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Genesis 12

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Part of Abraham📖 Genesis introduction

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1The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. ✦ 2I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. ✦ 3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” ✦ 4So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. ✦ 5He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, ✦ 6Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites. ✦ 7Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him. ✦ 8After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and he worshiped the Lord. ✦ 9Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev. ✦ 10At that time a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to go down to Egypt, where he lived as a foreigner. ✦ 11As he was approaching the border of Egypt, Abram said to his wife, Sarai, “Look, you are a very beautiful woman. ✦ 12When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife. Let’s kill him; then we can have her!’ ✦ 13So please tell them you are my sister. Then they will spare my life and treat me well because of their interest in you.” ✦ 14And sure enough, when Abram arrived in Egypt, everyone noticed Sarai’s beauty. ✦ 15When the palace officials saw her, they sang her praises to Pharaoh, their king, and Sarai was taken into his palace. ✦ 16Then Pharaoh gave Abram many gifts because of her—sheep, goats, cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. ✦ 17But the Lord sent terrible plagues upon Pharaoh and his household because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. ✦ 18So Pharaoh summoned Abram and accused him sharply. “What have you done to me?” he demanded. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? ✦ 19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ and allow me to take her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and get out of here!” 20Pharaoh ordered some of his men to escort them, and he sent Abram out of the country, along 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.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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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