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[LECH LECHA]

12 Now Hashem had said unto Avram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from the bais avicha, unto ha’aretz that I will show thee;

And I will make of thee a goy gadol (great nation), and I will bless thee, and make thy shem great; and thou shalt be a brocha (blessing);

And I will bless the one blessing you, and curse him that curses you; and kol mishpochot haadamah shall be blessed through you.[T.N. There is a brocha in this verse that many do not know but that every true follower of Moshiach should know.]

So Avram departed as Hashem had told him; and Lot went with him; and Avram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Charan.

And Avram took Sarai his isha, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had amassed, and the nefesh that they had gotten in Charan; and they went forth to go into the land of Kena’an; and they arrived in the land of Kena’an.

And Avram passed through the land unto the makom Shechem, unto Elon Moreh. And the Kena’ani was then in ha’aretz.

And Hashem appeared unto Avram, and said, Unto thy zera will I give ha’aretz hazot: and there built he a Mizbe’ach unto Hashem, Who appeared unto him.

And he removed from there unto the harah mikedem Beit-El, and pitched his tent, having Beit-El on the west, and Ai on the east; and there he built a Mizbe’ach unto Hashem,and called upon the Shem of Hashem.

And Avram journeyed, going on still toward the Negev.

10 And there was a ra’av in the land; and Avram went down into Mitzrayim to sojourn there; for the ra’av was severe in ha’aretz.

11 And it came to pass, when he was about to enter into Mitzrayim, that he said unto Sarai his isha, Hinei now, I know that thou art an isha yafeh to look upon;

12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his isha; and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.

13 Say, now, thou art my achot; that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my nefesh shall live on account of thee.

14 And it came to pass, that, when Avram was come into Mitzrayim, the Egyptians beheld the isha that she was yafeh me’od.

15 The sarim of Pharaoh also saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh; and the isha was taken into Bais Pharaoh.

16 And he treated Avram well for her sake: and he acquired sheep and oxen, and male donkeys, and avadim, and shfachot, and female donkeys, and camels.

17 And Hashem plagued Pharaoh and his Bais with nega’im gedolim because of Sarai eshet Avram.

18 And Pharaoh summoned Avram and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy isha?

19 Why saidst thou, She is my achot? So I might have taken her to me to wife; now therefore, hinei, thy wife, take her, and go!

20 And Pharaoh commanded his anashim concerning him; and they sent him away, and his isha, and all that he had.

The Call of Abram

12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household(A) to the land(B) I will show you.(C)

“I will make you into a great nation,(D)
    and I will bless you;(E)
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.[a](F)
I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;(G)
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.(H)[b]

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot(I) went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old(J) when he set out from Harran.(K) He took his wife Sarai,(L) his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated(M) and the people(N) they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan,(O) and they arrived there.

Abram traveled through the land(P) as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh(Q) at Shechem.(R) At that time the Canaanites(S) were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram(T) and said, “To your offspring[c] I will give this land.(U)(V) So he built an altar there to the Lord,(W) who had appeared to him.

From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel(X) and pitched his tent,(Y) with Bethel on the west and Ai(Z) on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.(AA)

Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.(AB)

Abram in Egypt(AC)

10 Now there was a famine in the land,(AD) and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.(AE) 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai,(AF) “I know what a beautiful woman(AG) you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister,(AH) so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman.(AI) 15 And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.(AJ)

17 But the Lord inflicted(AK) serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household(AL) because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?”(AM) he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?(AN) 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’(AO) so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 12:2 Or be seen as blessed
  2. Genesis 12:3 Or earth / will use your name in blessings (see 48:20)
  3. Genesis 12:7 Or seed