For this end God's purpose was to choose and adopt one family, afterwards to be formed into a nation, instructed in religious knowledge by the Lord himself, and favoured with such extraordinary privileges and honours above all other nations of the earth, as were adapted to engage them, by the most rational motives, to adhere to God and his worship. Abram set up his altar along the line of his march. But by faith he saw his father-land, his home, in the promise of God. Thy kindred - Nahor and the different branches of the family of Terah, Abram and Lot excepted. Hebrews 11:14. שׁכם shekem Shekem, "the upper part of the back." The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. Wherefore, if we desire to follow God with constancy, it behaves us carefully to meditate on all the inconveniences, all the difficulties, all the dangers which await us; that not only a hasty zeal may produce fading flowers, but that from a deep and well-fixed root of piety, we may bring forth fruit in our whole life. In whatever way it was made to him-whether in a dream, by a vision, or by a visible manifestation (the language of Stephen (Acts 7:2) implies that it was some glorious theophany, perhaps like the supernatural light and words that suddenly converted Paul-a miracle well adapted to the conceptions of a Zabian idolater) - Abram was thoroughly persuaded that it was a divine communication; and it was probably accompanied by such special instructions as to the being and character of the Most High God, the possessor of heaven and earth," as carried conviction to his understanding and heart. II. [Note: Pentecost, p60. The faith of humble Christians understands this better than the fancy of the most learned men. So, when from duty and loyalty to Christ, we make sacrifices, etc., the possessions will often seem peculiarly fascinating, just when we are to part with them. Get thee out = Go for thyself, i.e. Genesis 1:2). Abram obeys, Genesis 12:4-6. 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. It is the word translated “nativity” in Genesis 11:28. where its meaning is settled by the prefixed “land;” and the sense is probably the same here. The same Maimonides (w) calls Zabaeans, in whose faith and religion, he says, Abram was brought up, and who asserted there was no other God but the sun, moon, and stars; and these Zabaeans, as he relates from their books and annals, say of Abram themselves, that he was educated in Cuthia, and dissented from the common people; and asserted, that besides the sun, there was another Creator; to whom they objected, and so disputes arose among them on this subject: now Abram being convinced of idolatry, is called out from those people, and to have no fellowship with them; it is literally in the Hebrew text (x), "go to thee out of thy country"; for thy profit and good, as Jarchi interprets it; as it must be to quit all society with such an idolatrous and superstitious people: and from thy kindred; as Nahor his brother, and his family, who are not mentioned, and seem to be left behind when Terah, Abram, Lot, and Sarai, came out of Ur of the Chaldees; though it looks as if afterwards Nahor did follow them to Haran or Padanaram, which are the same, and where he continued, and therefore is called his city; see Genesis 24:10 so with great propriety Abram might be called a second time to leave his kindred as well as his country; and certain it is, Haran, or Padanaram, as well as Ur of the Chaldees, is called by himself his country, and Nahor and his family his kindred, Genesis 24:4. and from thy father's house; or household, his family, which better agrees with the second call at Haran, than with the first at Ur; for, upon the first call, Terah and his family came along with Abram, and therefore this phrase is omitted by Stephen, who speaks of that call, Acts 7:3 but Terah dying at Haran, his house or family went no further, but continued there with Nahor; only Abram and Lot, upon this second call, went from thence, as the following history makes it appear; and so Abram left, as he was bid, his father's house and family to go, as it follows: unto a land that I will show thee; meaning the land of Canaan, though not mentioned, and seems to be omitted for the trial of Abram's faith; hence the author of the epistle to the Hebrews, Hebrews 11:8 observes, that "he obeyed and went out, not knowing whither he went"; and yet it is said, that, when he and Terah came out of Ur of the Chaldees, "they went forth to go into the land of Canaan", Genesis 11:31 and, when he and Lot went first from Haran, the same is said of them, Genesis 12:5 it is probable the case was this; there was no mention made at first what land he was to go to, and when he prepared for his journey he knew not where he was to go, but afterwards it was revealed to him that Canaan was the land, and therefore set out in order to go thither; and still, though he might know the place by name where he was to go, he might neither know the way to it, nor what sort of country it was for quality or quantity; and therefore God promises to show him the way, and direct his course right unto it, and give him a view of it, that he might see what sort of a country, and how large it was, that he would give to his posterity. Having brought the affairs of Terah's family to a fit resting point, the sacred writer now reverts to the call of Abram. Pharaoh kind to Abram for her sake, Genesis 12:16. Scripture prophesies that a godly remnant of Israel will be the ultimate possessors of the land at the second coming ( Ezekiel 20:33-38)." 2 I will make of you a great nation. Here the name of a man who owned the oak that marked the spot. God exiled Abraham from Ur of the Chaldeans and then from Haran across the Euphrates River. [Genesis 31:30; Genesis 31:53 Joshua 24:2] Many follow God as Samson did his parents, till he light upon a honeycomb; or as a dog doth his master, till he meet with carrion; and then turn him up. The Substance of God’s call to Abraham.—(a) He was called from rest to pilgrimage.—From his country and kindred and father’s house, to undertake lifelong journeying. Abram as a man of human sympathies, which, by the long-cherished associations of childhood and youth, must have strongly attached him to the people and soil of his native land, was required to make a sacrifice which he must have felt to be a great and a painful one. in what sense is the Abrahamic covenant [ch15] unconditional? 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. This, we have seen, took place when he was seventy years of age, and therefore five years before the death of Terah. 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.) He advises Sarai to equivocate, Genesis 12:11-13. מורה môreh In Onkelos "plain;" Moreh, "archer, early rain, teacher." It is a dismal history that includes the Fall (chapter 3), the murder of Abel (4:1-16), wickedness and … See also Robert B. Chisholm, ". ), and in Genesis 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. Eundum quocunque Deus vocarit, saith another, etiamsi in ea loca migrandum esset -. He that will be Christ’s disciple here, and co-heir hereafter, must deny himself; that is an indispensable duty. There is no new beginning; but having briefly sketched the family from which Abram sprang, and indicated that he had inherited from them the right of primogeniture, the narrative next proceeds to the primary purpose of the Tôldóth Terah, which is to show how in Abram Jehovah prepared for the fulfilment, through Israel, of the prote-vangelium contained in the promise made to Eve at the fall (Genesis 3:15). But it was not corrupt in quite the same sense. The call of Abram consists of a command and a promise. The promise to Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 12:1-4 marks one of the most dramatic transitions in the entire story of the Old Testament. Whensoever, therefore, he requires anything of us, we must not be so solicitous about success, as to allow fear and anxiety to retard our course. "One detail we do need to note here is the conditional element in the covenant program with Abram. Here, then, we have the starting of a new spring of spiritual life in the human race. We don’t know exactly how this happened. We must one day ‘get out.’ As years increase, all things seem in constant flow. Genesis 12:1. in what sense is the Abrahamic covenant [ch15] unconditional? It is hard to over-estimate the importance of the passage before us. As noted above, Abram himself did not take possession of the promised land. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be … (2.) 1Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Get out of your country, and from your relatives, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. The focus of God"s command was that Abram should uproot himself and follow His leading. "It is important, therefore, to observe the relationship of obedience to this covenant program. Leaving Nahor and his family (except Lot), Genesis 24:4, Genesis 24:10-15; Genesis 25:20; Genesis 28:7-10. Whence it also appears, that Terah was not so far deluded by superstitions as to be destitute of the fear of God. The same MaimonidesF23More Nevochim, par. And they judge inconsiderately, who suppose the words of God here spoken, to be another revelation made to him, when he dwelt at Haran. God did not forbid others from accompanying Abram. But was not this to command him to do that which was against nature? By G. E. Watkins. This call of Abram is an emblem of the call of men by the grace of God out of the world, and from among the men of it, and to renounce the things of it, and not be conformed unto it, and to forget their own people and their father's house, and to cleave to the Lord, and follow him whithersoever he directs them. Genesis 12:1-3. 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, ΤΚps1 ηνΚps0 π γην ), which I will show thee." Nay, we must ever recall to mind, (what I have before adduced from the passage in Joshua,) that he was plunged in the filth of idolatry; and now God freely stretches forth his hand to bring back the wanderer. Hebrews 11:8. St. Stephen, after relating the Divine command, Get thee out of thy country, immediately adds, then came he out of the land of the Chaldees, and dwelt in Charran. (Genesis 12:18-20). (Haydock) --- St. Stephen clearly distinguishes these two calls of Abram. Stephen"s statement in Acts 7:2 supports this interpretation. Wherefore he was commanded to cross over into that country, for this sole reason, that it was to be evacuated by its inhabitants, for the purpose of being given to his seed for a possession. In the call of Abram we see an outline of the great providential system under which we live. From what we see of heaven and earth, we learn the power of the great Creator. Genesis 12:1-6 Father Abraham; Genesis 12:10-20 The Hero With Clay Feet; Genesis 13:1-20 Making Wise Choices; Genesis 14:17-24 Abraham Meets Melchizedek; Genesis 15:1 God Alone; Genesis 15:6 The Gospel - Plain and Simple; Genesis 15:7-20 The Promise and the Firepot; Genesis 16 Trying to Help God; Genesis 18:1-15 The Laughter of Parenthood 1. In this week’s Torah portion, Lech-Lecha, the third portion in the book of Genesis, God speaks for the first time to our ancestor Abraham (whose name was still Abram at the time). The closest earthly ties were to be broken. 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. At the same time, we must not attribute a passive signification on that account to the Hithpael in Genesis 22:18 and Genesis 24:4. Said: not after his father's death, but before he left Ur; (Menochius) unless, perhaps, Abram received a second admonition at Haran, which, from his dwelling there with his father, &c., is styled his country. He removes to Beth-el, and there builds an altar, Genesis 12:8. Above all, hear God’s voice telling you to set out on the Christian pilgrimage. [Matthew 10:37]. Genesis 12:1-4 Now the Lord had said to Abraham: “Get out of your country, from your kindred from your fathers house, to a land that I will show you. אלון 'ēlôn "the oak;" related: "be lasting, strong." Thy kindred.—This rendering is supported by Genesis 43:7; but it more probably means thy birthplace. And further, their laws and religious institutions, being originally recorded in books, would more certainly be preferred and known in all future ages and dispensations. Nations Descended from Noah. 8. The circumstances of this call we may be somewhat helped to the knowledge of, from Stephen's speech, Acts 7:2, where we are told, 1. Genesis 22:18. God plagues him because of Sarai, Genesis 12:17. 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 Genesis 25:20; Genesis 24:10, Genesis 24:15; and that the same land was Haran, see Genesis 28:2, Genesis 28:10, and there were Abram's kindred and country here spoken of, Genesis 24:4. For since exile is in itself sorrowful, and the sweetness of their native soil holds nearly all men bound to itself, God strenuously persists in his command to leave the country, for the purpose of thoroughly penetrating the mind of Abram. She is taken into Pharaoh’s house, Genesis 12:15. IV. 20. Genesis 12:1. Yet it is not to be supposed, that God takes a cruel pleasure in the trouble of his servants; but he thus tries all their affections, that he may not leave any lurking-places undiscovered in their hearts. The Lord had said, to wit, in Ur of the Chaldees, by comparing Genesis 11:31, with Acts 7:2-4; or, did say, again, i.e. A land that I will show thee; which as yet he nameth not, for the greater trial and exercise of Abram’s faith and patience: compare Isaiah 41:2 Hebrews 11:8. Biblical Commentary Genesis 12:1-4a EXEGESIS: GENESIS 1-11. Genesis 12:1. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. Genesis 12:1 Parallel Verses [⇓ See commentary ⇓] Genesis 12:1, NIV: "The LORD had said to Abram, 'Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you." Had Abram come to him, or conciliated his favor? Abraham was the father of the faithful, and we have here the first recorded test to which his faith was put. Once this act was accomplished, however, and Abram did obey God, God instituted an irrevocable, unconditional program." Yet it may be asked, why God sent his servant into the land of Canaan rather than into the East, where he could have lived with some other of the holy fathers? (1) Now the Lord had said unto Abram.—Heb., And Jehovah said unto Abram. This section begins with a waw disjunctive in the Hebrew text translated "Now" in the NASB. (x) "vade tibi", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius, &c. (a) From the flood to this time were four hundred and twenty-three years. In the case of these renewals, it is only in Genesis 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. If so, the command certainly came to Abram at Ur, though most of the versions suppose that it happened at Haran. 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