LORD = Jehovah, "The God of Glory" of Acts 7:2 , Figure of speech Enallage = The Glorious God, in contrast with idols (Joshua 24:2 ). Get thee out = Go for thyself, i.e. whatever others may do. Death had broken the link of nature's tie, which hindered Abram's obedience. kindred. Leaving Nahor and his family (except Lot), Genesis 24:4 , Genesis 24:10-15 ; Genesis 25:20 ; Genesis 28:7-10 . shew. See Hebrews 11:8 . read more
"Now Jehovah said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee I will curse; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.""Jehovah said unto Abram ..." We are not informed as to the manner of God's communicating with Abram; but... read more
Genesis 12:1. Now the Lord had said unto Abram, &c.— It is observable how Moses hastens over other events, to introduce the principal subject of his history; he comprises the history of the world, from the creation to the deluge, in six chapters, though that was a period of one thousand six hundred and fifty years; while he bestows on the history of Abram fourteen chapters, though it contains no longer space of time than one hundred and seventy five years. The reason is evident: he was not... read more
1. Now the Lord had said unto Abram—It pleased God, who has often been found of them who sought Him not, to reveal Himself to Abraham perhaps by a miracle; and the conversion of Abraham is one of the most remarkable in Bible history. Get thee out of thy country—His being brought to the knowledge and worship of the true God had probably been a considerable time before. This call included two promises: the first, showing the land of his future posterity; and the second, that in his posterity all... read more
This section begins with a waw disjunctive in the Hebrew text translated "Now" in the NASB. It introduces an independent circumstantial clause (cf. Genesis 1:2). Probably the revelation in view happened in Ur. The NIV captures this with the translation "The Lord had said to Abram." So the beginning of chapter 12 flashes back to something that happened in Ur even though chapter 11 ends with Abram in Haran. Stephen’s statement in Acts 7:2 supports this interpretation. Stephen quoted the... read more
The divine promises 12:1-9"These verses are of fundamental importance for the theology of Genesis, for they serve to bind together the primeval history and the later patriarchal history and look beyond it to the subsequent history of the nation." [Note: Wenham, Genesis 1-15, p. 274.] "Whereas chapters 1-11 generally portray man’s rebellion, chapters 12-50 detail God’s bringing man into a place of blessing." [Note: Ross, "Genesis," p. 25.] ". . . this is the central passage of the Book of... read more
The Call of Abraham. The Removal to Canaan. The Visit to Egypt1. Had said] RV ’said,’ when he was in Haran. In what manner the call came to Abraham, whether through some outward incident which he recognised as the prompting of Providence, or through the suggestions of the Divine Spirit in his inmost soul, we do not know. Anyhow he regarded it as divine and authoritative, and it was too definite tobe misunderstood. Get thee out of.. and from.. and from] The repetition emphasises the complete... read more
The History of AbrahamAt this point the specific purpose of the writer of the Pentateuch begins to appear more clearly. Speaking generally, that purpose is to trace the development of the kingdom of God in the line of Israelitish history. To this subject the preceding chapters of Genesis have formed an introduction, dealing with universal history, and indicating the place of Israel among the other nations of the world. The narrative now passes from universal history to the beginnings of the... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 12:1-9
11:27-15:21 ABRAM’S ENTRY INTO THE PROMISED LANDAbram obeys God’s call (11:27-12:9)From the nations of the world God now chose one man through whom he would build a new nation, which, in turn, would be the means of bringing his blessing to the whole world (see 12:2-3). God’s chosen man, Abram (later called Abraham), lived originally in the idolatrous city of Ur in ancient Babylonia. Although others in his family worshipped idols (Joshua 24:2), Abram worshipped the one true God and obeyed him... read more