Beginning
God Calls Abram
12 The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s ·family [L house], and go to the land I will show you [C Canaan, the Promised Land].
2 I will make you a great nation,
and I will bless you.
I will make ·you famous [L your name great],
·and [or so that] you will be a blessing to others.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and I will place a curse on those who ·harm [or curse] you.
And all the ·people [families; clans] on earth
will be blessed through you [C the promises of the Abrahamic covenant].”
4 So Abram left Haran [11:31] as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. At this time Abram was 75 years old. 5 He took his wife Sarai, ·his nephew [L the son of his brother] Lot, and everything they owned, as well as all the ·servants [L people] they had gotten in Haran. They set out from Haran, planning to go to the land of Canaan, and in time they arrived there.
6 Abram ·traveled [passed] through that land as far as the great oak [or terebinth] tree of Moreh at Shechem [C a town in northern Palestine]. The Canaanites were living in the land at that time. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your ·descendants [L seed].” So Abram built an altar [C a place to offer sacrifices] there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 Then he traveled from Shechem to the mountain east of Bethel [C a town in the central hill country south of Shechem] and set up his tent there. Bethel was to the west, and Ai [C a town near Bethel] was to the east. There Abram built another altar to the Lord and ·worshiped him [L called on the name of the Lord]. 9 After this, he traveled on toward ·southern Canaan [L the Negev; 13:1].
Abram Goes to Egypt
10 At this time there was ·not much food [L a famine] in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to ·live [L sojourn] because ·there was so little food [L the famine was severe]. 11 Just before they arrived in Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know you are a very beautiful woman. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This woman is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but let you live. 13 Tell them you are my sister so that things will go well with me and I may be allowed to live because of you [20:1–18; 26; C Abram did not trust God to protect him].”
14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was very beautiful. 15 The Egyptian officers saw her and ·told the king of Egypt how beautiful she was [L they praised her]. They took her to the king’s palace, and 16 the king was kind to Abram ·because he thought Abram was her brother [L on account of her]. He gave Abram sheep, cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.
17 But the Lord sent terrible ·diseases [plagues] on the king and all the people in his house because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So the king sent for Abram and said, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me Sarai was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’ so that I made her my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take ·her [L your wife] and ·leave [go]!” 20 Then the king commanded his men to make Abram leave Egypt; so Abram and his wife left with everything they owned.
Abram and Lot Separate
13 So Abram, his wife, and Lot ·left [L came up from] Egypt, taking everything they owned, and traveled ·to southern Canaan [L into the Negev; C a somewhat desolate area]. 2 Abram was very rich in cattle, silver, and gold.
3 He ·left [L went by stages from] ·southern Canaan [L the Negev] and went back to Bethel where ·he had camped before [L his tent had been], between Bethel and Ai [12:8], 4 and where he had built an altar [L at first]. So he ·worshiped [L called on the name of] the Lord there.
5 During this time Lot was traveling with Abram, and Lot also had flocks, herds, and tents. 6 Abram and Lot had so many ·animals [L possessions] that the land could not support both of them together, 7 so Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen began to argue. The Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at this time.
8 Abram said to Lot, “There should be no arguing between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, because we are ·brothers [relatives]. 9 We should separate. ·The whole land is [L Is not the whole land…?] there in front of you. If you go to the left, I will go to the right. If you go to the right, I will go to the left.”
10 Lot looked all around and saw the whole Jordan ·Valley [or plain; region] and that there was much water there. It was like the Lord’s garden [C the garden of Eden], like the land of Egypt in the direction of Zoar [C name meaning “small,” in the vicinity of Sodom and Gomorrah; 14:2, 17; 19:23–24]. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah [19:1–29].) 11 So Lot chose to move east and live in the Jordan Valley [13:10]. In this way Abram and Lot separated. 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot lived among the cities in the Jordan Valley [13:10], ·very near to [L he moved his tent near] Sodom. 13 Now the people of Sodom were very evil and were always sinning against the Lord.
14 After Lot ·left [L had separated from him], the Lord said to Abram, “Look all around you—to the north and south and east and west. 15 All this land that you see I will give to you and your ·descendants [L seed] forever. 16 I will make your ·descendants [L seed] as many as the dust of the earth. If anyone could count the dust on the earth, he could count your ·people [L seed]. 17 Get up! Walk through ·all [L the length and width of] this land because I am now giving it to you.”
18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great ·trees [L oaks; or terebinths] of Mamre [C an area near Hebron, named after an Amorite leader; 14:13, 24] at the city of Hebron [C nineteen miles south of Jerusalem]. There he built an altar to the Lord.
Lot Is Captured
14 Now Amraphel was king of ·Babylonia [L Shinar], Arioch was king of Ellasar [C possibly in Mesopotamia], Kedorlaomer was king of Elam [C located on the Iranian plateau], and Tidal was king of Goiim [C possibly a people otherwise known as the Umman-manda]. 2 All these kings went to war against several other kings: Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela. (Bela is also called Zoar.) [C Sodom and Gomorrah were located in the vicinity of the Dead Sea, and the other named cities are thought to have been nearby.]
3 These kings who were attacked united their armies in the Valley of Siddim (·now [L that is] the ·Dead [L Salt] Sea). 4 They had served Kedorlaomer for twelve years, but in the thirteenth year, they all ·turned [rebelled] against him. 5 Then in the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings with him came and ·defeated [subdued] the ·Rephaites [or Rephaim; C an especially warlike tribe in Canaan] in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, and the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim [C the Zuzites and Emites were likely related to the Rephaites; Deut. 2:10–11]. 6 They also defeated the Horites in the mountains of ·Edom [L Seir; C a region outside of Palestine on the southeastern coast of the Dead Sea] to El Paran (near the ·desert [wilderness]). 7 Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh). They ·defeated [subdued] all the Amalekites [C a fearsome tribe in pre-Israelite Canaan], as well as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon Tamar.
8 At that time the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela went out to fight in the Valley of Siddim. (Bela is called Zoar.) 9 They fought against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of ·Babylonia [L Shinar], and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings fighting against five. 10 There were many ·tar [bitumen] pits in the Valley of Siddim. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and their armies ·ran away [fled], some of the soldiers fell into the tar pits, but the others ·ran away [fled] to the mountains.
11 Now Kedorlaomer and his armies took everything the people of Sodom and Gomorrah owned, including their food, and left. 12 They took Lot, Abram’s ·nephew [L son of his brother] who was living in Sodom, and ·everything he owned [L his possessions/goods]. Then they left. 13 One of the men who was not captured went to Abram, the Hebrew, and told him what had happened. At that time Abram was camped near the ·great trees [L oaks; or terebinths] of Mamre the Amorite. Mamre was a brother of Eshcol and Aner, and they had all made an ·agreement to help [covenant/treaty with] Abram.
Abram Rescues Lot
14 When Abram learned that ·Lot [L his relative/brother] had been captured, he called out his 318 trained men who had been born in his camp. He led the men and ·chased the enemy [went in pursuit] all the way to the town of Dan [C in the far north of Palestine]. 15 That night he divided his men into groups, and ·they made a surprise attack against the enemy [L he subdued/defeated/struck them]. They chased them all the way to Hobah, north of Damascus [C a major city in Syria]. 16 Then Abram brought back ·everything the enemy had stolen [L all their possessions/goods], the women and the other people, and Lot, and ·everything Lot owned [L his goods/possessions].
17 After defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, Abram ·went home [L returned]. As he was returning, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (now called King’s Valley [C somewhere in the vicinity of Jerusalem]).
18 Melchizedek king of ·Salem [C probably an old name of Jerusalem] brought out bread and wine. He was a priest for God Most High [Ps. 110; Heb. 5:6–10; 6:20—7:28] 19 and blessed Abram, saying,
“Abram, may you be blessed by God Most High,
the ·God [L one] who made heaven and earth.
20 And ·we praise [L blessed be] God Most High,
who has ·helped you to defeat your enemies [L delivered your enemies into your hand].”
Then Abram gave Melchizedek a ·tenth [tithe] of everything he had brought back from the battle.
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “You may keep ·all these things [the goods/possessions] for yourself. Just give me my people who were captured.”
22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I ·make a promise [L lifted my hand; C a gesture of swearing] to the Lord, the God Most High, who made heaven and earth. 23 I promise that I will not keep anything that is yours. I will not keep even a thread or a sandal strap [C that is, not the smallest thing] so that you cannot say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24 I will keep nothing but the food my young men have eaten. But give Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre their share of what we won, because they went with me into battle.”
God’s Covenant with Abram
15 After these things happened, the Lord spoke his word to Abram in a vision: “Abram, don’t be afraid. I will ·defend [L be a shield to] you, and ·I will give you a great reward [L your reward will be great].”
2 But Abram said, “Lord God [C Hebrew Adonai Yahweh; combination of covenant name YHWH (2:4) with common Hebrew word for “sir,” “lord,” or “master”], what can you give me? I ·have no son [am childless], so my ·slave [servant] Eliezer from Damascus [C a major city in Syria] will ·get everything I own after I die [be my heir; C a household servant would take care of a childless couple in their old age and in turn inherit their possessions].” 3 Abram said, “Look, you have given me no son, so a slave born in my house will ·inherit everything I have [be my heir].”
4 Then the Lord spoke his word to Abram: “He will not be the one to inherit what you have. You will have a son of your own who will inherit what you have.”
5 Then God led Abram outside and said, “Look at the ·sky [heavens]. There are so many stars you cannot count them. Your ·descendants [L seed] also will be too many to count.”
6 Abram ·believed [put his trust/faith in] the Lord. And the Lord ·accepted Abram’s faith, and that faith made him right with God [T counted/credited it as righteousness; Rom. 4:3, 9, 22; Gal. 3:6; James 2:23].
7 God said to Abram, “I am the Lord who led you out of Ur of ·Babylonia [L the Chaldeans] so that I could give you this land ·to own [L as a possession; 12:1–3].”
8 But Abram said, “Lord God, how can I ·be sure [L know] that I will ·own this land [possess/inherit it]?”
9 ·The Lord [L He] said to Abram, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ·male sheep [ram], a ·dove [turtledove], and a young pigeon.”
10 Abram brought them all to God. Then Abram ·killed the animals and cut each of them into two pieces [L split them down the middle], laying each half opposite the other half. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 Later, ·large birds [or birds of prey] flew down to eat the ·animals [L carcasses], but Abram chased them away [C perhaps representing later enemies of Israel].
12 As the sun was ·going down [setting], Abram fell into a deep sleep. While he was asleep, a very ·terrible [or frightening] darkness came. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your ·descendants [L seed] will be ·strangers [sojourners; wanderers; resident aliens] in a land they don’t own. The people there will make them slaves and ·be cruel to [oppress] them for four hundred years. 14 But I will ·punish [judge] the nation ·where they are slaves [L which they serve]. Then your ·descendants [L seed] will leave that land, taking great ·wealth [possessions] with them. 15 And you, Abram, will ·die [L go to your fathers/ancestors] in peace and will be buried at an old age. 16 ·After your great-great-grandchildren are born [L After the fourth generation], ·your people [L they] will come ·to this land [L here] again. It will take that long, because ·I am not yet going to punish the Amorites for their evil behavior [T the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete; C Amorites is one name for the pre-Israelite inhabitants of Canaan].”
17 After the sun went down, it was very dark. Suddenly a smoking firepot and a blazing torch [C fire and smoke often represent God] passed between the ·halves of the dead animals [L pieces; C a self-curse ritual; by passing between the pieces of the sacrifice, one vowed to keep an agreement or suffer the same fate as the animals]. 18 So on that day the Lord ·made an agreement [L cut a covenant/treaty; 6:18] with Abram and said, “I will give to your ·descendants [L seed] the land between the river of Egypt and the great river Euphrates. 19 This is the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites [C the name of peoples who lived in pre-Israelite Canaan].”
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