Bereshis 12:7

7 And Hashem appeared unto Avram, and said, Unto thy zera will I give ha’aretz hazot: and there built he a Mizbe’ach unto Hashem, Who appeared unto him.

Bereshis 12:7 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 12:7

And the Lord appeared unto Abram
Perhaps in an human form, and so it was the Son of God; for whenever there was any visible appearance of a divine Person, under the former dispensation, it seems to be always of the essential Word, that was to be incarnate, and who spake with an articulate voice:

and said, unto thy seed will I give this land;
the whole of it inhabited by Canaanites and others; and it was for this end chiefly that Abram was called out of Chaldea into Canaan, to be shown the land, and have the grant of it for his posterity:

and there builded an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him:
by way of gratitude and thankfulness for his kind and gracious appearance, and for the gift of the land of Canaan to his offspring; for on this altar he no doubt offered sacrifice in a way of thanksgiving, as Noah did when he came out of the ark.

Bereshis 12:7 In-Context

5 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.

6 And Avram passed through the land unto the makom Shechem, unto Elon Moreh. And the Kena’ani was then in ha’aretz.

7 And Hashem appeared unto Avram, and said, Unto thy zera will I give ha’aretz hazot: and there built he a Mizbe’ach unto Hashem, Who appeared unto him.

8 And he removed from there unto the harah mikedem Beit-El, and pitched his tent, having Beit-El on the west, and Ai on the east; and there he built a Mizbe’ach unto Hashem,and called upon the Shem of Hashem.

9 And Avram journeyed, going on still toward the Negev.