Altars, and calling on the name of the Lord
At Shechem the Lord appeared and said he would give “this land” to Abram’s offspring. Driver notes that “The promise of the land is here for the first time given explicitly” Abram built an altar to the Lord who had appeared to him, then another in the hill country, with Bethel to the west (the Hebrew is “the sea”) and Ai to the east, and “called on the name of the Lord.” That phrase is already treated at 4:26; see Gen 4:26 → Gen 12:8 and Gen 4:26: "then it was begun to call on the name of the Lord"; it is not reversed here. Calvin notes “there is a manifest prolepsis in the word Bethel” What elon moreh is remains open: Calvin writes that “Moreh is the proper name of the place”, and takes Elon as a plain or an oak; Keil reads a terebinth of Moreh; Driver calls it “An oracular tree.”; Skinner, “an ancient sacred tree from which oracles were obtained”; the Targum has “The plain (or valley) of vision.”; Jubilees has Abram “dwelt near a lofty oak.”, in line with the Greek “high oak.” No view is adopted, and no cult background is required. Zera' may be collective offspring, a singular seed (Gal 3:16), or both in their contexts; the Targum has “To thy sons will I give this land.” Augustine reads the land promise of 12:7 as for the “father of the one Israelite nation” No ruling is given. The promise is unfolded later; see Gen 12:7 → Gen 13:14–17.
Claims
- SaysAt Shechem the Lord appeared and promised this land to Abram’s offspring; Abram built an altar there, and another between Bethel and Ai, where he called on the name of the Lord.
- ImpliesThe land promise is given to Abram’s offspring and is unfolded later; calling on the name of the Lord is the phrase already treated at 4:26 and is not reversed here.
- UncertainElon Moreh may be a named landmark, a terebinth, an oracular tree, or a “plain of vision”; zera' may be collective offspring, a singular seed, or both in their contexts; no ruling is given, and no cult background is required.
Citations
- BSB public domain Gen 12:6–8
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 12:6–8 (WLC/OSHB), cantillation removed
- Driver, Genesis (Westminster) public domain p. 147 (leaf n248)
- Calvin, Genesis (King) 1 public domain p. 356 (leaf n365)
- Calvin, Genesis (King) 1 public domain p. 352 (leaf n361)
- Driver, Genesis (Westminster) public domain p. 146 (leaf n247)
- Skinner, Genesis (ICC) public domain p. 246 (leaf n347)
- Etheridge public domain p. 193 (leaf n205)
- APOT public domain p. 32 (leaf n51)
- Etheridge public domain p. 193 (leaf n205)
- Augustine, City of God (NPNF1 vol. 2) public domain p. 322 (leaf n345)
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2026-11-12
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