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Selected Verse: Genesis 11:27 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Ge 11:27	Strong Concordance	Now these are the generations [08435] of Terah [08646]: Terah [08646] begat [03205] Abram [087], Nahor [05152], and Haran [02039]; and Haran [02039] begat [03205] Lot [03876].
	King James	Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

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Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
- Section X - Abraham - XXXVI. The Father of Abram 27. לוט lôṭ, Lot, "veil;" verb: "cover." 28. אוּר 'ûr, Ur, "light, flame." כשׂדים kaśdı̂ym, Kasdim, Cardi, Kurds, Χαλδαῖοι Kaldaioi. כסד kesed, "gain?" Arabic. Ur Kasdim has been identified with Hur, now called Mugheir (the bitumened), a heap of ruins lying south of the Euphrates, nearly opposite its jucnction with the Shat el-Hie. Others place it at Edessa, now Orfa, a short way north of Carrhae. 29. שׂרי sāray, Sarai, "strife;" שׂרה śārâh "strive, rule." מלכה mı̂lkâh Milkah, "counsel, queen;" verb: "counsel, reign." יסכה yı̂sekâh, Jiskah, "one who spies, looks out." 31. הרן hārān, Haran, "burnt place." Χαῤῥαι Charran, Κάῤῥαι Karrai, a town on the Bilichus (Bililk), a tributary of the Frat, still called Harran. This has been identified by some with Harae, on the other side of the Frat, not far from Tadmor or Palmyra. This passage forms the commencement of the sixth document, as is indicated by the customary phrase, "These are the generations." The sense also clearly accords with this distinction; and it accounts for the repetition of the statement, "Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran." Yet the scribe who finally arranged the text makes no account of this division; as he inserts neither the Hebrew letter פ (p) nor even the Hebrew letter ס (s) at its commencement, while he places the threefold פ (p), marking the end of a Sabbath lesson, at its close. We learn from this that the Jewish rabbis did not regard the opening phrase as a decided mark of a new beginning, or any indication of a new author. Nevertheless, this passage and the preceding one form the meet prelude to the history of Abram - the one tracing his genealogy from Shem and Heber, and the other detailing his relations with the family out of which he was called. God has not forsaken the fallen race. On the contrary, he has once and again held out to them a general invitation to return, with a promise of pardon and acceptance. Many of the descendants of Noah have already forsaken him, and he foresees that all, if left to themselves, will sink into ungodliness. Notwithstanding all this, he calmly and resolutely proceeds with his purpose of mercy. In the accomplishment of this eternal purpose he moves with all the solemn grandeur of longsuffering patience. One day is with him as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. Out of Adam's three sons he selects one to be the progenitor of the seed of the woman; out of Noah's three sons he again selects one; and now out of Terah's three is one to be selected. Among the children of this one he will choose a second one, and among his a third one before he reaches the holy family. Doubtless this gradual mode of proceeding is in keeping with the hereditary training of the holy nation, and the due adjustment of all the divine measures for at length bringing the fullness of the Gentiles into the covenant of everlasting peace. The history here given of the postdiluvians has a striking resemblance in structure to that of the antediluvians. The preservation of Noah from the waters of the flood, is the counterpart of the creation of Adam after the land had risen out of the roaring deep. The intoxication of Noah by the fruit of a tree corresponds with the fall of Adam by eating the fruit of a forbidden tree. The worldly policy of Nimrod and his builders is parallel with the city-building and many inventions of the Cainites. The pedigree of Abram the tenth from Shem, stands over against the pedigree of Noah the tenth from Adam; and the paragraph now before us bears some resemblance to what precedes the personal history of Noah. All this tends to strengthen the impression made by some other phenomena, already noticed, that the book of Genesis is the work of one author, and not a mere file of documents by different writers. The present paragraph is of special interest for the coming history. Its opening word and intimates its close connection with the preceding document; and accordingly we observe that the one is merely introductory to the other. The various characters brought forward are all of moment. Terah is the patriarch and leader of the migration for part of the way. Abram is the subject of the following narrative. Nahor is the grandfathcr of Rebekah. Haran is the father of Lot the companion of Abram, of Milcah the wife of Nahor and grandmother of Rebekah, and of Iskah. Iskah alone seems to have no connection with the subsequent narrative. Josephus says Sarai and Milkah were the daughters of Haran, taking no notice of Iskah. He seems, therefore, to identify Sarai and Iskah. Jerome, after his Jewish teachers, does the same. Abram says of Sarai, "She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother" Gen 20:12. In Hebrew phrase the granddaughter is termed a daughter; and therefore this statement might be satisfied by her being the daughter of Haran. Lot is called the brother's son and the brother of Abram Gen 14:12, Gen 14:16. If Sarai be Haran's daughter, Lot is Abram's brother-in-law. This identification would also explain the introduction of Iskah into the present passage. Still it must be admitted, on the other hand, that persons are sometimes incidentally introduced in a history of facts, without any express connection with the course of the narrative, as Naamah in the history of the Cainites. The studied silence of the sacred writer in regard to the parentage of Sarai, in the present connection, tells rather in favor of her being the actual daughter of Terah by another wife, and so strictly the half-sister of Abram. For the Mosaic law afterward expressly prohibited marriage with "the daughter of a father" Lev 18:9. And, lastly, the text does not state of Iskah, "This is Sarai," which would accord with the manner of the sacred writer, and is actually done in the Targum of Pseudo-Jonathan. Gen 11:28 And Haran died in the presence of his father Terah. - There is reason to believe that Haran was the oldest son of Terah. Though mentioned in the third place, like Japheth the oldest son of Noah, yet, like Japheth, also, his descendants are recounted first. He is the father of Lot, Milkah, and Iskah. His brother Nahor marries his daughter Milkah. If Iskah be the same as Sarai, Haran her father must have been some years older than Abram, as Abram was only ten years older than Sarai; and hence her father, if younger than Abram, must have been only eight or nine when she was born, which is impossible. Hence, those who take Iskah to be Sarai, must regard Abram as younger than Haran. In the land of his birth. - The migration of Terah, therefore, did not take place until after the death of Haran. At all events, his three grandchildren, Lot, Milkah, and Iskah, were born before he commenced his journey. Still further, Milkah was married to Nahor for some time before that event. Hence, allowing thirty years for a generation, we have a period of sixty years and upwards from the birth of Haran to the marriage of his daughter. But if we take seventy years for a generation, which is far below the average of the Samaritan or the Septuagint, we have one hundred and forty years, which will carry us beyond the death of Terah, whether we reckon his age at one hundred and forty-five with the Samaritan, or at two hundred and five with the other texts. This gives another presumption in favor of the Hebrew average for a generation. In Ur of the Kasdim. - The Kasdim, Cardi, Kurds, or Chaldees are not to be found in the table of nations. They have been generally supposed to be Shemites. This is favored by the residence of Abram among them, by the name Kesed, being a family name among his kindred Gen 22:22, and by the language commonly called Chaldee, which is a species of Aramaic. But among the settlers of the country, the descendants of Ham probably prevailed in early times. Nimrod, the founder of the Babylonian Empire, was a Kushite. The ancient Babylonish language, Rawlinson (Chaldaea) finds to be a special dialect, having affinities with the Shemitic, Arian, Turanian, and Hamitic tongues. The Chaldees were spread over a great extent of surface; but their most celebrated seat was Chaldaea proper, or the land of Shinar. The inhabitants of this country seem to have been of mixed descent, being bound together by political rather than family ties. Nimrod, their center of union, was a despot rather than a patriarch. The tongue of the Kaldees, whether pure or mixed, and whether Shemitic or not, is possibly distinct from the Aramaic, in which they addressed Nebuchadnezzar in the time of Daniel Dan 1:4; Dan 2:4. The Kaldin at length lost their nationality, and merged into the caste or class of learned men or astrologers, into which a man might be admitted, not merely by being a Kaldai by birth, but by acquiring the language and learning of the Kasdim Dan 1:4; Dan 5:11. The seats of Chaldee learning were Borsippa (Birs Nimrud), Ur, Babylon, and Sepharvaim (Sippara, Mosaib). Ur or Hur has been found by antiquarian research (see Rawlinson's Ancient Monarchies) in the heap of ruins called Mugheir, "the bitumened." This site lies now on the right side of the Frat; but the territory to which it belongs is mainly on the left. And Abram coming from it would naturally cross into Mesopotamia on his way to Haran. Orfa, the other supposed site of Ur, seems to be too near Haran. It is not above twenty or twenty-five miles distant, which would not be more than one day's journey. Gen 11:29, Gen 11:30 But Sarai was barren. - From this statement it is evident that Abram had been married for some time before the migration took place. It is also probable that Milkah had begun to have a family; a circumstance which would render the barrenness of Sarai the more remarkable. Gen 11:31, Gen 11:32 And Terah took Abram. - Terah takes the lead in this emigration, as the patriarch of the family. In the Samaritan Pentateuch Milkah is mentioned among the emigrants; and it is not improbable that Nahor and his family accompanied Terah, as we find them afterward at Haran, or the city of Nahor Gen 24:10. "And they went forth with them." Terah and Abram went forth with Lot and the other companions of their journey. "To go into the land of Kenaan. It was the design of Terah himself to settle in the land of Kenaan. The boundaries of this land are given in the table of nations Gen 10:19. The Kenaanites were therefore in possession of it when the table of nations was drawn up. It is certain, however, that there were other inhabitants, some of them Shemites probably, anterior to Kenaan, and subjected by his invading race. The prime motive to this change of abode was the call to Abram recorded in the next chapter. Moved by the call of God, Abram "obeyed; and he went out not knowing whither he went" Heb 11:8. But Terah was influenced by other motives to put himself at the head of this movement. The death of Haran, his oldest son, loosened his attachment to the land of his birth. Besides, Abram and Sarai were no doubt especially dear to him, and he did not wish to lose their society. The inhabitants also of Ur had fallen into polytheism, or, if we may so speak, allotheism, the worship of other gods. Terah had himself been betrayed into compliance with this form of impiety. It is probable that the revelation Abram had received from heaven was the means of removing this cloud from his mind, and restoring in him the knowledge and worship of the true God. Hence, his desire to keep up his connection with Abram, who was called of God. Prayerful conversation with the true and living God, also, while it was fast waning in the land of the Kasdim, seems to have been still maintained in its ancient purity in some parts of the land of Kenaan and the adjacent countries. In the land of Uz, a Shemite, perhaps even at a later period, lived Job; and in the neighboring districts of Arabia were his several friends, all of whom acknowledged the true God. And in the land of Kenaan was Melkizedec, the king of Salem, and the priest of the Most High God. A priest implies a considerable body of true worshippers scattered over the country. Accordingly, the name of the true God was known and revered, at least in outward form, wherever Abram went, throughout the land. The report of this comparatively favorable state of things in the land of Kenaan would be an additional incentive to the newly enlightened family of Terah to accompany Abram in obedience to the divine call. Terah set out on his journey, no doubt, as soon after the call of Abram as the preparatory arrangements could be made. Now the promise to Abram was four hundred and thirty years before the exodus of the children of Israel out of Egypt Exo 12:40. Of this long period his seed was to be a stranger in a land that was not theirs for four hundred years Gen 15:13. Hence, it follows that Isaac, his seed, was born thirty years after the call of Abram. Now Abram was one hundred years old when Isaac was born, and consequently the call was given when he was seventy years of age - about five years before he entered the land of Kenaan Gen 12:4. This whole calculation exactly agrees with the incidental statement of Paul to the Galatians Gal 3:17 that the law was four hundred and thirty years after the covenant of promise. Terah was accordingly two hundred years old when he undertook the long journey to the land of Kenaan; for he died at two hundred and five, when Abram was seventy-five. Though proceeding by easy stages, the aged patriarch seems to have been exhausted by the length and the difficulty of the way. "They came to Haran and dwelt there." Broken down with fatigue, he halts for a season at Haran to recruit his wasted powers. Filial piety, no doubt, kept Abram watching over the last days of his venerable parents, who probably still cling to the fond hope of reaching the land of his adoption. Hence, they all abode in Haran for the remainder of the five years from the date of Abram's call to leave his native land. "And Terah died in Haran." This intimates that he would have proceeded with the others to the land of Kenaan if his life had been prolonged, and likewise that they did not leave Haran until his death. We have already seen that Abram was seventy-five years of age at the death of Terah. It follows that he was born when Terah was one hundred and thirty years old, and consequently sixty years after Haran. This is the reason why we have placed one hundred and thirty (seventy and sixty), in the genealogical table opposite Terah, because the line of descent is not traced through Haran, who was born when he was seventy, but through Abram, who by plain inference was born when he was one hundred and thirty years old. It will be observed, also, that we have set down seventy opposite Abram as the date of his call, from which is counted the definite period of four hundred and thirty years to the exodus. And as all our texts agree in the numbers here involved, it is obvious that the same adjustment of years has in this case to be made, whatever system of chronology is adopted. Hence, Abram is placed first in the list of Terah's sons, simply on account of his personal pre-eminence as the father of the faithful and the ancestor of the promised seed; he and his brother Nahor are both much younger than Haran, are married only after his death, and one of them to his grown-up daughter Milkah; and he and his nephew Lot are meet companions in age as well as in spirit. Hence, also, Abram lingers in Haran, waiting to take his father with him to the land of promise, if he should revive so far as to be fit for the journey. But it was not the lot of Terah to enter the land, where he would only have been a stranger. He is removed to the better country, and by his departure contributes no doubt to deepen the faith of his son Abram, of his grandson Lot, and of his daughter-in-law Sarai. This explanation of the order of events is confirmed by the statement of Stephen: "The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Charran; and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell" Act 7:2-4.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

- Section X - Abraham

- XXXVI. The Father of Abram

27. לוט lôṭ, Lot, "veil;" verb: "cover."

28. אוּר 'ûr, Ur, "light, flame." כשׂדים kaśdı̂ym, Kasdim, Cardi, Kurds, Χαλδαῖοι Kaldaioi. כסד kesed, "gain?" Arabic. Ur Kasdim has been identified with Hur, now called Mugheir (the bitumened), a heap of ruins lying south of the Euphrates, nearly opposite its jucnction with the Shat el-Hie. Others place it at Edessa, now Orfa, a short way north of Carrhae.

29. שׂרי sāray, Sarai, "strife;" שׂרה śārâh "strive, rule." מלכה mı̂lkâh Milkah, "counsel, queen;" verb: "counsel, reign." יסכה yı̂sekâh, Jiskah, "one who spies, looks out."

31. הרן hārān, Haran, "burnt place." Χαῤῥαι Charran, Κάῤῥαι Karrai, a town on the Bilichus (Bililk), a tributary of the Frat, still called Harran. This has been identified by some with Harae, on the other side of the Frat, not far from Tadmor or Palmyra.

This passage forms the commencement of the sixth document, as is indicated by the customary phrase, "These are the generations." The sense also clearly accords with this distinction; and it accounts for the repetition of the statement, "Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran." Yet the scribe who finally arranged the text makes no account of this division; as he inserts neither the Hebrew letter פ (p) nor even the Hebrew letter ס (s) at its commencement, while he places the threefold פ (p), marking the end of a Sabbath lesson, at its close. We learn from this that the Jewish rabbis did not regard the opening phrase as a decided mark of a new beginning, or any indication of a new author. Nevertheless, this passage and the preceding one form the meet prelude to the history of Abram - the one tracing his genealogy from Shem and Heber, and the other detailing his relations with the family out of which he was called.

God has not forsaken the fallen race. On the contrary, he has once and again held out to them a general invitation to return, with a promise of pardon and acceptance. Many of the descendants of Noah have already forsaken him, and he foresees that all, if left to themselves, will sink into ungodliness. Notwithstanding all this, he calmly and resolutely proceeds with his purpose of mercy. In the accomplishment of this eternal purpose he moves with all the solemn grandeur of longsuffering patience. One day is with him as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. Out of Adam's three sons he selects one to be the progenitor of the seed of the woman; out of Noah's three sons he again selects one; and now out of Terah's three is one to be selected. Among the children of this one he will choose a second one, and among his a third one before he reaches the holy family. Doubtless this gradual mode of proceeding is in keeping with the hereditary training of the holy nation, and the due adjustment of all the divine measures for at length bringing the fullness of the Gentiles into the covenant of everlasting peace.

The history here given of the postdiluvians has a striking resemblance in structure to that of the antediluvians. The preservation of Noah from the waters of the flood, is the counterpart of the creation of Adam after the land had risen out of the roaring deep. The intoxication of Noah by the fruit of a tree corresponds with the fall of Adam by eating the fruit of a forbidden tree. The worldly policy of Nimrod and his builders is parallel with the city-building and many inventions of the Cainites. The pedigree of Abram the tenth from Shem, stands over against the pedigree of Noah the tenth from Adam; and the paragraph now before us bears some resemblance to what precedes the personal history of Noah. All this tends to strengthen the impression made by some other phenomena, already noticed, that the book of Genesis is the work of one author, and not a mere file of documents by different writers.

The present paragraph is of special interest for the coming history. Its opening word and intimates its close connection with the preceding document; and accordingly we observe that the one is merely introductory to the other. The various characters brought forward are all of moment. Terah is the patriarch and leader of the migration for part of the way. Abram is the subject of the following narrative. Nahor is the grandfathcr of Rebekah. Haran is the father of Lot the companion of Abram, of Milcah the wife of Nahor and grandmother of Rebekah, and of Iskah. Iskah alone seems to have no connection with the subsequent narrative. Josephus says Sarai and Milkah were the daughters of Haran, taking no notice of Iskah. He seems, therefore, to identify Sarai and Iskah. Jerome, after his Jewish teachers, does the same. Abram says of Sarai, "She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother" Gen 20:12.

In Hebrew phrase the granddaughter is termed a daughter; and therefore this statement might be satisfied by her being the daughter of Haran. Lot is called the brother's son and the brother of Abram Gen 14:12, Gen 14:16. If Sarai be Haran's daughter, Lot is Abram's brother-in-law. This identification would also explain the introduction of Iskah into the present passage. Still it must be admitted, on the other hand, that persons are sometimes incidentally introduced in a history of facts, without any express connection with the course of the narrative, as Naamah in the history of the Cainites. The studied silence of the sacred writer in regard to the parentage of Sarai, in the present connection, tells rather in favor of her being the actual daughter of Terah by another wife, and so strictly the half-sister of Abram. For the Mosaic law afterward expressly prohibited marriage with "the daughter of a father" Lev 18:9. And, lastly, the text does not state of Iskah, "This is Sarai," which would accord with the manner of the sacred writer, and is actually done in the Targum of Pseudo-Jonathan.

Gen 11:28

And Haran died in the presence of his father Terah. - There is reason to believe that Haran was the oldest son of Terah. Though mentioned in the third place, like Japheth the oldest son of Noah, yet, like Japheth, also, his descendants are recounted first. He is the father of Lot, Milkah, and Iskah. His brother Nahor marries his daughter Milkah. If Iskah be the same as Sarai, Haran her father must have been some years older than Abram, as Abram was only ten years older than Sarai; and hence her father, if younger than Abram, must have been only eight or nine when she was born, which is impossible. Hence, those who take Iskah to be Sarai, must regard Abram as younger than Haran.

In the land of his birth. - The migration of Terah, therefore, did not take place until after the death of Haran. At all events, his three grandchildren, Lot, Milkah, and Iskah, were born before he commenced his journey. Still further, Milkah was married to Nahor for some time before that event. Hence, allowing thirty years for a generation, we have a period of sixty years and upwards from the birth of Haran to the marriage of his daughter. But if we take seventy years for a generation, which is far below the average of the Samaritan or the Septuagint, we have one hundred and forty years, which will carry us beyond the death of Terah, whether we reckon his age at one hundred and forty-five with the Samaritan, or at two hundred and five with the other texts. This gives another presumption in favor of the Hebrew average for a generation.

In Ur of the Kasdim. - The Kasdim, Cardi, Kurds, or Chaldees are not to be found in the table of nations. They have been generally supposed to be Shemites. This is favored by the residence of Abram among them, by the name Kesed, being a family name among his kindred Gen 22:22, and by the language commonly called Chaldee, which is a species of Aramaic. But among the settlers of the country, the descendants of Ham probably prevailed in early times. Nimrod, the founder of the Babylonian Empire, was a Kushite. The ancient Babylonish language, Rawlinson (Chaldaea) finds to be a special dialect, having affinities with the Shemitic, Arian, Turanian, and Hamitic tongues. The Chaldees were spread over a great extent of surface; but their most celebrated seat was Chaldaea proper, or the land of Shinar. The inhabitants of this country seem to have been of mixed descent, being bound together by political rather than family ties.

Nimrod, their center of union, was a despot rather than a patriarch. The tongue of the Kaldees, whether pure or mixed, and whether Shemitic or not, is possibly distinct from the Aramaic, in which they addressed Nebuchadnezzar in the time of Daniel Dan 1:4; Dan 2:4. The Kaldin at length lost their nationality, and merged into the caste or class of learned men or astrologers, into which a man might be admitted, not merely by being a Kaldai by birth, but by acquiring the language and learning of the Kasdim Dan 1:4; Dan 5:11. The seats of Chaldee learning were Borsippa (Birs Nimrud), Ur, Babylon, and Sepharvaim (Sippara, Mosaib). Ur or Hur has been found by antiquarian research (see Rawlinson's Ancient Monarchies) in the heap of ruins called Mugheir, "the bitumened." This site lies now on the right side of the Frat; but the territory to which it belongs is mainly on the left. And Abram coming from it would naturally cross into Mesopotamia on his way to Haran. Orfa, the other supposed site of Ur, seems to be too near Haran. It is not above twenty or twenty-five miles distant, which would not be more than one day's journey.

Gen 11:29, Gen 11:30

But Sarai was barren. - From this statement it is evident that Abram had been married for some time before the migration took place. It is also probable that Milkah had begun to have a family; a circumstance which would render the barrenness of Sarai the more remarkable.

Gen 11:31, Gen 11:32

And Terah took Abram. - Terah takes the lead in this emigration, as the patriarch of the family. In the Samaritan Pentateuch Milkah is mentioned among the emigrants; and it is not improbable that Nahor and his family accompanied Terah, as we find them afterward at Haran, or the city of Nahor Gen 24:10. "And they went forth with them." Terah and Abram went forth with Lot and the other companions of their journey. "To go into the land of Kenaan. It was the design of Terah himself to settle in the land of Kenaan. The boundaries of this land are given in the table of nations Gen 10:19. The Kenaanites were therefore in possession of it when the table of nations was drawn up. It is certain, however, that there were other inhabitants, some of them Shemites probably, anterior to Kenaan, and subjected by his invading race. The prime motive to this change of abode was the call to Abram recorded in the next chapter. Moved by the call of God, Abram "obeyed; and he went out not knowing whither he went" Heb 11:8.

But Terah was influenced by other motives to put himself at the head of this movement. The death of Haran, his oldest son, loosened his attachment to the land of his birth. Besides, Abram and Sarai were no doubt especially dear to him, and he did not wish to lose their society. The inhabitants also of Ur had fallen into polytheism, or, if we may so speak, allotheism, the worship of other gods. Terah had himself been betrayed into compliance with this form of impiety. It is probable that the revelation Abram had received from heaven was the means of removing this cloud from his mind, and restoring in him the knowledge and worship of the true God. Hence, his desire to keep up his connection with Abram, who was called of God. Prayerful conversation with the true and living God, also, while it was fast waning in the land of the Kasdim, seems to have been still maintained in its ancient purity in some parts of the land of Kenaan and the adjacent countries. In the land of Uz, a Shemite, perhaps even at a later period, lived Job; and in the neighboring districts of Arabia were his several friends, all of whom acknowledged the true God. And in the land of Kenaan was Melkizedec, the king of Salem, and the priest of the Most High God. A priest implies a considerable body of true worshippers scattered over the country. Accordingly, the name of the true God was known and revered, at least in outward form, wherever Abram went, throughout the land. The report of this comparatively favorable state of things in the land of Kenaan would be an additional incentive to the newly enlightened family of Terah to accompany Abram in obedience to the divine call.

Terah set out on his journey, no doubt, as soon after the call of Abram as the preparatory arrangements could be made. Now the promise to Abram was four hundred and thirty years before the exodus of the children of Israel out of Egypt Exo 12:40. Of this long period his seed was to be a stranger in a land that was not theirs for four hundred years Gen 15:13. Hence, it follows that Isaac, his seed, was born thirty years after the call of Abram. Now Abram was one hundred years old when Isaac was born, and consequently the call was given when he was seventy years of age - about five years before he entered the land of Kenaan Gen 12:4. This whole calculation exactly agrees with the incidental statement of Paul to the Galatians Gal 3:17 that the law was four hundred and thirty years after the covenant of promise. Terah was accordingly two hundred years old when he undertook the long journey to the land of Kenaan; for he died at two hundred and five, when Abram was seventy-five. Though proceeding by easy stages, the aged patriarch seems to have been exhausted by the length and the difficulty of the way. "They came to Haran and dwelt there." Broken down with fatigue, he halts for a season at Haran to recruit his wasted powers. Filial piety, no doubt, kept Abram watching over the last days of his venerable parents, who probably still cling to the fond hope of reaching the land of his adoption. Hence, they all abode in Haran for the remainder of the five years from the date of Abram's call to leave his native land. "And Terah died in Haran." This intimates that he would have proceeded with the others to the land of Kenaan if his life had been prolonged, and likewise that they did not leave Haran until his death.

We have already seen that Abram was seventy-five years of age at the death of Terah. It follows that he was born when Terah was one hundred and thirty years old, and consequently sixty years after Haran. This is the reason why we have placed one hundred and thirty (seventy and sixty), in the genealogical table opposite Terah, because the line of descent is not traced through Haran, who was born when he was seventy, but through Abram, who by plain inference was born when he was one hundred and thirty years old. It will be observed, also, that we have set down seventy opposite Abram as the date of his call, from which is counted the definite period of four hundred and thirty years to the exodus. And as all our texts agree in the numbers here involved, it is obvious that the same adjustment of years has in this case to be made, whatever system of chronology is adopted. Hence, Abram is placed first in the list of Terah's sons, simply on account of his personal pre-eminence as the father of the faithful and the ancestor of the promised seed; he and his brother Nahor are both much younger than Haran, are married only after his death, and one of them to his grown-up daughter Milkah; and he and his nephew Lot are meet companions in age as well as in spirit.

Hence, also, Abram lingers in Haran, waiting to take his father with him to the land of promise, if he should revive so far as to be fit for the journey. But it was not the lot of Terah to enter the land, where he would only have been a stranger. He is removed to the better country, and by his departure contributes no doubt to deepen the faith of his son Abram, of his grandson Lot, and of his daughter-in-law Sarai. This explanation of the order of events is confirmed by the statement of Stephen: "The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Charran; and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell" Act 7:2-4.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
The genealogical data in Gen 11:27-32 prepare the way for the history of the patriarchs. The heading, "These are the generations of Terah," belongs not merely to Gen 11:27-32, but to the whole of the following account of Abram, since it corresponds to "the generations" of Ishmael and of Isaac in Gen 25:12 and Gen 25:19. Of the three sons of Terah, who are mentioned again in Gen 11:27 to complete the plan of the different Toledoth, such genealogical notices are given as are of importance to the history of Abram and his family. According to the regular plan of Genesis, the fact that Haran the youngest son of Terah begat Lot, is mentioned first of all, because the latter went with Abram to Canaan; and then the fact that he died before his father Terah, because the link which would have connected Lot with his native land was broken in consequence. "Before his father," פּני על lit., upon the face of his father, so that he saw and survived his death. Ur of the Chaldees is to be sought either in the "Ur nomine persicum castellum" of Ammian (25, 8), between Hatra and Nisibis, near Arrapachitis, or in Orhoi, Armenian Urrhai, the old name for Edessa, the modern Urfa. - Gen 11:29. Abram and Nahor took wives from their kindred. Abram married Sarai, his half-sister (Gen 20:12), of whom it is already related, in anticipation of what follows, that she was barren. Nahor married Milcah, the daughter of his brother Haran, who bore to him Bethuel, the father of Rebekah (Gen 22:22-23). The reason why Iscah is mentioned is doubtful. For the rabbinical notion, that Iscah is another name for Sarai, is irreconcilable with Gen 20:12, where Abram calls Sarai his sister, daughter of his father, though not of his mother; on the other hand, the circumstance that Sarai is introduced in Gen 11:31 merely as the daughter-in-law of Terah, may be explained on the ground that she left Ur, not as his daughter, but as the wife of his son Abram. A better hypothesis is that of Ewald, that Iscah is mentioned because she was the wife of Lot; but this is pure conjecture. According to Gen 11:31, Terah already prepared to leave Ur of the Chaldees with Abram and Lot, and to remove to Canaan. In the phrase "they went forth with them," the subject cannot be the unmentioned members of the family, such as Nahor and his children; though Nahor must also have gone to Haran, since it is called in Gen 24:10 the city of Nahor. For if he accompanied them at this time, there is no perceptible reason why he should not have been mentioned along with the rest. The nominative to the verb must be Lot and Sarai, who went with Terah and Abram; so that although Terah is placed at the head, Abram must have taken an active part in the removal, or the resolution to remove. This does not, however, necessitate the conclusion, that he had already been called by God in Ur. Nor does Gen 15:7 require any such assumption. For it is not stated there that God called Abram in Ur, but only that He brought him out. But the simple fact of removing from Ur might also be called a leading out, as a work of divine superintendence and guidance, without a special call from God. It was in Haran that Abram first received the divine call to go to Canaan (Gen 12:1-4), when he left not only his country and kindred, but also his father's house. Terah did not carry out his intention to proceed to Canaan, but remained in Haran, in his native country Mesopotamia, probably because he found there what he was going to look for in the land of Canaan. Haran, more properly Charan, חרן, is a place in north-western Mesopotamia, the ruins of which may still be seen, a full day's journey to the south of Edessa (Gr. Κάῤῥαι, Lat. Carrae), where Crassus fell when defeated by the Parthians. It was a leading settlement of the Ssabians, who had a temple there dedicated to the moon, which they traced back to Abraham. There Terah died at the age of 205, or sixty years after the departure of Abram for Canaan; for, according to Gen 11:26, Terah was seventy years old when Abram was born, and Abram was seventy-five years old when he arrived in Canaan. When Stephen, therefore, placed the removal of Abram from Haran to Canaan after the death of his father, he merely inferred this from the fact, that the call of Abram (Gen 12) was not mentioned till after the death of Terah had been noticed, taking the order of the narrative as the order of events; whereas, according to the plan of Genesis, the death of Terah is introduced here, because Abram never met with his father again after leaving Haran, and there was consequently nothing more to be related concerning him. Character of the Patriarchal History The dispersion of the descendants of the sons of Noah, who had now grown into numerous families, was necessarily followed on the one hand by the rise of a variety of nations, differing in language, manners, and customs, and more and more estranged from one another; and on the other by the expansion of the germs of idolatry, contained in the different attitudes of these nations towards God, into the polytheistic religions of heathenism, in which the glory of the immortal God was changed into an image made like to mortal man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things (Rom 1:23 cf. Wis. 13-15). If God therefore would fulfil His promise, no more to smite the earth with the curse of the destruction of every living thing because of the sin of man (Gen 8:21-22), and yet would prevent the moral corruption which worketh death from sweeping all before it; it was necessary that by the side of these self-formed nations He should form a nation for Himself, to be the recipient and preserver of His salvation, and that in opposition to the rising kingdoms of the world He should establish a kingdom for the living, saving fellowship of man with Himself. The foundation for this was laid by God in the call and separation of Abram from his people and his country, to make him, by special guidance, the father of a nation from which the salvation of the world should come. With the choice of Abram and revelation of God to man assumed a select character, inasmuch as God manifested Himself henceforth to Abram and his posterity alone as the author of salvation and the guide to true life; whilst other nations were left to follow their own course according to the powers conferred upon them, in order that they might learn that in their way, and without fellowship with the living God, it was impossible to find peace to the soul, and the true blessedness of life (cf. Act 17:27). But this exclusiveness contained from the very first the germ of universalism. Abram was called, that through him all the families of the earth might be blessed (Gen 12:1-3). Hence the new form which the divine guidance of the human race assumed in the call of Abram was connected with the general development of the world, - in the one hand, by the fact that Abram belonged to the family of Shem, which Jehovah had blessed, and on the other, by his not being called alone, but as a married man with his wife. But whilst, regarded in this light, the continuity of the divine revelation was guaranteed, as well as the plan of human development established in the creation itself, the call of Abram introduced so far the commencement of a new period, that to carry out the designs of God their very foundations required to be renewed. Although, for example, the knowledge and worship of the true God had been preserved in the families of Shem in a purer form than among the remaining descendants of Noah, even in the house of Terah and worship of God was corrupted by idolatry (Jos 24:2-3); and although Abram was to become the father of the nation which God was about to form, yet his wife was barren, and therefore, in the way of nature, a new family could not be expected to spring from him. As a perfectly new beginning, therefore, the patriarchal history assumed the form of a family history, in which the grace of God prepared the ground for the coming Israel. For the nation was to grow out of the family, and in the lives of the patriarchs its character was to be determined and its development foreshadowed. The early history consists of three stages, which are indicated by the three patriarchs, peculiarly so called, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and in the sons of Jacob the unity of the chosen family was expanded into the twelve immediate fathers of the nation. In the triple number of the patriarchs, the divine election of the nation on the one hand, and the entire formation of the character and guidance of the life of Israel on the other, were to attain to their fullest typical manifestation. These two were the pivots, upon which all the divine revelations made to the patriarchs, and all the guidance they received, were made to turn. The revelations consisted almost exclusively of promises; and so far as these promises were fulfilled in the lives of the patriarchs, the fulfilments themselves were predictions and pledges of the ultimate and complete fulfilment, reserved for a distant, or for the most remote futurity. And the guidance vouchsafed had for its object the calling forth of faith in response to the promise, which should maintain itself amidst all the changes of this earthly life. "A faith, which laid hold of the word of promise, and on the strength of that word gave up the visible and present for the invisible and future, was the fundamental characteristic of the patriarchs" (Delitzsch). This faith Abram manifested and sustained by great sacrifices, by enduring patience, and by self-denying by great sacrifices, by enduring patience, and by self-denying obedience of such a kind, that he thereby became the father of believers (πατὴρ πάντων τῶν πιστευόντων, Rom 4:11). Isaac also was strong in patience and hope; and Jacob wrestled in faith amidst painful circumstances of various kinds, until he had secured the blessing of the promise. "Abraham was a man of faith that works; Isaac, of faith that endures; Jacob, of faith that wrestles" (Baumgarten). - Thus, walking in faith, the patriarchs were types of faith for all the families that should spring from them, and be blessed through them, and ancestors of a nation which God had resolved to form according to the election of His grace. For the election of God was not restricted to the separation of Abram from the family of Shem, to be the father of the nation which was destined to be the vehicle of salvation; it was also manifest in the exclusion of Ishmael, whom Abram had begotten by the will of man, through Hagar the handmaid of his wife, for the purpose of securing the promised seed, and in the new life imparted to the womb of the barren Sarai, and her consequent conception and birth of Isaac, the son of promise. And lastly, it appeared still more manifestly in the twin sons born by Rebekah to Isaac, of whom the first-born, Esau, was rejected, and the younger, Jacob, chosen to be the heir of the promise; and this choice, which was announced before their birth, was maintained in spite of Isaac's plans, or that Jacob, and not Esau, received the blessing of the promise. - All this occurred as a type for the future, that Israel might know and lay to heart the fact, that bodily descent from Abraham did not make a man a child of God, but that they alone were children of God who laid hold of the divine promise in faith, and walked in the steps of their forefather's faith (cf. Rom 9:6-13). If we fix our eyes upon the method of the divine revelation, we find a new beginning in this respect, that as soon as Abram is called, we read of the appearing of God. It is true that from the very beginning God had manifested Himself visibly to men; but in the olden time we read nothing of appearances, because before the flood God had not withdrawn His presence from the earth. Even to Noah He revealed Himself before the flood as one who was present on the earth. But when He had established a covenant with him after the flood, and thereby had assured the continuance of the earth and of the human race, the direct manifestations ceased, for God withdrew His visible presence from the world; so that it was from heaven that the judgment fell upon the tower of Babel, and even the call to Abram in his home in Haran was issued through His word, that is to say, no doubt, through an inward monition. But as soon as Abram had gone to Canaan, in obedience to the call of God, Jehovah appeared to him there (Gen 12:7). These appearances, which were constantly repeated from that time forward, must have taken place from heaven; for we read that Jehovah, after speaking with Abram and the other patriarchs, "went away" (Gen 18:33), or "went up" (Gen 17:22; Gen 35:13); and the patriarchs saw them, sometimes while in a waking condition, in a form discernible to the bodily senses, sometimes in visions, in a state of mental ecstasy, and at other times in the form of a dream (Gen 28:12.). On the form in which God appeared, in most instances, nothing is related. But in Gen 18:1. it is stated that three men came to Abram, one of whom is introduced as Jehovah, whilst the other two are called angels (Gen 19:1). Beside this, we frequently read of appearances of the "angel of Jehovah" (Gen 16:7; Gen 22:11, etc.), or of "Elohim," and the "angel of Elohim" (Gen 21:17; Gen 31:11, etc.), which were repeated throughout the whole of the Old Testament, and even occurred, though only in vision, in the case of the prophet Zechariah. The appearances of the angel of Jehovah (or Elohim) cannot have been essentially different from those of Jehovah (or Elohim) Himself; for Jacob describes the appearances of Jehovah at Bethel (Gen 28:13.) as an appearance of "the angel of Elohim," and of "the God of Bethel" (Gen 31:11, Gen 31:13); and in his blessing on the sons of Joseph (Gen 48:15-16), "The God (Elohim) before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God (Elohim) which fed me all my life long unto this day, the angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads," he places the angel of God on a perfect equality with God, not only regarding Him as the Being to whom he has been indebted for protection all his life long, but entreating from Him a blessing upon his descendants. The question arises, therefore, whether the angel of Jehovah, or of God, was God Himself in one particular phase of His self-manifestation, or a created angel of whom God made use as the organ of His self-revelation. (Note: In the old Jewish synagogue the Angel of Jehovah was regarded as the Shechinah, the indwelling of God in the world, i.e., the only Mediator between God and the world, who bears in the Jewish theology the name Metatron. The early Church regarded Him as the Logos, the second person of the Deity; and only a few of the fathers, such as Augustine and Jerome, thought of a created angel (vid., Hengstenberg, Christol. vol. 3, app.). This view was adopted by many Romish theologians, by the Socinians, Arminians, and others, and has been defended recently by Hoffmann, whom Delitzsch, Kurtz, and others follow. But the opinion of the early Church has been vindicated most thoroughly by Hengstenberg in his Christology.) The former appears to us to be the only scriptural view. For the essential unity of the Angel of Jehovah with Jehovah Himself follows indisputably from the following facts. In the first place, the Angel of God identifies Himself with Jehovah and Elohim, by attributing to Himself divine attributes and performing divine works: e.g., Gen 22:12, "Now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me" (i.e., hast been willing to offer him up as a burnt sacrifice to God); again (to Hagar) Gen 16:10, "I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude;" Gen 21, "I will make him a great nation,"-the very words used by Elohim in Gen 17:20 with reference to Ishmael, and by Jehovah in Gen 13:16; Gen 15:4-5, with regard to Isaac; also Exo 3:6., "I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob: I have surely seen the affliction of My people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry, and I am come down to deliver them" (cf. Jdg 2:1). In addition to this, He performs miracles, consuming with fire the offering placed before Him by Gideon, and the sacrifice prepared by Manoah, and ascending to haven in the flame of the burnt-offering (Jdg 6:21; Jdg 13:19-20). Secondly, the Angel of God was recognised as God by those to whom He appeared, on the one hand by their addressing Him as Adonai (i.e., the Lord God; Jdg 6:15), declaring that they had seen God, and fearing that they should die (Gen 16:13; Exo 3:6; Jdg 6:22-23; Jdg 13:22), and on the other hand by their paying Him divine honour, offering sacrifices which He accepted, and worshipping Him (Jdg 6:20; Jdg 13:19-20, cf. Gen 2:5). The force of these facts has been met by the assertion, that the ambassador perfectly represents the person of the sender; and evidence of this is adduced not only from Grecian literature, but from the Old Testament also, where the addresses of the prophets often glide imperceptibly into the words of Jehovah, whose instrument they are. But even if the address in Gen 22:16, where the oath of the Angel of Jehovah is accompanied by the words, "saith the Lord," and the words and deeds of the Angel of God in certain other cases, might be explained in this way, a created angel sent by God could never say, "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," or by the acceptance of sacrifices and adoration, encourage the presentation of divine honours to himself. How utterly irreconcilable this fact is with the opinion that the Angel of Jehovah was a created angel, is conclusively proved by Rev 22:9, which is generally regarded as perfectly corresponding to the account of the "Angel of Jehovah" of the Old Testament. The angel of God, who shows the sacred seer the heavenly Jerusalem, and who is supposed to say, "Behold, I come quickly" (Rev 22:7), and "I am Alpha and Omega" (Rev 22:13), refuses in the most decided way the worship which John is about to present, and exclaims, "See I am thy fellow-servant: worship God." Thirdly, the Angel of Jehovah is also identified with Jehovah by the sacred writers themselves, who call the Angel Jehovah without the least reserve (cf. Exo 3:2 and Exo 3:4, Jdg 6:12 and Jdg 6:14-16, but especially Exo 14:19, where the Angel of Jehovah goes before the host of the Israelites, just as Jehovah is said to do in Exo 13:21). - On the other hand, the objection is raised, that ἄγγελος κυρίου in the New Testament, which is confessedly the Greek rendering of יהוה מלאך, is always a created angel, and for that reason cannot be the uncreated Logos or Son of God, since the latter could not possibly have announced His own birth to the shepherds at Bethlehem. But this important difference has been overlooked, that according to Greek usage, ἄγγελος κυρίου denotes an (any) angel of the Lord, whereas according to the rules of the Hebrew language יהוה מלאך means the angel of the Lord; that in the New Testament the angel who appears is always described as ἄγγελος κυρίου without the article, and the definite article is only introduced in the further course of the narrative to denote the angel whose appearance has been already mentioned, whereas in the Old Testament it is always "the Angel of Jehovah" who appears, and whenever the appearance of a created angel is referred to, he is introduced first of all as "an angel" (vid., Kg1 19:5 and Kg1 19:7). (Note: The force of this difference cannot be set aside by the objection that the New Testament writers follow the usage of the Septuagint, where יהוה מלאך is rendered ἄγγελος κυρίου. For neither in the New Testament nor in the Alex. version of the Old is ἄγγελος κυρίου used as a proper name; it is a simple appellative, as is apparent from the fact that in every instance, in which further reference is made to an angel who has appeared, he is called ὀ ἄγγελος, with or without κυρίου. All that the Septuagint rendering proves, is that the translators supposed "the angel of the Lord" to be a created angel; but it by no means follows that their supposition is correct.) At the same time, it does not follow from this use of the expression Maleach Jehovah, that the (particular) angel of Jehovah was essentially one with God, or that Maleach Jehovah always has the same signification; for in Mal 2:7 the priest is called Maleach Jehovah, i.e., the messenger of the Lord. Who the messenger or angel of Jehovah was, must be determined in each particular instance from the connection of the passage; and where the context furnishes no criterion, it must remain undecided. Consequently such passages as Psa 34:7; Psa 35:5-6, etc., where the angel of Jehovah is not more particularly described, or Num 20:16, where the general term angel is intentionally employed, or Act 7:30; Gal 3:19, and Heb 2:2, where the words are general and indefinite, furnish no evidence that the Angel of Jehovah, who proclaimed Himself in His appearances as one with God, was not in reality equal with God, unless we are to adopt as the rule for interpreting Scripture the inverted principle, that clear and definite statements are to be explained by those that are indefinite and obscure. In attempting now to determine the connection between the appearance of the Angel of Jehovah (or Elohim) and the appearance of Jehovah or Elohim Himself, and to fix the precise meaning of the expression Maleach Jehovah, we cannot make use, as recent opponents of the old Church view have done, of the manifestation of God in Gen 18 and 19, and the allusion to the great prince Michael in Dan 10:13, Dan 10:21; Dan 12:1; just because neither the appearance of Jehovah in the former instance, nor that of the archangel Michael in the latter, is represented as an appearance of the Angel of Jehovah. We must confine ourselves to the passages in which "the Angel of Jehovah" is actually referred to. We will examine these, first of all, for the purpose of obtaining a clear conception of the form in which the Angel of Jehovah appeared. Gen 16, where He is mentioned for the first time, contains no distinct statement as to His shape, but produces on the whole the impression that He appeared to Hagar in a human form, or one resembling that of man; since it was not till after His departure that she drew the inference from His words, that Jehovah had spoken with her. He came in the same form to Gideon, and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah with a staff in His hand (Jdg 6:11 and Jdg 6:21); also to Manoah's wife, for she took Him to be a man of God, i.e., a prophet, whose appearance was like that of the Angel of Jehovah (Jdg 13:6); and lastly, to Manoah himself, who did not recognise Him at first, but discovered afterwards, from the miracle which He wrought before his eyes, and from His miraculous ascent in the flame of the altar, that He was the Angel of Jehovah (Jdg 13:9-20). In other cases He revealed Himself merely by calling and speaking from heaven, without those who heard His voice perceiving any form at all; e.g., to Hagar, in Gen 21:17., and to Abraham, Gen 22:11. On the other hand, He appeared to Moses (Exo 3:2) in a flame of fire, speaking to him from the burning bush, and to the people of Israel in a pillar of cloud and fire (Exo 14:19, cf. Exo 13:21.), without any angelic form being visible in either case. Balaam He met in a human or angelic form, with a drawn sword in His hand (Num 22:22-23). David saw Him by the threshing-floor of Araunah, standing between heaven and earth, with the sword drawn in His hand and stretched out over Jerusalem (Ch1 21:16); and He appeared to Zechariah in a vision as a rider upon a red horse (Zac 1:9.). - From these varying forms of appearance it is evident that the opinion that the Angel of the Lord was a real angel, a divine manifestation, "not in the disguise of angel, but through the actual appearance of an angel," is not in harmony with all the statements of the Bible. The form of the Angel of Jehovah, which was discernible by the senses, varied according to the purpose of the appearance; and, apart from Gen 21:17 and Gen 22:11, we have a sufficient proof that it was not a real angelic appearance, or the appearance of a created angel, in the fact that in two instances it was not really an angel at all, but a flame of fire and a shining cloud which formed the earthly substratum of the revelation of God in the Angel of Jehovah (Exo 3:2; Exo 14:19), unless indeed we are to regard natural phenomena as angels, without any scriptural warrant for doing so. (Note: The only passage that could be adduced in support of this, viz., Psa 104:4, does not prove that God makes natural objects, winds and flaming fire, into forms in which heavenly spirits appear, or that He creates spirits out of them. Even if we render this passage, with Delitzsch, "making His messengers of winds, His servants of flaming fire," the allusion, as Delitzsch himself observes, is not to the creation of angels; nor can the meaning be, that God gives wind and fire to His angels as the material of their appearance, and as it were of their self-incorporation. For עה, constructed with two accusatives, the second of which expresses the materia ex qua, is never met with in this sense, not even in Ch2 4:18-22. For the greater part of the temple furniture summed up in this passage, of which it is stated that Solomon made them of gold, was composed of pure gold; and if some of the things were merely covered with gold, the writer might easily apply the same expression to this, because he had already given a more minute account of their construction (e.g., Gen 3:7). But we neither regard this rendering of the psalm as in harmony with the context, nor assent to the assertion that עשׂה with a double accusative, in the sense of making into anything, is ungrammatical.) These earthly substrata of the manifestation of the "Angel of Jehovah" perfectly suffice to establish the conclusion, that the Angel of Jehovah was only a peculiar form in which Jehovah Himself appeared, and which differed from the manifestations of God described as appearances of Jehovah simply in this, that in "the Angel of Jehovah," God or Jehovah revealed Himself in a mode which was more easily discernible by human senses, and exhibited in a guise of symbolical significance the design of each particular manifestation. In the appearances of Jehovah no reference is made to any form visible to the bodily eye, unless they were through the medium of a vision or a dream, excepting in one instance (Gen 18), where Jehovah and two angels come to Abraham in the form of three men, and are entertained by him-a form of appearance perfectly resembling the appearances of the Angel of Jehovah, but which is not so described by the author, because in this case Jehovah does not appear alone, but in the company of two angels, that "the Angel of Jehovah" might not be regarded as a created angel. But although there was no essential difference, but only a formal one, between the appearing of Jehovah and the appearing of the Angel of Jehovah, the distinction between Jehovah and the Angel of Jehovah points to a distinction in the divine nature, to which even the Old Testament contains several obvious allusions. The very name indicates such a difference. יהוה מלאך (from לאך to work, from which come מלאכה the work, opus, and מלאך, lit., he through whom a work is executed, but in ordinary usage restricted to the idea of a messenger) denotes the person through whom God works and appears. Beside these passages which represent "the Angel of Jehovah" as one with Jehovah, there are others in which the Angel distinguishes Himself from Jehovah; e.g., when He gives emphasis to the oath by Himself as an oath by Jehovah, by adding "said Jehovah" (Gen 22:16); when He greets Gideon with the words, "Jehovah with thee, thou brave hero" (Jdg 6:12); when He says to Manoah, "Though thou constrainedst me, I would not eat of thy food; but if thou wilt offer a burnt-offering to Jehovah, thou mayest offer it" (Jdg 13:16); for when He prays, in Zac 1:12, "Jehovah Sabaoth, how long wilt Thou not have mercy on Jerusalem?" (Compare also Gen 19:24, where Jehovah is distinguished from Jehovah.) Just as in these passages the Angel of Jehovah distinguishes Himself personally from Jehovah, there are others in which a distinction is drawn between a self-revealing side of the divine nature, visible to men, and a hidden side, invisible to men, i.e., between the self-revealing and the hidden God. Thus, for example, not only does Jehovah say of the Angel, whom He sends before Israel in the pillar of cloud and fire, "My name is in Him," i.e., he reveals My nature (Exo 23:21), but He also calls Him פּני, "My face" (Exo 33:14); and in reply to Moses' request to see His glory, He says "Thou canst not see My face, for there shall no man see Me and live," and then causes His glory to pass by Moses in such a way that he only sees His back, but not His face (Exo 33:18-23). On the strength of these expression, He in whom Jehovah manifested Himself to His people as a Saviour is called in Isa 63:9, "the Angel of His face," and all the guidance and protection of Israel are ascribed to Him. In accordance with this, Malachi, the last prophet of the Old Testament, proclaims to the people waiting for the manifestation of Jehovah, that is to say, for the appearance of the Messiah predicted by former prophets, that the Lord (האדון, i.e., God), the Angel of the covenant, will come to His temple (Gen 3:1). This "Angel of the covenant," or "Angel of the face," has appeared in Christ. The Angel of Jehovah, therefore, was no other than the Logos, which not only "was with God," but "was God," and in Jesus Christ "was made flesh" and "came unto His own" (Joh 1:1-2, Joh 1:11); the only-begotten Son of God, who was sent by the Father into the world, who, though one with the Father, prayed to the Father (John 17), and who is even called "the Apostle," ὀ ἀπόστολος, in Heb 3:1. From all this it is sufficiently obvious, that neither the title Angel or Messenger of Jehovah, nor the fact that the Angel of Jehovah prayed to Jehovah Sabaoth, furnishes any evidence against His essential unity with Jehovah. That which is unfolded in perfect clearness in the New Testament through the incarnation of the Son of God, was still veiled in the Old Testament according to the wisdom apparent in the divine training. The difference between Jehovah and the Angel of Jehovah is generally hidden behind the unity of the two, and for the most part Jehovah is referred to as He who chose Israel as His nation and kingdom, and who would reveal Himself at some future time to His people in all His glory; so that in the New Testament nearly all the manifestations of Jehovah under the Old Covenant are referred to Christ, and regarded as fulfilled through Him. (Note: This is not a mere accommodation of Scripture, but the correct interpretation of the obscure hints of the Old Testament by the light of the fulfilment of the New. For not only is the Maleach Jehovah the revealer of God, but Jehovah Himself is the revealed God and Saviour. Just as in the history of the Old Testament there are not only revelations of the Maleach Jehovah, but revelations of Jehovah also; so in the prophecies the announcement of the Messiah, the sprout of David and servant of Jehovah, is intermingled with the announcement of the coming of Jehovah to glorify His people and perfect His kingdom.)

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Here begins the story of Abram. We have here, His country: Ur of the Chaldee's - An idolatrous country, where even the children of Eber themselves degenerated. His relations, mentioned for his sake, and because of their interest in he following story. His father was Terah, of whom it is said, Jos 24:2, that he served other gods on the other side the flood; so early did idolatry gain footing in the world. Enough it is said, Gen 11:26, that when Terah was seventy years old he begat Abram, Nabor and Haran, which seems to tell us that Abram was the eldest son of Terah, and born in the 70th year; yet by comparing Gen 11:32, which makes Terah to die in his 205th year, with Act 7:4, where it is said that Abram removed from Haran when his father was dead, and Gen 12:4, where it is said that he was but 75 years old when he removed from Haran, it appears that he was born in the 130th year of Terah, and probably was his youngest son. We have, Some account of his brethren Nahor, out of whole family both Isaac and Jacob had their wives. Haran, the father of Lot, of whom it is here said, Gen 11:28, that he died before his father Terah. 'Tis likewise said that he died in Ur of the Chaldees, before that happy remove of the family out of that idolatrous country. His wife was Sarai, who, tho' some think was the same with Iscah the daughter of Haran. Abram himself saith, she was the daughter of his father, but not the daughter of his mother, Gen 20:12. She was ten years younger than Abram. His departure out of Ur of the Chaldees, with his father Terah, and his nephew Lot, and the rest of his family, in obedience to the call of God. This chapter leaves them in Haran or Charran, a place about the mid - way between Ur and Canaan, where they dwelt 'till Terah's head was laid; probably because the old man was unable, through the infirmities of age, to proceed in his journey.

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² And [1161] he said [5346], Men [435], brethren [80], and [2532] fathers [3962], hearken [191]; The God [2316] of glory [1391] appeared [3700] unto our [2257] father [3962] Abraham [11], when he was [5607] in [1722] Mesopotamia [3318], before [4250] [2228] he [846] dwelt [2730] in [1722] Charran [5488],
³ And [2532] said [2036] unto [4314] him [846], Get thee [1831] out of [1537] thy [4675] country [1093], and [2532] from [1537] thy [4675] kindred [4772], and [2532] come [1204] into [1519] the land [1093] which [3739] [302] I shall shew [1166] thee [4671].
⁴ Then [5119] came he [1831] out of [1537] the land [1093] of the Chaldaeans [5466], and dwelt [2730] in [1722] Charran [5488]: and from thence [2547], when [3326] his [846] father [3962] was dead [599], he removed [3351] him [846] into [1519] this [5026] land [1093], wherein [1519] [3739] ye [5210] now [3568] dwell [2730].

¹⁷ And [1161] this [5124] I say [3004], that the covenant [1242], that was confirmed before [4300] of [5259] God [2316] in [1519] Christ [5547], the law [3551], which was [1096] four hundred [5071] and [2532] thirty [5144] years [2094] after [3326], cannot [3756] disannul [208], that [1519] it should make [2673] the promise [1860] of none effect [2673].

⁴ So Abram [087] departed [03212], as the LORD [03068] had spoken [01696] unto him; and Lot [03876] went [03212] with him: and Abram [087] was seventy [07657] [08141] and five [02568] years [08141] old [01121] when he departed [03318] out of Haran [02771].

¹³ And he said [0559] unto Abram [087], Know [03045] of a surety [03045] that thy seed [02233] shall be a stranger [01616] in a land [0776] that is not theirs, and shall serve [05647] them; and they shall afflict [06031] them four [0702] hundred [03967] years [08141];

⁴⁰ Now the sojourning [04186] of the children [01121] of Israel [03478], who dwelt [03427] in Egypt [04714], was four [0702] hundred [03967] [08141] and thirty [07970] years [08141].

⁸ By faith [4102] Abraham [11], when he was called [2564] to go out [1831] into [1519] a place [5117] which [3739] he should after [3195] receive [2983] for [1519] an inheritance [2817], obeyed [5219]; and [2532] he went out [1831], not [3361] knowing [1987] whither [4226] he went [2064].

¹⁹ And the border [01366] of the Canaanites [03669] was from Sidon [06721], as thou comest [0935] to Gerar [01642], unto Gaza [05804]; as thou goest [0935], unto Sodom [05467], and Gomorrah [06017], and Admah [0126], and Zeboim [06636], even unto Lasha [03962].

¹⁰ And the servant [05650] took [03947] ten [06235] camels [01581] of the camels [01581] of his master [0113], and departed [03212]; for all the goods [02898] of his master [0113] were in his hand [03027]: and he arose [06965], and went [03212] to Mesopotamia [0763], unto the city [05892] of Nahor [05152].

³² And the days [03117] of Terah [08646] were two hundred [03967] [08141] and five [02568] years [08141]: and Terah [08646] died [04191] in Haran [02771].

³¹ And Terah [08646] took [03947] Abram [087] his son [01121], and Lot [03876] the son [01121] of Haran [02039] his son's [01121] son [01121], and Sarai [08297] his daughter in law [03618], his son [01121] Abram's [087] wife [0802]; and they went forth [03318] with them from Ur [0218] of the Chaldees [03778], to go [03212] into the land [0776] of Canaan [03667]; and they came [0935] unto Haran [02771], and dwelt [03427] there.

³⁰ But Sarai [08297] was barren [06135]; she had no child [02056].

²⁹ And Abram [087] and Nahor [05152] took [03947] them wives [0802]: the name [08034] of Abram's [087] wife [0802] was Sarai [08297]; and the name [08034] of Nahor's [05152] wife [0802], Milcah [04435], the daughter [01323] of Haran [02039], the father [01] of Milcah [04435], and the father [01] of Iscah [03252].

¹¹ There is [0383] a man [01400] in thy kingdom [04437], in whom is the spirit [07308] of the holy [06922] gods [0426]; and in the days [03118] of thy father [02] light [05094] and understanding [07924] and wisdom [02452], like the wisdom [02452] of the gods [0426], was found [07912] in him; whom the king [04430] Nebuchadnezzar [05020] thy father [02], the king [04430], I say, thy father [02], made [06966] master [07229] of the magicians [02749], astrologers [0826], Chaldeans [03779], and soothsayers [01505];

⁴ Children [03206] in whom was no blemish [03971] [03971], but well [02896] favoured [04758], and skilful [07919] in all wisdom [02451], and cunning [03045] in knowledge [01847], and understanding [0995] science [04093], and such as had ability [03581] in them to stand [05975] in the king's [04428] palace [01964], and whom they might teach [03925] the learning [05612] and the tongue [03956] of the Chaldeans [03778].

⁴ Then spake [01696] the Chaldeans [03778] to the king [04428] in Syriack [0762], O king [04430], live [02418] for ever [05957]: tell [0560] thy servants [05649] the dream [02493], and we will shew [02324] the interpretation [06591].

²² And Chesed [03777], and Hazo [02375], and Pildash [06394], and Jidlaph [03044], and Bethuel [01328].

²⁸ And Haran [02039] died [04191] before [06440] his father [01] Terah [08646] in the land [0776] of his nativity [04138], in Ur [0218] of the Chaldees [03778].

⁹ The nakedness [06172] of thy sister [0269], the daughter [01323] of thy father [01], or daughter [01323] of thy mother [0517], whether she be born [04138] at home [01004], or born [04138] abroad [02351], even their nakedness [06172] thou shalt not uncover [01540].

¹⁶ And he brought back [07725] all the goods [07399], and also brought again [07725] his brother [0251] Lot [03876], and his goods [07399], and the women [0802] also, and the people [05971].

¹² And they took [03947] Lot [03876], Abram's [087] brother's [0251] son [01121], who dwelt [03427] in Sodom [05467], and his goods [07399], and departed [03212].

¹² And yet indeed [0546] she is my sister [0269]; she is the daughter [01323] of my father [01], but not the daughter [01323] of my mother [0517]; and she became my wife [0802].

¹ Wherefore [3606], holy [40] brethren [80], partakers [3353] of the heavenly [2032] calling [2821], consider [2657] the Apostle [652] and [2532] High Priest [749] of our [2257] profession [3671], Christ [5547] Jesus [2424];

¹¹ He came [2064] unto [1519] his own [2398], and [2532] his own [2398] received [3880] him [846] not [3756].

¹ In [1722] the beginning [746] was [2258] the Word [3056], and [2532] the Word [3056] was [2258] with [4314] God [2316], and [2532] the Word [3056] was [2258] God [2316].
² The same [3778] was [2258] in [1722] the beginning [746] with [4314] God [2316].

¹ Now the serpent [05175] was [01961] more subtil [06175] than any beast [02416] of the field [07704] which the LORD [03068] God [0430] had made [06213]. And he said [0559] unto the woman [0802], Yea [0637], hath God [0430] said [0559], Ye shall not eat [0398] of every tree [06086] of the garden [01588]?

⁹ In all their affliction [06869] he was afflicted [06862], and the angel [04397] of his presence [06440] saved [03467] them: in his love [0160] and in his pity [02551] he redeemed [01350] them; and he bare [05190] them, and carried [05375] them all the days [03117] of old [05769].

¹⁸ And he said [0559], I beseech thee [04994], shew [07200] me thy glory [03519].
¹⁹ And he said [0559], I will make all my goodness [02898] pass [05674] before thee, and I will proclaim [07121] the name [08034] of the LORD [03068] before [06440] thee; and will be gracious [02603] to whom I will be gracious [02603], and will shew mercy [07355] on whom I will shew mercy [07355].
²⁰ And he said [0559], Thou canst [03201] not see [07200] my face [06440]: for there shall no man [0120] see [07200] me, and live [02425].
²¹ And the LORD [03068] said [0559], Behold, there is a place [04725] by me, and thou shalt stand [05324] upon a rock [06697]:
²² And it shall come to pass, while my glory [03519] passeth by [05674], that I will put [07760] thee in a clift [05366] of the rock [06697], and will cover [05526] thee with my hand [03709] while [05704] I pass by [05674]:
²³ And I will take [05493] away mine hand [03709], and thou shalt see [07200] my back parts [0268]: but my face [06440] shall not be seen [07200].

¹⁴ And he said [0559], My presence [06440] shall go [03212] with thee, and I will give thee rest [05117].

²¹ Beware [08104] of [06440] him, and obey [08085] his voice [06963], provoke [04843] him not; for he will not pardon [05375] your transgressions [06588]: for my name [08034] is in him [07130].

²⁴ Then the LORD [03068] rained [04305] upon Sodom [05467] and upon Gomorrah [06017] brimstone [01614] and fire [0784] from the LORD [03068] out of heaven [08064];

¹² Then the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] answered [06030] and said [0559], O LORD [03068] of hosts [06635], how long wilt thou not have mercy [07355] on Jerusalem [03389] and on the cities [05892] of Judah [03063], against which thou hast had indignation [02194] these threescore and ten [07657] years [08141]?

¹⁶ And the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto Manoah [04495], Though thou detain [06113] me, I will not eat [0398] of thy bread [03899]: and if [0518] thou wilt offer [06213] a burnt offering [05930], thou must offer [05927] it unto the LORD [03068]. For Manoah [04495] knew [03045] not that he was an angel [04397] of the LORD [03068].

¹² And the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] appeared [07200] unto him, and said [0559] unto him, The LORD [03068] is with thee, thou mighty [01368] man of valour [02428].

¹⁶ And said [0559], By myself have I sworn [07650], saith [05002] the LORD [03068], for because [03282] [0834] thou hast done [06213] this thing [01697], and hast not [03808] withheld [02820] thy son [01121], thine only [03173] son:

⁷ And the eyes [05869] of them both [08147] were opened [06491], and they [01992] knew [03045] that they were naked [05903]; and they sewed [08609] fig [08384] leaves [05929] together [08609], and made themselves [06213] aprons [02290].

¹⁸ Thus Solomon [08010] made [06213] all these vessels [03627] in great [03966] abundance [07230]: for the weight [04948] of the brass [05178] could not be found out [02713].
¹⁹ And Solomon [08010] made [06213] all the vessels [03627] that were for the house [01004] of God [0430], the golden [02091] altar [04196] also, and the tables [07979] whereon the shewbread [03899] [06440] was set;
²⁰ Moreover the candlesticks [04501] with their lamps [05216], that they should burn [01197] after the manner [04941] before [06440] the oracle [01687], of pure [05462] gold [02091];
²¹ And the flowers [06525], and the lamps [05216], and the tongs [04457], made he of gold [02091], and that perfect [04357] gold [02091];
²² And the snuffers [04212], and the basons [04219], and the spoons [03709], and the censers [04289], of pure [05462] gold [02091]: and the entry [06607] of the house [01004], the inner [06442] doors [01817] thereof for the most [06944] holy [06944] place, and the doors [01817] of the house [01004] of the temple [01964], were of gold [02091].

⁴ Who maketh [06213] his angels [04397] spirits [07307]; his ministers [08334] a flaming [03857] fire [0784]:

¹⁹ And the angel [04397] of God [0430], which went [01980] before [06440] the camp [04264] of Israel [03478], removed [05265] and went [03212] behind [0310] them; and the pillar [05982] of the cloud [06051] went [05265] from before their face [06440], and stood [05975] behind [0310] them:

² And the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] appeared [07200] unto him in a flame [03827] of fire [0784] out of the midst [08432] of a bush [05572]: and he looked [07200], and, behold, the bush [05572] burned [01197] with fire [0784], and the bush [05572] was not consumed [0398].

¹¹ And the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] called [07121] unto him out of heaven [08064], and said [0559], Abraham [085], Abraham [085]: and he said [0559], Here am I.

¹⁷ And God [0430] heard [08085] the voice [06963] of the lad [05288]; and the angel [04397] of God [0430] called [07121] to Hagar [01904] out of heaven [08064], and said [0559] unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar [01904]? fear [03372] not; for God [0430] hath heard [08085] the voice [06963] of the lad [05288] where he is.

⁹ Then said [0559] I, O my lord [0113], what are these? And the angel [04397] that talked [01696] with me said [0559] unto me, I will shew [07200] thee what these be.

¹⁶ And David [01732] lifted up [05375] his eyes [05869], and saw [07200] the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] stand [05975] between the earth [0776] and the heaven [08064], having a drawn [08025] sword [02719] in his hand [03027] stretched out [05186] over Jerusalem [03389]. Then David [01732] and the elders [02205] of Israel, who were clothed [03680] in sackcloth [08242], fell [05307] upon their faces [06440].

²² And God's [0430] anger [0639] was kindled [02734] because he went [01980]: and the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] stood [03320] in the way [01870] for an adversary [07854] against him. Now he was riding [07392] upon his ass [0860], and his two [08147] servants [05288] were with him.
²³ And the ass [0860] saw [07200] the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] standing [05324] in the way [01870], and his sword [02719] drawn [08025] in his hand [03027]: and the ass [0860] turned aside [05186] out of the way [01870], and went [03212] into the field [07704]: and Balaam [01109] smote [05221] the ass [0860], to turn [05186] her into the way [01870].

²¹ And the LORD [03068] went [01980] before [06440] them by day [03119] in a pillar [05982] of a cloud [06051], to lead [05148] them the way [01870]; and by night [03915] in a pillar [05982] of fire [0784], to give them light [0215]; to go [03212] by day [03119] and night [03915]:

¹¹ And the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] called [07121] unto him out of heaven [08064], and said [0559], Abraham [085], Abraham [085]: and he said [0559], Here am I.

⁹ And God [0430] hearkened [08085] to the voice [06963] of Manoah [04495]; and the angel [04397] of God [0430] came again [0935] unto the woman [0802] as she sat [03427] in the field [07704]: but Manoah [04495] her husband [0376] was not with her.
¹⁰ And the woman [0802] made haste [04116], and ran [07323], and shewed [05046] her husband [0376], and said [0559] unto him, Behold, the man [0376] hath appeared [07200] unto me, that came [0935] unto me the other day [03117].
¹¹ And Manoah [04495] arose [06965], and went [03212] after [0310] his wife [0802], and came [0935] to the man [0376], and said [0559] unto him, Art thou the man [0376] that spakest [01696] unto the woman [0802]? And he said [0559], I am.
¹² And Manoah [04495] said [0559], Now let thy words [01697] come to pass [0935]. How shall we order [04941] the child [05288], and how shall we do [04639] unto him?
¹³ And the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto Manoah [04495], Of all that I said [0559] unto the woman [0802] let her beware [08104].
¹⁴ She may not eat [0398] of any thing that cometh [03318] of the vine [01612], neither let her drink [08354] wine [03196] or strong drink [07941], nor eat [0398] any unclean [02932] thing: all that I commanded [06680] her let her observe [08104].
¹⁵ And Manoah [04495] said [0559] unto the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068], I pray thee, let us detain [06113] thee, until we shall have made ready [06213] a kid [01423] [05795] for [06440] thee.
¹⁶ And the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto Manoah [04495], Though thou detain [06113] me, I will not eat [0398] of thy bread [03899]: and if [0518] thou wilt offer [06213] a burnt offering [05930], thou must offer [05927] it unto the LORD [03068]. For Manoah [04495] knew [03045] not that he was an angel [04397] of the LORD [03068].
¹⁷ And Manoah [04495] said [0559] unto the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068], What is thy name [08034], that when thy sayings [01697] come to pass [0935] we may do thee honour [03513]?
¹⁸ And the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto him, Why askest [07592] thou thus after my name [08034], seeing it is secret [06383] [06383]?
¹⁹ So Manoah [04495] took [03947] a kid [01423] [05795] with a meat offering [04503], and offered [05927] it upon a rock [06697] unto the LORD [03068]: and the angel did [06213] wondrously [06381]; and Manoah [04495] and his wife [0802] looked on [07200].
²⁰ For it came to pass, when the flame [03851] went up [05927] toward heaven [08064] from off the altar [04196], that the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] ascended [05927] in the flame [03851] of the altar [04196]. And Manoah [04495] and his wife [0802] looked on [07200] it, and fell on [05307] their faces [06440] to the ground [0776].

⁶ Then the woman [0802] came [0935] and told [0559] her husband [0376], saying [0559], A man [0376] of God [0430] came [0935] unto me, and his countenance [04758] was like the countenance [04758] of an angel [04397] of God [0430], very [03966] terrible [03372]: but I asked [07592] him not whence he was, neither told [05046] he me his name [08034]:

²¹ Then the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] put forth [07971] the end [07097] of the staff [04938] that was in his hand [03027], and touched [05060] the flesh [01320] and the unleavened cakes [04682]; and there rose up [05927] fire [0784] out of the rock [06697], and consumed [0398] the flesh [01320] and the unleavened cakes [04682]. Then the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] departed [01980] out of his sight [05869].

¹¹ And there came [0935] an angel [04397] of the LORD [03068], and sat [03427] under an oak [0424] which was in Ophrah [06084], that pertained unto Joash [03101] the Abiezrite [033]: and his son [01121] Gideon [01439] threshed [02251] wheat [02406] by the winepress [01660], to hide [05127] it from [06440] the Midianites [04080].

¹ And at that time [06256] shall Michael [04317] stand up [05975], the great [01419] prince [08269] which standeth [05975] for the children [01121] of thy people [05971]: and there shall be [01961] a time [06256] of trouble [06869], such as never was since there was a nation [01471] even to that same time [06256]: and at that time [06256] thy people [05971] shall be delivered [04422], every one that shall be found [04672] written [03789] in the book [05612].

²¹ But [061] I will shew [05046] thee that which is noted [07559] in the scripture [03791] of truth [0571]: and there is none [0259] that holdeth [02388] with me in these things, but Michael [04317] your prince [08269].

¹³ But the prince [08269] of the kingdom [04438] of Persia [06539] withstood [05975] me one [0259] and twenty [06242] days [03117]: but, lo, Michael [04317], one [0259] of the chief [07223] princes [08269], came [0935] to help [05826] me; and I remained [03498] there with [0681] the kings [04428] of Persia [06539].

² For [1063] if [1487] the word [3056] spoken [2980] by [1223] angels [32] was [1096] stedfast [949], and [2532] every [3956] transgression [3847] and [2532] disobedience [3876] received [2983] a just [1738] recompence of reward [3405];

¹⁹ Wherefore [5101] then [3767] serveth the law [3551]? It was added [4369] because of [5484] transgressions [3847], till [891] [3739] the seed [4690] should come [2064] to whom [3739] the promise was made [1861]; and it was ordained [1299] by [1223] angels [32] in [1722] the hand [5495] of a mediator [3316].

³⁰ And [2532] when forty [5062] years [2094] were expired [4137], there appeared [3700] to him [846] in [1722] the wilderness [2048] of mount [3735] Sina [4614] an angel [32] of the Lord [2962] in [1722] a flame [5395] of fire [4442] in a bush [942].

¹⁶ And when we cried [06817] unto the LORD [03068], he heard [08085] our voice [06963], and sent [07971] an angel [04397], and hath brought us forth [03318] out of Egypt [04714]: and, behold, we are in Kadesh [06946], a city [05892] in the uttermost [07097] of thy border [01366]:

⁵ Let them be as chaff [04671] before [06440] the wind [07307]: and let the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] chase [01760] them.
⁶ Let their way [01870] be dark [02822] and slippery [02519]: and let the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] persecute [07291] them.

⁷ The angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] encampeth [02583] round about [05439] them that fear [03373] him, and delivereth [02502] them.

⁷ For the priest's [03548] lips [08193] should keep [08104] knowledge [01847], and they should seek [01245] the law [08451] at his mouth [06310]: for he is the messenger [04397] of the LORD [03068] of hosts [06635].

⁷ And the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] came again [07725] the second time [08145], and touched [05060] him, and said [0559], Arise [06965] and eat [0398]; because the journey [01870] is too great [07227] for thee.

⁵ And as he lay [07901] and slept [03462] under a [0259] juniper tree [07574], behold, then an angel [04397] touched [05060] him, and said [0559] unto him, Arise [06965] and eat [0398].

¹⁴ And the LORD [03068] looked [06437] upon him, and said [0559], Go [03212] in this thy might [03581], and thou shalt save [03467] Israel [03478] from the hand [03709] of the Midianites [04080]: have not I sent [07971] thee?
¹⁵ And he said [0559] unto him, Oh [0994] my Lord [0136], wherewith [04100] shall I save [03467] Israel [03478]? behold, my family [0504] [0505] is poor [01800] in Manasseh [04519], and I am the least [06810] in my father's [01] house [01004].
¹⁶ And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite [05221] the Midianites [04080] as one [0259] man [0376].

¹² And the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] appeared [07200] unto him, and said [0559] unto him, The LORD [03068] is with thee, thou mighty [01368] man of valour [02428].

⁴ And when the LORD [03068] saw [07200] that he turned aside [05493] to see [07200], God [0430] called [07121] unto him out of the midst [08432] of the bush [05572], and said [0559], Moses [04872], Moses [04872]. And he said [0559], Here am I.

¹³ I [1473] am [1510] Alpha [1] and [2532] Omega [5598], the beginning [746] and [2532] the end [5056], the first [4413] and [2532] the last [2078].

⁷ Behold [2400], I come [2064] quickly [5035]: blessed [3107] is he that keepeth [5083] the sayings [3056] of the prophecy [4394] of this [5127] book [975].

⁹ Then [2532] saith he [3004] unto me [3427], See [3708] thou do it not [3361]: for [1063] I am [1510] thy [4675] fellowservant [4889], and [2532] of thy [4675] brethren [80] the prophets [4396], and [2532] of them which keep [5083] the sayings [3056] of this [5127] book [975]: worship [4352] God [2316].

⁵ And every plant [07880] of the field [07704] before [02962] it was in the earth [0776], and every herb [06212] of the field [07704] before [02962] it grew [06779]: for [03588] the LORD [03068] God [0430] had not [03808] caused it to rain [04305] upon the earth [0776], and there was not [0369] a man [0120] to till [05647] the ground [0127].

¹⁹ So Manoah [04495] took [03947] a kid [01423] [05795] with a meat offering [04503], and offered [05927] it upon a rock [06697] unto the LORD [03068]: and the angel did [06213] wondrously [06381]; and Manoah [04495] and his wife [0802] looked on [07200].
²⁰ For it came to pass, when the flame [03851] went up [05927] toward heaven [08064] from off the altar [04196], that the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] ascended [05927] in the flame [03851] of the altar [04196]. And Manoah [04495] and his wife [0802] looked on [07200] it, and fell on [05307] their faces [06440] to the ground [0776].

²⁰ And the angel [04397] of God [0430] said [0559] unto him, Take [03947] the flesh [01320] and the unleavened cakes [04682], and lay [03240] them upon this [01975] rock [05553], and pour out [08210] the broth [04839]. And he did [06213] so.

²² And Manoah [04495] said [0559] unto his wife [0802], We shall surely [04191] die [04191], because we have seen [07200] God [0430].

²² And when Gideon [01439] perceived [07200] that he was an angel [04397] of the LORD [03068], Gideon [01439] said [0559], Alas [0162], O Lord [0136] GOD [03069]! for because [03651] I have seen [07200] an angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] face [06440] to face [06440].
²³ And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto him, Peace [07965] be unto thee; fear [03372] not: thou shalt not die [04191].

⁶ Moreover he said [0559], I am the God [0430] of thy father [01], the God [0430] of Abraham [085], the God [0430] of Isaac [03327], and the God [0430] of Jacob [03290]. And Moses [04872] hid [05641] his face [06440]; for he was afraid [03372] to look [05027] upon God [0430].

¹³ And she called [07121] the name [08034] of the LORD [03068] that spake [01696] unto her, Thou God [0410] seest me [07210]: for she said [0559], Have I also here [01988] looked [07200] after him [0310] that seeth me [07210]?

¹⁵ And he said [0559] unto him, Oh [0994] my Lord [0136], wherewith [04100] shall I save [03467] Israel [03478]? behold, my family [0504] [0505] is poor [01800] in Manasseh [04519], and I am the least [06810] in my father's [01] house [01004].

¹ And an angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] came up [05927] from Gilgal [01537] to Bochim [01066], and said [0559], I made you to go up [05927] out of Egypt [04714], and have brought [0935] you unto the land [0776] which I sware [07650] unto your fathers [01]; and I said [0559], I will never [05769] break [06565] my covenant [01285] with you.

⁴ And, behold, the word [01697] of the LORD [03068] came unto him, saying [0559], This shall not be thine heir [03423]; but he that shall come forth [03318] out of thine own bowels [04578] shall be thine heir [03423].
⁵ And he brought him forth [03318] abroad [02351], and said [0559], Look [05027] now toward heaven [08064], and tell [05608] the stars [03556], if thou be able [03201] to number [05608] them: and he said [0559] unto him, So [03541] shall thy seed [02233] be.

¹⁶ And I will make [07760] thy seed [02233] as the dust [06083] of the earth [0776]: so that [0834] if a man [0376] can [03201] number [04487] the dust [06083] of the earth [0776], then shall thy seed [02233] also be numbered [04487].

²⁰ And as for Ishmael [03458], I have heard thee [08085]: Behold, I have blessed [01288] him, and will make him fruitful [06509], and will multiply [07235] him exceedingly [03966] [03966]; twelve [06240] [08147] princes [05387] shall he beget [03205], and I will make him [05414] a great [01419] nation [01471].

¹⁰ And the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto her, I will multiply [07235] thy seed [02233] exceedingly [07235], that it shall not be numbered [05608] for multitude [07230].

¹² And he said [0559], Lay [07971] not thine hand [03027] upon [0413] the lad [05288], neither do thou [06213] any thing [03972] unto him: for now [06258] I know [03045] that thou fearest [03373] God [0430], seeing thou hast not [03808] withheld [02820] thy son [01121], thine only [03173] son from me.

¹⁵ And he blessed [01288] Joseph [03130], and said [0559], God [0430], before [06440] whom my fathers [01] Abraham [085] and Isaac [03327] did walk [01980], the God [0430] which fed [07462] me all my life long [05750] unto this day [03117],
¹⁶ The Angel [04397] which redeemed [01350] me from all evil [07451], bless [01288] the lads [05288]; and let my name [08034] be named [07121] on them, and the name [08034] of my fathers [01] Abraham [085] and Isaac [03327]; and let them grow [01711] into a multitude [07230] in the midst [07130] of the earth [0776].

¹³ I am the God [0410] of Bethel [01008], where thou anointedst [04886] the pillar [04676], and where thou vowedst [05087] a vow [05088] unto me: now arise [06965], get thee out [03318] from this land [0776], and return [07725] unto the land [0776] of thy kindred [04138].

¹¹ And the angel [04397] of God [0430] spake [0559] unto me in a dream [02472], saying, Jacob [03290]: And I said [0559], Here am I.

¹³ And, behold, the LORD [03068] stood [05324] above it, and said [0559], I am the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Abraham [085] thy father [01], and the God [0430] of Isaac [03327]: the land [0776] whereon thou liest [07901], to thee will I give it [05414], and to thy seed [02233];

¹¹ And the angel [04397] of God [0430] spake [0559] unto me in a dream [02472], saying, Jacob [03290]: And I said [0559], Here am I.

¹¹ And the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] called [07121] unto him out of heaven [08064], and said [0559], Abraham [085], Abraham [085]: and he said [0559], Here am I.

⁷ And the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] found her [04672] by a fountain [05869] of water [04325] in the wilderness [04057], by the fountain [05869] in the way [01870] to Shur [07793].

¹ And there came [0935] two [08147] angels [04397] to Sodom [05467] at even [06153]; and Lot [03876] sat [03427] in the gate [08179] of Sodom [05467]: and Lot [03876] seeing [07200] them rose up [06965] to meet [07125] them; and he bowed [07812] himself with his face [0639] toward the ground [0776];

¹ And the LORD [03068] appeared [07200] unto him in the plains [0436] of Mamre [04471]: and he sat [03427] in the tent [0168] door [06607] in the heat [02527] of the day [03117];

¹² And he dreamed [02492], and behold a ladder [05551] set up [05324] on the earth [0776], and the top of it [07218] reached [05060] to heaven [08064]: and behold the angels [04397] of God [0430] ascending [05927] and descending [03381] on it.

¹³ And God [0430] went up [05927] from him in the place [04725] where he talked [01696] with him.

²² And he left off [03615] talking [01696] with him, and God [0430] went up [05927] from Abraham [085].

³³ And the LORD [03068] went his way [03212], as soon as [0834] he had left [03615] communing [01696] with Abraham [085]: and Abraham [085] returned [07725] unto his place [04725].

⁷ And the LORD [03068] appeared [07200] unto Abram [087], and said [0559], Unto thy seed [02233] will I give [05414] this [02063] land [0776]: and there builded [01129] he an altar [04196] unto the LORD [03068], who appeared [07200] unto him.

⁶ Not [3756] as [3634] though [1161] [3754] the word [3056] of God [2316] hath taken none effect [1601]. For [1063] they are not [3756] all [3956] [1537] Israel [2474], which [3588] [3778] are of Israel [2474]:
⁷ Neither [3761], because [3754] they are [1526] the seed [4690] of Abraham [11], are they all [3956] children [5043]: but [235], In [1722] Isaac [2464] shall [2564] thy [4671] seed [4690] be called [2564].
⁸ That is [5123], They which are the children [5043] of the flesh [4561], these [5023] are not [3756] the children [5043] of God [2316]: but [235] the children [5043] of the promise [1860] are counted [3049] for [1519] the seed [4690].
⁹ For [1063] this [3778] is the word [3056] of promise [1860], At [2596] this [5126] time [2540] will I come [2064], and [2532] Sara [4564] shall have [2071] a son [5207].
¹⁰ And [1161] not [3756] only [3440] this; but [235] when Rebecca [4479] also [2532] had conceived [2845] by [1537] one [1520] [2192], even by our [2257] father [3962] Isaac [2464];
¹¹ (For [1063] the children being [1080] not yet [3380] born [1080], neither [3366] having done [4238] any [5100] good [18] or [2228] evil [2556], that [2443] the purpose [4286] of God [2316] according [2596] to election [1589] might stand [3306], not [3756] of [1537] works [2041], but [235] of [1537] him that calleth [2564]
¹² [3754] It was said [4483] unto her [846], The elder [3187] shall serve [1398] the younger [1640].
¹³ As [2531] it is written [1125], Jacob [2384] have I loved [25], but [1161] Esau [2269] have I hated [3404].

¹¹ And [2532] he received [2983] the sign [4592] of circumcision [4061], a seal [4973] of the righteousness [1343] of the faith [4102] which [3588] he had yet being [1722] uncircumcised [203]: that [1519] he [846] might be [1511] the father [3962] of all [3956] them that believe [4100], though [1223] they be not circumcised [203]; that [1519] righteousness [1343] might be imputed [3049] unto them [846] also [2532]:

² And Joshua [03091] said [0559] unto all the people [05971], Thus saith [0559] the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478], Your fathers [01] dwelt [03427] on the other side [05676] of the flood [05104] in old time [05769], even Terah [08646], the father [01] of Abraham [085], and the father [01] of Nachor [05152]: and they served [05647] other [0312] gods [0430].
³ And I took [03947] your father [01] Abraham [085] from the other side [05676] of the flood [05104], and led [03212] him throughout all the land [0776] of Canaan [03667], and multiplied [07235] his seed [02233], and gave [05414] him Isaac [03327].

²⁷ That they should seek [2212] the Lord [2962], if [1487] haply [686] they might feel [5584] after him [846], and [2532] find him [2147], though [2544] he be [5225] not [3756] far [3112] from [575] every [1538] one [1520] of us [2257]:

²¹ And the LORD [03068] smelled [07306] a sweet [05207] savour [07381]; and the LORD [03068] said [0559] in [0413] his heart [03820], I will not again [03254] curse [07043] the ground [0127] any more for man's [0120] sake [05668]; for the imagination [03336] of man's [0120] heart [03820] is evil [07451] from his youth [05271]; neither will I again [03254] smite [05221] any more every thing living [02416], as I have done [06213].
²² While the earth [0776] remaineth [03117], seedtime [02233] and harvest [07105], and cold [07120] and heat [02527], and summer [07019] and winter [02779], and day [03117] and night [03915] shall not cease [07673].

²³ And [2532] changed [236] the glory [1391] of the uncorruptible [862] God [2316] into [1722] an image [1504] made like [3667] to corruptible [5349] man [444], and [2532] to birds [4071], and [2532] fourfooted beasts [5074], and [2532] creeping things [2062].

²⁶ And Terah [08646] lived [02421] seventy [07657] years [08141], and begat [03205] Abram [087], Nahor [05152], and Haran [02039].

¹ Now the LORD [03068] had said [0559] unto Abram [087], Get thee out [03212] of thy country [0776], and from thy kindred [04138], and from thy father's [01] house [01004], unto a land [0776] that I will shew [07200] thee:
² And I will make of thee [06213] a great [01419] nation [01471], and I will bless [01288] thee, and make [01431] thy name [08034] great [01431]; and thou shalt be a blessing [01293]:
³ And I will bless [01288] them that bless [01288] thee, and curse [0779] him that curseth [07043] thee: and in thee shall all families [04940] of the earth [0127] be blessed [01288].
⁴ So Abram [087] departed [03212], as the LORD [03068] had spoken [01696] unto him; and Lot [03876] went [03212] with him: and Abram [087] was seventy [07657] [08141] and five [02568] years [08141] old [01121] when he departed [03318] out of Haran [02771].

⁷ And he said [0559] unto him, I am the LORD [03068] that brought thee out [03318] of Ur [0218] of the Chaldees [03778], to give [05414] thee this land [0776] to inherit [03423] it.

¹² And yet indeed [0546] she is my sister [0269]; she is the daughter [01323] of my father [01], but not the daughter [01323] of my mother [0517]; and she became my wife [0802].

²² And Chesed [03777], and Hazo [02375], and Pildash [06394], and Jidlaph [03044], and Bethuel [01328].
²³ And Bethuel [01328] begat [03205] Rebekah [07259]: these eight [08083] Milcah [04435] did bear [03205] to Nahor [05152], Abraham's [085] brother [0251].

¹² And yet indeed [0546] she is my sister [0269]; she is the daughter [01323] of my father [01], but not the daughter [01323] of my mother [0517]; and she became my wife [0802].

²⁷ Now these are the generations [08435] of Terah [08646]: Terah [08646] begat [03205] Abram [087], Nahor [05152], and Haran [02039]; and Haran [02039] begat [03205] Lot [03876].

¹⁹ And these are the generations [08435] of Isaac [03327], Abraham's [085] son [01121]: Abraham [085] begat [03205] Isaac [03327]:

¹² Now these are the generations [08435] of Ishmael [03458], Abraham's [085] son [01121], whom Hagar [01904] the Egyptian [04713], Sarah's [08283] handmaid [08198], bare [03205] unto Abraham [085]:

²⁷ Now these are the generations [08435] of Terah [08646]: Terah [08646] begat [03205] Abram [087], Nahor [05152], and Haran [02039]; and Haran [02039] begat [03205] Lot [03876].
²⁸ And Haran [02039] died [04191] before [06440] his father [01] Terah [08646] in the land [0776] of his nativity [04138], in Ur [0218] of the Chaldees [03778].
²⁹ And Abram [087] and Nahor [05152] took [03947] them wives [0802]: the name [08034] of Abram's [087] wife [0802] was Sarai [08297]; and the name [08034] of Nahor's [05152] wife [0802], Milcah [04435], the daughter [01323] of Haran [02039], the father [01] of Milcah [04435], and the father [01] of Iscah [03252].
³⁰ But Sarai [08297] was barren [06135]; she had no child [02056].
³¹ And Terah [08646] took [03947] Abram [087] his son [01121], and Lot [03876] the son [01121] of Haran [02039] his son's [01121] son [01121], and Sarai [08297] his daughter in law [03618], his son [01121] Abram's [087] wife [0802]; and they went forth [03318] with them from Ur [0218] of the Chaldees [03778], to go [03212] into the land [0776] of Canaan [03667]; and they came [0935] unto Haran [02771], and dwelt [03427] there.
³² And the days [03117] of Terah [08646] were two hundred [03967] [08141] and five [02568] years [08141]: and Terah [08646] died [04191] in Haran [02771].

¹² And yet indeed [0546] she is my sister [0269]; she is the daughter [01323] of my father [01], but not the daughter [01323] of my mother [0517]; and she became my wife [0802].

²⁸ And Haran [02039] died [04191] before [06440] his father [01] Terah [08646] in the land [0776] of his nativity [04138], in Ur [0218] of the Chaldees [03778].

⁴ Then [5119] came he [1831] out of [1537] the land [1093] of the Chaldaeans [5466], and dwelt [2730] in [1722] Charran [5488]: and from thence [2547], when [3326] his [846] father [3962] was dead [599], he removed [3351] him [846] into [1519] this [5026] land [1093], wherein [1519] [3739] ye [5210] now [3568] dwell [2730].

³² And the days [03117] of Terah [08646] were two hundred [03967] [08141] and five [02568] years [08141]: and Terah [08646] died [04191] in Haran [02771].

²⁶ And Terah [08646] lived [02421] seventy [07657] years [08141], and begat [03205] Abram [087], Nahor [05152], and Haran [02039].