XII. (1) NOW THE LORD HAD SAID UNTO ABRAM. — Heb., _And Jehovah said unto Abram._ There is no new beginning; but having briefly sketched the family from which Abram sprang, and indicated that he had inherited from them the right of primogeniture, the narrative next proceeds to the primary purpose o... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU SHALT BE A BLESSING. — More correctly, _Be thou a blessing._ The promises made to Abram are partly personal and partly universal, embracing the whole world. In return for all that he abandons he is to become the founder of a powerful nation, who will honour his name, and teach the inheritors of... [ Continue Reading ]
ABRAM... DEPARTED OUT OF HARAN. — The command given him in Ur may have been repeated in Haran; but more probably Abram had remained there only on account of Terah. At his death (see note on Genesis 11:26) he resumed his migration northward.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEIR SUBSTANCE THAT THEY HAD GATHERED. — Not cattle only, but wealth of every kind. As we have no data about the migration of Terah, except that it was after the death of Haran, and that Haran left children, we cannot tell how long the family rested at their first halting place, but it was probably... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PLACE OF SICHERN. — Heb., _Shechem._ This word signifies “shoulder,” and was the name of the ridge uniting Mounts Ebal and Gerizim, the summits of which are about two miles apart. As the name is thus taken from the natural conformation of the ground, it may be very ancient. The modern name of th... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD APPEARED UNTO ABRAM. — This is the first time that any appearance of the Deity is men tioned. Always previously the communications between God and man had been direct, without the intervention of any visible medium. Thus, God _commanded_ Adam (Genesis 2:16); Adam and Eve _heard_ His voice ... [ Continue Reading ]
HE REMOVED. — Broke up his encampment. _No_ special reason for this need be sought; it was the usual condition of the nomad life, and Abram’s wealth in cattle would make frequent changes necessary. His first long halt was in the hill country between Beth-el and Hai, or rather Ai, as in Joshua 8:1. T... [ Continue Reading ]
TOWARD THE SOUTH. — The Negeb, or dry land, so called because the soil being a soft white chalk, the rains sink through it, and even in the valleys run below the surface of the ground. Though treeless, it is still rich in flocks and herds, but the water has to be collected in tanks and cisterns (Con... [ Continue Reading ]
ABRAM’S VISIT TO EGYPT. (10) THERE WAS A FAMINE IN THE LAND. — This famine must have happened within a few years after Abram reached Canaan; for he was seventy-five years of age on leaving Haran, and as Ishmael, his son by an Egyptian slave-woman, was thirteen years old when Abram was ninety-nine, o... [ Continue Reading ]
(11-13) THOU ART A FAIR WOMAN. — For the word y_ephath,_ rendered “fair,” see on Genesis 9:27. Though its general meaning is _beautiful,_ yet there can be no doubt that the light colour of Sarai’s complexion was that which would chiefly commend her to the Egyptians; for she was now past sixty, and t... [ Continue Reading ]
MY SISTER. — True literally, as Sarai was Terah’s daughter (Genesis 20:12), but absolutely false, as it implied that she was wholly his sister, and therefore not his wife.... [ Continue Reading ]
PHARAOH is not the name of a person, but was the title borne by all the Egyptian monarchs.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PRINCES... COMMENDED HER BEFORE PHARAOH. — In the days of Abram Canaan was the highway to Egypt, and so large an immigration of men of the Semitic stock found their way thither that they overspread the whole Delta, and finally, under the name of the Hyksôs, made themselves masters of the throne... [ Continue Reading ]
HE ENTREATED ABRAM WELL. — Heb., _did good to Abram._ It was usual to give the relatives a sum of money when taking a daughter or sister to wife. The presents here show that Pharaoh fully believed that he was acting lawfully, while the largeness of them proves that Sarai, in spite of her years, was... [ Continue Reading ]
SO I MIGHT HAVE TAKEN HER TO ME TO WIFE. — The Hebrew is, _and I took her to me to wife:_ that is, I took her with the intention of making her my wife. During the interval before the marriage Pharaoh and his household were visited with such marked troubles that he became alarmed, and possibly Sarai... [ Continue Reading ]