The Call of Abram
Genesis 12:1-9
Gen.12.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: PREP
- אברם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- לך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- מארצך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,suff+PRON,2,m,sg
- וממולדתך: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,suff+PRON,2,m,sg
- ומבית: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אביך: NOUN,m,sg,suff+PRON,2,m,sg
- אל: PREP
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אראך: VERB,qal,impf,1,?,sg+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Gen.12:4 (structural): Immediate narrative continuation: Abram obeys God's command and departs for the land, showing the call’s fulfillment (same episode, direct sequel).
- Gen.13:14-17 (verbal): God reiterates and expands the land promise—'lift up your eyes... all the land that I give to you and your offspring'—echoing the promise in 12:1 about the land God will show.
- Gen.15:18 (thematic): God formalizes the promise of territory to Abram's descendants ('to your offspring I give this land'), thematically linked to the land command in 12:1.
- Acts 7:2-4 (quotation): Stephen recounts the patriarchal call and explicitly quotes God's command to Abram ('Go into the land that I will show you'), directly echoing Gen 12:1.
- Hebrews 11:8 (allusion): New Testament reflection on Abraham's faith: he obeyed 'when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance,' alluding to the calling and land promise of Gen 12:1.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD said to Abram: Go from your land, and from your kindred, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.
- And the LORD said to Abram: Go yourself from your land and from your kindred and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.
Gen.12.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואעשך: VERB,qal,imprf,1,_,sg
- לגוי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- גדול: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ואברכך: VERB,hiph,imprf,1,_,sg
- ואגדלה: VERB,hiph,imprf,1,_,sg
- שמך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2ms
- והיה: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ברכה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Gen.17:4-6 (verbal): God repeats and expands the promise—‘I will make you exceedingly fruitful… I will make you the father of many nations’—echoing ‘I will make you a great nation’ and ‘I will make your name great.’
- Gen.22:17-18 (verbal): A later reiteration of the Abrahamic blessing: God vows to bless Abraham and that ‘in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed,’ paralleling ‘I will bless you… and you shall be a blessing.’
- Gen.26:4 (structural): God repeats the promise to Isaac—‘I will multiply your offspring…and by your offspring all nations of the earth shall be blessed’—showing the covenant’s transfer and continuity from Abraham to his descendants.
- Gal.3:8 (quotation): Paul cites the Abrahamic promise as gospel proclamation—‘And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham… “All the nations shall be blessed in you.”’—a New Testament appropriation of Gen 12:2–3.
- Psalm 105:8-11 (thematic): The psalm recounts God’s covenantal promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—God’s faithfulness to give offspring and land—reflecting the same covenant language of making a great nation and blessing the patriarch.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great; and be a blessing.
- And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great; and be a blessing.
Gen.12.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואברכה: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,1,c,sg
- מברכיך: VERB,qal,ptc,_,m,pl+SUFF,2,m,sg
- ומקללך: CONJ+VERB,qal,ptc,_,m,pl+SUFF,2,m,sg
- אאר: VERB,qal,impf,1,c,sg
- ונברכו: CONJ+VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,pl
- בך: PREP+PRON,2,f,sg
- כל: ADJ,m,sg
- משפחת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- האדמה: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Gen.22:18 (verbal): Reiterates the promise that through Abraham's offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed—near-verbatim restatement of Gen 12:3 in the covenant context of the binding of Isaac.
- Gen.26:4 (verbal): God repeats the blessing to Isaac: 'in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,' echoing the original promise made to Abraham in Gen 12:3.
- Gen.28:14 (verbal): The promise is extended to Jacob: that through him and his offspring all families of the earth will be blessed, again restating the Gen 12:3 theme of blessing to the nations.
- Isaiah 49:6 (thematic): Portrays the servant's mission to bring light and salvation to the nations—a thematic development of the Abrahamic promise that blessing will reach the Gentiles.
- Galatians 3:8 (quotation): The New Testament explicitly cites Gen 12:3, arguing that Scripture foretold the justification of the Gentiles and announced the gospel to Abraham: 'all nations will be blessed through you.'
Alternative generated candidates
- And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who treats you with contempt I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
- And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
Gen.12.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וילך: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- אברם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כאשר: CONJ
- דבר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אליו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וילך: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- אתו: PRT+PRON,3,m,sg
- לוט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואברם: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חמש: NUM,card,sg
- שנים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ושבעים: CONJ+NUM,card,m,pl
- שנה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בצאתו: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- מחרן: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Genesis 12:1 (structural): The divine command to 'go from your country...' is the summons to which Gen 12:4 records Abram's obedience (the call/response structure).
- Genesis 12:5 (verbal): Immediate narrative continuation: this verse also records that Lot went with Abram and lists who departed Haran, paralleling Gen 12:4's mention of Lot and the departure.
- Genesis 11:31 (thematic): Background account of Terah taking Abram from Ur to settle in Haran; explains Abram's presence in Haran prior to the departure described in Gen 12:4.
- Hebrews 11:8 (thematic): Summarizes Abraham's act of faith in obeying God's call and leaving his homeland, thematically paralleling Abram's obedience in Gen 12:4.
- Acts 7:2-4 (allusion): Stephen's retelling of the patriarchal call and Abraham's departure (from Haran/Ur) echoes the Genesis narrative of God's call and Abram's subsequent journey.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Abram went as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him; and Abram was seventy-five years old when he went out from Haran.
- And Abram went, as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he went out from Haran.
Gen.12.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויקח: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,sg
- אברם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT
- שרי: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אשתו: NOUN,f,sg,cons+3,m
- ואת: CONJ+PRT
- לוט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אחיו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,m,sg
- ואת: CONJ+PRT
- כל: ADJ,m,sg
- רכושם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,pl
- אשר: PRON,rel
- רכשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ואת: CONJ+PRT
- הנפש: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בחרן: PREP,NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויצאו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ללכת: VERB,qal,inf
- ארצה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כנען: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ויבאו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ארצה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כנען: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Genesis 11:31 (structural): Background narrative: Terah 'took' Abram, Sarai and Lot and set out for Canaan but settled in Haran — the earlier family movement that explains Abram’s presence in Haran before the departure in 12:5.
- Genesis 12:1-4 (structural): Immediate context: God’s call to Abram and the record that Abram 'went' in obedience — these verses frame and motivate the departure described in 12:5.
- Genesis 13:5 (verbal): Parallel detail: Repeats that Lot travelled with Abram and owned flocks and herds — echoes 12:5’s mention of Lot and the possessions that accompanied Abram.
- Hebrews 11:8 (thematic): Thematic parallel: Summarizes Abraham’s obedient departure 'by faith' in response to God’s call, reflecting the theological significance of Abram’s leaving Haran in 12:5.
- Acts 7:2-4 (allusion): Stephen’s retelling: Recalls God’s command to Abraham to leave Mesopotamia/Haran and go to a land he would receive — an early Jewish-Christian retelling of the same migration.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had acquired, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they went out to go to the land of Canaan, and they came to the land of Canaan.
- And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gained, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they went out to go to the land of Canaan, and they came to the land of Canaan.
Gen.12.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויעבר: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- אברם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- מקום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שכם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- אלון: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מורה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- והכנעני: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,def
- אז: ADV
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Gen.12.7 (structural): Immediate literary continuation: God appears to Abram at Shechem (the oak of Moreh) and promises the land—directly linked to Abram's arrival in v.6.
- Gen.12.8 (thematic): Same narrative pattern of arrival in Canaan followed by worship (Abram moves to Bethel and builds an altar), paralleling v.6's movement to a significant landmark.
- Gen.33.18 (verbal): Jacob later 'came to the city of Shechem'—reuses the same place-name and similar travel language, marking Shechem as a recurring patriarchal locale.
- Josh.24.1-3 (thematic): Joshua summons Israel at Shechem to recount patriarchal history and renew the covenant—Shechem functions as a central covenantal and communal gathering place like in Abram's story.
- Gen.34.2 (thematic): The episode of Dinah at Shechem highlights the city's ongoing role as the setting for pivotal patriarchal-family events, echoing Abram's earlier presence there.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh; and the Canaanite was then in the land.
- And Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh; and the Canaanite was then in the land.
Gen.12.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וירא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: PREP
- אברם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- לזרעך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- אתן: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הזאת: DEM,f,sg,def
- ויבן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שם: ADV,loc
- מזבח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,def
- הנראה: VERB,niphal,ptc,3,m,sg,def
- אליו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Genesis 15:7 (verbal): God repeats the same promise language—'I am the LORD who brought you out... to give you this land'—directly identifying the giver and the gift as in Gen 12:7.
- Genesis 17:8 (verbal): A fuller restatement of the land promise: 'I will give to you and to your offspring... the land of Canaan,' showing the ongoing covenantal grant first announced in Gen 12:7.
- Genesis 28:13 (verbal): God promises the land to Jacob and his descendants—'the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring'—echoing the same promise made to Abram in Gen 12:7 and indicating covenant continuity.
- Acts 7:5 (quotation): Stephen cites the promise in retelling Israel's origins: 'but I will give this land to you and to your offspring,' explicitly quoting and applying the patriarchal land-promise of Gen 12:7 in the New Testament.
- Hebrews 11:8-10 (thematic): Hebrews highlights Abraham's faith, his building of altars and sojourning in the land while looking for a city—connecting Gen 12:7's appearance, promise, and altar-building to the theme of faithful trust in God's promised inheritance.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD appeared to Abram and said: To your seed I will give this land. And he built there an altar to the LORD who had appeared to him.
- And the LORD appeared to Abram and said: To your seed I will give this land. And there he built an altar to the LORD who appeared to him.
Gen.12.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויעתק: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- משם: PREP+DEM
- ההרה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- מקדם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לבית: PREP
- אל: PREP
- ויט: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אהלה: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,m,sg
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: PREP
- מים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- והעי: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מקדם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויבן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שם: ADV,loc
- מזבח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,def
- ויקרא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- בשם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Genesis 12:7 (structural): Immediate narrative parallel: God appears to Abram at Shechem and the building of an altar follows — the same theophanic/altar-setting episode in the same scene.
- Genesis 13:3-4 (verbal): Abram returns to Bethel, pitches his tent and 'builds an altar to the LORD and calls upon the name of the LORD' — language and actions nearly identical to Gen 12:8.
- Genesis 13:18 (thematic): Abram moves to the oaks of Mamre (Hebron) and again 'builds an altar to the LORD' — recurring motif of altars marking Abram's worship and covenant presence.
- Genesis 22:9 (thematic): Abraham builds an altar to the LORD on Mount Moriah to offer Isaac — shares the altar motif and Abraham's devotion to Yahweh, though in a testing/trial context.
- Judges 6:25-26 (thematic): Gideon is commanded to tear down an alien altar and build an altar to the LORD — parallels the theme of establishing proper worship of Yahweh by erecting altars and invoking God's name.
Alternative generated candidates
- And he moved from there to the hill country, east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.
- And he moved from there to the hill country, east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.
Gen.12.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויסע: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אברם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הלוך: VERB,qal,ptc,NA,m,sg
- ונסוע: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- הנגבה: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Genesis 12:4-5 (structural): Abram's initial departure in obedience to God's call; both passages describe the same migratory episode that initiates Abram's journeying motif in the narrative.
- Genesis 12:8 (thematic): Nearby episode of Abram moving within Canaan, building altars and then continuing his travels—shows the recurring pattern of stopping to worship and then resuming the journey.
- Genesis 13:1 (verbal): Explicit mention of Abram's movement into the Negev/‘south’ (נגב); repeats the language and geographic direction of Abram's southern travels after the Egypt episode.
- Genesis 20:1 (verbal): A later report that 'Abraham journeyed toward the Negeb/south' (and sojourned in the region), echoing the same verb and the recurring motif of Abraham's movements and sojourns in the southern district.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Abram journeyed, going and journeying toward the Negeb.
- And Abram journeyed on, going on toward the Negeb.
And the LORD said to Abram, Go forth from your land, and from your kindred, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great; and be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who treats you with contempt I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. And Abram went, as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him; and Abram was seventy-five years old when he went out from Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot the son of his brother, and all their possessions which they had acquired, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they went out to go to the land of Canaan, and they came to the land of Canaan. And Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh; and the Canaanite was then in the land. And the LORD appeared to Abram and said, To your offspring I will give this land; and there he built an altar to the LORD who had appeared to him. And he moved from there to the hill country, east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD. And Abram set out, going on and journeying toward the Negeb.