Bereshis 12
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.
Genesis 12
12
The Call of Abram
(Genesis 26:1–5; Acts 7:1–8)
1Then the Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you.#12:1 Cited in Acts 7:3
2I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
so that you will be a blessing.
3I will bless those who bless you
and curse those who curse you;
and all the families of the earth
will be blessed through you.#12:3 See Galatians 3:8”
4So Abram departed, as the Lord had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan.
When they came to the land of Canaan, 6Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak #12:6 Or Terebinth or Great Tree of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land.
7Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.#12:7 Cited in Galatians 3:16” So Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
8From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the Lord, and he called on the name of the Lord.
9And Abram journeyed on toward the Negev.
Abram and Sarai in Egypt
10Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman, 12and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13Please say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and on account of you my life will be spared.”
14So when Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15When Pharaoh’s officials saw Sarai, they commended her to him, and she was taken into the palace of Pharaoh. 16He treated Abram well on her account, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.
17The Lord, however, afflicted Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18So Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!”
20Then Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram, and they sent him away with his wife and all his possessions.
The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.