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258 took steps to provide Abraham with legitimate succession through a son by his half sister (Sarah). As part of the legiti- mization, Abraham and all his male household had to be circumcised; and as part of inheriting Canaan and severing the remaining ties to the Old Country, Sumer, the Hebrew Patriarch and his wife had to shed their Sumerian names (Abram and Sarai) and adopt Semitic versions thereof, Abra- ham and Sarah. (Our references to "Abraham" and "Sarah" prior to this occurrence were for convenience only; in the Bible, up to that point, they were called Abram and Sarai). And Abraham was ninety-nine years old at the time. The details of these divine instructions, coupled with the foretelling of the birth of Isaac by Sarah, are given in chapter 17 of Genesis. The circumstances—the Theophany leading to the upheavaling of Sodom and Gomorrah—are described in the following chapter, "when Yahweh showed himself" to Abraham. The aging Patriarch was sitting at the entrance to his tent; it was midday, the hottest time of the day. Suddenly, three strangers appeared to Abraham as if from nowhere: And he lifted up his eyes and lo, he beheld three persons standing above him. And when he saw them, he ran toward them from the entrance of the tent, and bowed down. And he said: "My lord, if I find favor in thy eyes, please do not pass over above thy servant. The scene is replete with mystery. Three strangers appear to Abraham suddenly, seen by him as he lifts his eyes sky- ward. He sees them standing "above him." Though unidenti- fied at this point, he quickly recognizes their extraordinary— divine?—nature. Somehow one of them is distinguished, and Abraham addresses him, calling him "My Lord." His words begin with the most important request: "Please do not pass over above thy servant." He recognized, in other words, their ability to roam the skies . . . Yet they were so humanlike that he offers them water, to wash their feet, to rest in the tree's shade, and to sustain their hearts with food, before they "pass over" onward. "And they said, Do as thou hast spoken." DIVINE ENCOUNTERS