Genesis 12, Abram

Mankind has spread out after the Great Flood and Babel. We have then been given a genealogy leading to Abram.  Abram, who will later be known as Abraham, leaves Ur with his father Terah.  (Encyclopedia Britannica has a good article on Abraham.)

Genesis 12:1-3, God calls Abram

The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

God begins a covenant with Abram.  We are given no explanation for His choice of Abram nor (at this time) are we told the real direction for Abram's travels. We will look more carefully at the reason for the covenant when we look at chapter 15.

Genesis 12:4-9, Abram sets out for Canaan

So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. 

Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.

The Negev is a desert in southern Israel.

The Hebrew word zera (זֶרַע),"seed", appears often in the Old Testament and is translated in a variety of ways. (In verse 7 here it is translated "offspring" by the NIV.) The Hebrew word first shows up in Genesis 1:11 where it means the seed of a plant.  In Genesis 38:9 it means semen. But, naturally enough, it can also mean the results (offspring) of these "seeds". (See discussion here.) Robert Alter uses this word to demonstrate the tension between translation and explanation of a passage.  Do we attempt to always translate the word zera as "seed", even if the expression is unnatural in English? Or do we translate the Hebrew word differently depending on context? Various Bible translations struggle with this tension as they attempt to translate text from one language to another (and from one culture into a different one.)

The altar at Bethel (meaning "House of God") was probably 10-15 miles north of modern Jerusalem. This is the first mention of Bethel -- the name will occur again numerous times in the Old Testament. Bethel shows up again in Genesis 25; both Shechem and Bethel are mentioned in Genesis 35.

Genesis 12:10-16, Detour to Egypt
Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, `This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."

When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.

This is a strange and rather awkward passage, representing Abram as a deceitful coward... with a beautiful wife. As John Walton points out, there are cultural undertones here that we no longer understand. As Sarai is between 65 and 75 in age, and barren, her beauty is probably not sexual, but that of a certain elegance and regal nature. It is possible that by calling her his sister, Abram retains certain negotiation rights with the Pharaoh as Sarai is added to the Pharaoh's harem. (The creation of a ruler's harem in the ANE often had diplomatic purposes, in addition to reproduction.) Sarai appears to have no say in the decision as to whose man she belongs.

The last word in the Hebrew text of verse 16, gamal (גָּמָל, "camel"), has caused some controversy. Apparently camels were not domesticated in the land of Canaan until after the time of Abraham. An online article, Did Camels Exist in Biblical Times?, published by the Biblical Archaeology Society, suggests, however, that camels existed in Abraham's home country of Mesopotamia in the third millennium BC and may indeed have been domesticated.

Genesis 12:17-20, Pharaoh pays for Abram's lie
But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai.

So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, `She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!"

Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

We are not given a description of the disease nor or we told how this leads Pharaoh to a correct conclusion about Sarai. But God takes care of Abram and greatly enriches him, despite his flaws.  (This is not the only time an Egyptian ruler will have to deal with diseases caused by his actions with the people of Abram!)

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is Mitsrayim, Egypt,

מִצְרַיִם

Some Random Thoughts

The Old Testament writings are awash in the culture of the ANE, a culture that the authors and readers do not see, as they are too immersed in it. In that culture no one considers it unusual that Sarai is moved around by Abram and thd Pharaoh. No explanation is given for Abram's belief (and the Pharaoh's) that "sister" was a safer title. The picture of Abram as a wealthy man is an obvious one (to the original audience) -- he has lots of cattle, many servants, even camels. None of that fits our modern culture. We should then experience a certain culture shock as we study. We will have to adapt to these cultural descriptions throughout our study of these texts, texts covering several thousand years of Israelite history.

First published Jan 14, 2023; updated Jan 14, 2026