Genesis 12:1-3

Abram Journeys to Egypt

1 Now ¹the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you;

2 And ²I will make you a great nation, And ³I will bless you, And make your name great; And so ⁴you shall be a blessing;

3 And ⁵I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. ⁶And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

Genesis 12:1-3 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 12

In this chapter an account is given of the call of Abram to depart from his own country, with a promise of a divine blessing, Ge 12:1-3 of his obedience to it, Ge 12:4,5 of his journey through the land of Canaan, and of the Lord's appearance to him in it, and his promise of it to his seed, and of Abram's building altars in it, and calling on the name of the Lord, Ge 12:6-9 and of a famine there, which occasioned him to go into Egypt, Ge 12:10 where, through fear of being slain, he desired his wife to call herself his sister, Ge 12:11-13 and she being greatly admired by the Egyptians for her beauty, it went well with Abram for her sake, Ge 12:14-16 but the Egyptians were plagued because of her, who, when they understood she was Abram's wife, sent them both away, and all that belonged to them, Ge 12:17-20.

Cross References

• 1. Genesis 15:7; Acts 7:3; Hebrews 11:8
• 2. Genesis 17:4-6; Genesis 18:18; Genesis 46:3; Deuteronomy 26:5
• 3. Genesis 22:17
• 4. Zechariah 8:13
• 5. Genesis 24:35; Genesis 27:29; Numbers 24:9
• 6. Genesis 22:18; Genesis 26:4; Genesis 28:14; Acts 3:25; Galatians 3:8

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "Go for yourself"
• [b]. Lit "be a blessing"
• [c]. Or "reviles"
• [d]. Or "bind under a curse"