Jasher, Chapter 78

1 At that time died Baal Channan son of Achbor, king of Edom, and was buried in his house in the land of Edom.
2 And after his death the children of Esau sent to the land of Edom, and took from there a man who was in Edom, whose name was Hadad, and they made him king over them in the place of Baal Channan, their king.
Year 2446
3 And Hadad reigned over the children of Edom forty-eight years.
4 And when he reigned he resolved to fight against the children of Moab, to bring them under the power of the children of Esau as they were before, but he was not able, because the children of Moab heard this thing, and they rose up and hastened to elect a king over them from amongst their brethren.
5 And they afterward gathered together a great people, and sent to the children of Ammon their brethren for help to fight against Hadad king of Edom.
6 And Hadad heard the thing which the children of Moab had done, and was greatly afraid of them, and refrained from fighting against them.
7 In those days Mosheh (Moses), the son of Amram, in Midian, took Zipporah, the daughter of Reuel the Midianite, for a wife.
8 And Zipporah walked in the ways of the daughters of Yacob, she was nothing short of the righteousness of Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah.
9 And Zipporah conceived and bare a son and he called his name Gershom, for he said, I was a stranger in a foreign land; but he circumcised not his foreskin, at the command of Reuel his father-in-law.
10 And she conceived again and bare a son, but circumcised his foreskin, and called his name Eliezer, for Mosheh said, Because the ALMIGHTY of my fathers was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.
11 And Pharaoh king of Egypt greatly increased the labor of the children of Yisrael in those days, and continued to make his yoke heavier upon the children of Yisrael.
12 And he ordered a proclamation to be made in Egypt, saying, Give no more straw to the people to make bricks with, let them go and gather themselves straw as they can find it.
13 Also the tale of bricks which they shall make let them give each day, and diminish nothing from them, for they are idle in their work.
14 And the children of Yisrael heard this, and they mourned and sighed, and they cried unto YAHWEH on account of the bitterness of their souls.
15 And YAHWEH heard the cries of the children of Yisrael, and saw the oppression with which the Egyptians oppressed them.
16 And YAHWEH was jealous of his people and his inheritance, and heard their voice, and he resolved to take them out of the affliction of Egypt, to give them the land of Canaan for a possession.

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Jasher, Chapter 24

Year 2085

1 And the life of Sarah was one hundred and twenty-seven years, and Sarah died; and Abraham rose up from before his dead to seek a burial place to bury his wife Sarah; and he went and spoke to the children of Heth, the inhabitants of the land, saying,
2 I am a stranger and a sojourner with you in your land; give me a possession of a burial place in your land, that I may bury my dead from before me.
3 And the children of Heth said unto Abraham, behold the land is before you, in the choice of our sepulchers bury your dead, for no man shall withhold you from burying your dead.
4 And Abraham said unto them, If you are agreeable to this go and entreat for me to Ephron, the son of Zochar, requesting that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which is in the end of his field, and I will purchase it of him for whatever he desire for it.
5 And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth, and they went and called for him, and he came before Abraham, and Ephron said unto Abraham, Behold all you require your servant will do; and Abraham said, No, but I will buy the cave and the field which you hast for value, In order that it may be for a possession of a burial place for ever.
6 And Ephron answered and said, Behold the field and the cave are before you, give whatever you desirest; and Abraham said, Only at full value will I buy it from your hand, and from the hands of those that go in at the gate of your city, and from the hand of your seed for ever.
7 And Ephron and all his brethren heard this, and Abraham weighed to Ephron four hundred shekels of silver in the hands of Ephron and in the hands of all his brethren; and Abraham wrote this transaction, and he wrote it and testified it with four witnesses.
8 And these are the names of the witnesses, Amigal son of Abishna the Hittite, Adichorom son of Ashunach the Hivite, Abdon son of Achiram the Gomerite, Bakdil the son of Abudish the Zidonite.
9 And Abraham took the book of the purchase, and placed it in his treasures, and these are the words that Abraham wrote in the book, namely:
10 That the cave and the field Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite, and from his seed, and from those that go out of his city, and from their seed for ever, are to be a purchase to Abraham and to his seed and to those that go forth from his loins, for a possession of a burial place for ever; and he put a signet to it and testified it with witnesses.
11 And the field and the cave that was in it and all that place were made sure unto Abraham and unto his seed after him, from the children of Heth; behold it is before Mamre in Hebron, which is in the land of Canaan.
12 And after this Abraham buried his wife Sarah there, and that place and all its boundary became to Abraham and unto his seed for a possession of a burial place.
13 And Abraham buried Sarah with pomp as observed at the interment of kings, and she was buried in very fine and beautiful garments.
14 And at her bier was Shem, his sons Eber and Abimelech, together with Anar, Ashcol and Mamre, and all the grandees of the land followed her bier.
15 And the days of Sarah were one hundred and twenty-seven years and she died, and Abraham made a great and heavy mourning, and he performed the rites of mourning for seven days.
16 And all the inhabitants of the land comforted Abraham and Yitschaq his son on account of Sarah.
17 And when the days of their mourning passed by Abraham sent away his son Yitschaq, and he went to the house of Shem and Eber, to learn the ways of YAHWEH and his instructions, and Abraham remained there three years.
Year 2088
18 At that time Abraham rose up with all his servants, and they went and returned homeward to Beersheba, and Abraham and all his servants remained in Beersheba.
19 And at the revolution of the year Abimelech king of the Philistines died in that year; he was one hundred and ninety-three years old at his death; and Abraham went with his people to the land of the Philistines, and they comforted the whole household and all his servants, and he then turned and went home.
20 And it was after the death of Abimelech that the people of Gerar took Benmalich his son, and he was only twelve years old, and they made him lying in the place of his father.
21 And they called his name Abimelech after the name of his father, for thus was it their custom to do in Gerar, and Abimelech reigned instead of Abimelech his father, and he sat upon his throne.
22 And Lot the son of Haran also died in those days, in the thirty-ninth year of the life of Yitschaq, and all the days that Lot lived were one hundred and forty years and he died.
23 And these are the children of Lot, that were born to him by his daughters, the name of the first born was Moab, and the name of the second was Benami.
24 And the two sons of Lot went and took themselves wives from the land of Canaan, and they bare children to them, and the children of Moab were Ed, Mayon, Tarsus, and Kanvil, four sons, these are fathers to the children of Moab unto this day.
25 And all the families of the children of Lot went to dwell wherever they should light upon, for they were fruitful and increased abundantly.
26 And they went and built themselves cities in the land where they dwelt, and they called the names of the cities which they built after their own names.
27 And Nahor the son of Terah, brother to Abraham, died in those days in the fortieth year of the life of Yitschaq, and all the days of Nahor were one hundred and seventy-two years and he died and was buried in Haran.
28 And when Abraham heard that his brother was dead he grieved sadly, and he mourned over his brother many days.
29 And Abraham called for Eliezer his head servant, to give him orders concerning his house, and he came and stood before him.
30 And Abraham said to him, Behold I am old, I do not know the day of my death; for I am advanced in days; now therefore rise up, go forth and do not take a wife for my son from this place and from this land, from the daughters of the Canaanites amongst whom we dwell.
31 But go to my land and to my birthplace, and take from thence a wife for my son, and YAHWEH the ALMIGHTY of Heaven and earth who took me from my father's house and brought me to this place, and said unto me, To your seed will I give this land for an inheritance for ever, he will send his heavenly messenger before you and prosper your way, that you may obtain a wife for my son from my family and from my father's house.
32 And the servant answered his master Abraham and said, Behold I go to your birthplace and to your father's house, and take a wife for your son from there; but if the woman be not willing to follow me to this land, shall I take your son back to the land of your birthplace?
33 And Abraham said unto him, Take heed that you bring not my son hither again, for YAHWEH before whom I have walked he will send his heavenly messenger before you and prosper your way.
34 And Eliezer did as Abraham ordered him, and Eliezer swore unto Abraham his master upon this matter; and Eliezer rose up and took ten camels of the camels of his master, and ten men from his master's servants with him, and they rose up and went to Haran, the city of Abraham and Nahor, in order to fetch a wife for Yitschaq the son of Abraham; and while they were gone Abraham sent to the house of Shem and Eber, and they brought from thence his son Yitschaq.
35 And Yitschaq came home to his father's house to Beersheba, while Eliezer and his men came to Haran; and they stopped in the city by the watering place, and he made his camels to kneel down by the water and they remained there.
36 And Eliezer, Abraham's servant, prayed and said, O YAHWEH of Abraham my master; send me I pray you good speed this day and show kindness unto my master, that you shall appoint this day a wife for my master's son from his family.
37 And YAHWEH hearkened to the voice of Eliezer, for the sake of his servant Abraham, and he happened to meet with the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, brother to Abraham, and Eliezer came to her house.
38 And Eliezer related to them all his concerns, and that he was Abraham's servant, and they greatly rejoiced at him.
39 And they all blessed YAHWEH who brought this thing about, and they gave him Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel, for a wife for Yitschaq.
40 And the young woman was of very comely appearance, she was a virgin, and Rebecca was ten years old in those days. 41 And Bethuel and Laban and his children made a feast on that night, and Eliezer and his men came and ate and drank and rejoiced there on that night. 42 And Eliezer rose up in the morning, he and the men that were with him, and he called to the whole household of Bethuel, saying, Send me away that I may go to my master; and they rose up and sent away Rebecca and her nurse Deborah, the daughter of Uz, and they gave her silver and gold, men servants and maid servants, and they blessed her.
43 And they sent Eliezer away with his men; and the servants took Rebecca, and he went and returned to his master to the land of Canaan.
44 And Yitschaq took Rebecca and she became his wife, and he brought her into the tent.
45 And Yitschaq was forty years old when he took Rebecca, the daughter of his uncle Bethuel, for a wife.

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Jasher, Chapter 23

1 At that time the word of YAHWEH came to Abraham, and he said unto him, Abraham, and he said, Here I am.
2 And he said to him, Take now your son, your only son whom you lovest, even Yitschaq, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which shall be shown to you, for there wilt you see a cloud and the splendor of YAHWEH.
3 And Abraham said within himself, How shall I separate my son Yitschaq from Sarah his mother, in order to bring him up for a burnt offering before YAHWEH?
4 And Abraham came into the tent, and he sat before Sarah his wife, and he spoke these words to her,
5 My son Yitschaq is grown up and he has not for some time studied the service of YAHWEH his ALMIGHTY, now tomorrow I will go and bring him to Shem, and Eber his son, and there he will learn the ways of YAHWEH, for they will teach him to know YAHWEH as well as to know that when he prays continually before YAHWEH, he will answer him, therefore there he will know the way of serving YAHWEH his ALMIGHTY.
6 And Sarah said, You hast spoken well, go my lord and do unto him as you hast said, but remove him not at a great distance from me, neither let him remain there too long, for my soul is bound within his soul.
7 And Abraham said unto Sarah, My daughter, let us pray to YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY that he may do good with us.
8 And Sarah took her son Yitschaq and he abode all that night with her, and she kissed and embraced him, and gave him instructions till morning.
9 And she said to him, O my son, how can my soul separate itself from you? And she still kissed him and embraced him, and she gave Abraham instructions concerning him.
10 And Sarah said to Abraham, O my lord, I pray you take heed of your son, and place your eyes over him, for I have no other son nor daughter but him.
11 O forsake him not. If he be hungry give him bread, and if he be thirsty give him water to drink; do not let him go on foot, neither let him sit in the sun.
12 Neither let him go by himself in the road, neither force him from whatever he may desire, but do unto him as he may say to you.
13 And Sarah wept bitterly the whole night on account of Yitschaq, and she gave him instructions till morning.
14 And in the morning Sarah selected a very fine and beautiful garment from those garments which she had in the house, that Abimelech had given to her.
15 And she dressed Yitschaq her son therewith, and she put a turban upon his head, and she enclosed a precious stone in the top of the turban, and she gave them provision for the road, and they went forth, and Yitschaq went with his father Abraham, and some of their servants accompanied them to see them off the road.
16 And Sarah went out with them, and she accompanied them upon the road to see them off, and they said to her, Return to the tent.
17 And when Sarah heard the words of her son Yitschaq she wept bitterly, and Abraham her husband wept with her, and their son wept with them a great weeping; also those who went with them wept greatly.
18 And Sarah caught hold of her son Yitschaq, and she held him in her arms, and she embraced him and continued to weep with him, and Sarah said, Who knows if after this day I shall ever see you again?
19 And they still wept together, Abraham, Sarah and Yitschaq, and all those that accompanied them on the road wept with them, and Sarah afterward turned away from her son, weeping bitterly, and all her men servants and maid servants returned with her to the tent.
20 And Abraham went with Yitschaq his son to bring him up as an offering before YAHWEH, as He had commanded him.
21 And Abraham took two of his young men with him, Ishmael the son of Hagar and Eliezer his servant, and they went together with them, and while they were walking in the road the young men spoke these words to themselves,
22 And Ishmael said to Eliezer, Now my father Abraham is going with Yitschaq to bring him up for a burnt offering to YAHWEH, as He commanded him.
23 Now when he returns he will give unto me all that he possesses, to inherit after him, for I am his first born.
24 And Eliezer answered Ishmael and said, Surely Abraham did cast you away with your mother, and swear that you shouldst not inherit any thing of all he possesses, and to whom will he give all that he has, with all his treasures, but unto me his servant, who has been faithful in his house, who has served him night and day, and has done all that he desired me? To me will he bequeath at his death all that he possesses.
25 And while Abraham was proceeding with his son Yitschaq along the road, Satan came and appeared to Abraham in the figure of a very aged man, humble and of contrite spirit, and he approached Abraham and said to him, Art you silly or brutish, that you go to do this thing this day to your only son?
26 For YAHWEH gave you a son in your latter days, in your old age, and wilt you go and slaughter him this day because he committed no violence, and wilt you cause the soul of your only son to perish from the earth?
27 Dost you not know and understand that this thing cannot be from YAHWEH? for YAHWEH cannot do unto man such evil upon earth to say to him, Go slaughter your child.
28 And Abraham heard this and knew that it was the word of Satan who endeavored to draw him aside from the way of YAHWEH, but Abraham would not hearken to the voice of Satan, and Abraham rebuked him so that he went away.
29 And Satan returned and came to Yitschaq; and he appeared unto Yitschaq in the figure of a young man comely and well favored.
30 And he approached Yitschaq and said unto him, Dost you not know and understand that your old silly father brings you to the slaughter this day for naught?
31 Now therefore, my son, do not listen nor attend to him, for he is a silly old man, and let not your precious soul and beautiful figure be lost from the earth.
32 And Yitschaq heard this, and said unto Abraham, Hast you heard, my father, that which this man has spoken? even thus has he spoken.
33 And Abraham answered his son Yitschaq and said to him, Take heed of him and do not listen to his words, nor attend to him, for he is Satan, endeavoring to draw us aside this day from the commands of YAHWEH.
34 And Abraham still rebuked Satan, and Satan went from them, and seeing he could not prevail over them he hid himself from them, and he went and passed before them in the road; and he transformed himself to a large brook of water in the road, and Abraham and Yitschaq and his two young men reached that place, and they saw a brook large and powerful as the mighty waters.
35 And they entered the brook and passed through it, and the waters at first reached their legs.
36 And they went deeper in the brook and the waters reached up to their necks, and they were all terrified on account of the water; and while they were going over the brook Abraham recognized that place, and he knew that there was no water there before.
37 And Abraham said to his son Yitschaq, I know this place in which there was no brook nor water, now therefore it is this Satan who does all this to us, to draw us aside this day from the commands of YAHWEH.
38 And Abraham rebuked him and said unto him, YAHWEH rebuke you, O Satan, begone from us for we go by the commands of YAHWEH.
39 And Satan was terrified at the voice of Abraham, and he went away from them, and the place again became dry land as it was at first.
40 And Abraham went with Yitschaq toward the place that YAHWEH had told him.
41 And on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place at a distance which YAHWEH had told him of.
42 And a pillar of fire appeared to him that reached from the earth to heaven, and a cloud of splendor upon the mountain, and the splendor of YAHWEH was seen in the cloud.
43 And Abraham said to Yitschaq, My son, dost you see in that mountain, which we perceive at a distance, that which I see upon it?
44 And Yitschaq answered and said unto his father, I see and lo a pillar of fire and a cloud, and the splendor of YAHWEH is seen upon the cloud.
45 And Abraham knew that his son Yitschaq was accepted before YAHWEH for a burnt offering.
46 And Abraham said unto Eliezer and unto Ishmael his son, Do you also see that which we see upon the mountain which is at a distance?
47 And they answered and said, We see nothing more than like the other mountains of the earth. And Abraham knew that they were not accepted before YAHWEH to go with them, and Abraham said to them, Abide ye here with the ass while I and Yitschaq my son will go to yonder mount and worship there before YAHWEH and then return to you.
48 And Eliezer and Ishmael remained in that place, as Abraham had commanded.
49 And Abraham took wood for a burnt offering and placed it upon his son Yitschaq, and he took the fire and the knife, and they both went to that place.
50 And when they were going along Yitschaq said to his father, Behold, I see here the fire and wood, and where then is the lamb that is to be the burnt offering before YAHWEH?
51 And Abraham answered his son Yitschaq, saying, YAHWEH has made choice of you my son, to be a perfect burnt offering instead of the lamb.
52 And Yitschaq said unto his father, I will do all that YAHWEH spoke to you with joy and cheerfulness of heart.
53 And Abraham again said unto Yitschaq his son, Is there in your heart any thought or counsel concerning this, which is not proper? tell me my son, I pray you, O my son conceal it not from me.
54 And Yitschaq answered his father Abraham and said unto him, O my father, as YAHWEH lives and as your soul liveth, there is nothing in my heart to cause me to deviate either to the right or to the left from the word that he has spoken to you.
55 Neither limb nor muscle has moved or stirred at this, nor is there in my heart any thought or evil counsel concerning this.
56 But I am of joyful and cheerful heart in this matter, and I say, Blessed is YAHWEH who has this day chosen me to be a burnt offering before Him.
57 And Abraham greatly rejoiced at the words of Yitschaq, and they went on and came together to that place that YAHWEH had spoken of.
58 And Abraham approached to build the altar in that place, and Abraham was weeping, and Yitschaq took stones and mortar until they had finished building the altar.
59 And Abraham took the wood and placed it in order upon the altar which he had built.
60 And he took his son Yitschaq and bound him in order to place him upon the wood which was upon the altar, to slay him for a burnt offering before YAHWEH.
61 And Yitschaq said to his father, Bind me securely and then place me upon the altar lest I should turn and move, and break loose from the force of the knife upon my flesh and thereof profane the burnt offering; and Abraham did so.
62 And Yitschaq still said to his father, O my father, when you shall have slain me and burnt me for an offering, take with you that which shall remain of my ashes to bring to Sarah my mother, and say to her, This is the sweet smelling savor of Yitschaq; but do not tell her this if she should sit near a well or upon any high place, lest she should cast her soul after me and die.
63 And Abraham heard the words of Yitschaq, and he lifted up his voice and wept when Yitschaq spake these words; and Abraham's tears gushed down upon Yitschaq his son, and Yitschaq wept bitterly, and he said to his father, Hasten you, O my father, and do with me the will of YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY as He has commanded you.
64 And the hearts of Abraham and Yitschaq rejoiced at this thing which YAHWEH had commanded them; but the eye wept bitterly while the heart rejoiced.
65 And Abraham bound his son Yitschaq, and placed him on the altar upon the wood, and Yitschaq stretched forth his neck upon the altar before his father, and Abraham stretched forth his hand to take the knife to slay his son as a burnt offering before YAHWEH.
66 At that time the heavenly messengers of mercy came before YAHWEH and spake to him concerning Yitschaq, saying,
67 O YAHWEH, you are a merciful and compassionate King over all that you hast created in heaven and in earth, and you support them all; give therefore ransom and redemption instead of your servant Yitschaq, and pity and have compassion upon Abraham and Yitschaq his son, who are this day performing your commands.
68 Hast you seen, O YAHWEH, how Yitschaq the son of Abraham your servant is bound down to the slaughter like an animal? now therefore let your pity be roused for them, O YAHWEH.
69 At that time YAHWEH appeared unto Abraham, and called to him, from heaven, and said unto him, Lay not your hand upon the lad, neither do you any thing unto him, for now I know that you fear YAHWEH in performing this act, and in not withholding your son, your only son, from me.
70 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, a ram was caught in a thicket by his horns; that was the ram which YAHWEH the ALMIGHTY had created in the earth in the day that he made earth and heaven.
71 For YAHWEH had prepared this ram from that day, to be a burnt offering instead of Yitschaq.
72 And this ram was advancing to Abraham when Satan caught hold of him and entangled his horns in the thicket, that he might not advance to Abraham, in order that Abraham might slay his son.
73 And Abraham, seeing the ram advancing to him and Satan withholding him, fetched him and brought him before the altar, and he loosened his son Yitschaq from his binding, and he put the ram in his stead, and Abraham killed the ram upon the altar, and brought it up as an offering in the place of his son Yitschaq.
74 And Abraham sprinkled some of the blood of the ram upon the altar, and he exclaimed and said, This is in the place of my son, and may this be considered this day as the blood of my son before YAHWEH.
75 And all that Abraham did on this occasion by the altar, he would exclaim and say, This is in the room of my son, and may it this day be considered before YAHWEH in the place of my son; and Abraham finished the whole of the service by the altar, and the service was accepted before YAHWEH, and was accounted as if it had been Yitschaq; and YAHWEH blessed Abraham and his seed on that day.
76 And Satan went to Sarah, and he appeared to her in the figure of an old man very humble and meek, and Abraham was yet engaged in the burnt offering before YAHWEH.
77 And he said unto her, Dost you not know all the work that Abraham has made with your only son this day? for he took Yitschaq and built an altar, and killed him, and brought him up as a sacrifice upon the altar, and Yitschaq cried and wept before his father, but he looked not at him, neither did he have compassion over him.
78 And Satan repeated these words, and he went away from her, and Sarah heard all the words of Satan, and she imagined him to be an old man from amongst the sons of men who had been with her son, and had come and told her these things.
79 And Sarah lifted up her voice and wept and cried out bitterly on account of her son; and she threw herself upon the ground and she cast dust upon her head, and she said, O my son, Yitschaq my son, O that I had this day died instead of you. And she continued to weep and said, It grieves me for you, O my son, my son Yitschaq, O that I had died this day in your stead.
80 And she still continued to weep, and said, It grieves me for you after that I have reared you and have brought you up; now my joy is turned into mourning over you, I that had a longing for you, and cried and prayed to YAHWEH till I bare you at ninety years old; and now hast you served this day for the knife and the fire, to be made an offering.
81 But I console myself with you, my son, in its being the word of YAHWEH, for you didst perform the command of your ALMIGHTY; for who can transgress the word of our YAHWEH, in whose hands is the soul of every living creature?
82 You are just, O YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY, for all your works are good and righteous; for I also am rejoiced with your word which you didst command, and while mine eye weeps bitterly my heart rejoiceth.
83 And Sarah laid her head upon the bosom of one of her handmaids, and she became as still as a stone.
84 She afterward rose up and went about making inquiries till she came to Hebron, and she inquired of all those whom she met walking in the road, and no one could tell her what had happened to her son.
85 And she came with her maid servants and men servants to Kireath-arba, which is Hebron, and she asked concerning her Son, and she remained there while she sent some of her servants to seek where Abraham had gone with Yitschaq; they went to seek him in the house of Shem and Eber, and they could not find him, and they sought throughout the land and he was not there.
86 And behold, Satan came to Sarah in the shape of an old man, and he came and stood before her, and he said unto her, I spoke falsely unto you, for Abraham did not kill his son and he is not dead; and when she heard the word her joy was so exceedingly violent on account of her son, that her soul went out through joy; she died and was gathered to her people.
87 And when Abraham had finished his service he returned with his son Yitschaq to his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba, and they came home.
88 And Abraham sought for Sarah, and could not find her, and he made inquiries concerning her, and they said unto him, She went as far as Hebron to seek you both where you had gone, for thus was she informed.
89 And Abraham and Yitschaq went to her to Hebron, and when they found that she was dead they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly over her; and Yitschaq fell upon his mother's face and wept over her, and he said, O my mother, my mother, how hast you left me, and where hast you gone? O how, how hast you left me!
90 And Abraham and Yitschaq wept greatly and all their servants wept with them on account of Sarah, and they mourned over her a great and heavy mourning.

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Jasher, Chapter 19

1 And the cities of Sodom had four judges to four cities, and these were their names, Serak in the city of Sodom, Sharkad in Gomorrah, Zabnac in Admah, and Menon in Zeboyim. 2 And Eliezer Abraham's servant applied to them different names, and he converted Serak to Shakra, Sharkad to Shakrura, Zebnac to Kezobim, and Menon to Matzlodin.
3 And by desire of their four judges the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had beds erected in the streets of the cities, and if a man came to these places they laid hold of him and brought him to one of their beds, and by force made him to lie in them.
4 And as he lay down, three men would stand at his head and three at his feet, and measure him by the length of the bed, and if the man was less than the bed these six men would stretch him at each end, and when he cried out to them they would not answer him.
5 And if he was longer than the bed they would draw together the two sides of the bed at each end, until the man had reached the gates of death.
6 And if he continued to cry out to them, they would answer him, saying, Thus shall it be done to a man that comes into our land.
7 And when men heard all these things that the people of the cities of Sodom did, they refrained from coming there.
8 And when a poor man came to their land they would give him silver and gold, and cause a proclamation in the whole city not to give him a morsel of bread to eat, and if the stranger should remain there some days, and die from hunger, not having been able to obtain a morsel of bread, then at his death all the people of the city would come and take their silver and gold which they had given to him.
9 And those that could recognize the silver or gold which they had given him took it back, and at his death they also stripped him of his garments, and they would fight about them, and he that prevailed over his neighbor took them.
10 They would after that carry him and bury him under some of the shrubs in the deserts; so they did all the days to any one that came to them and died in their land. 11 And in the course of time Sarah sent Eliezer to Sodom, to see Lot and inquire after his welfare.
12 And Eliezer went to Sodom, and he met a man of Sodom fighting with a stranger, and the man of Sodom stripped the poor man of all his clothes and went away.
13 And this poor man cried to Eliezer and supplicated his favor on account of what the man of Sodom had done to him.
14 And he said to him, Why dost you act thus to the poor man who came to your land?
15 And the man of Sodom answered Eliezer, saying, Is this man your brother, or have the people of Sodom made you a judge this day, that you speak about this man?
16 And Eliezer strove with the man of Sodom on account of the poor man, and when Eliezer approached to recover the poor man's clothes from the man of Sodom, he hastened and with a stone smote Eliezer in the forehead.
17 And the blood flowed copiously from Eliezer's forehead, and when the man saw the blood he caught hold of Eliezer, saying, Give me my hire for having rid you of this bad blood that was in your forehead, for such is the custom and the law in our land.
18 And Eliezer said to him, You hast wounded me and require me to pay you your hire; and Eliezer would not hearken to the words of the man of Sodom. 19 And the man laid hold of Eliezer and brought him to Shakra the judge of Sodom for judgment.
20 And the man spoke to the judge, saying, I beseech you my lord, thus has this man done, for I smote him with a stone that the blood flowed from his forehead, and he is unwilling to give me my hire.
21 And the judge said to Eliezer, This man speaks truth to you, give him his hire, for this is the custom in our land; and Eliezer heard the words of the judge, and he lifted up a stone and smote the judge, and the stone struck on his forehead, and the blood flowed copiously from the forehead of the judge, and Eliezer said, If this then is the custom in your land give you unto this man what I should have given him, for this has been your decision, you didst decree it.
22 And Eliezer left the man of Sodom with the judge, and he went away.
23 And when the kings of Elam had made war with the kings of Sodom, the kings of Elam captured all the property of Sodom, and they took Lot captive, with his property, and when it was told to Abraham he went and made war with the kings of Elam, and he recovered from their hands all the property of Lot as well as the property of Sodom.
24 At that time the wife of Lot bare him a daughter, and he called her name Paltith, saying, Because YAHWEH had delivered him and his whole household from the kings of Elam; and Paltith daughter of Lot grew up, and one of the men of Sodom took her for a wife.
25 And a poor man came into the city to seek a maintenance, and he remained in the city some days, and all the people of Sodom caused a proclamation of their custom not to give this man a morsel of bread to eat, until he dropped dead upon the earth, and they did so.
26 And Paltith the daughter of Lot saw this man lying in the streets starved with hunger, and no one would give him any thing to keep him alive, and he was just upon the point of death.
27 And her soul was filled with pity on account of the man, and she fed him secretly with bread for many days, and the soul of this man was revived.
28 For when she went forth to fetch water she would put the bread in the water pitcher, and when she came to the place where the poor man was, she took the bread from the pitcher and gave it him to eat; so she did many days.
29 And all the people of Sodom and Gomorrah wondered how this man could bear starvation for so many days.
30 And they said to each other, This can only be that he eats and drinks, for no man can bear starvation for so many days or live as this man has, without even his countenance changing; and three men concealed themselves in a place where the poor man was stationed, to know who it was that brought him bread to eat. 31 And Paltith daughter of Lot went forth that day to fetch water, and she put bread into her pitcher of water, and she went to draw water by the poor man's place, and she took out the bread from the pitcher and gave it to the poor man and he ate it.
32 And the three men saw what Paltith did to the poor man, and they said to her, It is you then who hast supported him, and therefore has he not starved, nor changed in appearance nor died like the rest.
33 And the three men went out of the place in which they were concealed, and they seized Paltith and the bread which was in the poor man's hand.
34 And they took Paltith and brought her before their judges, and they said to them, Thus did she do, and it is she who supplied the poor man with bread, therefore did he not die all this time; now therefore declare to us the punishment due to this woman for having transgressed our law.
35 And the people of Sodom and Gomorrah assembled and kindled a fire in the street of the city, and they took the woman and cast her into the fire and she was burned to ashes.
36 And in the city of Admah there was a woman to whom they did the like.
37 For a traveler came into the city of Admah to abide there all night, with the intention of going home in the morning, and he sat opposite the door of the house of the young woman's father, to remain there, as the sun had set when be had reached that place; and the young woman saw him sitting by the door of the house.
38 And he asked her for a drink of water and she said to him, Who are you? and he said to her, I was this day going on the road, and reached here when the sun set, so I will abide here all night, and in the morning I will arise early and continue my journey.
39 And the young woman went into the house and fetched the man bread and water to eat and drink.
40 And this affair became known to the people of Admah, and they assembled and brought the young woman before the judges, that they should judge her for this act.
41 And the judge said, The judgment of death must pass upon this woman because she transgressed our law, and this therefore is the decision concerning her.
42 And the people of those cities assembled and brought out the young woman, and anointed her with honey from head to foot, as the judge had decreed, and they placed her before a swarm of bees which were then in their hives, and the bees flew upon her and stung her that her whole body was swelled.
43 And the young woman cried out on account of the bees, but no one took notice of her or pitied her, and her cries ascended to heaven.
44 And YAHWEH was provoked at this and at all the works of the cities of Sodom, for they had abundance of food, and had tranquility amongst them, and still would not sustain the poor and the needy, and in those days their evil doings and sins became great before YAHWEH.
45 And YAHWEH sent for two of the heavenly messengers that had come to Abraham's house, to destroy Sodom and its cities.
46 And the heavenly messengers rose up from the door of Abraham's tent, after they had eaten and drunk, and they reached Sodom in the evening, and Lot was then sitting in the gate of Sodom, and when he saw them he rose to meet them, and he bowed down to the ground.
47 And he pressed them greatly and brought them into his house, and he gave them victuals which they ate, and they abode all night in his house.
48 And the heavenly messengers said to Lot, Arise, go forth from this place, you and all belonging to you, lest you be consumed in the iniquity of this city, for YAHWEH will destroy this place.
49 And the heavenly messengers laid hold upon the hand of Lot and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hands of his children, and all belonging to him, and they brought him forth and set him without the cities.
50 And they said to Lot, Escape for your life, and he fled and all belonging to him.
Year 2048
51 Then YAHWEH rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah and upon all these cities brimstone and fire from YAHWEH out of heaven.
52 And he overthrew these cities, all the plain and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground; and Ado the wife of Lot looked back to see the destruction of the cities, for her compassion was moved on account of her daughters who remained in Sodom, for they did not go with her.
53 And when she looked back she became a pillar of salt, and it is yet in that place unto this day.
54 And the oxen which stood in that place daily licked up the salt to the extremities of their feet, and in the morning it would spring forth afresh, and they again licked it up unto this day.
55 And Lot and two of his daughters that remained with him fled and escaped to the cave of Adullam, and they remained there for some time.
56 And Abraham rose up early in the morning to see what had been done to the cities of Sodom; and he looked and beheld the smoke of the cities going up like the smoke of a furnace.
57 And Lot and his two daughters remained in the cave, and they made their father drink wine, and they lay with him, for they said there was no man upon earth that could raise up seed from them, for they thought that the whole earth was destroyed.
58 And they both lay with their father, and they conceived and bare sons, and the first born called the name of her son Moab, saying, From my father did I conceive him; he is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
59 And the younger also called her son Benami; he is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.
60 And after this Lot and his two daughters went away from there, and he dwelt on the other side of the Yardan with his two daughters and their sons, and the sons of Lot grew up, and they went and took themselves wives from the land of Canaan, and they begat children and they were fruitful and multiplied.

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Jasher, Chapter 12

1 And when the king heard the words of Abram he ordered him to be put into prison; and Abram was ten days in prison.
2 And at the end of those days the king ordered that all the kings, princes and governors of different provinces and the sages should come before him, and they sat before him, and Abram was still in the house of confinement.
3 And the king said to the princes and sages, Have you heard what Abram, the son of Terah, has done to his father? Thus has he done to him, and I ordered him to be brought before me, and thus has he spoken; his heart did not misgive him, neither did he stir in my presence, and behold now he is confined in the prison.
4 And therefore decide what judgment is due to this man who reviled the king; who spoke and did all the things that you heard.
5 And they all answered the king saying, The man who reviles the king should be hanged upon a tree; but having done all the things that he said, and having despised our gods, he must therefore be burned to death, for this is the law in this matter.
6 If it pleases the king to do this, let him order his servants to kindle a fire both night and day in your brick furnace, and then we will cast this man into it. And the king did so, and he commanded his servants that they should prepare a fire for three days and three nights in the king's furnace, that is in Casdim; and the king ordered them to take Abram from prison and bring him out to be burned.
7 And all the king's servants, princes, lords, governors, and judges, and all the inhabitants of the land, about nine hundred thousand men, stood opposite the furnace to see Abram.
8 And all the women and little ones crowded upon the roofs and towers to see what was doing with Abram, and they all stood together at a distance; and there was not a man left that did not come on that day to behold the scene.
9 And when Abram was come, the conjurors of the king and the sages saw Abram, and they cried out to the king, saying, Our sovereign lord, surely this is the man whom we know to have been the child at whose birth the great star swallowed the four stars, which we declared to the king now fifty years since.
10 And behold now his father has also transgressed your commands, and mocked you by bringing you another child, which you didst kill. 11 And when the king heard their words, he was exceedingly wroth, and he ordered Terah to be brought before him.
12 And the king said, Hast you heard what the conjurors have spoken? Now tell me truly, how didst you; and if you shall speak truth you shall be acquitted.
13 And seeing that the king's anger was so much kindled, Terah said to the king, My lord and king, you hast heard the truth, and what the sages have spoken is right. And the king said, How couldst you do this thing, to transgress my orders and to give me a child that you didst not beget, and to take value for him?
14 And Terah answered the king, Because my tender feelings were excited for my son, at that time, and I took a son of my handmaid, and I brought him to the king.
15 And the king said Who advised you to this? Tell me, do not hide aught from me, and then you shall not die.
16 And Terah was greatly terrified in the king's presence, and he said to the king, It was Haran my eldest son who advised me to this; and Haran was in those days that Abram was born, two and thirty years old.
17 But Haran did not advise his father to anything, for Terah said this to the king in order to deliver his soul from the king, for he feared greatly; and the king said to Terah, Haran your son who advised you to this shall die through fire with Abram; for the sentence of death is upon him for having rebelled against the king's desire in doing this thing.
18 And Haran at that time felt inclined to follow the ways of Abram, but he kept it within himself.
19 And Haran said in his heart, Behold now the king has seized Abram on account of these things which Abram did, and it shall come to pass, that if Abram prevail over the king I will follow him, but if the king prevail I will go after the king.
20 And when Terah had spoken this to the king concerning Haran his son, the king ordered Haran to be seized with Abram.
21 And they brought them both, Abram and Haran his brother, to cast them into the fire; and all the inhabitants of the land and the king's servants and princes and all the women and little ones were there, standing that day over them.
22 And the king's servants took Abram and his brother, and they stripped them of all their clothes excepting their lower garments which were upon them.
23 And they bound their hands and feet with linen cords, and the servants of the king lifted them up and cast them both into the furnace.
24 And YAHWEH loved Abram and he had compassion over him, and YAHWEH came down and delivered Abram from the fire and he was not burned.
25 But all the cords with which they bound him were burned, while Abram remained and walked about in the fire.
26 And Haran died when they had cast him into the fire, and he was burned to ashes, for his heart was not perfect with YAHWEH; and those men who cast him into the fire, the flame of the fire spread over them, and they were burned, and twelve men of them died.
27 And Abram walked in the midst of the fire three days and three nights, and all the servants of the king saw him walking in the fire, and they came and told the king, saying, Behold we have seen Abram walking about in the midst of the fire, and even the lower garments which are upon him are not burned, but the cord with which he was bound is burned.
28 And when the king heard their words his heart fainted and he would not believe them; so he sent other faithful princes to see this matter, and they went and saw it and told it to the king; and the king rose to go and see it, and he saw Abram walking to and fro in the midst of the fire, and he saw Haran's body burned, and the king wondered greatly.
29 And the king ordered Abram to be taken out from the fire; and his servants approached to take him out and they could not, for the fire was round about and the flame ascending toward them from the furnace.
30 And the king's servants fled from it, and the king rebuked them, saying, Make haste and bring Abram out of the fire that you shall not die.
31 And the servants of the king again approached to bring Abram out, and the flames came upon them and burned their faces so that eight of them died.
32 And when the king saw that his servants could not approach the fire lest they should be burned, the king called to Abram, O servant of YAHWEH who is in heaven, go forth from amidst the fire and come hither before me; and Abram hearkened to the voice of the king, and he went forth from the fire and came and stood before the king.
33 And when Abram came out the king and all his servants saw Abram coming before the king, with his lower garments upon him, for they were not burned, but the cord with which he was bound was burned.
34 And the king said to Abram, How is it that you wast not burned in the fire?
35 And Abram said to the king, YAHWEH of heaven and earth in whom I trust and who has all in his power, He delivered me from the fire into which you didst cast me.
36 And Haran the brother of Abram was burned to ashes, and they sought for his body, and they found it consumed.
37 And Haran was eighty-two years old when he died in the fire of Casdim. And the king, princes, and inhabitants of the land, seeing that Abram was delivered from the fire, they came and bowed down to Abram.
38 And Abram said to them, Do not bow down to me, but bow down to YAHWEH of the world who made you, and serve him, and go in his ways for it is he who delivered me from out of this fire, and it is he who created the souls and spirits of all men, and formed man in his mother's womb, and brought him forth into the world, and it is he who will deliver those who trust in him from all pain.
39 And this thing seemed very wonderful in the eyes of the king and princes, that Abram was saved from the fire and that Haran was burned; and the king gave Abram many presents and he gave him his two head servants from the king's house; the name of one was Oni and the name of the other was Eliezer. 40 And all the kings, princes and servants gave Abram many gifts of silver and gold and pearl, and the king and his princes sent him away, and he went in peace. 41 And Abram went forth from the king in peace, and many of the king's servants followed him, and about three hundred men joined him. 42 And Abram returned on that day and went to his father's house, he and the men that followed him, and Abram served YAHWEH his ALMIGHTY all the days of his life, and he walked in his ways and followed his law.
43 And from that day forward Abram inclined the hearts of the sons of men to serve YAHWEH.
Year 1998
44 And at that time Nahor and Abram took unto themselves wives, the daughters of their brother Haran; the wife of Nahor was Milca and the name of Abram's wife was Sarai. And Sarai, wife of Abram, was barren; she had no offspring in those days.
Year 2000
45 And at the expiration of two years from Abram's going out of the fire, that is in the fifty-second year of his life, behold king Nimrod sat in Babel upon the throne, and the king fell asleep and dreamed that he was standing with his troops and hosts in a valley opposite the king's furnace.
46 And he lifted up his eyes and saw a man in the likeness of Abram coming forth from the furnace, and that he came and stood before the king with his drawn sword, and then sprang to the king with his sword, when the king fled from the man, for he was afraid; and while he was running, the man threw an egg upon the king's head, and the egg became a great river.
47 And the king dreamed that all his troops sank in that river and died, and the king took flight with three men who were before him and he escaped.
48 And the king looked at these men and they were clothed in princely dresses as the garments of kings, and had the appearance and majesty of kings.
49 And while they were running, the river again turned to an egg before the king, and there came forth from the egg a young bird which came before the king, and flew at his head and plucked out the king's eye.
50 And the king was grieved at the sight, and he awoke out of his sleep and his spirit was agitated; and he felt a great terror.
51 And in the morning the king rose from his couch in fear, and he ordered all the wise men and magicians to come before him, when the king related his dream to them.
52 And a wise servant of the king, whose name was Anuki, answered the king, saying, This is nothing else but the evil of Abram and his seed which will spring up against my lord and king in the latter days.
53 And behold the day will come when Abram and his seed and the children of his household will war with my king, and they will smite all the king's hosts and his troops.
54 And as to what you hast said concerning three men which you didst see like unto thyself, and which did escape, this means that only you wilt escape with three kings from the kings of the earth who will be with you in battle.
55 And that which you saw of the river which turned to an egg as at first, and the young bird plucking out your eye, this means nothing else but the seed of Abram which will slay the king in latter days.
56 This is my king's dream, and this is its interpretation, and the dream is true, and the interpretation which your servant has given you is right.
57 Now therefore my king, surely you know that it is now fifty-two years since your sages saw this at the birth of Abram, and if my king will suffer Abram to live in the earth it will be to the injury of my lord and king, for all the days that Abram lives neither you nor your kingdom will be established, for this was known formerly at his birth; and why will not my king slay him, that his evil may be kept from you in latter days?
58 And Nimrod hearkened to the voice of Anuki, and he sent some of his servants in secret to go and seize Abram, and bring him before the king to suffer death.
59 And Eliezer, Abram's servant whom the king had given him, was at that time in the presence of the king, and he heard what Anuki had advised the king, and what the king had said to cause Abram's death.
60 And Eliezer said to Abram, Hasten, rise up and save your soul, that you may not die through the hands of the king, for thus did he see in a dream concerning you, and thus did Anuki interpret it, and thus also did Anuki advise the king concerning you.
61 And Abram hearkened to the voice of Eliezer, and Abram hastened and ran for safety to the house of Noah and his son Shem, and he concealed himself there and found a place of safety; and the king's servants came to Abram's house to seek him, but they could not find him, and they searched through out the country and he was not to be found, and they went and searched in every direction and he was not to be met with.
62 And when the king's servants could not find Abram they returned to the king, but the king's anger against Abram was stilled, as they did not find him, and the king drove from his mind this matter concerning Abram.
63 And Abram was concealed in Noah's house for one month, until the king had forgotten this matter, but Abram was still afraid of the king; and Terah came to see Abram his son secretly in the house of Noah, and Terah was very great in the eyes of the king.
64 And Abram said to his father, Dost you not know that the king thinks to slay me, and to annihilate my name from the earth by the advice of his wicked counsellors?
65 Now whom hast you here and what hast you in this land? Arise, let us go together to the land of Canaan, that we may be delivered from his hand, lest you perish also through him in the latter days.
66 Dost you not know or hast you not heard, that it is not through love that Nimrod gives you all this honor, but it is only for his benefit that he bestows all this good upon you?
67 And if he do unto you greater good than this, surely these are only vanities of the world, for wealth and riches cannot avail in the day of wrath and anger. 68 Now therefore hearken to my voice, and let us arise and go to the land of Canaan, out of the reach of injury from Nimrod; and serve you YAHWEH who created you in the earth and it will be well with you; and cast away all the vain things which you pursuest.
69 And Abram ceased to speak, when Noah and his son Shem answered Terah, saying, True is the word which Abram hath said unto you.
70 And Terah hearkened to the voice of his son Abram, and Terah did all that Abram said, for this was from YAHWEH, that the king should not cause Abram's death.

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