XXII.
There Abraham for the second time built an altar:
there he called upon God with noble words, and offered
sacrifice to the Lord of his life. Not at all sparingly
did God, through His own hand, give him reward for
this,—rich bounty, in the very place of sacrifice.1810
There for a while the wise leader dwelt in his home
and enjoyed happiness, the hero with his bride, until a
frightful calamity began to press upon the Cananite
race, cruel hunger, deadly to home-staying men. Then1815
the wise Abraham, chosen by the Lord, went into Egypt
to seek sustenance; the sage fled before evil: the plague
was too strong. Abraham spoke,—for he saw the white1820
pinnacled halls of Egypt and the tall cities shining
brightly,—and then the ruler, the sagacious man, began
to instruct his wife, in these words:
"When many haughty Egyptians shall gaze with
their eyes upon thy countenance, then should the nobly-1825
born chieftains suppose, O woman fair as a goddess, that
thou art my bright bed-fellow whom some one of the
warriors will wish to have for himself, then I may well
fear for myself lest some one of my foes may deprive1830
me of life with the edge of his sword by reason of his
amorous desire. Say then, Sarra, that thou art my
sister, my blood-relation, when the strange men ask
thee what degree of familiarity may exist between us1835
two foreigners, who come from so far away: hold fast
true speech from them, and thus thou shalt preserve
my life,—if the Lord of Peace, our Almighty Ruler,
grant me longer life in this world, as he did before, who1840
ordained these travels for us in order that we might seek
aid and secure sustenance for ourselves in Egipt."
Thereupon Abraham, the vigorous leader, proceeded1845
with his possessions into Egypt, where the people were
strange to him, and friends unknown. Many haughty
men spoke of the beauty of his wife in their remarks,
men distinguished by their wealth: to many high-spirited1850
men, vassals of the king, his wife seemed noble in counte-
nance. They brought the news to their liege-lord, and[22]
few women did they repute fairer before the king, but
they lauded exceedingly Sarra's countenance for its1855
great beauty, until he bade them bring the lovely woman
to his own hall. The ruler of the people and chief of
the nobles bade them enrich Abraham with treasures.
But the Lord God became aggrieved and incensed against1860
Farao for his love of the woman: the joy of his house-
hold[23] bore this wrath hardly with his intimates. How-
ever, the ruler of the people perceived what the Lord
was sending upon him for punishment: urged on by1865
fear, the king of Egipt called Abraham to him and gave
him his bride, [returned] his wife into his keeping, bade
him seek friends elsewhere, noblemen of another race.
Then the ruler of the country ordered his vassals and1870
ministers to escort him out of their land again, honor-
ably, uninjured in any respect, so that he might be in
peace.
Then Abraham took [all his] possessions out of the
country of Egypt: these worthy heroes took their wives,1875
both brides and rings, while they brought their flocks
to Bethlem, a familiar dwelling-place, [brought] their
womenfolk and treasures and their worldly goods.1880
Then they began to build there, and to erect their city
and settle their homes, and renew their prosperity.
The men built an altar in the meadows near the one that
Abraham had formerly reared to his Lord, when he
came to this western land: there the fortunate man1885
exalted the Name of the Eternal Lord once more; the
high-minded ruler offered sacrifice to the King of the
Angels, thanked exceedingly the Source of Light and
Life for his happiness and honor.