Column 20

1 … […] … 2 … […] how … and beautiful is the form of her face, and how 3 lovely and how fine is the hair of her head. How fair are her eyes,⁠a and how pleasing is her nose, and all the radiance of 4 her face … How lovely is her breast, and how beautiful is all her whiteness. Her arms, how beautiful! And her hands, how 5 perfect! And how desirable is the whole appearance of her hands. How fair are her palms, and how long and slender are all the fingers of her hands. Her feet, 6 how beautiful! And how perfect are her legs. No virgins or brides who enter the bridal chamber are more beautiful than she. Above all 7 women her beauty is beautiful, and her beauty is high above them all. And with all this beauty there is much wisdom in her, and the work of her hands 8 is lovely.” And when the king heard the words of Hyrcanus and the words of his two companions, for the three of them spoke with one mouth, he desired her greatly, and he sent 9 quickly and had her brought. And he saw her and was amazed at all her beauty, and he took her for himself as a wife. And he sought to kill me, but Sarai said 10 to the king, “He is my brother,” so that I might profit on her account. And I, Abram, was left alive because of her, and I was not killed. And I, Abram, wept⁠b 11 bitterly, I and Lot my brother’s son with me, on the night when Sarai was taken from me by force. 12 That night I prayed and pleaded and begged, and I said in my sorrow, while my tears ran down, “Blessed are you, God Most High, my Lord, for all 13 ages. For you are Lord and ruler over all, and over all the kings of the earth you rule, to carry out judgment on all of them. And now 14 I bring my complaint to you, my Lord, against Pharaoh Zoan, king of Egypt, because my wife has been taken from me by force. Carry out judgment on him for me, and show your great hand 15 against him and against all his house, and let him not be able this night to defile my wife, away from me. And they will know you, my Lord, that you are Lord over all the kings of 16 the earth.” And I wept and was silent. That night God Most High sent him a spirit of affliction to strike him and all the men of his house, an evil 17 spirit, and it kept afflicting him and all the men of his house. And he was not able to come near her, and he did not know her, though she was with him 18 two years. And at the end of two years the afflictions and plagues grew harder and stronger on him and on all the men of his house. And he sent 19 and called for all the wise men of Egypt and all the enchanters, with all the healers of Egypt, to see whether they could heal him of this affliction, him and the men of 20 his house. But all the healers and the enchanters and all the wise men were not able to rise and heal him, for the spirit afflicted all of them, 21 and they fled. Then Hyrcanus came to me and asked me to come and pray over 22 the king and lay my hands on him so that he might live, for he had seen me in a dream. But Lot said to him, “Abram my uncle cannot pray over 23 the king while Sarai his wife is with him. Now go, tell the king to send his wife away from him to her husband, and he will pray over him, and he will live.” 24 And when Hyrcanus heard the words of Lot, he went and said to the king, “All these afflictions and plagues 25 with which my lord the king is afflicted and plagued are because of Sarai, the wife of Abram. Let them return Sarai to Abram her husband, 26 and this affliction and the spirit of festering will depart from you.” And the king called me and said to me, “What have you done to me because of Sarai? You said 27 to me, ‘She is my sister,’ when she was your wife, and I took her for myself as a wife. Here is your wife; take her, go, and get yourself out of 28 all the province of Egypt. And now pray over me and over my house, that this evil spirit may be rebuked away from us.” And I prayed over him […],⁠c 29 and I laid my hands on his head, and the affliction was removed from him, and the evil [spirit] was rebuked [away from him], and he lived. And the king rose and gave 30 me on that day many gifts, and the king swore to me with an oath that he had not … […] her. And he returned 31 Sarai to me, and the king gave her much [silver and] gold, and much clothing of fine linen and purple, and […] 32 before her, and also Hagar. And he handed her over to me and appointed men for me to escort me and … out of Egypt. 33 And I, Abram, went with very great possessions, and also with silver and gold, and I went up from Egypt, [and Lot] 34 my brother’s son with me. And Lot too had acquired great possessions, and he took for himself a wife from the daughters of [Egypt. And I was camping with him]