The Call of Abram
1The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household 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,
and you will be a blessing.12:2 Or be seen as blessed
3I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”12:3 Or earth / will use your name in blessings (see 48:20)
4So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
6Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring12:7 Or seed I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
8From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.
9Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.
Abram in Egypt
10Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”
14When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. 15And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.
17But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.
Gud udvælger Abram
1Herren havde sagt12,1 Nogle oversættelser siger „Herren sagde”, men på grund af forskellen mellem hebraisk og dansk fortællestil er det misvisende. Det er mere nøjagtigt at sige „Herren havde sagt”. Abram modtog sit kald i Ur (ApG. 7,2), længe før Tera tog til Karan med en del af sin familie. På hebraisk er en fortælling ikke altid kronologisk, så begyndelsen af kap. 12 fandt sted før afslutningen af kap. 11. til Abram: „Forlad dit land, dine slægtninge og din fars hjem, og tag af sted til det land, jeg vil vise dig. 2Jeg vil velsigne dig og gøre dig til stamfar for et mægtigt folk. Jeg vil gøre dig kendt vidt omkring, og du skal blive til velsignelse for mange. 3Jeg vil velsigne dem, der velsigner dig, og forbande dem, der forbander dig. Og gennem dig vil alle jordens folkeslag blive velsignet.”
4Abram rejste nu videre til det land, Herren havde talt om, og Lot fulgte med ham. Abram var 75 år, da han forlod Karan. 5Han rejste til Kana’ans land sammen med sin kone Saraj og sin nevø Lot, og han tog alle sine ejendele med og de slaver, han havde erhvervet sig i Karan. 6De fortsatte ind i landet og kom til Sikem, til Mores egetræ.12,6 Sikem var et helligsted, og et højt træ var ofte en vigtig del af et helligsted. Området var på det tidspunkt beboet af det kana’anæiske folk.
7Dér viste Herren sig for Abram og sagde: „Jeg vil give dette land til dine efterkommere.” På det sted byggede Abram et alter for Herren, som havde vist sig for ham. 8Derpå forlod Abram stedet og rejste sydpå, indtil han kom til bjerglandet med Betel mod vest og Aj mod øst. Der slog han lejr og byggede et alter for at tilbede Herren. 9Derefter rejste han fra sted til sted i sydlig retning, indtil han bosatte sig i Negev.
Abram og Saraj i Egypten
10Engang blev der hungersnød i landet, og det var så slemt, at Abram besluttede at rejse ned til Egypten med sin familie for at bo der en tid. 11-13Da de nærmede sig grænsen til Egypten, sagde Abram til Saraj: „Du er jo en virkelig smuk kvinde. Når nu egypterne ser dig, vil de sige: ‚Det er hans kone. Lad os slå ham ihjel og tage hende.’ Men hvis du så siger, at du er min søster, vil egypterne spare mit liv og behandle mig godt på grund af dig.” 14Og sådan gik det. Da de kom ind i Egypten, talte alle om Sarajs skønhed. 15Da embedsmændene ved paladset omtalte hende i rosende ord overfor Farao, blev Saraj hentet til hans harem. 16Abram blev godt behandlet på grund af Saraj. Farao gav ham får, køer, æsler, kameler og mange slaver, både mænd og kvinder.
17Men Herren ramte Farao og hans hof med frygtelige plager på grund af Saraj, Abrams kone. 18Farao sendte da bud efter Abram. „Hvad er det dog, du har gjort imod mig?” råbte han. „Hvorfor fortalte du mig ikke, at hun var din kone? 19Hvordan kunne du sige, hun var din søster, så jeg tog hende til mit harem? Her er hun! Tag hende og forsvind!” 20Så blev Abram og hans kone, deres slaver og al deres ejendom eskorteret ud af landet.
