Jubilees 12:1-31

¹And it came to pass in the sixth week, in the seventh year of it, [1904 A.M.] that Abram said to Terah his father, 'Father!' And he said, 'Here I am, my son.'

²And he said, 'What help and profit do we have from those idols which you worship, and before which you bow yourself? For there is no spirit in them, for they are dumb forms, and a misleading of the heart. Do not worship them.'

³'Worship the God of heaven, who causes the rain and the dew to descend on the earth, and does everything upon the earth, and has created everything by His word, and all life is from before His face.'

⁴'Why do you worship things that have no spirit in them? For they are the work of men's hands, and on your shoulders you carry them, and you have no help from them, but they are a great cause of shame to those who make them, and a misleading of the heart to those who worship them: do not worship them.'

⁵(continued) 'For they are the work of men's hands, and on your shoulders you carry them, and you have no help from them, but they are a great cause of shame to those who make them, and a misleading of the heart to those who worship them: do not worship them.'

⁶And his father said to him, 'I also know it, my son, but what shall I do with a people who have made me to serve before them?'

⁷'And if I tell them the truth, they will kill me; for their soul clings to them, to worship them and honor them. Keep silent, my son, lest they kill you.'

⁸And he spoke these words to his two brothers, and they were angry with him, and he kept silent.

⁹And in the fortieth jubilee, in the second week, in the seventh year of it, [1925 A.M.] Abram took a wife for himself, and her name was Sarai, the daughter of his father, and she became his wife.

¹⁰And Haran, his brother, took a wife for himself in the third year of the third week, [1928 A.M.] and she bore him a son in the seventh year of this week, [1932 A.M.] and he called his name Lot.

¹¹And Nahor, his brother, took a wife for himself.

¹²And in the sixtieth year of the life of Abram, that is, in the fourth week, in the fourth year of it, [1936 A.M.] Abram arose by night and burned the house of the idols, and he burned all that was in the house, and no one knew it.

¹³And they arose in the night and sought to save their gods from the midst of the fire.

¹⁴And Haran hurried to save them, but the fire flamed over him, and he was burned in the fire, and he died in Ur of the Chaldees before Terah his father, and they buried him in Ur of the Chaldees.

¹⁵And Terah went out from Ur of the Chaldees, he and his sons, to go into the land of Lebanon and into the land of Canaan, and he dwelt in the land of Haran, and Abram dwelt with Terah his father in Haran two weeks of years.

¹⁶And in the sixth week, in the fifth year of it, [1951 A.M.] Abram sat up throughout the night on the new moon of the seventh month to observe the stars from evening to morning, in order to see what would be the character of the year with regard to the rains, and he was alone as he sat and observed.

¹⁷And a word came into his heart and he said: 'All the signs of the stars, and the signs of the moon and of the sun are all in the hand of the Lord. Why do I search them out?'

¹⁸'If He desires, He causes it to rain, morning and evening; and if He desires, He withholds it, and all things are in His hand.'

¹⁹And he prayed that night and said, 'My God, God Most High, You alone are my God, and You and Your dominion I have chosen. And You have created all things, and all things are the work of Your hands.'

²⁰'Deliver me from the hands of evil spirits who have dominion over the thoughts of men's hearts, and do not let them lead me astray from You, my God. And establish me and my seed forever, that we may not go astray from now on and forevermore.'

²¹And he said, 'Shall I return to Ur of the Chaldees who seek my face that I may return to them, or am I to remain here in this place? Prosper the right path before You in the hands of Your servant, that he may fulfill it, and that I may not walk in the deceitfulness of my heart, O my God.'

²²And he ended his speaking and praying, and behold the word of the Lord was sent to him through me, saying: 'Go up from your country, and from your kindred, and from the house of your father, to a land which I will show you, and I shall make you a great and numerous nation.'

²³'And I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and you shall be blessed in the earth, and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed, and I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you.'

²⁴'And I will be a God to you and your son, and to your son's son, and to all your seed: do not fear, from now on and for all generations of the earth I am your God.'

²⁵And the Lord God said: 'Open his mouth and his ears, that he may hear and speak with his mouth, with the language which has been revealed'; for it had ceased from the mouths of all the children of men from the day of the overthrow (of Babel).

²⁶And I opened his mouth, and his ears and his lips, and I began to speak with him in Hebrew, in the tongue of the creation.

²⁷And he took the books of his fathers, and these were written in Hebrew, and he transcribed them, and he began from then on to study them, and I made known to him what he could not understand, and he studied them during the six rainy months.

²⁸And it came to pass in the seventh year of the sixth week [1953 A.M.] that he spoke to his father and informed him that he would leave Haran to go into the land of Canaan to see it and return to him.

²⁹And Terah his father said to him: 'Go in peace: May the eternal God make your path straight. And may the Lord [be with you, and] protect you from all evil, and grant you grace, mercy and favor before those who see you, and may none of the children of men have power over you to harm you; go in peace.'

³⁰'And if you see a land pleasant to your eyes to dwell in, then arise and take me to you and take Lot with you, the son of Haran your brother, as your own son: the Lord be with you.'

³¹'And leave Nahor your brother with me until you return in peace, and we all go with you together.'