Genesis Apocryphon
Genesis Apocryphon Overview
The 1Q20 dead sea scroll is also known as the Genesis Apocryphon, discovered in 1946 near Qumran. It was composed in Aramaic, it consists of four sheets of leather. The document records a pseudepigraphal conversation between the biblical figure Lamech, son of Methuselah, his son Noah, as well as first and third-person narratives associated with Abraham.
This scroll is an expansion of the book of Genesis, providing further details beyond the biblical version. However, only about one-quarter of its 23 columns is readable due to its poor preservation.
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1Q Genesis Apocryphon II-XXII
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Key:
[xxx … ] enclose conjectural restorations or illegible damage
(xxx) enclose words not present in the text but which improve the English sense
vacat signals blank spacing deliberately left by the scribe
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Then I considered whether the pregnancy was due to the Watchers and Holy Ones, or (should be ascribed) to the Nephil[im], and I grew perturbed about this child. vacat
Then I, Lamech, became afraid and went to Batenosh, [my] w[ife … saying, “Dec]lare [to me] by the Most High, by the Lord of Greatness, by the E[ternal] King [whether the child comes from the] heavenly beings! Everything will you truthfully tell me, whether [ … … ] you will tell me without lies: is this [ … … swear] by the Eternal King until you speak truthfully to me and not with lies [ … ].” Then Batenosh my wife spoke with me forcefully. [She we]pt and said, “O my brother and master, recall for yourself my pregnancy [ … … ] marital relations, and my breath within its sheath (?). (Can) I truthfully [tell you] everything?” [ … … ] then I was perturbed even more. vacat
When Batenosh my wife noticed that my face had changed (its) expression [ … … ] then she gained control of her emotion(s) and spoke with me. She said to me, “O my master and [brother, recall for yourself] my pregnancy. I swear to you by the Great Holy One, by the Ruler of Hea[ven] that this seed is yours, that this pregnancy is from you, that from you is the planting of [this] fruit [and that it is] not from any alien, or from any of the Watchers, or from any heavenly bein[g. Why has the appearance] of your face changed like this upon you? And (why) is it disfigured, and your spirit dejected like this? [ … for I] tell you (this) truthfully. vacat
Then I, Lamech, hurried to Methuselah, my father, and [communicated] all this to him [so that he might consult Enoch] his father, and come to know everything with certainty from him since he is loved and fav[ored by God, and with the Holy Ones] has his lot been apportioned, and (hence) they (God and the angels) reveal everything to him. vacat
When Methuselah heard [these things], he hurried to Enoch, his father, to learn from him the truth of the whole matter [ … … ] his approval, and he (Enoch?) had previously gone to Parvayyim. There he found E[noch his father, and] he said to Enoch, his father, “O my father and master, I have co[me] to you [ … … ] and I say to you to not be angry with me because I have come here to y[ou … … ] respect for you [ … …]”
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[… …missing first 2 lines, except for last two words …] and not for length […… ……] for during the days of Yared, my father [… … … …] sons [… …. … … … … …] and to you they will be [… … …] upon the whole of the earth [… … …] my land to this sea (?) [… … …] earth [… …] earth […] And now, go [… …] truthfully, not with lies [… … … … … …] he divided all the earth [… … 7 lines missing …] and for their labor […4-5 lines missing …].
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from [… … …] they will rage and [… … …] for all eternity […] evil [… … … 7 lines missing …] I beheld the judicial sentence [… … …] great and the end [… … …] surface of the earth [ … 1 line missing] upon them [… …bottom half of column missing, perhaps 14-15 lines …]
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and he wrote [… …] vacat
And to you, Methuselah my son […] this child. Behold, when I Enoch [… …] and not from (the) heavenly beings, but rather from Lamech your son [……] and he is unlike [… …] instead [… …] Lamech your son feared his appearance [… …] truthfully believe that […] vacat
And now I say to you, my son, and I declare to you […] truthfully [… …] Go, speak to Lamech your son [… … …] and placed/cast it/him on the earth, and every deed of the heavenly beings [… … …] he lifted his face, and his eyes shone like the s[un … …] this child, fire (?) and [… … 2 lines missing …] Behold, then they were confused and [… … …] eternal [Lord?] they give [… …] they will commit many deeds of violence until [… … …] and ascending (?), and all the paths [… … …] And now I shall declare to you the mystery [… … to Lamech] your son declare this mystery [… … …] during his days … the deed [… … …] praised be the Lord of all [… … …] And when Methuselah heard [… … …] and with Lamech his son he spoke privately [… … …] And when I, Lamech, [… … …] he declared that he issued from me [… … …] vacat
Copy of the book of the words of Noah [… …]
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from corruption, and in my mother’s womb I swelled for (the sake of) righteousness. When I emerged from the womb of my mother, I was planted for righteousness, and during all my days I conducted (myself) righteously and walked in the paths of eternal truth, and [the] Holy One[(s) was/were] with me [… …] righteousness, and to protect me from [paths?] of deception which lead to darkness and [… …] and I bound my loins with the vision of righteousness and wisdom [… … … …] all the paths of violence. vacat
Then I, Noah, became an adult. I held firmly to righteousness and I took hold [… … … …] and ’Amzar‘a his daughter I took as my wife. I impregnated her and she bore to me three sons [and ? daughters …]. Then I procured wives for my sons from among the daughters of my brother, and I gave my daughters to the sons of my brother in accordance with the eternal law <and> ordinance [… …. …] the Most High to humanity. vacat
And during my days, when the amount which I had calculated was completed for me [… …] ten jubilees, then my sons finished acquiring wives for themselves in marriage [… … …] heaven. I beheld in a vision and I was shown and taught about the deed of the heavenly beings, and what [… … … …] heaven. And I kept this secret to myself and did not reveal it to any person. vacat
[… …] to me, and a great Watcher to me as a messenger with a message of the Holy One [… … … …] he spoke with me in a vision and stood before me [… … … …] message of the Great Holy One. He made me hear a voice (saying), ‘To you they say, O Noah [… …. … …] and I thought .. I had knowledge of all the behavior (?) of the inhabitants of the earth, and I declared every [… … … … …] they will prosper (?) [… … … … … …] two weeks, and then sealed (?) [… … … … …] the blood which the Nephilim shed. I was quiet and waited until [… … … … …] the Holy Ones who were with mortal women [… … … … 2 lines missing … …] But I, Noah, found favor, distinction, and righteousness [… … … … … 1 line missing …] unto the gates of heaven [… … … … …] to humans, cattle, wild animals, birds, and [… … … 1 line missing …]
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[… …] on/over them, the land and everything which is on it, in the seas and among the mountains [… … …] all the constellations of heaven, sun, moon, and stars and Watchers [… … … … 2 lines missing … …] I shall hand over to you [… …. … … 0.5 line missing] vacat
[… …] the Great Holy One. And I rejoiced at the words of the Lord of Heaven, and I summoned [… … … …] for all [… …] regarding this [… … … … … 9+ lines missing …] heaven greatly (?) and the ends [… … … …] to remove me and to build [… … … …] foolishness [… … … 2 lines missing …] and I gathered [… … approximately 7 lines missing …]
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his wife after him/her [… … … 3.5 lines missing … …] the world/eternity [… … 4 lines missing … … …] and in all [… … remainder of column, approximately 18-20 lines, missing … …]
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[… … … all 27-29 lines missing … …]
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great. vacat Then […] everything which my sons [… … …] to Noah .. in the nights [… … …] in the nights [… … … … 4+ lines missing … …] they praised and extolled […] a blessing [… … … …] all of you for your Lord […] to the King of all the Ages forever and ever for every age. vacat
Then […] upon the earth […] and he took from [… … … …] find, for [… … …] the ark settled (upon) one of the mountains of Ararat and eternal fire (?) [… … … …] I atoned for all the earth and its origin (?) [ … ] the goat first, and after it came [……] and I burned the fat (of the goat) on the fire; secondly, [… …] I poured their blood at the base of the altar, and all their flesh I burned on the altar; thirdly, as for the doves [… …] an offering on the altar [… …] I placed on it fine sifted flour soaked in oil (and mixed) with incense as a meal-offering [… …] on all of them I had placed salt, and the odor of my burning rose to heaven. vacat
Then the Most High [… … remainder of column, approximately 10 lines, missing … …]
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[…] I, Noah, was at the doorway of the ark [… … … 7 lines missing … …] to the mountains and those of the deserts to [… … … …] four. vacat
Then I, Noah, departed and traveled through the land, through its length and its breadth [… … …] abundant with their foliage and their fruit. And all of the land was filled with vegetation, grass, and grain. Then I gave praise to the Lord of Heaven who had acted commendably, for He is eternal and praise is His, and I again gave (Him) praise because He had compassion on the earth, and because He removed and destroyed from it all those who practiced violence, wickedness, and deceit, but had spared a righteous man for [… …] on his/its account. vacat
[The Lord] of Heaven appeared to me, spoke with me, and said to me, ‘O Noah, do not be afraid! I will be with you and with your descendants—those who are like you—forever [… … …] the land, and rule over all of them … and its deserts and its mountains and all that is in them. Behold, I give all of it to you and your descendants for eating vegetables and plants (produced) by the land, but any sort of blood you will not eat. Fear of you and terror of you [… … … …] forever [… … … … …] I am yours. When your descendants sleep (?) [… … … … remainder of column, approximately 5 ½ lines, missing …]
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[…] behold, I have put My bow [in the cloud], and it will be a sign for Me in the cloud and will be [… … …] the earth [… … …] was revealed to me [… … 2 ½ lines missing …] vacat
[… …] among the mountains […] a vineyard in the mountains of Ararat. And after this I descended to the lower slopes of that mountain, I, my sons, and my grandchildren [… …] for devastation was great on the earth. [So]ns [and da]ughters were born to [me] after the Flood. [To Shem], my oldest son was born first Arpachshad two years after the Flood, [and] all the sons of Shem, all of them w[ere El]am, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram, as well as five daughters. vacat
[And the sons of Ham were Kush, Mitzrai]n, Put, and Canaan, as well as seven daughters. vacat
And the son[s] of Yaphet were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Yavan, Tuval, Meshuk, and Tiras, as well as four daughters. vacat
And I began together with all my sons to farm the land. I planted a large vineyard on Mount Lubar, and after four years it produced wine for me […] all [… …] vacat
When the first festival came, on the first day of the first festival of the [seventh?] month [… …] of my vineyard. I opened that vessel and I began to drink of it on the first day of the fifth year [… …] On that day I summoned my sons, my grandsons, all of our wives, and their daughters, and we assembled together and went [… …] and I offered praise to the Lord of Heaven, to God Most High, to the Great Holy One who delivered us from destruction [… …] and to all [… …] of his fathers, they drank and [… … …] and I poured upon [… …] and the wine [… … remainder of column, approximately 11 lines, missing …]
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[… … beginning of column, 7 ½ lines, missing …] wild animals [… …] and land-dwelling insects changed (?) [… …] gold, silver, stones, and potsherds were cutting down and taking away from it for themselves. I continued to observe the gold ones and the silver ones [… …] iron: they were cutting down all of its trees and taking them for themselves. I continued to observe the sun, moon, and stars cutting down and taking away from it for themselves. I continued to observe until the land-dwelling reptiles and the aquatic reptiles destroyed it […] and it ended. vacat
I turned to look at the olive tree, and behold, the olive tree increased in height, and for a long time […] much foliage [… … …] and appearing in them. I studied that olive tree, and behold, the quantity of its leaves [… … …] tied to it, and I marveled greatly at that olive tree and its copious foliage. I marveled [… …] four winds of heaven blowing strongly and (they?) damaged that olive tree, stripping its branches and disintegrating it. First [was the wind from] the west: it assailed it and shook off some of its leaves and fruit, and scattered it in every direction. After it [… … remainder of column, approximately 9-12 lines, missing …]
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[… … … first 7 ½ lines missing …] knowing [… … …] vacat
[…] pay attention and hear! You are the large cedar [… …] in a dream standing/rising before you on the peak of the mountains […] the shoot emerging from it and growing up to its (the cedar’s?) height (represents?) three sons [… … …] and as for when you saw the first shoot attached to the trunk of the cedar [… …] and the wood from it [… … …] he will never separate from you throughout the whole of his life, and among his descendants your name will be invoked [… … ……] will come forth as a righteous plant for all [… … … … …] shall endure forever. And as for when you saw the shoot attached to the trunk [… … …] and as for when you saw […] the other shoot [… … …] vacat
[… …] some of their branch(es) intertwine among the branch(es) of the first (represents?) two sons [… … …] from the earth […] to the left/north [… …] and as for when you saw some of their branch(es) intertwine among the branch(es) of the first [… … … …] they placed on the earth [… … … … …] I revealed the mystery to him [… … almost 3 lines missing …. … … …] first he sent [… … over 4 lines missing … … …] the cedar [… … …]
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[… … … first 8 lines missing …] and as for when you saw all of them [… …] they will turn away, the majority of them will be wicked. And as for when you saw the man coming from the south of the land with a scythe in his hand and fire accompanying him [… … …] he is the one who will come from the south of the land [… … … …] and wickedness. They will cast on the fire every [… … … …] and he will come between [… … ] And as for when you saw [… … … … …] among them a wall. Four angels [… … … 3 lines missing … …] among all the nations. And all of them will serve them and become confused [… …] do not be amazed at it [… … …] I tell you all truthfully, for thus is it written about you [… …] Then I, Noah, [woke up] from my sleep, and the sun [… … … 1 ½ lines missing … …] the righteous one [… … … remainder of column, approximately 8 lines, missing]
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[… … first 8 lines missing …] the inlet which is between them, the source of the spring until the Tina River [… … …] all the northern land, all of it until it approaches [… … …] and this border crosses the waters of the Great Sea (i.e., the Mediterranean) until it approaches [… …] he apportioned by lot to Yaphet and his descendants to possess as (their) permanent possession. vacat
The second lot came forth for Shem to take possession, for both him and his descendants as a permanent possession. [… …] the waters of the Tina River come out [… … … …] until the Tina River [… … … …] the Great Salt Sea (i.e., the Dead Sea), and this border goes [… … … … …] which turns to the west and passes [… … … …] until it approaches [… … … …] to the east [… … … rest of column, approximately 8-10 lines, missing …]
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My son Shem divided his apportionment among his sons. The first (share) fell to Elam: in the north next to the waters of the Tigris River until it approaches the Red Sea at its source which is in the north, and it turns to the west to Asshur until it reaches the Tigris [… …] and after him, to Aram: the land which is between the two rivers (i.e., Mesopotamia) until it reaches the peak of Mount Asshur [… … …] fell that Mount of the Bull, and the portion crosses over and goes west until it reaches Magog [… … …] east, in the north of the bosom (?) of that inlet which is by the top of the three portions by that sea to Arpachshad [… … …] to the border which faces south, all the land which the Euphrates waters, and all [… … … …] all the valleys and plains which are between them, and the island which is in the middle of the inlet [… … … …] to the descendants of Gomer […] and Amana until it approaches the Euphrates [… … … …] the portion which Noah, his father, divided and gave to him. vacat
And Yaphet divided among his sons. He gave first to Gomer (the land) in the north until it reaches the Tina River. And after him, (he gave) to Magog, and after him to Madai, and after him to Yavan (he gave) all the islands next to Lud (i.e., Lydia), and (what was) between the inlet next to Lud and the second inlet to Tubal [… …] in the land, and to Meshek the sea [… …] and to Tiras […] four [… … …] inlet of the sea that lies next to the portion of the descendants of Ham [… … …] vacat
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[… … first 6 lines missing … … There I built an alta]r [and I called] the[re on the name of G]o[d …], and I said, ‘You are m[y everlasting]g G[od’ … … …] I had not yet reached the holy mountain. I proceeded to […] and I was journeying to the south [… …] until I reached Hebron, for [at that time] Hebron had been bui[lt], and I dwelt [there two years]. vacat
A famine took place throughout all this land, but I heard that grai[n] wa[s avail]able in Egypt. So I moved to [enter] the land of Egypt [ … … … ] I reache[d] the Carmona River, one of the branches of the river [ … … ]. Now we [ … ] our land, and I [cro]ssed the seven branches of this river which [ … … … ]. Now we passed out of our land and entered the land of the children of Ham, the land of Egypt. vacat
And I, Abram, dreamed a dream during the night of my entering the land of Egypt. I saw in my dream one cedar tree and one palm tree, [a very beautifu]l one, and huma[n] figures came and tried to chop down and uproot the cedar in order to leave the palm by itself. But the palm restrained (them) when she said, ‘Do not chop down the cedar, for both of us are from o[ne r]oot!’ And the cedar was left alone thanks to the protection of the palm and was not [chopped down]. vacat
I woke up from my dream in the night, and said to Sarai, my wife, ‘I have (just) dreamed a dream, [and I] am afraid [on account of] this dream!’ And she said to me, ‘Tell me your dream that I might know (it), and so I began to relate this dream to her. [And I revealed] to [her the meaning of that] dream, and I [said, ‘… …] for they will seek to kill me, but you they will spare [… …] this, every favor [which you must do for me] in every [place] where [we are, say] of me that “he is my brother,” and I will remain alive by your protection and survive thanks to you.’ [… … ‘they will try] to remove you from me and to kill me!’ And Sarai wept over my words that night. [… … … …] and Pharaoh Z[oan … … …] Sarai to go to Zoan [with me, for she was v]ery [careful] with her person so that no [one] would see her […]. But after those five years, three men who were princes of Egypt [came … …] of Pharaoh Zoa[n] about my affairs and about my wife, and they presented [me numerous gifts and aske]d m[e to teach them] values, wisdom, and truth. So I read in their presence the [book of] the words of [En]och [… … …] in the famine which [… … 1 ½ lines garbled … …] with much eating and [much] drinking [… … ] wine [… … … remainder of column, approximately 6-7 lines, lost … …].
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[… line 1 and first half of line 2 missing ….] … how excellent and beautiful is the expression on her face! And how pleasing [and how] delicate is the hair of her head! How beautiful are her eyes, and how pleasing is her nose and all the bloom of her face … how lovely is her breast, and how beautiful is all her fairness! Her arms, how beautiful! And her hands, how perfect! Any glimpse of her hands is to be desired! How lovely are her palms, and how long and slender are all the fingers of her hands! Her feet, how beautiful! And how perfect are her thighs! No maidens or brides who enter the bridal chamber are more beautiful than she is! The beautifulness of her beauty is superior to (that) of all (other) women, and her beauty is high above all of them! And with all this beauty she possesses much wisdom, and the work of her hands is beautiful.
When the king heard the words of ḤRQNWŠ and the words of his two associates, since the three of them spoke with one voice (i.e., in accord), he loved her greatly. So he quickly sent (and) seized her. He saw her and was amazed at all her beauty, and he took her for a wife. And he sought to kill me, but Sarai said to the king: ‘He is my brother!’ that I might profit because of her. I, Abram, was spared because of her, and I was not killed. I, Abram, wept an intense weeping—I and Lot, the son of my brother (who was) with me—during the night when Sarai was led away from me by force. vacat
During that night, I prayed and besought and implored. Aggrieved and (with) my tears streaming down, I said: ‘Praised are You, O God Most High, Lord of all the Ages, for You are Lord and Ruler over everything. You are the Ruler over all the kings of the earth in order to exercise judgment among all of them. And now, I make an accusation to You, O Lord, against Pharaoh Zoan, the king of Egypt, because my wife was led away from me by force. Exercise judgment on him for me, and manifest Your great power against him and against his entire household! May he (i.e., Pharaoh) not have the power to defile my wife for me tonight! Then they will know you, O my Lord, for You are Lord over all the kings of the earth!’ I wept and (then) I was silent.
During that night God Most High sent a pestilential spirit to him (i.e., to Pharaoh) in order to afflict him and every person in his household—an evil spirit—and it kept attacking him and every person in his household. He was unable to approach her, and indeed he did not have sexual relations with her, and she remained with him for two years. At the end of two years the afflictions and scourgings intensified and strengthened against him and against every person in his household. So he sent for (and) summoned all the sage[s of] Egypt and (sent) for all the magicians along with all the physicians of Egypt (to see) if they were able to heal him and the people of his household of this affliction. But none of the physicians, magicians, or sages were able to endure so as to heal him, because that spirit attacked all of them (as well), and they fled. vacat
Then ḤRQNWŠ came to me and asked of me that I should come and pray for the king and lay my hands upon him so that he might recover. For he had seen [me] in a dre[a]m. But Lot said to him: ‘My uncle Abram is unable to pray for the king while his wife Sarai remains with him. So now go (and) tell the king he should send his wife away from himself back to her husband. Then he will pray for him, and he will recover.’
vacat When ḤRQNWŠ heard the words of Lot, he went (and) said to the king: ‘All these afflictions and scourgings with which my lord the king has been afflicted and scourged are on account of Sarai, the wife of Abram. Let them now return Sarai to her husband Abram, and this affliction and purulent spirit will stop!’ So the [k]i[n]g summoned me and said to me: ‘What have you done to me because of [Sara]i? You said to me: “She is my sister,” but she was your wife! I took her as a wife for myself! Lo, here is your wife: lead her off, go, and depart from every city of Egypt! And now, pray for me and for my family, and let this wicked spirit be exorcized from us!’
Then I prayed for [him that he might he]al quickly. I laid my hands upon his he[ad], and the affliction was removed from him and the evil [spirit] was exorcized [from him], and he recovered. The king arose and gave me on that d[ay] numerous gifts, and the king swore to me with an oath that he had not [molested] her. And he returned Sarai to me, and the king gave her a [la]rge quantity of si[lver and go]ld together with a large quantity of clothing of linen and purple that …. before her, and also Hagar. So he restored her to me, and he appointed people to accompany me who would take me out of Egypt. vacat
So I, Abram, departed with very many possessions and also with silver and gold. I came up from [Egyp]t [and Lot], the son of my brother, was with me. Lot too had acquired for himself vast possessions, and he had taken a wife for himself from the [Egyptian] women. I was dw[elling with him
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in] every place of my (previous) encampments until I arrived at Bethel, the place wherein I had built an altar. I built it a second time, [and] I offered burnt offerings and a grain offering on it to God Most High. I invoked there the name of the Lord of the Ages and I gave praise to the name of God, and I blessed God and I gave thanks there before God for all the possessions and goods which He had given to me, and because of the good which He had done for me, and because He had returned me to this land safely. vacat
After this day Lot separated from me because of the conduct of our shepherds. He went and made his dwelling in the Jordan valley, and all of his flocks were with him. I moreover added greatly to what he already possessed. He pastured his flocks and arrived at Sodom. He bought a house for himself in Sodom and dwelt in it. I was dwelling in the hill country of Bethel. It was distressful to me that Lot, the son of my brother, had separated from me. vacat
vacat Then God appeared to me in a night-vision and said to me: ‘Go up to Ramath-Ḥaṣor which is to the north of Bethel, the place where you dwell, and lift up your eyes and look to the east and to the west and to the south and to the north, and look at all this land which I am giving to you and to your descendants <for> all the ages!’ So the following day I went up to Ramath-Ḥaṣor, and I viewed the land from this high place: from the river of Egypt to Lebanon and Senir, and from the great sea (i.e., the Mediterranean) to the Ḥauran, and all the land of Gebal up to Qadesh, and the whole of the great desert which is east of the Ḥauran and Senir as far as the Euphrates. And He said to me: ‘To your descendants I will give all of this land, and they will have possession of it for all ages. I will multiply your descendants (to be) like the dust of the ground which no person is able to count—your descendants will likewise be impossible to count. Arise, walk, go and see how long it is and how wide it is, because I will give it to you and to your descendants after you forever!’ vacat
I, Abram, went out to travel around and to see the land. I began to travel around from the Giḥon river, and I went along the side of the (Mediterranean) Sea until I arrived at Mt. Taurus. Then I traveled away from the si[de] of this great sea of salt, and I went along the east side of Mt. Taurus through the breadth of the land until I arrived at the Euphrates river. I traveled along the side of the Euphrates until I reached the Red Sea toward the east. I continued going along the side of the Red Sea until I reached the inlet (lit. ‘tongue’) of the Sea of Reeds which emerges from the Red Sea, and then I traveled toward the south until I arrived at the Giḥon river. I turned and came back to my house safely, and I found all my people to be well.
Then I went and dwelt at the oaks of Mamre which were in Hebron—more like to the northeast of Hebron—and I built an altar there. I offered on it a burnt-offering and a cereal offering to God Most High. I ate and I drank there, I and all the people of my household, and I sent for (and) invited Mamre, Arnem, and Eshkol, the three Amorite brothers (who were) my friends, and they ate together with me and drank with me. vacat
Before these days, Kedorlaomer the king of Elam had come (along with) Amraphel the king of Babylon, Arioch the king of Kappatuk (i.e., Cappadocia), and Tidal the king of Goyyim which is between the two rivers. They made war with Bera‘ the king of Sodom and with Birsha‘ the king of Gomorrah and with Shinab the king of Admah and with Shemiabad the king of Ṣeboyyin and with the king of Bela‘. All of these met together for battle at the valley of Siddaya, and the king of Elam and the kings who were with him were stronger than the king of Sodom and all his allies. They imposed a tribute upon them. For twelve years they gave their tribute to the king of Elam, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled against him. In the fourteenth year, the king of Elam led forth all his allies, and they came up the road of the desert and were attacking and plundering, starting from the Euphrates river. They attacked the Rephaim who were in Ashterot of Qarnain, the Zumzamim who were in Ammon, the Emim w[ho were in] Shaveh-Haqariot, and the Ḥorites who were in the mountains of Gebal until they arrived at El-Paran which is in the desert. They then turned back and attacked ‘Eyn-Dina [and the people] who were in Ḥaṣeṣon-Tamar. vacat
The king of Sodom came forth to meet them, with the king of [Gomorrah and the k]ing of Admah and the king of Ṣeboyyin and the king of Bela‘. The[y d]id battle in the valley o[f Siddaya] against Kedorla[omer, the king of Elam, and the kings] who were with him. The king of Sodom was defeated and was routed, and the king of Gomorrah fell into pits [of tar? …] …. The king of Elam looted all the possessions of Sodom and of [Go]morr[ah …] …. And they captured Lot, the son of the brother
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of Abram who was dwelling in Sodom, together with them along with all his possessions. One of the shepherds of the flock whom Abram had given to Lot who had escaped capture came unto Abram, and Abram was then living in Hebron, and informed him that Lot, the son of his brother, had been captured along with all his possessions, and he had not been killed. (He also told him) that the kings had proceeded along the great valley road in the direction of [?] taking captives, looting, attacking, and killing, going toward the city of Damascus. Abram wept on account of Lot, the son of his brother. Then he composed himself, arose, and selected from among his servants men chosen to do battle, (being) three hundred and eighteen (in number). Arnem, Eshkol, and Mamre proceeded with him. He pursued after them until he reached Dan, and he found them camping in the valley of Dan. During the night he cast (missiles) onto them from their four sides, and he was killing them during the night. He defeated them, and he chased them, and all of them were fleeing before him until they reached Ḥelbon, placed to the north of Damascus. He rescued from them everyone whom they had captured, and everything which they had plundered along with all their goods, and he also delivered Lot, the son of his brother, and all of his property. Every captive whom they had captured he brought back. The king of Sodom heard that Abram had brought back all the captives and all the loot, and he went up to meet him. He came to Salem; i.e., Jerusalem, and Abram pitched camp in the valley of Shaveh; i.e., the valley of the king, the valley of Beth Karma. Melchizedek, the king of Salem, brought out food and drink for Abram and for all the men who were with him. He was a priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram and said: ‘May Abram be blessed by God Most High, the Lord of the heavens and earth! Praised be God Most High Who has delivered your enemies into your grasp!’ And he gave to him a tenth of all the possessions of the king of Elam and his allies.
vacat Then the king of Sodom approached and said to Abram: ‘My lord Abram, give to me the persons who are mine (now) with you who were captives whom you rescued from the king of Elam. All their possessions are left for you!’ vacat
Then Abram said to the king of Sodom: ‘I raise my hand this day to God Most High, the Lord of heavens and earth, (that) I will not take even a thread or a strap of a shoe of anything that belongs to you lest you be saying vacat “all the wealth of Abram came from my property,” with the exception of what my servants who were with me have already consumed, and with the exception of the share of the three men who went with me. They are in charge of their share for granting to you!’ Abram returned all the possessions and all the captives, and he gave (them) to the king of Sodom. All the captives who were still with him from that land, he released and sent away all of them. vacat
After these things, God appeared to Abram in a vision and said to him: ‘Behold! It has been ten complete years since the day you departed from Ḥarran: two you spent here, seven in Egypt, and one after you returned from Egypt. And now, examine and count everything which you own, and see how many doublings they have increased compared to everything which came out with you on the day of your departure from Ḥarran! So fear not, for I am with you. I will be a support and strength for you. I am a shield over you and a buckler for you with respect to anyone stronger than you. Your wealth and your possessions will greatly increase!’ vacat
Abram said: ‘My Lord God! I have much wealth and possessions, but what good are all these things to me? I, when I die, will depart naked, for there are no children. One of the members of my household will inherit from me, Eliezer, a member [of my household ….] will be my heir.’ He said to him: ‘No, this one will not inherit from you! Instead, the one who will come forth [from your loins will inherit from you].