Bible Commentary

Genesis 12:4

Genesis 12:4

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible · John Gill (1697–1771) · Public Domain

So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him,.... Or, "when the Lord had spoken to him", as Cocceius renders the words; when he had called him a second time, even when in Haran, immediately after the death of his father Terah; as soon as ever the words were spoken to him before recorded, he immediately prepared and got all things ready for his journey, and departed from Haran, as he had done before from Ur of the Chaldees:and Lot went with him; of his own accord, and he only, besides his wife Sarai and his servants, for Terah was dead, and Nahor and his family stayed behind.

And Abram was seventy five years old when he departed out of Haran; by which it appears, as has been observed, that he was not Terah's eldest son, born when he was seventy years of age, Ge 11:26 for then he must have been at this time, one hundred and thirty five years old, since his father, who was just now dead, lived to be two hundred and five years old, Ge 11:32 so that Abram must be born in the one hundred and thirtieth year of Terah: how many years before this time he was converted from idolatry cannot be said with any certainty; various are the accounts given by the Jewish writers; some say that at three years of age he knew his Creator; others at eight; others thirteen; others more probably when forty; others fifty one; others fifty two; and others say he was sixty years old when he began publicly to assert the unity of God in heaven : however, all agree it was before the age here mentioned, as it may well be concluded.

Vid. Pirke Eliezer, c. 26. Maimon. Hilchot obede cocabim, c. 1. sect. 3. & Comment. in ib. Juchasin, fol. 9. 2. Shalshelet, fol. 2.

Recommended reading

More for Genesis 12:4

Continue with other commentaries and DiscipleDeck content connected to this verse, chapter, or topic.

Other commentaries

Genesis 12 — OverviewGenesis 12 · Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole BibleThe 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.…Genesis 12 — OverviewGenesis 12 · Treasury of Scripture KnowledgeGenesis 12:1, God calls Abram, and blesses him with a promise of Christ; Genesis 12:4, He departs with Lot from Haran, and comes to Canaan; Genesis 12:6, He journeys through Canaan, Genesis 12:7, which is promised to…Genesis 12 — OverviewGenesis 12 · John Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleIn this chapter an account is given of the call of Abram to depart from his own country, with a promise of a divine blessing, Ge 12:1 of his obedience to it, Ge 12:4 of his journey through the land of Canaan, and of the…Genesis 12 — OverviewGenesis 12 · Little Bible — for children and parentsGenesis 12 is the pivotal turning point of the whole Bible. After the chaos of Babel and the scattering of nations, God calls one man — Abram — to leave his country, his family, and his father's house and go to a land…Genesis 12:1-5Genesis 12:1-5 · The Pulpit CommentaryEXPOSITIONGenesis 12:1-5Genesis 12:1-5 · The Pulpit CommentaryDesigned to trace the outward development of God's kingdom on the earth, the narrative now concentrates its attention on one of the foregoing Terachites, whose remarkable career it sketches with considerable minuteness…