27 And these the generations of Terah: Terah begetting Abram, Nahor, and Haran: and Haran begetting Lot.
28 And Haran will die at the face of Terah his father in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldees.
29 And Abram and Nahor will take to them wives, the name of Abram’s wife Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.
30 And Sarai shall be barren; to her not a child.
31 And Terah will take Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they shall come forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to move to the land of Canaan; and they will come to Haran, and will dwell there.
32 And the days of Haran shall be five years and two hundred years; and Terah shall die in Haran. (Genesis 11:27-30)
Chronology of Abraham (11:27–30, 32). Abram’s entry into Canaan can be plausibly placed somewhere between 2100 and 1875 BC. Since the narrator elsewhere ties up loose ends further in time before moving along his chosen course, it is not unusual for him to report Terah’s death before turning all his attention to Abram, even though Terah died long after Abram left his hometown.
Abram’s Homeland (11:31). A quick check of the maps at the back of most Bibles confirms a consensus in popular circles concerning the identification of Abram’s hometown, Ur of the Chaldeans. This consensus is the result of the spectacular archaeological excavations done at the Sumerian site of Ur in southern Mesopotamia by Sir Leonard Woolley from 1922 to 1934. Though it makes for a convenient identification and there is no other archaeological site that carries the ancient name of Ur, there are reasons to remain skeptical about this identification. The question ought to be considered an open one, unresolved until further information comes to light.
And Jehovah will say to Abram, Go for thyself from thy land, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, to the land which I will shew thee.
2 And I will make thee into a great nation, and I will bless thee, and I will make thy name great; and thou shalt be blessed.
3 And I will praise them praising thee, and I will curse him cursing thee, and in thee shall all the families of the earth be praised. (Genesis 12:1-3)
Covenant Offer (12:1–3). Though Terah leads a portion of his clan to Haran, Yahweh makes the covenant initiative offer to Abram (12:1–3). He must decide whether to abandon his land in favour of the land Yahweh offers. He must decide whether to abandon what family he still has in favour of the family Yahweh promises. Abram must trust Yahweh to deliver what he has offered in order to give up so much that Abram already has to gain.
4 And Abram went according to which Jehovah spake to him, and Lot went with him: and Abram the son of five years and seventy years in his coming out of Haran.
5 And Abram will take Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their riches which they acquired, and the souls which they acquired in Haran, and they came forth to go into the land of Canaan; and they shall come into the land of Canaan.
6 And Abram shall pass over the land to the place Sichem, to the erect oak tree. And the Canaanite then in the land.
7 And Jehovah shall be seen to Abram, and will say, To thy seed will I give this land, and he will build there an altar to Jehovah, being seen to him.
8 And he will remove from thence to the mountain from the east of the house of God, and shall stretch forth his tent; Bethel from the sea, and Hai from the east, and he shall build there an altar to Jehovah, and will call upon the name of Jehovah.
9 And Abram will remove, going and removing to the desert. (Genesis 12:4-9)
Abram’s Itinerary and Offerings (12:4–9). The trip from Haran to Canaan is about five hundred miles and takes the better part of a month, even if Abram travels at normal caravan pace (about twenty miles per day). The stops indicated by the text, Shechem and Bethel, both become major sacred sites in later Israelite history. At each one Abram builds an altar. What function do these altars serve? It is of interest that the text makes no specific reference to offering a sacrifice at either site (though that may be implied in his calling on the name of Yahweh in 12:8).
18 And Abram will pitch his tent, and will come and will dwell by the oaks of Mamra which is in Hebron, and he will build there an altar to Jehovah.(Genesis 13:18)
It is not possible that the altar is simply built so that the clan can conduct their worship during the time they remain there. When he builds the altar at Hebron in 13:18, its purpose seems simply to service his worship needs while he is there.
Shechem and Bethel are both located in the central hill country, thirty-five miles north of Jerusalem. Perhaps because of its proximity to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, it has had a long history as a sacred site. The strategic position of Shechem, at the east entrance to the pass between these mountains, also made it an important trading centre. Bethel is usually identified with Beitin just over ten miles north of Jerusalem. There was a major fortified city on the site during the Middle Bronze Age.
10 And there shall be a famine in the land; and Abram will go down to Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was strong in the land.
11 And it shall be when he came near to go to Egypt, he will say to Sarai his wife, Behold, now I knew that thou wert a fair woman to see.
12 And it shall be when the Egyptians shall see thee, they shall say, This is his wife; and they will kill me, and thee they will permit to live.
13 Say, now, thou my sister, that it shall be well to me because of thee, and my soul shall live by means of thee.
14 And it shall be when Abram goes to Egypt, and the Egyptians will see the woman that she was very fair.
15 And Pharaoh’s rulers will see her, and will praise her to Pharaoh, and the woman shall be taken into Pharaoh’s house.
16 And he will do good to Abram on account of her; and there shall be to him sheep and oxen and he-asses, and servants and maids, and she-asses and camels.
17 And Jehovah will touch Pharaoh with great strokes, and his house on account of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
18 And Pharaoh will call to Abram, and will say, What this thou didst to me? why didst thou not declare to me that she is thy wife? (Genesis 12:10-18)
Abram in Egypt (12:10–18). Move to Egypt. Modern archaeologists and geologists have found evidence of a massive three-hundred-year drought cycle that occurred during the end of the third millennium …
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The NIV Application Commentary on the Bible: One-Volume Edition; by by Christopher A. Beetham; Nancy L. Erickson
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors of ‘the NIV Application Commentary on the Bible’ and do not necessarily represent those of the Christadelphians
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Preceding
- 12 Verses: Where Is the Promised Land? and 4 Other Questions
- How Christian Zionism distorts scripture to serve empire
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Additional reading
- A look at Abraham, the man of faith 1 Going away from the city of idolatry
- the Story of Abraham
- The Call of Abraham
- Bible verses about Abraham’s calling
- Bible sayings on How to have faith like Abraham
- How to have faith like Abraham? 3 What does Scripture say about Abraham?
- Promises made by man and by God
- The Way of God or the way of the world?
- Today’s thought “We be brethren” (January 07)
- Looking at or dreaming of that land of honey and milk
- How Christian Zionism distorts scripture to serve empire
- Blessing from America to Israel































