Book of Jasher — 1840 English Edition

Book of Jasher — 1840 English Edition 20

CPLVPTER XX. 1 . And at that time Abraham jour- neyed from the plain of Mamre, and he went to the land of the Philistines, and he dwelt in Gerar ; it was in the twenty-fifth year of Abraham's being in the land of Canaan, and the hun- drcth year of the life of Abraham, tliat he came to Gerar in the land of the Philistines. 2. And when they entered the land he said to Sarah his wife, say thou art my sister, to any one that shall ask thee, in order that we may es- cape the evil of the inhabitants of the land. 3. And as Abraham was dwelling in the land of the Philistines, the ser- vants of Abimelech, king of the Phi- listines, saw that Sarah was exceed- ingly beautiful, and they asked Abra- ham concerning her, and he said, she is my sister. 4. And the servants of Abimelech went to Abimelech, saying, a man from the land of Canaan is come to dwell in the land, and he has a sister that is exceeding fair. 5. And Abimelech heard the words of his servants who praised Sarah to him, and Abimelech sent his oflicers, and they brought Sarah to the king. 6. And Sarah came to the house of Abimelech, and the king saw that Sarah was beautiful, and she pleased him e.xceedingly. 56 THE BOOK OF JASIIER. 7. And he approached her and said to her, what is that man to thee with whom thou didst come to our land ? and Sarah answered and said he is my brother, and we came from the land of Canaan to dwell wherever we could find a place. 8. And Abimelech said to Sarah, behold my land is before thee, place thy brother in any part of this land that pleases thee, and it will be our duty to exalt and elevate him above all the people of the land since he is thy brother. 9. And Abimelech sent for Abra- ham, and Abraham came to Abime- lech. 1 0. And Abimelech said to Abra- ham, behold I have given orders that thou shalt be honored as thou de- sirest on account of thy sister Sarah. 1 1 . And Abraham went forth from the king, and the king's present fol- lowed him. 12. As at evening time, before men lie down to rest, the king was sitting upon his throne, and a deep sleep fell upon him, and he lay upon the throne and slept till morning. 13. And he dreamed that an angel of the Lord came to him with a drawn sword in his hand, and the angel stood over Abimelech, and wished to slay him with the sword, and the king was terrified in his dream, and said to the angel, in what have I sinned against thee that thou comest to slay me with thy sword ? 14. And the angel answered and said to Abimelech, behold thou diest on account of the woman which thou didst yesternight bring to thy house, for she is a married woman, the wife of Abraham who came to thy house ; now therefore return that man his wife, for she is his wife ; and shouldst thou not return her, know that thou wilt surely die, thou and all belong- ing to thee, 15. And on that night there was a great outcry in the land of the Phi- listines, and the inhabitants of the land saw the figure of a man stand- ing with a drawn sword in his hand, and he smote the inhabitants of the land with the sword, yea he continued to smite them. 16. And the angel of the Lord smote the whole land of the Philis- tines on that night, and there was a great confusion on that night and on the following morning. 17. And every womb w^as closed, and all their issues, and the hand of the Lord was upon them on account of Sarah, wife of Abraham, whom Abimelech had taken. 18. And in the morning Abime- lech rose with terror and confusion and with a great dread, and he sent and had his servants called in, and he related his dream to them, and the people were greatly afraid. 19. And one man standing amongst the servants of the king answered the king, saying, O sovereign king, restore this woman to her husband, for lie is her husband, for the like happened to the king of Egypt when this man came to Egypt. 20. And he said concerning his wife, she is my sister, for such is his manner of doing when he cometh to dwell in the land in which he is a stranger. 21. And Pharaoh sent and took this woman for a wife, and the Lord brought upon him grievous plagues until he returned the woman to her husband. 22. Now therefore, O sovereign king, know what happened yester- night to the whole land, for there was a very great consternation and great THE BOOK OF JASHER. 57 pain and lamentation, and we know that this was on account of the wo- man which thou didst take. 23. Now llierefore, restore this woman to her husband, lest it should befall us as it did to Pharaoh king of Egypt and his subjects, and that we may not die ; and Abiinclech has- tened and called and had Sarah called for, and she came bclbrc him, and he had Abraham called for, and he came before him. 24. And Abimelech said to them, w^hat is this work you have been do- ing in saying you arc brother and sister, and 1 look this woman for a wife ? 25. And Abraham said, because I thought I should suffer death on account of my wife ; and Abimelech took flocks and herds, and men ser- vants and maid servants, and a thou- sand pieces of silver, and he gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah to him. 26. And Abimelech said to Abra- ham, behold the whole land is before thee, dwell in it wherever thou shalt choose. 27. And Abraham and Sarah his wife went forth from the king's presence with honor and respect, and they dwelt in the land, even in Gerar. 28. And all the inhabitants of the land of the Philistines and the king's servants were still in pain, through the plague which the angel had in- flicted upon them the whole night on account of Sarah. 29. And Abimelech sent for Abra- ham, saying, pray now for thy ser- vants to the Lord thy God, that he may put awa)'' this mortality from amongst us. 30. And Abraham prayed on ac- count of Abimelech and his subjects, and the Lord heard the prayer of Abraham, and he healed Abimelech and all his subjects.