Genesis 12:9-11 New English Translation
9 Abram continually journeyed by stages[a] down to the Negev.[b]
The Promised Blessing Jeopardized
10 There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt[c] to stay for a while[d] because the famine was severe.[e] 11 As he approached[f] Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look,[g] I know that you are a beautiful woman.[h]
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- Genesis 12:9 tn The Hebrew verb נָסַע (nasaʿ) means “to journey”; more specifically it means to pull up the tent and move to another place. The construction here uses the preterite of this verb with its infinitive absolute to stress the activity of traveling. But it also adds the infinitive absolute of הָלַךְ (halakh) to stress that the traveling was continually going on. Thus “Abram journeyed, going and journeying” becomes “Abram continually journeyed by stages.”
- Genesis 12:9 tn Or “the South [country].”sn Negev is the name for the southern desert region in the land of Canaan.
- Genesis 12:10 sn Abram went down to Egypt. The Abrahamic narrative foreshadows some of the events in the life of the nation of Israel. This sojourn in Egypt is typological of Israel’s bondage there. In both stories there is a famine that forces the family to Egypt, death is a danger to the males while the females are preserved alive, great plagues bring about their departure, there is a summons to stand before Pharaoh, and there is a return to the land of Canaan with great wealth.
- Genesis 12:10 tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur), traditionally rendered “to sojourn,” means “to stay for a while.” The “stranger” (traditionally “sojourner”) is one who is a temporary resident, a visitor, one who is passing through. Abram had no intention of settling down in Egypt or owning property. He was only there to wait out the famine.
- Genesis 12:10 tn Heb “heavy in the land.” The words “in the land,” which also occur at the beginning of the verse in the Hebrew text, have not been repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 12:11 tn Heb “drew near to enter.”
- Genesis 12:11 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is deictic here; it draws attention to the following fact.
- Genesis 12:11 tn Heb “a woman beautiful of appearance are you.”
New English Translation (NET)
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