Sefer haYashar — Medieval Midrash

Sefer HaYashar (midrash) — Book of Genesis / Lech Lecha

[Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Lech Lecha / 1] Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father's house into a land that I ‎will show thee, to give it unto thee and unto thy seed after thee? For there, in that land I will ‎bless thee and there I will make thee unto a great nation and I will make thy name great, and ‎through thee all the families of the earth shall be blessed. And now arise and get thee out of ‎this place, thou and thy wife and all belonging to thee, be they born in thy house or acquired in ‎the land of Haran, and return at once to Canaan. And Abram arose and took his wife and all ‎belonging to him, and all his people, whether born in his house or acquired in Haran, and he ‎prepared to go unto the land of Canaan. And Abram went and returned unto the land of ‎Canaan according to the word of God, and Lot his brother's son went with him. And Abram was ‎seventy-five years of age when he left Haran to return into Canaan. And Abram returned unto ‎the land of Canaan according to the commandment of the Lord unto him. And Abram pitched ‎his tent and dwelt in the grove Moreh, and Lot his brother's son, and all belonging unto him ‎dwelt with him. And the Lord again appeared unto Abram saying: Unto thy children I will give ‎this land. And Abram again built an altar unto the Lord who appeared unto him, and that altar is ‎still in the grove of Moreh even to this day. And there was at that time in the land of Shinar a ‎man of great learning and wisdom, and he was versed in all sorts of knowledge, but the man ‎was poor and utterly destitute, and the name of that man was Rikayon. And his mind was ‎greatly troubled concerning his living and he concluded to go unto Ashvirosh, son of Tenos, ‎king of Egypt, to show his great wisdom unto the king, perhaps that he might find grace in the ‎eyes of the king, and the king would make him great and give him the means of supporting ‎himself. And Rikayon did accordingly. And when Rikayon came unto the land of Egypt, he ‎inquired of the people concerning their king, and the people acquainted him with the manners ‎of their king. For it was then the custom in Egypt, that the king would not leave his chamber ‎which was in the royal palace, to be seen in the land, more than one day in each year, and ‎after having shown himself for one day he would sit to judge all the people, and every man ‎that had a favor to ask of the king, the king would grant it on that day. And Rikayon, having ‎heard of the customs of the Egyptians, and that he could not make his appearance before the ‎king, was greatly troubled.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Lech Lecha / 2] And in the evening Rikayon walked about sorrowfully to find a place to tarry over night, and he ‎saw the ruins of a house, once a bakery as they are made in Egypt, and therein he spent the ‎night with bitterness of soul and in hunger, and sleep shunned his eyes. And Rikayon thought ‎within himself what he should do in the city until he could see the king, and in what manner he ‎could maintain his life up to that time. And he arose in the morning and walked about town ‎and he met venders of vegetables, and he inquired of them concerning some employment. ‎And they told him that they made a living by selling vegetables and seeds, which they bought ‎and sold unto the people of the city. And Rikayon resolved to do as they did, in order to ‎maintain his life in the city. Yet Rikayon was unacquainted with the manners of the people of ‎the land, and he seemed like a blind man, in their midst. And he went and procured ‎vegetables to sell for a living, but the rabble came around him and made sport of him, and they ‎took away from him all the vegetables, and nothing was left. And Rikayon arose with a ‎sorrowful spirit and with bitterness of heart, and returned unto the house of the bakery and ‎tarried there all night as he did before. And he consulted with himself what he was to do in ‎order to support himself, and finally he succeeded in his wisdom to find a cunning way of doing ‎something for his support. And he rose in the morning and hired thirty men, who were strong ‎and powerful but without any good within their hearts, and he gave weapons of war into their ‎hands and he conducted them unto the pyramids that are before Egypt, and he placed them ‎there. And he commanded them saying: Thus hath the king ordered: Be valiant and ‎strengthen yourselves, and do not allow anyone to be buried in this place unless you are given ‎two hundred pieces of silver. And the men did according to the words of Rikayon for a full ‎year. And at the lapse of eight months Rikayon and his men had accumulated great wealth in ‎gold and in silver, in pearls and in precious stones beyond number, and Rikayon bought horses ‎and cattle and many more men that were around him, and he gave them horses and they did ‎according to his commandments. And it was when the year came around and the day when ‎the king was to go forth and show himself through the city, that all the people came together ‎to discuss measures, in order to bring before the king the actions of Rikayon, as soon as the ‎king was to appear on the appointed day. And when the day came and the king went forth ‎from the castle, all the people appeared before him and cried out saying: May the king live ‎forever! What is it that thou dost unto thy servants in the city, that no one is allowed a burial ‎unless we pay for him silver and gold? Hath such a thing ever been done in this land, either in ‎the days of the first kings that were before us in the earth, even from the days of Adam unto ‎this day, that the dead be not allowed to be buried unless for a certain amount of silver or ‎gold? We are aware that it is the custom of the king, to take taxes from the living, year after ‎year, but thou art not satisfied with that and takest even from the dead as well as from the ‎living day after day? And now, oh king, we can no more endure such treatment, for the whole ‎city is plundered and despoiled, and thou knowest it not.‎... [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Lech Lecha / 3] ‎ And when the king heard these words he was greatly enraged, and his anger kindled within ‎him, for he knew nothing concerning that matter. And the king said: Who is he and where is he ‎whose heart made him daring to do such a thing in my land, without my order and knowledge. ‎And the people acquainted him with the deeds of Rikayon and his men, and the king was ‎exceedingly wroth, and he sent his servants to bring Rikayon and his men unto the presence ‎of the king. And Rikayon took about one thousand children, boys and girls, and dressed them ‎up in silks and embroideries, and he set them upon horses and let them ride into the presence ‎of the king. And Rikayon himself took very costly presents, consisting of silver and gold and ‎pearls and precious stones, in abundance, and he selected one of the finest horses and came ‎before the king, and Rikayon bowed down to the ground before the king. And the king, and ‎his servants, and all the people wondered greatly at the ways of Rikayon when they saw his ‎great wealth. And the costly presents which Rikayon had brought unto the king, all were very ‎pleasing in the eyes of the king and he wondered greatly. And when Rikayon sat before the ‎king and the king inquired of him concerning the things he had done, Rikayon made his speech ‎in great wisdom before the king and his servants and all the inhabitants of Egypt. And when ‎the king heard those wise words, Rikayon found grace and mercy in the eyes of the king and ‎captivated likewise the grace and mercy of all the king's servants and of all the inhabitants of ‎Egypt, by reason of his wisdom and his good speech. And the king loved him with a powerful ‎love from that day on, and the king said unto him: Thy name shall no more be Rikayon, but ‎Pharaoh shall thy name be henceforth, after that thou hast understood to gather taxes even ‎from the dead; and they called his name Pharaoh from that time on. And the king and all the ‎people had love for Rikayon because of his wisdom, and they resolved to raise him in dignity as ‎a viceroy to their king. And it was done accordingly, and all the people and all the wise men ‎proclaimed it throughout the land, that Rika yon hath been chosen second to the king. And ‎Rikayon Pharaoh ruled over Egypt through the whole year, judging the people every day in the ‎year, and king Ashvirosh ruled over the country and judged them on the only day in the year ‎when he went forth from the palace to show himself unto the people. And Rikayon Pharaoh ‎took into his hands the rulership of Egypt with strength and with cunning, and he secured ‎taxes both from the dead and living, and therefore they called his name Rikayon Pharaoh. And ‎the people of Egypt loved Rikayon greatly and they passed a law and had it recorded in writing, ‎that every king that would come after him, should bear the name of Pharaoh, as also all the ‎seeds of the kings of Egypt. That is the reason why all the kings of Egypt are called Pharaoh up ‎to this very day. And it came to pass at that time that a great famine was in the land of Canaan, ‎and the inhabitants of the land could not dwell therein on account of the famine, for it was ‎very great.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Lech Lecha / 4] And Abram and all his people went down to the land of Egypt to escape from the famine, and ‎when they came to the river of Egypt they tarried there for several days in order to gain rest ‎after their long journey. And one day Abram was walking with Sarai his wife by the bank of the ‎river and behold Abram saw the image of Sarai upon the face of the waters. And Abram by ‎reason of his piety, and Sarai’s modesty, never saw her face before. And now when Abram ‎saw the face of his wife, and behold she was very beautiful, Abram said unto Sarai: Behold my ‎wife now I see how exceedingly beautiful thou art, and after the Lord hath created thee with ‎such fair looks, I do greatly fear the Egyptians, lest they might kill me and take thee away, for ‎verily there is no fear of God in that place. But do thou after this wise with me, and say that ‎thou art my sister to everybody that might question thee concerning me, that it may be well ‎with me, and we may live and not die. And Abram ordered all the men that came along with ‎him into Egypt from the famine, and also to Lot his brother's son, saying: When the Egyptians ‎inquire of you aught concerning Sarai, tell them: She is the sister of Abram. And Abram did not ‎yet feel satisfied, and he was lacking confidence in God concerning Egypt, therefore he took ‎Sarai and placed her into a box, and hid the box under the various tools and vessels which he ‎had with him; for he was in very great fear of the Egyptian people, and their wickedness. And ‎Abram and all his people arose and left the river, and they passed over into the land of Egypt. ‎And when they came to the gates of the city, the guards of the city surrounded Abram, saying: ‎Give tithes unto the king from everything that thou hast with thee, and then only thou canst ‎enter the city. And Abram and all his men did accordingly, and all of them came into the city. ‎And when they came into the city they took along the chest, and when they carried the chest ‎with Sarai in it, the Egyptians surrounded the men saying: What is it that thou hast in this ‎chest? Open it and let us see what it containeth so that we may get the tenth part thereof for ‎the king. And Abram said: I will give you whatever you demand but I will never open this chest. ‎And the princes of Pharaoh said: This box containeth pearls and precious stones, and a tenth ‎part thereof belongs to the king. And Abram replied: I will pay you any amount you demand, ‎yet I will not open this chest. And the officers surrounded Abram, and they opened the box by ‎force and behold there was a beautiful woman within it.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Lech Lecha / 5] And when the princes of Pharaoh saw Sarai they were greatly surprised at her beauty, and all ‎the princes assembled and hastened unto Pharaoh and informed him concerning what hath ‎happened, and they praised Sarai's beauty unto the king. And the king ordered his servants to ‎bring Sarai before his presence. And Pharaoh saw Sarai, and he was greatly pleased with her, ‎and the king was greatly astonished at her beauty. And the king rejoiced greatly at Sarai’s ‎presence and he gave gifts to all those that brought him the news concerning her. And the ‎woman was taken forthwith into the house of Pharaoh. * And Abram was greatly grieved ‎about his wife, and he prayed fervently unto the Lord to deliver Sarai from the hands of ‎Pharaoh. And Sarai likewise prayed unto the Lord, saying: Oh God, my Lord, thou hast said ‎unto my lord Abram to go forth from his land and from his kinsmen unto the land of Canaan, ‎and thou hast given him the assurance to do well with him if he obey and do as thou hast ‎spoken. And now, oh Lord, behold we have done as thou hast commanded unto us, and we ‎have left our country and our family and we went forth unto a foreign land among people ‎whom we have not known, neither yesterday nor day before yesterday. And now after we ‎have come into this country to save our household from famine this unfortunate event hath ‎befallen me. And therefore oh Lord my God, save and deliver me from the hands of this ‎oppressor, and show kindness unto me for the sake of thy mercy. And the Lord hearkened ‎unto the voice of Sarai and the Lord sent an angel to deliver her from the hands of Pharaoh. ‎And Pharaoh came and seated himself in the presence of Sarai, and the angel of the Lord ‎stood by her side, visible only unto her, and the angel said unto Sarai: Fear not, for the Lord ‎hath heard thy prayer. And the king approached Sarai and said unto her: Who is the man that ‎brought thee hither? And she said: He is my brother. And the king continued: It is my desire to ‎make him great and exalted, and to do unto him all kindness which thou mayest ask ‎concerning him. And the king forwarded at the same time unto Abram silver and gold and ‎pearls and precious stones in great abundance, and sheep and cattle and man-servants and ‎maid servants. And the king gave orders and they brought Abram to dwell in the court of the ‎royal palace, and the king made Abram very great even in that night. And the king came near ‎to Sarai and he stretched out his hand to touch her, when the angel of the Lord dealt him a ‎severe blow, and the king was scared and he abstained from trying to touch her once more. ‎But the king came near Sarai once more when the angel felled him to the ground, and the ‎angel continued thus through the whole night and the king was greatly terrified. And the ‎servants of the king likewise, as also all the people of his household were stricken by the angel ‎with a grievous plague on account of Sarai, and there was a great crying and weeping in the ‎household of Pharaoh that night. And Pharaoh seeing the great evil which hath befallen him ‎said: Verily for the sake of this woman all this is done unto us; and Pharaoh kept away at a ‎distance from her, and he spoke unto her very kind words. And the king said: Do give me the ‎true information concerning the man thou camest with? And Sarai replied: Know then that this ‎man I came with is my husband, yet I said he is my brother for fear lest ye might kill him in your ‎wickedness. And the king decided to release Sarai, and the plagues at once ceased, wherewith ‎the angel of the Lord had smitten him and his people, and Pharaoh was convinced that on ‎account of Sarai he hath suffered all that great evil, and the king wondered greatly.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Lech Lecha / 6] And in the morning the king sent for Abram, and he said unto him: What is it that thou hast ‎done unto me? Why hast thou said, she is my sister, and I therefore took her for a wife unto ‎me, and thus thou hast brought over me and my household a great plague? And now, behold ‎she is thy wife, take her then and go and depart from our land, lest we die all on thy account. ‎And Pharaoh took again sheep, and man servants and maid-servants and silver and gold and ‎gave them unto Abram, and he restored unto Abram Sarai his wife. And the king took a ‎maiden, which was born unto him by one of his concubines, and he gave her unto Sarai for a ‎maid-servant. And the king said unto his daughter: It is much better to be a servant in the ‎house of this woman than to be a mistress in my house, after we have seen what plague hath ‎befallen us on account of that woman. And Abram arose and went away from the land of ‎Egypt, he and all belonging to him. And Pharaoh ordered several men to accompany Abram ‎and all belonging unto him, and Abram returned unto the land of Canaan to the place of the ‎altar that he had built where he had put up his tent the first time. And Lot the son of Haran, ‎Abram’s brother, he too had a great number of flocks and herds and tents, for the Lord hath ‎done well with him for the sake of Abram. And when Abram dwelt in the land there was a ‎strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and between the herdsmen of Lot's cattle. ‎And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together; for their substance ‎was great, and they could not dwell together in the land on account of their cattle. And the ‎herdsmen of Abram, whenever they went to graze their cattle, would be very careful not to ‎trespass upon fields of the inhabitants of the land. But the herdsmen of Lot would not do so, ‎and they drove the cattle to feed upon the fields of the inhabitants of the land, and the ‎people seeing those things day after day, came unto Abram and they quarreled with him on ‎account of the herdsmen of Lot. And Abram said unto Lot: What is it that thou art doing unto ‎me, to make me despised among the inhabitants of the land, by allowing thy herdsmen to ‎graze thy cattle in the fields of other people? Knowest thou not that I am a stranger in the ‎midst of the sons of Canaan, and wherefore dost thou treat them in such a manner? And ‎Abram was arguing with Lot concerning these things day after day, yet Lot would not hearken ‎unto his voice, but continued to do as theretofore, and the people of the land always came ‎with their complaints unto Abram. And Abram said unto Lot: How long wilt thou be unto me a ‎snare with the inhabitants of the land? Let there not be a strife between me and between ‎thee for are we not kinsmen? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me; select for thyself a ‎dwelling place to dwell therein thou and thy cattle and all belonging unto thee, so that thou be ‎apart from me together with thy household. And fear thou not to separate from me, for even ‎if thou be away from me I will avenge the wrongs that anybody may inflict upon thee, as soon ‎as thou wilt inform me thereof.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Lech Lecha / 7] And after Abram had spoken to Lot all these words, Lot arose, and lifting up his eyes towards ‎the plain of - Jordan, and behold it was well watered everywhere, and suitable for the ‎habitation of man and for the pasture of cattle, and Lot left Abram and went unto that place ‎and he spread his tents and dwelt in Sodom. Thus they separated from each other. And Abram ‎dwelt in the grove Mamre which is in Hebron, and he spread his tents there. And Abram dwelt ‎in Mamre for many days and years. At that time Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, sent to all the ‎kings around him, to Nimrod king of Shinor who was subjected to him in those days, and to ‎Tidal king of Goyim, and to Arioch king of Ellasar with whom he had made a covenant, saying: ‎Come up and lend me your help, that we smite the cities of Sodom and all its inhabitants, for ‎that they revolted against me these last thirteen years. And those four kings went up together ‎with their combined forces of about eight hundred thousand men, and they went as they ‎were, and they smote every man that they met on their way. And all the five kings of Sodom ‎and Gomorrah went forth to meet them, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zebojim, ‎and Bera king of Sodom, and Birsha king of Gomorrah, and Bela king of Zoar. And they joined ‎battle with them in the vale of Siddim. And those nine kings fought a battle in the vale of ‎Siddim, and all the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were smitten before the kings of Elam. And ‎the vale of Siddim was full of slime-pits, and the kings of Elam pursued the kings of Sodom and ‎Gomorrah, who fled before them unto the mountains to save themselves. And the four kings ‎of Elam kept on pursuing them and they came to the gates of Sodom and they took away all ‎that was to be found in the city, and they plundered all the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. ‎And Lot, the son of Abram's brother, was also taken with all belonging to him, and after the ‎four kings had captured and carried away all the people and the property of the cities, they left ‎and went to their dwelling places. - And Oni, Abram's servant, who participated in the fight, ‎came and told Abram of what hath happened, and that Lot the son of his brother was among ‎the captives with all belonging to him. And when Abram heard these things he hastened and ‎armed all his men, to the number of three hundred and eighteen, and he pursued these four ‎kings that night. And Abram overtook them and smote them and they fell all before Abram ‎and his men, so that there was not left of them even one man, save the four kings which fled ‎and went each his way.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Lech Lecha / 8] And Abram brought back all the property of Sodom, and Lot with all his property likewise, and ‎their wives, and their children, and all belonging to them; they missed not the least thing. And ‎when he returned from smiting those kings Abram and his men passed through the vale of ‎Siddim, the battle ground of all the kings, and behold Bera king of Sodom and the rest of his ‎men that were with him, crept out of the slime-pits whereinto they had fallen and they went ‎to meet Abram with bread and with wine, and they rested there together in the vale of the ‎king. And Adonizedek blessed Abram, and Abram gave unto Adonizedek a tenth part of all that ‎he brought back from the spoil of his enemies; for Adonizedek was the priest of God. And all ‎the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah came around Abram, and they begged him to return unto ‎them the captives and to retain all their other property for himself. And Abram said unto them ‎‎: As God liveth, he who created the heavens and the earth, and who hath delivered me from ‎all danger and who hath saved me to-day from my enemies and hath given them unto my ‎hands, if I will take the least thing from all belonging to you. And you shall not say to-morrow: ‎Abram hath enriched himself from our property which he took away from our enemies. For ‎the Lord my God, in whom I trust, spoke unto me, saying: Thou shalt not lack anything, for I will ‎surely bless thee in all the works of thy hands, which thou wilt do. And now behold, here is ‎everything belonging to you, take it and go; as the Lord liveth I will not take from you neither a ‎person nor a shoelatchet nor a thread, save only that the young men who went forth with me ‎and the portion of the men Oner Eshcol and Mamre, they and their men and those that kept ‎guard by the vessels, shall take their portion. And the King of Sodom gave portions to the men ‎as Abram had spoken, and they pressed Abram to select something for himself, but he would ‎not. And he dismissed the kings of Sodom with the remainder of their men, requesting them ‎to be kind to Lot, and they returned to their dwelling place. And Abram sent along with them ‎Lot and all his property, and he returned to his home in Sodom. And Abram and his men ‎returned to their homes in the grove of Mamre, which is in Hebron. At that time the Lord ‎appeared unto Abram, saying: Fear not Abram, thy reward will be very great before me, for I ‎will not forsake thee until I shall have increased thee and blessed thee. And I will make thy ‎seed like the stars of heaven which cannot be measured and cannot be numbered. And I will ‎give unto thy seed all the lands which thou seest with thy eyes, to them they are given a ‎possession forever, only be thou strong and do not fear, walk before me and be perfect.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Lech Lecha / 9] And it was in the eighty-seventh year of (Noah's)[Abram's] life that Reu the son of Peleg died, and all the ‎days of Reu were two hundred and thirty-nine years when he died. And Sarai, daughter of ‎Haran, wife of Abram was still barren in those days, she had not born unto Abram neither a ‎son nor a daughter; and when she saw that she was barren, she took Hagar, her maid-servant, ‎and gave her unto Abram for a wife. For Hagar had learned all the good ways of Sarai, and she ‎would not omit doing the least from whatever Sarai had taught her. And Sarai said unto ‎Abram: Behold here is my maid Hagar, come unto her that she may bear upon my knees, ‎perhaps I will be built up through her. And Sarai gave Hagar unto her husband at the end of ten ‎years of their dwelling together in the land of Canaan, which was the eighty-fifth year of ‎Abram's life. And Abram hearkened unto the voice of his wife Sarai, and he took his maid-‎servant Hagar and he came unto her, and she conceived. And when Hagar saw that she had ‎conceived she rejoiced greatly, and she looked lightly upon her mistress, and she said unto ‎herself. It cannot be otherwise but that I am much better in the sight of the Lord than my ‎mistress Sarai, for lo, these many years that my mistress is with my master and she did not ‎conceive, while the Lord hath blessed me in a few days. And when Sarai saw that Hagar had ‎conceived from Abram, Sarai became jealous of her maid-servant, and Sarai said in her heart: ‎Verily she must be much better than myself. And Sarai said unto Abram: My grief come upon ‎thee; for at the time when thou didst pray unto the Lord for offspring why hast thou not ‎prayed concerning me, that the Lord should give thee offspring by me. And when I speak unto ‎Hagar in thy presence she disregards my words, because of her having conceived, and thou ‎never sayest unto her a word. May the Lord judge between me and between thee concern ‎ing what thou hast done unto me. And Abram said unto Sarai: Behold thy maid-servant is in thy ‎hands, do unto her whatever seemeth good in thy eyes. And Sarai tormented Hagar, and she ‎fled from Sarai’s presence unto the wilderness. And an angel met her in the place whither she ‎had fled and he said unto her: Fear thou not for I will greatly increase thy seed, and behold ‎thou wilt bear a son and thou shalt call his name Ishmael. And now return unto thy mistress ‎Sarai, and humble thyself under her hands. And Hagar named that place Beer-lahairoi, which is ‎between Kadesh and between the wilderness Bered. And Hagar returned at that time into the ‎house of her mistress, and after her time was full Hagar bare a son unto Abram, and Abram ‎called his name Ishmael. And Abram was eighty-six years of age when he begat him.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Lech Lecha / 10] And in those days, in the ninety-first year of Abram’s life, the sons of Kittim, waged war ‎against the sons of Tubal. For at the time when the Lord dispersed the sons of man over the ‎face of the earth, the sons of Kittim became a society and they went forth into the vale of ‎Kanphia, and they built there cities for themselves and they dwelt by the river Thiberu. And ‎the sons of Tubal dwelt in Tushkanah, and their boundary was by the river Pashiah. And the ‎sons of Tubal built unto themselves a city in Tushkanah and they called the city Sachinah, after ‎Sachinah, the son of Tubal, their father, and they dwelt therein to this day. And at that time ‎the war broke out between the sons of Kittim and the sons of Tubal, and the sons of Tubal ‎were humbled before the sons of Kittim and they slew of them three hundred and seventy ‎men. And the sons of Tubal swore concerning the sons of Kittim saying: They shall never ‎intermarry with us, and none of our men shall ever give his daughter to the sons of Kittim. And ‎all the daughters of Tubal were very fair maidens in those days, for there were not found at ‎that time beauties like the daughters of Tubal in all the lands, and whosoever wanted a good ‎looking wife in those days would go and select one of the daughters of Tubal. And all the kings ‎and princes got their wives among them, for they were exceedingly beautiful. And three years ‎after the sons of Tubal had sworn not to give their daughters for wives to the sons of Kittim, ‎twenty men of the Kittites went to procure their wives from among the daughters of the ‎Tubalites, but they found none. For the sons of Tubal were faithful to their oaths not to ‎intermarry with the sons of Kittim, and they would not break their vows. And it was at that ‎time of the harvest, when the Tubalites were busy in gathering their grain, that many of the ‎young men of the Kittites assembled and went up into the city of Sachinah, and each of them ‎seized for himself one of their daughters and they carried them all to their own cities. And ‎when the Tubalites heard of what was done unto their daughters they assembled all to go up ‎and fight the Kittites, but they could not succeed; for the Kittites were surrounded by high ‎mountains. And the Tubalites, seeing that they were powerless returned unto their land. And ‎after the year had passed the sons of Tubal hired for themselves from the people of the cities ‎around them about ten thousand men, and they went forth against the sons of Kittim to fight ‎with them, to destroy their country and bring them to grief. And this time the Tubalites were ‎stronger, and when the Kittites saw their own great danger, they took all the children that ‎were born unto them by the daughters of the Tubalites, and they suspended them around the ‎walls of the city which they had built, before the eyes of the sons of Tubal. And the Kittites ‎called unto them, saying: Have you come to make war against the children of your sons and ‎against your daughters, and are we not of your own bone and flesh from the time we took ‎your daughters to this very day? And the Tubalites hearing these words abandoned their ‎warfare against the Kittites, and they returned unto their own cities. And the Kittites ‎assembled at that time and built unto themselves two cities, and the called the name of one ‎Irtoh, and the name of the second they called Arzoh. ‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Lech Lecha / 11] And Abram, the son of Terah was ninety-nine years of age in those days. And the Lord ‎appeared unto Abram at that time, and said unto him: I will set my covenant between me and ‎thee and I will greatly multiply thy seed. And this shall be the covenant between me and thee, ‎that every male shall be circumcised, thou as well as all thy seed after thee. At the age of eight ‎days they shall be circumcised, and they shall have my covenant in their flesh for an everlasting ‎covenant. And now thy name shall not be any more Abram but Abraham, and thy wife likewise ‎shall no more be called Sarai but Sarah shall be her name; for I will surely bless thee and I will ‎increase thy seed after thee and thou shalt be a great nation and kings shall come forth from ‎thee. And Abraham did according to the commandment of the Lord, and he took all those of ‎his household as well as those he bought for money, and he circumcised them as the Lord had ‎commanded him; and there was not among them one which hath not been circumcised not ‎excepting even Abraham and Ishmael his son. And Ishmael was thirteen years old at the time ‎of his circumcision. And on the third day Abraham went forth from his tent and seated himself ‎before the door of the tent, to warm himself in the sunbeams while he was in pain.‎