YASHAR 28 (Jasher 28)

1 And in those days, after the death of Aḇraham, in that year 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 brought a severe scarcity of food in the land. And while the scarcity of food was raging in the land of Kena’an, Yitsḥaq rose up to go down to Mitsrayim because of the scarcity of food, as his father Aḇraham had done.

2 And 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 appeared that night to Yitsḥaq and He said to him, “Do not go down to Mitsrayim, but rise and go to Gerar, to Aḇimeleḵ sovereign of the Pelishtites, and remain there till the scarcity of food ceases.”

3 And Yitsḥaq rose up and went to Gerar, as 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 commanded him, and he remained there a full year.

4 And when Yitsḥaq came to Gerar, the people of the land saw that Riḇqah his wife was of good-looking appearance, and the people of Gerar asked Yitsḥaq concerning his wife, and he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say she was his wife lest the people of the land should slay him because of her.

5 And the princes of Aḇimeleḵ went and praised the woman to the sovereign, but he did not answer them, neither did he attend to their words.

6 But he heard them say that Yitsḥaq declared her to be his sister, so the sovereign reserved this within himself.

7 And when Yitsḥaq had remained three months in the land, Aḇimeleḵ looked out of the window, and he looked, and see, Yitsḥaq was playing with Riḇqah his wife, for Yitsḥaq dwelt in the outer house belonging to the sovereign, so that the house of Yitsḥaq was opposite the house of the sovereign.

8 And the sovereign said to Yitsḥaq, “What is this you have done to us in saying of your wife, ‘She is my sister?’ how easily might one of the great men of the people have lain with her, and you would then have brought guilt upon us.”

9 And Yitsḥaq said to Aḇimeleḵ, “Because I was afraid lest I die because of my wife, therefore I said, ‘She is my sister.’ ”

10 At that time Aḇimeleḵ gave orders to all his princes and great men, and they took Yitsḥaq and Riḇqah his wife and brought them before the sovereign.

11 And the sovereign commanded that they should dress them in princely garments, and make them ride through the streets of the city, and proclaim before them throughout the land, saying, “This is the man and this is his wife; whoever touches this man or his wife shall indeed die.” And Yitsḥaq returned with his wife to the sovereign’s house, and 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 was with Yitsḥaq and he continued to become great and lacked nothing.

12 And 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 caused Yitsḥaq to find favour in the sight of Aḇimeleḵ, and in the sight of all his subjects, and Aḇimeleḵ acted well with Yitsḥaq, for Aḇimeleḵ remembered the oath and the covenant that existed between his father and Aḇraham.

13 And Aḇimeleḵ said to Yitsḥaq, “See, the whole earth is before you; dwell wherever it may seem good in your eyes until you shall return to your land.” And Aḇimeleḵ gave Yitsḥaq fields and vineyards and the best part of the land of Gerar, to sow and reap and eat the fruits of the ground until the days of the scarcity of food had passed by.

14 And Yitsḥaq sowed in that land, and received a hundred-fold in the same year, and 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 baraḵ him.

15 And the man became great, and he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and great supply of servants.

16 And when the days of the scarcity of food had passed away 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 appeared to Yitsḥaq and said to him, “Rise up, go out from this place and return to your land, to the land of Kena’an.” And Yitsḥaq rose up and returned to Ḥeḇron which is in the land of Kena’an, he and all belonging to him as 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 commanded him.

17 And after this Shelaḥ the son at Arpaḵshaḏ died in that year, which is the eighteenth year of the lives of Ya’aqoḇ and Ĕsaw. And all the days that Shelaḥ lived were four hundred and thirty-three years and he died.

18 At that time Yitsḥaq sent his younger son Ya’aqoḇ to the house of Shĕm and Ĕḇer, and he learned the Torot of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, and Ya’aqoḇ remained in the house of Shĕm and Ĕḇer for thirty-two years. But Ĕsaw his brother did not go, for he was not willing to go, and he remained in his father’s house in the land of Kena’an.

19 And Ĕsaw was continually hunting in the fields to bring home what he could get. So Ĕsaw did all the days.

20 And Ĕsaw was a crafty and deceitful man, one who hunted after the hearts of men and persuaded them. And Ĕsaw was a mighty man of the field, and in the course of time went as usual to hunt, and he came as far as the field of Sĕ’ir – the same is Eḏom.

21 And he remained in the land of Sĕ’ir hunting in the field a year and four months.

22 And Ĕsaw saw there in the land of Sĕ’ir the daughter of a man of Kena’an, and her name was Yahuḏith, the daughter of Be’ĕri, son of Ĕpher, from the clans of Ḥĕth, son of Kena’an.

23 And Ĕsaw took her for a wife, and he came to her. Ĕsaw was forty years old when he took her, and he brought her to Ḥeḇron, the land of his father’s dwelling place, and he dwelt there.

24 And it came to be in those days, in the hundred and tenth year of the life of Yitsḥaq, that is, in the fiftieth year of the life of Ya’aqoḇ, in that year Shĕm son of Noaḥ died. Shĕm was six hundred years old at his death.

25 And when Shĕm died, Ya’aqoḇ returned to his father at Ḥeḇron which is in the land of Kena’an.

26 And in the fifty-sixth year of the life of Ya’aqoḇ, people came from Ḥaran. And Riḇqah was told concerning her brother Laḇan, son of Bethu’ĕl.

27 For the wife of Laḇan was barren in those days, and bore no children, and also all his female servants bore none to him.

28 And 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 afterward remembered Aḏina the wife of Laḇan, and she conceived and bore twin daughters. And Laḇan called the names of his daughters, the name of the elder Le’ah, and the name of the younger Raḥĕl.

29 And those people came and told these matters to Riḇqah, and Riḇqah rejoiced greatly that 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 had visited her brother and that he had gained children.