Genesis 12:1-3

The Popular Commentary by Paul E. Kretzmann - Genesis 12:1-3

God Calls Abraham v. 1. Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father's house unto a land that I will show thee. Here the real story of Abram, or Abraham, begins, to which the author has led up in a very skilful manner. God gave him a command which imposed upon him a threefold renunciation, Abram was to leave his fatherland, both Haran and Ur of the Chaldees being included in Mesopotamia. He was to forsake the members of his tribe, the... read more

Johann Peter Lange

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Critical, Doctrinal and Homiletical - Genesis 12:1-20

SECOND PERIODThe Genesis of the patriarchal faith in the promise and of the covenant religion; of the antagonistic relation, between the faith in the promise and heathenism; of the harmonious oppositions between the patriarchs and the human civilization of the heathen world. Patriarchal religion and patriarchal customs.—Genesis 12:1 to Genesis 36:43——————AABRAHAM, THE FRIEND OF GOD, AND HIS ACTS OF FAITH. Genesis 12:1 to Genesis 25:10FIRST SECTIONThe call of Abram. The emigration to Canaan. The... read more

Alexander MacLaren

Alexander MacLaren's Expositions of Holy Scripture - Genesis 12:1-4

Genesis AN EXAMPLE OF FAITH Gen_12:1 - Gen_12:9 . I We stand here at the well-head of a great river-a narrow channel, across which a child can step, but which is to open out a broad bosom that will reflect the sky and refresh continents. The call of Abram is the most important event in the Old Testament, but it is also an eminent example of individual faith. For both reasons he is called ‘the Father of the Faithful.’ We look at the incident here mainly from the latter point of view. It... read more

Frederick Brotherton Meyer

F.B. Meyer's 'Through the Bible' Commentary - Genesis 12:1-9

God’s Call and Promise to Abram Genesis 12:1-9 God’s commands are always associated with promises. Count the shalls and wills here. He does not give His reasons, but He is lavish of His promises. The keynote of Abram’s life was Separation. Step by step, until country, kindred, Lot, worldly alliances and fleshly expedients were one by one cast aside and he stood alone with God! Though he knew not whither he went, the father of the faithful obeyed, and crossed the wide and perilous deserts.... read more

G. Campbell Morgan

G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible - Genesis 12:1-20

At this point begins the actual historic movement toward the coming of the Redeemer. One man was called to the realization of the true principle of life. The call was personal and purposeful. Abram was commanded to sever the ties of all past associations and to go forth, governed wholly by the will of God. The personal element is clearly marked in the words, "Get thee out . . . I will show thee . . . I will make of thee . . . I will bless thee." It was none the less a purposeful call. The... read more

Robert Neighbour

Wells of Living Water Commentary - Genesis 12:1-4

Faith as Exemplified in Abraham Genesis 12:1-4 , Genesis 12:7-9 ; Genesis 13:14-18 INTRODUCTORY WORDS 1. Does God still speak to men as He spoke to Abraham? Our Scripture opens with the statement, "Now the Lord had said unto Abram * *." If the Lord said something to Abraham, may He not also say something to us? Does the Lord still guide men into His perfect will? The Lord said unto Abraham, "Get thee * * unto a land that I will shew thee." The Lord, therefore, undertook to guide Abraham... read more

James Nisbet

James Nisbet's Church Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 12:1

THE PILGRIM FATHER Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee.’ Genesis 12:1 Abraham was the father of the faithful, and we have here the first recorded test to which his faith was put. The first and one of the greatest. I. 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.... read more

James Nisbet

James Nisbet's Church Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 12:3

BLESSING RECEIVED AND IMPARTED‘And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.’ Genesis 12:3 I. A double stream of narrative runs through the first four books of the Pentateuch.—One of these may be called the Priestly narrative—the other, the Prophetical narrative. The text sets before us one of the characteristic features of the Prophetical narrative—that consciousness of the ideal destiny of Israel which... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 12:1-3

‘And Yahweh said to Abram, “Leave your country and your kinsfolk, and your father’s house, for the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, and you be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed”.’ This is the first appearance of Yahweh to Abram of which we learn, and it is spoken as matter of fact, without introduction.... read more

Arthur Peake

Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 12:1-9

Genesis 12:1-1 Samuel : . The Call of Abraham, his Migration to Canaan, and Yahweh’ s Promise to Him.— From J, except Genesis 12:4 b, Genesis 12:5, which is clearly from P. Abraham is called to leave country, kindred, and home for an unnamed land. His faith is thus challenged at the outset ( Hebrews 11:8); at the call of God, without question or demur, he abandons the tangible certainties of the present for a vague destination, and the hazards of travel and settlement in a new land. But he... read more