Genesis 12

1 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you.

2 I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

5 Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother’s son, all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they went to go into the land of Canaan. They entered into the land of Canaan.

6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time, Canaanites were in the land.

7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” He built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

8 He left from there to go to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the LORD’s name.

9 Abram traveled, still going on toward the South.

10 There was a famine in the land. Abram went down into Egypt to live as a foreigner there, for the famine was severe in the land.

11 When he had come near to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look at.

12 It will happen that when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me, but they will save you alive.

13 Please say that you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you.”

14 When Abram had come into Egypt, some Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.

15 The princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.

16 He dealt well with Abram for her sake. He had sheep, cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

17 The LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.

18 Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife?

19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now therefore, see your wife, take her, and go your way.”

20 Pharaoh commanded men concerning him, and they escorted him away with his wife and all that he had.

Around Genesis 12

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

Genesis 12 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

Abram is seventy-five, and God’s word reaches him: “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you.” With the command comes a promise of a great nation, a great name and a blessing for others. Abram leaves with Sarai, Lot and all their people. In Canaan, at Shechem, the LORD appears to him and says he will give this land to his offspring, and Abram builds an altar. He builds another near Bethel and calls on the LORD’s name.

Then famine drives him down to Egypt, and fear overtakes him. He asks Sarai, “Please say that you are my sister”. She is taken into Pharaoh’s house, and Abram gains sheep, cattle and servants because of her. The LORD afflicts Pharaoh’s house with plagues. Pharaoh calls Abram to him, asks what he has done, and sends him away with his wife and all that he had.

Background

This is where the story of Israel begins. God’s promise has three parts: a land, a people and a blessing that reaches “All the families of the earth” (verse 3). The New Testament returns to it often (see Galatians 3 and Hebrews 11). The Egypt episode shows a man of faith acting out of fear, and the text does not praise his lie. Pharaoh, a stranger, is the one who tells Abram what he has done wrong. Readers differ on how to judge Abram here.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 20 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes