Genesis — Chapter 12
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1Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you.
2I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
4So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
5And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,
6Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land.
7Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
8From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD.
9And Abram journeyed on toward the Negev.
10Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
11As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman,
12and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live.
13Please say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and on account of you my life will be spared.”
14So when Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
15When Pharaoh’s officials saw Sarai, they commended her to him, and she was taken into the palace of Pharaoh.
16He treated Abram well on her account, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.
17The LORD, however, afflicted Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife Sarai.
18So Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?
19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!”
20Then Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram, and they sent him away with his wife and all his possessions.
1Now 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:
2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
4So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
6And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
7And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
8And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.
9And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.
10And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.
11And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:
12Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
13Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
14And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.
15The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
16And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.
17And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife.
18And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
19Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.
20And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.
1Now Jehovah said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father`s house, unto the land that I will show thee:
2and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make they name great; and be thou a blessing;
3and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
4So Abram went, as Jehovah had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother`s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
6And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the oak of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
7And Jehovah appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto Jehovah, who appeared unto him.
8And he removed from thence unto the mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Ai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto Jehovah, and called upon the name of Jehovah.
9And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.
10And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was sore in the land.
11And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:
12and it will come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they will say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
13Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister; that it may be well with me for thy sake, and that my soul may live because of thee.
14And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.
15And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh`s house.
16And he dealt well with Abram for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels.
17And Jehovah plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram`s wife.
18And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
19why saidst thou, She is my sister, so that I took her to be my wife? now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.
20And Pharaoh gave men charge concerning him: and they brought him on the way, and his wife, and all that he had.
1Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go out from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household to the land that I will show you.
2Then I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, so that you will exemplify divine blessing.
3I will bless those who bless you, but the one who treats you lightly I must curse, so that all the families of the earth may receive blessing through you.”
4So Abram left, just as the Lord had told him to do, and Lot went with him. (Now Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran.)
5And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they left for the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan.
6Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree of Moreh at Shechem. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.)
7The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
8Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord.
9Abram continually journeyed by stages down to the Negev.
10There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to stay for a while because the famine was severe.
11As he approached Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman.
12When the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will keep you alive.
13So tell them you are my sister so that it may go well for me because of you and my life will be spared on account of you.”
14When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
15When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. So Abram’s wife was taken into the household of Pharaoh,
16and he did treat Abram well on account of her. Abram received sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
17But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe diseases because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
18So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife?
19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take her and go!”
20Pharaoh gave his men orders about Abram, and so they expelled him, along with his wife and all his possessions.
1Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you.
2I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing.
3I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treates you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
4So Abram went, as Yahweh had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother’s son, all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they went to go into the land of Canaan. They entered into the land of Canaan.
6Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time, Canaanites were in the land.
7Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” He built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.
8He left from there to go to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to Yahweh and called on Yahweh’s name.
9Abram traveled, still going on toward the South.
10There was a famine in the land. Abram went down into Egypt to live as a foreigner there, for the famine was severe in the land.
11When he had come near to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look at.
12It will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me, but they will save you alive.
13Please say that you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you.”
14When Abram had come into Egypt, Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
15The princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
16He dealt well with Abram for her sake. He had sheep, cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
17Yahweh afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
18Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife?
19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now therefore, see your wife, take her, and go your way.”
20Pharaoh commanded men concerning him, and they escorted him away with his wife and all that he had.
Summary
The Lord calls Abram to leave his country, relatives, and father's household for a land He will show him, promising to make him a great nation, bless him, and make his name great, so that all the families of the earth will be blessed through him (vv. 1-3). Abram obeys at seventy-five years old, taking Sarai and Lot with him into Canaan, where the Lord appears and promises the land to his offspring, and Abram builds altars at Shechem and Bethel (vv. 4-9). A famine drives Abram to Egypt, where fear leads him to tell Pharaoh that Sarai is his sister rather than his wife; Pharaoh takes her into his household but is struck with plagues, discovers the deception, and sends Abram away (vv. 10-20).
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Abram's route: Ur → Haran → Shechem → Bethel → Negev → Egypt. This traces the entire Fertile Crescent and into North Africa.
- Shechem (v.6) — the first named place in Canaan where God appears to Abram. Located in the central hill country between Mount Ebal and Gerizim.
- Bethel (v.8) — meaning "house of God," between Bethel and Ai in the central highlands. A recurring worship site throughout Genesis.
- Egypt (v.10) — Abram goes south due to famine; Egypt's Nile-fed agriculture made it a refuge during Canaanite droughts.
Places on this map
- HarranHarran, TurkeyA caravan town on the Balikh, a tributary of the Euphrates in northern Mesopotamia. Abraham's family stopped here on the way from Ur, and it stayed the family's home ground: Isaac's and Jacob's wives were both fetched from it. Wikipedia
- ShechemTell Balata, Nablus, West BankIn the pass between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, the natural east-west crossing of the central hills. Abraham's first altar, Joseph's burial and Joshua's covenant renewal all happen here, which made it the north's answer to Jerusalem. Wikipedia
- BethelBeitin, West BankA ridge-road town about 11 miles north of Jerusalem, where Jacob dreamed of the stairway and named the place house of God. Jeroboam later put one of his two golden calves here precisely because pilgrims already came. Wikipedia
- EgyptEgyptA ribbon of irrigated land along the Nile, ending in the Delta where Israel settled in Goshen. Rain-fed Canaan depended on weather; Egypt depended on a river that flooded on schedule, which made it the place everyone went when the harvest failed. Wikipedia
- CanaanIsrael, West Bank, LebanonThe land bridge between Egypt and Mesopotamia, which is why armies crossed it for three thousand years. Within about 60 miles it goes from coastal plain to hill country to rift valley to desert plateau, so control of it was always local and piecemeal. Wikipedia
- NileEgyptEgypt's only real water source, flooding every summer and leaving the silt that made the valley farmable. Because the whole country depended on it, turning it to blood was an attack on Egypt's economy and its gods at once. Wikipedia
- UrTell el-Muqayyar, IraqA Sumerian city near the lower Euphrates, once close to the head of the Persian Gulf before the coastline moved. Leaving it for Canaan meant leaving one of the most developed places on earth for hill country. Wikipedia
- Negevsouthern IsraelThe arid triangle south of the Judean hills, grazing land in a good year and desert in a bad one. Hebrew uses the same word for it as for the direction south. Wikipedia
- Mount EbalNablus, West BankThe bare northern side of the Shechem pass, 3,080 feet. The curses of the covenant were read from this side, facing Gerizim across the valley, in a natural amphitheatre with remarkable acoustics. Wikipedia
- Mount GerizimNablus, West BankThe southern side of the same pass and the mountain of blessing. Samaritans built their temple on it and still worship there, which is the this mountain of the woman at the well. Wikipedia
- Aiet-Tell, West BankA small site east of Bethel, taken on the second attempt after the defeat over Achan's theft. Which ruin is Ai remains disputed, since et-Tell appears to have been unoccupied at the likely date. Wikipedia
Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik covers the call, the sevenfold promise, Abram's obedience, and the Egypt failure.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- BibleProject: bibleproject.com On the whole book: how its opening chapters work as literature and how they set up everything that follows.
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Genesis -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- Called to Leave Before Seeing (v.1) — God calls Abram to leave his country, kindred, and father's house for a land he hasn't yet seen. Has God ever called you to step out without knowing the destination, and did you obey before seeing, or wait until it was safe?
- Blessed to Be a Blessing (v.3) — God's promise to Abram reaches beyond his own family to all the families of the earth. How are you actively participating in God's plan to bless others through what He's given you?
- Immediate Obedience (v.4) — Abram departs simply because the LORD had spoken, without recorded hesitation or negotiation. When God makes His direction clear to you, do you move, or do you delay and make excuses?
- Marking the Journey With Worship (vv.7-8) — Abram builds altars at Shechem and Bethel, marking each new stage of his journey with worship rather than just settling in. Do you mark the new seasons of your life with deliberate worship, or let them pass unmarked?
- Fear Displacing Trust in Egypt (vv.10-20) — Facing famine, Abram lies about Sarai out of fear, and God has to intervene to protect His own promise. Where does fear tempt you to compromise your integrity, and can you trust God to protect His purposes even when you falter?