Genesis 12:6 kjv
And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
Genesis 12:6 nkjv
Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.
Genesis 12:6 niv
Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
Genesis 12:6 esv
Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
Genesis 12:6 nlt
Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites.
Genesis 12 6 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 12:1-3 | Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country..." I will make you a great nation... and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. | God's initial call and promises to Abram. |
| Gen 12:7 | Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." | God's first specific land promise in Canaan. |
| Gen 13:14-17 | The LORD said to Abram... "Lift up your eyes and look... for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever." | Reiteration of the expansive land promise. |
| Gen 15:7 | And he said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur... to give you this land to possess." | God confirms Himself as the one providing the land. |
| Gen 15:13 | Then the LORD said to Abram, "Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs... for 400 years." | Prophecy of future foreign residency before possession. |
| Gen 15:16 | And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. | Divine timing for dispossession based on sin. |
| Gen 17:8 | I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God. | Everlasting nature of the land covenant. |
| Gen 23:3-4 | Abraham stood up... and spoke to the Hittites... "I am a sojourner and resident alien among you..." | Abraham's self-identification as a foreigner. |
| Gen 33:18-20 | Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem... and bought for 100 pieces of money the piece of land where he pitched his tent. | Jacob's later purchase of land at Shechem. |
| Gen 35:4 | So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had... and Jacob buried them under the terebinth that was near Shechem. | Shechem as a site for spiritual cleansing. |
| Exod 3:8 | I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites... | Description of the promised land and its inhabitants. |
| Deut 9:5 | Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the LORD your God is driving them out. | Dispossession linked to Canaanite wickedness. |
| Josh 8:30-35 | At that time Joshua built an altar to the LORD... on Mount Ebal, and there in the presence of all Israel he wrote on the stones a copy of the Law... | Significant covenant renewal event near Shechem. |
| Josh 21:43-45 | Thus the LORD gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers... Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass. | Fulfillment of the land promise. |
| Judg 1:27-35 | But Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean... and the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. | Incomplete conquest of the Canaanites. |
| Ps 105:8-11 | He remembers his covenant forever... which he made with Abraham... "To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance." | God's eternal remembrance of the land promise. |
| Acts 7:5 | Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession... when he had no child. | Abraham's status as a sojourner in the land. |
| Heb 11:8 | By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. | Abram's faith in response to God's call. |
| Heb 11:9-10 | By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob... for he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. | Abraham's pilgrim status, seeking a heavenly city. |
| Heb 11:13 | These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. | Patriarchs' longing for the ultimate promise. |
| John 4:5 | So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. | Modern Sychar's connection to ancient Shechem. |
| 1 Kgs 12:1 | Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. | Shechem as a political center for kingdom's division. |
Genesis 12 verses
Genesis 12 6 Meaning
Genesis 12:6 details the initial stage of Abram's entry into the promised land following God's call. It specifically mentions his passage through the land of Canaan, arriving at the significant location of Shechem, specifically near the "oak of Moreh." Crucially, the verse immediately notes that "the Canaanites were in the land then," establishing the immediate geopolitical reality that Abram, the recipient of a land promise, encountered an already inhabited territory. This highlights the miraculous and divine nature of the future inheritance and the long process that would be required for its fulfillment.
Genesis 12 6 Context
Genesis chapter 12 marks a pivotal turning point in biblical history, initiating God's redemptive plan through an individual chosen by divine grace. The preceding verses (Gen 12:1-3) record God's unconditional call to Abram in Ur of the Chaldeans (later Haran), commanding him to leave his comfortable surroundings for an unknown land, accompanied by vast promises concerning a great nation, blessing, a great name, and universal blessing through his descendants. Verse 6 describes Abram's obedient physical arrival in Canaan, the land promised to him. This verse serves as a crucial geographical and political anchor for the covenant to follow (Gen 12:7), establishing the specific location of God's first direct revelation to Abram in the land of promise, while also acknowledging the reality of existing inhabitants who would later be dispossessed. Historically, Abram was moving from the sophisticated urban culture of Mesopotamia into the city-state dominated landscape of Canaan, a culturally diverse region influenced by major powers like Egypt and the nascent Hittite empire. The land was inhabited by various ethnic groups, including the Canaanites, Amorites, and others, who engaged in polytheistic practices often centered around fertility cults and localized deities.
Genesis 12 6 Word Analysis
- Abram (אַבְרָם): Original name of the patriarch, meaning "exalted father." He will later be renamed Abraham (Gen 17:5), "father of a multitude." His obedience sets the stage for God's redemptive history.
- passed through (עָבַר, ʿābar): This verb signifies movement, crossing, or traversing. It suggests a journey and a transient status, highlighting Abram's role as a sojourner, not yet an owner. He does not settle or immediately conquer but travels through, implying his faith in God's future fulfillment of the land promise. This act of "passing through" underlines the spiritual journey alongside the physical one.
- the land (הָאָרֶץ, hā'āreṣ): Refers to the specific territory of Canaan, the region that God promised to Abram and his descendants. Its repetition emphasizes the specific focus of God's promise.
- to the place of Shechem (שְׁכֶם, Shəḵem): "Shechem" likely means "shoulder" or "ridge," referencing its geographical position between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, forming a vital pass. It was an ancient and strategic city, a nexus of trade routes and a known cultic site even before Abram's arrival. Its significance is evident throughout biblical history, serving as a site for Jacob's land purchase (Gen 33), the burial of foreign gods (Gen 35), Joshua's covenant renewal (Josh 24), and the division of the kingdom (1 Kgs 12).
- to the oak of Moreh (אֵלוֹן מוֹרֶה, ʾêlōn Môreh): "Oak" (or "terebinth") refers to a large, prominent tree. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, such trees often served as sacred markers or places for divine revelation, prophecy, or worship. "Moreh" (מוֹרֶה) literally means "teacher" or "instructor," or possibly refers to a specific place/person associated with teaching/guidance. The location is significant because it's here, immediately after this verse, that God appears to Abram (Gen 12:7), further consecrating a previously perhaps pagan, but now divinely appointed, site. This choice of location implies an act of divine "instruction" to Abram concerning the land.
- And the Canaanites (וְהַכְּנַעֲנִי, wəhakkənaʿanî): "Canaanites" collectively refers to the dominant ethnic group inhabiting the land. This detail is crucial. It immediately signals that the promised land was not vacant, uninhabited, or easily acquired.
- were in the land then (בָּאָרֶץ אָז, bā'āreṣ 'āz): The temporal adverb "then" ('āz) stresses the immediate reality of their presence upon Abram's arrival. This declaration counters any assumption of an effortless inheritance, emphasizing that God's promise required divine intervention, patience (Gen 15:16), and later, Israel's obedience in dispossession. It foreshadows the long historical process, including the Egyptian sojourn and eventual conquest. This detail also serves as a subtle polemic against the contemporary beliefs of powerful rulers whose conquests were immediate and overwhelming, asserting that God's plan unfolds in His sovereign timing, despite apparent obstacles. It underscores that God was giving an occupied land, highlighting His ultimate sovereignty over all nations.
Genesis 12 6 Bonus Section
- Polemics Against Local Cults: By pitching his tent and encountering God near the "oak of Moreh," which might have been a site for Canaanite pagan practices (related to divination or instruction from pagan deities), Abram's presence and God's subsequent revelation subtly sanctify the site and implicitly challenge the existing spiritual authorities. The God of Abram demonstrates His supremacy over any local gods.
- A Sojourner's Mindset: The detail that the Canaanites "were in the land then" underscores Abram's immediate status as a "resident alien" (Gen 23:4; Acts 7:5). His immediate experience is one of pilgrimage and living by faith in the future possession of the land. This sets a precedent for his descendants' journey of faith and dependence on God for their inheritance, ultimately pointing to a greater, heavenly country (Heb 11:13-16).
- Anticipation of Conflict: This seemingly simple statement serves as the earliest biblical hint of the future conflicts and divine judgments that would befall the Canaanite nations, paving the way for Israel's eventual entry and conquest, under God's appointed time and conditions.
Genesis 12 6 Commentary
Genesis 12:6 marks the tangible fulfillment of Abram's obedient departure, placing him firmly within the physical boundaries of the promised land. His journey leads him to Shechem, a strategically vital and historically significant site. The choice of the "oak of Moreh" as his destination further emphasizes the spiritual significance of this arrival, as such natural landmarks often served as loci for divine encounters in the ancient world, indeed serving as the site of God's appearance and the formal promise of the land to Abram's descendants in the very next verse.
The parenthetical yet profound observation, "And the Canaanites were in the land then," is critical. It underscores that the land God promised was already inhabited, teeming with people who worshipped foreign gods. This reality presents an immediate challenge to the notion of a divinely gifted, vacant territory and foreshadows the long centuries before the land would actually be possessed by Israel (Exod 3:8). It emphasizes God's patience (Gen 15:16) and sovereignty in His plan of dispossessing the inhabitants due to their iniquity (Deut 9:5), a process to be carried out through His covenant people. Abram's faith is immediately tested; he steps into a land he is promised but does not yet control, living as a sojourner (Heb 11:9), reliant on God for future fulfillment.