The call of Abram
Patriarchs · Draft · BSB
Content revision: 4839a80c9b474853 · No editorial review date recorded
Date: Abram aged 75
The LORD tells Abram to leave his country and his father’s household for a land he will show him, promising to make him a great nation and to bless all the families of the earth through him. Abram sets out from Haran with Sarai and Lot. At Shechem the LORD promises the land to his offspring, and Abram builds altars there and near Bethel before moving on toward the Negev.
Primary Scripture
12:1 Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you.
12:2 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.
12:3 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.”
12:4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
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,
12:6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land.
12:7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
12:8 From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD.
12:9 And Abram journeyed on toward the Negev.
Related Scripture
By faith Abraham went out, not knowing where he was going.
Paul reads the blessing of all nations as the gospel announced in advance.
Location evidence
Event map marker: Identified site; [longitude, latitude] = [35.281944, 32.213611]. This is a teaching marker, not an exact event venue.
Haran: Identified site. Coordinates [longitude, latitude]: [39.032778, 36.864444]. Classification source: editorial.
Shechem: Identified site. Coordinates [longitude, latitude]: [35.281944, 32.213611]. Classification source: editorial.
Bethel: Identified site. Coordinates [longitude, latitude]: [35.241389, 31.922778]. Classification source: editorial.
Ai: Proposed site. Coordinates [longitude, latitude]: [35.261111, 31.916944]. Classification source: editorial.
Negev: Approximate region. Coordinates [longitude, latitude]: [34.840833, 31]. Classification source: editorial.
Illustrative regional extent: [[34.3,30.4],[35.4,31.35]]; not a measured confidence interval.
For the class
What does Abram leave behind, and what is he given in its place?
Interpretation and reuse
Narrative order is a reading arrangement, not a proven chronology. Dates retain their stated uncertainty. An identified locality does not establish the exact venue or prove an event. Region extents and routes are illustrative, not surveyed boundaries or ancient roads. Draft material has not completed editorial review.
Record source: editorial (content/authored/patriarchs.json)
Place coordinates from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, CC BY 4.0.
Teaching stops, summaries and regional extents are original editorial content of this atlas.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain. https://berean.bible/licensing.htm