Genesis 12:5-6

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 12:4-5

Here is, I. Abraham's removal out of his country, out of Ur first and afterwards out of Haran, in compliance with the call of God: So Abram departed; he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but did as he was bidden, not conferring with flesh and blood, Gal. 1:15, 16. His obedience was speedy and without delay, submissive and without dispute; for he went out, not knowing whither he went (Heb. 11:8), but knowing whom he followed and under whose direction he went. Thus God called him to... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 12:6-9

One would have expected that Abram having had such an extraordinary call to Canaan some great event should have followed upon his arrival there, that he should have been introduced with all possible marks of honour and respect, and that the kings of Canaan should immediately have surrendered their crowns to him, and done him homage. But no; he comes not with observation, little notice is taken of him, for still God will have him to live by faith, and to look upon Canaan, even when he was in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 12:5

And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son ,.... The son of Haran his brother, not against their wills, but with their full consent: Sarai went readily with him, not only as being his wife, and so obliged by the law of marriage and tie of relation, but on the score of religion; and Lot as being a good man, and so willing to go with him, as his near relation too, for the sake of religion. And all their substance that they had gathered ; either in Ur of the Chaldees, or in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 12:6

And Abram passed through the land ,.... Entering the northern part of it, as appears by his going southward, Genesis 12:9 he went on unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh ; the place afterwards called Shechem, from a prince of that name in the times of Jacob; and so it was called when Moses wrote, and therefore, by way of anticipation, calls it so here; it was about the middle of the land of Canaan, and the same with Sychar, a city of Samaria, in the times of Christ, John... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 12:5

The souls that they had gotten in Haran - This may apply either to the persons who were employed in the service of Abram, or to the persons he had been the instrument of converting to the knowledge of the true God; and in this latter sense the Chaldee paraphrasts understood the passage, translating it, The souls of those whom they proselyted in Haran. They went forth to go into the land of Canaan - A good land, possessed by a bad people, who for their iniquities were to be expelled, see ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 12:6

The plain of Moreh - אלון elon should be translated oak, not plain; the Septuagint translate την δρυν την ὑψηλην , the lofty oak; and it is likely the place was remarkable for a grove of those trees, or for one of a stupendous height and bulk. The Canaanite was then in the land - This is thought to be an interpolation, because it is supposed that these words must have been written after the Canaanites were expelled from the land by the Israelites under Joshua; but this by no means... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 12:5

Verse 5 5.The souls that they had gotten in Haran. Souls signify male and female servants. And this is the first mention of servitude; whence it appears, that not long after the deluge the wickedness of man caused liberty which by nature, was common to all, to perish with respect to a great part of mankind. Whence servitude originated is not easy to determine, unless according to the opinion which has commonly prevailed it arose from wars; because the conquerors compelled those whom they took... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 12:6

Verse 6 6.And Abram passed through the land. Here Moses shows that Abram did not immediately, on his entering into the land, find a habitation in which he might rest. For the expression passed through, and the position of the place (Sichem) to which he passed, show that the length of his journey had been great. Sichem is not far from Mount Gerizim, which is towards the desert of the Southern region. Wherefore, it is just as Moses had said, that the faith of Abram was again tried, when God... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 12:1-5

Designed to trace the outward development of God's kingdom on the earth, the narrative now concentrates its attention on one of the foregoing Terachites, whose remarkable career it sketches with considerable minuteness of detail, from the period of his emigration from Chaldea to his death at Hebron in the land of Canaan. Distinguished as a man of undoubted superiority both of character and mind, the head of at least two powerful and important races, and standing, as one might say, on the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 12:1-5

The preparations of grace. We may call this the genesis of the kingdom of God. I. It is FOUNDED in the word of the Divine covenant, the faith given by Divine grace to individuals, the separation unto newness of life. II. The one man Abram gathers round him a small SOCIETY , kindred with him by the flesh, but bound to him doubtless by spiritual bonds as well. Tiros God has sanctified the family life by making it as the nidus of the spiritual genesis. When the new kingdom began... read more

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