The Genealogy (Genesis 11:10-32)
The Bible provides us with a genealogy that connects Abraham with Noah.
Assuming the Babel story is historical, we can infer that this genealogical detail straddles people that were part of the Tower of Babel narrative. However, the test is silent as to which specific individuals they would be.
Abram is a descendant of Shem. In the genealogical record, many people had children in their 20s and 30s, but lived much longer, even 100 or more years.
Abram is from Ur and his father is named Terah and his brother is named Haran. In verse 31, it seems that the caravan of Abram, Terah, and other people leave Ur and try to go to Canaan. However, when they get to Haran, they stop and settle.
At first glance, it appears that they are settling with Abram's brother. This is probably what the text means, but it is also a little unclear seems to indicate that Haran is the name of the city. For instance, the NIV text uses the term "there" to describe Haran as a place and not "with him" which is what we would expect if Haran, the person, is physically there. Further, Terah dies "in Haran". (verse 32). Again, this indicates Haran is also used to describe a place, not just a person.
It is an ambiguity in the language and a very minor point.
Go to the land I will show you (12:1-20)
In 12:1, God tells Abram to leave his people and his father's household and "go to the land I will show you.".
The term "father's household" seems to indicate that Terah is still alive, although the text already discussed his death when it focused on him in 11:20.
More importantly, God lays out the promise for Abram:
A great nation and I will bless you
Here, the future tense of the blessing indicates that Abram's status of becoming a great nation will have follow-on blessings. We might think that God would phrase is at as "I will bless you and you will be a great nation". The opposite is suggested here. The great nation will be yet a further blessing.
A great name and you will be a blessing
Here, the text links Abram's blessing with his name. Again, the same pattern of blessing after the name, which seems like it should be reversed. After all, is not God's blessing required for a name to be great. However, like the nation blessing, this seems to indicate a series of follow-on blessings.
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you
This follows the grammatical pattern we are more accustomed to. It seems to restate the prior blessing, but adds a new element - God will curse those curse Abram.
All peoples on earth will be blessed through
This indicates the scope and magnitude of God's blessing for Abram. It will encompass the entire world.
Note what is absent. It does not say that all people of the world will be cursed because they cursed Abram. Rather, the focus and greater portion of the text is devoted to the blessing that other people will receive due to Abram,
A few questions to ponder
Does God have such a similar blessing in mind for us? Does God plan to bless the entire world through us?
It is hard to fathom that we might have such an impact on human history as did Abram. We might; or, we might not. But I also think that exercise is good to do to take on the perspective that Abram probably had at the time God said this to him. He probably said his equivalent to "yeah, right" and expressed disbelief.
Back to the story, Abram leaves Haran and continues on the journey that he was on before. He arrives in Canaan and again God speaks to him. God says that Abram's descendants will receive that land. There, he builds his first altar.
Subsequently, Abram moves a place in between Ai and Bethel. There, he pitches his tent and makes a second altar to God.
The text does not seem to indicate he stayed long for then it states he left and went towards the Negev desert. In the following verse, we find out why - there was a famine in the land and he is going to Egypt.
I found it interesting that throughout this time, he builds altars to God. At this time, the polytheistic belief was that gods had regional authority over particular places (if we keep in mind the Prince of Persia reference in Daniel, there might be some truth to that idea). But alas Abram recognizes that God the Most High transcends regional boundaries and can be worshipped wherever in the world.
