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Genesis 12

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Part of Abraham📖 Genesis introduction

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1Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. ✦ 2I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ✦ 3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” ✦ 4So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. ✦ 5And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, ✦ 6Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land. ✦ 7Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. ✦ 8From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD. ✦ 9And Abram journeyed on toward the Negev. ✦ 10Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. ✦ 11As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman, ✦ 12and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. ✦ 13Please say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and on account of you my life will be spared.” ✦ 14So when Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. ✦ 15When Pharaoh’s officials saw Sarai, they commended her to him, and she was taken into the palace of Pharaoh. ✦ 16He treated Abram well on her account, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels. ✦ 17The LORD, however, afflicted Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife Sarai. ✦ 18So Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? ✦ 19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20Then Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram, and they sent him away with his wife and all his possessions. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

In this chapter

Person / place Abraham

Where this chapter connects

Gen 26 ·10Gen 13 ·9Gen 20 ·8Heb 11 ·6Ps 105 ·6Gal 3 ·6Gen 28 ·5Gen 11 ·5

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical

    On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

  • ★ Start hereVideoOverview: Genesis 1–11BibleProject · 9 min · Free

    The single best free starting point for Genesis 1–11 — clear, visual, and faithful to the literary design.

  • VideoSpoken GospelSpoken Gospel · Free · evangelical

    Short, gospel-centered videos and spoken-word poems showing how each passage points to Jesus — especially strong on the Old Testament.

  • ReferenceBook of Genesis — Visual GuideBibleProject · Free

    A free structured guide to the whole book — outline, themes, and links to each video.

  • DocumentaryIs Genesis History?Del Tackett · Free · evangelical

    A young-earth-creationist case for a literal Genesis, free on YouTube. (YEC is one view held by faithful Christians; others read Genesis differently — see the genre guide on how to read it.)

Pastoral

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Seminary

  • ★ Start hereCommentaryGenesis (Word Biblical Commentary)Gordon J. Wenham · Paid · evangelical

    For decades the gold-standard commentary on Genesis — technical but rich. (See the ranked list for alternatives like Hamilton, NICOT.)

  • BookThe Pentateuch as NarrativeJohn H. Sailhamer · ~560 pp · Library · evangelical

    A literary-theological reading that makes Genesis's design visible.

Commentaries & study tools

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