own son, after thee, when thou
yieldest up thy spirit from the body." 2790

Then was Abraham heavy at heart, because he must
drive away his own son into exile; then speedily the
True God came to his aid, for He knew that the heart
of the man was in dire straits. The King of the Angels, 2795
the Eternal Lord, spoke to Abraham:

"Let the sorrow and heart-felt grief slip from thy
breast, and obey the woman, thy wife. Bid both Agar
and Ismael to go away, [send] the boy from thy home. 2800
I will make his race far-spreading and powerful in the
number of its sons, prosperous in blessings, as I promised
thee by my word."

Then the man obeyed his Master and drove from his
home the sad-minded pair, [drove] from his patrimony 2805
the woman and his own son....[39]

"Clear it is and manifest that the True God, the King
of Glory, is on thy side, since he gives thee the victory,
with wise power, and strengthens thy heart[40] with 2810
divine gifts. Therefore thou hast succeeded hitherto
in whatsoever thou hast begun to perform against
friend or foe, in word or deed. The Lord our Master
thrusteth forward thy desires with His own hands:
that is widely known among men. I pray thee now, 2815
chief of the Ebrews, by my words, to give me a faithful
assurance of thy pledge that thou wilt be a true friend
to me, in return for the good things which I have given 2820
for thy glory, since thou camest solitary from afar into
this country with the tread of an exile. Requite me
now with thy favor, so that I may not be sparing of land
and pleasure to thee. Be propitious now to this people 2825
and city of mine, if Our Almighty Lord who holdeth the
fates will grant that thou mayst further distribute riches
and pleasing treasures, and set up thy landmarks, among 2830
the warriors in this country."

Then Abraham gave pledges to Abimeleh that he would
[do] thus.

XXXV.

After this the holy son of Thare, chief of the Ebrews,
was a dweller in the Filistine nation for a long time, 2835
alone amid strangers. The Lord of the Angels showed
him a dwelling-place which the men dwelling in the city
called the land of Bersaba. There the pious man built
a high hall, constructed a place of shelter and planted 2840
a grove, erected an altar and on the sacrificial stone
made an