Hands-On Bible Sampler - Flipbook - Page 44
Genesis 12 ... page 14
wife was Milcah. (Milcah and her sister Iscah
were daughters of Nahor’s brother Haran.) 30But
Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no
children.
31 One day Terah took his son Abram, his
daughter-in-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. 32 Terah lived for
205 years and died while still in Haran.
CHAPTER
12
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. 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.”
4 So 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.
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 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
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. 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. 16Then 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. 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? 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!” 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.
CHAPTER
13
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.) 3From the Negev, they continued traveling by stages toward Bethel, and they
pitched their tents between Bethel and Ai,
where they had camped before. 4This was the
same place where Abram had built the altar, and
there he worshiped the Lord again.
5Lot, who was traveling with Abram, had also
become very wealthy with flocks of sheep and
goats, herds of cattle, and many tents. 6But the
land could not support both Abram and Lot
with all their flocks and herds living so close
together. 7So disputes broke out between the
herdsmen of Abram and Lot. (At that time
Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the
land.)
8Finally Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not allow this
conflict to come between us or our herdsmen.
After all, we are close relatives! 9 The whole
countryside is open to you. Take your choice of
any section of the land you want, and we will
separate. If you want the land to the left, then I’ll
take the land on the right. If you prefer the land
on the right, then I’ll go to the left.”
10Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of
the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The
whole area was well watered everywhere, like the
garden of the Lord or the beautiful land of
Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11Lot chose for himself the
whole Jordan Valley to the east of them. He went
