Genesis - Full Text

 Genesis

THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND HUMANITY 

In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, with darkness over the surface of the deep and the Spirit of God moving over the waters. On the first day, God said, “Let there be light,” and light appeared. Seeing that the light was good, He separated it from the darkness, calling the light “Day” and the darkness “Night.”

On the second day, God made a firmament, which He called “Heaven,” to separate the waters below from the waters above. On the third day, He gathered the waters into one place to let dry land appear, naming the land “Earth” and the waters “Seas,” and saw that it was good. God then commanded the earth to sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each according to its kind, and saw that this too was good.

On the fourth day, God created lights in the heavens to separate day from night and to serve as signs for seasons, days, and years. He made two great lights—the sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night—and He also made the stars, setting them all in the sky to give light upon the earth and deeming it good. On the fifth day, God filled the waters with living creatures and the sky with birds, creating great sea creatures and every winged fowl after its kind. Seeing that it was good, God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply.”

On the sixth day, God made the living creatures of the earth—cattle, creeping things, and beasts of every kind—and saw that they were good. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” granting him dominion over all the fish, birds, cattle, and every creature on earth. So God created man in His own image; male and female He created them. God blessed them and commanded them to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. He gave them every seed-bearing plant and fruit-yielding tree for food, and every green herb as food for the beasts and birds. God saw everything He had made, and it was very good.

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed. On the seventh day, God finished His work and rested, blessing the seventh day and making it holy. This is the account of their creation, at a time before any plant had grown, for the LORD God had not yet sent rain, and there was no man to work the ground, though a mist rose from the earth and watered it. The LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living soul.

God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there He placed the man He had formed. He made beautiful, fruit-bearing trees grow, including the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the center of the garden. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden and then divided into four headwaters: the Pison, which flows through the land of Havilah, rich in gold, bdellium, and onyx stone; the Gihon, which winds through Ethiopia; the Hiddekel, which runs east of Assyria; and the Euphrates.

The LORD God put the man in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it, issuing a single command: “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” He formed every beast of the field and bird of the air from the ground and brought them to Adam to be named, and whatever Adam called each creature became its name. Yet among them, no suitable helper was found for Adam.

So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and while he slept, He took one of Adam's ribs and fashioned it into a woman. When He brought her to the man, Adam declared, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” For this reason, a man shall leave his parents and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.

THE FALL OF MAN AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 

The serpent, more cunning than any beast God had made, asked the woman if God had truly forbidden them from eating of any tree in the garden. The woman clarified that they could eat from the trees, just not the one in the middle of the garden, which God said they must not eat or even touch, or they would die. The serpent insisted they would not die but would become like gods, knowing good and evil, which is why God had forbidden it.

The woman saw that the tree’s fruit was good for food, pleasing to the eye, and desirable for gaining wisdom, so she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. At once, their eyes were opened, and they realized they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together for coverings. When they heard the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, they hid from His presence among the trees. God called out to Adam, “Where art thou?” Adam confessed he had hidden because he was afraid of being naked. God asked who told him he was naked and if he had eaten from the forbidden tree. The man blamed the woman, and the woman blamed the serpent.

Consequently, the LORD God cursed the serpent to crawl on its belly and eat dust, and He placed enmity between the serpent's offspring and the woman's, foretelling that her seed would crush its head while it would strike his heel. He told the woman she would have great pain in childbirth and that her husband would rule over her. To Adam, He cursed the ground, decreeing that through painful toil and the sweat of his brow he would eat from it until he returned to the dust from which he was made.

Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. The LORD God made garments of skin for them and clothed them. Then, stating that man had become like one of them in knowing good and evil, God banished him from Eden to prevent him from also eating from the tree of life and living forever. He drove the man out and placed cherubim and a flaming sword east of the garden to guard the way to the tree of life.

CAIN AND ABEL: THE FIRST MURDER 

Adam and Eve had two sons: Cain, a farmer, and Abel, a shepherd. In time, Cain brought an offering of produce to the LORD, while Abel brought the best firstlings of his flock. The LORD favored Abel's offering but not Cain's, which made Cain deeply angry. The LORD warned Cain that sin was crouching at his door but that he must rule over it. Later, in a field, Cain attacked and killed his brother Abel.

When the LORD asked Cain where his brother was, Cain retorted, “Am I my brother's keeper?” God declared that Abel's blood cried out from the ground and cursed Cain to be a restless wanderer, unable to draw strength from the earth. Fearing for his life, Cain was given a mark by the LORD for his protection, promising sevenfold vengeance on anyone who killed him. Cain then settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

THE LINEAGE OF CAIN AND THE BIRTH OF SETH 

Cain’s descendants are recorded through his son Enoch, after whom he named a city he built. The line continued to Lamech, who had two wives, Adah and Zillah. Adah's sons were Jabal, the father of tent-dwellers, and Jubal, the father of musicians. Zillah’s son was Tubal-cain, a forger of bronze and iron tools, and her daughter was Naamah. Lamech boasted to his wives of his violence, claiming he would be avenged seventy-sevenfold.

Adam and Eve had another son, Seth, to replace Abel. Seth had a son named Enos, and it was in his time that people began to call on the name of the LORD.

THE LINEAGE FROM ADAM TO NOAH 

The book of generations lists the line from Adam to Noah. Adam lived 930 years; his son Seth lived 912 years; his son Enos lived 905 years; his son Cainan lived 910 years; his son Mahalaleel lived 895 years; his son Jared lived 962 years.

Jared's son Enoch walked faithfully with God for 300 years after the birth of his son Methuselah. At the age of 365, he was no more, because God took him away. Methuselah lived 969 years, the longest lifespan recorded, and had a son named Lamech. Lamech lived 777 years and fathered Noah, foreseeing that Noah would bring comfort from the toil caused by the cursed ground. At 500 years old, Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

THE GREAT FLOOD

WICKEDNESS AND THE COMMAND TO BUILD THE ARK 

As humanity multiplied, the “sons of God” intermarried with the “daughters of men,” and their children became the renowned heroes of old, the Nephilim (giants). Seeing that human wickedness was great and every inclination of the heart was only evil, the LORD regretted creating humanity and was deeply grieved. He resolved to wipe from the earth all living creatures, from people to birds.

But Noah, a righteous and blameless man who walked with God, found favor with the LORD. As the earth was corrupt and filled with violence, God told Noah He would put an end to all people. He instructed Noah to build an ark of gopher wood, giving him precise dimensions: 300 cubits long, 50 wide, and 30 high, with a roof, a door, and lower, middle, and upper decks.

God announced He would bring a flood to destroy all life, but He would establish a covenant with Noah. Noah was to enter the ark with his wife, his three sons, and their wives. He was also to bring two of every kind of living creature—male and female—along with enough food for everyone and every animal. Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

THE DELUGE AND SURVIVAL 

The LORD instructed Noah to bring seven pairs of every clean animal and bird into the ark, and one pair of every unclean animal, for in seven days He would send rain for forty days and forty nights. At the age of 600, Noah entered the ark with his family and the animals as commanded, and the LORD shut him in. On the seventeenth day of the second month, the springs of the great deep burst forth, the floodgates of the heavens were opened, and the rain began.

The waters rose for forty days, lifting the ark high above the earth. The floodwaters grew so great that they covered the highest mountains by more than fifteen cubits. Every living thing on dry land perished—people, animals, and birds—leaving only Noah and those with him in the ark alive. The waters flooded the earth for 150 days.

But God remembered Noah, sent a wind to make the waters recede, and stopped the rain. After 150 days, the waters had gone down, and the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The waters continued to recede until the mountaintops became visible. Forty days later, Noah sent out a raven, which kept flying back and forth. He then sent out a dove, which returned, having found no place to perch. A week later, he sent the dove again; it returned in the evening with a fresh olive leaf. After another week, he sent the dove a final time, and it did not return.

By Noah's 601st year, the ground was dry. God told Noah to come out of the ark with his family and all the animals, so they could multiply on the earth. Noah then built an altar and sacrificed some of every kind of clean animal and bird. The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and promised never again to curse the ground on account of humanity or to destroy all living creatures, declaring that the cycles of season and day would never cease.

THE COVENANT OF THE RAINBOW 

God blessed Noah and his sons, giving them the command to be fruitful and multiply. He put all living creatures under their dominion and permitted them to eat meat, but not with its lifeblood in it. He established the principle of capital punishment for murder, because humanity was made in God's image.

God then established His covenant with Noah, his descendants, and all living creatures, promising never again to destroy the earth with a flood. As the sign of this everlasting covenant, He set his rainbow in the clouds, which would serve as a reminder of His promise.

The whole earth was repopulated from Noah’s three sons: Shem, Ham (the father of Canaan), and Japheth. One day, Noah, a man of the soil, became drunk from the wine of his vineyard and lay uncovered in his tent. Ham saw his father’s nakedness and told his brothers. Shem and Japheth respectfully covered their father by walking backward with a garment so as not to see him. When Noah awoke, he cursed Ham's son Canaan to be the lowest of slaves to his brothers, but he blessed Shem and Japheth. Noah lived to be 950 years old.

THE TABLE OF NATIONS AND THE TOWER OF BABEL 

The descendants of Noah’s sons populated the earth after the flood. From Japheth came the maritime peoples. From Ham came nations including the Canaanites and the people of Cush, whose son Nimrod was a mighty warrior who founded the kingdom of Babel. From Shem came the ancestors of Eber. These families formed the nations that spread across the earth.

At this time, the whole world had one language. Migrating eastward, people settled in a plain in Shinar and decided to build a city with a tower that reached to the heavens, to make a name for themselves and avoid being scattered. The LORD came down and saw their work, observing that as one people with one language, nothing they planned would be impossible for them. He resolved to confuse their language so they could not understand each other. The LORD then scattered them across the face of the earth, and they stopped building the city, which was named Babel.

The account then traces the lineage from Shem down to Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran, the father of Lot, died in his homeland of Ur. Abram married Sarai, who was unable to have children, and Nahor married Milcah. Terah took his family and left Ur to go to Canaan, but they settled in Haran, where Terah died at the age of 205. 

THE PATRIARCH ABRAHAM

THE CALL OF ABRAM AND THE JOURNEY TO CANAAN

The LORD commanded Abram in Haran to leave his country, his people, and his father’s household and go to a land that He would show him. God promised: “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing... and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” So, at seventy-five years old, Abram departed with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all their possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan.

Upon arriving, Abram traveled through the land to Shechem. There, the LORD appeared to him and promised, “Unto thy seed will I give this land.” Abram built an altar to the LORD at that place and another on a mountain between Bethel and Ai, where he called on the name of the LORD. He then continued his journey toward the south.

When a severe famine struck the land, Abram went down to Egypt to live for a while. As they neared the border, he told Sarai to say she was his sister, fearing that the Egyptians would kill him to take his beautiful wife. When they arrived, Pharaoh’s officials saw Sarai’s beauty and took her into Pharaoh's palace. On her account, Pharaoh treated Abram well, giving him sheep, cattle, donkeys, servants, and camels. But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Sarai. Pharaoh summoned Abram, rebuked him for his deception, and ordered him to take his wife and leave. Pharaoh’s men then escorted Abram, his wife, and all his possessions out of Egypt.

ABRAM AND LOT SEPARATE

Abram, along with his wife and Lot, returned from Egypt to the south of Canaan. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold. He journeyed back to the altar he had built between Bethel and Ai and once again called on the name of the LORD. Lot, who was with Abram, also had large flocks, herds, and tents, and the land could not support them both dwelling together.

Conflict arose between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. To keep peace, Abram proposed that they separate, offering Lot his choice of the land. Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, so he chose it for himself and journeyed east. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain, pitching his tents near the wicked city of Sodom.

After Lot had departed, the LORD reaffirmed His promise to Abram, telling him to look in every direction, for all the land he could see would be given to him and his descendants forever, making them as numerous as the dust of the earth. Abram was told to walk the length and breadth of the land. He then moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.

ABRAM RESCUES LOT

A war broke out between a coalition of four eastern kings, led by Kedorlaomer of Elam, and five kings of the Jordan plain, including the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. After twelve years of servitude, the five kings rebelled. In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and his allies marched through the region, defeating several peoples before confronting the five kings in the Valley of Siddim. The valley was full of tar pits, and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled and fell into them while the rest escaped to the mountains. The victorious kings plundered the cities and carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and all his possessions.

When a survivor brought the news to Abram the Hebrew, he called out his 318 trained men, born in his household, and pursued the enemy. He divided his men and attacked them by night, routing them and pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He successfully recovered all the goods, his nephew Lot, the women, and the other people.

Upon his return, the king of Sodom came out to meet him. Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, also came and brought out bread and wine. He blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.” Abram gave him a tenth of everything. The king of Sodom offered Abram the goods if he would return the people, but Abram swore an oath to God that he would not take so much as a thread, so that no one could say they had made Abram rich.

THE COVENANT WITH ABRAM

The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, promising to be his shield and great reward. Abram questioned what God could give him, since he remained childless and his servant Eliezer of Damascus was his heir. God assured him that a son from his own body would be his heir and, taking him outside, said his offspring would be as numerous as the stars. Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.

When God promised to give him the land to inherit, Abram asked for a sign. God instructed him to bring a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon. Abram cut the larger animals in two and arranged the halves opposite each other. As the sun set, a deep and dreadful darkness fell over Abram. The LORD foretold that his descendants would be strangers in a foreign country for four hundred years, where they would be enslaved and mistreated, but that God would judge that nation and his descendants would come out with great possessions.

After the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch passed between the pieces of the animals, signifying the sealing of a covenant. On that day, the LORD made a covenant with Abram, promising his descendants the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates, and listing the peoples who inhabited it.

THE BIRTH OF ISHMAEL

Since Sarai had borne him no children, she gave Abram her Egyptian maidservant, Hagar, as a wife, according to the custom of the time. Hagar conceived, and when she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Sarai complained to Abram, who gave her permission to deal with Hagar as she wished. Sarai then mistreated Hagar so severely that she fled into the desert.

The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring and instructed her to return to her mistress and submit to her. The angel promised to increase her descendants so they would be too numerous to count and told her she would have a son named Ishmael, because the LORD had heard her misery. The angel added that he would be a wild man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him. Hagar gave a name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me." Hagar bore Abram a son, and he named him Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old at the time.

THE COVENANT OF CIRCUMCISION

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” He re-established His covenant, changing Abram’s name to Abraham, for he would be a father of many nations. He also changed Sarai’s name to Sarah and promised that she would bear him a son, through whom the covenant would be established.

Abraham laughed to himself at the thought of a hundred-year-old man and a ninety-year-old woman having a child. He asked God to bless Ishmael, and God agreed, promising that Ishmael would father twelve rulers and become a great nation. But God affirmed that His everlasting covenant would be with Isaac, the son Sarah would bear the following year.

As a sign of this covenant, God commanded that every male in Abraham's household, and in all generations to come, be circumcised on the eighth day after birth. That very day, Abraham, his thirteen-year-old son Ishmael, and every male in his household were circumcised as God had commanded.

A PROMISE AND A PLEA FOR SODOM

The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre as three men. Abraham ran to greet them and offered them hospitality, preparing a meal of a tender calf, curds, milk, and bread. As they ate, they asked about his wife, Sarah. One of them declared, “I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son.” Sarah, who was listening at the tent entrance, laughed to herself, thinking them too old for such a thing.

The LORD asked Abraham why Sarah laughed and questioned if anything was too hard for the LORD. Frightened, Sarah denied laughing, but the LORD confirmed that she had.

As the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked with them. The LORD revealed His intention to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because their sin was so grievous. Abraham approached the LORD and began to intercede, asking if He would sweep away the righteous with the wicked. He bargained with God, asking Him to spare the city for the sake of fifty righteous people. God agreed. Abraham continued to plead, lowering the number to forty-five, then forty, thirty, twenty, and finally ten. The LORD promised that He would not destroy the city for the sake of ten righteous people, and then He departed.

THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH

The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening and were met by Lot, who insisted they stay at his house. Before they went to bed, all the men of the city surrounded the house and demanded that Lot bring out his guests so they could have sex with them. Lot went outside and begged them not to act so wickedly, even offering his two virgin daughters in their place. The mob grew angry, accused Lot of setting himself up as a judge, and surged forward to break down the door. The angels pulled Lot back inside and struck the men outside with blindness.

The angels urged Lot to flee with his family, as the LORD had sent them to destroy the city. His sons-in-law thought he was joking. At dawn, as Lot hesitated, the angels seized the hands of Lot, his wife, and his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, warning them to escape to the mountains and not look back. Lot pleaded to be allowed to go to a small nearby town named Zoar, and his request was granted. As Lot entered Zoar at sunrise, the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah. He destroyed the cities, the entire plain, and everything in it. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

The next morning, Abraham saw dense smoke rising from the land like smoke from a furnace. God had remembered Abraham and had brought Lot out of the catastrophe. Fearing to stay in Zoar, Lot and his two daughters settled in a cave. His daughters, believing no other men were left on earth, conspired to preserve their family line. They made their father drunk with wine on two successive nights and lay with him. Both conceived. The older daughter had a son named Moab, the ancestor of the Moabites, and the younger had a son named Ben-Ammi, the ancestor of the Ammonites.

ABRAHAM, SARAH, AND ABIMELECH

Abraham moved to the region of Gerar. There, he again said of his wife, Sarah, “She is my sister.” Abimelech, the king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her. But God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him he was as good as dead for taking a married woman. Abimelech, who had not touched her, pleaded his innocence, explaining that both Abraham and Sarah had claimed to be siblings. God acknowledged his clear conscience and said that was why He had kept him from sinning. God commanded him to return Sarah to Abraham, who was a prophet and would pray for him.

Abimelech confronted Abraham, who admitted he acted out of fear and explained that Sarah was indeed his half-sister. Abimelech restored Sarah to Abraham, along with sheep, cattle, and servants, and gave him a thousand shekels of silver as a vindication for Sarah. Abraham then prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and the women of his household, who had been unable to conceive.

THE BIRTH OF ISAAC AND EXPULSION OF HAGAR

The LORD was gracious to Sarah as He had promised, and she conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had foretold. Abraham named the boy Isaac, and he circumcised him when he was eight days old. Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born. Sarah rejoiced, saying God had brought her laughter.

The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw Hagar’s son, Ishmael, mocking, and she demanded that Abraham cast out the slave woman and her son, declaring that Ishmael would never share in the inheritance with Isaac. The matter distressed Abraham greatly, but God told him to listen to Sarah, for his offspring would be reckoned through Isaac. God also promised to make a nation from the son of the slave, because he was Abraham’s seed.

Early the next morning, Abraham gave Hagar some food and a skin of water and sent her away with the boy. She wandered in the wilderness until the water was gone. Not wanting to watch her son die, she placed him under a bush and sat down a short distance away, weeping. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, telling her not to be afraid. God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. God was with the boy as he grew up; he became an archer and lived in the wilderness, and his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.

At that time, Abimelech made a treaty with Abraham at Beersheba, swearing not to deal falsely with each other. Abraham gave Abimelech sheep and cattle and set aside seven ewe lambs as a witness that he had dug a certain well over which their servants had disputed. Abraham then planted a grove in Beersheba and called on the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.

THE BINDING OF ISAAC

Some time later, God tested Abraham, saying, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering.” Abraham rose early, saddled his donkey, and set out with Isaac and two servants. On the third day, he saw the place in the distance. He told his servants to wait while he and the boy went to worship.

Abraham placed the wood for the offering on Isaac, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As they walked, Isaac asked where the lamb for the offering was. Abraham replied, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.” When they reached the place, Abraham built an altar, arranged the wood, bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar. He then reached out and took the knife to slay him.

But the angel of the LORD called out from heaven, stopping him. “Lay not thine hand upon the lad,” the angel said, “for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. He sacrificed the ram as a burnt offering instead of his son, and he called that place “The LORD Will Provide.” The angel of the LORD called a second time, swearing by God Himself that because Abraham had obeyed and not withheld his only son, God would surely bless him and make his descendants as numerous as the stars and the sand, and they would possess the cities of their enemies. Through his offspring, all nations on earth would be blessed.

THE DEATH AND BURIAL OF SARAH

Sarah lived to be 127 years old and died in Hebron in the land of Canaan. Abraham mourned for her and then negotiated with the Hittites to buy a burial site. They offered him the choice of their finest tombs, but Abraham insisted on buying the cave of Machpelah from Ephron the Hittite. Ephron offered to give him the field and the cave, but Abraham insisted on paying the full price. He paid Ephron four hundred shekels of silver, and the field, the cave, and all its trees became his property. Abraham then buried his wife Sarah in the cave.

A WIFE FOR ISAAC

Abraham, now old, made his chief servant swear an oath not to get a wife for his son Isaac from the Canaanite women, but to go to Abraham’s own country and relatives. The servant was concerned the woman might not want to return, but Abraham assured him that the LORD would send an angel before him. He made the servant promise not to take Isaac back there.

The servant took ten camels and goods and went to the city of Nahor in Mesopotamia. At evening, by a well, he prayed that the LORD would show him kindness by revealing the chosen woman: she would be the one who, when asked for a drink, would offer to water his camels as well. Before he finished praying, Rebekah, granddaughter of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out. She was very beautiful and a virgin. The servant ran to her and asked for a drink. She quickly offered him her jar and then volunteered to draw water for all his camels until they were finished.

The servant watched in silence. When the camels were done drinking, he gave her a gold nose ring and two gold bracelets. He learned who she was and that there was room in her father’s house. The man bowed down and worshiped the LORD for guiding him. Rebekah ran and told her family, and her brother, Laban, seeing the jewelry, hurried out to invite the man home.

The servant refused to eat until he had stated his business. He recounted his entire journey and the sign he had prayed for, explaining how the LORD had led him directly to Rebekah. Laban and his father, Bethuel, acknowledged that the matter was from the LORD and gave their consent for Rebekah to go and become Isaac’s wife. The servant gave Rebekah jewels of silver and gold, and also gave precious gifts to her brother and mother. The next morning, he insisted on departing. They asked Rebekah, and she said, “I will go.” They blessed her, and she and her maids left with the servant.

Isaac, who lived in the south, was meditating in a field at evening when he saw the camels approaching. Rebekah also saw him, and when she learned he was her master’s son, she took a veil and covered herself. The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. Isaac then brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent; she became his wife, and he loved her, and he was comforted after his mother’s death.

ABRAHAM’S FINAL YEARS AND DEATH

Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. She bore him several sons, including Zimran, Jokshan, and Midian. Abraham gave all he owned to Isaac. To the sons of his concubines, he gave gifts and sent them away to the east country while he was still alive. Abraham lived for 175 years and died at a good old age. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah with his wife Sarah. After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac.

The account then lists the twelve sons of Ishmael, who became twelve tribal rulers. Ishmael lived for 137 years and died.

THE PATRIARCH JACOB

THE BIRTHRIGHT AND ISAAC'S SOJOURN

After Abraham’s death, God blessed Isaac. His wife, Rebekah, was barren, so Isaac prayed, and she conceived twins. The children struggled within her, and the LORD revealed to her: “Two nations are in thy womb... and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.” The first to be born was red and hairy, and they named him Esau. His brother came out with his hand grasping Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob.

The boys grew up differently: Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. One day, when Esau came in from the field exhausted, he begged Jacob for some of the red stew he had made. Jacob agreed, but only if Esau would sell him his birthright. Saying he was about to die of hunger, Esau swore an oath and sold his birthright to Jacob for some bread and lentil stew.

When another famine struck the land, Isaac went to Gerar, where Abimelech was king of the Philistines. The LORD appeared to him, telling him not to go to Egypt but to stay in that land, and reaffirmed the oath He had made to Abraham, promising to bless Isaac and give his numerous descendants all those lands. Fearing for his life because of Rebekah's beauty, Isaac told the men of the place that she was his sister. But one day, Abimelech saw them showing affection and, realizing she was his wife, rebuked Isaac and warned his people that anyone who harmed the couple would be put to death.

Isaac prospered exceedingly in that land, accumulating so many flocks, herds, and servants that the Philistines envied him and stopped up all the wells his father’s servants had dug. Abimelech asked him to leave, and Isaac moved to the Valley of Gerar. There he redug his father's wells, but his herdsmen quarreled with the herdsmen of Gerar over them. Finally, he dug a well for which they did not quarrel, naming it Rehoboth. From there he went to Beersheba, where the LORD appeared to him, again promising to bless him. Abimelech later came to Isaac to make a treaty of peace, acknowledging that the LORD was with him. At forty years of age, Esau married two Hittite women, which was a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

JACOB’S DECEPTION AND FLIGHT

When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak he could not see, he called for his older son, Esau, and asked him to hunt some wild game and prepare his favorite meal, so that he could give him his blessing before he died. Rebekah overheard and quickly devised a plan for Jacob to receive the blessing instead. She cooked two choice young goats, dressed Jacob in Esau’s best clothes, and covered his smooth hands and neck with the goatskins.

Jacob went to his father with the food, claiming to be Esau. Isaac was suspicious because the voice sounded like Jacob’s, but when he felt the hairy hands, he was deceived. After eating, he kissed and blessed Jacob, saying: “Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren... Cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.”

Scarcely had Jacob left when Esau returned from the hunt. When he brought his father the meal, the deception was revealed. Isaac trembled violently, and Esau let out a great and bitter cry, begging for a blessing of his own. Isaac told him that Jacob had taken his blessing with subtlety. Esau lamented that Jacob had now supplanted him twice, taking both his birthright and his blessing. Isaac could only give Esau a lesser blessing, foretelling that he would live by the sword and serve his brother, though he would eventually break free.

Esau developed a deep hatred for Jacob and planned to kill him after their father’s death. Rebekah learned of the threat and, also complaining about Esau’s Hittite wives, urged Isaac to send Jacob to her brother Laban in Haran to find a wife. Isaac blessed Jacob again, bestowing upon him the full blessing of Abraham, and sent him away. Esau, seeing that his Canaanite wives displeased his parents, took another wife, a daughter of Ishmael.

On his way to Haran, Jacob stopped for the night, using a stone as a pillow. He dreamed of a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. The LORD stood above it and identified Himself as the God of Abraham and Isaac, promising Jacob the land on which he was lying, descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth, and His personal protection until all His promises were fulfilled. Jacob awoke in awe, realizing the LORD was in that place. He named it Bethel (“house of God”), set up the stone as a pillar, and vowed that if God would be with him, he would give back a tenth of all he was given.

JACOB'S YEARS WITH LABAN

Jacob arrived in Haran, where he met Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, at a well. He helped water her sheep, kissed her, and wept. Laban welcomed him warmly, and Jacob stayed with him for a month. When Laban asked what his wages should be, Jacob, who was in love with the beautiful Rachel, offered to work for seven years in exchange for her hand in marriage. The years seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.

When the time was up, Laban prepared a wedding feast but tricked Jacob by giving him his older daughter, Leah, instead of Rachel. The next morning, Jacob confronted Laban, who defended his actions by citing a local custom against marrying off the younger daughter before the older. He offered Rachel as well, in return for another seven years of work. Jacob agreed and, after Leah’s bridal week was complete, he also married Rachel, whom he loved more than Leah.

The LORD saw that Leah was not loved, so He enabled her to conceive while Rachel remained barren. Leah bore four sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. Rachel, desperate for children, gave her servant Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, and Bilhah bore Dan and Naphtali. Leah then gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob, and she bore Gad and Asher. Leah herself later bore two more sons, Issachar and Zebulun, and a daughter, Dinah. Finally, God remembered Rachel and enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to Joseph.

After Joseph’s birth, Jacob desired to return to his homeland. Laban, knowing that the LORD had blessed him because of Jacob, urged him to stay and name his wages. Jacob proposed that he would take as his pay all the speckled, spotted, and dark-colored sheep and goats from Laban's flocks. Laban agreed. Jacob then used a clever breeding strategy, using peeled branches to influence the flocks during mating, which resulted in the stronger animals bearing speckled and streaked offspring. In this way, Jacob’s flocks grew immensely, and he became exceedingly prosperous, with many servants, camels, and donkeys.

JACOB'S FLIGHT AND COVENANT WITH LABAN

Jacob eventually noticed that Laban’s attitude toward him had cooled, and he heard Laban’s sons grumbling that he had taken their father’s wealth. The LORD then told Jacob to return to the land of his fathers. Jacob called Rachel and Leah to the field and explained how their father had repeatedly cheated him, but that God had protected him and transferred Laban's wealth to him. His wives agreed to leave, feeling that their father had treated them as foreigners by selling them and using up their purchase price.

So Jacob put his family and possessions on camels and fled while Laban was away shearing sheep. Unknown to Jacob, Rachel had stolen her father’s household gods. Three days later, Laban learned of their departure and pursued them for seven days, catching up to them in the hill country of Gilead. God warned Laban in a dream not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.

Laban confronted Jacob, asking why he had left secretly and stolen his gods. Jacob, knowing nothing of the theft, denied it and allowed Laban to search his camp. When Laban could not find the idols—which Rachel had hidden in her camel’s saddle—Jacob became angry and recounted his twenty years of faithful service and Laban's constant deception. Laban and Jacob then made a covenant. They set up a stone pillar and a mound of stones as a boundary marker and swore an oath not to harm one another. After sharing a meal, Laban blessed his children and grandchildren and returned home the next morning.

RECONCILIATION WITH ESAU

As Jacob continued his journey, he was met by angels of God. He sent messengers ahead to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, but they returned with the news that Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred men. Terrified, Jacob divided his people and flocks into two groups and prayed fervently for deliverance. He prepared a generous gift of hundreds of goats, sheep, camels, cattle, and donkeys, sending them ahead in waves to appease Esau.

That night, after sending his family across the Jabbok River, Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw he could not prevail, he wrenched Jacob’s hip at the socket. Jacob refused to let him go until he blessed him. The man changed Jacob’s name to Israel, for he had struggled with God and with humans and had overcome. Jacob named the place Peniel, for he had seen God face to face and survived. He was left with a limp.

Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming. He bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached. But Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, and they both wept. After meeting Jacob’s family, Esau initially refused Jacob's gift, but Jacob insisted until he accepted it. Esau then returned to Seir, while Jacob traveled on to Succoth.

THE EVENTS AT SHECHEM AND BETHEL

Jacob bought a plot of land near the city of Shechem. One day his daughter, Dinah, was seized and raped by Shechem, the son of the local ruler. Shechem fell in love with her and sought to marry her. His father, Hamor, proposed a general alliance of intermarriage and trade between his people and Jacob’s family. Dinah’s brothers, burning with rage, deceitfully agreed to the proposal on the condition that every man in the city be circumcised. The men of the city consented. On the third day, while the men were still in pain, Simeon and Levi stormed the city, killed every male, including Hamor and Shechem, rescued Dinah, and plundered the city. Jacob was furious, telling them they had made him a stench in the land, but his sons retorted, “Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?”

God then instructed Jacob to move to Bethel and build an altar there. After Jacob had his household purify themselves and get rid of their foreign gods, they traveled safely to Bethel. There, God appeared to Jacob again, reaffirmed his name Israel, and renewed the covenant promises. As they journeyed on, Rachel went into labor and died while giving birth to her second son, whom Jacob named Benjamin. She was buried near Bethlehem. Soon after, Jacob’s firstborn son, Reuben, slept with his father’s concubine, Bilhah. Jacob eventually returned to his father, Isaac, in Hebron. Isaac lived to be 180 years old, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

THE DESCENDANTS OF ESAU

The lineage of Esau, also known as Edom, is then detailed. It lists his wives, sons, and grandsons, who became the chiefs of the clans of Edom in the hill country of Seir. The account also includes the early kings who reigned in the land of Edom.

THE STORY OF JOSEPH

JOSEPH SOLD INTO SLAVERY

Jacob, now called Israel, settled in Canaan and loved his seventeen-year-old son Joseph more than any of his other children, for he was the son of his old age. He gave Joseph an ornate, multi-colored coat, which made his brothers hate him so much they could not speak a kind word to him. Their hatred intensified when Joseph recounted two dreams: one in which his brothers’ sheaves of grain bowed down to his, and another where the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed down to him.

One day, Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers, who were grazing their flocks near Shechem. Joseph found them at Dothan, and when they saw him in the distance, they conspired to kill him. The eldest, Reuben, intervened, persuading them to throw Joseph into a cistern instead, as he secretly planned to rescue him later. They stripped Joseph of his coat and cast him into the empty pit.

As they sat to eat, a caravan of Ishmaelite merchants passed by. At Judah’s suggestion, they decided to sell their brother rather than kill him. They sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver, and he was taken to Egypt. When Reuben returned to the pit and found it empty, he was distraught. The other brothers dipped Joseph’s coat in goat’s blood and presented it to their father, who concluded that a wild animal had killed his beloved son. Jacob mourned deeply and refused to be comforted. Meanwhile, in Egypt, Joseph was sold to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard.

JUDAH AND TAMAR

In a separate account, Jacob’s son Judah married a Canaanite woman and had three sons. He arranged a marriage for his firstborn, Er, to a woman named Tamar, but Er was wicked, and the LORD put him to death. Judah then instructed his second son, Onan, to fulfill his duty to his brother's widow, but Onan refused to father a child in his brother’s name, for which the LORD also put him to death. Fearing for his last son, Shelah, Judah sent Tamar back to her father's house with a false promise to give Shelah to her when he was grown.

Years later, after Shelah was grown and Judah's wife had died, Tamar realized she would not be given to Shelah. She disguised herself as a prostitute and positioned herself on the road where she knew Judah would pass. Not recognizing her, he lay with her, leaving his signet, cord, and staff as a pledge for payment. When he later sent a goat to redeem his pledge, she could not be found. Three months later, when Judah was told that Tamar was pregnant from prostitution, he ordered her to be burned. As she was led out, she presented his pledge items, revealing him as the father. Judah acknowledged his fault, declaring her more righteous than he. Tamar later gave birth to twin sons, Perez and Zarah.

JOSEPH'S RISE IN EGYPT

The LORD was with Joseph in Egypt, and he prospered in the household of his master, Potiphar, who saw God’s favor on him and put him in charge of his entire estate. Joseph was well-built and handsome, and Potiphar’s wife repeatedly tried to seduce him. He consistently refused, stating it would be a betrayal of his master and a sin against God. One day she caught him by his cloak, and he fled, leaving it in her hand. She then falsely accused him of attempted rape, using the garment as proof.

Enraged, Potiphar had Joseph thrown into the king's prison. But the LORD was with him there as well, granting him favor with the prison warden, who soon put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners. Sometime later, Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer and chief baker were imprisoned with Joseph. Both had troubling dreams on the same night. Joseph, stating that interpretations belong to God, explained their dreams: in three days, the cupbearer would be restored to his position, but the baker would be executed. He asked the cupbearer to remember him, but when events unfolded exactly as predicted, the cupbearer forgot him.

Two full years later, Pharaoh himself had two disturbing dreams that no one in Egypt could interpret. The cupbearer then remembered Joseph, who was hastily brought from the dungeon. Joseph told Pharaoh that his dreams were a message from God: seven years of great abundance would be followed by seven years of devastating famine. He advised Pharaoh to appoint a wise man to oversee the storage of grain during the good years. Pharaoh was so impressed that he appointed Joseph as his second-in-command, giving him his signet ring and authority over all of Egypt. During the seven years of plenty, Joseph gathered and stored a vast amount of grain. He married and had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. When the seven years of famine began, Egypt was the only nation with food, and people from all countries came to buy grain.

JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS REUNITE

The famine was severe in Canaan, so Jacob sent his ten sons to Egypt for grain, keeping only Benjamin, his youngest, at home. The brothers appeared before Joseph and bowed down to him. He recognized them, but they did not recognize him. He accused them of being spies, which they denied, explaining their family situation. To test them, Joseph held Simeon hostage and demanded they return with their youngest brother to prove their story. He secretly had their money returned to their sacks, which terrified them when they discovered it on the journey home.

Jacob was devastated and initially refused to let Benjamin go. But as the famine worsened, Judah pledged his own life for Benjamin’s safety, and Jacob reluctantly agreed. They returned to Egypt with a gift and double the money. When Joseph saw Benjamin, he was overcome with emotion and arranged for them to dine at his house. At the feast, he astonished them by seating them in perfect birth order and giving Benjamin a portion five times larger than theirs.

For their final test, Joseph had his personal silver cup hidden in Benjamin’s sack of grain. After they departed, he sent his steward to pursue and “arrest” them for the theft. When the cup was found, they all returned to the city in despair. Judah offered a moving plea, explaining that his father would die if Benjamin did not return and offering himself as a slave in his brother’s place.

No longer able to restrain himself, Joseph sent his attendants away and revealed his identity, weeping so loudly that the entire palace heard. He reassured his terrified brothers not to be distressed, "for God did send me before you to preserve life." He urged them to bring their father and their entire households to Egypt to live in the region of Goshen, where he could provide for them during the five remaining years of famine.

Pharaoh was pleased with the news and supplied wagons and provisions for the move. When the brothers returned and told Jacob that Joseph was alive and the ruler of Egypt, his spirit revived. Jacob’s entire family, numbering seventy in all, journeyed to Egypt. Joseph and Jacob had an emotional reunion in Goshen. Joseph used his family’s occupation as shepherds—an occupation loathed by Egyptians—to secure for them the fertile and separate land of Goshen, as he had planned.

JACOB’S FINAL DAYS

Jacob lived in Egypt for seventeen years. As his death approached, he made Joseph swear to bury him in the family tomb in Canaan. He then formally adopted Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, giving them status equal to his own sons. In blessing them, he deliberately crossed his hands to give the greater blessing to the younger son, Ephraim, prophesying that his descendants would be greater.

Jacob then gathered all twelve of his sons and gave each a prophetic blessing concerning the future of their respective tribes. After giving his final instructions for his burial, Jacob died. Joseph led a great procession of both Hebrews and high-ranking Egyptians to Canaan and buried his father in the cave of Machpelah.

After their father’s death, the brothers feared Joseph would finally take revenge. They sent him a message pleading for forgiveness. Joseph wept and reassured them, speaking one of the most central messages of his story: “Fear not... as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” He promised to continue to provide for them and their children. Joseph lived to the age of 110. Before he died, he made his people swear an oath to carry his bones with them when God would eventually bring them out of Egypt and back to the Promised Land. He was then embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Concise Summary

Genesis recounts the creation of the world, the origins of humanity, and the ancestral history of Israel through the lives of its patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—concluding with the story of Joseph, whose journey to Egypt sets the stage for the nation's formation.