Editing Book of Genesis (section)

===Patriarchal age (chapters 12–50)===
{{See also|Patriarchal age}}
[[File:Molnár Ábrahám kiköltözése 1850.jpg|thumb|right|''Abram's Journey from [[Ur Kaśdim|Ur]] to [[Canaan]]'' ([[József Molnár (painter)|József Molnár]], 1850)]]

Abram, a man descended from Noah, is instructed by God to travel from his home in [[Mesopotamia]] to the land of [[Canaan]]. There, God makes a promise to Abram, promising that his descendants shall be as numerous as the stars, but that people will suffer oppression in a foreign land for four hundred years, after which they will inherit the land "from the [[river of Egypt]] to the great river, the river [[Euphrates]]". Abram's name is changed to 'Abraham' and that of his wife Sarai to [[Sarah]] (meaning 'princess'), and God says that all males should be [[circumcised]] as a sign of his promise to Abraham. Due to her old age, Sarah tells Abraham to take her Egyptian handmaiden, [[Hagar]], as a second wife (to bear a child). Through Hagar, Abraham fathers [[Ishmael]].

God then plans to destroy the cities of [[Sodom and Gomorrah]] for the sins of their people. Abraham protests, but fails to get God to agree not to destroy the cities (reasoning with Abraham that not even ten righteous persons were found there; and among the righteous was Abraham's nephew [[Lot (biblical person)|Lot]]). Angels save Abraham's nephew Lot (who was living there at the same time) and his family, but [[Lot's wife|his wife]] looks back on the destruction, (even though God commanded not to) and turns into a pillar of salt for going against his word. Lot's daughters, concerned that they are fugitives who will never find husbands, get Lot drunk so they can become pregnant by him, and give birth to the ancestors of the [[Moab]]ites and [[Ammon]]ites.

Abraham and Sarah go to the Philistine town of [[Gerar]], pretending to be brother and sister (they are half-siblings). The King of Gerar takes Sarah for his wife, but God warns him to return her (as she is really Abraham's wife) and he obeys. God sends Sarah a son and tells her she should name him [[Isaac]]; through him will be the establishment of the covenant (promise). Sarah then drives Ishmael and his mother Hagar out into the wilderness (because Ishmael is not her real son and Hagar is a slave), but God saves them and promises to make Ishmael a great nation.

[[File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 035.jpg|thumb|upright|''The Angel Hinders the Offering of Isaac'' ([[Rembrandt]], 1635)]]

Then, God tests Abraham by demanding that he [[sacrifice Isaac]]. As Abraham is about to lay the knife upon his son, "the Angel of the Lord" restrains him, promising him again innumerable descendants. On the death of Sarah, Abraham purchases [[Machpelah]] (believed to be modern [[Hebron]]) for a family tomb and sends his servant to Mesopotamia to find among his relations a wife for Isaac; after proving herself worthy, Rebekah becomes Isaac's betrothed. [[Keturah]], Abraham's other wife, births more children, among whose descendants are the [[Midian]]ites. Abraham dies at a prosperous old age and his family lays him to rest in Hebron (Machpelah).

[[File:Foster Bible Pictures 0047-1 Jacob Flees Laban.jpg|thumb|''Jacob flees Laban'' by Charles Foster, 1897.]]

Isaac's wife [[Rebekah]] gives birth to the twins [[Esau]] (meaning 'velvet'), father of the [[Edom]]ites, and [[Jacob]] (meaning 'supplanter' or 'follower'). Esau was a couple of seconds older as he had come out of the womb first, and was going to become the heir; however, through carelessness, he sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. His mother, Rebekah, ensures Jacob rightly gains his father's blessing as the firstborn son and inheritor. At 77 years of age, Jacob leaves his parents and later seeks a wife and meets Rachel at a well. He goes to her father, [[Laban (Bible)|his uncle]], where he works for a total of 14 years to earn his wives, [[Rachel]] and [[Leah]]. Jacob's name is changed to Israel after [[Jacob wrestling with the angel|his wrestle with an angel]], and by his wives and their handmaidens he has twelve sons, the ancestors of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel, and a daughter, [[Dinah]].

Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, rapes Dinah and asks his father to get Dinah for him as his wife, according to Chapter 34. Jacob agrees to the marriage but requires that all the males of Hamor's tribe be circumcised, including Hamor and Shechem. After this was performed and all the men were still weak, Jacob's sons Simeon and Levi murdered all the males. Jacob complained that their act would mean retribution by others, namely the Canaanites and Perizzites. Jacob and his tribe took all the Hivite women and children as well as livestock and other property for themselves.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Book of Bereishit (Genesis): Chapter 34 |work=Jewish Virtual Library |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/bereishit-genesis-chapter-34 |access-date=December 12, 2023}}</ref>

[[Joseph (son of Jacob)|Joseph]], Jacob's favourite son of the twelve, makes his brothers jealous (especially because of special gifts Jacob gave him) and because of that jealousy they sell Joseph into slavery in [[Egypt]]. Joseph endures many trials including being innocently sentenced to jail but he stays faithful to God. After several years, he prospers there after the [[pharaoh]] of Egypt asks him to interpret a dream he had about an upcoming famine, which Joseph does through God. He is then made second in command of Egypt by the grateful pharaoh, and later on, he is reunited with his father and brothers, who fail to recognize him and plead for food as the famine had reached Canaan as well. After much manipulation to see if they still hate him, Joseph reveals himself, forgives them for their actions, and lets them and their households into Egypt, where Pharaoh assigns to them the [[land of Goshen]]. Jacob calls his sons to his bedside and [[Blessing of Jacob|reveals their future]] before he dies. Joseph lives to old age and tells his brothers before his death that if God leads them out of the country, then they should take his bones with them.