God revealed himself to Abraham in a vision while sitting at his tent’s entrance. Abraham notices that three travelers pass near him, and as was his custom, he runs to invite them to his house. The men accept the invitation and Abraham prepares a sumptuous banquet for them. These men, sent by God, reveal to Abraham that Sara will give birth to a boy within a year. Sara, almost 90 years old, heard this and started laughing. God rebukes Sara reminding Abraham that nothing is impossible for Him.
The men/angels depart and head to Sodom to destroy the five cities of that region for their tremendous corruption. God informs Abraham of his intention to destroy Sodom. In another display of his boundless goodness, Abraham tries to dissuade God and asks him not to destroy the city if fifty righteous people live there. God considers Abraham’s request. But Abraham “negotiates” with God, and finally, God accepts to spare Sodom if only ten righteous people would be found in the city.
The men sent by God reached Sodom. Following what he learned from Abraham, Lot invites them to his house to rest and eat. But the news of foreigners in Lot’s house spreads throughout the city, and people react badly. Accustomed to abusing foreigners, the outraged residents of Sodom surrounded Lot’s house to assault his guests. Lot tries to protect them, but the Sodomites try to break down the door. The angels blind everyone around the house and rush Lot to flee Sodom with his wife and daughters.
God caused fire and brimstone to fall from heaven on Sodom, which destroyed the entire region. (By the way, modern archaeologists have found ample evidence of a meteorite falling in that geographic area, forming the Dead Sea and making it the lowest place on earth. See here). Lot’s wife looked back and was petrified, like a statue (perhaps because of the ashes produced by that mega explosion. Ash states were found in Pompei after the eruption of volcan Vesubio in the year 79 CE). Lot and his daughters took refuge in a cave and thought God had destroyed the whole world and that they were the last survivors. The daughters intoxicate his father with wine and seduce him to repopulate the earth. Both gave birth, and each had a child who eventually became the patriarchs of the Ammonites and Moabites nations.
Abraham moves to the Philistine city of Gerar because of the famine. Abimelekh, the king of the Philistines, takes Sara, who Abraham presented as his sister. But God punished Abimelekh and the members of his palace. God appears to Abimelekh in a dream, warning him about Sara being Abraham’s wife. Abimelekh obeys God, frees Sara, and showers Abraham with gifts as compensation for the damage caused.
Just as the angels who visited Abraham had anticipated, Sarah conceives and gives birth to a son at the age of ninety. The child is called Isaac, “he who will laugh” (or “the one who will make his parents laugh with happiness”). Abraham circumcised Isaac at eight days.
Isaac grows up, and Sara realizes that Ishmael, Isaac’s older half-brother, negatively influences her young son and demands that Abraham expel Ishmael from the house, along with her mother Hagar. God tells Abraham that he must listen to Sarah. Hagar and Ishmael run out of water in the desert and nearly die of thirst. But an angel “opens Hagar’s eyes” and helps her see the water well. Ishmael grew up in the desert and became a skilled hunter.
Seeing that Abraham is God’s chosen one, Abimelekh asks Abraham to make a pact with him: neither of them would try to conquer the other for three generations. Abraham agreed but pointed out to Abimelekh that his man had stolen a well of water that Abraham’s men had dug. Abraham took seven sheep and gave them to Abimelekh as a testimony that he, Abraham, had dug the well. Abraham settles in the city of Beer Sheba and proclaims the name of God to everyone he meets.
In the last Aliya, God tests Abraham’s loyalty. He commands Abraham to take his only son Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice to Him. Abraham sets out for the mountain with Isaac and two of his servants. When he reaches the place, Abraham goes up the mountain with Isaac and builds an altar there. He binds Issac’s hand and foot and prepares to carry out the Divine order. At that moment, he hears an angel of God ordering him to stop. Abraham sees a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. He takes the ram and offers it as a sacrifice to God. God blesses Abraham and his descendants for his loyalty and obedience.
Abraham hears that his sister-in-law Milka has given birth. One of his sons, Bethuel, was the father of Rivka, the future wife of his son Isaac.
