Genesis 12

1 Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” 4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “ I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD. 9 And Abram journeyed on toward the Negev. Abram and Sarai in Egypt 10 Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “ Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman, 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘ This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Please say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and on account of you my life will be spared.” 14 So when Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 When Pharaoh ’s officials saw Sarai, they commended her to him, and she was taken into the palace of Pharaoh. 16 He treated Abram well on her account, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels. 17 The LORD, however, afflicted Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked, “ What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘ She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram, and they sent him away with his wife and all his possessions.

✦ What the text says

## Summary Genesis 12 narrates Yahweh's ("Yahweh", H3068G) call to Abram ("Abram", H0087) to leave his land and kindred for a land to be shown to him, accompanied by promises of nationhood, blessing, and universal significance. The chapter then follows Abram's journey to Canaan, his altar-building at Shechem and Bethel, and the episode in Egypt where he presents Sarai ("Sarai", H8297) as his sister, resulting in Pharaoh's ("Pharaoh", H6547G) household being struck and Abram being sent away with his possessions. ## Key words - *lekh-lekha* ("go for yourself", H1980G + H9031) — the qal imperative *lekh* combined with the reflexive-dative suffix *lekha* ("to/for yourself") in v.1 intensifies the command beyond simple motion, marking personal involvement in the departure. - *berakhah* ("blessing", H1293) — a feminine singular noun in v.2, paired with the imperative *heyeh* ("be", H1961), making Abram not merely blessed but a source of blessing. - *nir'ah* ("had appeared", H7200G) — a niphal (passive/reflexive) participle in v.7, describing Yahweh's self-manifestation to Abram, distinct from active "seeing." - *'achoti* ("my sister", H0269) construct form in v.13 — Abram's instruction to Sarai to identify herself by kinship term rather than *'ishah* ("wife", H0802H), the term used narratively by the text itself. - *vaynaga'* ("he struck", H5060) — piel narrative form in v.17, an intensive verb describing Yahweh's direct affliction of Pharaoh's house "on account of" (*'al-devar*, H1697M) Sarai. ## What the text says The Hebrew narrative is built almost entirely on *vav*-consecutive verb chains (marked "narrative vav — chains the story"), which create a continuous sequence of events: "he said... he went... he took... he passed... he built..." This chaining gives the chapter its forward momentum without needing explicit connectors like "then" in translation. The divine speech in vv.1-3 shifts to imperfect and infinitive forms with vav ("I may make," "I will bless," "I will make great"), marking purpose or continuation rather than simple narration, before returning to an imperative, *heyeh berakhah* ("be a blessing"). The Egypt episode (vv.10-20) repeats the formula *vayehi* ("it was", H1961) three times as a narrative hinge, structuring the famine, the approach to Egypt, and the entry into Egypt as parallel turning points. Abram's speech to Sarai uses the interjection *hinneh-na'* ("here, please", H2009+H4994) and the perfect *yada'ti* ("I know", H3045), framing his instruction as personal assessment rather than command alone. ## Differences between versions In v.4, the LXX gives Abram's age as *ἦν ἐτῶν πέντε* ("he was five years"), lacking the "seventy" (*shiv'im*, H7657) present in the Heb

This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.