Bereshis 12

[LECH LECHA]

1Now Hashem had said unto Avram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from the bais avicha, unto ha'aretz that I will show thee;

2So that I will make of thee a goy gadol (great nation), so that I will bless thee, and make thy shem great; and so thou shalt be a brocha (blessing);

3And I will bless the one blessing you, and curse him that curses you; and kol mishpochot haadamah shall be blessed through you.#12:3 There is a brocha in this verse that many do not know but that every true follower of Moshiach should know.

4So Avram departed as Hashem had told him; and Lot went with him; and Avram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Charan.

5And Avram took Sarai his isha, and Lot his brotherʼs son, and all their possessions that they had amassed, and the nefesh that they had gotten in Charan; and they went forth to go into the land of Kena'an; and they arrived in the land of Kena'an.

6And Avram passed through the land unto the makom Shechem, unto Elon Moreh. And the Kena'ani was then in ha'aretz.

7And Hashem appeared unto Avram, and said, Unto thy zera will I give ha'aretz hazot: and there built he a Mizbe'ach unto Hashem, Who appeared unto him.

8And he removed from there unto the harah mikedem Beit-El, and pitched his tent, having Beit-El on the west, and Ai on the east; and there he built a Mizbe'ach unto Hashem, and called upon the Shem of Hashem.

9And Avram journeyed, going on still toward the Negev.

10And there was a ra'av in the land; and Avram went down into Mitzrayim to sojourn there; for the ra'av was severe in ha'aretz.

11And it came to pass, when he was about to enter into Mitzrayim, that he said unto Sarai his isha, Hinei now, I know that thou art an isha yafeh to look upon;

12Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his isha; and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.

13Say, now, thou art my achot; that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my nefesh shall live on account of thee.

14And it came to pass, that, when Avram was come into Mitzrayim, the Egyptians beheld the isha that she was yafeh me'od.

15The sarim of Pharaoh also saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh; and the isha was taken into Bais Pharaoh.

16And he treated Avram well for her sake: and he acquired sheep and oxen, and male donkeys, and avadim, and shfachot, and female donkeys, and camels.

17And Hashem plagued Pharaoh and his Bais with nega'im gedolim because of Sarai eshet Avram.

18And Pharaoh summoned Avram and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy isha?

19Why saidst thou, She is my achot? So I might have taken her to me to wife; now therefore, hinei, thy wife, take her, and go!

20And Pharaoh commanded his anashim concerning him; and they sent him away, and his isha, and all that he had.

THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE

FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.

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Genesis 12

God Chooses Abram

1The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s family. Go to the land I will show you.

2“I will make you into a great nation.

And I will bless you.

I will make your name great.

You will be a blessing to others.

3I will bless those who bless you.

I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you.

All nations on earth

will be blessed because of you.”

4So Abram went, just as the Lord had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Harran. 5He took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot. They took all the people and possessions they had acquired in Harran. They started out for the land of Canaan. And they arrived there.

6Abram traveled through the land. He went as far as the large tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were living in the land. 7The Lord appeared to Abram at Shechem. He said, “I will give this land to your family who comes after you.” So Abram built an altar there to honor the Lord, who had appeared to him.

8From there, Abram went on toward the hills east of Bethel. He set up his tent there. Bethel was to the west, and Ai was to the east. Abram built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord.

9Then Abram left and continued south toward the Negev Desert.

Abram Goes to Egypt

10At that time there was not enough food in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while. 11As he was about to enter Egypt, he spoke to his wife Sarai. He said, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12The people of Egypt will see you and say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me. But they will let you live. 13Tell them you are my sister. Then I’ll be treated well and my life will be spared because of you.”

14Abram arrived in Egypt. The Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. 15When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they told Pharaoh how beautiful she was. So she was taken into his palace. 16Pharaoh treated Abram well because of her. So Abram gained more sheep and cattle and male and female donkeys. He also gained more male and female servants and some camels.

17But the Lord sent terrible sicknesses on Pharaoh and everyone in his palace. The Lord did it because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18So Pharaoh sent for Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19Why did you say she was your sister? That’s why I took her to be my wife. Now then, here’s your wife. Take her and go!” 20Then Pharaoh gave orders to his men about Abram. They sent him on his way. So he left with his wife and everything he had.

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