The Calling of Abram

(Genesis 26:1-5)

1And Jehovah saith unto Abram, ‘Go for thyself, from thy land, and from thy kindred, and from the house of thy father, unto the land which I shew thee.

2And I make thee become a great nation, and bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing.

3And I bless those blessing thee, and him who is disesteeming thee I curse, and blessed in thee have been all families of the ground.’

4And Abram goeth on, as Jehovah hath spoken unto him, and Lot goeth with him, and Abram [is] a son of five and seventy years in his going out from Charan. 5And Abram taketh Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they have gained, and the persons that they have obtained in Charan; and they go out to go towards the land of Canaan; and they come in to the land of Canaan. 6And Abram passeth over into the land, unto the place Shechem, unto the oak of Moreh; and the Canaanite [is] then in the land. 7And Jehovah appeareth unto Abram, and saith, ‘To thy seed I give this land;’ and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, who hath appeared unto him. 8And he removeth from thence towards a mountain at the east of Beth-El, and stretcheth out the tent (Beth-El at the west, and Hai at the east), and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, and preacheth in the name of Jehovah. 9And Abram journeyeth, going on and journeying towards the south.

Abram and Sarai in Egypt

10And there is a famine in the land, and Abram goeth down towards Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine [is] grievous in the land; 11and it cometh to pass as he hath drawn near to enter Egypt, that he saith unto Sarai his wife, ‘Lo, I pray thee, I have known that thou [art] a woman of beautiful appearance; 12and it hath come to pass that the Egyptians see thee, and they have said, ‘This [is] his wife,’ and they have slain me, and thee they keep alive: 13say, I pray thee, thou [art] my sister, so that it is well with me because of thee, and my soul hath lived for thy sake.’ 14And it cometh to pass, at the entering of Abram into Egypt, that the Egyptians see the woman that she [is] exceeding fair; 15and princes of Pharaoh see her, and praise her unto Pharaoh, and the woman is taken [to] Pharaoh’s house; 16and to Abram he hath done good because of her, and he hath sheep and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and handmaids, and she-asses, and camels.

17And Jehovah plagueth Pharaoh and his house — great plagues — for the matter of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18And Pharaoh calleth for Abram, and saith, ‘What [is] this thou hast done to me? why hast thou not declared to me that she [is] thy wife? 19Why hast thou said, She [is] my sister, and I take her to myself for a wife? and now, lo, thy wife, take and go.’ 20And Pharaoh chargeth men concerning him, and they send him away, and his wife, an all that he hath.