in a valley opposite the king's furnace.

46v And he lifted up his eyes and saw a man in the likeness of Abram coming
forth from the furnace, and that he came and stood before the king with his
drawn sword, and then sprang to the king with his sword, when the king fled
from the man, for he was afraid; and while he was running, the man threw an
egg upon the king's head, and the egg became a great river.

47v And the king dreamed that all his troops sank in that river and died, and
the king took flight with three men who were before him and he escaped.

48v And the king looked at these men and they were clothed in princely dresses
as the garments of kings, and had the appearance and majesty of kings.

49v And while they were running, the river again turned to an egg before the
king, and there came forth from the egg a young bird which came before the
king, and flew at his head and plucked out the king's eye.

50v And the king was grieved at the sight, and he awoke out of his sleep and
his spirit was agitated; and he felt a great terror.

51v I And in the morning the king rose from his couch in fear, and he ordered
all the wise men and magicians to come before him, when the king related his
dream to them.

52v And a wise servant of the king, whose name was Anuki, answered the king,
saying, This is nothing else but`the evil of Abram and his seed which will
spring up against my Lord and king in the latter days.

53v And behold the day will come when Abram and his seed and the children of
his household will war with my king, and they will smite all the king's hosts
and his troops.

54v And as to what thou hast said concerning three men which thou didst see
like unto thyself, and which did escape, this means that only thou wilt escape
with three kings from the kings of the earth who will be with thee in battle.

55v And that which thou sawest of the river which turned to an egg as at
first, and the young bird plucking out thine eye, this means nothing else but
the seed of Abram which will slay the king in latter days.

56v This is my king's dream, and this is its interpretation, and the dream is
true, and the interpretation which thy servant has given thee is right.

57v Now therefore my king, surely thou knowest that it is now fifty-two years
since thy sages saw this at the birth of Abram, and if my king will suffer
Abram to live in the earth it will be to the injury of my lord and king, for
all the days that Abram liveth neither thou nor thy kingdom will be
established, for this was known formerly at his birth; and why will not my
king slay him, that his evil may be kept from thee in latter days.

58v And Nimrod hearkened to the voice of Anuki, and he sent some of his
servants in secret to go and seize Abram, and bring him before the king to
suffer death.

59v And Eliezer, Abram's servant whom the king had given him, was at that time
in the presence of the king, and he heard what Anuki had advised the king, and
what the king had said to cause Abram's death.

60v And Eliezer said to Abram, Hasten, rise up and save thy soul, that thou
mayest not die through the hands of the king, for thus did he see in a dream
concerning thee, and thus did Anuki interpret it, and thus also did Anuki
advise the king concerning thee.

61v And Abram hearkened to the voice of Eliezer, and Abram hastened and ran
for safety to the house of Noah and his son Shem, and he concealed himself
there and found a place of safety; and the king's servants came to Abram's
house to seek him, but they could not find him, and they searched through out
the country and he was not to be found, and they went and searched in every
direction and he was not to be met with.

62v And when the king's servants could not find Abram they returned to the
king, but the king's anger against Abram was stilled, as they did not find
him, and the king drove from his mind this matter concerning Abram.

63v And Abram was concealed in Noah's house for one month, until the king had
forgotten this matter, but Abram was still afraid of the king; and Terah came
to see Abram his son secretly in the house of Noah, and Terah was very great
in the eyes of the king.

64v And Abram said to his father, Dost thou not know that the king thinketh to
slay me, and to annihilate my name from the earth by the advice of his wicked
counsellors.

65v Now whom hast thou here and what hast thou in this land? Arise, let us go
together to the land of Canaan, that we may be delivered from his hand, lest
thou perish also through him in the latter days.

66v Dost thou not know or hast thou not heard, that it is not through love
that Nimrod giveth thee all this honor, but it is only for his benefit that he
bestoweth all this good upon thee.

67v And if he do unto thee greater good than this, surely these are only
vanities of the world, for wealth and riches cannot avail in the day of wrath
and ange.

68v Now therefore hearken to my voice, and let us arise and go to the land of
Canaan, out of the reach of injury from Nimrod; and serve thou the Lord who
created thee in the earth and it will be well with thee; and cast away all the
vain things which thou pursuest.

69v And Abram ceased to speak, when Noah and his son Shem answered Terah,
saying, True is the word which Abram hath said unto thee.

70v And Terah hearkened to the voice of his son Abram, and Terah did all that
Abram said, for this was from the Lord, that the king should not cause Abram's
death.

Chapter 13. On Abram's account Terah and all his House, with Abram, Leave Ur
Casdim to go to the Land of Canaan. They tarry in Haran, where the Lord
Appears to Abram, and upon condition of Faithfulness, Promises many Blessings.
Abram, Commanded of the Lord, takes his Wife and all belonging to him and goes
to the Land of Canaan, where the Lord again appears to him and Promises the
Land of Canaan as an Everlasting Inheritance. After Fifteen Years, Abram
returns to Haran to Visit his Father. Teaches many to Walk in the Ways of the
Lord. Again commanded to go to Canaan, where he Builds an Altar. The Lord
renews his Covenant with him.

1v And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and
Sarai his daughter-in-law, the wife of his son Abram, and all the souls of his
household and went with them from Ur Casdim to go to the land of Canaan. And
when they came as far as the land of Haran they remained there, for it was
exceedingly good land for pasture, and of sufficient extent for those who
accompanied them.

2v And the people of the land of Haran saw that Abram was good and upright
with God and men, and that the Lord his God was with him, and some of the
people of the land of Haran came and joined Abram, and he taught them the
instruction of the Lord and his ways; and these men remained with Abram in his
house and they adhered to him.

3v And Abram remained in the land three years, and at the expiration of three
years the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him; I am the Lord who brought
thee forth from Ur Casdim, and delivered thee from the hands of all thine
enemies.

4v And now therefore if thou wilt hearken to my voice and keep my
commandments, my statutes and my laws, then will I cause thy enemies to fall
before thee, and I will multiply thy seed like the stars of heaven, and I will
send my blessing upon all the works of thy hands, and thou shalt lack nothing.

5v Arise now, take thy wife and all belonging to thee and go to the land of
Canaan and remain there, and I will there be unto thee for a God, and I will
bless thee. And Abram rose and took his wife and all belonging to him, and he
went to the land of Canaan as the Lord had told him; and Abram was fifty years
old when he went from Haran.

6v And Abram came to the land of Canaan and dwelt in the midst of the city,
and he there pitched his tent amongst the children of Canaan, inhabitants of
the land.

7v And the Lord appeared to Abram when he came to the land of Canaan, and said
to him, This is the land which I gave unto thee and to thy seed after thee
forever, and I will make thy seed like the stars of heaven, and I will give
unto thy seed for an inheritance all the lands which thou seest.

8v And Abram built an altar in the place where God had spoken to him, and
Abram there called upon the name of the Lord.

9v At that time, at the end of three years of Abram's dwelling in the land of
Canaan, in that year Noah died, which was the fifty-eighth year of the life of
Abram; and all the days that Noah lived were nine hundred and fifty years and
he died.

10v And Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, he, his wife, and all belonging to
him, and all those that acompanied him, together with those that joined him
from the people of the land; but Nahor, Abram's brother, and Terah his father,
and Lot the son of Haran and all belonging to them dwelt in Haran.

11v In the fifth year of Abram' s dwelling in the land of Canaan the people of
Sodom and Gomorrah and all the cities of the plain revolted from the power of
Chedorlaomer, king of Elam; for all the kings of the cities of the plain had
served Chedorlaomer for twelve years, and given him a yearly tax, but in those
days in the thirteenth year, they rebelled against him.

12v And in the tenth year of Abram's dwelling in the land of Canaan there was
war between Nimrod king of Shinar and Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Nimrod
came to fight with Chedorlaomer and to subdue him.

13v For Chedorlaomer was at that time one of the princes of the hosts of
Nimrod, and when all the people at the tower were dispersed and those that
remained were also scattered upon the face of the earth, Chedorlaomer went to
the land of Elam and reigned over it and rebelled against his lord.

14v And in those days when Nimrod saw that the cities of the plain had
rebelled, he came with pride and anger to war with Chedorlaomer, and Nimrod
assembled all his princes and subjects, about seven hundred thousand men, and
went against Chedorlaomer, and Chedorlaomer went out to meet him with five
thousand men, and they prepared for battle in the valley of Babel which is
between Elam and Shinar.

15v And all those kings fought there, and Nimrod and his people were smitten
before the people of Chedorlaomer, and there fell from Nimrod's men about six
hundred thousand, and Mardon the king's son fell amongst them.

16v And Nimrod fled and returned in shame and disgrace to his land, and he was
under subjection to Chedorlaomer for a long time, and Chedorlaomer returned to
his land and sent princes of his host to the kings that dwelt around him, to
Arioch king of Elasar, and to Tidal king of Goyim, and made a covenant with
them, and they were all obedient to his commands.

17v And it was in the fifteenth year of Abram's dwelling in the land of
Canaan, which is the seventieth year of the life of Abram, and the Lord
appeared to Abram in that year and he said to him, I am the Lord who brought
thee out from Ur Casdim to give thee this land for an inheritance.

18v Now therefore walk before me and be perfect and keep my commands, for to
thee and to thy seed I will give this land for an inheritance, from the river
Mitzraim unto the great river Euphrates.

19v And thou shalt come to thy fathers in peace and in good age, and the
fourth generation shall return here in this land and shall inherit it forever;
and Abram built an altar, and he called upon the name of the Lord who appeared
to him, and he brought up sacrifices upon the altar to the Lord.

20v At that time Abram returned and went to Haran to see his father and
mother, and his father's household, and Abram and his wife and all belonging
to him returned to Haran, and Abram dwelt in Haran five years.

21v And many of the people of Haran, about seventy two men, followed Abram and
Abram taught them the instruction of the Lord and his ways, and he taught them
to know the Lord.

22v In those days the Lord appeared to Abram in Haran, and he said to him,
Behold, I spoke unto thee these twenty years back saying.

23v Go forth from thy land, from thy birth-place and from thy father's house,
to the land which I have shown thee to give it to thee and to thy children,
for there in that land will I bless thee, and make thee a great nation, and
make thy name great, and in thee shall the families of the earth be blessed.

24v Now therefore arise, go forth from this place, thou, thy wife, and all
belonging to thee, also every one born in thy house and all the souls thou
hast made in Haran, and bring them out with thee from here, and rise to return
to the land of Canaan.

25v And Abram arose and took his wife Sarai and all belonging to him, and all
that were born to him in his house and the souls which they had made in Haran,
and they came out to go to the land of Canaan.

26v And Abram went and returned to the land of Canaan, according to the word
of the Lord. And Lot the son of his brother Haran went with him, and Abram was
seventy-five years old when he went forth from Haran to return to the land of
Canaan.

27v And he came to the land of Canaan according to the word of the Lord to
Abram, and he pitched his tent and he dwelt in the plain of Mamre, and with
him was Lot his brother's son, and all belonging to him.

28v And the Lord again appeared to Abram and said, To thy seed will I give
this land; and he there built an altar to the Lord who appeared to him, which
is still to this day in the plains of Mamre.

Chapter 15. On Account of Famine in Canaan, Abram goes to Egypt. Tells the
People that Sarah is his Sister, on account of her Beauty. Pharaoh Desires to
take her, but is Prevented by an Angel of the Lord. The Truth is made known,
and Sarah is Restored to Abram, with many Presents. Abram returns to his Home.
Trouble between Lot and Abram on account of Lot's cattle. Lot Removes to
Sodom.

1v And in that year there was a heavy famine throughout the land of Canaan,
and the inhabitants of the land could not remain on account of the famine for
it was very grievous.

2v And Abram and all belonging to him rose and went down to Egypt on account
of the famine, and when they were at the brook Mitzraim they remained there
some time to rest from the fatigue of the road.

3v And Abram and Sarai were walking at the border of the brook Mitzraim, and
Abram beheld his wife Sarai that she was very beautiful.

4v And Abram said to his wife Sarai, Since God has created thee with such a
beautiful countenance, I am afraid of the Egyptians lest they should slay me
and take thee away, for the fear of God is not in these places.

5v Surely then thou shalt do this, Say thou art my sister to all that may ask
thee, in order that it may be well with me, and that we may live and not be
put to death.

6v And Abram commanded the same to all those that came with him to Egypt on
account of the famine; also his nephew Lot he commanded, saying, If the
Egyptians ask thee concerning Sarai say she is the sister of Abram.

7v And yet with all these orders Abram did not put confidence in them, but he
took Sarai and placed her in a chest and concealed it amongst their vessels,
for Abram was greatly concerned about Sarai on account of the wickedness of
the Egyptians.

8v And Abram and all belonging to him rose up from the brook Mitzraim and came
to Egypt; and they had scarcely entered the gates of the city when the guards
stood up to them saying, Give tithe to the king from what you have, and then
you may come into the town; and Abram and those that were with him did so.

9v And Abram with the people that were with him came to Egypt, and when they
came they brought the chest in which Sarai was concealed and the Egyptians saw
the chest.

10v And the king's servants approached Abram, saying, What hast thou here in
this chest which we have not seen? Now open thou the chest and give tithe to
the king of all that it contains.

11v And Abram said, This chest I will not open, but all you demand upon it I
will give. And Pharaoh's officers answered Abram, saying, It is a chest of
precious stones, give us the tenth thereof.

12v Abram said, All that you desire I will give, but you must not open the
chest.

13v And the king's officers pressed Abram, and they reached the chest and
opened it with force, and they saw, and behold a beautiful woman was in the
chest.

14v And when the officers of the king beheld Sarai they were struck with
admiration at her beauty, and all the princes and servants of Pharaoh
assembled to see Sarai, for she was very beautiful. And the king's officers
ran and told Pharaoh all that they had seen, and they praised Sarai to the
king; and Pharaoh ordered her to be brought, and the woman came before the
king.

15v And Pharaoh beheld Sarai and she pleased him exceedingly, and he was
struck with her beauty, and the king rejoiced greatly on her account, and made
presents to those who brought him the tidings concerning her.

16v And the woman was then brought to Pharaoh' s house, and Abram grieved on
account of his wife, and he prayed to the Lord to deliver her from the hands
of Pharaoh.

17v And Sarai also prayed at that time and said, O Lord God thou didst tell my
Lord Abram to go from his land and from his father's house to the land of
Canaan, and thou didst promise to do well with him if he would perform thy
commands; now behold we have done that which thou didst command us, and we
left our land and our families, and we went to a strange land and to a people
whom we have not known before.

18v And we came to this land to avoid the famine, and this evil accident has
befallen me; now therefore, O Lord God, deliver us and save us from the hand
of this oppressor, and do well with me for the sake of thy mercy.

19v And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Sarai, and the Lord sent an angel
to deliver Sarai from the power of Pharaoh.

20v And the king came and sat before Sarai and behold an angel of the Lord was
standing over them, and he appeared to Sarai and said to her, Do not fear, for
the Lord has heard thy prayer.

21v And the king approached Sarai and said to her, What is that man to thee
who brought thee hither? and she said, He is my brother.

22v And the king said, It is incumbent upon us to make him great, to elevate
him and to do unto him all the good which thou shalt command us; and at that
time the king sent to Abram silver and gold and precious stones in abundance,
together with cattle, men servants and maid servants; and the king ordered
Abram to be brought, and he sat in the court of the king's house, and the king
greatly exalted Abram on that night.

23v And the king approached to speak to Sarai, and he reached out his hand to
touch her, when the angel smote him heavily, and he was terrified and he
refrained from reaching to her.

24v And when the king came near to Sarai, the angel smote him to the ground,
and acted thus to him the whole night, and the king was terrified.

25v And the angel on that night smote heavily all the servants of the king,
and his whole household, on account of Sarai, and there was a great
lamentation that night amongst the people of Pharaoh's house.

26v And Pharaoh, seeing the evil that befell him, said, Surely on account of
this woman has this thing happened to me, and he removed himself at some
distance from her and spoke pleasing words to her.

27v And the king said to Sarai, Tell me I pray thee concerning the man with
whom thou camest here; and Sarai said, This man is my husband, and I said to
thee that he was my brother for I was afraid, lest thou shouldst put him to
death through wickedness.

28v And the king kept away from Sarai, and the plagues of the angel of the
Lord ceased from him and his household; and Pharaoh knew that he was smitten
on account of Sarai, and the king was greatly astonished at this.

29v And in the morning the king called for Abram and said to him, What is this
thou hast done to me? Why didst thou say, She is my sister, owing to which I
took her unto me for a wife, and this heavy plague has therefore come upon me
and my household.

30v Now therefore here is thy wife, take her and go from our land lest we all
die on her account. And Pharaoh took more cattle, men servants and maid
servants, and silver and gold, to give to Abram, and he returned unto him
Sarai his wife.

31v And the king took a maiden whom he begat by his concubines, and he gave
her to Sarai for a handmaid.

32v And the king said to his daughter, It is better for thee my daughter to be
a handmaid in this man's house than to be mistress in my house, after we have
beheld the evil that befell us on account of this woman.

33v And Abram arose, and he and all belonging to him went away from Egypt; and
Pharaoh ordered some of his men to accompany him and all that went with him.

34v And Abram returned to the land of Canaan, to the place where he had made
the altar, where he at first had pitched his tent.

35v And Lot the son of Haran, Abram's brother, had a heavy stock of cattle,
flocks and herds and tents, for the Lord was bountiful to them on account of
Abram.

36v And when Abram was dwelling in the land the herdsmen of Lot quarrelled
with the herdsmen of Abram, for their property was too great for them to
remain together in the land, and the land could not bear them on account of
their cattle.

37v And when Abram's herdsmen went to feed their flock they would not go into
the fields of the people of the land, but the cattle of Lot's herdsmen did
otherwise, for they were suffered to feed in the fields of the people of the
land.

38v And the people of the land saw this occurrence daily, and they came to
Abram and quarrelled with him on account of Lot's herdsmen.

39v And Abram said to Lot, What is this thou art doing to me, to make me
despicable to the inhabitants of the land, that thou orderest thy herdsmen to
feed thy cattle in the fields of other people? Dost thou not know that I am a
stranger in this land amongst the children of Canaan, and why wilt thou do
this unto me.

40v And Abram quarrelled daily with Lot on account of this, but Lot would not
listen to Abram, and he continued to do the same and the inhabitants of the
land came and told Abram.

41v And Abram said unto Lot, How long wilt thou be to me for a stumbling block
with the inhabitants of the land? Now I beseech thee let there be no more
quarreling between us, for we are kinsmen.

42v But I pray thee separate from me, go and choose a place where thou mayest
dwell with thy cattle and all belonging to thee, but Keep thyself at a
distance from me, thou and thy household.

43v And be not afraid in going from me, for if any one do an injury to thee,
let me know and I will avenge thy cause from him, only remove from me.

44v And when Abram had spoken all these words to Lot, then Lot arose and
lifted up his eyes toward the plain of Jordan.

45v And he saw that the whole of this place was well watered, and good for man
as well as affording pasture for the cattle.

46v And Lot went from Abram to that place, and he there pitched his tent and
he dwelt in Sodom, and they were separated from each other.

47v And Abram dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and he pitched
his tent there, and Abram remained in that place many years.

Chapter 16. Four Kings with Eight Hundred Thousand Men War against Sodom and
the Cities of the Plain, and destroy and plunder their people. Abram, Hearing
that Lot is taken captive, gathers together about Three Hundred Men and
Pursues the Kings, retakes the captives, and smites the whole Army of the
confederate Kings. On his Return, Abram meets Adonizedek [Melchisedec], King
of Jerusalem, the same was Shem. Abram gives Tithes of all he had taken to
Adonizedek, and is Blessed of Him. Abram Restores to every Man his property
which he had retaken in the war, and returns to Hebron. The Lord again appears
to Abram and promises to bless him with a Numberless Posterity. Sarah being
childless gives Hagar to Abram for a Wife, and becoming jealous of her,
afflicts her. An Angel comforts Hagar. Ishmael is Born.

1v At that time Chedorlaomer king of Elam sent to all the neighboring kings,
to Nimrod, king of Shinar who was then under his power, and to Tidal, king of
Goyim, and to Arioch, king of Elasar, with whom he made a covenant, saying,
Come up to me and assist me, that we may smite all the towns of Sodom and its
inhabitants, for they have rebelled against me these thirteen years.

2v And these four kings went up with all their camps, about eight hundred
thousand men, and they went as they were, and smote every man they found in
their road.

3v And the five kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber
king of Zeboyim, Bera king of Sodom, Bersha king of Gomorrah, and Bela king of
Zoar, went out to meet them, and they all joined together in the valley of
Siddim.

4v And these nine kings made war in the valley of Siddim; and the kings of
Sodom and Gomorrah were smitten before the kings of Elam.

5v And the valley of Siddim was full of lime-pits and the kings of Elam
pursued the kings of Sodom, and the kings of Sodom with their camps fled and
fell into the lime-pits, and all that remained went to the mountain for
safety, and the five kings of Elam came after them and pursued them to the
gates of Sodom, and they took all that there was in Sodom.

6v And they plundered all the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and they also took
Lot, Abram's brother's son, and his property, and they seized all the goods of
the cities of Sodom, and they went away; and Unic, Abram's servant, who was in
the battle, saw this, and told Abram all that the kings had done to the cities
of Sodom, and that Lot was taken captive by them.

7v And Abram heard this, and he rose up with about three hundred and eighteen
men that were with him, and he that night pursued these kings and smote them,
and they all fell before Abram and his men, and there was none remaining but
the four kings who fled, and they went each his own road.

8v And Abram recovered all the property of Sodom, and he also recovered Lot
and his property, his wives and little ones and all belonging to him, so that
Lot lacked nothing.

9v And when he returned from smiting these kings, he and his men passed the
valley of Siddim where the kings had made war together.

10v And Bera king of Sodom, and the rest of his men that were with him, went
out from the lime-pits into which they had fallen, to meet Abram and his men.

11v And Adonizedek king of Jerusalem, the same was Shem, went out with his men
to meet Abraham his people, and they remained together in the valley of
Melech.

12v And Adonizedek blessed Abram, and Abram gave him a tenth from all that he
had brought from the spoil of his enemies, for Adonizedek was a priest before
God.

13v And all the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah who were there, with their
servants, approached Abram and begged of him to return them their servants
whom he had made captive, and to take unto himself all the property.

14v And Abram answered the kings of Sodom, saying, As the Lord liveth who
created heaven and earth, and who redeemed my soul from all affliction, and
who delivered me this day from my enemies, and gave them into my hand, I will
not take anything belonging to you, that you may not boast tomorrow, saying,
Abram became rich from our property that he saved.

15v For the Lord my God in whom I trust said unto me, Thou shalt lack nothing,
for I will bless thee in all the works of thy hands.

16v And now therefore behold, here is all belonging to you, take it and go; as
the Lord liveth I will not take from you from a living soul down to a shoe-tie
or thread, excepting the expense of the food of those who went out with me to
battle, as also the portions of the men who went with me, Anar, Ashcol, and
Mamre, they and their men, as well as those also who had remained to watch the
baggage, they shall take their portion of the spoil.

17v And the kings of Sodom gave Abram according to all that he had said, and
they pressed him to take of whatever he chose, but he would not.

18v And he sent away the kings of Sodom and the remainder of their men, and he
gave them orders about Lot, and they went to their respective places.

19v And Lot, his brother's son, he also sent away with his property, and he
went with them, and Lot returned to his home, to Sodom, and Abram and his
people returned to their home to the plains of Mamre, which is in Hebron.

20v At that time the Lord again appeared to Abram in Hebron, and he said to
him, Do not fear, thy reward is very great before me, for I will not leave
thee, until I shall have multiplied thee, and blessed thee and made thy seed
like the stars in heaven, which cannot be measured nor numbered.

21v And I will give unto thy seed all these lands that thou seest with thine
eyes, to them will I give them for an inheritance forever, only be strong and
do not fear, walk before me and be perfect.

22v And in the seventy-eighth year of the life of Abram, in that year died
Reu, the son of Peleg, and all the days of Reu were two hundred and
thirty-nine years, and he died.

23v And Sarai, the daughter of Haran, Abram's wife, was still barren in those
days; she did not bear to Abram either son or daughter.

24v And when she saw that she bare no children she took her handmaid Hagar,
whom Pharaoh had given her, and she gave her to Abram her husband for a wife.

25v For Hagar learned all the ways of Sarai as Sarai taught her, she was not
in any way deficient in following her good ways.

26v And Sarai said to Abram, Behold here is my handmaid Hagar, go to her that
she may bring forth upon my knees, that I may also obtain children through
her.

27v And at the end of ten years of Abram's dwelling in the land of Canaan,
which is the eighty-fifth year of Abram's life, Sarai gave Hagar unto him.

28v And Abram hearkened to the voice of his wife Sarai, and he took his
handmaid Hagar and Abram came to her and she conceived.

29v And when Hagar saw that she had conceived she rejoiced greatly, and her
mistress was despised in her eyes, and she said within herself, This can only
be that I am better before God than Sarai my mistress, for all the days that
my mistress has been with my lord, she did not conceive, but me the Lord has
caused in so short a time to conceive by him.

30v And when Sarai saw that Hagar had conceived by Abram, Sarai was jealous of
her handmaid, and Sarai said within herself, This is surely nothing else but
that she must be better than I am.

31v And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee, for at the time when
thou didst pray before the Lord for children why didst thou not pray on my
account, that the Lord should give me seed from thee.

32v And when I speak to Hagar in thy presence, she despiseth my words, because
she has conceived, and thou wilt say nothing to her; may the Lord judge
between me and thee for what thou hast done to me.

33v And Abram said to Sarai, Behold thy handmaid is in thy hand, do unto her
as it may seem good in thy eyes, and Sarai afflicted her, and Hagar fled from
her to the wilderness.

34v And an angel of the Lord found her in the place where she had fled, by a
well, and he said to her, Do not fear, for I will multiply thy seed, for thou
shalt bear a son and thou shalt call his name Ishmael; now then return to
Sarai thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.

35v And Hagar called the place of that well Beer-lahai-roi, it is between
Kadesh and the wilderness of Bered.

36v And Hagar at that time returned to her master's house, and at the end of
days Hagar bare a son to Abram, and Abram called his name Ishmael; and Abram
was eighty-six years old when he begat him.

Chapter 17. The Lord Appears to Abram and Establishes the Covenant of
Circumcision, and calls his name Abraham, and Sarai, He calls Sarah.

1v And in those days, in the ninety-first year of the life of Abram, the
children of Chittim made war with the children of Tubal, for when the Lord had
scattered the sons of men upon the face of the earth, the children of Chittim
went and embodied themselves in the plain of Canopia, and they built
themselves cities there and dwelt by the river Tibreu.

2v And the children of Tubal dwelt in Tuscanah, and their boundaries reached
the river Tibreu, and the children of Tubal built a city in Tuscanan, and they
called the name Sabinah, after the name of Sabinah son of Tubal their father,
and they dwelt there unto this day.

3v And it was at that time the children of Chittim made war with the children
of Tubal, and the children of Tubal were smitten before the children of
Chittim, and the children of Chittim caused three hundred and seventy men to
fall from the children of Tubal.

4v And at that time the children of Tubal swore to the children of Chittim,
saying, You shall not intermarry amongst us, and no man shall give his
daughter to any of the sons of Chittim.

5v For all the daughters of Tubal were in those days fair, for no women were
then found in the whole earth so fair as the daughters of Tubal.

6v And all who delighted in the beauty of women went to the daughters of Tubal
and took wives from them, and the sons of men, kings and princes, who greatly
delighted in the beauty of women, took wives in those days from the daughters
of Tubal.

7v And at the end of three years after the children of Tubal had sworn to the
children of Chittim not to give them their daughters for wives, about twenty
men of the children of Chittim went to take some of the daughters of Tubal,
but they found none.

8v For the children of Tubal kept their oaths not to intermarry with them, and
they would not break their oaths.

9v And in the days of harvest the children of Tubal went into their fields to
get in their harvest, when the young men of Chittim assembled and went to the
city of Sabinah, and each man took a young woman from the daughters of Tubal,
and they came to their cities.

10v And the children of Tubal heard of it and they went to make war with them,
and they could not prevail over them, for the mountain was exceedingly high
from them, and when they saw they could not prevail over them they returned to
their land.

11v And at the revolution of the year the children of Tubal went and hired
about ten thousand men from those cities that were near them, and they went to
war with the children of Chittim.

12v And the children of Tubal went to war with the children of Chittim, to
destroy their land and to distress them, and in this engagement the children
of Tubal prevailed over the children of Chittim, and the children of Chittim,
seeing that they were greatly distressed, lifted up the children which they
had had by the daughters of Tubal, upon the wall which had been built, to be
before the eyes of the children of Tubal.

13v And the children of Chittim said to them, Have you come to make war with
your own sons and daughters, and have we not been considered your flesh and
bones from that time till now.

14v And when the children of Tubal heard this they ceased to make war with the
children of Chittim, and they went away.

15v And they returned to their cities, and the children of Chittim at that
time assembled and built two cities by the sea, and they called one Purtu and
the other Ariza.

16v And Abram the son of Terah was then ninety-nine years old.

17v At that time the Lord appeared to him and he said to him, I will make my
covenant between me and thee, and I will greatly multiply thy seed, and this
is the covenant which I make between me and thee, that every male child be
circumcised, thou and thy seed after thee.

18v At eight days old shall it be circumcised, and this covenant shall be in
your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

19v And now therefore thy name shall no more be called Abram but Abraham, and
thy wife shall no more be called Sarai but Sarah.

20v For I will bless you both, and I will multiply your seed after you that
you shall become a great nation, and kings shall come forth from you.

Chapter 18. Abraham Entertains Three Angels, who eat with him. Sarah is
promised a Son. The People of Sodom and Gomorrah, and of all the Cities of the
Plain become very wicked.

1v And Abraham rose and did all that God had ordered him, and he took the men
of his household and those bought with his money, and he circumcised them as
the Lord had commanded him.

2v And there was not one left whom he did not circumcise, and Abraham and his
son Ishmael were circumcised in the flesh of their foreskin; thirteen years
old was Ishmael when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

3v And in the third day Abraham went out of his tent and sat at the door to
enjoy the heat of the sun, during the pain of his flesh.

4v And the Lord appeared to him in the plain of Mamre, and sent three of his
ministering angels to visit him, and he was sitting at the door of the tent,
and he lifted his eyes and saw, and lo three men were coming from a distance,
and he rose up and ran to meet them, and he bowed down to them and brought
them into his house.

5v And he said to them, If now I have found favor in your sight, turn in and
eat a morsel of bread; and he pressed them, and they turned in and he gave
them water and they washed their feet, and he placed them under a tree at the
door of the tent.

6v And Abraham ran and took a calf, tender and good, and he hastened to kill
it, and gave it to his servant Eliezer to dress.

7v And Abraham came to Sarah into the tent, and he said to her, Make ready
quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it and make cakes to cover the pot
containing the meat, and she did so.

8v And Abraham hastened and brought before them butter and milk, beef and
mutton, and gave it before them to eat before the flesh of the calf was
sufficiently done, and they did eat.

9v And when they had done eating, one of them said to him, I will return to
thee according to the time of life, and Sarah thy wife shall have a son.

10v And the men afterward departed and went their ways, to the places to which
they were sent.

11v In those days all the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and of the whole five
cities, were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord, and they provoked
the Lord with their abominations, and they strengthened in acting abominably
and scornfully before the Lord, and their wickedness and crimes were in those
days great before the Lord.

12v And they had in their land a very extensive valley, about half a day's
walk, and in it there were fountains of water and a great deal of herbage
surrounding the water.

13v And all the people of Sodom and Gomorrah went there four times in the
year, with their wives and children and all belonging to them, and they
rejoiced there with timbrels and dances.

14v And in the time of rejoicing they would all rise and lay hold of their
neighbor's wives, and some, the virgin daughters of their neighbors, and they
enjoyed them, and each man saw his wife and daughter in the hands of his
neighbor and did not say a word.

15v And they did so from morning to night, and they afterward returned home
each man to his house and each woman to her tent; so they always did four
times in the year.

16v Also when a stranger came into their cities and brought goods which he had
purchased with a view to dispose of there, the people of these cities would
assemble, men, women and children, young and old, and go to the man and take
his goods by force, giving a little to each man until there was an end to all
the goods of the owner which he had brought into the land.

17v And if the owner of the goods quarreled with them, saying, What is this
work which you have done to me, then they would approach to him one by one,
and each would show him the little which he took and taunt him, saying, I only
took that little which thou didst give me; and when he heard this from them
all, he would arise and go from them in sorrow and bitterness of soul, when
they would all arise and go after him, and drive him out of the city with
great noise and tumult.

18v And there was a man from the country of Elam who was leisurely going on
the road, seated upon his ass, which carried a fine mantle of divers colors,
and the mantle was bound with a cord upon the ass.

19v And the man was on his journey passing through the street of Sodom when
the sun set in the evening, and he remained there in order to abide during the
night, but no one would let him into his house; and at that time there was in
Sodom a wicked and mischievous man, one skilful to do evil, and his name was
Hedad.

20v And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the street of the city,
and he came to him and said, Whence comest thou and whither dost thou go.

21v And the man said to him, I am traveling from Hebron to Elam where I
belong, and as I passed the sun set and no one would suffer me to enter his
house, though I had bread and water and also straw and provender for my ass,
and am short of nothing.

22v And Hedad answered and said to him, All that thou shalt want shall be
supplied by me, but in the street thou shalt not abide all night.

23v And Hedad brought him to his house, and he took off the mantle from the
ass with the cord, and brought them to his house, and he gave the ass straw
and provender whilst the traveler ate and drank in Hedad's house, and he abode
there that night.

24v And in the morning the traveler rose up early to continue his journey,
when Hedad said to him, Wait, comfort thy heart with a morsel of bread and
then go, and the man did so; and he remained with him, and they both ate and
drank together during the day, when the man rose up to go.

25v And Hedad said to him, Behold now the day is declining, thou hadst better
remain all night that thy heart may be comforted; and he pressed him so that
he tarried there all night, and on the second day he rose up early to go away,
when Hedad pressed him, saying, Comfort thy heart with a morsel of bread and
then go; and he remained and ate with him also the second day, and then the
man rose up to continue his journey.

26v And Hedad said to him, Behold now the day is declining, remain with me to
comfort thy heart and in the morning rise up early and go thy way.

27v And the man would not remain, but rose and saddled his ass, and whilst he
was saddling his ass the wife of Hedad said to her husband, Behold this man
has remained with us for two days eating and drinking and he has given us
nothing, and now shall he go away from us without giving anything? and Hedad
said to her, Be silent.

28v And the man saddled his ass to go, and he asked Hedad to give him the cord
and mantle to tie it upon the ass.

29v And Hedad said to him, What sayest thou? And he said to him, That thou my
lord shalt give me the cord and the mantle made with divers colors which thou
didst conceal with thee in thy house to take care of it.

30v And Hedad answered the man, saying, This is the interpretation of thy
dream, the cord which thou didst see, means that thy life will be lengthened
out like a cord, and having seen the mantle colored with all sorts of colors,
means that thou shalt have a vineyard in which thou wilt plant trees of all
fruits.

31v And the traveler answered, saying, Not so my lord, for I was awake when I
gave thee the cord and also a mantle woven with different colors, which thou
didst take off the ass to put them by for me, and Hedad answered and said,
Surely I have told thee the interpretation of thy dream and it is a good
dream, and this is the interpretation thereof.

32v Now the sons of men give me four pieces of silver, which is my charge for
interpreting dreams, and of thee only I require three pieces of silver.

33v And the man was provoked at the words of Hedad, and he cried bitterly, and
he brought Hedad to Serak judge of Sodom.

34v And the man laid his cause before Serak the judge, when Hedad replied.
saying, It is not so, but thus the matter stands; and the judge said to the
traveler, This man Hedad telleth thee truth, for he is famed in the cities for
the accurate interpretation of dreams.

35v And the man cried at the word of the judge, and he said, Not so my Lord,
for it was in the day that I gave him the cord and mantle which was upon the
ass, in order to put them by in his house; and they both disputed before the
judge, the one saying, Thus the matter was, and the other declaring otherwise.

36v And Hedad said to the man, Give me four pieces of silver that I charge for
my interpretations of dreams; I will not make any allowance; and give me the
expense of the four meals that thou didst eat in my house.

37v And the man said to Hedad, Truly I will pay thee for what I ate in thy
house, only give me the cord and mantle which thou didst conceal in thy house.

38v And Hedad replied before the judge and said to the man, Did I not tell
thee the interpretation of thy dream? the cord means that thy days shall be
prolonged like a cord, and the mantle, that thou wilt have a vineyard in which
thou wilt plant all kinds of fruit trees.

39v This is the proper interpretation of thy dream, now give me the four
pieces of silver that I require as a compensation, for I will make thee no
allowance.

40v And the man cried at the words of Hedad and they both quarreled before the
judge, and the judge gave orders to his servants, who drove them rashly from
the house.

41v And they went away quarreling from the judge, when the people of Sodom
heard them, and they gathered about them and they exclaimed against the
stranger, and they drove him rashly from the city.

42v And the man continued his journey upon his ass with bitterness of soul,
lamenting and weeping.

43v And whilst he was going along he wept at what had happened to him in the
corrupt city of Sodom.

Chapter 20. Abraham goes to the land of the Philistines, and again tells the
People that Sarah is his sister. Abimelech the King desires her for a Wife. An
Angel warns him, and commands him to return her to her Husband. The whole land
afflicted on account of the matter. Sarah Restored to Abraham, who entreats
the Lord to heal the People of Abimelech.

1v And at that time Abraham journeyed from the plain of Mamre, and he went to
the land of the Philistines, and he dwelt in Gerar; it was in the twenty-fifth
year of Abraham's being in the land of Canaan, and the hundredth year of the
life of Abraham, that he came to Gerar in the land of the Philistines.

2v And when they entered the land he said to Sarah his wife, Say thou art my
sister, to any one that shall ask thee, in order that we may escape the evil
of the inhabitants of the land.

3v And as Abraham was dwelling in the land of the Philistines, the servants of
Abimelech, king of the Philistines, saw that Sarah was exceedingly beautiful,
and they asked Abraham concerning her, and he said, She is my sister.

4v And the servants of Abimelech Went to Abimelech, saying, A man from the
land of Canaan is come to dwell in the land, and he has a sister that is
exceeding fair.

5v And Abimelech heard the words of his servants who praised Sarah to him, and
Abimelech sent his officers, and they brought Sarah to the king.

6v And Sarah came to the house of Abimelech, and the king saw that Sarah was
beautiful, and she pleased him exceedingly.

7v And he approached her and said to her, What is that man to thee with whom
thou didst come to our land? and Sarah answered and said He is my brother, and
we came from the land of Canaan to dwell wherever we could find a place.

8v And Abimelech said to Sarah, Behold my land is before thee, place thy
brother in any part of this land that pleases thee, and it will be our duty to
exalt and elevate him above all the people of the land since he is thy
brother.

9v And Abimelech sent for Abraham, and Abraham came to Abimelech.

10v And Abimelech said to Abraham, Behold I have given orders that thou shalt
be honored as thou desirest on account of thy sister Sarah.

11v And Abraham went forth from the king, and the king's present followed him.

12v As at evening time, before men lie down to rest, the king was sitting upon
his throne, and a deep sleep fell upon him, and he lay upon the throne and
slept till morning.

13v And he dreamed that an angel of the Lord came to him with a drawn sword in
his hand, and the angel stood over Abimelech, and wished to slay him with the
sword, and the king was terrified in his dream, and said to the angel, In what
have I sinned against thee that thou comest to slay me with thy sword.

14v And the angel answered and said to Abimelech, Behold thou diest on account
of the woman which thou didst yesternight bring to thy house, for she is a
married woman, the wife of Abraham who came to thy house; now therefore return
that man his wife, for she is his wife; and shouldst thou not return her, know
that thou wilt surely die, thou and all belonging to thee.

15v And on that night there was a great outcry in the land of the Philistines,
and the inhabitants of the land saw the figure of a man standing with a drawn
sword in his hand, and he smote the inhabitants of the land with the sword,
yea he continued to smite them.

16v And the angel of the Lord smote the whole land of the Philistines on that
night, and there was a great confusion on that night and on the following
morning.

17v And every womb was closed, and all their issues, and the hand of the Lord
was upon them on account of Sarah, wife of Abraham, whom Abimelech had taken.

18v And in the morning Abimelech rose with terror and confusion and with a
great dread, and he sent and had his servants called in, and he related his
dream to them, and the people were greatly afraid.

19v And one man standing amongst the servants of the king answered the king,
saying, O sovereign king, restore this woman to her husband, for he is her
husband, for the like happened to the king of Egypt when this man came to
Egypt.

20v And he said concerning his wife, She is my sister, for such is his manner
of doing when he cometh to dwell in the land in which he is a stranger.

21v And Pharaoh sent and took this woman for a wife and the Lord brought upon
him grievous plagues until he returned the woman to her husband.

22v Now therefore, O sovereign king, know what happened yesternight to the
whole land, for there was a very great consternation and great pain and
lamentation, and we know that it was on account of the woman which thou didst
take.

23v Now, therefore, restore this woman to her husband, lest it should befall
us as it did to Pharaoh king of Egypt and his subjects, and that we may not
die; and Abimelech hastened and called and had Sarah called for, and she came
before him, and he had Abraham called for, and he came before him.

24v And Abimelech said to them, What is this work you have been doing in
saying you are brother and sister, and I took this woman for a wife.

25v And Abraham said, Because I thought I should suffer death on account of my
wife; and Abimelech took flocks and herds, and men servants and maid servants,
and a thousand pieces of silver, and he gave them to Abraham, and he returned
Sarah to him.

26v And Abimelech said to Abraham, Behold the whole land is before thee, dwell
in it wherever thou shalt choose.

27v And Abraham and Sarah, his wife, went forth from the king's presence with
honor and respect, and they dwelt in the land, even in Gerar.

28v And all the inhabitants of the land of the Philistines and the king's
servants were still in pain, through the plague which the angel had inflicted
upon them the whole night on account of Sarah.

29v And Abimelech sent for Abraham, saying, Pray now for thy servants to the
Lord thy God, that he may put away this mortality from amongst us.

30v And Abraham prayed on account of Abimelech and his subjects, and the Lord
heard the prayer of Abraham, and he healed Abimelech and all his subjects.