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Selected Verse: Genesis 12:1 - Strong Concordance
Verse |
Translation |
Text |
Ge 12:1 |
Strong Concordance |
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: |
|
King James |
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
CALL TO ABRAM. (Gen. 12:1-20)
Now the Lord had said unto Abram--It pleased God, who has often been found of them who sought Him not, to reveal Himself to Abraham perhaps by a miracle; and the conversion of Abraham is one of the most remarkable in Bible history.
Get thee out of thy country--His being brought to the knowledge and worship of the true God had probably been a considerable time before. This call included two promises: the first, showing the land of his future posterity; and the second, that in his posterity all the earth was to be blessed (Gen 12:2). Abraham obeyed, and it is frequently mentioned in the New Testament as a striking instance of his faith (Heb 11:8). |
Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
- The Call of Abram
6. שׁכם shekem Shekem, "the upper part of the back." Here it is the name of a person, the owner of this place, where afterward is built the town called at first Shekem, then Flavia Neapolis, and now Nablous. אלון 'ēlôn "the oak;" related: "be lasting, strong." מורה môreh In Onkelos "plain;" Moreh, "archer, early rain, teacher." Here the name of a man who owned the oak that marked the spot. In the Septuagint it is rendered ὑψηγήν hupseegeen.
8. בית־אל bēyt-'êl, Bethel, "house of God." ים yam "sea, great river, west." עי ‛ay, 'Ai, "heap."
9. נגב negeb "south."
The narrative now takes leave of the rest of the Shemites, as well as the other branches of the human family, and confines itself to Abram. It is no part of the design of Scripture to trace the development of worldliness. It marks its source, and indicates the law of its downward tendency; but then it turns away from the dark detail, to devote its attention to the way by which light from heaven may again pierce the gloom of the fallen heart. Here, then, we have the starting of a new spring of spiritual life in the human race.
Gen 12:1-3
Having brought the affairs of Terah's family to a fit resting point, the sacred writer now reverts to the call of Abram. This, we have seen, took place when he was seventy years of age, and therefore five years before the death of Terah. "The Lord said unto Abram." Four hundred and twenty-two years on the lowest calculation after the last recorded communication with Noah, the Lord again opens his mouth, to Abram. Noah, Shem, or Heber, must have been in communication with heaven, indeed, at the time of the confusion of tongues, and hence, we have an account of that miraculous interposition. The call of Abram consists of a command and a promise. The command is to leave the place of all his old and fond associations, for a land which he had not yet seen, and therefore did not know. Three ties are to be severed in complying with this command - his country, in the widest range of his affections; his place of birth and kindred comes closer to his heart; his father's house is the inmost circle of all his tender emotions. All these are to be resigned; not, however, without reason. The reason may not be entirely obvious to the mind of Abram. But he has entire faith in the reasonableness of what God proposes. So with reason and faith he is willing to go to the unknown land. It is enough that God will show him the land to which he is now sent.
Gen 12:2-3
The promise corresponds to the command. If he is to lose much by his exile, he will also gain in the end. The promise contains a lower and higher blessing. The lower blessing has three parts: "First, I will make of thee a great nation." This will compensate for the loss of his country. The nation to which he had hitherto belonged was fast sinking into polytheism and idolatry. To escape from it and its defiling influence was itself a benefit; but to be made himself the head of a chosen nation was a double blessing. Secondly, "And bless thee." The place of his birth and kindred was the scene of all his past earthly joys. But the Lord will make up the loss to him in a purer and safer scene of temporal prosperity. Thirdly, "And make thy name great." This was to compensate him for his father's house. He was to be the patriarch of a new house, on account of which he would be known and venerated all over the world.
The higher blessing is expressed in these remarkable terms: "And be thou a blessing." He is to be not merely a subject of blessing, but a medium of blessing to others. It is more blessed to give than to receive. And the Lord here confers on Abram the delightful prerogative of dispensing good to others. The next verse expands this higher element of the divine promise. "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee." Here the Lord identifies the cause of Abram with his own, and declares him to be essentially connected with the weal or woe of all who come into contact with him. "And blessed in thee shall be all the families of the ground." The ground was cursed for the sake of Adam, who fell by transgression. But now shall the ground again participate in the blessing. "In thee." In Abram is this blessing laid up as a treasure hid in a field to be realized in due time. "All the families" of mankind shall ultimately enter into the enjoyment of this unbounded blessing.
Thus, when the Lord saw fit to select a man to preserve vital piety on the earth and be the head of a race suited to be the depository of a revelation of mercy, he at the same time designed that this step should be the means of effectually recalling the sin-enthralled world to the knowledge and love of himself. The race was twice already since the fall put upon its probation - once under the promise of victory to the seed of the woman, and again under the covenant with Noah. In each of these cases, notwithstanding the growing light of revelation and accumulating evidence of the divine forbearance, the race had apostatised from the God of mercy, with lamentably few known exceptions. Yet, undeterred by the gathering tokens of this second apostasy, and after reiterated practical demonstration to all people of the debasing, demoralizing effect of sin, the Lord, with calm determination of purpose, sets about another step in the great process of removing the curse of sin, dispensing the blessing of pardon, and eventually drawing all the nations to accept of his mercy. The special call of Abram contemplates the calling of the Gentiles as its final issue, and is therefore to be regarded as one link in a series of wonderful events by which the legal obstacles to the divine mercy are to be taken out of the way, and the Spirit of the Lord is to prevail with still more and more of men to return to God.
It is sometimes inadvertently said that the Old Testament is narrow and exclusive, while the New Testament is broad and catholic in its spirit. This is a mistake. The Old and New Testaments are of one mind on this matter. Many are called, and few chosen. This is the common doctrine of the New as well as of the Old. They are both equally catholic in proclaiming the gospel to all. The covenant with Adam and with Noah is still valid and sure to all who return to God; and the call of Abram is expressly said to be a means of extending blessing to all the families of man. The New Testament does not aim at anything more than this; it merely hails the approaching accomplishment of the same gracious end. They both concur also in limiting salvation to the few who repent and believe the gospel. Even when Abram was called there were a few who still trusted in the God of mercy. According to the chronology of the Masoretic text, Heber was still alive, Melkizedec was contemporary with Abram, Job was probably later, and many other now unknown witnesses for God were doubtless to be found, down to the time of the exodus, outside the chosen family. God marks the first symptoms of decaying piety. He does not wait until it has died out before he calls Abram. He proceeds in a leisurely, deliberate manner with his eternal purpose of mercy, and hence, a single heir of promise suffices for three generations, until the set time comes for the chosen family and the chosen nation. Universalism, then, in the sense of the offer of mercy to man, is the rule of the Old and the New Testament. Particularism in the acceptance of it is the accident of the time. The call of Abram is a special expedient for providing a salvation that may be offered to all the families of the earth.
In all God's teachings the near and the sensible come before the far and the conceivable, the present and the earthly before the eternal and the heavenly. Thus, Abram's immediate acts of self-denial are leaving his country, his birthplace, his home. The promise to him is to be made a great nation, be blessed, and have a great name in the new land which the Lord would show him. This is unspeakably enhanced by his being made a blessing to all nations. God pursues this mode of teaching for several important reasons. First, the sensible and the present are intelligible to those who are taught. The Great Teacher begins with the known, and leads the mind forward to the unknown. If he had begun with things too high, too deep, or too far for the range of Abram's mental vision, he would not have come into relation with Abram's mind. It is superfluous to say that he might have enlarged Abram's view in proportion to the grandeur of the conceptions to be revealed.
On the same principle he might have made Abram cognizant of all present and all developed truth. On the same principle he might have developed all things in an instant of time, and so have had done with creation and providence at once. Secondly, the present and the sensible are the types of the future and the conceivable; the land is the type of the better land; the nation of the spiritual nation; the temporal blessing of the eternal blessing; the earthly greatness of the name of the heavenly. And let us not suppose that we are arrived at the end of all knowledge. We pique ourselves on our advance in spiritual knowledge beyond the age of Abram. But even we may be in the very infancy of mental development. There may be a land, a nation, a blessing, a great name, of which our present realizations or conceptions are but the types. Any other supposition would be a large abatement from the sweetness of hope's overflowing cup.
Thirdly, these things which God now promises are the immediate form of his bounty, the very gifts he begins at the moment to bestow. God has his gift to Abram ready in his hand in a tangible form. He points to it and says, This is what thou presently needest; this I give thee, with my blessing and favor. But, fourthly, these are the earnest and the germ of all temporal and eternal blessing. Man is a growing thing, whether as an individual or a race. God graduates his benefits according to the condition and capacity of the recipients. In the first boon of his good-will is the earnest of what he will continue to bestow on those who continue to walk in his ways. And as the present is the womb of the future, so is the external the symbol of the internal, the material the shadow of the spiritual, in the order of the divine blessing. And as events unfold themselves in the history of man and conceptions in his soul within, so are doctrines gradually opened up in the Word of God, and progressively revealed to the soul by the Spirit of God.
Gen 12:4-5
Abram obeys the call. He had set out from Ur under the revered guardianship of his aged father, Terah, with other companions, "as the Lord had spoken unto him." Lot is now mentioned as his companion. Terah's death has been already recorded. Sarai is with him, of course, and therefore it is unnecessary to repeat the fact. But Lot is associated with him as an incidental companion for some time longer. The age of Abram at the second stage of his journey is now mentioned. This enables us to determine, as, we have seen, that he departed from Ur five years before.
Gen 12:5
This is the record of what is presumed in the close of Gen 12:4; namely, the second setting out for Kenaan. "Abram took." He is now the leader of the little colony, as Terah was before his death. Sarai, as well as Lot, is now named. "The gaining they had gained" during the five years of their residence in Haran. If Jacob became comparatively rich in six years Gen 30:43, so might Abram, with the divine blessing, in five. "The souls they had gotten" - the bondservants they had acquired. Where there is a large stock of cattle, there must be a corresponding number of servants to attend to them. Abram and Lot enter the land as men of substance. They are in a position of independence. The Lord is realizing to Abram the blessing promised. They start for the land of Kenaan, and at length arrive there. This event is made as important as it ought to be in our minds by the mode in which it is stated.
Gen 12:6-9
Abram does not enter into immediate possession, but only travels through the land which the Lord had promised to show him Gen 12:1. He arrives at "the place of Shekem." The town was probably not yet in existence. It lay between Mount Gerizzim and Mount Ebal. It possesses a special interest as the spot where the Lord first appeared to Abram in the land of promise. It was afterward dedicated to the Lord by being made a Levitical town, and a city of refuge. At this place Joshua convened an assembly of all Israel to hear his farewell address. "So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shekem" Jos. 24:1-25. The particular point in the place of Shekem where Abram halted is the oak of Moreh; so called, probably, from its planter or owner. The oak attains to great antiquity, and a single tree, well grown, becomes conspicuous for its grandeur and beauty, and was often chosen in ancient times as a meeting-place for religious rites.
And the Kenaanite was then in the land. - This simply implies that the land was not open for Abram to enter upon immediate possession of it without challenge. Another was in possession. The sons of Kenaan had already arrived and preoccupied the country. It also intimates, or admits, of the supposition that there had been previous inhabitants who may have been subjugated by the invading Kenaanites. Thus, אן 'āz then alludes to the past, as in Gen 4:26. Some of these former inhabitants will meet us in the course of the narrative. It admits also of the supposition that the Kenaanites afterward ceased to be its inhabitants. Hence, some have inferred that this could not have been penned by Moses, as they were expelled after his death. If this supposition were the necessary or the only one implied in the form of expression, we should acquiesce in the conclusion that this sentence came from one of the prophets to whom the conservation, revision, and continuation of the living oracles were committed. But we have seen that two other presuppositions may be made that satisfy the import of the passage. Moreover, the first of the three accounts for the fact that Abram does not instantly enter on possession, as there was an occupying tenant. And, finally, the third supposition may fairly be, not that the Kenaanites afterward ceased, but that they should afterward cease to be in the land. This, then, as well as the others, admits of Moses being the writer of this interesting sentence.
We are inclined to think, however, that the term "Kenaanite" here means, not the whole race of Kenaan, but the special tribe so called. If the former were meant, the statement would be in a manner superfluous, after calling the country the land of Kenaan. If the proper tribe be intended, then we have evidence here that they once possessed this part of the land which was afterward occupied by the Hivite and the Amorite Gen 34:2; Jos 11:3; for, at the time of the conquest by Abram's descendants, the mountainous land in the center, including the place of Shekem, was occupied by the Amorites and other tribes, while the coast of the Mediterranean and the west bank of the Jordan was held by the Kenaanites proper (Josephus v. 1; xi. 3). This change of occupants had taken place before the time of Moses.
Gen 12:7
And the Lord appeared unto Abram. - Here, for the first time, this remarkable phrase occurs. It indicates that the Lord presents himself to the consciousness of man in any way suitable to his nature. It is not confined to the sight, but may refer to the hearing Sa1 3:15. The possibility of God appearing to man is antecedently undeniable. The fact of his having done so proves the possibility. On the mode of his doing this it is vain for us to speculate. The Lord said unto him, "Unto thy seed will I give this land." "Unto thy seed," not unto thee. To Abram himself "he gave none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on" Act 7:5. "This land" which the Lord had now shown him, though at present occupied by the Kenaanite invader. "An altar." This altar is erected on the spot which is hallowed by the appearance of the Lord to Abram. The place of Shekem might have been supposed to have received its name from Shekem, a son of Gilead Num 26:31, did we not meet with Shekem, the son of Hamor, in this very place in the time of Jacob Gen 34:2. We learn from this the precariousness of the inference that the name of a place is of later origin because a person of that name lived there at a later period. The place of Shekem was doubtless called after a Shekem antecedent to Abram. Shekem and Moreh may have preceded even the Kenaanites, for anything we know.
Gen 12:8-9
From the oak of Moreh Abram now moves to the hill east of Bethel, and pitches his tent, with "Bethel on the west and Ai on the east." These localities are still recognized - the former as Beiten, and the latter as Tell er-Rijmeh (the mount of the heap). Bethel was "a place," adjacent to which was the town called "Luz at the first" Gen 28:19. Jacob gave this name to the place twice Gen 28:19; Gen 35:15. The name, then, was not first given at the second nomination by him. It follows that it may not have been first given at his first nomination. Accordingly we meet with it as an existing name in Abram's time, without being constrained to account for it by supposing the present narrative to have been composed in its present form after the time of Jacob's visit. On the other hand, we may regard it as an interesting trace of early piety having been present in the land even before the arrival of Abram. We shall meet with other corroborating proofs. Bethel continued afterward to be a place hallowed by the presence of God, to which the people resorted for counsel in the war with Benjamin Jdg 20:18, Jdg 20:26, Jdg 20:31; Jdg 21:2, and in which Jeroboam set up one of the golden calves Kg1 12:29.
On the hill east of this sacred ground Abram built another altar; and called upon the name of the Lord. Here we bare the reappearance of an ancient custom, instituted in the family of Adam after the birth of Enok Gen 4:26. Abram addresses God by his proper name, Yahweh, with an audible voice, in his assembled household. This, then, is a continuation of the worship of Adam, with additional light according to the progressive development of the moral nature of man. But Abram has not yet any settled abode in the land. He is only surveying its several regions, and feeding his flocks as he finds an opening. Hence, he continues his journey southward. |
The Scofield Bible Commentary, by Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, [1917] |
Now the Lord
The Fourth Dispensation: Promise. For Abraham, and his descendants it is evident that the Abrahamic Covenant (See Scofield) - (Gen 15:18) made a great change. They became distinctively the heirs of promise. That covenant is wholly gracious and unconditional. The descendants of Abraham had but to abide in their own land to inherit every blessing. In Egypt they lost their blessings, but not their covenant. The Dispensation of Promise ended when Israel rashly accepted the law (Exo 19:8). Grace had prepared a deliverer (Moses), provided a sacrifice for the guilty, and by divine power brought them out of bondage (Exo 19:4) but at Sinai they exchanged grace for law. The Dispensation of Promise extends from (Gen 12:1) to (Exo 19:8); and was exclusively Israelitish. The dispensation must be distinguished from the covenant. The former is a mode of testing; the latter is everlasting because unconditional. The law did not abrogate the Abrahamic Covenant (Gal 3:15-18) but was an intermediate disciplinary dealing "till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made"; (Gal 3:19-29); (Gal 4:1-7). Only the dispensation, as a testing of Israel, ended at the giving of the law.
See, for the other six dispensations:
(See Scofield) - (Gen 8:21).
INNOCENCE
(See Scofield) - (Gen 1:28)
CONSCIENCE
(See Scofield) - (Gen 3:23)
PROMISE
(See Scofield) - (Gen 12:1)
LAW
(See Scofield) - (Exo 19:8)
GRACE
(See Scofield) - (Joh 1:17)
KINGDOM
(See Scofield) - (Eph 1:10). |
Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78] |
The life of Abraham, from his call to his death, consists of four stages, the commencement of each of which is marked by a divine revelation of sufficient importance to constitute a distinct epoch. The first stage (Gen 12-14) commences with his call and removal to Canaan; the second (Gen 15-16), with the promise of a lineal heir and the conclusion of a covenant; the third (Gen 17-21), with the establishment of the covenant, accompanied by a change in his name, and the appointment of the covenant sign of circumcision; the fourth (Gen 22-25:11), with the temptation of Abraham to attest and perfect his life of faith. All the revelations made to him proceed from Jehovah; and the name Jehovah is employed throughout the whole life of the father of the faithful, Elohim being used only where Jehovah, from its meaning, would be either entirely inapplicable, or at any rate less appropriate.
(Note: The hypothesis, that the history is compounded of Jehovistic and Elohistic documents, can only be maintained by those who misunderstand that distinctive meaning of these two names, and arbitrarily set aside the Jehovah in Gen 27:1, on account of an erroneous determination of the relation in which שׁדּי אל stands to יהוה.)
Gen 12:1-3
The Call. - The word of Jehovah, by which Abram was called, contained a command and a promise. Abram was to leave all - his country, his kindred (see Gen 43:7), and his father's house - and to follow the Lord into the land which He would show him. Thus he was to trust entirely to the guidance of God, and to follow wherever He might lead him. But as he went in consequence of this divine summons into the land of Canaan (Gen 12:5), we must assume that God gave him at the very first a distinct intimation, if not of the land itself, at least of the direction he was to take. That Canaan was to be his destination, was no doubt made known as a matter of certainty in the revelation which he received after his arrival there (Gen 12:7). - For thus renouncing and denying all natural ties, the Lord gave him the inconceivably great promise, "I will make of thee a great nation; and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing." The four members of this promise are not to be divided into two parallel members, in which case the athnach would stand in the wrong place; but are to be regarded as an ascending climax, expressing four elements of the salvation promised to Abram, the last of which is still further expanded in Gen 12:3. By placing the athnach under שׁמך the fourth member is marked as a new and independent feature added to the other three. The four distinct elements are - 1. increase into a numerous people; 2. a blessing, that is to say, material and spiritual prosperity; 3. the exaltation of his name, i.e., the elevation of Abram to honour and glory; 4. his appointment to be the possessor and dispenser of the blessing. Abram was not only to receive blessing, but to be a blessing; not only to be blessed by God, but to become a blessing, or the medium of blessing, to others. The blessing, as the more minute definition of the expression "be a blessing" in Gen 12:3 clearly shows, was henceforth to keep pace as it were with Abram himself, so that (1) the blessing and cursing of men were to depend entirely upon their attitude towards him, and (2) all the families of the earth were to be blessed in him. קלּל, lit., to treat as light or little, to despise, denotes "blasphemous cursing on the part of a man;" ארר "judicial cursing on the part of God." It appears significant, however, "that the plural is used in relation to the blessing, and the singular only in relation to the cursing; grace expects that there will be many to bless, and that only an individual here and there will render not blessing for blessing, but curse for curse." - In Gen 12:3 b, Abram, the one, is made a blessing for all. In the word בּך the primary meaning of ב, in, is not to be given up, though the instrumental sense, through, is not to be excluded. Abram was not merely to become a mediator, but the source of blessing for all. The expression "all the families of the ground" points to the division of the one family into many (Gen 10:5, Gen 10:20, Gen 10:31), and the word האדמה to the curse pronounced upon the ground (Gen 3:17). The blessing of Abraham was once more to unite the divided families, and change the curse, pronounced upon the ground on account of sin, into a blessing for the whole human race. This concluding word comprehends all nations and times, and condenses, as Baumgarten has said, the whole fulness of the divine counsel for the salvation of men into the call of Abram. All further promises, therefore, not only to the patriarchs, but also to Israel, were merely expansions and closer definitions of the salvation held out to the whole human race in the first promise. Even the assurance, which Abram received after his entrance into Canaan (Gen 12:6), was implicitly contained in this first promise; since a great nation could not be conceived of, without a country of its own.
This promise was renewed to Abram on several occasions: first after his separation from Lot (Gen 13:14-16), on which occasion, however, the "blessing" was not mentioned, because not required by the connection, and the two elements only, viz., the numerous increase of his seed, and the possession of the land of Canaan, were assured to him and to his seed, and that "for ever;" secondly, in Gen 18:18 somewhat more casually, as a reason for the confidential manner in which Jehovah explained to him the secret of His government; and lastly, at the two principal turning points of his life, where the whole promise was confirmed with the greatest solemnity, viz., in Gen 17 at the commencement of the establishment of the covenant made with him, where "I will make of thee a great nation" was heightened into "I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee," and his being a blessing was more fully defined as the establishment of a covenant, inasmuch as Jehovah would be God to him and to his posterity (Gen 11:3.), and in Gen 22 after the attestation of his faith and obedience, even to the sacrifice of his only son, where the innumerable increase of his seed and the blessing to pass from him to all nations were guaranteed by an oath. The same promise was afterwards renewed to Isaac, with a distinct allusion to the oath (Gen 26:3-4), and again to Jacob, both on his flight from Canaan for fear of Esau (Gen 28:13-14), and on his return thither (Gen 35:11-12). In the case of these renewals, it is only in Gen 28:14 that the last expression, "all the families of the Adamah," is repeated verbatim, though with the additional clause "and in thy seed;" in the other passages "all the nations of the earth" are mentioned, the family connection being left out of sight, and the national character of the blessing being brought into especial prominence. In two instances also, instead of the Niphal נרכוּ we find the Hithpael התבּרכוּ. This change of conjugation by no means proves that the Niphal is to be taken in its original reflective sense. The Hithpael has no doubt the meaning "to wish one's self blessed" (Deu 29:19), with ב of the person from whom the blessing is sought (Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2), or whose blessing is desired (Gen 48:20). But the Niphal נברך has only the passive signification "to be blessed." And the promise not only meant that all families of the earth would wish for the blessing which Abram possessed, but that they would really receive this blessing in Abram and his seed. By the explanation "wish themselves blessed" the point of the promise is broken off; and not only is its connection with the prophecy of Noah respecting Japhet's dwelling in the tents of Shem overlooked, and the parallel between the blessing on all the families of the earth, and the curse pronounced upon the earth after the flood, destroyed, but the actual participation of all the nations of the earth in this blessing is rendered doubtful, and the application of this promise by Peter (Act 3:25) and Paul (Gal 3:8) to all nations, is left without any firm scriptural basis. At the same time, we must not attribute a passive signification on that account to the Hithpael in Gen 22:18 and Gen 24:4. In these passages prominence is given to the subjective attitude of the nations towards the blessing of Abraham-in other words, to the fact that the nations would desire the blessing promised to them in Abraham and his seed. |
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
We have here the call by which Abram was removed out of the land of his nativity into the land of promise, which was designed both to try his faith and obedience, and also to set him apart for God. The circumstances of this call we may be somewhat helped to the knowledge of, from Stephen's speech, Act 7:2, where we are told, That the God of glory appeared to him to give him this call, appeared in such displays of his glory as left Abram no room to doubt. God spake to him after in divers manners: but this first time, when the correspondence was to be settled, he appeared to him as the God of glory, and spake to him. That this call was given him in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, and in obedience to this call, he came out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran or Haran about five years, and from thence, when his father was dead, by a fresh command, he removed him into the land of Canaan. Some think Haran was in Chaldea, and so was still a part of Abram's country; or he having staid there five years, began to call it his country, and to take root there, till God let him know this was not the place he was intended for. Get thee out of thy country - Now, By this precept he was tried whether he loved God better than he loved his native soil, and dearest friends, and whether he could willingly leave all to go along with God. His country was become idolatrous, his kindred and his father's house were a constant temptation to him, and he could not continue with them without danger of being infected by them; therefore get thee out, (Heb.) vade tibi, get thee gone with all speed, escape for thy life, look not behind thee. By this precept he was tried whether he could trust God farther than he saw him, for he must leave his own country to go to a land that God would shew him; he doth not say, 'tis a land that I will give thee nor doth he tell him what land it was, or what kind of land; but he must follow God with an implicit faith, and take God's word for it in the general, though he had no particular securities given him, that he should be no loser by leaving his country to follow God. |
Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
Get thee out of thy country - There is great dissension between commentators concerning the call of Abram; some supposing he had two distinct calls, others that he had but one. At the conclusion of the preceding chapter, Gen 11:31, we find Terah and all his family leaving Ur of the Chaldees, in order to go to Canaan. This was, no doubt, in consequence of some Divine admonition. While resting at Haran, on their road to Canaan, Terah died, Gen 11:32; and then God repeats his call to Abram, and orders him to proceed to Canaan, Gen 12:1.
Dr. Hales, in his Chronology, contends for two calls: "The first," says he, "is omitted in the Old Testament, but is particularly recorded in the New, Act 7:2-4 : The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was (at Ur of the Chaldees) in Mesopotamia, Before He Dwelt In Canaan; and said unto him, Depart from thy land, and from thy kindred, and come into the land (γην, a land) which I will show thee. Hence it is evident that God had called Abram before he came to Haran or Charran." The Second Call is recorded only in this chapter: "The Lord said (not Had said) unto Abram, Depart from thy land, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto The Land, הארץ HA-arets, (Septuagint, Την γην), which I will show thee." "The difference of the two calls," says Dr. Hales, "more carefully translated from the originals, is obvious: in the former the land is indefinite, which was designed only for a temporary residence; in the latter it is definite, intimating his abode. A third condition is also annexed to the latter, that Abram shall now separate himself from his father's house, or leave his brother Nahor's family behind at Charran. This call Abram obeyed, still not knowing whither he was going, but trusting implicitly to the Divine guidance."
Thy kindred - Nahor and the different branches of the family of Terah, Abram and Lot excepted. That Nahor went with Terah and Abram as far as Padan-Aram, in Mesopotamia, and settled there, so that it was afterwards called Nahor's city, is sufficiently evident from the ensuing history, see Gen 25:20; Gen 24:10, Gen 24:15; and that the same land was Haran, see Gen 28:2, Gen 28:10, and there were Abram's kindred and country here spoken of, Gen 24:4.
Thy father's house - Terah being now dead, it is very probable that the family were determined to go no farther, but to settle at Charran; and as Abram might have felt inclined to stop with them in this place, hence the ground and necessity of the second call recorded here, and which is introduced in a very remarkable manner; לך לך lech lecha, Go For Thyself. If none of the family will accompany thee, yet go for thyself unto That Land which I will show thee. God does not tell him what land it is, that he may still cause him to walk by faith and not by sight. This seems to be particularly alluded to by Isaiah, Isa 41:2 : Who raised up the righteous man (Abram) from the east, and called him to his foot; that is, to follow implicitly the Divine direction. The apostle assures us that in all this Abram had spiritual views; he looked for a better country, and considered the land of promise only as typical of the heavenly inheritance. |
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].
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]:
26 And to Seth [08352], to him [01931] also there was born [03205] a son [01121]; and he called [07121] his name [08034] Enos [0583]: then began men [02490] to call [07121] upon the name [08034] of the LORD [03068].
29 And he set [07760] the one [0259] in Bethel [01008], and the other [0259] put [05414] he in Dan [01835].
2 And the people [05971] came [0935] to the house [01004] of God [0430] [01008], and abode [03427] there till even [06153] before [06440] God [0430], and lifted up [05375] their voices [06963], and wept [01058] [01065] sore [01419];
31 And the children [01121] of Benjamin [01144] went out [03318] against [07125] the people [05971], and were drawn away [05423] from the city [05892]; and they began [02490] to smite [05221] of the people [05971], and kill [02491], as at other times [06471], in the highways [04546], of which one [0259] goeth up [05927] to the house [01004] of God [0430] [01008], and the other [0259] to Gibeah [01390] in the field [07704], about thirty [07970] men [0376] of Israel [03478].
26 Then all the children [01121] of Israel [03478], and all the people [05971], went up [05927], and came [0935] unto the house [01004] of God [0430] [01008], and wept [01058], and sat [03427] there before [06440] the LORD [03068], and fasted [06684] that day [03117] until even [06153], and offered [05927] burnt offerings [05930] and peace offerings [08002] before [06440] the LORD [03068].
18 And the children [01121] of Israel [03478] arose [06965], and went up [05927] to the house [01004] of God [0430] [01008], and asked [07592] counsel of God [0430], and said [0559], Which [04310] of us shall go up [05927] first [08462] to the battle [04421] against the children [01121] of Benjamin [01144]? And the LORD [03068] said [0559], Judah [03063] shall go up first [08462].
15 And Jacob [03290] called [07121] the name [08034] of the place [04725] where God [0430] spake [01696] with him, Bethel [01008].
19 And he called [07121] the name [08034] of that place [04725] Bethel [01008]: but [0199] the name [08034] of that city [05892] was called Luz [03870] at the first [07223].
19 And he called [07121] the name [08034] of that place [04725] Bethel [01008]: but [0199] the name [08034] of that city [05892] was called Luz [03870] at the first [07223].
8 And he removed [06275] from thence unto a mountain [02022] on the east [06924] of Bethel [01008], and pitched [05186] his tent [0168], having Bethel [01008] on the west [03220], and Hai [05857] on the east [06924]: and there he builded [01129] an altar [04196] unto the LORD [03068], and called [07121] upon the name [08034] of the LORD [03068].
9 And Abram [087] journeyed [05265], going on [01980] still [05265] toward the south [05045].
2 And when Shechem [07927] the son [01121] of Hamor [02544] the Hivite [02340], prince [05387] of the country [0776], saw [07200] her, he took [03947] her, and lay [07901] with her, and defiled her [06031].
31 And of Asriel [0844], the family [04940] of the Asrielites [0845]: and of Shechem [07928], the family [04940] of the Shechemites [07930]:
5 And [2532] he gave [1325] him [846] none [3756] inheritance [2817] in [1722] it [846], no, not [3761] so much as to set [968] his foot [4228] on [968]: yet [2532] he promised [1861] that he would give [1325] it [846] to him [846] for [1519] a possession [2697], and [2532] to his [846] seed [4690] after [3326] him [846], when as yet he [846] had [5607] no [3756] child [5043].
15 And Samuel [08050] lay [07901] until the morning [01242], and opened [06605] the doors [01817] of the house [01004] of the LORD [03068]. And Samuel [08050] feared [03372] to shew [05046] Eli [05941] the vision [04759].
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.
3 And to the Canaanite [03669] on the east [04217] and on the west [03220], and to the Amorite [0567], and the Hittite [02850], and the Perizzite [06522], and the Jebusite [02983] in the mountains [02022], and to the Hivite [02340] under Hermon [02768] in the land [0776] of Mizpeh [04709].
2 And when Shechem [07927] the son [01121] of Hamor [02544] the Hivite [02340], prince [05387] of the country [0776], saw [07200] her, he took [03947] her, and lay [07901] with her, and defiled her [06031].
26 And to Seth [08352], to him [01931] also there was born [03205] a son [01121]; and he called [07121] his name [08034] Enos [0583]: then began men [02490] to call [07121] upon the name [08034] of the LORD [03068].
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:
6 And Abram [087] passed through [05674] the land [0776] unto the place [04725] of Sichem [07927], unto the plain [0436] of Moreh [04176]. And the Canaanite [03669] was then [0227] in the land [0776].
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.
8 And he removed [06275] from thence unto a mountain [02022] on the east [06924] of Bethel [01008], and pitched [05186] his tent [0168], having Bethel [01008] on the west [03220], and Hai [05857] on the east [06924]: and there he builded [01129] an altar [04196] unto the LORD [03068], and called [07121] upon the name [08034] of the LORD [03068].
9 And Abram [087] journeyed [05265], going on [01980] still [05265] toward the south [05045].
43 And the man [0376] increased [06555] exceedingly [03966] [03966], and had much [07227] cattle [06629], and maidservants [08198], and menservants [05650], and camels [01581], and asses [02543].
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].
5 And Abram [087] took [03947] Sarai [08297] his wife [0802], and Lot [03876] his brother's [0251] son [01121], and all their substance [07399] that they had gathered [07408], and the souls [05315] that they had gotten [06213] in Haran [02771]; and they went forth [03318] to go [03212] into the land [0776] of Canaan [03667]; and into the land [0776] of Canaan [03667] they came [0935].
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].
5 And Abram [087] took [03947] Sarai [08297] his wife [0802], and Lot [03876] his brother's [0251] son [01121], and all their substance [07399] that they had gathered [07408], and the souls [05315] that they had gotten [06213] in Haran [02771]; and they went forth [03318] to go [03212] into the land [0776] of Canaan [03667]; and into the land [0776] of Canaan [03667] they came [0935].
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].
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].
10 That in [1519] the dispensation [3622] of the fulness [4138] of times [2540] he might gather together in one [346] all things [3956] in [1722] Christ [5547], both [5037] which [3588] are in [1722] heaven [3772], and [2532] which [3588] are on [1909] earth [1093]; even in [1722] him [846]:
17 For [3754] the law [3551] was given [1325] by [1223] Moses [3475], but grace [5485] and [2532] truth [225] came [1096] by [1223] Jesus [2424] Christ [5547].
8 And all the people [05971] answered [06030] together [03162], and said [0559], All that the LORD [03068] hath spoken [01696] we will do [06213]. And Moses [04872] returned [07725] the words [01697] of the people [05971] unto the LORD [03068].
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:
23 Therefore the LORD [03068] God [0430] sent him forth [07971] from the garden [01588] of Eden [05731], to till [05647] the ground [0127] from whence he was taken [03947].
28 And God [0430] blessed [01288] them, and God [0430] said [0559] unto them, Be fruitful [06509], and multiply [07235], and replenish [04390] the earth [0776], and subdue it [03533]: and have dominion [07287] over the fish [01710] of the sea [03220], and over the fowl [05775] of the air [08064], and over every living thing [02416] that moveth [07430] upon the earth [0776].
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].
1 Now [1161] I say [3004], That the heir [2818], as long as [1909] [3745] [5550] he is [2076] a child [3516], differeth [1308] nothing [3762] from a servant [1401], though he be [5607] lord [2962] of all [3956];
2 But [235] is [2076] under [5259] tutors [2012] and [2532] governors [3623] until [891] the time appointed [4287] of the father [3962].
3 Even [2532] so [3779] we [2249], when [3753] we were [2258] children [3516], were [2258] in bondage [1402] under [5259] the elements [4747] of the world [2889]:
4 But [1161] when [3753] the fulness [4138] of the time [5550] was come [2064], God [2316] sent forth [1821] his [846] Son [5207], made [1096] of [1537] a woman [1135], made [1096] under [5259] the law [3551],
5 To [2443] redeem [1805] them that were under [5259] the law [3551], that [2443] we might receive [618] the adoption of sons [5206].
6 And [1161] because [3754] ye are [2075] sons [5207], God [2316] hath sent forth [1821] the Spirit [4151] of his [846] Son [5207] into [1519] your [5216] hearts [2588], crying [2896], Abba [5], Father [3962].
7 Wherefore [5620] thou art [1488] no more [3765] a servant [1401], but [235] a son [5207]; and [1161] if [1487] a son [5207], then [2532] an heir [2818] of God [2316] through [1223] Christ [5547].
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].
20 Now [1161] a mediator [3316] is [2076] not [3756] a mediator of one [1520], but [1161] God [2316] is [2076] one [1520].
21 Is the law [3551] then [3767] against [2596] the promises [1860] of God [2316]? God forbid [3361] [1096]: for [1063] if [1487] there had been [1325] a law [3551] given [1325] which [3588] could [1410] have given life [2227], verily [3689] righteousness [1343] should [302] have been [2258] by [1537] the law [3551].
22 But [235] the scripture [1124] hath concluded [4788] all [3956] under [5259] sin [266], that [2443] the promise [1860] by [1537] faith [4102] of Jesus [2424] Christ [5547] might be given [1325] to them that believe [4100].
23 But [1161] before [4253] faith [4102] came [2064], we were kept [5432] under [5259] the law [3551], shut up [4788] unto [1519] the faith [4102] which should afterwards [3195] be revealed [601].
24 Wherefore [5620] the law [3551] was [1096] our [2257] schoolmaster [3807] to bring us unto [1519] Christ [5547], that [2443] we might be justified [1344] by [1537] faith [4102].
25 But [1161] after that faith [4102] is come [2064], we are [2070] no longer [2089] [3765] under [5259] a schoolmaster [3807].
26 For [1063] ye are [2075] all [3956] the children [5207] of God [2316] by [1223] faith [4102] in [1722] Christ [5547] Jesus [2424].
27 For [1063] as many of you as [3745] have been baptized [907] into [1519] Christ [5547] have put on [1746] Christ [5547].
28 There is [1762] neither [3756] Jew [2453] nor [3761] Greek [1672], there is [1762] neither [3756] bond [1401] nor [3761] free [1658], there is [1762] neither [3756] male [730] nor [2532] female [2338]: for [1063] ye [5210] are [2075] all [3956] one [1520] in [1722] Christ [5547] Jesus [2424].
29 And [1161] if [1487] ye [5210] be Christ's [5547], then [686] are ye [2075] Abraham's [11] seed [4690], and [2532] heirs [2818] according [2596] to the promise [1860].
15 Brethren [80], I speak [3004] after the manner of [2596] men [444]; Though it be but [3676] a man's [444] covenant [1242], yet if it be confirmed [2964], no man [3762] disannulleth [114], or [2228] addeth thereto [1928].
16 Now [1161] to Abraham [11] and [2532] his [846] seed [4690] were [4483] the promises [1860] made [4483]. He saith [3004] not [3756], And [2532] to seeds [4690], as [5613] of [1909] many [4183]; but [235] as [5613] of [1909] one [1520], And [2532] to thy [4675] seed [4690], which [3739] is [2076] Christ [5547].
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].
18 For [1063] if [1487] the inheritance [2817] be of [1537] the law [3551], it is no more [3765] of [1537] promise [1860]: but [1161] God [2316] gave [5483] it to Abraham [11] by [1223] promise [1860].
8 And all the people [05971] answered [06030] together [03162], and said [0559], All that the LORD [03068] hath spoken [01696] we will do [06213]. And Moses [04872] returned [07725] the words [01697] of the people [05971] unto the LORD [03068].
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:
4 Ye have seen [07200] what I did [06213] unto the Egyptians [04714], and how I bare [05375] you on eagles [05404]' wings [03671], and brought [0935] you unto myself.
8 And all the people [05971] answered [06030] together [03162], and said [0559], All that the LORD [03068] hath spoken [01696] we will do [06213]. And Moses [04872] returned [07725] the words [01697] of the people [05971] unto the LORD [03068].
18 In the same [01931] day [03117] the LORD [03068] made [03772] a covenant [01285] with Abram [087], saying [0559], Unto thy seed [02233] have I given [05414] this land [0776], from the river [05104] of Egypt [04714] unto the great [01419] river [05104], the river [05104] Euphrates [06578]:
4 But thou shalt go [03212] unto my country [0776], and to my kindred [04138], and take [03947] a wife [0802] unto my son [01121] Isaac [03327].
18 And in thy seed [02233] shall all the nations [01471] of the earth [0776] be blessed [01288]; because [0834] [06118] thou hast obeyed [08085] my voice [06963].
8 And [1161] the scripture [1124], foreseeing [4275] that [3754] God [2316] would justify [1344] the heathen [1484] through [1537] faith [4102], preached before the gospel [4283] unto Abraham [11], saying, [3754] In [1722] thee [4671] shall [1757] all [3956] nations [1484] be blessed [1757].
25 Ye [5210] are [2075] the children [5207] of the prophets [4396], and [2532] of the covenant [1242] which [3739] God [2316] made [1303] with [4314] our [2257] fathers [3962], saying [3004] unto [4314] Abraham [11], And [2532] in thy [4675] seed [4690] shall [1757] all [3956] the kindreds [3965] of the earth [1093] be blessed [1757].
20 And he blessed [01288] them that day [03117], saying [0559], In thee shall Israel [03478] bless [01288], saying [0559], God [0430] make [07760] thee as Ephraim [0669] and as Manasseh [04519]: and he set [07760] Ephraim [0669] before [06440] Manasseh [04519].
2 And thou shalt swear [07650], The LORD [03068] liveth [02416], in truth [0571], in judgment [04941], and in righteousness [06666]; and the nations [01471] shall bless [01288] themselves in him, and in him shall they glory [01984].
16 That he who blesseth [01288] himself in the earth [0776] shall bless [01288] himself in the God [0430] of truth [0543]; and he that sweareth [07650] in the earth [0776] shall swear [07650] by the God [0430] of truth [0543]; because the former [07223] troubles [06869] are forgotten [07911], and because they are hid [05641] from mine eyes [05869].
19 And it come to pass, when he heareth [08085] the words [01697] of this curse [0423], that he bless [01288] himself in his heart [03824], saying [0559], I shall have peace [07965], though [03588] I walk [03212] in the imagination [08307] of mine heart [03820], to add [05595] drunkenness [07302] to thirst [06771]:
14 And thy seed [02233] shall be as the dust [06083] of the earth [0776], and thou shalt spread abroad [06555] to the west [03220], and to the east [06924], and to the north [06828], and to the south [05045]: and in thee and in thy seed [02233] shall all the families [04940] of the earth [0127] be blessed [01288].
11 And God [0430] said [0559] unto him, I am God [0410] Almighty [07706]: be fruitful [06509] and multiply [07235]; a nation [01471] and a company [06951] of nations [01471] shall be of thee, and kings [04428] shall come [03318] out of thy loins [02504];
12 And the land [0776] which I gave [05414] Abraham [085] and Isaac [03327], to thee I will give it [05414], and to thy seed [02233] after thee [0310] will I give [05414] the land [0776].
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];
14 And thy seed [02233] shall be as the dust [06083] of the earth [0776], and thou shalt spread abroad [06555] to the west [03220], and to the east [06924], and to the north [06828], and to the south [05045]: and in thee and in thy seed [02233] shall all the families [04940] of the earth [0127] be blessed [01288].
3 Sojourn [01481] in this land [0776], and I will be with thee, and will bless [01288] thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed [02233], I will give [05414] all these [0411] countries [0776], and I will perform [06965] the oath [07621] which I sware [07650] unto Abraham [085] thy father [01];
4 And I will make [07235] thy seed [02233] to multiply [07235] as the stars [03556] of heaven [08064], and will give [05414] unto thy seed [02233] all these [0411] countries [0776]; and in thy seed [02233] shall all the nations [01471] of the earth [0776] be blessed [01288];
3 And they said [0559] one [0376] to another [07453], Go to [03051], let us make [03835] brick [03843], and burn [08313] them throughly [08316]. And they had brick [03843] for stone [068], and slime [02564] had [01961] they for morter [02563].
18 Seeing that Abraham [085] shall surely become a great [01419] and mighty [06099] nation [01471], and all the nations [01471] of the earth [0776] shall be blessed [01288] in him?
14 And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto Abram [087], after [0310] that Lot [03876] was separated [06504] from him, Lift up [05375] now thine eyes [05869], and look [07200] from the place [04725] where thou art northward [06828], and southward [05045], and eastward [06924], and westward [03220]:
15 For all the land [0776] which thou seest [07200], to thee will I give it [05414], and to thy seed [02233] for [05704] ever [05769].
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].
6 And Abram [087] passed through [05674] the land [0776] unto the place [04725] of Sichem [07927], unto the plain [0436] of Moreh [04176]. And the Canaanite [03669] was then [0227] in the land [0776].
17 And unto Adam [0121] he said [0559], Because thou hast hearkened [08085] unto the voice [06963] of thy wife [0802], and hast eaten [0398] of the tree [06086], of which [0834] I commanded thee [06680], saying [0559], Thou shalt not eat [0398] of it: cursed [0779] is the ground [0127] for thy sake; in sorrow [06093] shalt thou eat [0398] of it all [03605] the days [03117] of thy life [02416];
31 These are the sons [01121] of Shem [08035], after their families [04940], after their tongues [03956], in their lands [0776], after their nations [01471].
20 These are the sons [01121] of Ham [02526], after their families [04940], after their tongues [03956], in their countries [0776], and in their nations [01471].
5 By these were the isles [0339] of the Gentiles [01471] divided in [06504] their lands [0776]; every one [0376] after his tongue [03956], after their families [04940], in their nations [01471].
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].
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].
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].
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.
5 And Abram [087] took [03947] Sarai [08297] his wife [0802], and Lot [03876] his brother's [0251] son [01121], and all their substance [07399] that they had gathered [07408], and the souls [05315] that they had gotten [06213] in Haran [02771]; and they went forth [03318] to go [03212] into the land [0776] of Canaan [03667]; and into the land [0776] of Canaan [03667] they came [0935].
7 And they said [0559], The man [0376] asked [07592] us straitly [07592] of our state, and of our kindred [04138], saying [0559], Is your father [01] yet alive [02416]? have ye [03426] another brother [0251]? and we told [05046] him according [05921] to the tenor [06310] of these words [01697]: could we certainly [03045] know [03045] that he would say [0559], Bring [03381] your brother [0251] down [03381]?
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].
1 And it came to pass [01961], that when Isaac [03327] was old [02204], and his eyes [05869] were dim [03543], so that he could not see [07200], he called [07121] Esau [06215] his eldest [01419] son [01121], and said [0559] unto him, My son [01121]: and he said [0559] unto him, Behold, here am I.
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],
2 Who raised up [05782] the righteous [06664] man from the east [04217], called [07121] him to his foot [07272], gave [05414] the nations [01471] before [06440] him, and made him rule [07287] over kings [04428]? he gave [05414] them as the dust [06083] to his sword [02719], and as driven [05086] stubble [07179] to his bow [07198].
4 But thou shalt go [03212] unto my country [0776], and to my kindred [04138], and take [03947] a wife [0802] unto my son [01121] Isaac [03327].
10 And Jacob [03290] went out [03318] from Beersheba [0884], and went [03212] toward Haran [02771].
2 Arise [06965], go [03212] to Padanaram [06307], to the house [01004] of Bethuel [01328] thy mother's [0517] father [01]; and take [03947] thee a wife [0802] from thence of the daughters [01323] of Laban [03837] thy mother's [0517] brother [0251].
15 And it came to pass, before he had done [03615] speaking [01696], that, behold, Rebekah [07259] came out [03318], who [0834] was born [03205] to Bethuel [01328], son [01121] of Milcah [04435], the wife [0802] of Nahor [05152], Abraham's [085] brother [0251], with her pitcher [03537] upon her shoulder [07926].
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].
20 And Isaac [03327] was forty [0705] years [08141] old [01121] when he took [03947] Rebekah [07259] to wife [0802], the daughter [01323] of Bethuel [01328] the Syrian [0761] of Padanaram [06307], the sister [0269] to Laban [03837] the Syrian [0761].
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].
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:
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.