Every Woman's Bible Genesis sampler - Flipbook - Page 31
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After Terah was 70 years old, he became the
father of Abram, nahor, and Haran.
The Family of Terah
This is the account of Terah’s family. Terah was the
father of Abram, nahor, and Haran; and Haran was
the father of Lot. 28 But Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while his father, Terah,
was still living. 29 Meanwhile, Abram and nahor both
married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and
the name of nahor’s wife was Milcah. (Milcah and
her sister Iscah were daughters of nahor’s brother
Haran.) 30 But Sarai was unable to become pregnant
and had no children.
31 One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughterin-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson
Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of
the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan,
but they stopped at Haran and settled there. 32Terah
lived for 205 years* and died while still in Haran.
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The Call of Abram
The 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. 2 I
will make you into a great nation. I will bless you
and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to
others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse
those who treat you with contempt. All the families
on earth will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed,
and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five
years old when he left Haran. 5 He 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.
7 Then 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
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GEnESIS 13
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. 9 Then Abram continued traveling south by
stages toward the negev.
Abram and Sarai in Egypt
At 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. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife. Let’s kill
him; then we can have her!’ 13 So 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. 15 When the palace
officials saw her, they sang her praises to Pharaoh,
their king, and Sarai was taken into his palace.
16 Then Pharaoh gave Abram many gifts because of
her—sheep, goats, cattle, male and female donkeys,
male and female servants, and camels.
17 But the Lord sent terrible plagues upon Pharaoh
and his household because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
18 So 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? 19 Why 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!” 20 Pharaoh ordered some of his men
to escort them, and he sent Abram out of the country,
along with his wife and all his possessions.
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Abram and Lot Separate
So Abram left Egypt and traveled north into
the negev, along with his wife and Lot and all
that they owned. 2 (Abram was very rich in livestock,
silver, and gold.) 3 From the negev, they continued
traveling by stages toward Bethel, and they pitched
their tents between Bethel and Ai, where they had
camped before. 4 This was the same place where
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11:32 Some ancient versions read 145 years; compare 11:26 and 12:4. 12:7 Hebrew seed.
11:30 Sarai, Rebekah, and Rachel all experienced infertility
(25:21; 29:31). Sarai’s infertility introduced a paradox between
her experience and God’s promise of many descendants (12:2).
Frequently in the Old Testament, God demonstrated his sovereignty by miraculously giving children to women who had
previously been unable to have children (Judges 13:3; 1 Samuel
1:2; 2:5; see also Psalm 113:9; Isaiah 54:1).
12:1-3 Before Abram could experience God’s blessing, he
had to step out in obedience by setting out on a journey of
unknown length and destination. The exclusivity of God’s
covenant with Abram may seem troubling at first, but God
blessed his family so that they could bless all the other
families on earth. Abram’s blessing was God’s solution for
the brokenness and violence of the post-Flood world (see
Psalm 67).
12:10-20 Abram deceived Pharaoh regarding his wife’s identity rather than trusting God’s protection, putting both her and
Pharaoh’s household at risk (see 20:1-18; 26:1-11). Sarai was in
fact his half sister (20:12), but Abram’s deception resulted in
their expulsion from Egypt.
13:1-18 God had asked Abram to leave his father’s family (12:1),
but he took his nephew Lot with him. Lot’s company became
problematic when the two households grew so large that the land
could not support them both. Abram gave Lot first choice of land
because he believed in God’s promise. After they parted ways,
God reaffirmed his plan to bless Abram (13:14-17).
