Then again to Abraham the High-King of Heaven2165
showed himself, with holy speech comforted the wise-
hearted man, and spoke to him thus:
"Great are thy rewards. Let not now thy heart
grow idle, thou steadfast [doer] of my will. Nor needst
thou fear anyone, while thou heedest my commandment,
for with my own hands will I shelter and shield thee2170
during thy life-time here against every woe: thou
needst not be fearful."
XXVI.
Then Abraham, famed for his deeds, answered his
Lord and asked Him, in the fullness of his days:
"O Ruler of spirits, what dost thou give me for free-2175
men's solace, now that I am thus solitary? I have no
need to found an ancestral seat for any sons of mine, but
after me shall my distant kinsmen dispose of my goods;
thou hast not given me a son, and therefore sorrows
weigh upon me very heavily in my heart; I myself can2180
not devise any counsel. My steward goes rejoicing in
his sons, and is firmly persuaded in his thoughts that
after me his sons shall be the keepers of the heritage:
they see that no children are born to me of my bride."
To him then at once God answered:2185
"Never shall thy steward possess the heritage of thy
sons: but thine own children shall hold the treasure,
when thy flesh lies [in the grave]. Behold the sky. Count
those jewels, the stars of heaven, which now freely scatter2190
their glorious radiance far and wide to shine brilliantly
over the broad surface of the sea. Such shall be the
multitude of thy descendants, rich in progeny. Let not
thy heart be bound by sorrow. A son shall yet be born2195
to thee, a child born of thy wife by ordinary birth, who
after thee shall be the keeper of the inheritance, rich in
property. Grieve no more: I am the Lord, who many
winters ago led thee out of the stronghold of Caldea2200
with but few followers, and promised thee a broad
dwelling-place for thy possession: I give thee now my
pledge, man of the Hebrews, that many a broad land
on this earth shall be peopled with thy progeny, regions2205
of the world as far as Eufrates even from the borders
of Egypt, as many men and as wide a kingdom as the
Nile cuts off and the sea bounds: all this shall thy sons2210
own, each of the countries, as these three waters sur-
round with their streams the lofty cities of stone, the
foamy floods [surround] the refuge of the people."
Then Sarra was grieved at heart that no son had come2215
to Abraham through their wedlock, a free-born heir for
their solace; so the sorrowful one began to speak to her
husband in these words:
"The Ruler of heaven has denied me this, that I2220
might augment the number of thy family under the
skies with sons of thine own. Now I am hopeless that
an heir will ever be given us together: I am too old, in
my misery. My lord, do as I bid thee. Here is a2225
woman, a fair damsel, an Egiptian maid in our possession:
bid her now repair to thy bed forthwith, and see if
the Lord will allow any heir for thy goods to come into2230
the world through this woman!"