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Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 12:6-10

The promised land. I. WANDERINGS . Entering Canaan from the north, the Chaldsean emigrant directs his progress steadily towards the south, removing from station to station till he reaches the furthest limit of the land. This wandering life to the patriarch must have been II. TRIALS . Along with ceaseless peregrinations, more or less exacting in their nature, trials of another and severer sort entered into the texture of the patriarch's experience in the promised land. The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 12:7

And the Lord appeared . The first mention of a theophany, though Acts 7:2 alleges that such a Divine manifestation had previously occurred in Ur of the Chaldees. Though not a direct vision of Jehovah ( John 1:18 ), that there was some kind of outward appearance may be inferred from the subsequent Divine manifestations to the patriarch ( Genesis 18:2 , Genesis 18:17 , Genesis 18:33 ; Genesis 22:11-18 ), to Hagar ( Genesis 16:7-14 ; Genesis 21:17 , Genesis 21:18 ), and to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 12:7

Abraham worshipping. "And there he builded an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him." Abraham is at length Divinely informed that he is in the land hereafter to be his. He was at the spot where the great temple, to be set up by his descendants, would stand. Here he builds an altar. It was doubtless a very plain altar of rough stones, but large enough for the sacrifices to be offered. It would have little attraction in the eyes of many, but it would be approved of by God. I. IT ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 12:8

And he removed— literally, caused (i.e. his tent) to be broken up (cf. Genesis 26:22 — from thence —no cause for which being assigned, the hostility of his neighbors (Luther, Calvin) and the commencement of the famine (Alford, Keil) have been conjectured as the probable reasons— unto a (literally, the) mountain east of Bethel . Here proleptically named "house of God," being called in the time of Abram Luz ( Genesis 28:19 ). Its present name is Beitin. And pitched his tent ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 12:8

Abraham's altar. "And there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord." There is a solemn word ( Matthew 10:32 , Matthew 10:33 ). The distinction is not between Christians and heathen; it is within the visible Church. To confess Christ is more than professing Christianity. It must be in the life, not merely in religious services. No doubt these have their use; without them spiritual life would wither and die, like a light under a vessel. They are as food;... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 12:9

And Abram journeyed (literally, broke up , e. g; his encampment, going on still —literally, going on and breaking up (cf. Genesis 8:3 ); "going and returning"— towards the south . Negleb, the dry region, from nagabh , to be dried, the southern district of Palestine ( Genesis 13:3 ; Genesis 20:1 ; Genesis 24:62 ). The LXX . render, ἐστρατοπέδευσεν ἐν , τῇ ἐρήμῳ. Of this section Genesis 12:5 , Genesis 12:6 , Genesis 12:8 are commonly assigned to the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 12:1-9

- The Call of Abram6. שׁכם shekem Shekem, “the upper part of the back.” Here it is the name of a person, the owner of this place, where afterward is built the town called at first Shekem, then Flavia Neapolis, and now Nablous. אלון 'ēlôn “the oak;” related: “be lasting, strong.” מורה môreh In Onkelos “plain;” Moreh, “archer, early rain, teacher.” Here the name of a man who owned the oak that marked the spot. In the Septuagint it is rendered ὑψηγήν hupseegeen.8. בית־אל bēyt-'êl, Bethel,... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 12:1

Genesis 12:1. We have here the call whereby Abram was removed from, the land of his nativity into the land of promise. This call was designed both to try his faith and obedience, and also to set him and his family apart for God, in order that the universal prevalence of idolatry might be prevented, and a remnant reserved for God, among whom his true worship might be maintained, his oracles preserved, and his ordinances established till the coming of the Messiah. God seems also, by sending him... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 12:2

Genesis 12:2. I will make of thee a great nation When God took him from his own people, he promised to make him the head of another people. This promise was both a great relief to Abram’s burden, for he had now no child, and a great trial to Abram’s faith, for his wife had been long barren; so that if he believe, it must be against hope, and his faith must build purely upon that power which “can out of stones raise up children unto Abraham.” I will bless thee Either particularly with the... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 12:3

Genesis 12:3. In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed This promise crowned all the rest; for it pointed at the Messiah, “in whom all the promises are yea and amen.” Now, with what astonishing exactness has God fulfilled these promises, and yet how unlikely it was, at the time they were made, that they should be fulfilled! Surely we need no other proof that the historian wrote by inspiration of God! read more

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