and said to him, ‘Get out of your land and away from your relatives, and come into a land which I will show you.’ Then he came out of the land of the Chaldaeans and lived in Haran. From there, when his father was dead, God moved him into this land, where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on. He promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his offspring after him, when he still had no child. God spoke in this way: that his offspring would live as aliens in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. ‘I will judge the nation to which they will be in bondage,’ said God, ‘and after that they will come out, and serve me in this place.’ He gave him the covenant of circumcision. So Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.
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He said, “Brothers and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Get out of your land and away from your relatives, and come into a land which I will show you.’ Then he came out of the land of the Chaldaeans and lived in Haran. From there, when his father was dead, God moved him into this land, where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on. He promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his offspring after him, when he still had no child. God spoke in this way: that his offspring would live as aliens in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. ‘I will judge the nation to which they will be in bondage,’ said God, ‘and after that they will come out, and serve me in this place.’ He gave him the covenant of circumcision. So Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.
Parallel Translations
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and said to him, ‘Get out of your land and away from your relatives, and come into a land which I will show you.’
Then he came out of the land of the Chaldaeans and lived in Haran. From there, when his father was dead, God moved him into this land, where you are now living.
He gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on. He promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his offspring after him, when he still had no child.
God spoke in this way: that his offspring would live as aliens in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years.
‘I will judge the nation to which they will be in bondage,’ said God, ‘and after that they will come out, and serve me in this place.’
He gave him the covenant of circumcision. So Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.
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and sayd vnto him: come out of thy contre and from thy kynred and come into the londe which I shall shewe the.
Then came he out of the londe of Chaldey and dwelt in Charran. And after that assone as his father was deed he brought him into this lande in which ye now dwell
and he gave him none inheritaunce in it no not the bredeth of a fote: but promised that he wolde geve it to him to possesse and to his seed after him when as yet he had no chylde.
God verely spake on this wyse that his seade shulde be a dweller in a straunge londe and that they shulde kepe them in bondage and entreate them evyll.iiii.C. yeares.
But the nacion to whom they shalbe in bondage will I iudge sayde God. And after that shall they come forthe and serve me in this place.
And he gave him the covenaunt of circumcision. And he begat Isaac and circumcised him the viii. daye and Isaac begat Iacob and Iacob the twelve patriarkes.
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And said vnto him, Come out of thy countrey, and from thy kindred, and come into the land, which I shall shewe thee.
Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran. And after that his father was dead, God brought him from thence into this land, wherein ye now dwell,
And hee gaue him none inheritance in it, no, not the bredth of a foote: yet he promised that he would giue it to him for a possession, and to his seede after him, when as yet hee had no childe.
But God spake thus, that his seede should be a soiourner in a strange land: and that they should keepe it in bondage, and entreate it euill foure hundreth yeeres.
But the nation to whome they shall be in bondage, will I iudge, sayth God: and after that, they shall come forth and serue me in this place.
Hee gaue him also the couenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begate Isaac, and circumcised him the eight day: and Isaac begate Iacob, and Iacob the twelue Patriarkes.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (6)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
- How old was Terah when he died?
- How old was Abraham when Ishmael was born?
- Did God call Abraham before or after he moved to Haran?
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Cross-references (66)
- Genesis 15:13 (v6) He said to Abram, “Know for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will…
- Genesis 12:1 (v3) Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you.
- Genesis 12:4-5 (v4) So Abram went, as Yahweh had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took Sarai…
- Genesis 17:8 (v5) I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are traveling, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting…
- Exodus 3:12 (v7) He said, “Certainly I will be with you. This will be the token to you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt,…
Show all 64 cross-references
- Genesis 12:7 (v5) Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” He built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.
- Genesis 13:15 (v5) for I will give all the land which you see to you and to your offspring forever.
- Genesis 15:18 (v5) In that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I have given this land to your offspring, from the river of Egypt to the great…
- Exodus 12:40-41 (v6) Now the time that the children of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred thirty years. At the end of four hundred thirty years, to the day,…
- Galatians 3:17 (vv6, 8) Now I say this: A covenant confirmed beforehand by God in Christ, the law, which came four hundred thirty years after, does not annul, so…
- Genesis 17:9-14 (v8) God said to Abraham, “As for you, you will keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my…
- Genesis 26:3 (v5) Live in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you. For I will give to you, and to your offspring, all these lands, and I will…
- Genesis 35:23-26 (v8) The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. The sons…
- Hebrews 11:8 (v3) By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing…
- Genesis 11:31-32 (v4) Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife. They went from Ur of…
- Genesis 15:7 (v3) He said to Abram, “I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.”
- Genesis 15:16 (v6) In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.”
- Joshua 24:3 (v3) I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his offspring, and gave him…
- Psalms 105:27-36 (v7) They performed miracles among them, and wonders in the land of Ham. He sent darkness, and made it dark. They didn’t rebel against his…
- Nehemiah 9:8 (vv3, 5) found his heart faithful before you, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the…
- Genesis 15:2-5 (v5) Abram said, “Lord Yahweh, what will you give me, since I go childless, and he who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” Abram…
- Genesis 15:14-16 (v7) I will also judge that nation, whom they will serve. Afterward they will come out with great wealth; but you will go to your fathers in…
- Genesis 16:2 (v5) Sarai said to Abram, “See now, Yahweh has restrained me from bearing. Please go in to my servant. It may be that I will obtain children by…
- Genesis 17:16-19 (v5) I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she will be a mother of nations. Kings of peoples…
- Genesis 21:1-4 (v8) Yahweh visited Sarah as he had said, and Yahweh did to Sarah as he had spoken. Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at…
- Genesis 23:4 (v5) “I am a stranger and a foreigner living with you. Give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my…
- Genesis 25:21-26 (v8) Isaac entreated Yahweh for his wife, because she was barren. Yahweh was entreated by him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. The children…
- Genesis 28:13-15 (v5) Behold, Yahweh stood above it, and said, “I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. I will give the land you lie…
- Genesis 29:31–30:24 (v8) Yahweh saw that Leah was hated, and he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. Leah conceived, and bore a son, and she named him Reuben.…
- Genesis 35:16 (v8) They traveled from Bethel. There was still some distance to come to Ephrath, and Rachel travailed. She had hard labor.
- Genesis 35:18 (v8) As her soul was departing (for she died), she named him Benoni, but his father named him Benjamin.
- Exodus 1:1-4 (v8) Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, who came into Egypt (every man and his household came with Jacob): Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and…
- Exodus 6:7-8 (v5) I will take you to myself for a people. I will be your God; and you shall know that I am Yahweh your God, who brings you out from under the…
- Exodus 7:1-14 (v7) Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I have made you as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I…
- Deuteronomy 2:5 (v5) Don’t contend with them; for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have…
- Deuteronomy 6:10-11 (v5) It shall be, when Yahweh your God brings you into the land which he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you,…
- Deuteronomy 9:5 (v5) Not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart do you go in to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these nations…
- Deuteronomy 10:11 (v5) Yahweh said to me, “Arise, take your journey before the people; and they shall go in and possess the land which I swore to their fathers to…
- Deuteronomy 11:9 (v5) and that you may prolong your days in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, a land flowing…
- Deuteronomy 34:4 (v5) Yahweh said to him, “This is the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have…
- 1 Chronicles 1:34 (v8) Abraham became the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel.
- 1 Chronicles 2:1-2 (v8) These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
- Nehemiah 9:9-11 (v7) “You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the Red Sea, and showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, and…
- Psalms 74:12-14 (v7) Yet God is my King of old, working salvation throughout the earth. You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea…
- Psalms 78:43-51 (v7) how he set his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the field of Zoan, he turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, so that they could…
- Psalms 105:8-12 (v5) He has remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations, the covenant which he made with Abraham, his…
- Psalms 135:8-9 (v7) He struck the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and animal. He sent signs and wonders into the middle of you, Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all…
- Psalms 136:10-15 (v7) to him who struck down the Egyptian firstborn; for his loving kindness endures forever; and brought out Israel from among them; for his…
- Isaiah 41:2 (v4) Who has raised up one from the east? Who called him to his foot in righteousness? He hands over nations to him and makes him rule over…
- Isaiah 41:9 (v4) You whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from its corners, and said to you, ‘You are my servant, I have chosen…
- Matthew 1:2 (v8) Abraham became the father of Isaac. Isaac became the father of Jacob. Jacob became the father of Judah and his brothers.
- Matthew 10:37 (v3) He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of me.
- Luke 14:33 (v3) So therefore whoever of you who doesn’t renounce all that he has, he can’t be my disciple.
- John 7:22 (v8) Moses has given you circumcision (not that it is of Moses, but of the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a boy.
- Acts 2:29 (v8) “Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
- Romans 4:10 (v8) How then was it counted? When he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
- Romans 9:9-13 (v8) For this is a word of promise, “At the appointed time I will come, and Sarah will have a son.” Not only so, but Rebekah also conceived by…
- 2 Corinthians 6:17 (v3) Therefore “ ‘Come out from among them, and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing. I will receive you.
- Galatians 3:15 (v8) Brothers, speaking of human terms, though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void or adds to it.
- Hebrews 7:4 (v8) Now consider how great this man was, to whom even Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth out of the best plunder.
- Hebrews 11:9-10 (v5) By faith, he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him…
- Hebrews 11:13-16 (v5) These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and embraced them from afar, and having confessed that they…
- Genesis 13:14-17 (v3) Yahweh said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, “Now, lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and…
- Isaiah 51:9-10 (v7) Awake, awake, put on strength, arm of Yahweh! Awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Isn’t it you who cut Rahab in…
64 distinct cross-references across this passage (66 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (23 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv3–8 3. Come out of thy country. God useth many…
3. Come out of thy country. God useth many words, to the end he may the more wound the mind of Abraham, as if it were not a thing sharp enough of itself to be banished out of his own country. And that served to try his faith; even as that other thing also, that God assigneth him no land wherein he may dwell, but maketh him stand in doubt, and wait for a time. Wherefore the obedience of Abraham was so much the more to be commended, because the sweetness of his native soil keepeth him not back from going willingly, as it were, into exile; and in that he doubteth not to follow God, although there appear no certain resting-place, but is commanded to wander to and fro for a time. Whereas, the showing of the land is deferred, it differeth not much from deceiving of him.
Furthermore, we learn continually by our own experience how profitable it was for Abraham thus to be exercised, and, as it were, trained by little and little. Many men are carried with a godly affection to attempt great things, but by and by, so soon as their heat is waxen cold, it repenteth them of their purpose, and they would gladly slip their necks out of the collar. Therefore, lest Abraham should faint when he was in the midst of his course, through the remembrance of those things which he had left behind him, God sifteth and trieth his mind thoroughly, immediately after he had begun, lest he take anything in hand lightly and unadvisedly. To this purpose serveth the parable which Christ setteth before us concerning the building of the tower, (Luke 14:28.) For he teacheth that we must first cast the charges, lest with shame we be enforced to leave off building after we have begun. And though this were a particular thing in Abraham in that he was commanded to go out of his own country, and to go into a far country, in that God carried him from place to place, yet, notwithstanding, there is in these words some figure of the calling of us all. We are not all simply commanded to forsake our country, but we are commanded to deny ourselves; we are not commanded to come out of our father’s house, but to bid adieu to our own will, and to the desires of our own flesh. Again, if father and mother, wife and children, hinder us from following God, we must forsake them all. The commandment is given simply to Abraham to flit; but we are commanded to do the stone upon condition. For if in any place we cannot serve God, we must rather make choice of exile than to stay in our nest, being slothful and sluggish. Therefore, let us have the example of Abraham always before our eyes. He is the father of the faithful, he was tried all manner of ways. Doth he forget his country, his friends, and himself, that he may give over himself unto God? (Romans 4:16,17.) If we will be counted the children of God, we must not degenerate from him.
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Which I shall show thee. We must note that which I touched a little before, that Abraham is kept in doubt, to the end his patience may be tried. And this must we also apply to our own use, that we may learn to depend wholly upon God. And surely this is a principal exercise of our faith to put our trust in God, even when we see nothing. God, indeed, will oftentimes show us a land wherein he granteth us an abiding-place; yet, notwithstanding, because we are strangers in the world, we have no certain and continual place of abode anywhere. Again, our life, as Paul saith, is hid, (Colossians 3:3;) and being like unto dead men, we hope for salvation, which is hid in heaven. Therefore, as touching our perpetual habitation, God doth cause us to depend upon his providence alone, when he commandeth us, as it were, to wander in a strange country. Lest such deferring discourage us, we must hold this general rule of faith, that we must go whither God calleth us, howsoever he do not show that which he promiseth.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv5–6 Not so much ground as to set his foot…
Not so much ground as to set his foot upon.
The promise of the possession was certain and belonged to Abraham, though his posterity enjoyed it a great while after his death: and this is the figure Synecdoche.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv3, 5, 6, 7, 8 3 And said unto him, Get thee out of…
3 And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
Ver. 3. Get thee out, &c.] Both Abraham’s great temptations began thus. {See Trapp on "Gen 12:1"} {See Trapp on "Gen 12:2"} {See Trapp on "Gen 12:3"} &c.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv3–8 This command given unto Abraham we read of, Gen…
This command given unto Abraham we read of, Gen 12:1,5,6; and it is here the rather spoken of by St. Stephen, to prove that Abraham was in the favour of God, and did truly serve him, before he ever saw the land of Canaan, and before the ceremonial law was given by Moses, and, much more, before the temple was built; and therefore it could not be blasphemy in him to hold that God might be served without those ceremonies, and worshipped elsewhere than in Jerusalem.
The land which I shall show thee; this was the glory of Abraham’s faith, that it submitted absolutely to God, and enabled Abraham to go he knew not whither, Heb 11:8, for God did not so much as name the place he would have him go unto.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v6 Observe here, The great trial which God put Abraham’s…
Observe here, The great trial which God put Abraham’s faith unto; The Lord promised to give him the land of Canaan for a possession, but he gave him not a foot’s breadth: He promised to give it unto his seed , when as yet he had no child; and when God gave him seed, yet they were to sojourn in a strange land, Egypt; and continue there in bondage four hundred years.
Learn hence, That there is no grace which God delights more to exercise and try, than the faith of his people; as faith put honour upon God, so doth God put honour upon faith; and faith never honours God more, nor is more highly honoured by him, than when it is put upon the greatest exercise and trial; That the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, might be found unto praise, and honour, and glory. 1Pe 1:7
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Here the apostle compares faith unto, and prefers it before gold, even the most precious gold purified in the fire. Is gold precious and rare? So is faith. Is gold pure and resplendent? So is faith. Is gold lasting and durable? So is faith. Is gold purified and improved by trying in the fire? So is faith by exercise; as the instance of Abraham here fully proves.
Observe, 2. How God takes Abraham and his seed into covenant with him, and gives him circumcision, the seal of the covenant.
Thence learn, That in the covenant which God made with Abraham, he gave himself to be a God to Abraham and to his seed, and received Abraham and his seed to be a people unto himself.
2. That circumcision was both the sign and the seal of the covenant which God made with Abraham.
1. Circumcision was a sign, and that in several respects:
It was a commemorative sign of God’s covenant with Abraham;
it was a representative sign of Abraham’s faith and obedience towards God.
A demonstrative sign of original sin, and the depravity of human nature.
A discriminating and distinguishing sign of the true church, and people of God, from all the rest of the world.
An initiating sign, by which all strangers were admitted into the Jewish church.
And, lastly, It was a prefigurative sign of baptism, which succeeded in the room of not only a sign, but a seal also: He received the sign of circumcision, the seal of the righteousness by faith Rom 4:11.
It was a seal on God’s part, to confirm all the promises made to Abraham and his seed:
And it was a seal on his and their part, to blind him to renounce the sevice of all other gods, and to oblige them to the observation of the whole Jewish law.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv3–8 And said unto him,.... Not the words in Gen…
And said unto him,.... Not the words in Gen 12:1 for they were said in Haran, these in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt there, and besides, these are different from them; no mention is here made of getting out from his father's house, as there; because his father's house sent along with him, or rather he with them from Mesopotamia to Haran:
get thee out of thy country; from Ur of the Chaldees, where he was born:
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and from thy kindred; his relations that lived in the same place, who did not go along with him:
and come into the land which I shall show thee; not telling him the place whither he was to go; wherefore when he had his first call, and first set out, he knew not whither he went; see Heb 11:8. This was an emblem of the calling of the saints out of the world, from their former course of life, and from among their old companions and friends, to follow Christ whithersoever he is pleased to lead them; and who at last will bring them safe to the land afar off, the better and heavenly country.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv3–8 Which I will show thee - Abraham knew not…
Which I will show thee - Abraham knew not where he went.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv4–8 Verse 4. When his father was dead] See Clarke…
Verse 4. When his father was dead] See Clarke on Ge 11:26.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv4, 6 Act 7:4-5. Then came he out of the land…
Act 7:4-5. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans — Strange as the command which was given him might seem, he, with all submission, readily obeyed it; and dwelt in Charran — Namely, for several years, having been led thither by the divine conduct, and not immediately receiving a signal to proceed any further. And from thence — After his father died, by another call; he (God) removed him into this land — The land of Canaan. And yet, upon his coming into it, he gave him none inheritance — But he was a stranger and sojourner in it; no, not so much as to set his foot on — Or a piece of land which he might cover with the sole of his foot: for the field mentioned, Act 7:16, he did not receive by a divine donation, but bought it; yet he promised — At sundry times; that he would give it to him for a possession — Which promise Abraham firmly believed that God would fulfil; and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child — And, humanly speaking, it was not likely he ever should have one: but his faith triumphed over all these seeming difficulties, and he confidently trusted in the power, and love, and faithfulness of God to make his word good.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv3–8 And said unto him - How long this was…
And said unto him - How long this was said before he went is not recorded. Moses simply says that God had commanded him to go, Gen 12:1.
Thy kindred - Thy relatives, or family connections. It seems that “Terah” went with him as far as to Haran; but Abraham was apprised that he was to leave his family and to go almost alone.
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Into the land ... - The country was yet unknown. The place was to be shown him. This is presented in the New Testament as a strong instance of faith, Heb 11:8-9. It was an act of “simple confidence” in God. And to leave his country and home; to go into a land of strangers, not knowing whither he went, required strong confidence in God. It is a simple illustration of what man is always required to do at the command of God. Thus, the gospel requires him to commit all to God; to yield body and soul to his disposal; to be ready at his command to forsake father, and mother, and friends, and houses, and lands, for the sake of the Lord Jesus, Luk 14:33; Mat 19:27, Mat 19:29. The trials which Abraham might have anticipated may be readily conceived. He was going, in a rude and barbarous age of the world, into a land of strangers. He was without arms or armies, and almost alone. He did not even know the nature or situation of the land, or the character of its inhabitants.
He had no title to it; no claim to urge; and he went depending on the simple promise of God that he would give it to him. He went, therefore, trusting simply to the promise of God. Thus, his conduct illustrated precisely what we are to do in reference to all our coming life, and to the eternity before us: We are to trust simply to the promise of God, and do what he requires. This is faith. In Abraham it was as simple and intelligible an operation of mind as ever occurs in any instance. Nor is faith in the Scriptures regarded as more mysterious than any other mental operation. If Abraham had seen all that was to result from his going into that land, it would have been a sufficient reason to induce him to do as he did. But God saw it; and Abraham was required to act just as if he had seen it all, and all the reasons why he was called. Upon the strength of God’s promises, Abraham was called to act. This was faith. It did not require him to act where there was “no reason” for his so acting, but where he did not see the reason. So in all cases of faith. If man could see all that God sees, he would perceive reasons for acting as God requires. But the reasons of things are often concealed, and man is required to act on the belief that God sees reasons why he should so act. To act under the proper impression of that truth which God presents is faith; as simple and intelligible as any other act or operation of the mind. See the notes on Mar 16:16.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv5–8 Not the pace of a foot; not so much…
Not the pace of a foot; not so much as a foot of land, that is, to dwell in, though he bought there a place to bury in. (Genesis xxiii. 9.) (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv4, 6, 7, 8 when his father was dead, he removed into this…
when his father was dead, he removed into this land--Though Abraham was in Canaan before Terah's death, his settlement in it as the land of promise is here said to be after it, as being in no way dependent on the family movement, but a transaction purely between Jehovah and Abraham himself.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv3–8 3. Saul… made havoc—The fierce cruelty of this Sauline…
3. Saul… made havoc—The fierce cruelty of this Sauline persecution appears in every clause. Havoc, in the Greek, is a term that designates ravage done by a beast of prey; every house indicates that no single Christian was permitted to escape; haling (old English for hauling) describes the brutal violence done to persons in apprehending; women implies the disregard not only of the tender sex, but of any respected character; prison implies probably the inquisitorial prison belonging to the temple for religious heretics. Paul in many passages refers with deep contrition to these cruelties, (Act_26:9-11; Act_22:3-4.)
But while the detail of cruelty is so severe, and the dispersion so total, there is one most interesting feature of forbearance in the statement. Besides the martyrdom of Stephen, Luke intimates no other murder. A later martyrologist would have pictured a score of bloody executions. But in fact the Jewish authorities had no power for capital punishment. A single murder like that of Stephen might be overlooked by the Roman government; but persistence in a series of executions on their own authority would have brought the Roman procurator from Cesarea to exact an account, or even have roused Vitellius, the Roman prefect of all Syria, at Antioch, to appear with his army at Jerusalem.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv3–8 3. and said unto him] It does not appear…
3. and said unto him] It does not appear from the narrative in Genesis whether there had been some Divine communication which caused the first removal from Ur to Haran. We are only told (Gen_11:31) that Terah took his family and removed, but as it is there added “to go into the land of Canaan,” and as in the following chapter, where God’s order to remove is expressly given (Gen_12:1), it is also said that “they went forth to go into the land of Canaan,” we may conclude that the first removal had been enjoined by God, and that it was only on account of Terah’s age that the country for which they set forth was not reached at once. In Gen_15:7 God says “I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees,” language which implies a command given for the first removal. Cp. Neh_9:7. Gen_12:1 should be rendered “Now the Lord said unto Abram,” not “had said,” as A. V.
Get thee out of thy country [land], and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee] The word for land is the same in both clauses. In Gen_12:1 the words “and from thy father’s house” are added after “kindred.” The destination of the emigrants was known before they started from Ur.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv4–8 (4) From thence, when his father was dead.—In Gen_11:26;…
(4) From thence, when his father was dead.—In Gen_11:26; Gen_11:32, Terah, the father of Abraham, is said to have died at the age of 205 years, and after he had reached the age of seventy to have begotten Abram, Nahor, and Haran; while Abraham in Gen_12:4 is said to have been seventy-five years old when he departed out of Haran. This, primâ facie, suggests the conclusion that he lived for sixty years after his son’s departure. The explanations sometimes given—(1) that Abraham may have been the youngest, not the eldest son of Terah, placed first in order of honour, not of time, as Shem is among the sons of Noah (Gen_5:32; Gen_6:10), though Japheth was the elder (Gen_10:21); and (2) that the marriage of Abraham’s son with the granddaughter of Nahor by the youngest of his eight sons, Bethuel (Gen_22:22), suggests some such difference of age, and that he may therefore have been born when Terah was 130, and so have remained in Haran till his father’s death—though probable as an hypothesis, would hardly appear so natural an explanation as that the memory of St. Stephen or of his reporter dwelt upon the broad outlines of the history, and was indifferent to chronological details. It is remarkable that like difficulties present themselves in St. Paul’s own survey of the history of Israel. (See Notes on Act_13:20; Gal_3:17.) A man speaking for his life, and pleading for the truth with a passionate eagerness, does not commonly carry with him a memoria technica of chronological minutiœ. This seems, on the whole, a more satisfactory explanation than the assumption that the Apostle, having a clear recollection of the facts as we find them, brought them before his hearers in a form which presented at least the appearance of inaccuracy.
He removed him.—The change of subject may be noted as more natural in a speaker than a writer, and as so far confirming the inference that we have probably a verbatim report.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv3–8 Thy land for thy country, A.V.
Thy land for thy country, A.V.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v4 When his father was dead He removed him into…
Act_7:4-8
When his father was dead He removed him into this land.
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The difficulty as to the date of Abrahams migration
Terah died at Haran at the age of two hundred and five (Gen_11:32.). From Gen_11:26 it has been inferred that Terah was not more than seventy at the birth of Abraham; and as Abraham left Haran at seventy-five (Gen_12:4) it would follow that Terah outlived his departure sixty years. But it is nowhere stated that Abraham was Terahs eldest son, and the Rabbins reckoned him the youngest. Abrahams prominence in history as the father of the faithful and the friend of God accounts for his name being placed before that of Haran in Gen_11:26. In like manner the name of Shem, the youngest, stands first among the sons of Noah (Gen_9:18; Gen_10:21); Isaacs name takes precedence of Ishmaels (1Ch_1:28); Judah is placed at the head of the list of the sons of Jacob (1Ch_4:1; 1Ch_5:1-2), and Moses is mentioned before his elder brother Aaron. (Bp. Jacobsen.)
And He gave him none inheritance in it … yet He promised, that He would give it to him for a possession.--
The faithfulness of God
Of this we have three illustrations in the verses before us, which are all the more impressive because of their unlikelihood. We have Gods fidelity--
I. To His promises (verse 5). Abraham, without a foot of land, and, being childless and nomadic, not likely to trouble himself about any, was promised that his seed should possess the entire country. We know that this came to pass, and through what a wonderful series of unlikely events it came to pass. This, therefore, is a good sample of all Gods promises--e.g.,
1. Of temporal good. Who that has trusted Gods word in this particular ever knew it to fail? There is no promise of affluence, but there are abundant promises of sufficiency. Some of the richest pages in Christian biography are records of the extraordinary way in which God works the deliverance of His people in poverty, affliction, danger, etc.
2. Of salvation Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Who ever knew that to fail? It has been proved over and over again in the most hopeless cases. The infidel, men and women to whom abnormal vice has become a second nature, criminals on the verge of execution, have found it true, and in a manner in which the most sanguine could never have expected.
3. Of grace. The Christian is sometimes placed in circumstances of extraordinary trial. Extreme adversity and extreme prosperity, circumstances which have been gradually accumulating until they reach a climax, and circumstances which seem to gather like a thunderous cloud in a moment, expose the Christian to extreme peril. Satan seems to occupy an unshakeable vantage ground, and the good man seems to be helplessly entangled in his toils. Not so. Strangely is there opened a way of escape, which would all along have been seen to be open but for temporary blindness of faith.
4. Of glory--the best illustration perhaps of the promise before us. Then there will be given to us what we most seem to want here, but which we have least ground to expect. The poor will have riches, the weary rest, the afflicted blessedness, and, most wonderful of all, the humble Christian worker the glad well done and the crown of life.
II. To His prophecies (verse 6). That this prophecy would be fulfilled was most improbable, a general characteristic of most of the Divine predictions. Men make shrewd guesses based upon wide experience and a careful induction of facts, and men marvel when what, to the clear sighted, seemed almost inevitable takes place. Much more should they marvel when Gods Word--based upon what to the most sagacious human reason would pronounce to be no ground at all--comes true; only the wonder should be mixed with adoration. Here, e.g., is the prediction that a childless old man without a foot of territory should have a seed large enough to occupy the land; that a race that did not exist should pass through vicissitudes which are Sufficiently specified for a given number of years. Of alike character are the prophecies concerning Christ and His Church. This being the case with regard to fulfilled prophecies, surely there is good room for faith in those which have not yet come to pass. Having regard to the past who can cease to have hope for the Church or for the world. The Church has not yet come fully into its inheritance--but it is better off than Abraham, who had not a foot of his.
III. To His threatenings (verse 7). The power here threatened was now, and at the time of the fulfilment of the threatening, the mightiest in the world. Yet Egypt was judged. The great world powers afterwards threatened--Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, were in their turn colossal in their strength, yet where are they to-day? And why? Let modern potentates heed the lesson--because they opposed the cause of God; a course as likely to succeed as the effort to keep back the sea with a broom. Conclusion:
1. A sacramental guarantee was given for all this. God entered into solemn covenant with Abraham that promise, prediction, threatening--for all hung together--should be fulfilled, and sealed the covenant by the ordinance of circumcision. And what is a Christians baptism but a seal of a covenant of promise involving everything else for this life and the life to come; and what is the Lords supper but a memorial to all generations of the present support and ultimate triumph of the Church of Christ?
2. Lessons:
(1) God takes time for the evolution of His purposes. Four hundred years was not too long for the working out of His purposes concerning Israel; four thousand years are not too long for Him to whom one thousand years is as one day.
(2) Man must therefore wait. Patience is the grace supremely needed in this relation. Let us not, like faithless Israel, forget or despair. (J. W. Burn.)
And God spoke in this wise, that his seed should sojourn in a strange land.--
Sojourners in a strange land
I. The sojourners--Abrahams seed the spiritual progenitors of believers. They that are of faith are the seed of Abraham. The Jews were--
1. A chosen people; so Christians are a chosen generation.
2. A separated people. In whatever circumstances we find them they will not mix. They would not in Egypt; they will not to-day. So a distinguishing mark of Christians is separation from the world--What concord hath Christ with Belial.
3. A people owned of God--I will be their God; they shall be My people. His own inheritance, portion, special treasure. Observe also, that this people owned their God. In their feasts, sacrifices, offerings, first-born. God was to be owned as their God in all. They were not to take a journey nor engage in battle without first asking God. Another and a double mark of Christian character.
4. A blessed people. Blessed art thou in Israel, etc., and all who are of the faith are recipients of the blessing of Abraham. The covenant treasures laid up in Christ Jesus, the righteousness which is by faith.
II. The sojourning. We should never consider the world through which we are passing as any other than a strange land. Do not think of building your nests as if you were to be always at home here. Leave the worldling to his toys, and let us contemplate the fact that we are only strangers and sojourners as all our fathers were.
1. Abrahams seed are considered strange beings in this world--so strange, that they are held an abomination, and positively offensive (Gen_43:32). The case is not altered in the present day. The world knoweth us not, because it knows Him not. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, etc. He who is born after the flesh is still as bent upon persecuting him who is born after the Spirit as in Pauls days. Nor can the servants of Satan, the soldiers of Sihon and Og, allow the Israel of God to pass through their territories unmolested. And yet I am anxious that all the seed of Abraham should be able so to live, that their very enemies may come to the same conclusion that the enemies of Daniel did (Dan_6:5).
2. They are annoyed with strange things as they pass through this strange land with its--
(1) Principles.
(2) Practices.
(3) Persons.
3. Though grievously annoyed, yet they advance continually in the face of every obstacle and foe. Nothing stops them; on they must go. But how was it that no powers could arrest, no floods or plains intimidate, or armies vanquish Abrahams seed? Just because God went before them as their guide, a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. And is it not the same now? The Lord is a wall of fire round about them that fear Him. The real advancement of the seed of Abraham will always include these two things; an advancement in the knowledge of ourselves that shall lay us low; and in the knowledge of Jesus that shall elevate and cheer us.
III. The kingdom beyond. It was Jehovahs good pleasure to give His people Canaan, and they got it not with sword or bow. They did not deserve it, for they were a stiff-necked and perverse generation, but it was Jehovahs good pleasure to give it to them, just as it is our Fathers good pleasure to give us the kingdom. Many things might be said about this kingdom; but note these: We shall then be so situated as to be above all annoyances, in a kingdom where there is not an unwholesome law; where there is not a dissenting voice from the will of the Monarch; where there is no infirmity, and nothing but joy, and peace, and righteousness. (J. Irons.)
And that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.--
The duration of the sojourning
Verses 6 and 7 are quoted, not with verbal exactness, from Gen_15:13-14 according to the LXX. A parenthesis marked after land and evil would make it clear that the four hundred years are the length of the entire time during which Abraham and his descendants were to be sojourners, i.e., to have no country of their own. The Egyptian servitude did not begin till after the death of Joseph, and did not exceed two hundred and fifteen years. If the calculation is made from the weaning of Isaac, the interval is exactly four hundred years. In speaking, the round number was used instead of the precise total of four hundred and thirty years; which is given in the historical statement (Exo_12:40), quoted Gal_3:17, which the received chronology makes to be the interval between Abrahams going down into Egypt and the Exodus. The same variation is found in Josephus, who states in his history that the Israelites quitted Egypt in the four hundred and thirtieth year; but in a report of a speech of his own in the Wars he gives the duration four hundred years. (Bp. Jacobson.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 8 5. Gave him none inheritance in it. Abraham possessed…
5. Gave him none inheritance in it. Abraham possessed Canaan only by faith. He looked to the fulfillment of the promise, that it would be the possession of his children when he had neither land nor seed. See Heb. 11:8–16.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On v8 8. While the physical birth emblematizes regeneration, it is…
REGENERATION AND SANCTIFICATION
8. While the physical birth emblematizes regeneration, it is equally true that physical circumcision typifies sanctification. The Jewish law was to circumcise eight days after birth, illustrating the fact that we should get sanctified about eight days after conversion, thus giving a little time to receive light on inbred sin and intelligently seek its removal. John Wesley has a powerful sermon on the Circumcision of the heart, preached from
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Deu 30:6 : “I will circumcise thy heart, so as to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind and strength, that thou mayest live.”
Here we see that the circumcision of the heart is necessary to perfect love, which is the condition of spiritual life and admission into heaven.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv3–8 See notes on verse 2
See notes on verse 2
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v6 The promise to Abraham:
The promise to Abraham:
v. 6. And God spake on this wise, that his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.
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v. 7. And The nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God; and after that shall they come forth, and serve Me in this place.
v. 8. And He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.
For Abraham the promises of God provided one trial of faith after the other. Long before he had a son, the Lord told him that his descendants would be enslaved in a strange land, where they would be kept a matter of some four hundred years, Gen 15:13-16, the exact number being given in other passages of Scriptures, Gal 3:17. Incidentally, however, there was comfort for Abraham in the fact that God promised to judge, to speak the condemning sentence upon, the cruel masters, in order to bring His people out eventually to serve, to worship Him in this place, in Jerusalem, Exo 3:12. Still later God gave to Abraham the covenant and the rite of circumcision, as the first sacrament of the Old Testament Church, and when finally Isaac was born, he was received into the covenant by this rite. And so, in due course, Jacob was begotten, and finally the twelve patriarchs, the sons of Israel.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 6 General Information:
General Information:
In verse 4 the words "he," "his," and "him" refer to Abraham. In verse 5 the words "He" and "he" refer to God, but the word "him" refers to Abraham.
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General Information:
Here the word "you" refers to the Jewish council and audience. (See: Forms of You)
He gave none of it
"He did not give any of it"
enough to set a foot on
Possible meanings for this phrase are 1) enough ground to stand on or 2) enough ground to take a step. AT: "a very tiny piece of ground" (See: Idiom)
as a possession to him and to his descendants after him
"for Abraham to own and to give to his descendants"
translationWords
Chaldea
inherit
Abraham
descend
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v8 7:8 the covenant of circumcision: See Gen 17:9-14; see…
7:8 the covenant of circumcision: See Gen 17:9-14; see also “Circumcision in the New Testament” Theme Note.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.