Commentary on Genesis, Chapter 12
CHAP. XII.
MAny ancient Authors ſpeak of Abraham, as Joſephus obſerves, and out of him Euſebius: Who names others alſo, L. IX. Praepar. Evang. c. 16, 17, &c. All that I ſhall note is, That one great Deſign of Moſes being to lead the Jews to underſtand the Genealogy of this noble Anceſtor of theirs; he haſtens to it: Relating other Matters briefly; but ſpending many Pages about him. For he compriſes, for inſtance, the Hiſtory of the World from the Creation to the Flood, containing One thouſand ſix hundred fifty ſix Years, in the compaſs of ſix Chapters: But beſtows on the Hiſtory of Abraham nineteen Chapters; though it contain no longer ſpace of time than an Hundred and ſeventy five Years.
Ver. 1. Now the LORD had ſaid unto Abram.] While he lived in Ʋr of the Chaldees; from whence it is certain he called him while his Father was alive, XI. 31. We are not told how he ſpake to him; for here is no mention, as Maimonides obſerves, (P. II. c. 41.) of his ſpeaking in a Dream, or a Viſion, or by the Hand of an Angel: But only ſimply and abſolutely that, the LORD ſaid to him. By a Voice, when he was awake, I ſuppoſe, from the Schechinah, or Divine Glory: For St. Stephen ſaith expreſly, the God of Glory appeared to him, before he dwelt in Charran, Acts VII. 2.
Get thee out of thy own Country, &c.] Which began a good while ago to be infected with Idolatry, (See XI. 18, 22.) Some of Shem's Poſterity forgetting the Creator of All, and worſhipping the Sun, as the great God, and the Stars as leſſer Gods. So Maimonides in his More Nevoch. P, III. c. 29. Where he ſaith the Zabii relate in one of their Books, (which he there names,) That Abram contradicting their worſhip, the King of the Country impriſon'd him, and afterward baniſhed him into the utmoſt parts of the Eaſt, and confiſcated all his Eſtate. A Tale invented to take away from him the Honour, of his voluntary leaving his Country; and to diſcredit this Sacred Hiſtory, which tells us he directed his Courſe quite another way, towards the Weſt. Abarbinel and others will not have this Call of God to Abram to have been when he was in Ʋr, but after they came to Haran; to which he fanſies Terah came, becauſe of ſome misfortunes he had in Ʋr. But this is invented to contradict St. Stephen, Acts VII. 2. with whom Aben Ezra agrees, who expounds theſe words of his calling out of Ʋr. For it's hard to find any other reaſon why he deſigned to go to Canaan, (XI. 31.) the place whither he went after Terah was dead.
Into a Land that I will ſhew thee.] He had the Divine Direction, it ſeems, all along, to Conduct him in his Journey. But it argued, as the Apoſtle obſerves, a great Faith in God, that he would follow him, not knowing the Country to which he would lead him.
Ver. 2. And I will make of thee a great Nation.] Firſt, by multiplying his Poſterity; and then by making them a ſelect, peculiar People: Whom he diſtinguiſhed by his Favours, from all other Nations. So it follows.
I will bleſs thee.] Beſtow many Benefits both Temporal and Spiritual upon them.
And make thy Name great.] Make him famous throughout the World; as he is to this day, not only among the Jews, but among Chriſtians and Mahometans. So Maimonides obſerves; that all Mankind admire Abraham, even they that are not of his Seed.
And thou ſhalt be a Bleſſing.] Others ſhall be the better for thee; as Lot was, and the King of Sodom, &c. Or, as the Hebrews underſtand it; thou ſhalt be ſo proſperous, that when Men would wiſh well to others, they ſhall uſe thy Name, and ſay; The Lord bleſs thee as he did Abraham.
Ver. 3. I will bleſs them that bleſs thee, &c.] The higheſt Token of a particular Friendſhip, which he here contracts with Abram (who is called the Friend of God) in promiſing to eſpouſe his Intereſt ſo far, as to have the ſame Friends and Enemies that he had. Which is the form, wherein Kings and Princes make the ſtricteſt Leagues one with another.
And Curſe them that Curſe thee.] Maimonides will have it, (in the place before-named) that the Zabaeans loaded Abram with all manner of Curſes and Reproaches, (when he was ſent out of their Country) which, he bearing patiently, God turned upon themſelves.
And in thee ſhall all the Families of the Earth be bleſſed.] Which was moſt eminently fulfilled in Chriſt. And here it muſt be remarked that this Promiſe, of Bleſſing all the World in Abram, was made to him before he received Circumciſion, while he was in Ʋr of the Chaldees, and before he had any Iſſue, (for Sarai was barren and had no Child, XI. 30.) And therefore before any preference of Iſaac to Iſhmael; or any diſtinction made between his Poſterity, and the reſt of Mankind. In token that they were all concerned in this Promiſe; whether deſcended from Abraham, or not. In ſhort, this Promiſe only limits the Birth of the Meſſiah to the Seed of Abraham; but declares that his Benefits ſhould be common to all other Nations.
Ver. 4. So Abram departed, &c.] Having ſtaid ſome time in Haran, where his Father fell ſick and died, he proſecuted his Journey from thence to Canaan, after his Father was dead. So St. Stephen tells us expreſly, Acts VII. 4. from thence (i. e. from Charran) when his Father was dead, he removed him into this Land, &c. It was a wonderful effect of Abraham's Faith (I obſerved before) to move him to leave his own native Country and go to Haran: But it was ſtill a greater, after he had travelled a long way from Ʋr hither; to go three hundred Miles more from hence to Canaan; a Country of which he had no knowledge, nor had ſent any Body before him to diſcover it: Taking his Journey through the dangerous and barren Deſarts of Palmyrena; and having nothing to ſupport him, but only the Promiſe of God. Which made him climb over the high Mountain, either of Libanus, Hermon, or Gilead: For in that part of the Country he entred, as Sir W. Raleigh hath obſerved. See Verſe 5.
And Lot went with him.] He might conclude perhaps, that Abram being called in a ſpecial manner out of Chaldaea, was thereby diſtinguiſhed from the reſt of Shem's Poſterity; and that he joyning with him in obeying the ſame Call, might claim the privilege of fulfilling the Promiſe of the Meſſiah, no leſs than Abram.
And Abram was ſeventy and five Years old, when he departed out of Haran.] See XI. ult.
Ver. 5. All the Souls they had gotten, (Hebr. had made) in Haran.] i. e. All the Slaves born in their Houſe, or bought with their Money. The Chaldee Paraphraſt interprets this of the Proſelytes they had won to God: For ſuch only would Abram carry with him. And ſome of the Hebrew Doctors are ſo nice, as to ſay, That Abram inſtructed the Men, and Sarai the Women, in the true Religion: Concerning which he wrote a Book (if we may believe Maimonides, De Idolol. c. 1.) and left it to his Son Iſaac. We read alſo in Pirke Elieſer, c. 25. that he took a Houſe, which fronted Charran, where, according to the ancient Piety, he kept great Hoſpitality: And inviting thoſe that went in or came out of the Town, to refreſh themſelves if they pleaſed, ſet Meat and Drink before them; ſaying, There is but one God in the World.
And into the Land of Canaan they came.] We are told before, XI. 31. that Terah went forth to go to this Country, but could not reach it, as Abram did. Who entred into it, at the North part of it, as appears by the following part of the Story: Where we read he went to Sichem, &c. and verſe 9. went on ſtill towards the South.
Ver. 6. Sichem and the plain of Moreh.] Or, as Mr. Mede, following the LXX, will have it, the Oak of Moreh: Underſtanding by Oak, not only one ſingle Oak, but a Holt or Grove of Oakes. See XIII. 18. Where, I ſuppoſe, he intended to have fixed his dwelling; had not the Temper of the People, who inhabited that Country, made it inconvenient.
And the Canaanite was then in the Land.] It was very pertinent to Moſes his Deſign, ſpeaking of Abram's Paſſage through this Country, to tell who was at that time poſſeſſed of it. But it is dubious whether he mean by the Canaanite a particular People deſcended from Canaan, as he doth XV. 21. or, in general, all the Nations, which the Iſraelites afterward deſtroyed. It ſeems to me the firſt of theſe is meant, and that by Land he means only that part of the Country where Sichem lay, which was then poſſeſſed by this particular People. For, in the next place that Abram went to, it is ſaid, The Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the Land, (XIV. 7.) i. e. in that part of the Country. Where we do not read what Entertainment Abram met withal; but I take it, as an Argument of Abram's great Faith, that he would adventure among ſuch a rough and fierce People: Who had no kindneſs for the Poſterity of Shem upon an old Score; and, if the ancient Tradition in Epiphanius be true, upon a freſh Account. For he ſaith, (Haereſ. LXVI. n. 84.) that this Country called Canaan, did really belong to the Children of Shem, by Virtue of the Diviſion made among the Sons of Noah: But the Children of Canaan had diſpoſſeſſed them. So that theſe words, the Canaanite was then in the Land, ſignifies, they had already invaded this Country, before Abram came thither. To whom God promiſing to give it, he only reſtored the Poſterity of Shem, (from whom Abram deſcended) unto that which the Children of Ham had wrongfully ſeized.
By all which it is eaſie to ſee how frivolous their Reaſonings are, who from this place conclude Moſes did not write this Book: Becauſe theſe words ſeem to ſignifie the Writer of them lived after the Canaanites were thrown out of this Land: Which was after Moſes his death.
If theſe Men had not a greater inclination to Cavil, than to find out the Truth, they would rather have ſaid the meaning is, The Canaanite was poſſeſſed of this part of the Country in Abraham's time, though thrown out of it by Jacob's Sons, (Gen. XXXIV.) before the Times of Moſes. Which is another way of explaining theſe words: Againſt which I ſee no Objection but this, That their Prince is called an Hivite, XXXIV. 2. To which there is an Anſwer, verſe 30. which ſhows the People were partly Canaanites.
Ver. 7. And the LORD appeared unto Abram.] As he had done before, (Verſe 1.) but now, it is likely, in a more glorious manner; to eſtabliſh him in Faith and Obedience.
And ſaid unto him, &c.] There was a Voice came from the Schechinah, or Divine Glory, which now appeared to him; and told him this was the Country he intended to beſtow upon his Poſterity. It is very remarkable that he no ſooner entred Canaan, but God renewed his Promiſe to him, made before he came out of his own Country.
And it is further obſervable, (as we ſhall ſee in the following Story,) that Abram's Obedience was conſtantly rewarded in kind, according to the quality of the Service he performed: Though, in quantity, the Reward far exceeded the Service. Thus having left his own Country and Father's Houſe, (which was the firſt trial of his Obedience,) God promiſes to give him the whole Land of Canaan, and to make his Poſterity a mighty Nation. See XVII. 6. XXII. 16.
And there he built an Altar, &c.] This was ſo Glorious an Appearance, that it moved him to offer up a ſolemn Sacrifice to God; for which he built an Altar here in Sichem. And it being the firſt that he built in this Country, it made this become the firſt place that was eſtabliſhed for Publick Worſhip, after the Iſraelites conquered the Land of Canaan. For here was the Sanctuary of God in Joſhua's time, near this very Grove where Abram firſt pitched his Tent, and built an Altar, Joſh. XXIV. 1, 25, 26. It continued famous alſo in after-times, as appears from Judg. IX. 6.
Ver. 8. And he removed from thence unto a Mountain, &c.] Though the LORD here appeared to him, yet he did not think fit to truſt himſelf among the Canaanites, (who were the chief of the wicked Nations, that poſſeſſed this Land,) or, he thought fit to ſee the reſt of the Country, which God promiſed to give him: And therefore came hither, which was about twenty Miles further Southward.
And there he built an Altar.] Upon the Mountain; where they anciently choſe to ſacrifice, rather than in other places. And, it is likely, God again appeared to him here, to incourage and ſtrengthen him againſt all his Fears. Which made him build a new Altar and offer Sacrifices of Thankſgiving to God, to implore his continued Favour.
And it is obſervable, That the Promiſe which God made in the former place, verſe 7. he renewed again in this, and more at large, after he came out of Egypt, XIII. 3, 4, 14, 15, 16.
On the Eaſt of Bethel.] So it was called in aftertimes.
Ver. 9. And Abram journeyed, &c.] He did not think fit to fix yet in the fore-named place: But made a further. progreſs into the Southern parts of the Country. Yet, after he had been in Egypt, the Story of which follows,) he returned to this place.
Ver. 10. A Famine in the Land.] Of Canaan.
He went down.] Egypt lay low in compariſon with Canaan.
To ſojourn.] Not to dwell there: For he doubted not of God's Promiſe to him, of poſſeſſing the Land which he had left.
Ver. 11. Thou art a fair Woman, &c.] She was now threeſcore Years old: But having comely Features, and being of a fair Complexion, (in compariſon with the Egyptians, who were ſallow,) ſhe ſeemed to be younger than ſhe was.
Ver. 12. They will kill me.] Knowing them to be a libidinous People, he was afraid they might be tempted to make him away; that they might have his Wife.
Ver. 13. Say, thou art my Siſter.] He himſelf, upon another occaſion, explains in what ſence ſhe was ſo, XX. 12. Therefore he teaches her not to tell a Lye, but to conceal the Truth.
Ver. 15. Pharaoh.] The Egyptian Kingdom began about three hundred Years before this, (in the days of Ragau, XI. 18. if the Arabian Writers ſay true,) and now was grown to be very Powerful, by the means of ſome King of this Name; which (it appears by this place) was very ancient, and continued to be the Name of all the Kings of Egypt, till the Captivity of Babylon; and we know not how much longer Juſt as Ptolomy was their Name after the times of Alexander: And Caeſar and Auguſtus were the Names of all the Emperors of Rome; and Candace of all the Queens of Aethiopia; and the like may be obſerved in ſeveral other Countries. Ludolphus takes Pharaoh to be a compound word, ſignifying as much, as Father of the Country: For that's the meaning of Phar-ot, in the Aethiopick Language; as Pharmut is, Mother of the Country.
The Princes alſo, &c.] The Courtiers who ſtudied to gratifie their Prince's Pleaſure.
Was taken into Pharaoh's Houſe.] Into the Houſe of the Women, it is probable, (for the Egyptian Kings were now, as I ſaid, very great; like thoſe of Perſia in after-times,) intending to make her one of his Concubines.
Ver. 16. And he had Sheep, and Oxen, &c.] By the Gift of the King; beſides thoſe he had of his own before.
Ver. 17. And he plagued Pharaoh, &c.] Some of the Hebrews think they had grievous Ulcers in the Secret Parts; which made both him and his Servants uncapable to enjoy either her, or any one elſe.
His Houſe.] His Courtiers partake of the Puniſhment; becauſe they were Partners in the intended Sin.
Ver. 18. Why didſt thou not tell me, &c.] Some think he ſpeaks this ſubtilly to Abram, to ſee what he would ſay; not knowing yet that ſhe was his Wife. Or, that his Prieſts and wiſe Men had conſulted the Oracles about the Cauſe of their Plagues. But the ſimpleſt Account is, That Sarai being interrogated about it, confeſſed the whole Truth. Whereupon he expoſtulated thus with Abram; who being ſilent, he took it for granted, that indeed ſhe was his Wife.
Ver. 19. Now therefore behold thy Wife, &c.] He diſclaims all Intention of abuſing another Man's Wife, (ſo Vertuous they were in thoſe days,) but would have made her his own, (as he ſaith in the foregoing words, I might have taken her to me to Wife,) that is, a ſecondary Wife, as the manner was in thoſe days; for it is not likely he had no Wife at all before.
Ver. 20. Pharaoh commanded his Men concerning him, &c.] Gave ſtrict Orders none ſhould hurt him, or any thing belonging to him: But conduct him ſafely, whether he had a mind to go. And accordingly the next words tell us they did.
They ſent him away, &c.] Not with Violence, but gave him a ſafe Conduct: Sending him away, perhaps, with a Guard for his Security. Such was the Generoſity of the Egyptian Princes in thoſe times.