Genesis 12:1-2
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם
Now the LORD said to Avram:
לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ
“Go, for your own sake,
away from your country and from your kindred,
and from the household of your father,
אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ׃
to the land that I will show you;
וְאֶֽעֶשְׂךָ֙ לְג֣וֹי גָּד֔וֹל
And I want to make you into a great nation,
וַאֲבָ֣רֶכְךָ֔ וַאֲגַדְּלָ֖ה שְׁמֶ֑ךָ
and bless you, and magnify your name,
וֶהְיֵ֖ה בְּרָכָֽה׃
And so you will be a blessing;”
Genesis 12:3
וַאֲבָֽרֲכָה֙ מְבָ֣רְכֶ֔יךָ וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ֖ אָאֹ֑ר
“And I shall bless those who bless you,
But him who declares you accursed,
I shall bind with a curse;
וְנִבְרְכ֣וּ בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָֽה׃
And so all the families of the earth
will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 12:4
וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ אַבְרָ֗ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּ֤ר אֵלָיו֙ יְהוָ֔ה
And Avram proceeded
according to what the LORD had spoken unto him;
וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ אִתּ֖וֹ ל֑וֹט
And Lot went with him;
וְאַבְרָ֗ם בֶּן־חָמֵ֤שׁ שָׁנִים֙ וְשִׁבְעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה
Now Avram was a son of seventy five years,
בְּצֵאת֖וֹ מֵחָרָֽן׃
when he set out from Charan;
Genesis 12:5
וַיִּקַּ֣ח אַבְרָם֩ אֶת־שָׂרַ֨י אִשְׁתּ֜וֹ
And Avram took Sarai his wife,
וְאֶת־ל֣וֹט בֶּן־אָחִ֗יו
and Lot the son of his brother,
וְאֶת־כָּל־רְכוּשָׁם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר רָכָ֔שׁוּ
and all the possessions that they had acquired,
וְאֶת־הַנֶּ֖פֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר־עָשׂ֣וּ בְחָרָ֑ן
and the persons that they had gained in Charan;
וַיֵּצְא֗וּ לָלֶ֙כֶת֙ אַ֣רְצָה כְּנַ֔עַן
And they moved away, to go towards the land of Cana’an,
וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ אַ֥רְצָה כְּנָֽעַן׃
And they came to the land of Cana’an;
Genesis 12:6
וַיַּעֲבֹ֤ר אַבְרָם֙ בָּאָ֔רֶץ
And Avram crossed over into the land,
עַ֚ד מְק֣וֹם שְׁכֶ֔ם עַ֖ד אֵל֣וֹן מוֹרֶ֑ה
As far as the place of Shechem (shoulder),
up to the Oak/Terebinth of Moreh (teacher);
וְהֽ͏ַכְּנַעֲנִ֖י אָ֥ז בָּאָֽרֶץ׃
But the Canaanite at that time was in the land;
Genesis 12:7
וַיֵּרָ֤א יְהוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם וַיֹּ֕אמֶר
Then the LORD appeared to Avram, and He said:
לְזַ֨רְעֲךָ֔ אֶתֵּ֖ן אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֑את
“To your seed I will give this land.”
וַיִּ֤בֶן שָׁם֙ מִזְבֵּ֔חַ לַיהוָ֖ה הַנִּרְאֶ֥ה אֵלָֽיו׃
And there he built an altar to the LORD,
the One who appeared to him;
Genesis 12:8
וַיַּעְתֵּ֨ק מִשָּׁ֜ם הָהָ֗רָה
Then he moved on further from there to the mountain,
מִקֶּ֛דֶם לְבֵֽית־אֵ֖ל וַיֵּ֣ט אָהֳלֹ֑ה
east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent,
בֵּֽית־אֵ֤ל מִיָּם֙ וְהָעַ֣י מִקֶּ֔דֶם
with Bethel (House of God) off on the West,
and H’Ai (‘The Heap of Ruins’) off on the East;
וַיִּֽבֶן־שָׁ֤ם מִזְבֵּ֙חַ֙ לֽ͏ַיהוָ֔ה
And there he built an altar to the LORD,
וַיִּקְרָ֖א בְּשֵׁ֥ם יְהוָֽה׃
And he called on the name of the LORD.
Genesis 12:9
וַיִּסַּ֣ע אַבְרָ֔ם הָל֥וֹךְ וְנָס֖וֹעַ הַנֶּֽגְבָּה׃ פ
Then Avram broke camp, proceeding and journeying
towards the Negev (the South).
Website translation into English by Eddie Van Gent,
together with his wife, Maraea Van Gent (Masters of Humanities in Social Sciences, Majoring in Education)
The Hebrew Masoretic Text is Unicode/XML version 1.3 Leningrad Codex,
Build 26.3 from tanach.us
audio excerpts made made from
Tanakh audio recording by Rabbi Dan Be’eri
12:1-9 Hebrew Audio
