This should be the most extensive examination of Gen. 12 available, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text.

Outline of Chapter 12:

Introduction

         vv.     1–3           God Gives Marching Orders to Abram

         vv.     4–9           Abram Enters into the Land of Promise

         vv.    10–13         A Famine Cause Abram to Move to Egypt

         vv.    14–16         Abram Deceives Pharaoh about his Wife Sarai

         vv.    17–20         God Afflicts Pharaoh’s Household; Pharaoh Ejects Abram from Egypt

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Introduction         The Prequel of Genesis 12

         Introduction         The Principals of Genesis 12

         Introduction         The Abrahamic Timeline

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Genesis 12

         v.       1              A Map of Abram’s Journeys

         v.       1              When Did Terah and His Family Move to Haran? When Did Abram Move to Canaan?

         v.       2              How God Would Bless Abram

         v.       3              The Abrahamic Covenant—Gen. 12:2–3

         v.       3              “I will Bless Those who Bless you; and I will Curse Those who Curse you.”

         v.       3                        Examples from Ancient History

         v.       3                        Examples from Modern History

         v.       4              Should Abram have taken Lot with Him?

         v.       6              Map of the Route that Abram took

         v.       7              The Doctrine of Theophanies

         v.       7              Links to the Doctrine of Theophanies

         v.       7              Categories of Passages with a Double Meaning

         v.       8              A Map of Central Canaan

         v.      10              The Doctrine of the Will of God

         v.      10              Abram and the Geographic Will of God

         v.      13              Abram’s Half-Lie about Sarai

         v.      13              The Doctrine of Faith-Rest

         v.      13              The Goals of Communism in America

         v.      16              The Abbreviated Doctrine of the Laws of Divine Establishment

         v.      16                        The 5 divine institutions

         v.      16                        Attacks against the 5 divine institutions

         v.      16                        The Ten Commandments

         v.      16                        The Purpose of the Laws of Divine Establishment

         v.      16                        Countries Which Reject the Laws of Divine Establishment

         v.      16                        The Separation of Church and State

         v.      16                        An Example of Illegitimate Authority

         v.      16                        Establishment and Morality

         v.      16                        The Component Parts of the Laws of Divine Establishment in a Nation

         v.      16                        Unregenerate Man and the Laws of Divine Establishment

         v.      17              Parallels to the Exodus

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          Edersheim Summarizes Genesis 12

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Genesis 12

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An Introduction to Genesis 12

I ntroduction: Gen. 11 end with a chronology which mentions Abram. In Gen. 12:1, we will pick up with God speaking to Abram and giving him marching orders. Although this will appear to be a seamless transition, it will become apparent, with a little study, that when God first gave this order, Abram only obeyed it halfway.

Abram, known today to us as Abraham, is the father of the Jews. He is the first Jew (along with his wife Sarai). The children that they will produce together will be Jews and children of Abraham with other women will be Arabs. The promises of this chapter are directed specifically to Abraham and his descendants through Sarai.

Genesis 12 is the first time it is noted that God spoke to anyone since Noah emerged from the ark, roughly 400 years previous. This does not mean that God has not spoken to others; but, if He has, we are not told about it.

Abram has just about traveled as far as he could go and still be near fresh water. The next travel leg is going to take Abram away from the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers toward the coast of the Mediterranean Sea into the land of the Canaanites.

The Abrahamic Timeline

It is not unusual in God’s plan for God to move someone from point A to point B. We find this repeatedly, and one purpose appears to be that of separation. We develop habits and we have set influences where we are raised, and, for some people, it is best to change that. This is not to imply that you personally need to sell your house and move to wherever; but this is found on several occasions in Scripture.

In the case of Abraham (actually, Abram), God was not just separating him from his idolatrous family, but God was going to show off the Land of Promise to Abram. God is going to give a huge chunk of land to Abraham’s descendants, and God wanted Abram to walk through this land to see it and to appreciate what God was promising him and his descendants. Ultimately, God was not a proponent of the two-state solution with regards to Israel.

At this point, we will begin to examine the life and person of Abram (later renamed Abraham by God), who is known as the father of the Jewish race.

——————————

God Gives Marching Orders to Abram

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. Take from http://targum.info/targumic-texts/pentateuchal-targumim/ and first published in 1862.

Targum of Onkelos                AND the Lord said to Abram, Go you from your land; separate thyself from your kindred; go forth from the house of your father; go into the land which I will show you. And I will make you a great people, and will bless you, and magnify your name, and you will be blessed.

Latin Vulgate                          And the Lord said to Abram: Go forth out of your country, and from your kindred, and out of your father”s house, and come into the land which I will shew you.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so says Y^ehowah unto Abram, “Go, for yourself, from your land and from your family and from a house of your father unto the land which I will make you see.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    NOW the LORD said to Abram, Depart from your country, and from the place of your nativity, and from your fathers house, to a land that I will show you;...

Septuagint (Greek)                And the Lord said to Abram, Go forth out of your land, and out from your family, and out of the house of your father, into the land which I will show you.

Significant differences: 

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Abram's family moves to Canaan

The Lord said to Abram, "Leave your land, your family, and your father's household for the land that I will show you.

Easy English                          God calls Abram, 12:1-9

Abram leaves Haran

The *Lord said to Abram, `Go from your country, your *tribe and your father's house. Go to the country that I shall show you.

Easy-to-Read Version            The Lord said to Abram,

“Leave your country and your people.

Leave your father’s family

and go to the country I will show you.

Good News Bible (TEV)         The LORD said to Abram, "Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's home, and go to a land that I am going to show you.

New Berkeley Version           The Lord said to Abram: as for you, Leave your land, your relatives and your father’s household for a land which I will show you,...

New Century Version             God Calls Abram

The Lord said to Abram, "Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's family, and go to the land I will show you.

The Voice                               One day, the Eternal One called out to Abram.

Eternal One: Abram, get up and go! Leave your country. Leave your relatives and your father's home, and travel to the land I will show you [Acts 7:3]. Don't worry-I will guide you there.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Then Jehovah said to Abram: 'Leave this land, your family, and your father's home, and go to a land that I will to show you; because, I'm going to make a great nation of you. A portion of v. 2 was included for context.

New American Bible (R.E.)    Abram's Call and Migration.

The LORD said to Abram: Go forth [Go forth.find blessing in you: the syntax of the Hebrew suggests that the blessings promised to Abraham are contingent on his going to Canaan.] from your land, your relatives, and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. Acts 7:3; Heb 11:8.

NIRV                                      God Chooses Abram

The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country and your people. Leave your father's family. Go to the land I will show you.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Bible in Basic English             Now the Lord said to Abram, Go out from your country and from your family and from your father's house, into the land to which I will be your guide:...

The Expanded Bible              God Calls Abram

The Lord said to Abram, "Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's ·family [^Lhouse], and go to the land I will show you [^CCanaan, the Promised Land].

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 History of the House of Abram

The Ever-living then said to Abram, “Depart from your native land, and from the home of your forefathers, to the land to which I will direct you.

New Advent Bible                  Meanwhile, the Lord said to Abram, Leave thy country behind thee, thy kinsfolk, and thy father's home, and come away into a land I will shew thee.

NET Bible®                             The Obedience of Abram

Now the Lord said [The Lord called Abram while he was in Ur (see Gen 15:7; Acts 7:2); but the sequence here makes it look like it was after the family left to migrate to Canaan (11:31-32). Genesis records the call of Abram at this place in the narrative because it is the formal beginning of the account of Abram. The record of Terah was brought to its end before this beginning.] to Abram [The call of Abram begins with an imperative לֶךְ־לְךָ (lekh-lÿkha, “go out”) followed by three cohortatives (v. 2a) indicating purpose or consequence (“that I may” or “then I will”). If Abram leaves, then God will do these three things. The second imperative (v. 2b, literally “and be a blessing”) is subordinated to the preceding cohortatives and indicates God’s ultimate purpose in calling and blessing Abram. On the syntactical structure of vv. 1-2 see R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 37. For a similar sequence of volitive forms see Gen 45:18.] [It would be hard to overestimate the value of this call and this divine plan for the theology of the Bible. Here begins God’s plan to bring redemption to the world. The promises to Abram will be turned into a covenant in Gen 15 and 22 (here it is a call with conditional promises) and will then lead through the Bible to the work of the Messiah.],

"Go out [The initial command is the direct imperative (לֶךְ, lekh) from the verb הָלַךְ (halakh). It is followed by the lamed preposition with a pronominal suffix (לְךָ, lÿkha) emphasizing the subject of the imperative: “you leave.”] from your country, your relatives, and your father's household

to the land that I will show you [To the land that I will show you. The call of Abram illustrates the leading of the Lord. The command is to leave. The Lord's word is very specific about what Abram is to leave (the three prepositional phrases narrow to his father's household), but is not specific at all about where he is to go. God required faith, a point that Heb 11:8 notes.]. When it comes to making an actual material change to the text, the NET Bible® is pretty good about indicating this. Since most of these corrections will be clear in the more literal translations below and within the Hebrew exegesis itself, I will not continue to list every NET Bible® footnote.

NIV – UK                                The call of Abram

The Lord had said to Abram, `Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Now ADONAI said to Avram, "Get yourself out of your country, away from your kinsmen and away from your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you.

exeGeses companion Bible   YAH VEH CALLS ABRAM

And Yah Veh says to Abram,

Go from your land and from your kindred

and from the house of your father

to a land I show you:...

Hebrew Names Version         Now the LORD said to Avram, "Get out of your country, and from your relatives, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you.

Judaica Press Complete T.    And the Lord said to Abram, "Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you.

Kaplan Translation                 Abram's Call and Migration

God said to Abram, 'Go away from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           [LECH LECHA]

Now Hashem had said unto Avram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from the bais avicha, unto ha'aretz that I will show thee;.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                Now [in Haran] the Lord said to Abram, Go for yourself [for your own advantage] away from your country, from your relatives and your father's house, to the land that I will show you.

Concordant Literal Version    Now saying is Yahweh to Abram, "Go you from your land and from your kindred and from your father's house to the land which I shall show you.

Context Group Version          Now YHWH said to Abram, Get out of your country, and from your family, and from your father's house, to the land { or earth } that I will show you.

English Standard Version      The Call of Abram

Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.

The updated Geneva Bible    Now the LORD had said unto Abram [From the flood to this time were four hundred and twenty-three years. ], Get you out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your fathers house, unto a land [In appointing him no certain place, he proves so much more his faith and obedience.] that I will shew you.

NASB                                     Abram Journeys to Egypt

Now the Lord said to Abram,

"Go forth [Lit Go for yourself] from your country,

And from your relatives

And from your father's house,

To the land which I will show you;...

New King James Version       Promises to Abram

Now the Lord had said to Abram:

"Get out of your country,

From your family

And from your father's house,

To a land that I will show you.

Syndein/Thieme                     Now Jehovah/God had said {'amar} unto Abram, "Get you out of your country and from your kindred/relatives {Lot}, and from your father's house {his father Terah}, unto a land {his promised land of Canaan} that I will show you." {Note: See Acts 7:2 and following. 'Your country' is not Haran, but Ur of the Chaldees}.

Webster updated Bible           Now the LORD had said to Abram, Depare from your country, and from your kindred, and from your father”s house, to a land that I will show you.

World English Bible                Now Yahweh said to Abram, "Get out of your country, and from your relatives, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you.

Young’s Updated LT             And Jehovah says unto Abram, “Go for yourself, from your land, and from your kindred, and from the house of your father, unto the land which I will show you.

The gist of this verse:          God tells Abram to leave his country and family for a land that God would show him.

Translation: Y^ehowah said to Abram,... It appears almost out of nowhere, God speaks to Abram, who was mentioned in the previous chapter in a family line. This suggests that there was some communion between God and Abram before and that Abram was almost ready to accept God’s authority in this matter.

Prior to this, God spoke to individuals and worked through individuals. God spoke with Adam and Eve, with Cain to place judgement upon him, with Enoch (we assume), with Noah, with Job and with Abram. Approximately 2000 years of human history have passed and God's Word has revealed a very small number of individuals who God spoke to. This is why, if you meet someone with whom God speaks, you might want to distance yourself from that person. We live in the dispensation of the completed Word of God, so direct communications with God are not necessary, and probably a sign of mental illness, drug-induced hallucinations (I know at least two people who have claimed to speak with God when under the influence of drugs), some chemical-imbalance in the body producing hallucinations, or they are liars (often with a very vivid imagination).

The Bible does not give us an organization for the worship of God, beyond animal sacrifices (which are barely mentioned) and the prohibition of murder (along with its punishment) at the exit of Noah and company from the ark. We have followed the line of Seth through the line of Shem, but this is the first time we have the promise of blessing upon an ancestral line.

We also do not know what form that God took or under what conditions God came to Abram. However, when we are told this information, God appears to Abram as a man.

The last recorded incident when God spoke to man was God speaking to Noah when he exited the ark (Gen. 9:1–17). 300 (or 1200) years have passed since then (recall the difference between the Hebrew and Greek texts). It is possible that during this time, the incidents recorded in the book of Job took place.

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, God is speaking to Abram. We do not know what has led to this. We do not know anything about Abram’s background, apart from his family lineage recorded in the previous chapter. We do not know in what form God is. We may reasonably assume that Abram has believed in Jehovah Elohim (which will be confirmed in Gen. 15:6), and Jehovah Elohim is speaking directly to Abram.

Application: If you have a believer in Jesus Christ, and you think that you have spoken with God (not in prayer, but as a conversation with audible speech from God), then you may want to rethink this. (1) Even when God spoke to various men, it was less than 1/1000^th of 1%; and (2) it all took place prior to the completion of the Canon of Scripture. If you are in a church where the pastor claims to have had visions of having splash fights with Jesus in the heavenly River Jordan, you are in the wrong church.

Translation:...“Go, for yourself, away from your land... Recall that Abram was originally living in Ur of the Chaldees (near the Persian Gulf), and now is living with his father northeast of Canaan. He is actually fairly close to the land where God wants him to be.

What begins here is the Abrahamic covenant. Abram has done nothing of note to that time, because this information is not recorded. He is certainly a believer in Jesus Christ and has some semblance of maturity since God is speaking to him, but God is giving him an unconditional covenant. That means, that what God promised him, God would perform, regardless of his behavior.

This informally introduces the concept of the geographical will of God. There is a place where God wants us to be. This is obviously related to the will of God, a doctrine that we will cover in an upcoming lesson.

Terah (Abram’s father) has moved his family to Haran (also transliterated Charan) and they have lived there long enough for it to be called his country.

There is a point to Abram leaving his father’s house. Abram is 75 years old and he lives in the shadow of his father and he is under the authority of his father. Abram has to separate himself like a man, and raise his family separate from his father. Abram cannot be seen as the patriarch of his family if he is living in his father’s shadow under his father’s authority.

So far, this is what we have: Y^ehowah said to Abram, “Go, for yourself, away from your land... Abram is originally living with his family in Ur of the Chaldeans. It appears that God spoke to Abram while there and not while in Hebron, as at the end of the previous chapter.

There are actually two possibilities here: God spoke to Abram while he was in Ur, and Abram half-obeyed; or God spoke to Abram first in Ur, and then again in Haran, after his father died. The former scenario appears to be the case. Originally, Abram was supposed to leave this land of Ur and go to Canaan.

The Map of Abram’s Journeys is taken from The Christian Community Bible website (which I believe is a Catholic organization), accessed June 20, 2013. This map will cover Abram’s travels throughout this chapter. One slight quibble I have with this map is, Abram and his family move up between the rivers. I would have guessed that Abram and company remain south of the Euphrates River, but travel along side of it. Also, given the proximity (in time) to the flood, the Arabian desert would not have been the desert then that it is today.

Abram half-obeyed this order given him by God.

Translation: ...and [away] from your family... Here is the first problem. Abram was to separate from the rest of his family. He was to leave his family and come into Canaan only with his wife. It was to be clear to all observers that the family of Jews came from Abram exclusively.

Translation: ...and [away] from your father’s house,... God is very specific here—Abram was to separate from his father’s house. When he left to go where God told him to go, it was to be without his father. Abram did not obey God in this way. His father came with him. It will become clear that his father slowed him down.

The first verse indicates that his father is still alive when these words are first spoken. Abram had to separate from his father in order to grow spiritually. He had to get out from under his father’s shadow and his father’s influence. We know that there is a problem in this regard, as God told Abram these things in Ur, yet Abram came as far as Charan (Haran), with his father and, apparently, with several members of his family, and he stopped right there. In one ear, God is telling Abram one thing, and in the other, his father Terah is modifying God’s commands.

Translation:...[and go] to the land I will show you. The land that God would show Abraham would be Canaan.

The emphasis here is not on Abram, but upon God’s mandates, God’s promises, and God’s grace. The idea is, God is telling Abram, “Here is your pathway, here is your destination; and I will greatly bless you if you get onto that pathway.”

Gen 12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your family and your father's house to the land that I will show you.

The final word in this verse is the Hiphil (causative) imperfect (future and/or continuous action) of the very common verb râʾâh (רָאָה) [pronounced raw-AWH], which means to see, to look, to look at, to view, to behold; to perceive, to understand, to learn, to know. In the Hiphil stem, it means to cause to see, to cause to look; to show; to cause to see [with pleasure]; to cause to know, to cause to learn; to cause to experience [evil or good]. Strong's #7200 BDB #906. God is going to show Abram this great land that He is giving him; and the imperfect tense indicates that this will be a process, not a singular event. That is, Abram will not go into the land, park himself in one spot, look around, and think, “That’s not bad.” He is going to walk throughout much of the land over a period of decades. God will prosper Abram as He shows him the land He is giving to him.

Application: Even though God speaks directly to Abram and directs him, God does not give Abram every single detail. Abram does not know exactly where he is going to move to. Our lives as believers are much the same. We have a whole set of principles and mechanics in Scripture, so that we do not know where we might go, but God is still guiding us, nonetheless.

——————————

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum of Onkelos                And I will make you a great people, and will bless you, and magnify your name, and you will be blessed.

Jerusalem targum                  And I will constitute you a great people, and I will bless you; and Abram will be strengthened with many blessings.

Latin Vulgate                          And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and magnify your name, and you will be blessed.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And I will make you for a nation—great— and I will bless you and I could cause to be great your name and be a blessing.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    And I will make of you a great people, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.

Septuagint (Greek)                And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and magnify your name, and you shall be blessed.

Significant differences: 

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           I will make of you a great nation and will bless you. I will make your name respected, and you will be a blessing.

Contemporary English V.       I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others.

Easy English                          I will make you into a great nation. I will *bless you and I will make your name great. I will *bless other people, too, because of you.

Easy-to-Read Version            I will build a great nation from you.

I will bless you

and make your name famous.

People will use your name

to bless other people.

Good News Bible (TEV)         I will give you many descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will bless you and make your name famous, so that you will be a blessing.

The Message                         I'll make you a great nation and bless you. I'll make you famous; you'll be a blessing.

New Life Bible                        And I will make you a great nation. I will bring good to you. I will make your name great, so you will be honored.

New Living Translation           I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.

The Voice                               I have plans to make a great people from your descendants. And I am going to put a special blessing on you and cause your reputation to grow so that you will become a blessing and example to others.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          ...because, I'm going to make a great nation of you. I will bless you, make your name famous, and you will become a blessing [to others].

New American Bible (R.E.)    I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. The call of Abraham begins a new history of blessing (18:18; 22:15-18), which is passed on in each instance to the chosen successor (26:2-4; 28:14). This call evokes the last story in the primeval history (11:1-9) by reversing its themes: Abraham goes forth rather than settle down; it is God rather than Abraham who will make a name for him; the families of the earth will find blessing in him. Related Scriptures: Gn 17:6; Sir 44:20-21; Rom 4:17-22.

New Jerusalem Bible             ...and I shall make you a great nation, I shall bless you and make your name famous; you are to be a blessing!.

Revised English Bible            I shall make you into a great nation; I shall bless you and make your name so great that it will be used in blessings.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      I will bless and make you a great nation and grow your name to be a blessing!

The Expanded Bible              I will make you a great nation,

and I will bless you.

I will make ·you famous [^Lyour name great],

·and [or so that] you will be a blessing to others.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 And I will make you a great nation, and I will prosper and ennoble your name; and you shall be a benefactor;...

New Advent Bible                  Then I will make a great people of thee; I will bless thee, and make thy name renowned, a name of benediction;...

NET Bible®                             Then I will make you [The three first person verbs in v. 2a should be classified as cohortatives. The first two have pronominal suffixes, so the form itself does not indicate a cohortative. The third verb form is clearly cohortative] into a great nation, and I will bless you [I will bless you. The blessing of creation is now carried forward to the patriarch. In the garden God blessed Adam and Eve; in that blessing he gave them (1) a fruitful place, (2) endowed them with fertility to multiply, and (3) made them rulers over creation. That was all ruined at the fall. Now God begins to build his covenant people; in Gen 12-22 he promises to give Abram (1) a land flowing with milk and honey, (2) a great nation without number, and (3) kingship.],

and I will make your name great [Or "I will make you famous."],

so that you will exemplify divine blessing [Heb “and be a blessing.” The verb form הְיֵה (hÿyeh) is the Qal imperative of the verb הָיָה (hayah). The vav (ו) with the imperative after the cohortatives indicates purpose or consequence. What does it mean for Abram to “be a blessing”? Will he be a channel or source of blessing for others, or a prime example of divine blessing? A similar statement occurs in Zech 8:13, where God assures his people, “You will be a blessing,” in contrast to the past when they “were a curse.” Certainly “curse” here does not refer to Israel being a source of a curse, but rather to the fact that they became a curse-word or byword among the nations, who regarded them as the epitome of an accursed people (see 2 Kgs 22:19; Jer 42:18; 44:8, 12, 22). Therefore the statement “be a blessing” seems to refer to Israel being transformed into a prime example of a blessed people, whose name will be used in blessing formulae, rather than in curses. If the statement “be a blessing” is understood in the same way in Gen 12:2, then it means that God would so bless Abram that other nations would hear of his fame and hold him up as a paradigm of divine blessing in their blessing formulae.].

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

exeGeses companion Bible   ...and I work you to become a great goyim

and I bless you and greaten your name;

that you become a blessing:...

Judaica Press Complete T.    And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will aggrandize your name, and you shall be a blessing.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And I will make of thee a goy gadol (great nation), and I will bless thee, and make thy shem great; and thou shalt be a brocha (blessing);...

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with abundant increase of favors] and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a blessing [dispensing good to others].

Concordant Literal Version    And make you will I into a great nation, and bless you will I and make your name great, and become must you a blessing.

Context Group Version          ...and I will make of you a great nation, and I will esteem you, and make your name great; and you shall be a [ source of ] esteem...

English Revised Version        And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

The updated Geneva Bible    And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you will be a blessing [The world shall recover by your seed, which is Christ, the blessing which they lost in Adam.].

NASB                                     And I will make you a great nation,

And I will bless you,

And make your name great;

And so you shall be a blessing [Lit be a blessing];....

Syndein/Thieme                     And I {God} will make of you {Abram's descendants} a great nation, and I will bless you {Abram}, and make your name/reputation great. And you shall be a blessing.

Young’s Updated LT             And I make you become a great nation, and bless you, and make your name great; and be you a blessing.

The gist of this verse:          God promises to make Abram into a great nation, to bless him, to make him renown, and to make him a blessing to others.

Translation: Then I will make you into a great people [or, nation]... There are many things to be found in this verse which you will find surprising, and they will not be presented in the way that you have heard them before. However, this first phrase is pretty standard. God has given orders to Abram, and then He tells Abram what the results will be. Abram would be made into a great people. This is interesting because, in the previous chapter, Sarah, his wife, is said to be barren.

As a nation, there is no nation like Israel upon the earth. The Jews, dispersed prior to the birth of Christ; dispersed again in the first century a.d., their nation destroyed and occupied for the next 1900 years, still exist as a people and as a nation. No other group of people can make a claim like that. Even though Jews look very much like the people whose nations they inhabit, they are a separate people and will remain a separate people, a people peculiar to our God. God has made Abraham into a great nation.

Translation: ...and I will bless you... God would bless Abram and all of the associated with Abram.

Translation: ...and I could make your name great;... Here is where the translation begins to be a little different. The cohortative could be translated with a could. So now we are in the realm of potentiality. God has issued a mandate, and He will do these other things; but this time, making Abram’s name great—this is not as much of a guarantee.

Just as many religions and individuals claim Jesus Christ as exemplary of what they teach and/or believe in, Abraham is claimed by many religions. Judaism rightly claims them as their racial father, but many of them have not followed him into regeneration. Abraham is second only to Mohammed in Islam, insofar as prophetic importance is concerned. The Koran, their religious book, contains 188 references to Abraham. We as Christians look to him as our father in faith; and Paul several times referred back to the fact that Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness. In fact, Abram’s name (Abraham) will be found over 100 times in the New Testament. God has clearly made Abraham's name great.

Two great cities are mentioned in connection with Abram: Ur of the Chaldees and Charan. We know far more about Abram than we know about either of those cities. There were many nations around the world during the time of Abram—can you name a single king over any of these nations from that time? Probably not. But you know about Abram. From that era, there is no man whose name is more famous. And what did he do? He believed God. He trusted God. He did what God asked of him.

Translation: ...therefore, be a blessing. Then, in the final phrase, we have the 2^nd person masculine singular, Qal imperative of hâyâh (הָיָה) [pronounced haw-YAW], which is the simple verb to be. With the imperative mood, this means be, become; make, do. Strong’s #1293 BDB #139.

V. 2 reads: Then I will make you into a great people [or, nation] and I will bless you and I could make your name great; therefore, be a blessing. This is essentially the same blessing which God makes to the Christian believer in the dispensation of the Church Age. We will be made into a great people who are preserved throughout eternity. God blesses us both on earth and in heaven. For believers who advance in the plan of God, we will become renown and a blessing to others.

Gen 12:2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

This begins what is called, the Abrahamic Covenant, which will be repeated and added to throughout the next few chapters. God is making specific promises to Abraham. This is known as an unconditional covenant—these things will come to pass no matter what Abram does. The first thing which God promises is, He would make a great nation from Abram.

In subsequent chapters, it is going to be clear that God blesses Abram. Before he dies, Abram will have been blessed with several children, all born past the time that he was able to sire children. Abram will also be blessed materially; Gen. 13:2 indicates that his material wealth had become great. He had another wife after Sarai had passed away (Gen. 25:1); he had many servants (Gen. 24:2, 35); and vast possessions (Gen. 24:35).

God also promises Abram that, in his life and through his descendants, he would be a blessing to all mankind. The greatest blessing from Abraham to mankind will be his Son, Jesus Christ.

——————————

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum of Onkelos                And I will bless the priests who will spread forth their hands in prayer, and bless thy sons; and Bileam, who will curse them, I will curse, and they shall slay him with the mouth of the sword; and in thee shall be blessed all the generations of the earth.

Jerusalem targum                  And I will bless him who blesseth thee, and he who curseth thee shall be accursed; and in thy righteousness shall all the generations of the earth be blessed.

Latin Vulgate                          I will bless them that bless you, and curse them that curse you, and IN You will all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And let Me bless the ones blessing you; and those cursing you, I put under a curse. And bless themselves in you all families of the ground.”

Peshitta (Syriac)                    And I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you: and in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Septuagint (Greek)                And I will bless those that bless you, and curse those that curse you, and in you shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed.

Significant differences: 

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           I will bless those who bless you,

those who curse you I will curse;

all the families of earth

will be blessed because of you." Or will bless themselves because of you; or will find a blessing because of you

Contemporary English V.       I will bless anyone who blesses you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.

Easy English                          I will *bless those that *bless you. And I will *curse anyone that does not respect you. I will *bless all the families on the earth, because I *bless you.'

New Berkeley Version           I will bless those who bless you and upon him who insults you I will put My curse. Also in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed [In God’s friend Abraham, in the godly nation and supremely in Christ].

New Century Version             I will bless those who bless you,

and I will place a curse on those who harm you.

And all the people on earth

will be blessed through you."

New Life Bible                        I will bring good to those who are good to you. And I will curse those who curse you. Good will come to all the families of the earth because of you."

New Living Translation           I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you."

The Voice                               I will also bless those who bless you and further you in your journey, and I'll trip up those who try to trip you along the way. Through your descendants, all of the families of the earth will find their blessing in you. Galatians 3:8

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          I will bless those who praise you and curse those who curse you. all tribes will be blest because of you.'

New American Bible              I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you." Shall find blessing in you: the sense of the Hebrew expression is probably reflexive, "shall bless themselves through you" (i.e., in giving a blessing they shall say, "May you be as blessed as Abraham"), rather than passive, "shall be blessed in you." Since the term is understood in a passive sense in the New Testament (⇒ Acts 3:25; ⇒ Gal 3:8), it is rendered here by a neutral expression that admits of both meanings. So also in the blessings given by God to Isaac (? Genesis 26:4) and Jacob (⇒ Genesis 28:14).

New American Bible (R.E.)    I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will find blessing in you. Will find blessing in you: the Hebrew conjugation of the verb here and in 18:18 and 28:14 can be either reflexive ("shall bless themselves by you" = people will invoke Abraham as an example of someone blessed by God) or passive ("by you all the families of earth will be blessed" = the religious privileges of Abraham and his descendants ultimately will be extended to the nations). In 22:18 and 26:4, another conjugation of the same verb is used in a similar context that is undoubtedly reflexive ("bless themselves"). Many scholars suggest that the two passages in which the sense is clear should determine the interpretation of the three ambiguous passages: the privileged blessing enjoyed by Abraham and his descendants will awaken in all peoples the desire to enjoy those same blessings. Since the term is understood in a passive sense in the New Testament (Acts 3:25; Gal 3:8), it is rendered here by a neutral expression that admits of both meanings. Related Scripture: Gn 18:18; 22:18; Acts 3:25; Gal 3:8.

NIRV                                      I will bless those who bless you.

I will put a curse on anyone who calls down a curse on you.

All nations on earth

will be blessed because of you."

New Jerusalem Bible             I shall bless those who bless you, and shall curse those who curse you, and all clans on earth will bless themselves by you.'

Revised English Bible            ...those who bless you, I shall bless;

Those who curse you, I shall curse;

All the peoples on earth

Will wish to be blessed as you are blessed.’

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      I will bless those that bless you, and reprimand your cursers. You will bless all the families of the earth."

Bible in Basic English             To them who are good to you will I give blessing, and on him who does you wrong will I put my curse: and you will become a name of blessing to all the families of the earth.

The Expanded Bible              I will bless those who bless you,

and I will place a curse on those who ·harm [or curse] you.

And all the ·people [families; clans] on earth

will be blessed through you [^Cthe promises of the Abrahamic covenant]."

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 ...and I will bless those who benefit you, and punish those who injure you, and all the nations of mankind shall become benefited from you.”

New Advent Bible                  ...those who bless thee, I will bless, those who curse thee, I will curse, and in thee all the races of the world shall find a blessing [`Shall find a blessing'; some commentators would interpret this, `shall bless themselves in thy name', that is, use it as a proverbial instance of prosperity.].

NET Bible®                             I will bless those who bless you [The Piel cohortative has as its object a Piel participle, masculine plural. Since the Lord binds himself to Abram by covenant, those who enrich Abram in any way share in the blessings.],

but the one who treats you lightly [In this part of God’s statement there are two significant changes that often go unnoticed. First, the parallel and contrasting participle מְקַלֶּלְךָ (mÿqallelkha) is now singular and not plural. All the versions and a few Masoretic mss read the plural. But if it had been plural, there would be no reason to change it to the singular and alter the parallelism. On the other hand, if it was indeed singular, it is easy to see why the versions would change it to match the first participle. The MT preserves the original reading: “the one who treats you lightly.” The point would be a contrast with the lavish way that God desires to bless many. The second change is in the vocabulary. The English usually says, “I will curse those who curse you.” But there are two different words for curse here. The first is קָלַל (qalal), which means “to be light” in the Qal, and in the Piel “to treat lightly, to treat with contempt, to curse.” The second verb is אָרַר (’arar), which means “to banish, to remove from the blessing.” The point is simple: Whoever treats Abram and the covenant with contempt as worthless God will banish from the blessing. It is important also to note that the verb is not a cohortative, but a simple imperfect. Since God is binding himself to Abram, this would then be an obligatory imperfect: “but the one who treats you with contempt I must curse.”] I must curse,

and all the families of the earth will bless one another [Theoretically the Niphal can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of "bless" is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Abram were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in later formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation "will bless [i.e., "pronounce blessings on"] themselves [or "one another"]." The Hitpael of "bless" is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.] by your name."

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

exeGeses companion Bible   ...and I bless them who bless you

and curse him who abases you:

and in you all families of the soil become blessed.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And I will bless the one blessing you, and curse him that curses you; and kol mishpochot haadamah shall be blessed through you.[T.N. There is a brocha in this verse that many do not know but that every true follower of Moshiach should know.]

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                And I will bless those who bless you [who confer prosperity or happiness upon you] and curse him who curses or uses insolent language toward you; in you will all the families and kindred of the earth be blessed [and by you they will bless themselves]. To look with disfavor on the Jews was to invite God's displeasure; to treat the Jews offensively was to incur His wrath. But to befriend the Jews was to bring down upon one's head the rewards of a promise that could not be broken.

Concordant Literal Version    And bless those will I who bless you, and those making light of you will I curse. And blessed in you and in your seed are all the families of the ground.

Context Group Version          ...and I will esteem those that esteem you, and him who curses you I will curse: and in you shall all the families of the land { or earth } be esteemed.

English Standard Version      I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Green’s Literal Translation    And I will bless those who bless you, and curse the one despising you. And in you all families of the earth shall be blessed.

NASB                                     And I will bless those who bless you,

And the one who curses [Or reviles] you I will curse [Or bind under a curse].

And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

Young’s Updated LT             And I bless those blessing you, and him who is disesteeming you I curse, and blessed in you have been all families of the ground.”

The gist of this verse:          God will bless those who bless Abram (and his seed); and God will remove from blessing those who treat Abram lightly. All families of the earth will be blessed by means of Abram (and his Seed).

Translation: Consequently, I will bless those who bless you... God now states the concept of blessing by association. Those who have a good relationship with Abram would be blessed by God. We will find this fulfilled in many places throughout the next few chapters of Genesis.

There is also a far fulfillment here for those who believe in Jesus Christ, Who is descended from Abram; such men who believe in this Son will be greatly blessed by God. What we have here is a promise which has a near-fulfillment (friend, relatives and associates of Abram will be blessed by God) and a far-fulfillment (those who believe in Jesus Christ will be blessed by God). In fact, the first fulfillment foreshadows the second.

Translation: ...and I will curse those who curse you. And those who curse Abram (and curse his line, the Jews), God will curse.

I write this in 2013 and most of the Arab world is in great chaos. One thing which appears to be a great part of their thinking nowadays is antisemitism. So, where is the worst place ot live right now? In nearly any Arab country (let me be more specific: in nearly any Muslim country). If they curse the Jews, they will be cursed. It does not matter that we are in the Church Age. Now, you may say, “Well, the Arab world has always been lousy.” Not so. Lebanon, Indonesia and other parts of the Muslim and Arab world were, at one times, places where Jews and Christians were tolerated and where these prospered. Egypt had a treaty with Israel, and received millions of visitors (with millions of tourist dollars) each year. The attitudes of the people of Lebanon, Egypt and Indonesia have changed over the past decade; and, as a result, tourism is off and their economies are in turmoil; and life in those countries is oppressive and depressing.

Translation: Furthermore, all the families of the earth will bless themselves in you.” All mankind will be blessed because of Abram. From him will come the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, all mankind will be blessed in Him.

Paul discusses this in Gal. 3:1–9:

Gal. 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.

Gal. 3:2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?

Gal. 3:3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

Gal. 3:4 Did you suffer so many things in vain--if indeed it was in vain?

Gal. 3:5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith--

Gal. 3:6 just as Abraham "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"?

Gal. 3:7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.

Gal. 3:8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed."

Gal. 3:9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Gen 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those cursing you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

God’s original promises are made directly to Abram. In vv. 2–3, we find the 2^nd person masculine singular suffix again and again, which refers to Abram. However, we may reasonably apply this to the not just Abram but to his descendants as well. It makes little sense for all the families of the earth to be blessed by Abram alone. However, God will work through Abram.

This blessing and cursing promise continues to this day, to all those who are descendants of Abraham (Jews), and to all of those who have any sort of relationship with his descendants.

As an application of this, today, the United States is in a precarious position. We have a high debt, we have a nation with large numbers of dependents, we have great enemies in the world (Islam and communism, 2 of the most powerful forces for evil in the history of mankind); and yet we are the most prosperous and the greatest nation in all of human history. Part of this comes from our alliance with the modern-day nation Israel. The people there are the seed of Abraham, and God watches over them, despite the fact that many of them are unbelievers. We are blessed greatly because of the Jewish population in our country and because of our relationship to Israel. “I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you.”

Look at the Arabic nations in contrast. Whereas these nations have the potential of building hundreds of great cities like Dubai (which is an incredible achievement), they instead consume their resources on hatred. Nations like Iraq and Iran and Saudi Arabia have this potential along with the actuality of billions upon billions of dollars flowing into their countries. With this money, they could turn their backward desert nations into a paradise like Dubai. However, despite the great influx of wealth which Arab lands have enjoyed for decades, the Middle East is one of the most backward and wretched places of the world. The key is their hatred of the Jew. The Jews live in a postage stamp-sized country (approximately 0.2% of the Middle East) and they have made it beautiful and prosperous once again, even though they have no oil resources, and the Arabs, with all of their great wealth, are unable to do this. In the U.A.E., we see the potential that all Arabic countries have. However, most of these nations hate Jews and God curses those who curse Abraham and his seed. Hatred is expensive.

Spain is another excellent example. At one time, Spain was a world power, sending out explorers throughout the world. However, almost simultaneous to this was Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition, which resulted in both the execution and expulsion of Jews from Spain. This evil continued into the 1800's, by which time, Spain was no longer a great power. They became a third-rate power on a downhill slide since then. “I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you.” This is a promise from God which is as true today as it was 4000 years ago.

Through Abram, through his progeny, the Jewish race, we as Gentiles have been blessed, as they recorded and preserved God's Word with accuracy unknown in the rest of the literary world. The Jews destroyed cancerous nations which threatened to severely pollute the world. Through the Jews, we have our Savior (and their Savior) our Lord Jesus Christ. The contributions of all other races put together are minuscule compared to the preservation of God's Word and the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

So far, we have examined the first 3 verses of Gen. 12:

Gen 12:1–3 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to 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, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those cursing you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

God promises blessing to those who bless Israel and cursing to those who curse the Jews, which can be followed throughout history (as we saw, even the Encyclopedia Britannica has made this observation). We can add this to one of the amazing things found in the book of Genesis; 4000 years ago, an historical trend is prophesied, and this trend holds true even to today.

I want you to go back in time, and think about the Hittites, the Amalekites, the Phœnicians, the Canaanites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the Moabites—how many people from these ancient civilizations do you know? None. They have disappeared from history. And yet God has promised us here that God would make a great people from Abram, and that his direct descendants would be blessed. There are Jews throughout the world, and, in most cases, these Jews are found in the middle to upper class of that society; and, as we examined last time, nations which treat the Jew fairly are blessed by God.

There is something even more important about Jews—when they become a part of a country, they become a reasonably well-integrated and always contributing people. Although some carry on the traditions of Judaism, many do not. Because of years of intermarriage, Jews rarely look much different from those around them. And yet, Jews are singled out regularly for discriminatory behavior. This is because they are God’s people, chosen by God and blessed by God and, when necessary, disciplined by God.

There is an interesting dynamic which we can observe in the United States—most of us have an opinion about Israel and the Palestinians, and for a reasonably large percentage of us, we have strong opinions on this matter. However, a much smaller percentage of us think about the Kurds in Iraq and what Saddam Hussein did to them. Few of us give much thought to Lebanon, a country once known, very recently in fact, for its tolerance and diversity, and now controlled, for the most part, by radical Muslims. There are all kinds of dynamics taking place throughout the world, but most of us tend to be aware of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is because the Jews are an important part of ancient and contemporary history.

As we will eventually find out, Jews will be with us until the end, and the Jewish Age—a period of time which begins with Abram—will suddenly pick up again and continue, with the Jews playing a key role in the Tribulation (a 7 year period of time which concludes the Jewish Age—see the doctrine of Dispensations (HTML) (PDF) (WPD)). This helps to explain the radical anti-Semitism, which is so deep as to cause a nation to attempt to exterminate all of its Jews. Why would such a thing occur? Jews are nearly always good for a society (I cannot think of any instances where they are not). Therefore, it seems counterintuitive that a culture would turn against them. However, this is because the Jews are the people of God and Satan has a vested interest in removing them from history. If Satan can destroy the Jews, then God’s promises for the future become void, making God out to be a liar.

One fact which may surprise you is, even though there are roughly the same amount of Jews in the United States as Muslims, and even though Muslims attacked us on 9/11, there are far more incidents of anti-Semitism than there are which are anti-Muslim. Soon after the 9/11 attacks, when anti-Muslim actions would be at their peak, 27% of religious hate crimes were against Muslims and 56% of religious hate crime incidents were against Jews. Since 2002, hate crimes against Muslims have never risen above 13% of anti-religion hate crimes; and, in 2008, these were down to 8%. For most people, this is counterintuitive, but that is simply because you believe Satanic propaganda, also known as doctrines of demons in 1Tim. 4:1 (But the Spirit expressly says that, in later times, some will fall away from the faith [Bible doctrine], devoting one’s thoughts to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons). When it comes to the Arabs and Jews, you may fully expect a barrage of lies from Satan. This is why it is possible for some nations to actually hold Holocaust Denial conferences, where they seriously debate whether or not the holocaust occurred. This demonstrates just how powerful Satan’s propaganda is.

Back to Abram:

——————————

Abram Enters into the Land of Promise

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum of Onkelos                And Abram went, according as the Lord had spoken with him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was the son of seventy and five years at his going forth from Haran.

Latin Vulgate                          So Abram went out as the Lord had commanded him, and Lot went with him: Abram was seventy-five years old when he went forth from Haran.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so goes Abram as which was spoken unto him Y^ehowah. And so goes with him Lot. And Abram was five years and seventy a year in his departing from Charan.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    So Abram did as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him; and Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

Septuagint (Greek)                And Abram went as the Lord spoke to him, and Lot departed with him, and Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

Significant differences: 

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       Abram was seventy-five years old when the LORD told him to leave the city of Haran. He obeyed and left with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and slaves they had gotten while in Haran. When they came to the land of Canaan,...

Good News Bible (TEV)         When Abram was seventy-five years old, he started out from Haran, as the LORD had told him to do; and Lot went with him.

New Century Version             So Abram left Haran as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. At this time Abram was 75 years old.

New Living Translation           So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

The Voice                               Without any hesitation, Abram went. He did exactly as the Eternal One asked him to do. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          So, Abram did just as Jehovah told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran, ⁵ taking along his woman Sara, his nephew Lot, all the many things that they owned, and all the souls that they had accumulated in Haran, as they traveled to the land of CanaAn. V. 5 is included for context.

New American Bible (R.E.)    Abram went as the LORD directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. Gn 11:31; Jos 24:3; Acts 7:4.

New Simplified Bible              So Abram left, just as Jehovah told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.

Revised English Bible            Abram, who was seventy-five years old when he left Haran, set out as the Lord had bidden him, and Lot went with him.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Abram went as Yahweh spoke to him, and Lot went with him. Abram, a son of seventy five years, proceeded from Harran.

Bible in Basic English             So Abram went as the Lord had said to him, and Lot went with him: Abram was seventy-five years old when he went away from Haran.

The Expanded Bible              So Abram left Haran [11:31] as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. At this time Abram was 75 years old.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 So Abram departed, as the Ever-living had told him; and Lot accompanied him; and Abram was seventy-five years old at his departure from Haran.

New Advent Bible                  So Abram went out, as the Lord bade him, and with him went his nephew, Lot. Abram was seventy-five years old [It seems that Thare was still alive at the time of Abram's migration (cf. 11.26, 32). St Jerome, assuming that Thare was dead, would date Abram's age of seventy-five not from his birth, but from the time of his leaving Ur.] at the time when he left Haran, took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot with him, all the possessions they had acquired in Haran, and all the retainers born in their service there, and set out for the land of Chanaan. Most of v. 5 was included for context.

NET Bible®                             So Abram left [So Abram left. This is the report of Abram's obedience to God's command (see v. 1).], just as the Lord had told him to do [Heb "just as the Lord said to him."], and Lot went with him. (Now [The disjunctive clause (note the pattern conjunction + subject + implied "to be" verb) is parenthetical, telling the age of Abram when he left Haran.] Abram was 75 years old [Heb "was the son of five years and seventy year[s]."] [Terah was 70 years old when he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran (Gen 11:26). Terah was 205 when he died in Haran (11:32). Abram left Haran at the age of 75 after his father died. Abram was born when Terah was 130. Abram was not the firstborn - he is placed first in the list of three because of his importance. The same is true of the list in Gen 10:1 (Shem, Ham and Japheth). Ham was the youngest son (9:24). Japheth was the older brother of Shem (10:21), so the birth order of Noah's sons was Japheth, Shem, and Ham.] when he departed from Haran.)

NIV – UK                                So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           So Avram went, as ADONAI had said to him, and Lot went with him. Avram was 75 years old when he left Haran.

exeGeses companion Bible   So Abram goes, as Yah Veh worded to him;

and Lot goes with him:

and Abram is a son of seventy-five years

when he departs from Haran:...

Kaplan Translation                 Abram went as God had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Charan [According to the genealogies, Abram was born in 1948, so this was the year 2023.].

Orthodox Jewish Bible           So Avram departed as Hashem had told him; and Lot went with him; and Avram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Charan.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                So Abram departed, as the Lord had directed him; and Lot [his nephew] went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

Green’s Literal Translation    And Abram went out, even as Jehovah had spoken to him. And Lot went with him. And Abram was a son of seventy five years when he went out from Haran.

New King James Version       So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

Syndein/Thieme                     So Abram departed, as Jehovah/God had 'spoken categorically'/decreed {dabar} unto him. And Lot went with him {still a violation of God's command to separate from kindred}. And Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

World English Bible                So Abram went, as Yahweh had spoken to him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed out of Haran.

Young’s Updated LT             And Abram goes on, as Jehovah has spoken unto him, and Lot goes with him, and Abram is a son of five and seventy years in his going out from Charan.

The gist of this verse:          Abram left Charan at age 75, as ordered by God. He took Lot with him.

Translation: So Abram went as Y^ehowah spoke to him;... As previously discussed, Abram did not follow God’s orders at first; and his father died. That seems to have given him the impetus to do just as God required.

Translation: ...and Lot went with him. His nephew Lot went with him. Abram had been told to separate from his family. He will have nothing but problems from Lot and Lot will eventually not even appreciate all that Abram had provided for him.

Given that Lot is by now an adult, I would think that Abram should have separated from Lot to begin with. You may counter with, “Well, isn’t it gracious for Abram to take Lot with him?” Not necessarily. Lot’s life sucked in Canaan. He was blessed greatly at first, but when he separated from Abram, his life was lousy in nearly all respects. Perhaps his life would have been much improved had he remained in Charan.

Translation: Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Charan. 75 years old for Abram is much more like 35–40 years old for most of us. Abram will live to be 175, so he is not even halfway there yet.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum of Onkelos                And Abram took Sara his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all the substance which they had acquired, and the souls whom they had proselyted in Haran, and went forth to go to the land of Kenaan. And they came to the land of Kenaan.

Jerusalem targum                  And the souls of the proselytes.

Latin Vulgate                          And he took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all the substance which they had gathered, and the souls which they had gotten in Haran: and they went out to go into the land of Chanaan. And when they were come into it,...

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so takes Abram Sarai his woman and Lot a son of his brother and all of their possessions which they had collected and the souls they had made in Charan. And so they go out to depart land-ward of Canaan. And so they come in land-ward of Canaan.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    And Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brothers son and all their possessions which they had gained and the persons that they had gotten in Haran, and they went on their way to the land of Canaan, and to the land of Canaan they came.

Septuagint (Greek)                And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot the son of his brother, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and every soul which they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go into the land of Canaan.

Significant differences: 

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all of their possessions, and those who became members of their household in Haran; and they set out for the land of Canaan. A portion of this verse will be placed with v. 6.

Easy English                          Abram took with him his wife Sarai and his brother's son Lot. He also took the slaves. And he took everything that he had got in Haran. They left to go to the country called Canaan. And they arrived at Canaan.

Easy-to-Read Version            Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the slaves and all the other things he got in Haran. Then Abram and his group moved to the land of Canaan.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the wealth and all the slaves they had acquired in Haran, and they started out for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan,...

The Message                         Abram took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot with him, along with all the possessions and people they had gotten in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan and arrived safe and sound.

New Century Version             He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and everything they owned, as well as all the servants they had gotten in Haran. They set out from Haran, planning to go to the land of Canaan, and in time they arrived there.

New Life Bible                        Abram took his wife Sarai, and his brother's son Lot, and all the things they had gathered, and the people who joined them in Haran. And they left to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.

The Voice                               He took with him his wife Sarai, his brother's son Lot, all of their possessions, and all of the persons they had acquired for their household while in Haran; and they all set off toward the land of Canaan. When they reached Canaan, 6 Abram kept going through it to a sacred place called Shechem where the oak of Moreh stood. A portion of v. 6 was included for context.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran, taking along his woman Sara, his nephew Lot, all the many things that they owned, and all the souls that they had accumulated in Haran, as they traveled to the land of CanaAn. A portion of v. 4 is included for context.

New American Bible              Abram took his wife Sarai, his brother's son Lot, all the possessions that they had accumulated, and the persons [Persons: slaves and retainers that formed the social aggregate under the leadership of Abraham; cf ⇒ Genesis 14:14.] they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land as far as the sacred place at Shechem, by the terebinth of Moreh. (The Canaanites were then in the land.) V. 6 was included for context.

New American Bible (R.E.)    Abram took his wife Sarai, his brother's son Lot, all the possessions that they had accumulated, and the persons [Persons: servants and others who formed the larger household under the leadership of Abraham; cf. 14:14.] they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,... The ancestors appear in Genesis as pastoral nomads living at the edge of settled society, and having occasional dealings with the inhabitants, sometimes even moving into towns for brief periods. Unlike modern nomads such as the Bedouin, however, ancient pastoralists fluctuated between following the herds and sedentary life, depending on circumstances. Pastoralists could settle down and farm and later resume a pastoral way of life. Indeed, there was a symbiotic relationship between pastoralists and villagers, each providing goods to the other. Related passages: Gn 11:31; Jos 24:3; Acts 7:4.

NIRV                                      He took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot. They took all of the things they had gotten in Haran. They also took the workers they had gotten there.

They set out for the land of Canaan. And they arrived there.

New Jerusalem Bible             Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had amassed and the people they had acquired in Haran. They set off for the land of Canaan, and arrived there.

New Simplified Bible              He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran. They set out for the land of Canaan and soon arrived there.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Abram took Sarai his woman, Lot the son of his brother, all the goods they acquired, and the souls that they made in Harran. They proceeded to go into the land of Canaan. They came to the land of Canaan.

The Expanded Bible              He took his wife Sarai, ·his nephew [^Lthe son of his brother] Lot, and everything they owned, as well as all the ·servants [^Lpeople] they had gotten in Haran. They set out from Haran, planning to go to the land of Canaan, and in time they arrived there.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 Abram also too Sarai, his wife, and Lot the son of his brother, and the whole of his property which he possessed, and the slaves which he had acquired in Haran; and he proceeded to travel to the land of Canaan; and he came to the country of Canaan.

New Advent Bible                  So Abram went out, as the Lord bade him, and with him went his nephew, Lot. Abram was seventy-five years old at the time when he left Haran, took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot with him, all the possessions they had acquired in Haran, and all the retainers born in their service there, and set out for the land of Chanaan. When they reached it, Abram went across country as far as Sichem and the Valley of Clear Seeing [`The Valley of Clear Seeing'; in the Hebrew text, `The oak of Moré' (a proper name). The Latin version evidently follows a different tradition, which would connect the name of the place with the Hebrew word for `appearance' (cf. the verse following).]. Those were the days when the Chanaanites still dwelt in the land. Vv. 4–6 are included for context.

NET Bible®                             And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew [Heb "the son of his brother."] Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired [For the semantic nuance “acquire [property]” for the verb עָשָׂה (’asah), see BDB 795 s.v. עָשָׂה.] in Haran, and they left for [Heb "went out to go."] the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan.

New Heart English Bible        Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother's son, all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls whom they had gotten in Haran, and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan. Into the land of Canaan they came.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Avram took his wife Sarai, his brother's son Lot, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, as well as the people they had acquired in Haran; then they set out for the land of Kena'an and entered the land of Kena'an.

exeGeses companion Bible   ...and Abram takes Saray his woman

and Lot the son of his brother

and all the acquisitions they acquired

and the souls they worked in Haran;

and they go - go to the land of Kenaan;

and to the land of Kenaan they come: ...

Kaplan Translation                 Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all their belongings, as well as the people they had gathered [Literally, 'the soul that they had made,' or 'the souls that they had made.' It can be interpreted to mean the servants they had acquired (Rashi), or the people that they had converted to God's cause (Rashi; Ibn Ezra). It can also denote the spiritual gifts that they had acquired (Sefer Yetzirah 6; Raavad ad loc.)], and they left, heading toward Canaan. When they came to Canaan,...

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Avram took Sarai his isha, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had amassed, and the nefesh that they had gotten in Charan; and they went forth to go into the land of Kena'an; and they arrived in the land of Kena'an.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the persons [servants] that they had acquired in Haran, and they went forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the locality of Shechem, to the oak or terebinth tree of Moreh. A portion of v. 6 was included for context.

Context Group Version          And Abram took Sarai his woman { or wife }, and Lot his brother's son, and all their wealth that they had gathered, and the lives { souls } that they had acquired in Haran; and they went out to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

Darby Translation                  And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had acquired, and the souls that they had obtained in Haran, and they went out to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

English Standard Version      And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,...

The Geneva Bible                  And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brothers son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls [Meaning servants as well as cattle. ] that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

Green’s Literal Translation    And Abram took his wife Sarai, and his brother's son, Lot, and all their substance that they had gained, and the persons they had gotten in Haran. And they went out to go into the land of Canaan. And they came into the land of Canaan.

NASB                                     Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons [Lit souls] which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out [Lit went forth to go to] for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan.

Syndein/Thieme                     And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot - his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered/earned, and the souls {nephesh - referring to over 200 slaves Abram had acquired} that they had gotten in Haran. And they went forth to go into the land of Canaan. And into the land of Canaan they came. {Note: This verse may give us a hint as to why Abram 'tarried' in Haran. It was a great place of business. Abram is leaving here now with great wealth. This very easily could have been a hindrance to the spiritual growth of Abram - you cannot worship gold and God at the same time. And, this does not mean that wealth is 'evil'. It means get doctrine and then you have the capacity to enjoy your wealth. Cart and horse type thing.}