language · Gen 12:1 · ✓ Approved

“Go for yourself”: the call

Says וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־אַבְרָם (“and the Lord said to Abram”) opens with the ordinary narrative form; BSB has “Then the Lord said to Abram.” לֶךְ־לְךָ (lekh-lekha) is an imperative, “go,” with “to you” or “for yourself” after it. BSB folds it into “Leave” and “go”; the Greek has only “Ἔξελθε” (“go out”).

Says Three “from” phrases narrow: מֵאַרְצְךָ (“from your land”), וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ (“and from your kindred” or “native land”) and וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ (“and from your father’s house”). The goal is אֶל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ (“to the land that I will show you”), a causative of “see”; the land is not named.

Uncertain When the Lord first spoke is read two ways. Calvin, citing Stephen (Acts 7:2–3), and Augustine place the call in Mesopotamia, before Haran; Gen 15:7 and Neh 9:7 say the Lord brought Abram out of Ur. Driver takes the land left behind to be Haran, since 12:1 follows 11:31–32. The editor of the Calvin translation notes that Clarke and others held a second call at Haran. “Said” or “had said” is a choice of English tense, not a Hebrew variant. No lean is taken here.

Claims

Saysוַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־אַבְרָם (“and the Lord said to Abram”) opens with the ordinary narrative form; BSB has “Then the Lord said to Abram.” לֶךְ־לְךָ (lekh-lekha) is an imperative, “go,” with “to you” or “for yourself” after it. BSB folds it into “Leave” and “go”; the Greek has only “Ἔξελθε” (“go out”).
SaysThree “from” phrases narrow: מֵאַרְצְךָ (“from your land”), וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ (“and from your kindred” or “native land”) and וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ (“and from your father’s house”). The goal is אֶל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ (“to the land that I will show you”), a causative of “see”; the land is not named.
UncertainWhen the Lord first spoke is read two ways. Calvin, citing Stephen (Acts 7:2–3), and Augustine place the call in Mesopotamia, before Haran; Gen 15:7 and Neh 9:7 say the Lord brought Abram out of Ur. Driver takes the land left behind to be Haran, since 12:1 follows 11:31–32. The editor of the Calvin translation notes that Clarke and others held a second call at Haran. “Said” or “had said” is a choice of English tense, not a Hebrew variant. No lean is taken here.

Citations

OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 12:1 (WLC/OSHB; morph HVqv2ms HR/Sp2ms HC/R/Ncfsc/Sp2ms HVhi1cs/Sp2ms)
BSB public domain Gen 12:1 (BSB)
LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Gen 12:1, text and apparatus. LXX: Swete, vol. 1 (1901), p. 19 (leaf n50). Checked against the printed page (scan).
Calvin, Genesis (King) 1 public domain Calvin, Genesis 1 (King, CTS 1847), on Gen 12:1, p. 342 (leaf n351); checked against the printed page (scan); paraphrased
Augustine, City of God (NPNF1 vol. 2) public domain Augustine, City of God, bk. 16 (trans. Dods, NPNF¹ 2), on Gen 12:1, p. 320 (leaf n343); checked against the printed page (scan); paraphrased
Driver, Genesis (Westminster) public domain Driver, The Book of Genesis (Westminster, 4th ed.), on Gen 12:1, p. 144 (leaf n245); checked against the printed page (scan); paraphrased
Calvin, Genesis (King) 1 public domain Calvin, Genesis 1 (King, CTS 1847), editor’s note Gen 12:1, p. 342 (leaf n351); checked against the printed page (scan); paraphrased

Sources OSHB CC BY 4.0 BSB public domain LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Calvin, Genesis (King) 1 public domain Augustine, City of God (NPNF1 vol. 2) public domain Driver, Genesis (Westminster) public domain

Quotations from LXX (Swete) are used under CC BY-SA 4.0 · Credits

2026-11-12

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