the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Genesis 12:7
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Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the Lord , who had appeared to him.
And Yahweh appeared to Abram, and said, To your seed I will give this land: and there he built an altar to Yahweh, who appeared to him.
The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "I will give this land to your descendants." So Abram built an altar there to the Lord , who had appeared to him.
The 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.
And the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, To thy seed will I give this land: and there he erected an altar to the LORD, who appeared to him.
Yahweh appeared to Abram, and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." He built an altar there to Yahweh, who appeared to him.
Sotheli the Lord apperide to Abram, and seide to hym, Y schal yyue this lond to thi seed. And Abram bildide there an auter to the Lord, that apperide to hym.
And Jehovah appeareth unto Abram, and saith, `To thy seed I give this land;' and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, who hath appeared unto him.
Then 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.
but the Lord appeared to Abram and promised, "I will give this land to your family forever." Abram then built an altar there for the Lord .
Adonai appeared to Avram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built an altar there to Adonai , who had appeared to him.
And 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.
And the Lord came to Abram, and said, I will give all this land to your seed; then Abram made an altar there to the Lord who had let himself be seen by him.
And the Lorde appearyng vnto Abram, sayd, Unto thy seede wyl I geue this lande: And there buylded he an aulter vnto the Lorde whiche appeared vnto hym.
And Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land. And there he built an altar to Jehovah who had appeared to him.
The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "I will give this land to your descendants." Abram built an altar to honor the Lord who appeared to him there.
And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said: 'Unto thy seed will I give this land'; and he builded there an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
And the LORD appeared vnto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed wil I giue this land: and there builded hee an altar vnto the LORD, who appeared vnto him.
And 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.
Then the Lord showed Himself to Abram and said, "I will give this land to your children and to your children's children." So Abram built an altar there to the Lord Who had shown Himself to him.
Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the Lord , who had appeared to him.
And Yahweh appeared unto Abram, and said: To thy seed, will I give this land, - And he built there an altar, unto Yahweh who appeared unto him.
And the Lord appeared vnto Abram, and said, Vnto thy seede will I giue this land. And there builded he an altar vnto the Lord, which appeared vnto him.
Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, To your descendants will I give this land; and Abram built there an altar to the LORD, for he had appeared to him.
The Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, "This is the country that I am going to give to your descendants." Then Abram built an altar there to the Lord , who had appeared to him.
And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him: To thy seed will I give this land. And he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, I will give this land to thy seed. And Abram built an altar there to the Lord who appeared to him.
And 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.
The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.
The LORD appeared to Avram, and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." He built an altar there to the LORD, who appeared to him.
And Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." And he built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.
And Jehovah appeared to Abram and said, I will give this land to your seed. And he built an altar there to Jehovah, who appeared to him.
Then the LORDE appeared vnto Abra, & sayde: This londe wil I geue vnto yi sede. And there he buylded an aulter vnto ye LORDE, which appeared vnto him.
God appeared to Abram and said, "I will give this land to your children." Abram built an altar at the place God had appeared to him.
And the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.
Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "I will give this land to your descendants." And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord , who had appeared to him.
The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.
Then Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, "To your seed I will give this land." So he built an altar there to Yahweh who had appeared to him.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
appeared: Genesis 17:1, Genesis 18:1, Genesis 32:30
Unto thy: Genesis 13:15, Genesis 17:3, Genesis 17:8, Genesis 26:3, Genesis 28:13, Exodus 33:1, Numbers 32:11, Deuteronomy 1:8, Deuteronomy 6:10, Deuteronomy 30:20, Psalms 105:9-12, Romans 9:8, Galatians 3:16, Galatians 4:28
builded: Genesis 12:8, Genesis 8:20, Genesis 13:4, Genesis 13:18, Genesis 26:25, Genesis 33:20, Hebrews 11:13
Reciprocal: Genesis 15:7 - to give Genesis 15:18 - Unto thy Genesis 24:4 - to my kindred Genesis 28:4 - the blessing Genesis 35:9 - General Genesis 35:12 - the land Genesis 50:24 - sware Exodus 3:6 - I am Exodus 4:5 - the Lord Exodus 6:3 - Jehovah Exodus 18:12 - took Exodus 32:13 - I will multiply Leviticus 14:34 - which I Numbers 10:29 - the Lord Numbers 26:53 - General Numbers 34:2 - is the land Deuteronomy 9:5 - that he may Deuteronomy 34:4 - This is the land Joshua 8:30 - built an altar Joshua 21:43 - General Judges 2:1 - have brought 1 Samuel 3:21 - appeared 1 Samuel 7:17 - he built 1 Chronicles 16:18 - Unto thee 2 Chronicles 20:7 - gavest Nehemiah 9:8 - madest Nehemiah 9:23 - which thou Psalms 105:11 - Unto thee Psalms 105:42 - For he Isaiah 19:19 - General Ezekiel 47:14 - lifted up mine hand John 4:20 - fathers Acts 7:5 - yet Hebrews 11:8 - which
Cross-References
And Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every [ceremonially] clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Then he moved on from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD [in worship through prayer, praise, and thanksgiving].
Then Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev (the South country of Judah).
so when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me [to acquire you], but they will let you live.
where he had first built an altar; and there Abram called on the name of the LORD [in prayer].
for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever.
Then Abram broke camp and moved his tent, and came and settled by the [grove of the great] terebinths (oak trees) of Mamre [the Amorite], which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to [honor] the LORD.
On the same day the LORD made a covenant (promise, pledge) with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates—
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; Walk [habitually] before Me [with integrity, knowing that you are always in My presence], and be blameless and complete [in obedience to Me].
Then Abram fell on his face [in worship], and God spoke with him, saying,
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And the Lord appeared unto Abram,.... Perhaps in an human form, and so it was the Son of God; for whenever there was any visible appearance of a divine Person, under the former dispensation, it seems to be always of the essential Word, that was to be incarnate, and who spake with an articulate voice:
and said, unto thy seed will I give this land; the whole of it inhabited by Canaanites and others; and it was for this end chiefly that Abram was called out of Chaldea into Canaan, to be shown the land, and have the grant of it for his posterity:
and there builded an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him: by way of gratitude and thankfulness for his kind and gracious appearance, and for the gift of the land of Canaan to his offspring; for on this altar he no doubt offered sacrifice in a way of thanksgiving, as Noah did when he came out of the ark.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- The Call of Abram
6. ש××× shekem Shekem, âthe upper part of the back.â 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. ×××× 'eÌloÌn âthe oak;â related: âbe lasting, strong.â ×××¨× moÌreh In Onkelos âplain;â Moreh, âarcher, early rain, teacher.â Here the name of a man who owned the oak that marked the spot. In the Septuagint it is rendered Ï ÌÏηγηÌν hupseegeen.
8. ××ת־×× beÌyt-'eÌl, Bethel, âhouse of God.â ×× yam âsea, great river, west.â ×¢× âay, âAi, âheap.â
9. × ×× negeb âsouth.â
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.
Genesis 12:1-3
Having brought the affairs of Terahâs 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. âThe Lord said unto Abram.â 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 fatherâs 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.
Genesis 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: âFirst, I will make of thee a great nation.â 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, âAnd bless thee.â 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, âAnd make thy name great.â This was to compensate him for his fatherâs 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: âAnd be thou a blessing.â 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. âI will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee.â 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. âAnd blessed in thee shall be all the families of the ground.â The ground was cursed for the sake of Adam, who fell by transgression. But now shall the ground again participate in the blessing. âIn thee.â In Abram is this blessing laid up as a treasure hid in a field to be realized in due time. âAll the familiesâ 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 Godâs 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, Abramâs 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 Abramâs mental vision, he would not have come into relation with Abramâs mind. It is superfluous to say that he might have enlarged Abramâs 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 hopeâs 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.
Genesis 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, âas the Lord had spoken unto him.â Lot is now mentioned as his companion. Terahâs 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.
Genesis 12:5
This is the record of what is presumed in the close of Genesis 12:4; namely, the second setting out for Kenaan. âAbram took.â He is now the leader of the little colony, as Terah was before his death. Sarai, as well as Lot, is now named. âThe gaining they had gainedâ during the five years of their residence in Haran. If Jacob became comparatively rich in six years Genesis 30:43, so might Abram, with the divine blessing, in five. âThe souls they had gottenâ - 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.
Genesis 12:6-9
Abram does not enter into immediate possession, but only travels through the land which the Lord had promised to show him Genesis 12:1. He arrives at âthe place of Shekem.â 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. âSo Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shekemâ Joshua 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, ×× 'aÌz then alludes to the past, as in Genesis 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 âKenaaniteâ 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 Genesis 34:2; Joshua 11:3; for, at the time of the conquest by Abramâs 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.
Genesis 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 1 Samuel 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, âUnto thy seed will I give this land.â âUnto thy seed,â not unto thee. To Abram himself âhe gave none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot onâ Acts 7:5. âThis landâ which the Lord had now shown him, though at present occupied by the Kenaanite invader. âAn altar.â 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 Numbers 26:31, did we not meet with Shekem, the son of Hamor, in this very place in the time of Jacob Genesis 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.
Genesis 12:8-9
From the oak of Moreh Abram now moves to the hill east of Bethel, and pitches his tent, with âBethel on the west and Ai on the east.â These localities are still recognized - the former as Beiten, and the latter as Tell er-Rijmeh (the mount of the heap). Bethel was âa place,â adjacent to which was the town called âLuz at the firstâ Genesis 28:19. Jacob gave this name to the place twice Genesis 28:19; Genesis 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 Abramâs 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 Jacobâs 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 Judges 20:18, Judges 20:26, Judges 20:31; Judges 21:2, and in which Jeroboam set up one of the golden calves 1 Kings 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 Genesis 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.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Genesis 12:7. The Lord appeared — In what way this appearance was made we know not; it was probably by the great angel of the covenant, Jesus the Christ. The appearance, whatsoever it was, perfectly satisfied Abram, and proved itself to be supernatural and Divine. It is worthy of remark that Abram is the first man to whom God is said to have shown himself or appeared:
1. In Ur of the Chaldees, Acts 7:2; and
2. At the oak of Moreh, as in this verse. As ×××¨× Moreh signifies a teacher, probably this was called the oak of Moreh or the teacher, because God manifested himself here, and instructed Abram concerning the future possession of that land by his posterity, and the dispensation of the mercy of God to all the families of the earth through the promised Messiah. Genesis 15:7.
