GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 12:1 Through Abram, ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH will be blessed. This marks an important turning point in Genesis 1:1, as it reverses the predominantly negative implications of chs. Genesis 3:1. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=ima... [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 12:2 MAKE YOUR NAME GREAT. This was the failed goal of the tower builders (Genesis 11:4). ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 12:3 Although Abram is called to be a blessing to others, much depends on how they will treat him. The text speaks of THOSE WHO BLESS (plural) but of HIM WHO DISHONORS (singular), emphasizing that many more will be blessed than cursed. This promise that the nations will be BL... [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 12:4 SO ABRAM WENT. Abram’s response to God’s call was immediate and unquestioning. LOT WENT WITH HIM. Abram may have been responsible for Lot after the death of Haran (Genesis 11:27). By this time Lot was a wealthy adult (see Genesis 13:5). ⇐ ⇔ ⇒... [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 12:5 THE PEOPLE THAT THEY HAD ACQUIRED IN HARAN. Abram had under his authority a substantial number of men; many of them may have been herdsmen (see Genesis 13:7). Genesis 1:1 14:14 mentions 318 trained men “born in his household,” and Genesis 17:12 refers to males whom Abram... [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 12:6 SHECHEM is the first of a number of locations in Canaan associated with Abram. THE OAK OF MOREH. As a seminomadic herdsman traveling with a large group, Abram probably camped away from urban areas; these locations are identified by distinctive natural features (e.g., tre... [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 12:7 THE LORD APPEARED. This is the first of a number of times that God shows himself to the patriarchs. ALTAR TO THE LORD. Altars were common places for worshiping God in the patriarchal period because no central sanctuary existed. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByT... [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 12:8 From Shechem, Abram migrates southward to a location between BETHEL and AI, before going much farther in the direction of Egypt. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 12:9 THE NEGEB is the southern region of Canaan. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 12:10 A severe famine in Canaan forces Abram to seek refuge in Egypt. Because of the Nile River, Egypt was a more likely place than Canaan to find food during a drought. As is common in biblical stories, the narrator offers no moral evaluation of the participants’ actions. ⇐... [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 12:11 Abram devises a plan, based on a half-truth (see Genesis 20:12), implying that he thinks God is unable to protect him. Yet when the plot backfires, the Lord rescues him (Genesis 12:17). ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.l... [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 12:15 PHARAOH is the title of the king of Egypt, not a personal name. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 12:16 To own CAMELS, Abram must have been wealthy, since they were scarce in this time and place. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
GENESIS—NOTE ON GENESIS 12:17 PLAGUES on PHARAOH AND HIS HOUSE will be seen again in the exodus from Egypt, when God will punish another pharaoh for his mistreatment of Abram’s descendants. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]