In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the waters began to dry from the earth; and when Noah removed the covering of the ark, he saw that the surface of the ground was drying. And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. God spoke to Noah, saying, “Come out of the ark, together with your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives. Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds, animals, and everything that creeps on earth; and let them swarm on the earth and be fertile and increase on earth.” So Noah came out, together with his family. Every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that stirs on earth came out of the ark by families. Then Noah built an altar to God and, taking of every pure animal and of every pure bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar.
God smelled the pleasing odor, and resolved: “Never again will I doom the earth because of humankind, since the devisings of the human mind are evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living being, as I have done. So long as the earth endures,
Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat,
Summer and winter, Day and night
Shall not cease.” God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fertile and increase, and fill the earth. The fear and the dread of you shall be upon all the beasts of the earth and upon all the birds of the sky—everything with which the earth is astir—and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hand. Every creature that lives shall be yours to eat; as with the green grasses, I give you all these. You must not, however, eat flesh with its life-blood in it. But for your own life-blood I will require a reckoning: I will require it of every beast; of humankind, too, will I require a reckoning for human life, of everyone for each other!
Whoever sheds human blood,
By human hands shall that one’s blood be shed; For in the image of God
Was humankind made. Be fertile, then, and increase; abound on the earth and increase on it.”
(1) God said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. (2) I will make of you a great nation,
And I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
And you shall be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you
And curse those that curses you;
And all the families of the earth
Shall bless themselves by you.” (4) Abram went forth as God had commanded him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
(13) Now the inhabitants of Sodom were very wicked sinners against God. (14) And God said to Abram, after Lot had parted from him, “Raise your eyes and look out from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west, (15) for I give all the land that you see to you and your offspring forever. (16) I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, then your offspring too can be counted. (17) Up, walk about the land, through its length and its breadth, for I give it to you.” (18) And Abram moved his tent, and came to dwell at the terebinths of Mamre, which are in Hebron; and he built an altar there to God.
(1) Some time later, the word of God came to Abram in a vision:
“Fear not, Abram,
I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great.” (2) But Abram said, “O lord what can You give me, seeing that I shall die childless, and the one in charge of my household is Dammesek Eliezer!” (3) Abram said further, “Since You have granted me no offspring, my steward will be my heir.” (4) The word of God came to him in reply, “That one shall not be your heir; none but your very own issue shall be your heir.” (5) [Then in the vision, God] took him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them”—continuing, “So shall your offspring be.” (6) And he put his trust in God, who reckoned it to his merit.