Avram's Journey From Harran To Canaan
Avram's journey from Haran to Canaan marks a pivotal moment in biblical history, initiating the narrative of the Israelite people and their relationship with God. The account begins with God's call to Avram to leave his country, kindred, and father's house for a land that God would show him [6]. This divine instruction prompted Avram's departure, which was an act of faith and obedience, as he "went out, not knowing whither he went" but trusting in God's direction [5].
Avram's initial departure was from Ur of the Chaldees, where "the God of glory appeared to him" [6]. He then settled in Haran with his father Terah. After Terah's death, Avram, at the age of seventy-five, continued his journey from Haran [2, 5]. He took with him his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all their accumulated possessions, and "the souls whom they had gotten in Haran" [1]. The phrase "the souls whom they had gotten in Haran" has been interpreted in various ways. Adam Clarke suggests it could refer to either the servants employed by Avram or individuals he had converted to the worship of the true God, with the latter interpretation being favored by Chaldee paraphrasts who translated it as "the souls of those whom they proselyted in Haran" [3].
The journey itself was not merely a physical relocation but a spiritual one, intended to "separate him and set him apart for God, and for special services and favours" [6]. Avram's obedience was characterized by its speed and lack of dispute, demonstrating his faith in God's command [5]. John Calvin notes that Avram's father, Terah, is mentioned as accompanying Avram in some accounts, but Calvin infers that Terah was more of a companion than the leader of the journey, with Avram acting under God's direct command [4]. The biblical text states, "And they went forth to go into the land of Canaan. Into the land of Canaan they came" [1].
Upon arriving in Canaan, Avram came to Shechem, where God appeared to him again and promised, "Unto thy seed will I give this land" [2]. This promise solidified the purpose of his journey. Ramban (Nachmanides) suggests that Avram initially "wandered and went about from nation to nation" until he reached Canaan, where the promise of the land to his descendants was explicitly made [8]. This implies that while Avram was heading towards Canaan, the specific intent of settling there was confirmed upon his arrival and the subsequent divine revelation [8].
Despite the extraordinary divine call and promise, Avram's arrival in Canaan was not marked by immediate grandeur or recognition. Matthew Henry observes that one might expect a grand reception, with kings surrendering their crowns, but instead, "little notice is taken of him," reinforcing that Avram was to "live by faith" even within the promised land [7]. This initial period in Canaan was not without challenges. A famine soon struck the land, which John Gill suggests was both a consequence of the inhabitants' sins and a test of Avram's faith [9]. This famine prompted Avram to travel further south into Egypt to sojourn there [9].
The journey from Haran to Canaan, therefore, represents more than a geographical movement; it is a foundational act of faith and obedience that establishes the covenant relationship between God and Avram, laying the groundwork for the future nation of Israel and the fulfillment of divine promises [2, 6].
Sources
- Genesis “Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother’s son, all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls whom they had gotten in Haran, and they went to go into the land of Canaan. Into the land of Canaan they came. -- Genesis 12:5”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 2: Augustine — City of God, Christian Doctrine — CHAP. 18.--OF THE REPEATED ADDRESS OF GOD TO ABRAHAM, IN WHICH HE PROMISED THE LAND OF CANAAN TO HIM AND TO HIS SEED.: Abraham, then, having departed out of Haran in the seventy-fifth year of his own age, and in the hundred and forty-fifth of his father's, went with Lot, his brother's son, and Sarah his wife, into the land of Canaan, and came even to Sichem, where again he received the divine oracle, of which it is thus written: "And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said unto him, Unto thy seed will I give this land." (3) Nothing is p”
- Genesis (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Genesis 12:5: The souls that they had gotten in Haran - This may apply either to the persons who were employed in the service of Abram, or to the persons he had been the instrument of converting to the knowledge of the true God; and in this latter sense the Chaldee paraphrasts understood the passage, translating it, The souls of those whom they proselyted in Haran. They went forth to go into the land of Canaan - A good land, possessed by a bad people, who for their iniquities were to be expelled, see Lev 18:25. And this land was made a type of the kingdom of God. Probably the wh”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1 (Gen 1-23), section 15.19: of his departure, that he left his native soils and entered on his journey, in order to come to the land of Canaan. Whence the inference is easily drawn, that he was not so much the leader or author of the journey, as the companion of his son. And it is no obstacle to this inference, that Moses assigns the priority to Terah, as if Abram had departed under his auspices and direction, rather than by the command of God: for this is an honor conferred upon the father’s name. Nor do I doubt that Abram, when he saw his father willingly”
- Genesis (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Genesis 12:4: Here is, I. Abraham's removal out of his country, out of Ur first and afterwards out of Haran, in compliance with the call of God: So Abram departed; he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but did as he was bidden, not conferring with flesh and blood, Gal 1:15, Gal 1:16. His obedience was speedy and without delay, submissive and without dispute; for he went out, not knowing whither he went (Heb 11:8), but knowing whom he followed and under whose direction he went. Thus God called him to his foot, Isa 41:2. II. His age when he removed: he was seventy-five ”
- Genesis (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Genesis 12:1: We have here the call by which Abram was removed out of the land of his nativity into the land of promise, which was designed both to try his faith and obedience and also to separate him and set him apart for God, and for special services and favours which were further designed. The circumstances of this call we may be somewhat helped to the knowledge of from Stephen's speech, Act 7:2, where we are told, 1. That the God of glory appeared to him to give him this call, appeared in such displays of his glory as left Abram no room to doubt the divine authority of thi”
- Genesis (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Genesis 12:6: One would have expected that Abram having had such an extraordinary call to Canaan some great event should have followed upon his arrival there, that he would have been introduced with all possible marks of honour and respect, and that the kings of Canaan should immediately have surrendered their crowns to him, and done him homage. But no; he comes not with observation, little notice is taken of him, for still God will have him to live by faith, and to look upon Canaan, even when he was in it, as a land of promise; therefore observe here, I. How little comfort he”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Kabbalistic/Philosophical)) “Ramban (Nachmanides) on Genesis 12:1: UNTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW THEE. He wandered and went about from nation to nation, from kingdom to another people , 17 Psalms 105:13. until he came to the land of Canaan, where He said to him, Unto thy seed will I give this land . 18 Verse 7 here. Then the promise, Unto the land that I will show thee , was fulfilled, and Abraham tarried and settled there. The verse which states, And they went forth to go into the land of Canaan , 19 Verse 5. means that he was not heading for Canaan for the purpose of settling there since he did not as yet know that he ”
- Genesis (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Genesis 12:10: And there was a famine in the land,.... The land of Canaan, which was a very fruitful country, abounding with all kind of provisions usually; but now there was a scarcity of all; and which was both for the sins of the inhabitants of the land, and for the trial of Abram's faith, who was brought out of his own country, where was bread enough and to spare, into one in which there was a famine; and this might be a temptation to Abram to return from whence he came, and to slight and despise the country that was given him: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there”