Genesi 12:10 Commento

The pedigree and family of Abram we had an account of in the foregoing chapter; here the Holy Ghost enters upon his story, and henceforward Abram and his seed are almost the only subject of the sacred history. In this chapter we have, I. God's call of Abram to the land of Canaan (Gen 12:1-3). II. Abram's obedience to this call (Gen 12:4, Gen 12:5). III. His welcome to the land of Canaan (Gen 12:6-9). IV. His journey to Egypt, with an account of what happened to him there. Abram's flight and fault (Gen 12:10-13). Sarai's danger and deliverance (Gen 12:14-20).

Here is, I. A famine in the land of Canaan, a grievous famine. That fruitful land was turned into barrenness, not only to punish the iniquity of the Canaanites who dwelt therein, but to exercise the faith of Abram who sojourned therein; and a very sore trial it was; it tried what he would think, 1. Of God that brought him thither, whether he would not be ready to say with his murmuring seed that he was brought forth to be killed with hunger, Exo 16:3. Nothing short of a strong faith could keep up god thoughts of God under such a providence. 2. Of the land of promise, whether he would think the grant of it worth the accepting, and a valuable consideration for the relinquishing of his own country, when, for aught that now appeared, it was a land that ate up the inhabitants. Now he was tried whether he could preserve an unshaken confidence that the God who brought him to Canaan would maintain him there, and whether he could rejoice in him as the God of his salvation when the fig-tree did not blossom, Hab 3:17, Hab 3:18. Note, (1.) Strong faith is commonly exercised with divers temptations, that it may be found to praise, and honour, and glory, Pe1 1:6, Pe1 1:7. (2.) It pleases God sometimes to try those with great afflictions who are but young beginners in religion. (3.) It is possible for a man to be in the way of duty, and in the way to happiness, and yet meet with great troubles and disappointments. II. Abram's removal into Egypt, upon occasion of this famine. See how wisely God provides that there should be plenty in one place when there was scarcity in another, that, as members of the great body, we may not say to one another, I have no need of you. God's providence took care there should be a supply in Egypt, and Abram's prudence made use of the opportunity; for we tempt God, and do not trust him, if, in the time of distress, we use not the means he has graciously provided for our preservation: We must not expect needless miracles. But that which is especially observable here, to the praise of Abram, is that he did not offer to return, upon this occasion, to the country from which he came out, nor so much as towards it. The land of his nativity lay north-east from Canaan; and therefore, when he must, for a time, quit Canaan, he chooses to go to Egypt, which lay south-west, the contrary way, that he might not so much as seem to look back. See Heb 11:15, Heb 11:16. Further observe, When he went down into Egypt, it was to sojourn there, not to dwell there. Note, 1. Though Providence, for a time, may cast us into bad places, yet we ought to tarry there no longer than needs must; we may sojourn where we may not settle. 2. A good man, while he is on this side heaven, wherever he is, is but a sojourner. III. A great fault which Abram was guilty of, in denying his wife, and pretending that she was his sister. The scripture is impartial in relating the misdeeds of the most celebrated saints, which are recorded, not for our imitation, but for our admonition, that he who thinks he stands may take heed lest he fall. 1. His fault was dissembling his relation to Sarai, equivocating concerning it, and teaching his wife, and probably all his attendants, to do so too. What he said was, in a sense, true (Gen 20:12), but with a purpose to deceive; he so concealed a further truth as in effect to deny it, and to expose thereby both his wife and the Egyptians to sin. 2. That which was at the bottom of it was a jealous timorous fancy he had that some of the Egyptians would be so charmed with the beauty of Sarai (Egypt producing few such beauties) that, if they should know he was her husband, they would find some way or other to take him off, that they might marry her. He presumes they would rather be guilty of murder than adultery, such a heinous crime was it then accounted and such a sacred regard was paid to the marriage bond; hence he infers, without any good reason, They will kill me. Note, The fear of man brings a snare, and many are driven to sin by the dread of death, Luk 12:4, Luk 12:5. 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. Alas! what will become of the willows, when the cedars are thus shaken?

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 12 In this chapter an account is given of the call of Abram to depart from his own country, with a promise of a divine blessing, Gen 12:1 of his obedience to it, Gen 12:4 of his journey through the land of Canaan, and of the Lord's appearance to him in it, and his promise of it to his seed, and of Abram's building altars in it, and calling on the name of the Lord, Gen 12:6 and of a famine there, which occasioned him to go into Egypt, Gen 12:10 where, through fear of being slain, he desired his wife to call herself his sister, Gen 12:11 and she being greatly admired by the Egyptians for her beauty, it went well with Abram for her sake, Gen 12:14 but the Egyptians were plagued because of her, who, when they understood she was Abram's wife, sent them both away, and all that belonged to them, Gen 12:17.

And there was a famine in the land,.... The land of Canaan, which was a very fruitful country, abounding with all kind of provisions usually; but now there was a scarcity of all; and which was both for the sins of the inhabitants of the land, and for the trial of Abram's faith, who was brought out of his own country, where was bread enough and to spare, into one in which there was a famine; and this might be a temptation to Abram to return from whence he came, and to slight and despise the country that was given him: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; not to dwell there, only till the famine was over; and rightly is he said to go down to Egypt, since that lay lower than the land of Canaan; and his going thither only to sojourn, and with an intention to return again to Canaan, shows the strength of his faith in the promise; and so far was he from going back to his own country, from whence he came, that he went directly the contrary, for Chaldee lay north east of Canaan, and Egypt south west: this country is in the Hebrew text called Mizraim, from the second son of Ham, see Gen 10:6 it had its name Egypt not from Aegyptus, one of its kings, as some (l) say, but from the blackish colour of its soil, and also of its river Nile, and of its inhabitants; which colour is by the Greeks called "aegyptios", from "aegyps", a vulture, a bird of that colour: it is bounded on the south by the kingdom of Sennar, tributary to the king of Ethiopia, and the cataracts of the Nile; on the north by the Mediterranean sea; on the east by the Arabian Gulf, or Red sea, and the isthmus of Suez; and on the west by a region of Lybia, called Marmorica (m). For the famine was grievous in the land; in the land of Canaan, and perhaps nowhere else; God ordering it so in his wise providence, that there should be plenty of food in one land, when there is a scarcity in another, that countries may be helpful to one another: of this famine, and of Abram's going down to Egypt on account of it, mention is made by Heathen writers; Nicolaus of Damascus says (n), that Abram came out of Chaldee into Canaan, now called Judea, and a grievous famine being there, and understanding there was plenty in Egypt, he readily went thither, partly to partake of their plenty, and partly to hear what the priests would say of the gods; and Alexander Polyhistor relates, from Eupolemus (o), that Abram removed from the place of his nativity, Camarine, called by some Urie, and settled in Phoenicia, where being a famine, he went with all his family into Egypt, and dwelt there. (l) Apollodorus, l. 2. in initio. (m) Vid. Universal History, vol. 1. p. 391. (n) Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 16. p. 417. (o) Apud ib. c. 17. p. 418, 419.

The content on the literal level is clear. As for the spiritual meaning, it is this. Those who are wise in God are above the earth, since they are not of the earth. A famine then came over the earth, because for those who are concerned about earthly things, there often occurs a famine in this sense, that they no longer hear the word of the Lord. Then, if they are worthy of it, the Word is given back to them one day.Thus Abraham went to Egypt to “sojourn” there, not to dwell there, because he had sympathy for the victims of the famine. Likewise Daniel and his companions did not come to Babylon because of sins they had committed but to aid the people who had been deported there on account of their own sins.

Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there. After receiving the promises of blessing, after entering the land of promise, after building an altar to the Lord there, after invoking His name, Abraham is tested by famine, and such a great famine that he left the land which he had received in promise as soon as he saw and visited it. But Isaac and Jacob, and his sons, also left the same land of promise, driven by similar necessity. As the Psalmist sings, they passed from nation to nation and from one kingdom to another people (Psalm 105:13). This was believed to have happened not by chance, but by divine providence, so that both they and all the heirs of the same promise would understand that they received the gifts of divine blessing in such a way that in this life they would endure labor and temporal affliction, but in the future, they would expect everlasting rest and happiness. This was also to illustrate that the land of Canaan was promised to Abraham and his seed in such a way that it signified more the inheritance of the heavenly fatherland, of which it is written: "The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever" (Psalm 37:29). This is clearly not said about the land of this world, which is common to both the righteous and the wicked, since it is narrated that it will be possessed forever by the righteous alone. Therefore, the land of Canaan is promised to Abraham and his seed, and after the long toil of Egyptian servitude, it is restored by Joshua as a leader, to mystically suggest that the heavenly fatherland promised to us will be restored through Jesus Christ our Lord after the affliction of present exile. But even in that land of Canaan, the children of the promise never ceased laboring or fighting against enemies, so they would understand, as we have said, that they should seek another fatherland beyond this one, where they will truly enjoy heavenly blessing and eternal rest. This divine providence also aligns with the fact that Abraham, while sojourning in Egypt, was endangered because of his wife; but he was helped by divine protection so that he would not be harmed, thus making it clear that not only general worldly evils, such as famine, disease, and captivity, would just men endure along with the reprobates in this life, but they would also suffer specific tribulations from the reprobates themselves, from which they would receive rewards in the future unknown to the reprobates. It follows.

God calls Abram to leave Haran and go into Canaan, Gen 12:1; promises to bless him, and through him all the families of the earth, Gen 12:2, Gen 12:3. Abram, Sarai, Lot, and all their household, depart from Canaan, Gen 12:4, Gen 12:5; pass through Sichem, Gen 12:6. God appears to him, and renews the promise, Gen 12:7. His journey described, Gen 12:8, Gen 12:9. On account of a famine in the land he is obliged to go into Egypt, Gen 12:10. Fearing lest, on account of the beauty of his wife, the Egyptians should kill him, he desires her not to acknowledge that she is his wife, but only his sister, Gen 12:11-13. Sarai, because of her beauty, is taken into the palace of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who is very liberal to Abram on her account, Gen 12:14-16. God afflicts Pharaoh and his household with grievous plagues on account of Sarai, Gen 12:17. Pharaoh, on finding that Sarai was Abram's wife, restores her honourably, and dismisses the patriarch with his family and their property, Gen 12:18-20.

There was a famine in the land - Of Canaan. This is the first famine on record, and it prevailed in the most fertile land then under the sun; and why? God made it desolate for the wickedness of those who dwelt in it. Went down into Egypt - He felt himself a stranger and a pilgrim, and by his unsettled state was kept in mind of the city that hath foundations that are permanent and stable, whose builder is the living God. See Heb 11:8, Heb 11:9.

CALL TO ABRAM. (Gen. 12:1-20) Now the Lord had said unto Abram--It pleased God, who has often been found of them who sought Him not, to reveal Himself to Abraham perhaps by a miracle; and the conversion of Abraham is one of the most remarkable in Bible history. Get thee out of thy country--His being brought to the knowledge and worship of the true God had probably been a considerable time before. This call included two promises: the first, showing the land of his future posterity; and the second, that in his posterity all the earth was to be blessed (Gen 12:2). Abraham obeyed, and it is frequently mentioned in the New Testament as a striking instance of his faith (Heb 11:8).

there was a famine . . . and Abram went down into Egypt--He did not go back to the place of his nativity, as regretting his pilgrimage and despising the promised land (Heb 11:15), but withdrew for a while into a neighboring country.

Abram in Egypt. - Abram had scarcely passed through the land promised to his seed, when a famine compelled him to leave it, and take refuge in Egypt, which abounded in corn; just as the Bedouins in the neighbourhood are accustomed to do now. Whilst the famine in Canaan was to teach Abram, that even in the promised land food and clothing come from the Lord and His blessing, he was to discover in Egypt that earthly craft is soon put to shame when dealing with the possessor of the power of this world, and that help and deliverance are to be found with the Lord alone, who can so smite the mightiest kings, that they cannot touch His chosen or do them harm (Psa 105:14-15). - When trembling for his life in Egypt on account of the beauty of Sarai his wife, he arranged with her, as he approached that land, that she should give herself out as his sister, since she really was his half-sister (Gen 11:29). He had already made an arrangement with her, that she should do this in certain possible contingencies, when they first removed to Canaan (Gen 20:13). The conduct of the Sodomites (Gen 19) was a proof that he had reason for his anxiety; and it was not without cause even so far as Egypt was concerned. But his precaution did not spring from faith. He might possibly hope, that by means of the plan concerted, he should escape the danger of being put to death on account of his wife, if any one should wish to take her; but how he expected to save the honour and retain possession of his wife, we cannot understand, though we must assume, that he thought he should be able to protect and keep her as his sister more easily, than if he acknowledged her as his wife. But the very thing he feared and hoped to avoid actually occurred.