- Gen 12:1-17:27
- Is 40:27-41:16
- Rom 4:1-25
Lech L’cha means “Go forth, yourself.” This is the personal call which 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 gave to Aḇram, when He called him into an exciting new spiritual journey, filled with amazing experiences and boundless blessings.
| Berĕshith (Genesis) 12:1-17:27 |
The Call of Abram (Genesis 26:1–5 ; Acts 7:1–8)
Berĕshith Chapter 12
1Then 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 said to Aḇram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you.
2 I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
so that you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you
and curse those who curse you;
and all the families of the earth
will be blessed through you.”
4 So Aḇram departed, as 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 had directed him, and Lot went with him. Aḇram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 And Aḇram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Ḥaran, and set out for the land of Kena‛an.
When they came to the land of Kena‛an, 6 Aḇram traveled through the land as far as the site of the terebinth tree of Moreh at Sheḵem. And at that time the Kena‛anites were in the land.
7 Then 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 appeared to Aḇram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Aḇram built an altar there to Aḇram, who had appeared to him.
8 From there Aḇram moved on to the hill country east of Běyth Ěl and pitched his tent, with Běyth Ěl to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, and he called on the name of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄.
9 And Aḇram journeyed on toward the Negev.
Aḇram and Sarai in Egypt
10 Now there was a famine in the land. So Aḇram went down to Mitsrayim to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Mitsrayim, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman, 12 and when the Mitsrites see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Please say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and on account of you my life will be spared.”
14 So when Aḇram entered Mitsrayim, the Mitsrites saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 When Pharaoh’s officials saw Sarai, they commended her to him, and she was taken into the palace of Pharaoh. 16 He treated Aḇram well on her account, and Aḇram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.
17 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, however, afflicted Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Aḇram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Aḇram and asked, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!”
20 Then Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Aḇram, and they sent him away with his wife and all his possessions.
Aḇram and Lot Part Ways
Berĕshith Chapter 13
1So Aḇram went up out of Mitsrayim into the Negev—he and his wife and all his possessions—and Lot was with him. 2 And Aḇram had become extremely wealthy in livestock and silver and gold.
3 From the Negev, he journeyed from place to place toward Běyth Ěl, until he came to the place between Běyth Ěl and Ai where his tent had formerly been pitched, 4 to the site where he had built the altar. And there Aḇram called on the name of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄.
5 Now Lot, who was traveling with Aḇram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 But the land was unable to support both of them while they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they were unable to coexist. 7 And there was discord between the herdsmen of Aḇram and the herdsmen of Lot. At that time, the Kena‛anites and the Perizzites were also living in the land.
8 So Aḇram said to Lot, “Please let there be no contention between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen. After all, we are kinsmen. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Now separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”
Lot Proceeds toward Seḏom
10 And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Yarděn, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, like the land of Mitsrayim. (This was before 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 destroyed Seḏom and Amorah.) 11 So Lot chose the whole plain of the Yarděn for himself and set out toward the east. And Aḇram and Lot parted company.
12 Aḇram lived in the land of Kena‛anites, but Lot settled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent toward Seḏom. 13 But the men of Seḏom were wicked, sinning greatly against 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄.
Alahym Renews the Promise to Aḇram
14 After Lot had departed, 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 said to Aḇram, “Now lift up your eyes from the place where you are, and look to the north and south and east and west, 15 for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.
16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Get up and walk around the land, through its length and breadth, for I will give it to you.”
18 So Aḇram moved his tent and went to live near the terebinth trees of Mamrě, which are in Ḥeḇron, where he built an altar to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄.
The War of the Kings
Berĕshith Chapter 14
1In those days Amraphel king of Shin‛ar, Aryoḵ sovereign of Ellasar, Keḏorla‛omer sovereign of Ěylam, and Tiḏ‛al sovereign of Goyim 2 went to war against Bera sovereign of Seḏom, Birsha sovereign of Amorah, Shinaḇ sovereign of Aḏmah, Shem’ěḇer sovereign of Tseḇoyim, and the sovereign of Bela, that is Tso‛ar
3 The latter five came as allies to the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea † ). 4 For twelve years they had been subject to Keḏorla‛omer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
5 In the fourteenth year, Keḏorla‛omer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Repha’im in Ashteroth Qarnayim, and the Zuzim in Ḥam, and the Ěmites in Shawěh Qiryathayim, 6 and the Ḥorites in their mountain of Sě‛ir, as far as Ěl Paran, which is near the desert. 7 Then they turned back to invade Ěn Mishpat, that is Qaḏěsh, and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalěqites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Ḥatsetson Tamar.
8 Then the king of Seḏom, and the king of Amorah, and the king of Aḏmah, and the king of Tseḇoyim, and the king of Bela, that is Tso‛ar, marched out and arrayed themselves for battle in the Valley of Siddim 9against Keḏorla‛omer king of Ěylam, Tiḏ‛al king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shin‛ar, and Aryoḵ king of Ellasar—four kings against five.
Aḇram Rescues Lot
10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Seḏom and Amorah fled, some men fell into the pits, but the survivors fled to the hill country.
11 The four kings seized all the goods of Seḏom and Amorah and all their food, and they went on their way. 12 They also carried off Aḇram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since Lot was living in Seḏom.
13 Then an escapee came and reported this to Aḇram the Hebrew. Now Aḇram was living near the terebinth trees of Mamrě the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aněr, all of whom were bound by treaty to Aḇram. 14 And when Aḇram heard that his relative had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men born in his household, and they set out in pursuit as far as Dan.
15 During the night, Aḇram divided his forces and routed them, pursuing them as far as Ḥoḇah, north of Dammeseq. 16 He retrieved all the goods, as well as his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the rest of the people.
Malkitseḏeq Blesses Aḇram (Psalm 110:1–7 ; Hebrews 7:1–10)
17 After Abram returned from defeating Keḏorla‛omer and the kings allied with him, the king of Seḏom went out to meet him in the Valley of Shawěh (that is, the King’s Valley).
18 Then Malkitseḏeq sovereign of Shalěm brought out bread and wine—since he was priest of the Most High Al— 19 and he blessed Aḇram and said:
“Blessed be Aḇram by the Most High Al,
Creator of heaven and earth,
20 and blessed be the Most High Al,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Then Aḇram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.
21 The king of Sedom said to Aḇram, “Give me the people, but take the goods for yourself.”
22 But Aḇram replied to the king of Sedom, “I have raised my hand to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 Alahym Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 23 that I will not accept even a thread, or a strap of a sandal, or anything that belongs to you, lest you should say, ‘I have made Aḇram rich.’ 24 I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share for the men who went with me—Aněr, Eshkol, and Mamrě. They may take their portion.”
Alahym’s Covenant with Aḇram (Romans 4:1–12 ; Hebrews 11:8–19)
Berĕshith Chapter 15
1After these events, the word of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 came to Aḇram in a vision:
“Do not be afraid, Aḇram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward.”
2 But Aḇram replied, “O Master 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, what can You give me, since I remain childless, and the heir of my house is Eli‛ezer of Dammeseq?” 3 Aḇram continued, “Behold, You have given me no offspring, so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
4 Then the word of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 came to Aḇram, saying, “This one will not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” 5 And 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
6 Aḇram believed 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
7 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 also told him, “I am 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, who brought you out of Ur-kasdim to give you this land to possess.”
Alahym Confirms His Promise (Numbers 34:1–15 ; Romans 4:13–25)
8 But Aḇram replied, “Master 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, how can I know that I will possess it?”
9 And 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 said to him, “Bring Me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a turtledove and a young pigeon.”
10 So Aḇram brought all these to Him, split each of them down the middle, and laid the halves opposite each other. The birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 And the birds of prey descended on the carcasses, but Aḇram drove them away. 12 As the sun was setting, Aḇram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him.
13 Then 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 said to Aḇram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 14 But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions. 15You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the halves of the carcasses. 18 On that day 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 made a covenant with Aḇram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates— 19 the land of the Qěynite, and the Qenizzite, and the Qaḏmonite, 20 and the Ḥittite, and the Perizzite, and the Repha’im, 21 and the Amorite, and the Kena‛anite, and the Girgashite, and the Yeḇusite.”
Hagar and Yishma‛al
Berĕshith Chapter 16
1Now Aḇram’s wife Sarai had borne him no children, but she had a Mitsrian maidservant named Haḡar. 2 So Sarai said to Aḇram, “Look now, 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 has prevented me from bearing children. Please go to my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family by her.”
And Aḇram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So after he had lived in Kena‛an for ten years, his wife Sarai took her Mitsrian maidservant Haḡar and gave her to Aḇram to be his wife. 4 And he slept with Haḡar, and she conceived. But when Haḡar realized that she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.
5 Then Sarai said to Aḇram, “May the wrong done to me be upon you! I delivered my servant into your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 judge between you and me.”
6 “Here,” said Aḇram, “your servant is in your hands. Do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai treated Haḡar so harshly that she fled from her.
7 Now the messenger of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 found Haḡar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur. 8 “Haḡar, servant of Sarai,” he said, “where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I am running away from my mistress Sarai,” she replied.
9 So the Messenger of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 told her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her authority.” 10 Then the Messenger added, “I will greatly multiply your offspring so that they will be too numerous to count.”
11 The the Messenger of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 proceeded:
“Behold, you have conceived and will bear a son.
And you shall name him Yishma‛al1,
for 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 has heard your cry of affliction.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man,
and his hand will be against everyone,
and everyone’s hand against him;
he will live in hostility
toward all his brothers.”
13 So Haḡar gave this name to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 who had spoken to her: “You are the Alahym who sees me,” for she said, “Here I have seen the One who sees me!” 14 Therefore the well was called Be’ěr Laḥai Ro’i. It is located between Qaḏěsh and Bereḏ.
15 And Haḡar bore Aḇram a son, and Aḇram gave the name Yishma‛al to the son she had borne. 16 Aḇram was eighty-six years old when Haḡar bore Yishma‛al to him.
Abraham to Father Many Nations
Berĕshith Chapter 17
1When Aḇram was ninety-nine years old, 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 appeared to him and said, “I am Al Shadday. Walk before Me and be blameless. 2I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.”
3 Then Aḇram fell facedown, and Alahym said to him, 4 “As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Aḇram, but your name will be Aḇraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.
7 I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your Alahym and the Alahym of your descendants after you.
8 And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Kena‛an—as an eternal possession; and I will be their Alahym.”
The Covenant of Circumcision
9Alahym also said to Abraham, “You must keep My covenant—you and your descendants in the generations after you. 10 This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised. 11 You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
12 Generation after generation, every male must be circumcised when he is eight days old, including those born in your household and those purchased from a foreigner—even those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether they are born in your household or purchased, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh will be an everlasting covenant.
14 But if any male is not circumcised, he will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
15 Then Alahym said to Aḇraham, “As for Sarai your wife, do not call her Sarai, for her name is to be Sarah. 16 And I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will descend from her.”
17 Aḇraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth at the age of ninety?” 18 And Aḇraham said to Alahym, “O that Yishma‛al might live under Your blessing!”
19 But Alahym replied, “Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Yitsḥaq2. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 As for Yishma‛al, I have heard you, and I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He will become the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish My covenant with Yitsḥaq, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”
22 When He had finished speaking with Aḇraham, Alahym went up from him.
23 On that very day Aḇraham took his son Yishma‛al and all those born in his household or purchased with his money—every male among the members of Aḇraham’s household—and he circumcised them, just as Alahym had told him.
24 So Aḇraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25 and his son Yishma‛al was thirteen; 26 Aḇraham and his son Yishma‛al were circumcised on the same day. 27 And all the men of Abraham’s household—both servants born in his household and those purchased from foreigners—were circumcised with him.
| Yashayah (Isaiah) 40:27-41:16 |
Future Blessings for Tsyon
Yashayah (Isaiah) Chapter 40
27 Why do you say, O Ya‛aqoḇ,
and why do you assert, O Yashar’al,
“My way is hidden from 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄,
and my claim is ignored by my Alahym”?
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 is the everlasting Alahym,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary;
His understanding is beyond searching out.
29 He gives power to the faint
and increases the strength of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall.
31 But those who wait upon 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 will renew their strength;
they will mount up with wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not faint.
Alahym’s Help to Yashar’al
Yashayah (Isaiah) Chapter 41
1“Be silent before Me, O islands,
and let the peoples renew their strength.
Let them come forward and testify;
let us together draw near for judgment.
2 Who has aroused one from the east
and called him to his feet in righteousness?
He hands nations over to him
and subdues kings before him.
He turns them to dust with His sword,
to windblown chaff with His bow.
3 He pursues them, going on safely,
hardly touching the path with His feet.
4 Who has performed this and carried it out,
calling forth the generations from the beginning?
I, 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄—the first and the last—
I am He.”
5 The islands see and fear;
the ends of the earth tremble.
They approach and come forward.
6 Each one helps the other
and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
| Romiyim (Romans) 4:1-25 |
Abraham Justified by Faith (Genesis 15:1–7 ; Psalm 32:1–11 ; Hebrews 11:8–19)
Romiyim (Romans) 4
4What then shall we say that Aḇraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has discovered? 2 If Aḇraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before Alahym. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Aḇraham believed Alahym, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
4 Now the wages of the worker are not credited as a gift, but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. 6 And Daud speaks likewise of the blessedness of the man to whom Alahym credits righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are they whose lawless acts are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the man
whose sin the Master will never count against him.”
9 Is this blessing only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Aḇraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10 In what context was it credited? Was it after his circumcision, or before? It was not after, but before.
11 And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12 And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Aḇraham had before he was circumcised.
Abraham Receives the Promise (Genesis 15:8–21)
13 For the promise to Aḇraham 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. 14 For if those who live by the law are heirs, faith is useless and the promise is worthless, 15 because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression.
16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may rest on favor and may be guaranteed to all Aḇraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Aḇraham. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the presence of Alahym, in whom he believed, the Alahym who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not yet exist.
18 Against all hope, Aḇraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 Without weakening in his faith, he acknowledged the decrepitness of his body (since he was about a hundred years old) and the lifelessness of Sarah’s womb. 20 Yet he did not waver through disbelief in the promise of Alahym, but was strengthened in his faith and gave esteem to Alahym, 21 being fully persuaded that Alahym was able to do what He had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 Now the words “it was credited to him” were written not only for Aḇraham, 24 but also for us, to whom righteousness will be credited—for us who believe in Him who raised 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤅𐤏 our Master from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification.
Footnotes
