English Standard Version
Genesis 12:7
7Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
Genesis 12:7 in other versions
- King James Version (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.
- New International Version (NIV)The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
Context of Genesis 12:7
5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. 9And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.
Read all of Genesis 12Genesis 12:7 word by word
וַיֵּרָ֤א יְהוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם וַיֹּ֕אמֶר לְזַ֨רְעֲךָ֔ אֶתֵּ֖ן אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֑את וַיִּ֤בֶן שָׁם֙ מִזְבֵּ֔חַ לַיהוָ֖ה הַנִּרְאֶ֥ה אֵלָֽיו׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- appearedרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- unto Abramאַבְרָם'abrâm · AbramH87
- and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Unto thy seedזֶ֫רַעzera‛ · seed: childrenH2233
- will I giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- thisזֹאתzô'th · thisH2063
- landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- and there buildedבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
- he an altarמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
Cross-references for Genesis 12:7
- Genesis 17:1When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,
- Genesis 18:1And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.
- Genesis 32:30So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered."
- Genesis 13:15for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.
- Genesis 17:3Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him,
- Genesis 26:3Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.
- Genesis 28:13And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, "I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.
- Exodus 33:1The Lord said to Moses, "Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your offspring I will give it.'
- Numbers 32:11'Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me,
- Deuteronomy 1:8See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.'
- Deuteronomy 6:10"And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build,
- Deuteronomy 30:20loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them."
- Psalms 105:9the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac,
- Romans 9:8This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.
- Galatians 3:16Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many, but referring to one, "And to your offspring," who is Christ.
- Galatians 4:28Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
Commentaries on Genesis 12:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7The 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: In Ur of the Chaldees, Acts 7:2; and 2. At the oak of Moreh, as in this verse. As מורה Moreh signifies…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-9Verses 1-9 - The Call of Abram 6. שׁכם shekem Shekem, “the upper part of the back.” Here it is the name of a person, the owner of this place, where afterward is built the town called at first Shekem, then Flavia Neapolis, and now Nablous. אלון 'ēlôn “the oak;” related: “be lasting, strong.” מורה môreh In Onkelos “plain;” Moreh, “archer, early rain, teacher.” Here the name of a man who owned the oak that marked the spot. In the Septuagint it is rendered…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-9Verses 6-9 Abram found the country peopled by Canaanites, who were bad neighbours. He journeyed, going on still. Sometimes it is the lot of good men to be unsettled, and often to remove into various states. Believers must look on themselves as strangers and sojourners in this world, He 11:8, 13, 14. But observe how much comfort Abram had in God. When he could have little satisfaction in converse with the Canaanites whom he found there, he had abundance of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7the LORD appeared to Abram at Shechem (12:6) to confirm that this was the promised land. Israel was meant to live in this land, but they needed faith to share in God's promises (compare Numbers 14; Joshua 1:6–9). to your offspring: Abram did not own the land yet. He lived there as a temporary settler.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. 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. That land his posterity was for centuries to inhabit as a peculiar people; the seeds of divine knowledge were to be sown there for the benefit of all mankind; and considered in its geographical situation, it was chosen in divine wisdom as the fittest of all lands to serve as the…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 12:7
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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