Genesis 12:7
in Genesis 12Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto Jehovah, who appeared unto him.
KJV
And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.
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This verse in Genesis 12
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe Lord appeared - In what way this appearance was made we know not; it was probably by the great angel of the covenant, Jesus the Christ. The appearance, whatsoever it was, perfectly satisfied Abram, and proved itself to be supernatural and Divine. It is worthy of remark that Abram is the first man to whom God is said to have shown himself or appeared: 1. In Ur of the Chaldees, Act 7:2; and 2. At the oak of Moreh, as in this verse.
This site's exposition
the Canaanites were in the land
on Genesis 12:6-7
Abram walks through a land the Canaanites already hold, as far as the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. The LORD appears there and gives the land to his offspring. Abram owns none of it and builds an altar on it, and altars mark every place he stops from here.
This site's exposition
the LORD appeared to Abram
Clarke notes Abram is the first man in Scripture to whom the LORD appeared, first in Ur by Acts 7:2 and here in the land. He takes the one who appeared as the angel of the covenant. Paul reads your offspring as one, Christ, at Galatians 3:16.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the Lord appeared unto Abram,....
Note, The fear of man brings a snare, and many are driven to sin by the dread of death, Luke xii. The grace Abram was most eminent for was faith; and yet he thus fell through unbelief and distrust of the divine Providence, even after God had appeared to him twice.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Unto thy seed will I give this land--God was dealing with Abram not in his private and personal capacity merely, but with a view to high and important interests in future ages.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Unto thy seed will I give this land--God was dealing with Abram not in his private and personal capacity merely, but with a view to high and important interests in future ages.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּרָ֤א | vaiyera' | and he appeared | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אַבְרָ֔ם | ʾavram | Abram | H87 → | 61 times |
| וַיֹּ֕אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לְזַ֨רְעֲךָ֔ | lezarakha | to offspring your | H2233 → | 229 times |
| אֶתֵּ֖ן | ʾeten | I will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָ֣רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| הַזֹּ֑את | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| וַיִּ֤בֶן | vaiyiven | and he built | H1129 → | 376 times |
| שָׁם֙ | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| מִזְבֵּ֔חַ | mizbeach | an altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| לַיהוָ֖ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הַנִּרְאֶ֥ה | hanireh | who had appeared | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֵלָֽיו׃ | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
וַיֵּרָ֤אand he appeared
vaiyera'H7200 →1300 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אַבְרָ֔םAbram
ʾavramH87 →61 times
וַיֹּ֕אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לְזַ֨רְעֲךָ֔to offspring your
lezarakhaH2233 →229 times
אֶתֵּ֖ןI will give
ʾetenH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָ֣רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
הַזֹּ֑את<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
וַיִּ֤בֶןand he built
vaiyivenH1129 →376 times
שָׁם֙there
shamH8033 →834 times
מִזְבֵּ֔חַan altar
mizbeachH4196 →401 times
לַיהוָ֖הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
הַנִּרְאֶ֥הwho had appeared
hanirehH7200 →1300 times
אֵלָֽיו׃to him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 17:1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.
it leads to
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Ephesians 3:20
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,
- Luke 1:6
Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord.
- Genesis 18:14
Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”
- Genesis 6:9
This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.
- Philippians 4:13
Through
Galatians 3:16The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.
it leads to
- Genesis 17:7–8
I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
- Romans 4:13
For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
- Luke 1:55
as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.”
- Genesis 17:7–8
Where this verse is studied
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About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.