Gen 12 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Gen 12:1-9: 12:1-9 Through Abram’s faith and family, God began restoring the blessing. God called Abram from a pagan world to begin a new nation; his promises to Abram later became a covenant (ch 15 ). • God’s call to Abram later helped convince the Israelites to leave Egypt and go to the land God promised to Abram. It also reminded the Babylonian exiles of their need to return to their own land (e.g., Isa 51 ). Summary for Gen 12:1-3: 12:1-3 These verses are structured around two commands to Abram: Leave and be a blessing (see study note on 12:2). Each directive is followed by three promises conditioned upon obedience. 12:1 Abram knew that he should leave, but he did not know where he was going. Obedience required faith.

Summary for Gen 12:1-9: 12:1-9 ^a Through Abram’s faith and family, God began restoring the blessing. God called Abram from a pagan world to begin a new nation; his promises to Abram later became a covenant (ch 15 ^b).

• God’s call to Abram later helped convince the Israelites to leave Egypt and go to the land God promised to Abram. It also reminded the Babylonian exiles of their need to return to their own land (e.g., Isa 51 ^c).
Summary for Gen 12:1-3: 12:1-3 ^d These verses are structured around two commands to Abram: Leave and be a blessing (see study note on 12:2). Each directive is followed by three promises conditioned upon obedience. 12:1 ^e Abram knew that he should leave, but he did not know where he was going. Obedience required faith.
12:2 ^f make you famous (literally make your name great): Abram received the fame sought by the builders of Babel (see 11:4 ^g and study note).

• and you will be a blessing (or so that you will be a blessing): This clause is a command in Hebrew, but it is also a promise conditioned upon Abram’s obedience to God’s command (12:1 ^h): “Go ... so that you will be a blessing. Be a blessing, so that I can bless and curse others.”
12:3 ⁱ Based on Abram’s obedience to the command to be a blessing (12:2 ^j), God gave him three more promises.

• those who treat you with contempt: People who disregarded Abram and his covenant were rejecting God’s choice and plan.

• All the families on earth will be blessed: By faith, they could participate in the covenant God was making with Abram. The blessing spread to the whole world through Abraham, Israel, the covenants, the prophets, Scripture, and the Messiah (Gal 3:8 ^k, 16 ^l; cp. Rom 9:4-5 ^m).
Summary for Gen 12:4-9: 12:4-9 ⁿ Abram’s obedience to God’s call corresponded to God’s commands (see study note on 12:1-3). He journeyed to Canaan (12:4-6 ^o) and became a blessing (12:5-9 ^p). 12:4 ^q Abram was middle-aged, settled, prosperous, aristocratic, and polytheistic (see study note on 11:27-32). When the Lord spoke to him (12:1-3 ^r), he obediently left his old ways in Ur to follow God’s plan. Since Abram responded in faith, God’s promises (12:2-3 ^s) could be confirmed in a binding covenant (15:8-21 ^t).
12:5 ^u The people (Hebrew hannepesh, “the lives”) he had taken into his household were probably converts; Abram first became a blessing by influencing people in his household to join him in following the Lord.
Summary for Gen 12:6-7: 12:6-7 ^v The oak of Moreh was apparently a Canaanite shrine; fertile groves of trees were sacred to the Canaanites (cp. Isa 1:29 ^w), and Moreh means “teacher.” Abram proclaimed (Luther: “preached”) the Lord’s name beside a pagan place of worship and instruction (Gen 12:8 ^x).

• Abram continued to be a blessing when he built an altar to worship God at Shechem and east of Bethel (12:8 ^y).
12:7 ^z The Lord appeared to Abram at Shechem (12:6 ^aa) to confirm that this land was the Promised Land. Israel was to occupy this land, but sharing in God’s promises required their faith (cp. Num 14 ^ab; Josh 1:6-9 ^ac).

• to your descendants: Abram did not yet possess the land; he lived as a temporary settler.
Summary for Gen 12:8-9: 12:8-9 ^ad Abram had to keep moving camp because the Canaanites had the fertile land. 12:8 ^ae he worshiped the Lord (literally he made proclamation of the Lord by name): Proclaiming the name (identity and character) of the Lord is central to worship and witness (cp. 4:26 ^af; see Exod 34:5-7 ^ag). Abram had to distinguish his sacrificial worship from that of the pagan Canaanites.
Summary for Gen 12:10-20: 12:10-20 ^ah This episode shows that God would not allow Abram to jeopardize his promises. Just after Abram’s obedience to the call, a famine tested his weak faith. God delivered him and his family, even though Abram foolishly used deception rather than trusting in God to preserve him in Egypt.

• This story deliberately parallels Israel’s later bondage in Egypt. Because of a famine (Gen 12:10 ^ai // Gen 47:13 ^aj), Abram/Israel went to Egypt (Gen 12:10 ^ak // Gen 47:27 ^al); there was an attempt to kill the males and save the females (Gen 12:12 ^am // Exod 1:22 ^an); God plagued Egypt (Gen 12:17 ^ao // Exod 7:14–11:10 ^ap); Abram/Israel plundered Egypt (Gen 12:16 ^aq // Exod 12:35-36 ^ar); they were expelled (Hebrew shalakh, “send”; Gen 12:19-20 ^as // Exod 12:31-33 ^at) and ascended to the Negev (Gen 13:1 ^au // Num 13:17 ^av, 22 ^aw). Israel was to believe that God would deliver them from bondage in Egypt through the plagues because their ancestor had already been rescued from bondage in Egypt.
Summary for Gen 12:10-13: 12:10-13 ^ax Abram’s scheme was rooted in fear that jeopardized his family and God’s promises. Abram was not walking by faith when he went to Egypt. He stopped building altars and his deceptiveness took center stage. Deception would plague his family throughout Genesis (26:1-11 ^ay; 27:1-29 ^az; 29:15-30 ^ba; 30:34-36 ^bb; 31:6-11 ^bc; 37:18-35 ^bd; 39:7-20 ^be).

• Abram’s plan was probably based on a social custom whereby a brother arranged the marriage of his sister (cp. 24:29-61 ^bf). Abram may have thought that any potential suitor would have to deal with him, giving him time to leave with Sarai. He did not count on Pharaoh’s acting without negotiation (12:14-16 ^bg). 12:10 ^bh The Nile River provided ample irrigation, so Egypt was often the last region to suffer from famine.
12:13 ^bi tell them you are my sister: This request occurs three times in Genesis (see also 20:2 ^bj; 26:7 ^bk). The text explains that this was Abram’s usual strategy (20:13 ^bl), and his son did likewise. This first occasion was outside the land, the second (ch 20 ^bm) within, showing that God protected his promise in both regions.
Summary for Gen 12:14-16: 12:14-16 ^bn Abram was bound by the king’s gift to an unwanted agreement about Sarai that he could not prevent. His scheme had resulted in a terrible bind that endangered him, Sarai, and the promise.

• Abram appeared to prosper from his deception, but the new possessions also caused crises. Abram and Lot had to separate (ch 13 ^bo), and Hagar, an Egyptian maiden, became the mother of the Ishmaelites, perennial enemies of Israel (ch 16 ^bp).
Summary for Gen 12:14-15: 12:14-15 ^bq Sarai was 65 years old, but she lived to be 127; she was like a modern childless woman of about 35. She and Abram came from a noble family (see study note on 11:29), so she was regal in her person and dress. Pharaoh was attracted by her physical appearance and her political assets.
12:15 ^br Pharaoh was a title, not a personal name (37:36 ^bs; Exod 1:15 ^bt).
Summary for Gen 12:17-19: 12:17-19 ^bu God’s intervention rescued Sarai and preserved the marriage to fulfill the covenant promise. Sarai’s restoration to Abram came with a rebuke from Pharaoh on God’s behalf (12:18-19 ^bv).
12:20 ^bw No answer to Pharaoh’s questions (12:18-19 ^bx) was needed, because the rebuke was followed by expulsion. Pharaoh’s command paralleled God’s command to Abram (12:1 ^by), but Pharaoh’s demand brought shame and disgrace. God was faithful in preserving his promise.