Genesis 12:7

7 And Jehovah appeareth unto Abram, and saith, `To thy seed I give this land;' and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, who hath appeared unto him.

Genesis 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.

Genesis 12:7 In-Context

5 And Abram taketh Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they have gained, and the persons that they have obtained in Charan; and they go out to go towards the land of Canaan; and they come in to the land of Canaan.

6 And Abram passeth over into the land, unto the place Shechem, unto the oak of Moreh; and the Canaanite [is] then in the land.

7 And Jehovah appeareth unto Abram, and saith, `To thy seed I give this land;' and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, who hath appeared unto him.

8 And he removeth from thence towards a mountain at the east of Beth-El, and stretcheth out the tent (Beth-El at the west, and Hai at the east), and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, and preacheth in the name of Jehovah.

9 And Abram journeyeth, going on and journeying towards the south.