John Gill Commentary Genesis 12

Now the Lord had said to Abram
In Ur of the Chaldees, before he came and dwelt in Charran, as seems evident from (Acts 7:2) and so Aben Ezra interprets it. But Jarchi and others think that what follows was said to him in Haran, and so the words may be more literally rendered ^F21, "and the Lord said to Abram"; after the death of Terah, who died in Haran; and indeed it is highly probable there were two appearances of God to Abram, and that the same words, or very near the same, were spoken to him at two different times, first in Ur of the Chaldees, and then in Haran.

get you out of your country ;
the land of Chaldea, and the city of Ur, which was in it, or out of Mesopotamia, in which, when taken in a large sense, were both Ur and Haran. This country had now become idolatrous, for though it was first inhabited and peopled by the posterity of Shem in the time of Arphaxad, yet these, in process of time, degenerated from the true religion and fell into idolatry.

The same Maimonides ^F23 calls Zabaeans, in whose faith and religion, he says, Abram was brought up, and who asserted there was no other God but the sun, moon, and stars; and these Zabaeans, as he relates from their books and annals, say of Abram himself, that he was educated in Cuthia and dissented from the common people; and asserted that besides the sun, there was another Creator; to whom they objected, and so disputes arose among them on this subject. Now Abram, being convinced of idolatry, is called out from those people and to have no fellowship with them; it is literally in the Hebrew text ^F24, "go to you out of your country"; for your profit and good, as Jarchi interprets it; as it must be to quit all society with such an idolatrous and superstitious people.

and from your kindred ;
as Nahor his brother and his family, who are not mentioned and seem to be left behind when Terah, Abram, Lot, and Sarai came out of Ur of the Chaldees; though it looks as if afterwards Nahor did follow them to Haran or Padanaram, which are the same, and where he continued, and therefore is called his city; see (Genesis 24:10) (Genesis 25:20) (Genesis 28:2Genesis 28:5Genesis 28:10) (Genesis 29:4Genesis 29:5). So with great propriety Abram might be called a second time to leave his kindred as well as his country; and certain it is, Haran, or Padanaram, as well as Ur of the Chaldees, is called by himself his country, and Nahor and his family his kindred, (Genesis 24:4).

and from your father's house ;
or household, his family, which better agrees with the second call at Haran than with the first at Ur; for upon the first call, Terah and his family came along with Abram, and therefore this phrase is omitted by Stephen, who speaks of that call (Acts 7:3). But Terah dying at Haran, his house or family went no further, but continued there with Nahor; only Abram and Lot, upon this second call, went from there, as the following history makes it appear; and so Abram left, as he was bid, his father's house and family to go, as it follows:

to a land that I will show you ;
meaning the land of Canaan, though not mentioned, and seems to be omitted for the trial of Abram's faith; hence the author of the epistle to the Hebrews (Hebrews 11:8) observes that "he obeyed and went out, not knowing where he went"; and yet it is said that when he and Terah came out of Ur of the Chaldees, "they went forth to go into the land of Canaan" (Genesis 11:31), and when he and Lot went first from Haran, the same is said of them (Genesis 12:5).

It is probable the case was this: there was no mention made at first what land he was to go to, and when he prepared for his journey he knew not where he was to go, but afterwards it was revealed to him that Canaan was the land, and therefore set out in order to go there; and still, though he might know the place by name where he was to go, he might neither know the way to it, nor what sort of country it was for quality or quantity; and therefore God promises to show him the way, and direct his course right to it, and give him a view of it, that he might see what sort of a country, and how large it was, that he would give to his posterity.

This call of Abram is an emblem of the call of men by the grace of God out of the world and from among the men of it, and to renounce the things of it, and not be conformed to it, and to forget their own people and their father's house, and to cleave to the Lord and follow him wherever he directs them.

FOOTNOTES:

• F21: (rmayw) "et dixit", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius.
• F23: More Nevochim, par. 3. c. 29. p. 421.
• F24: (Kl Kl) "vade tibi", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius

And I will make of you a great nation
In a literal sense, as the people of the Jews were that descended from him, and in a spiritual sense believers in all ages and of all nations, that walk in the steps of the faith of Abram, who are his children, and are blessed with him:

and I will bless you ;
not only with temporal blessings, but principally with spiritual ones, since Abram in person had no share of the land of Canaan.

Even with the adoption of children and friendship with God; with justification by the imputed righteousness of Christ, which blessedness came upon him when uncircumcised; with a large measure of faith, and every other grace; with the sanctification of the Spirit, and an increase of it until brought to perfection; and with eternal glory and happiness, a right, title, and meetness for it, and the full possession of it:

and make your name great ;
as it was among the Jews his descendants, who boasted of having Abram for their father; and among the several nations of the world; his name is famous in profane history, and is in high esteem with the Mahometans to this day; and especially his name is great and famous, and the memory of him precious among all those who have obtained like precious faith with him, in every age and in every nation:

and you shall be a blessing ;
to all that knew him and conversed with him, they receiving spiritual light and knowledge by means of his instruction, and to all that should hear and read of his faith and piety, being encouraged by his example: or, "shall be blessing"; blessing itself, that is, most blessed, exceedingly blessed; as a very wicked man may be called wickedness itself; as "scelus" for "scelestus" with the Latins; so a good man may be called blessing itself, extremely happy.

And I will bless those who bless you
Not the priests only that should bless his children, the children of Israel, as the Targum of Jonathan, but all men of all nations, and of every age, that speak well of him, commend him for his faith and holiness, and tread in his steps, these are blessed with faithful Abraham, (Galatians 3:7Galatians 3:9) .

And curse him who curses you ;
here is a change of numbers, before the plural, here the singular, denoting, it may be, that many would bless him, and but few curse him, and that every individual person that did curse him should be cursed himself: the Targum of Jonathan wrongly restrains this to Balaam's cursing Abraham's children, and was cursed by God; Maimonides ^F25 thinks there is no doubt that the Zabaeans, the idolatrous people Abram was brought up with, when he contradicted them, loaded him with curses and reproaches; and, because he bore them all patiently for the glory of God, as became him, therefore these words are said; but they, without question, respect future as well as present times, and regard all such, in every age and of every nation, that disapproves of, or rejects and reproaches Abram's God, his faith, his religion, and his people.

And in you shall all families of the earth be blessed ;
that is, in his seed, as in (Genesis 22:18) and which is interpreted of Christ, (Acts 3:25) (Galatians 3:8Galatians 3:16) meaning not every individual of all the families or nations of the earth; but that as many as believe in Christ, of all nations, are blessed in him; and that whoever of them are blessed, they are blessed and only blessed in him, and that they are blessed for his sake with all spiritual blessings; see (Ephesians 1:3) such as redemption, justification, remission of sins, sanctification, adoption, and eternal life.

FOOTNOTES:

• F25: More Nevochim, ut supra. (par. 3. c. 29. p. 421.)

So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken to him
Or, "when the Lord had spoken to him", as Cocceius renders the words; when he had called him a second time, even when in Haran, immediately after the death of his father Terah; as soon as ever the words were spoken to him before recorded, he immediately prepared and got all things ready for his journey, and departed from Haran, as he had done before from Ur of the Chaldees:

and Lot went with him ;
of his own accord, and he only, besides his wife Sarai and his servants, for Terah was dead, and Nahor and his family stayed behind.

And Abram was seventy five years old when he departed out of Haran ;
by which it appears, as has been observed, that he was not Terah's eldest son, born when he was seventy years of age, (Genesis 11:26) for then he must have been at this time, one hundred and thirty five years old, since his father, who was just now dead, lived to be two hundred and five years old, (Genesis 11:32) so that Abram must be born in the one hundred and thirtieth year of Terah.

How many years before this time he was converted from idolatry cannot be said with any certainty; various are the accounts given by the Jewish writers; some say that at three years of age he knew his Creator; others at eight; others thirteen; others more probably when forty; others fifty one; others fifty two; and others say he was sixty years old when he began publicly to assert the unity of God in heaven ^F26 : however, all agree it was before the age here mentioned, as it may well be concluded.

FOOTNOTES:

• F26: Vid. Pirke Eliezer, c. 26. Maimon. Hilchot obede cocabim, c. 1. sect. 3. & Comment. in ib. Juchasin, fol. 9. 2. Shalshelet, fol. 2. 2.

And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son,
and so forth.] The son of Haran his brother, not against their wills, but with their full consent: Sarai went readily with him, not only as being his wife, and so obliged by the law of marriage and tie of relation, but on the score of religion; and Lot as being a good man, and so willing to go with him, as his near relation too, for the sake of religion.

And all their substance that they had gathered;
either in Ur of the Chaldees, or in Haran, and indeed in both; which, as it was their own property, they had a right to take with them, and it was their wisdom so to do, both for the support of their families, and for the service of religion; and it appears from hence that they were not slothful, but industrious persons, and by the blessing of God were succeeded in their employments:

and the souls that they had gotten in Haran;
the more excellent part of man being put for the whole; and the meaning is, either that were procreated^F1, as some render it, or begotten by them; for, though Abram had no children, Lot had, and possibly some that might be begotten while there; and their servants might have children by their fellow servants, and to which Abram and Lot had a right, and therefore took them with them; or rather it means servants which they had bought with their money there, and so had gotten or obtained them as their own property.

Some understand it of the proselytes made during their stay there; and no doubt they were as industrious in spreading and propagating the true religion, as in acquiring substance and servants; and to this sense are the several Chaldee paraphrases; that of Onkelos is, ``and the souls which they made subject to the law in Haran;'' the Targums of Jerusalem and Jonathan are, ``and the souls of the proselytes, or which they proselyted in Haran;'' and with this agrees the note of Jarchi, ``which they brought under the wings of the Shechinah; Abram proselyted the men, and Sarai the women;''

though in the literal sense he takes it to be the acquiring of servants and handmaids; there might be of both sorts, both proselytes and servants bought with money, which made up the number of three hundred and eighteen trained servants, (Genesis 14:14) how long Abram stayed in Haran is not certain, it must be some time, to gather more substance, increase servants, and make proselytes; the Jews^F2 generally say he was there five years.

And they went forth to go into the land of Canaan, and into the
land of Canaan they came:
which last clause is very fitly added, since, when they came out of Ur, they went forth to go into the land of Canaan, (Genesis 11:31) but they did not then come into it, but stopped by the way at Haran; but now, when they went out from thence, they proceeded on in their journey, and made no stay any where of any length, until they came into the land of Canaan.

Which is reckoned to be three hundred miles from the one to the other, and by some four hundred to Sichem, and a troublesome way through the deserts of Palmyrene, and over the mountains of Lebanon and Hermon^F3.

Of Ura, Pliny says^F4, which seems to be the same with Ur, it is a place where, turning to the east, we leave the Palmyrene deserts of Syria, which belong to the city Petra, and the country called Arabia Felix; and, as it was at the northern part of Canaan they entered, they must come over Lebanon, which was the northern border of it.

FOOTNOTES:

• F1: (wve) , "procreaverant", Piscator.
• F2: Seder Olam Rabba, Ganz. Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 5. 2.
• F3: See Sir Walter Raleigh's History of the World, par. 1. b. 2. sect. 3. p. 130. and Bunting's Travels, p. 56.
• F4: Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 24.