Genesis 12:1-9; Genesis 12:1-4 a (J); Genesis 12:4 b, Genesis 12:5 (P). The First Promise: and the Migration of Abram into Canaan This passage is from J, with the exception of Genesis 12:4 b and Genesis 12:5 (P).... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now the lord said_ Lit. "and Jehovah said." The narrative opens with characteristic simplicity, and with the abruptness possibly indicating its selection from a group of similar traditions. _the lord said_ Here, as elsewhere, we must not suppose that "the word of Jehovah" was accompanied either by... [ Continue Reading ]
The promise, (1) of national greatness, (2) of personal privilege, embraces a double relation, to the world and to the individual. _a great nation_ This thought stands in the forefront. The personal aspect of the promise made to Abram is from the first merged in the thought of its historic influenc... [ Continue Reading ]
_and I will bless_, &c. The blessing which Abram receives from God is to be a source of good to his friends and of evil to his foes. Observe the delicacy with which the recipients of the blessing are expressed in the plural; but of the curse in the singular ("him that curseth will I curse"). It is a... [ Continue Reading ]
_substance_ or _goods_. A characteristic word in P (cf. Genesis 13:6; Genesis 31:18; Genesis 36:7; Genesis 46:6). _souls_ i.e. the slaves and retainers. The movement of Abram out of Haran was evidently on the scale of a large migration, such as was not infrequent among the nomad peoples of Western... [ Continue Reading ]
_the place of Shechem_ The word "place" is here probably used in the special sense of "sacred place" or "shrine," as also possibly in Genesis 22:4; Genesis 28:11; Genesis 28:16; Joshua 5:15; Jeremiah 7:12. It does not mean the "site" of what was afterwards known as Shechem. Shechem (modern _Nablus_... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the Lord appeared_ The first mention of a Theophany in the patriarchal narrative. What form it took, and in what way it was connected with the "sacred tree" or the altar, is not related. _Unto thy seed will I give this land_ The continuance of the Divine promise. In Genesis 12:2 we had the ble... [ Continue Reading ]
_Beth-el on the west, and Ai on the east_ For Bethel, see note on Genesis 28:12. For Ai, see Joshua 7:2-5. The situation of Abram's tent between Bethel and Ai must have commanded a view of the valley of the Jordan and of the Dead Sea, with the mountains of Moab. "Beth-el," or "House of God," was pro... [ Continue Reading ]
_toward the South_ Heb. _Negeb_, the southern tract of Judah. _Negeb_means "the dry land," "the land of thin soil." It was applied especially to the country in the southernmost region of Canaan, described in Joshua 15:21-32, and spoken of in Numbers 13:17; Numbers 13:22; Numbers 13:26. The Israelite... [ Continue Reading ]
_a famine in the land_ Cf. Genesis 26:1; Genesis 42:1. The failure of crops in Palestine and the adjacent countries, owing to defective rainfall, often compelled the inhabitants to "go down" into Egypt, where the crops were not dependent on rainfall. They were wont to "sojourn" (i.e. to reside tempo... [ Continue Reading ]
Genesis 12:10 to Genesis 13:2. Abram in Egypt. (J.) The narrative in this section should be compared with the similar ones in 20, 26. It is repellent to our sense of honour, chivalry, and purity. It is true that Abram's cowardice is reproved, and that the action of the Egyptian Pharaoh is represent... [ Continue Reading ]
_thou art a fair woman_ According to Genesis 17:17 (P), Sarai was 10 years younger than Abram; and from Genesis 12:4 (P) Abram was at least 75 when he entered Egypt, and Sarai, therefore, 65. This kind of difficulty has led to explanations of a somewhat undignified character. The true explanation is... [ Continue Reading ]
_my sister_ i.e. half-sister. Cf. Genesis 11:29; Genesis 20:12. _my soul_ A vivid way of expressing the personal pronoun, cf. Genesis 27:4; Genesis 27:19; Genesis 27:25.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the princes of Pharaoh_ i.e. the chief officers at the court of the king of Egypt. Pharaoh is not a proper name, but the title of the Egyptian king. It is the Hebrew way of transliterating the Egyptian royal title _Per'o_, "the Great House," which was transferred from the dwelling to the dynasty of... [ Continue Reading ]
_entreated_ Old Eng. word for "treated," or "used." The manner in which Abram received and retained these extensive gifts implies his consent to Sarai's position at the court. Abram's acceptance of the purchase-money was his ratification of the transaction. If it struck the Hebrew mind as clever, it... [ Continue Reading ]
_plagued … with great plagues_ The words in the original run: "and Jehovah struck Pharaoh with great strokes, and his house." The words "and his house" have all the appearance of being a later explanatory addition. The "great strokes" or "plagues" must have been some kind of epidemic (cf. Gen 20:17;... [ Continue Reading ]
_Pharaoh called Abram_ How Pharaoh discovered the truth is not recorded in our condensed version. All other explanations of the epidemic failing, possibly the wise men and magicians connected it with the presence of a foreigner in the palace serving Jehovah, and with the indignation of the offended... [ Continue Reading ]
_take her, and go thy way_ Pharaoh, justly incensed with Abram, dismisses him with sternness and abruptness.... [ Continue Reading ]
_they brought him on the way_ i.e. they escorted him to the frontier, treating with respect and honour a man of wealth and substance, and a foreigner whose God had been a protection to himself and a peril to the Egyptian royal family. Abram apparently retained the wealth that he had procured on fals... [ Continue Reading ]