Bible in 90 Days

Parashat Bereshit

Creation in Six Days

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ^{[a] 2} Now the earth was chaos and waste, darkness was on the surface of the deep, and the Ruach Elohim was hovering upon the surface of the water.^[b]

³ Then God said, “Let there be light!” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good. So God distinguished the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” So there was evening and there was morning—one day.

⁶ Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water! Let it be for separating water from water.” ⁷ So God made the expanse and it separated the water that was below the expanse from the water that was over the expanse. And it happened so. ⁸ God called the expanse “sky.” So there was evening and there was morning—a second day. ⁹ Then God said, “Let the water below the sky be gathered to one place. Let the dry ground appear.” And it happened so. ¹⁰ God called the dry ground “land,” and the collection of the water He called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

¹¹ Then God said, “Let the land sprout grass, green plants yielding seed, fruit trees making fruit, each according to its species with seed in it, upon the land.” And it happened so. ¹² The land brought forth grass, green plants yielding seed, each according to its species, and trees making fruit with the seed in it, each according to its species. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ So there was evening and there was morning—a third day.

¹⁴ Then God said, “Let lights in the expanse of the sky be for separating the day from the night. They will be for signs and for seasons and for days and years. ¹⁵ They will be for lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the land.” And it happened so. ¹⁶ Then God made the two great lights—the greater light for dominion over the day, and the lesser light as well as the stars for dominion over the night. ¹⁷ God set them in the expanse of the sky to shine on the land ¹⁸ and to have dominion over the day and over the night and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ So there was evening and there was morning—a fourth day.

²⁰ Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures! Let flying creatures fly above the land across the expanse of the sky.” ²¹ Then God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that crawls, with which the water swarms, according to their species, as well as every winged flying creature, according to their species. And God saw that it was good. ²² Then God blessed them by saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water in the seas. Let the flying creatures multiply on the land.” ²³ So there was evening and there was morning—a fifth day.

²⁴ Then God said, “Let the land bring forth living creatures according to their species—livestock, crawling creatures and wild animals, according to their species.” And it happened so. ²⁵ God made the wild animals according to their species, the livestock according to their species, and everything that crawls on the ground, each according to its species. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness! Let them rule over the fish of the sea, over the flying creatures of the sky, over the livestock, over the whole earth, and over every crawling creature that crawls on the land.” ²⁷ God created humankind in His image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them. ^{[c] 28} God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the land, and conquer it. Rule over the fish of the sea, the flying creatures of the sky, and over every animal that crawls on the land.”

²⁹ Then God said, “I have just given you every green plant yielding seed that is on the surface of the whole land, and every tree, which has the fruit of a tree yielding seed. They are to be food for you. ³⁰ Also for every wild animal, every flying creature of the sky and every creature that crawls on the land which has life, every green plant is to be food.” And it happened so. ³¹ So God saw everything that He made, and behold it was very good.

So there was evening and there was morning—the sixth day.

Shabbat For Rest

2 So the heavens and the earth were completed along with their entire array. ² God completed—on the seventh day—His work that He made, and He ceased—on the seventh day—from all His work that He made. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, for on it He ceased from all His work that God created for the purpose of preparing.

Humanity in Gan-Eden

⁴ These are the genealogical records of the heavens and the earth when they were created, at the time when Adonai Elohim made land and sky. ⁵ Now no shrub of the field was in the land yet, and no green plants of the field had sprouted yet. For Adonai Elohim had not caused it to rain upon the land, and there was no one to work the ground. ⁶ But a mist came up from the land and watered the whole surface of the ground.

⁷ Then Adonai Elohim formed the man out of the dust from the ground and He breathed into his nostrils a breath of life—so the man became a living being. ⁸ Then Adonai Elohim planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there He put the man whom He had formed. ⁹ Then Adonai Elohim caused to sprout from the ground every tree that was desirable to look at and good for food.

Now the Tree of Life was in the middle of the garden, and also the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. ¹⁰ A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden. From there it divided and became four riverheads. ¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon, the one that winds around the whole land of the Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² The gold of that land is good—bdellium and lapis lazuli stones are also there. ¹³ The name of the second river is Gihon—it winds around the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴ The name of the third river is Tigris—it runs east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

¹⁵ Then Adonai Elohim took the man and gave him rest in the Garden of Eden in order to cultivate and watch over it. ¹⁶ Then Adonai Elohim commanded the man saying, “From all the trees of the garden you are most welcome to eat. ¹⁷ But of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil you must not eat. For when you eat from it, you most assuredly will die!

¹⁸ Then Adonai Elohim said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. Let Me make a well-matched helper for him.” ¹⁹ Adonai Elohim had formed from the ground every animal of the field and every flying creature of the sky, so He brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called them—each living creature—that was its name. ²⁰ So the man gave names to all of the livestock, and to the flying creatures of the sky, and to all the animals of the field; but for the man He did not find a well-matched helper for him. ²¹ Adonai Elohim caused a deep sleep to fall on the man and he slept; and He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place. ²² Adonai Elohim built the rib, which He had taken from the man, into a woman. Then He brought her to the man. ²³ Then the man said,

²⁴ This is why a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife; and they become one flesh.^[d]

From Innocence to Shame

²⁵ Now both of them were naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.

3 But the serpent was shrewder than any animal of the field that Adonai Elohim made. So it said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from all the trees of the garden’?”

² The woman said to the serpent, “Of the fruit of the trees, we may eat. ³ But of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat of it and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

⁴ The serpent said to the woman, “You most assuredly won’t die! ⁵ For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

⁶ Now the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a thing of lust for the eyes, and that the tree was desirable for imparting wisdom. So she took of its fruit and she ate. She also gave to her husband who was with her and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made for themselves loin-coverings. ⁸ And they heard the sound of Adonai Elohim going to and fro in the garden in the wind of the day. So the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Adonai Elohim in the midst of the Tree of the garden.

⁹ Then Adonai Elohim called to the man and He said to him, “Where are you?”

¹⁰ Then he said, “Your sound—I heard it in the garden and I was afraid. Because I am naked, I hid myself.”

¹¹ Then He said, “Who told you that you are naked? Have you eaten from the Tree from which I commanded you not to eat?”

¹² Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me—she gave me of the Tree, and I ate.”

¹³ Adonai Elohim said to the woman, “What did you do?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me and I ate.”

¹⁴ Adonai Elohim said to the serpent, “Because you did this,

¹⁷ Then to the man He said, “Because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate of the tree which I commanded you, saying, ‘You must not eat of it’:

²⁰ Now Adam named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all the living. ²¹ Adonai Elohim made Adam and his wife tunics of skin and He clothed them. ²² Then Adonai Elohim said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. So now, in case he stretches out his hand and takes also from the Tree of Life and eats and lives forever,” ²³ Adonai Elohim sent him away from the Garden of Eden, to work the ground from which he had been taken. ²⁴ And He expelled the man; and at the east of the Garden of Eden He had cheruvim dwell along, with the whirling sword of flame, to guard the way to the Tree of Life.

Cain and Abel’s Blood

4 Now the man had relations with Eve his wife and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I produced a man with Adonai.” ² Then she gave birth again, to his brother Abel. Abel became a shepherd of flocks while Cain became a worker of the ground. ³ So it happened after some time that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to Adonai, ⁴ while Abel—he also brought of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. Now Adonai looked favorably upon Abel and his offering, ⁵ but upon Cain and his offering He did not look favorably. Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.

⁶ Then Adonai said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? ⁷ If you do well, it will lift. But if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the doorway. Its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

⁸ Cain spoke to Abel his brother. While they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. ^{[f] 9} Then Adonai said to Cain, “Where is Abel, your brother?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

¹⁰ Then He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to Me from the ground. ¹¹ So now, cursed are you from the ground which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹² As often as you work the ground, it will not yield its crops to you again. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

¹³ Cain said to Adonai, “My iniquity^[g] is too great to bear! ¹⁴ Since You expelled me today from the face of the ground and I must be hidden from Your presence, then I will be a restless wanderer on the earth—anyone who finds me will kill me!”

¹⁵ But Adonai said to him, “In that case, anyone who kills Cain is to be avenged seven times over.”

So Adonai put a mark on Cain, so that anyone who found him would not strike him down. ¹⁶ Then Cain left Adonai’s presence and dwelled in the Land of Wandering, east of Eden.

¹⁷ Cain was intimate with his wife and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. And he was building a city, and he named the city after the name of his son, Enoch. ¹⁸ And to Enoch was born Irad. Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech.

¹⁹ Now Lamech took for himself two wives. The name of the first one was Adah, and the name of the second one was Zillah. ²⁰ Adah gave birth to Jabal—he was the pioneer of tent dwellers with livestock. ²¹ His brother’s name was Jubal—he was the pioneer of all who skillfully handle stringed instruments and wind instruments. ²² Now Zillah also gave birth to Tubal-Cain, the forger of every kind of bronze and iron tools; Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.

²⁵ Adam was intimate with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and she named him Seth, “For God has appointed me another seed in place of Abel—since Cain killed him.” ²⁶ To Seth, also was born a son. He named him Enosh. Then people began to call on Adonai’s Name.

Book of Genealogies

5 This is the Book of the Genealogies of Adam:

When God created Adam, in the likeness of God He made him. ² Male and female He created them, and He blessed them and called their name “Adam” when He created them. ³ Adam lived 130 years, then fathered a son in his likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. ⁴ Then the days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years, and He fathered other sons and daughters. ⁵ So all Adam’s days that he lived were 930 years, and then he died.

⁶ Seth lived 105 years, then fathered Enosh. ⁷ Seth lived 807 years after he fathered Enosh, and he fathered sons and daughters. ⁸ So all Seth’s days were 912 years, and then he died.

⁹ Enosh lived 90 years, then fathered Kenan. ¹⁰ Enosh lived 815 years after he fathered Kenan, and he fathered sons and daughters. ¹¹ So all of Enosh’s days were 905 years, and then he died.

¹² Kenan lived 70 years, then fathered Mahalalel. ¹³ Kenan lived 840 years after he fathered Mahalalel, he fathered sons and daughters. ¹⁴ So all of Kenan’s days were 910 years, and then he died.

¹⁵ Mahalalel lived 65 years, then fathered Jared. ¹⁶ Mahalalel lived 830 years after he fathered Jared, and he fathered sons and daughters. ¹⁷ So all of Mahalalel’s days were 895 years, and then he died.

¹⁸ Jared lived 162 years, then fathered Enoch. ¹⁹ Jared lived 800 years after he fathered Enoch, and he fathered sons and daughters. ²⁰ So all of Jared’s days were 962 years, and then he died.

²¹ Enoch lived 65 years, then fathered Methuselah.

²² Now Enoch walked with God continually for 300 years after he fathered Methuselah, and he fathered sons and daughters. ²³ So all of Enoch’s days were 365 years.

²⁴ And Enoch continually walked with God—then he was not there, because God took him.

²⁵ Methuselah lived 187 years and fathered Lamech. ²⁶ And Methuselah lived 782 years after he fathered Lamech, and he fathered other sons and daughters. ²⁷ So all of Methuselah’s days were 969 years, and then he died.

²⁸ Lamech lived 182 years and he fathered a son.

²⁹ And he named him Noah saying, “This one will comfort us from our work and from the pain of our hands because of the ground which Adonai cursed.”

³⁰ Lamech lived 595 years after he fathered Noah, and he fathered sons and daughters. ³¹ So all of Lamech’s days were 777 years, and then he died. ³² And Noah was 500 years old when he fathered Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Evil Inclination of All Humanity

6 Now when humankind began to multiply on the face of the ground and daughters were born to them, ² then the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were good and they took for themselves wives, any they chose. ³ Then Adonai said, “My Spirit will not remain with humankind forever, since they are flesh. So their days will be 120 years. ⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, whenever the sons of God came to the daughters of men, and gave birth to them. Those were the mighty men of old, men of renown.

⁵ Then Adonai saw that the wickedness of humankind was great on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their heart was only evil all the time. ⁶ So Adonai regretted that He made humankind on the earth, and His heart was deeply pained. ⁷ So Adonai said, “I will wipe out humankind, whom I have created, from the face of the ground, from humankind to livestock, crawling things and the flying creatures of the sky, because I regret that I made them.”

⁸ But Noah found favor in Adonai’s eyes.

Parashat Noah

⁹ These are the genealogies of Noah. Noah was a righteous man. He was blameless among his generation. Noah continually walked with God. ¹⁰ Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. ¹¹ Now the earth was ruined before God, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹² God saw the earth, and behold it was ruined because all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.

Instructions for the Ark

¹³ Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh is coming before Me, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Behold, I am about to bring ruin upon them along with the land. ¹⁴ Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood. You shall make the ark with compartments and smear pitch on it, both inside and out. ¹⁵ Now this is how you shall make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. ¹⁶ You shall make a roof for the ark, and you shall finish it to within a cubit from the top. You shall put the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third stories. ^{[h] 17} Now I am about to bring the flood—water upon the land—to destroy all flesh in which is the spirit of life from under the sky. Everything that is on the land will perish. ¹⁸ But I will establish My covenant with you. So you shall come into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁹ Also of every living thing, of all flesh, you shall bring two of everything—male and female—into the ark to keep alive with you. ²⁰ Of the flying creatures according to their kind, of the livestock according to their kind, of all the crawling creatures of the ground according to their kind—two of everything will come to you to keep them alive. ²¹ As for you: take for yourself every kind of edible food and gather it to yourself. It will be food for you and for them.”

²² So Noah did according to all that God commanded him; he did so exactly.

Deliverance Through the Flood

7 Then Adonai said to Noah, “Come—you and all your household—into the ark. For you only do I perceive as righteous before Me in this generation. ² Of every clean animal you shall take with you seven of each kind, male and female; and of the animals which themselves are not clean two, male and female; ³ also of the flying creatures of the sky seven of every kind, male and female, to keep offspring alive on the face of the whole land. ⁴ For in seven more days, I am going to make it rain upon the land forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe out all existence that I made from the face of the ground. ⁵ So Noah did all just as Adonai commanded him.

⁶ Now Noah was 600 years old when the flood came—water upon the land. ⁷ So Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, entered the ark because of the floodwaters. ⁸ Of the clean animals and unclean animals, the flying creatures and everything that crawls on the ground, ⁹ two by two they came to Noah, into the ark, male and female, just as God commanded Noah.

¹⁰ After the seven days, the floodwaters were upon the land. ¹¹ In the six-hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on this day, all the water sources of the great deep burst open, and the windows of the sky were opened. ¹² Then there was rain upon the land 40 days and 40 nights.

¹³ On that same day Noah, along with Noah’s sons Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s wife and the three wives of Noah’s sons with them, entered the ark, ¹⁴ they and every animal according to its kind, and all the livestock according to its kind, and every crawling creature that crawls on the land according to its kind, and every flying creature according to its kind, every bird, every winged creature. ¹⁵ So to Noah and into the ark they went by twos—all flesh in which was the spirit of life. ¹⁶ Those that came, male and female of all flesh, came just as God commanded him. Then Adonai shut him in.

¹⁷ The flood was forty days upon the land, and the waters increased and lifted the ark, so that it rose above the land. ¹⁸ The waters overpowered and became very mighty over the land, and the ark drifted on the surface of the water. ¹⁹ The waters completely overpowered the land so that all the high mountains beneath the entire sky were covered. ²⁰ The waters rose 15 cubits higher, as the mountains were covered. ²¹ All flesh perished—those that crawl on the land, the flying creatures, livestock, wild animals, all creatures that swarm upon the land, and all humankind. ²² Everything that had the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils—everything on dry land—died. ²³ So He wiped out all existence that was upon the surface of the ground, everything from people to livestock, to crawling creatures, and to flying creatures of the sky. They were wiped out off the land. Only Noah and those with him in the ark survived. ²⁴ The waters overpowered the land for 150 days.

8 Then God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. So God caused a wind to pass over the land and the water subsided. ² Also the sources of the deep and the windows of the skies were closed up, and the rain from the sky was held back. ³ The waters kept receding gradually from upon the land and the waters decreased by the end of 150 days. ⁴ The ark came to rest in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. ⁵ The waters went on decreasing until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains appeared.

⁶ It was at the end of forty days that Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made. ⁷ Then he sent out a raven and it kept going back and forth until the waters were drying up from the land. ⁸ Then he sent out a dove to see whether the waters had receded from the surface of the ground. ⁹ But the dove did not find a resting place for the sole of her foot. She returned to him in the ark because water covered the surface of the whole land. He stretched out his hand and he took her, and brought her to him into the ark. ¹⁰ So he waited yet another seven days and again he sent the dove out from the ark. ¹¹ The dove came to him at evening, and surprisingly—a freshly plucked olive leaf was in its mouth. So Noah knew that the waters had receded from the land. ¹² After he waited seven more days, he sent out the dove, but she did not return to him again.

¹³ It was in his six-hundred-and first year—in the first month, on the first day of the month—that the waters had dried up from the land. Then Noah removed the cover of the ark and he looked, and behold, the surface of the ground had dried up. ¹⁴ By the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the land was dry.

Noah’s Soothing Sacrifice

¹⁵ Then God spoke to Noah, saying, ¹⁶ “Come out of the ark, you and your wife, your sons and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁷ Every animal that is with you of all flesh, including the flying creatures, livestock and every crawling creature that crawls on the land, bring out with you, and let them swarm in the land and be fruitful and multiply upon the land.”

¹⁸ So Noah came out, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives. ¹⁹ Every animal—every crawling creature, every flying creature, everything that crawls upon the land—came out from the ark in their families.

²⁰ Then Noah built an altar to Adonai and he took of every clean domestic animal and of every clean flying creature and he offered burnt offerings on the altar. ²¹ When Adonai smelled the soothing aroma, Adonai said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, even though the inclination of the heart of humankind is evil from youth. Nor will I ever again smite all living creatures, as I have done.

Covenant with Noah’s Descendants

9 God blessed Noah and his sons, and He said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the land. ² The fear and terror of you will be on every wild animal, and on every flying creature of the sky, with everything that crawls on the ground and with all the fish of the sea—into your hand they are given. ³ Every crawling thing that is alive will be food for you, as are the green plants—I have now given you everything. ⁴ Only flesh with its life—that is, its blood—you must not eat! ⁵ Surely your lifeblood will I avenge. From every animal and from every person will I avenge it. From every person’s brother will I avenge that person’s life.

⁷ But as for you, be fruitful and multiply! Flourish in the land and multiply in it.”

⁸ Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, ⁹ “Now I, behold, I am about to establish My covenant with you, and with your seed after you, ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you, including the flying creatures, the livestock, and every wild animal with you, of all that is coming out of the ark—every animal of the earth. ¹¹ I will confirm My covenant with you—never again will all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again will there be a flood to ruin the land.”

¹² Then God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I am making between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you for all future generations. ¹³ My rainbow do I place in the cloud, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the land. ¹⁴ Whenever I bring clouds over the land and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember My covenant that is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ When the rainbow is in the cloud, I will look at it, to remember the perpetual covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the land.”

¹⁷ Then God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have confirmed between Me and all flesh that is on the land.”

Dispersion of Noah’s Family

¹⁸ Noah’s sons who came out from the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth, and Ham was the father of Canaan. ¹⁹ These three were Noah’s sons, and from these the whole earth dispersed.

²⁰ Then Noah, a man of the soil, was first to plant a vineyard. ²¹ He drank some of the wine, got drunk, and was uncovered in his tent. ²² Then Ham, Canaan’s father, saw his father’s private parts and told his two brothers outside. ²³ So Shem and Japheth took the cloak and laid it over both their shoulders and walked backwards and with it covered their father’s private parts. But their faces were turned away, so they did not see their father’s private parts.

²⁴ When Noah woke up from his wine, he learned what his youngest son had done to him. ²⁵ So he said,

²⁶ He also said,

²⁸ Now Noah lived 350 years after the flood. ²⁹ So all Noah’s days were 950 years. Then he died.

10 And these are the genealogical records of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.

² Japheth’s sons were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. ³ Gomer’s sons were Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah. ⁴ Javan’s sons were Elishah and Tarshish, Kittites and Dodanites. ⁵ From these the coastlands of the nations spread out in their lands, each one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.

⁶ Ham’s sons were Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan. ⁷ Cush’s sons were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. And Raamah’s sons were Sheba, and Dedan.

⁸ Now Cush fathered Nimrod. He started to become mighty in the land. ⁹ He was a mighty hunter before Adonai. This is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before Adonai.” ¹⁰ The beginning of his kingdom included Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. ¹¹ From that land he went out to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rechovot-ir, Calah ¹² and Resen, between Nineveh and Calah—it is the great city.

¹³ Mizraim fathered the Ludites, the Anamites, the Lehabites, the Naphtuhites, ¹⁴ the Pathrusites, the Casluhites—from whom came the Philistines—and the Caphtorites.

¹⁵ Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn, Heth, ¹⁶ the Jebusite, the Amorite, the Girgashite, ¹⁷ the Hivite, the Arkite, the Sinite, ¹⁸ the Arvadite, the Zemarite and the Hamathite—and afterwards, the Canaanite families were scattered. ¹⁹ Now the Canaanite border was from Zidon, as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; as you go toward Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

²⁰ These are Ham’s sons according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands, in their nations.

²¹ Sons were also born to Shem, who was Japheth’s older brother and the father of all the sons of Eber. ²² Shem’s sons were Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud and Aram. ²³ Aram’s sons were Uz, Hul, Gether and Mash. ²⁴ Arpachshad fathered Shelah, and Shelah fathered Eber. ²⁵ Two sons were born to Eber. The name of the first was Peleg—because in his days the land was divided—and his brother’s name was Joktan. ²⁶ Joktan fathered Elmodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, ²⁷ Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, ²⁸ Obal, Abimael, Sheba, ²⁹ Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All of these are Joktan’s sons. ³⁰ Their dwelling place was from Mesha till you come toward Sephar, the eastern hill country. ³¹ These are Shem’s sons, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands, according to their nations.

³² These are the families of the sons of Noah according to their genealogies in their nations, and from these the nations were dispersed on the earth after the flood.

Tower of Babel

11 Now the entire earth had the same language with the same vocabulary. ² When they traveled eastward, they found a valley-plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. ³ They said to one another, “Come! Let’s make bricks and bake them until they’re hard.” So they used bricks for stone, and tar for mortar.

⁴ Then they said, “Come! Let’s build ourselves a city, with a tower whose top reaches into heaven. So let’s make a name for ourselves, or else we will be scattered over the face of the whole land.”

⁵ Then Adonai came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of man had built. ⁶ Adonai said, “Look, the people are one and all of them have the same language. So this is what they have begun to do. Now, nothing they plan to do will be impossible. ⁷ Come! Let Us go down and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand each other’s language.”

⁸ So Adonai scattered them from there over the face of the entire land, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ This is why it is named Babel, because Adonai confused the languages of the entire world there, and from there Adonai scattered them over the face of the entire world.

From Shem to Abram

¹⁰ These are the genealogical records of Shem: Shem was 100 years old when he fathered Arpachshad—two years after the flood. ¹¹ Shem lived 500 years after he fathered Arpachshad, and he fathered sons and daughters. ¹² Arpachshad lived 35 years when he fathered Shelah. ¹³ Arpachshad lived 403 years after he fathered Shelah, and fathered sons and daughters. ¹⁴ Shelah lived 30 years and he fathered Eber. ¹⁵ Shelah lived 403 years after he fathered Eber, and fathered sons and daughters. ¹⁶ Eber lived 34 years and he fathered Peleg. ¹⁷ Eber lived 430 years after he fathered Peleg, and he fathered sons and daughters. ¹⁸ Peleg lived 30 years and he fathered Reu. ¹⁹ Peleg lived 209 years after he fathered Reu, and he fathered sons and daughters. ²⁰ Reu lived 32 years and he fathered Serug. ²¹ Reu lived 207 years after he fathered Serug, and he fathered sons and daughters. ²² Serug lived 30 years and fathered Nahor. ²³ Serug lived 200 years after he fathered Nahor, and he fathered sons and daughters. ²⁴ Nahor lived 27 years and he fathered Terah. ²⁵ Nahor lived 119 years after he fathered Terah, and he fathered sons and daughters. ²⁶ Terah lived 70 years when he fathered Abram, Nahor and Haran.

²⁷ These are Terah’s genealogies: Terah fathered Abram, Nahor and Haran. Haran fathered Lot. ²⁸ Haran died before Terah his father, in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans. ²⁹ Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah—the daughter of Haran, father of Milcah and Iscah. ³⁰ Sarai was barren; she did not have a child.

³¹ Terah took Abram his son and Lot, Haran’s son, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and he took them out of Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.

³² Terah’s days were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.

Parashat Lech Lecha

Abram Obeys the Calling

12 Then Adonai said to Abram,

“Get going out from your land,

and from your relatives,

and from your father’s house,

to the land that I will show you.

² My heart’s desire is to make you into a great nation, to bless you,

to make your name great so that you may be a blessing.

³ My desire is to bless those who bless you,

but whoever curses you I will curse,^[i]

and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.^[j]

⁴ So Abram went, just as Adonai had spoken to him. Also Lot went with him. (Now Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran.) ⁵ Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions that they had acquired, and the people that they acquired in Haran, and they left to go to the land of Canaan, and they entered the land of Canaan. ⁶ Abram passed through the land as far as the place of Shechem, as far as Moreh’s big tree. (The Canaanites were in the land then.)^[k]

⁷ Then Adonai appeared to Abram, and said, “I will give this land to your seed.” So there he built an altar to Adonai, who had appeared to him. ⁸ From there he moved to the mountain to the east of Beth-El and erected his tent (with Beth-El to the west and Ai to the east). There he built an altar to Adonai and called on the Name of Adonai. ⁹ So Abram kept on journeying southward.^[l]

Abram and Sarai in Egypt

¹⁰ Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live as an outsider there, because the famine was severe in the land. ¹¹ Just as he was about to enter Egypt he said to Sarai his wife, “Look, please, I know that you are an attractive woman. ¹² So when the Egyptians see you they’ll say, ‘This is his wife.’ And they’ll kill me; but you, they’ll let live. ¹³ Please say that you are my sister, so that I’ll be treated well for your sake, and my life will be spared because of you.”

¹⁴ When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians did see that the woman was very beautiful. ¹⁵ Indeed, Pharaoh’s officials saw her and they raved about her to Pharaoh. Then the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. ¹⁶ But Abram was treated well for her sake, and he got sheep, cattle, male donkeys, male and female slaves, female donkeys and camels.

¹⁷ But Adonai struck Pharaoh and his household with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. ¹⁸ So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What’s this that you did to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she is your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take—and go!” ²⁰ Then Pharaoh instructed men concerning him, and they expelled him, with his wife, and everything that belonged to him.

13 So Abram went up from Egypt—he and his wife and everything that belonged to him, and Lot with him—to the Negev. ² Now Abram was very rich in livestock, silver and gold. ³ He proceeded by stages from the Negev as far as Beth-El—to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-El and Ai, ⁴ to the place of the altar that he had made there at first, and there Abram called on the Name of Adonai.

Lot Separates From Abram

⁵ Now Lot, who was going with Abram, also had sheep and cattle and tents, ⁶ so that the land could not support them living together, because their possessions were many, and they were not able to stay together. ⁷ So there was a quarrel between the shepherds of Abram’s livestock and the shepherds of Lot’s livestock. (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land then.)

⁸ So Abram said to Lot, “Please, let there be no strife between me and you, or between my shepherds and yours, since we are relatives. ⁹ Isn’t the whole land before you? Please separate yourself from me. If to the left, then I’ll go to the right, and if to the right, then I’ll go to the left.”

¹⁰ Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the whole area surrounding the Jordan was well watered in its entirety (before Adonai destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah)—like Adonai’s garden, like the land of Egypt—till you come to Zoar. ¹¹ So Lot chose for himself the whole area surrounding the Jordan. Lot journeyed to the east, and they separated from each other. ¹² Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the valley. And he moved his tent from place to place near Sodom. ¹³ But the people of Sodom were evil—very great sinners against Adonai.

¹⁴ After Lot separated himself from him, Adonai had said to Abram, “lift up your eyes, now, and look from the place where you are, to the north, south, east and west. ¹⁵ For all the land that you are looking at, I will give to you and to your seed forever. ¹⁶ I will make your seed like the dust of the earth so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your seed could also be counted. ¹⁷ Get up! Walk about the land through its length and width—for I will give it to you.”

¹⁸ So Abram moved his tent from place to place, and came and dwelt by Mamre’s large trees, which are in Hebron, and there built an altar to Adonai.

Abram Rescues Lot

14 Now it came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, ² that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (this is Zoar). ³ All of these kings joined forces in the Valley of the Siddim (this is the Salt Sea). ⁴ For 12 years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. ⁵ In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer came with the kings who were with him, and they defeated the Rephaim in Ashterot-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-kiryataim, ⁶ and the Horites in the hill country of Seir as far as El-Paran, which is beside the wilderness. ⁷ Then they came again to En-mishpat (this is Kadesh), and they subdued all the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who live in Hazazon-tamar.

⁸ Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (this is Zoar) went out and lined themselves up for battle with them in the Valley of the Siddim, ⁹ against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar: four kings against five. ¹⁰ Now the Valley of the Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, and those who remained fled to the hills. ¹¹ So they took all of Sodom and Gomorrah’s possessions and their food and left. ¹² They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions, and they left (as he was living in Sodom).

¹³ Then a survivor came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was dwelling by the large trees belonging to Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eschol and the brother of Aner—they were Abram’s allies. ¹⁴ When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he rallied his trained men, those born in his household, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ¹⁵ Then he divided his servants against them at night, and he defeated them and pursued them as far as Hovah, which is north of Damascus. ¹⁶ He brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the other people.

Melech-Tzedek, King of Salem

¹⁷ Now after he returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (this is the King’s Valley). ¹⁸ Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine—he was a priest of El Elyon. ^{[m] 19} He blessed him and said,

²¹ Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people—the possessions take for yourself.”

²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand in oath to Adonai, El Elyon, Creator of heaven and earth. ²³ Not a thread or even a sandal strap of all that is yours will I take, so you will not say, ‘I’ve made Abram rich!’ ²⁴ I claim nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me—Aner, Eschol, and Mamre—let them take their share.”

Cutting a Covenant

² But Abram said, “My Lord Adonai, what will You give me, since I am living without children, and the heir of my household is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ Then Abram said, “Look! You have given me no seed, so a house-born servant is my heir.”

⁴ Then behold, the word of Adonai came to him saying, “This one will not be your heir, but in fact, one who will come from your own body will be your heir. ⁵ He took him outside and said, “Look up now, at the sky, and count the stars—if you are able to count them.” Then He said to him, “So shall your seed be.”

⁶ Then he believed in Adonai and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.

⁷ Then He said to him, “I am Adonai who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans, in order to give you this land to inherit it.”

⁸ So he said, “My Lord Adonai, how will I know that I will inherit it?”

⁹ Then He said to him, “Bring Me a three year old young cow, a three year old she-goat, a three year old ram, a turtle-dove and a young bird.”

¹⁰ So he brought all these to Him and cut them in half, and put each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. ¹¹ Then birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. ¹² When the sun was about to set and a deep sleep fell on Abram, behold, terror of great darkness was falling upon him! ¹³ Then He said to Abram, “Know for certain that your seed will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will be enslaved and oppressed 400 years. ¹⁴ But I am going to judge the nation that they will serve. Afterward they will go out with many possessions. ¹⁵ But you, you will come to your fathers in peace. You will be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ Then in the fourth generation they will return here—for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” ¹⁷ When the sun set and it became dark, behold, there was a smoking oven and a fiery torch that passed between these pieces.

¹⁸ On that day Adonai cut a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your seed, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River: ¹⁹ the Kenite, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, ²⁰ the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Raphaites, ²¹ the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

Hagar and Ishmael

16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne him children. But she had an Egyptian slave-girl—her name was Hagar. ² So Sarai said to Abram, “Look now, Adonai has prevented me from having children. Go, please, to my slave-girl. Perhaps I’ll get a son by her.”

Abram listened to Sarai’s voice. ³ So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took her slave-girl Hagar the Egyptian—after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan—and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife. ⁴ Then he went to Hagar and she became pregnant. When she saw that she was pregnant, in her eyes her mistress was belittled.

⁵ So Sarai said to Abram, “The wrong done to me is because of you! I myself placed my slave-girl in your embrace. Now that she saw that she became pregnant, so in her eyes I am belittled. May Adonai judge between you and me!”

⁶ Abram said to Sarai, “Look! Your slave-girl is in your hand. Do to her what is good in your eyes.”

So Sarai afflicted her, and she fled from her presence. ⁷ Then the angel of Adonai^[n] found her by the spring of water in the wilderness, next to the spring on the way to Shur. ⁸ He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s slave-girl, where have you come from and where are you going?”

She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”

⁹ The angel of Adonai said, “Return to your mistress and humble yourself under her hand.” ¹⁰ Then the angel of Adonai said to her, “I will bountifully multiply your seed, and they will be too many to count.” ¹¹ Then the angel of Adonai said to her,

¹³ So she called Adonai who was speaking to her, “You are the God who sees me.” For she said, “Would I have gone here indeed looking for Him who looks after me?” ¹⁴ That is why the well is named, the Well of the Living One Who Sees Me. (Behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.)

¹⁵ Then Hagar gave birth to a son for Abram, and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. ¹⁶ Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael for Abram.