Part 126 (1/2)

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 s.h.i.+nar, 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 s.h.i.+eld, 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.