Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.
God said “let there be Light,” and there was Light.
God said “enter the Promised Land,” and Abram and the people he brought entered the Promised Land with him.
This sounds like the Gospel. This is very good news, indeed.
Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.
Genesis 12:5 (NKJV)
The text says that Abram brought with him the “people he had acquired.” It is literally translated “the souls he made.”
The rabbis see this as “converts” in the Midrash. I suspect the Christian might see it that way, too.
But what I see is an echo of God creating.
Perhaps Abram was invited to be a part of the creation process – to breathe spiritual Life into otherwise dead people.
Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.
Genesis 12:5 (NKJV)
The translators note the word “people” in Genesis 12:5 is not actually “people. ” Rather it means “souls” or “living beings,” which is a strange way to describe people.
But stranger yet is that the word “acquired” here does not mean “acquired.” The word is עָשָׂה (asah). It means to MAKE.
As in, “and God made,” which points us back to Genesis 1.
Now Terah took his son Abram, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they departed together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran and settled there. The days of Terah were 205 years; and Terah died in Haran.
Genesis 11:31-32 (NASB)
Abram’s father Terah was going to Canaan, but settled in Haran and died there instead.
Haran means “path,” and is linked to an idea of “many roads,” as it was a major trade city. Many roads… many options. Perhaps it hinted at many gods. The Midrash teaches that Terah was an idol maker, so this link seems to fit.
But the Promise of God follows one singular path.