Book of Jasher, Chapter 26 — Isaac's Prayer at Moriah; Esau and Jacob Born; Abraham's Charge, Death, and Mourning
1And in the fifty-ninth year of the life of Isaac the son of Abraham, Rebecca his wife was still barren in those days.
2And Rebecca said to Isaac, Truly I have heard, my lord, that your mother Sarah was barren in her days, until my lord Abraham, your father, prayed for her, and she conceived by him.
3Now therefore stand up: pray, you also, to God, and he will hear your prayer and remember us through his mercies.
4And Isaac answered his wife Rebecca, saying, Abraham has already prayed for me to God, to multiply his seed; now therefore this barrenness must come to us from you.
5And Rebecca said to him, But arise now, you also, and pray, that the Lord may hear your prayer and grant me children. And Isaac listened to the words of his wife; and Isaac and his wife rose up and went to the land of Moriah, to pray there and to seek the Lord; and when they had reached that place, Isaac stood up and prayed to the Lord on account of his wife, because she was barren.
6And Isaac said, O Lord God of heaven and earth, whose goodness and mercies fill the earth — you who took my father from his father's house and from his birthplace, and brought him to this land, and said to him, To your seed I will give the land; and you promised him and declared to him, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand of the sea — now may your words be verified, which you spoke to my father.
7For you are the Lord our God; our eyes are toward you, to give us seed of men, as you promised us; for you are the Lord our God, and our eyes are directed toward you only.
8And the Lord heard the prayer of Isaac the son of Abraham, and the Lord was entreated by him, and Rebecca his wife conceived.
9And in about seven months the children struggled together within her, and it pained her greatly, so that she was wearied on account of them; and she said to all the women who were then in the land, Did such a thing ever happen to you as has happened to me? And they said to her, No.
10And she said to them, Why am I alone in this, among all the women upon earth? And she went to the land of Moriah to seek the Lord on account of this; and she went to Shem, and to Eber his son, to make inquiries of them in this matter, that they should seek the Lord concerning this thing respecting her.
11And she also asked Abraham to seek and inquire of the Lord about all that had befallen her.
12And they all inquired of the Lord concerning this matter, and they brought her word from the Lord and told her: Two children are in your womb, and two nations shall rise from them; and one nation shall be stronger than the other, and the greater shall serve the younger.
13And when her days to be delivered were completed, she knelt down — and behold, there were twins in her womb, as the Lord had spoken to her.
14And the first came out red all over, like a hairy garment; and all the people of the land called his name Esau, saying, This one was made complete from the womb.
15And after that came his brother, and his hand took hold of Esau's heel; therefore they called his name Jacob.
16And Isaac, the son of Abraham, was sixty years old when he fathered them.
17And the boys grew up to their fifteenth year, and they came among the society of men. Esau was a designing and deceitful man, and an expert hunter in the field; and Jacob was a man perfect and wise, dwelling in tents, feeding flocks, and learning the instructions of the Lord and the commands of his father and mother.
18And Isaac and the children of his household dwelt with his father Abraham in the land of Canaan, as God had commanded them.
19And Ishmael the son of Abraham went with his children and all belonging to them, and they returned there to the land of Havilah, and they dwelt there.
20And all the children of Abraham's concubines went to dwell in the land of the east, for Abraham had sent them away from his son, and had given them presents, and they went away.
21And Abraham gave all that he had to his son Isaac, and he also gave him all his treasures.
22And he commanded him, saying, Do you not know and understand that the Lord is God in heaven and in earth, and there is no other beside him?
23And it was he who took me from my father's house and from my birthplace, and gave me all the delights upon earth; who delivered me from the counsel of the wicked, for in him I trusted.
24And he brought me to this place, and he delivered me from Ur Casdim; and he said to me, To your seed I will give all these lands, and they shall inherit them, when they keep my commandments, my statutes, and my judgments, which I have commanded you, and which I shall command them.
25Now therefore, my son, listen to my voice, and keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I have commanded you; do not turn from the right way, either to the right or to the left, in order that it may be well with you and your children after you forever.
26And remember the wonderful works of the Lord, and his kindness that he has shown toward us, in having delivered us from the hands of our enemies; and the Lord our God caused them to fall into our hands. And now therefore keep all that I have commanded you, and do not turn away from the commandments of your God, and serve none beside him — in order that it may be well with you and your seed after you.
27And teach your children and your seed the instructions of the Lord and his commandments, and teach them the upright way in which they should go, in order that it may be well with them forever.
28And Isaac answered his father and said to him, That which my lord has commanded, that I will do; and I will not depart from the commands of the Lord my God; I will keep all that he has commanded me. And Abraham blessed his son Isaac, and also his children; and Abraham taught Jacob the instruction of the Lord and his ways.
29And it was at that time that Abraham died, in the fifteenth year of the life of Jacob and Esau, the sons of Isaac; and all the days of Abraham were one hundred and seventy-five years; and he died, and was gathered to his people in good old age, old and satisfied with days; and Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him.
30And when the inhabitants of Canaan heard that Abraham was dead, they all came with their kings and princes and all their men, to bury Abraham.
31And all the inhabitants of the land of Haran, and all the families of the house of Abraham, and all the princes and grandees, and the sons of Abraham by the concubines — all came when they heard of Abraham's death; and they repaid Abraham's kindness, and comforted Isaac his son; and they buried Abraham in the cave which he had bought from Ephron the Hittite and his children, for the possession of a burial place.
32And all the inhabitants of Canaan, and all those who had known Abraham, wept for Abraham a whole year; and men and women mourned over him.
33And all the little children, and all the inhabitants of the land, wept on account of Abraham; for Abraham had been good to them all, and because he had been upright with God and men.
34And there arose no man who feared God like Abraham; for he had feared his God from his youth, and had served the Lord, and had gone in all his ways during his life, from his childhood to the day of his death.
35And the Lord was with him, and delivered him from the counsel of Nimrod and his people; and when he made war with the four kings of Elam, he conquered them.
36And he brought all the children of the earth to the service of God, and he taught them the ways of the Lord, and caused them to know the Lord.
37And he formed a grove, and he planted a vineyard in it; and he had always prepared in his tent meat and drink for those who passed through the land, that they might satisfy themselves in his house.
38And the Lord God delivered the whole earth on account of Abraham.
39And it was after the death of Abraham that God blessed his son Isaac and his children; and the Lord was with Isaac, as he had been with his father Abraham; for Isaac kept all the commandments of the Lord, as Abraham his father had commanded him; he did not turn to the right or to the left from the right path which his father had commanded him.