Bible Strands
Genesis 12:5
And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Abram’s departure from Haran to Canaan immediately following God’s initial command and Abram’s obedience at age seventy-five. The account notes his arrival in Canaan following the journey.
The words — וַ/יִּקַּ֣ח (va/yi.kach) translates literally as “and he took,” describing the active gathering of his household. אִשְׁתּוֹ ('ish-to) means “his wife,” specifically identifying Sarai as the primary family member accompanying him.
The thread — The narrative echoes Terah’s earlier migration in Genesis 11:31 and reappears in Stephen’s speech in Acts 7:4 as a pivotal departure. Abram’s mobilized household later appears in Genesis 14:14 when he rescues Lot.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition of obedience as a concrete movement involving people, property, and destination. It establishes the physical foundation for the covenant promises by documenting the exact composition of the migrating group.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
Cross-references
- Genesis 14:14 And when Abram 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.
- Genesis 11:31 And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there.
- Acts 7:4 So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God brought him out of that place and into this land where you are now living.
- Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going.
- Genesis 10:19 and the borders of Canaan extended from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
- Genesis 14:21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people, but take the goods for yourself.”
- Genesis 46:5 Then Jacob departed from Beersheba, and the sons of Israel took their father Jacob in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him, along with their children and wives.