Genesis 12
1599 Geneva Bible
12 1 Abram by God’s commandment goeth to Canaan. 3 Christ is promised. 7 Abram buildeth Altars for exercise and declaration of his faith among the infidels. 10 Because of the dearth he goeth into Egypt. 15 Pharaoh taketh his wife, and is punished.
1 For the Lord had said unto Abram, (A)[a]Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house unto [b]the land that I will show thee.
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and will bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a [c]blessing.
3 I will also bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
4 So Abram departed, even as the Lord spake unto him, and Lot went with him, (and Abram was seventy and five years old, when he departed out of Haran)
5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they possessed, and the [d]souls that they had gotten in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan, and to the land of Canaan they came.
6 ¶ So Abram [e]passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, and unto the [f]plain of Moreh (and the [g]Canaanite was then in the land)
7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land. And there built he [h]an altar unto the Lord, which appeared unto him.
8 Afterward removing [i]thence unto a mountain Eastward from Bethel, he pitched his tent having Bethel on the West side, and Ai on the East, and there he built an [j]altar unto the Lord, and called on the Name of the Lord.
9 [k]Again Abram went forth going and journeying toward the South.
10 ¶ Then there came a [l]famine in the land: therefore Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there: for there was a great famine in the land.
11 And when he drew near to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:
12 Therefore it will come to pass that when the Egyptians see thee, they will say, She is his wife: so will they kill me, but they will keep thee alive.
13 Say, I pray thee, that thou art my [m]sister, that I may fare well for thy sake, and that my [n]life may be preserved by thee.
14 ¶ Now when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman: for she was very fair.
15 And the Princes of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her unto Pharaoh: so the woman was [o]taken into Pharaoh’s house:
16 Who entreated Abram well for her sake, and he had sheep, and beeves, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.
17 But the Lord [p]plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues, because of Sarai Abram’s wife.
18 Then Pharaoh called Abram, and said, Why hast thou done this unto me? Wherefore diddest thou not tell me, that she was thy wife?
19 Why saidest thou, She is my sister, that I should take her to be my wife? Now therefore behold thy wife, take her and go thy way.
20 And Pharaoh gave men [q]commandment concerning him: and they conveyed him forth and his wife, and all that he had.
Footnotes
- Genesis 12:1 From the flood to this time were four hundred twenty and three years.
- Genesis 12:1 In appointed him no certain place, he proveth so much more his faith and obedience.
- Genesis 12:2 The world shall recover by thy seed, which is Christ, the blessing which they lost in Adam.
- Genesis 12:5 Meaning, as well servants as cattle.
- Genesis 12:6 He wandered to and fro in the land before he could find a settling place: thus God exerciseth the faith of his children.
- Genesis 12:6 Or, oak grove.
- Genesis 12:6 Which was a cruel and rebellious nation, by whom God kept his in continual exercise.
- Genesis 12:7 It was not enough for him to worship God in his heart, but it was expedient to declare by outward profession his faith before men, whereof this altar was a sign.
- Genesis 12:8 Because of the troubles that he had among that wicked people.
- Genesis 12:8 And so served the true God, and renounced all idolatry.
- Genesis 12:9 Thus the children of God may look for no rest in this world, but must wait for the heavenly rest and quietness.
- Genesis 12:10 This was a new trial of Abram’s faith: whereby we see that the end of one affliction is the beginning of another.
- Genesis 12:13 By this we may learn not to use unlawful means, nor to put others in danger to save ourselves, read verse 20, albeit it may appear that Abram feared not so much death, as that if he should die without issue, God’s promise should not have taken place: wherein appeared a weak faith.
- Genesis 12:13 Hebrew, that my soul may live.
- Genesis 12:15 To be his wife.
- Genesis 12:17 The Lord took the defense of this poor stranger against a mighty king: and as he is ever careful over his, so did he preserve Sarai.
- Genesis 12:20 To the intent that none should hurt him either in his person or goods.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
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