And Abram said unto Lot, "Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we are brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou take the right hand, then I will go to the left."

And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the Plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt.

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[Ill.u.s.tration]

THE TRADITIONAL OAK OF ABRAHAM, NEAR HEBRON From a photograph belonging to Miss Julia W. Snow and used by her kind permission.

"And Abram pa.s.sed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the Oak of Moreh."

[End ill.u.s.tration]

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So Lot chose for himself all the Plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the Plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners against the Lord exceedingly. And the Lord said unto Abram, after Lot was separated from him, "Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy family for ever. And I will make thy family as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy family also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for unto thee will I give it."

And Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built there an altar un to the Lord.

THE FIGHT OF THE FIVE KINGS AGAINST THE FOUR.

_The Capture of Lot, and His Rescue by Abram_.

And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar); and they set the battle in array against them in the vale of Siddim; against Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goiim, and Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch, king of Ellasar; four kings against the five.

Now the vale of Siddim was full of pitch pits; and the {26} kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell there, and they that remained fled to the mountain. And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew.

And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan. And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him. And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine: and he was priest of G.o.d Most High. And he blessed him, and said, "Blessed be Abram of G.o.d Most High, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be G.o.d Most High, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand." And he gave him a tenth of all.

And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, "Give me the persons and take the goods to thyself." And Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted up my hand unto the Lord, G.o.d Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or a shoelatchet nor aught that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, 'I have made Abram rich': {27} save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me; let them take their portion."

G.o.d'S PROMISES.

_The Making of the Covenant_.

After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, "Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward."

And Abram said, "O Lord G.o.d, what wilt thou give me, seeing I am childless, and he that shall be possessor of my house is my servant, Eliezer of Damascus?"

And Abram said, "Behold, to me thou hast given no child: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir." And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, "This man shall not be thine heir; but he that shall be thine own son shall be thine heir."

And he brought him forth abroad, and said, "Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them": and he said unto him, "So shall thy family be."

And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. And he said unto him, "I am the Lord who brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it." And he said, "O Lord G.o.d, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?"

And he said unto him, "Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle dove, and a young pigeon."

And he took him all these, and divided them in the {28} midst, and laid each half over against the other: but the birds divided he not.

And the birds of prey came down upon the carcases, and Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, "Know of a surety that thy family shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. And in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full."

And it came to pa.s.s, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that pa.s.sed between these pieces. In that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, "Unto thy family have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river Euphrates."

THE BIRTH OF ISHMAEL.

_Abram Receives a New Name. Visit of the Messengers_.

(Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had no children, and, as the custom sometimes was in those days, she gave him her handmaid Hagar, to be his wife. And Hagar had a child, and Abram called the name of the child Ishmael.)

And when Abram was ninety and nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, "I am G.o.d Almighty; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I {29} will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly."

And Abram fell on his face: and G.o.d talked with him, saying, "As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be the father of a mult.i.tude of nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for the father of a mult.i.tude of nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy family after thee throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a G.o.d unto thee and to thy family after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy family after thee, the land of thy sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their G.o.d."

And G.o.d said unto Abraham, "And as for thee, thou shalt keep my covenant, thou, and thy family after thee throughout their generations."

And G.o.d said unto Abraham, "As for Sarai, thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and moreover I will give thee a son of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; she shall bear thee a son; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his family after him."

And the Lord appeared unto him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood over against {30} him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth and said, "My lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pa.s.s not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: let now a little water be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: and I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your heart; after that ye shall pa.s.s on: forasmuch as ye are come to your servant."

And they said, "So do, as thou hast said."

And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, "Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes."

And Abraham ran to the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it to the servant; and he hasted to dress it. And he took b.u.t.ter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.

And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; to the end that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him."

And the Lord said, "Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; {31} I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the report of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know."

And the men turned from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. And Abraham drew near, and said, "Wilt thou consume the righteous within the city: wilt thou consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked; that be far from thee: shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

And the Lord said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sake."

And Abraham answered and said, "Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am but dust and ashes: peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous; wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five?"

And he said, "I will not destroy it, if I find there forty and five."

And he spake unto him yet again, and said, "Peradventure there shall be forty found there."

And he said, "I will not do it for the forty's sake."

And he said, "Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: peradventure there shall be thirty found there."

And he said, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there." And he said, "Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: peradventure there shall be twenty found there."

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And he said, "I will not destroy it for the twenty's sake." And he said, "Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but this once: peradventure ten shall be found there."