Genesis 12
12
Abram’s Call and Migration. 1The Lord said to Abram: Go forth#Go forth…find blessing in you: the syntax of the Hebrew suggests that the blessings promised to Abraham are contingent on his going to Canaan. from your land, your relatives, and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.#Acts 7:3; Heb 11:8. 2#The call of Abraham begins a new history of blessing (18:18; 22:15–18), which is passed on in each instance to the chosen successor (26:2–4; 28:14). This call evokes the last story in the primeval history (11:1–9) by reversing its themes: Abraham goes forth rather than settle down; it is God rather than Abraham who will make a name for him; the families of the earth will find blessing in him. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.#Gn 17:6; Sir 44:20–21; Rom 4:17–22. 3#Gn 18:18; 22:18; Acts 3:25; Gal 3:8. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will find blessing in you.#Will find blessing in you: the Hebrew conjugation of the verb here and in 18:18 and 28:14 can be either reflexive (“shall bless themselves by you” = people will invoke Abraham as an example of someone blessed by God) or passive (“by you all the families of earth will be blessed” = the religious privileges of Abraham and his descendants ultimately will be extended to the nations). In 22:18 and 26:4, another conjugation of the same verb is used in a similar context that is undoubtedly reflexive (“bless themselves”). Many scholars suggest that the two passages in which the sense is clear should determine the interpretation of the three ambiguous passages: the privileged blessing enjoyed by Abraham and his descendants will awaken in all peoples the desire to enjoy those same blessings. Since the term is understood in a passive sense in the New Testament (Acts 3:25; Gal 3:8), it is rendered here by a neutral expression that admits of both meanings.
4#Gn 11:31; Jos 24:3; Acts 7:4. Abram went as the Lord directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5#The ancestors appear in Genesis as pastoral nomads living at the edge of settled society, and having occasional dealings with the inhabitants, sometimes even moving into towns for brief periods. Unlike modern nomads such as the Bedouin, however, ancient pastoralists fluctuated between following the herds and sedentary life, depending on circumstances. Pastoralists could settle down and farm and later resume a pastoral way of life. Indeed, there was a symbiotic relationship between pastoralists and villagers, each providing goods to the other. Persons: servants and others who formed the larger household under the leadership of Abraham; cf. 14:14. Abram took his wife Sarai, his brother’s son Lot, all the possessions that they had accumulated, and the persons they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6#Abraham’s journey to the center of the land, Shechem, then to Bethel, and then to the Negeb, is duplicated in Jacob’s journeys (33:18; 35:1, 6, 27; 46:1) and in the general route of the conquest under Joshua (Jos 7:2; 8:9, 30). Abraham’s journey is a symbolic “conquest” of the land he has been promised. In building altars here (vv. 7, 8) and elsewhere, Abraham acknowledges his God as Lord of the land. Abram passed through the land as far as the sacred place at Shechem, by the oak of Moreh. The Canaanites were then in the land.
7The Lord appeared to Abram and said: To your descendants I will give this land. So Abram built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.#Ex 33:1; Dt 34:4; Acts 7:5. 8From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel, pitching his tent with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. He built an altar there to the Lord and invoked the Lord by name. 9Then Abram journeyed on by stages to the Negeb.#The Negeb: the semidesert land south of Judah.
Abram and Sarai in Egypt.#12:10–13:1] Abraham and Sarah’s sojourn in Egypt and encounter with Pharaoh foreshadow their descendants’ experience, suggesting a divine design in which they must learn to trust. The story of Sarah, the ancestor in danger, is told again in chap. 20, and also in 26:1–11 with Rebekah instead of Sarah. Repetition of similar events is not unusual in literature that has been orally shaped. 10There was famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, since the famine in the land was severe.#Gn 26:1. 11When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai: “I know that you are a beautiful woman. 12When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘She is his wife’; then they will kill me, but let you live. 13Please say, therefore, that you are my sister,#You are my sister: the text does not try to excuse Abraham’s deception, though in 20:12 a similar deception is somewhat excused. so that I may fare well on your account and my life may be spared for your sake.”#Gn 20:12–13; 26:7. 14When Abram arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15When Pharaoh’s officials saw her they praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16Abram fared well on her account, and he acquired sheep, oxen, male and female servants, male and female donkeys, and camels.#Camels: domesticated camels did not come into common use in the ancient Near East until the end of the second millennium B.C. Thus the mention of camels here (24:11–64; 30:43; 31:17, 34; 32:8, 16; 37:25) is seemingly an anachronism.
17But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.#Ps 105:14. 18Then Pharaoh summoned Abram and said to him: “How could you do this to me! Why did you not tell me she was your wife? 19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take her and leave!”
20Then Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram, and they sent him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.
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Genesis 12: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Genesis 12
12
God Appears to Abram
1Now Yahweh said to Abram, # 12:1 The God of glory appeared to Abram and spoke with him (see Acts 7:2–5). God’s appearance to Abram was sudden and without warning. The same voice of creation now proclaims a message of hope and blessing to all the world. Abram had no burning bush to inspire him, no tablets of stone to guide him, and no ark of the covenant as a centerpiece of worship. Neither did Abram have a temple to worship in, a Bible to read, or a priest to counsel him. Nor did Abram have a pastor to pray for him, or a prophet to prophesy to him. But Abram had a divine encounter.
“Leave it all behind # 12:1 Or “Go yourself,” from lech-lecha, which is a Hebrew play on words. The implication is that although Abram must undergo a traumatic departure from his native land, he was actually traveling to find his more authentic self. Perhaps “Go and find yourself” conveys the meaning. —
your native land, # 12:1 The Hebrew word ’eretz is etymologically linked to the Canaanite word ratzon, which means “firmness of will” or “stubbornness.” God was saying to Abram, with double meaning, leave your country but also leave your own will behind in order to enter God’s plan. We need to leave it all behind, including our ideas of how God will work.
your people,
your father’s household, # 12:1 God was calling Abram out from more than just his relatives. He was calling Abram out from specific deity worship connected to nations, clans, and ancestors.
and go to the land that I will show you. # 12:1 Leaving all that is familiar was an incredible act of faith on Abram’s part (see Heb. 11:8–10). He was told to go into an unknown land, but it would result in the seven-fold blessing of vv. 2–3.
2Follow me,
and I will make you into a great nation. # 12:2 This would take a miracle, for Sarai was barren. This would have greatly stretched Abram’s faith, yet he believed. Because he had left his nation, God would make Abram into a great nation. God gave creative ability to Abram, not only to produce offspring, but also to apply creative ability to form lasting enterprises that would shape a nation. God gave the ability to create community to Abram and his seed.
I will exceedingly bless and prosper you,
and I will make you famous, # 12:2 Or “I will make your name great,” which in the ancient Near East also implied being highly esteemed for his character. The building of the Tower of Babel was so that men could “make a name” for themselves. This was intended to be the gift of God and not something to be seized for oneself.
so that you will be a tremendous source of blessing for others.
3I will bless all who bless you
and curse all who curse you. # 12:3 Or “all who cause you harm I will punish.” See Num. 24:9.
And through you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” # 12:3 Or “And by you all the families of the earth will bless themselves” or “Every nation will long for me to bless them as I have blessed you.” See Isa. 49:6; Gal. 3:8.
4So Abram obeyed Yahweh and left; and Lot went with him.
Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran after his father died. # 12:4 See Acts 7:4. 5He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people # 12:5 Or “souls.” Jewish tradition states that Abram preached the revelation of Yahweh, the true God. Also, Abram was wealthy before Pharaoh gave him gifts (see Gen. 12:16). he had acquired in Haran; and they departed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in the land of Canaan, 6Abram passed through the land and stopped at the sacred site of Shechem, # 12:6 The Hebrew word maqom (a generic place) is never used to describe a city. In this context it is likely linked to the Arabic word maqam, which means “sacred site.” The word Shechem means “between the shoulders.” The shoulder represents all power and authority (see Isa. 9:6; 22:22; Luke 15:4–5). The site of Shechem was the physical center of modern Israel and is mentioned as a sacred place (see Gen. 35:4; Josh. 24:25; Judg. 9:6, 37). famous for the great oak tree of Moreh. # 12:6 Or “the oak [cluster of oaks] of Moreh [oracle giver, instruction].” Undoubtedly, this was a place of mystery, and it was so famous that people used the tree as a landmark. See Deut. 11:30. At the great tree of Moreh, Yahweh taught Abram to walk by faith, not by sight. God will lead us to a place of true strength (Shechem) and instruct our hearts (Moreh) to trust in him alone. At that time, the Canaanites were also in the land.
7Then Yahweh appeared # 12:7 Or “made himself visible.” Scripture records at least nine appearances of God (theophanies) to Abraham (see Acts 7:2). The first was while he was still in Ur (see Gen. 12:1–3). See also Gen. 13:14–16; 15; 17; 18; 21:12–13; 22:1–2, 15–18. before Abram and said, “This is the land I will personally deliver to your seed.” # 12:7 Or “to your future descendants.” God’s divine declaration assigned the land of Israel to Abram and his descendants. See Rom. 4:13; Heb. 11:12. So Abram erected an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared before him. 8From there, he journeyed on toward the hill country east of Bethel # 12:8 Bethel means “House of God.” This is modern Beitin, a city about eleven miles north of Jerusalem. It is clear Abram adored Yahweh and was faithful to his voice. and pitched his tent # 12:8 While Abram lived in a tent without foundations, he was looking and waiting for a city with unshakable foundations (see Heb. 11:10). Likewise, we are living in the “tent” of church life today, waiting for its ultimate consummation—the New Jerusalem, the City of God with foundations. Paul, the Abraham of the New Testament, was a tentmaker. with Bethel on the west and Ai # 12:8 Ai means “the heap of ruins.” It is often identified as et-Tell, which was about a mile from ancient Bethel. See Josh. 7:2–8:28. Bethel is the House of God; Ai (the world) is a heap of ruins. The House of God is drawing us in. We must turn our backs forever on the old creation life, which is nothing more than a heap of ruins! on the east. And there he built another altar to Yahweh where he prayed and worshiped Yahweh. # 12:8 Or “and he called upon the name of Yahweh,” which implies both prayer and offering a sacrifice. 9Then Abram journeyed from there by stages through the southern desert region. # 12:9 That is, the Negev. Abram had traversed the entire length of Israel from north to south.
Abram Detours to Egypt
10At that time, a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, # 12:10 Although the promised land was a land flowing (flourishing) with milk and honey (Ex. 3:17), all three patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) and Joseph experienced a famine (see Gen. 26:1; 41:54; 42:1; 43:1). Faith will always be tested. This famine tested Abram’s faith. So often when we set out for our promised land, we encounter a famine. You can be right where God wants you to be and still be faced with severe trials. It is better to suffer in God’s path than to be at ease in Satan’s. forcing Abram to travel down to Egypt and live there as a foreigner. 11When he drew near to Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I’m worried because I know that you are a beautiful, gorgeous woman. 12When the Egyptian men take one look at you, they will say, ‘She is his wife.’ Then they will kill me in order to have you. 13Just tell them you are my sister # 12:13 In fact, Sarai was his half sister (see Gen. 20:12). If the Egyptians were to kill Abram, it would leave Sarai vulnerable to the men of Egypt. This was, in fact, a troubling moral dilemma for Abram. By calling her his “sister,” any interaction with her culturally required a negotiation with her “brother.” so that they will treat me well for your sake and spare my life.”
14When Abram entered Egypt, everyone noticed Sarai’s stunning beauty. # 12:14 Sarai was at least sixty-five at this time, ten years younger than Abram. 15When Pharaoh’s dignitaries spotted her, they went to Pharaoh and raved about her beauty. Then they took Sarai into the palace and made her part of Pharaoh’s harem. 16Because she pleased Pharaoh, Abram got along very well in Egypt and received royal treatment: he was given sheep, cattle, male and female donkeys, camels, and male and female slaves. # 12:16 All of Pharaoh’s gifts were signs of great wealth imparted to Abram by the king. It was the great wealth and many possessions that caused Lot to want to separate from Abram (see Gen. 13:6–7). There were many people who accompanied Abram both into Egypt and back into Canaan. He had the converts he acquired in Haran (see Gen. 12:5), plus 318 trained soldiers who were born under Abram’s care (see Gen. 14:14) who also had wives and children. It is possible that Abram had several thousand people who accompanied him.
17But Yahweh struck Pharaoh and his household with terrible diseases because he had taken Abram’s wife, Sarai. 18So Pharaoh sent for Abram and said, “How could you do this to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? # 12:18 Somehow, perhaps by a dream, God showed Pharaoh his sin. 19And why did you lie to me by saying, ‘She’s my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now, here’s your wife back; take her and begone!” 20Then Pharaoh gave strict orders to his men to escort them out of Egypt along with everything they had. # 12:20 Besides great possessions, Abram also acquired servants in Egypt, and Hagar was one of them (see Gen. 16:3).
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