Genesis 12:6

And Abram passed through the land,.... Entering the northern part of it, as appears by his going southward, Genesis 12:9 he went on unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh; the place

And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. The place of Sichem - or Shechem, a pastoral valley then unoccupied (cf.

Sichem; Heb. Sechem, a place afterwards so called in the mountains of Ephraim, , and here so called by anticipation. The Canaanite is properly so called; that cursed, cruel, impious, and idolatrous nation: see . This is added as an aggravation of Abram’ s faith and obedience, that he durst and did profess the true religion in the midst of such a people, which could not be without great danger both of his estate and life. Was then in the land, as a settled inhabitant to continue there for a long time; whereas now in Moses’ s time he was forthwith to be expelled out of it.

Genesis 12:6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite [was] then in the land.Ver. 6,7. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared to Abram.] The sight of those wicked Canaanites might discourage him, and unsettle his faith. But then the sight of God relieved him (he is the first man that God is said to appear to); and the promise, "Unto thy seed will I give this land," could not but put spirits into him, and make his good old heart to dance a lively dance in his bosom. When the poor soul even sinks sometimes at the sight of these Canaanites (corruptions), and despairs almost of a conquest, God lets in a beam of his own light, and comforts it with some cordial promise, which is as Boaz was to Naomi, "A restorer of his life, and a nourisher of his old age".

(6) The place of Sichern.—Heb., Shechem. This word signifies “shoulder,” and was the name of the ridge uniting Mounts Ebal and Gerizim, the summits of which are about two miles apart. As the name is thus taken from the natural conformation of the ground, it may be very ancient. The modern name of the place is Nablous, a contraction of Flavia Neapolis, a title given it in honour of Vespasian. Mr. Conder ( Tent Work in Palestine, 1:61) describes the valley as an oasis of remarkable beauty and luxuriance, but set, like Damascus, in a desert, and girt around by strong and barren mountains. The plain of Moreh.—Heb., the oak of Moreh, It was here that Jacob buried the strange gods brought by his household from Haran (Genesis 35:4), and here, too, Joshua set up the stone of testimony (Joshua 24:26; Judges 9:6); but as in Deuteronomy 11:30 the oaks (wrongly translated in most places in our version “plains”) are described in the plural, it is probable that the word is to be taken as a collective for an oak grove. Such shady spots were favourite places for the tents of the wandering patriarchs. A famous terebinth, called after Abram’s name, long existed at Mamre, and under it, in the time of Vespasian, the captive Jews were sold for slaves. It disappeared about A.D. 330, and no tree now marks the site of Abram’s grove. The Hebrew word, however, for terebinth is elâh, while that used here is êlôn. It was probably the quercus pseudococcifera (see Tristram, Nat. Hist. of Bible, p. 369). This tree often grows to a vast size. Moreh.—Literally, teacher (Isaiah 9:15). Probably in this cool grove some religious personage had given instruction to the people. In Judges 7:1 we find a place called the “teacher’s hill,” and it is thus possible that among a people so religious as the race of Shem, men from time to time arose revered by the people as teachers of holiness. Such an one was Melchisedech. The Canaanite was then in the land.—This is no sign of post-Mosaic authorship, nor a later interpolation, as if the meaning were that the Canaanite was there at that time, but is so no longer. What really is meant is that Abram on his arrival found the country no longer in the hands of the old Semitic stock, but occupied by the Canaanites, who seem to have gained the ascendancy, not so much by conquest as by gradual and peaceful means. We gather from the Egyptian records that this had taken place not very long before Abram’s time. In the early inscriptions we read only of the Sati and Aamu, both apparently Semitic races, the latter name being derived from the Heb. am, “people.” Subsequently we find frequent mention of the Amaor and the Kheta—that is, the Amorites and Hittites, evidently in Abram’s time the two most powerful races of Canaan. (See Tomkins’ Studies, 82 ff.) For their previous wanderings, see on Genesis 10:15-19.

Verse 6. The plain of Moreh.] אלון elon should be translated oak, not plain; the Septuagint translate τηνδρυντηνυψηλην, the lofty oak; and it is likely the place was remarkable for a grove of those trees, or for one of a stupendous height and bulk. The Canaanite was then in the land.] This is thought to be an interpolation, because it is supposed that these words must have been written after the Canaanites were expelled from the land by the Israelites under Joshua; but this by no means follows. All that Moses states is simply that, at the time in which Abram passed through Sichem, the land was inhabited by the descendants of Canaan, which was a perfectly possible case, and involves neither a contradiction nor absurdity. There is no rule of criticism by which these words can be produced as an evidence of interpolation or incorrectness in the statement of the sacred historian. See this mentioned again, Genesis 13:7.

6. the place of Shechem] The word “place” is here probably used in the special sense of “sacred place” or “shrine,” as also possibly in Genesis 22:4, Genesis 28:11; Genesis 28:16; Joshua 5:15; Jeremiah 7:12. It does not mean the “site” of what was afterwards known as Shechem. Shechem (modern Nablus), one of the most ancient and important towns in the central hill country of Palestine, at the foot of Mt Gerizim, in a fair and fertile valley on the road leading northward from Bethel. For other passages in which Shechem plays an important part, cf. 34; Judges 1:9; 1 Kings 12:25. On the meaning of Shechem=a “shoulder” or “ridge,” see note on Genesis 48:22. unto the oak of Moreh] Better, as marg., terebinth. The terebinth, or turpentine tree, is said at a distance to resemble the oak, but botanically it is of a different species; it does not grow in clumps. It is found in the S. and E. of Palestine in warm and sheltered spots; it often attains very considerable dimensions. Moreh] Cf. Deuteronomy 11:30; Judges 7:1. In all probability Moreh is not a proper name, but the participle of the verb meaning to “teach” or “instruct,” whence comes also the substantive Torah, “law” or “instruction.” Probably we have here an example of one of the sacred trees under which, in primitive times, a priest, or seer, gave oracles and returned answers to devout questioners. If so, this terebinth may have been the famous tree mentioned elsewhere in connexion with Shechem: cf. Genesis 35:4, Joshua 24:26, and perhaps Judges 9:37. “The terebinth of Moreh” will then mean “The terebinth of the oracle, or of the soothsayer.” And the Canaanite was then in the land] i.e. long before the conquest of Palestine. This clause reminds the reader, that the land promised to the seed of Abram was “then” in the possession of the Canaanites. It was not to be taken by merely encamping in it. Perhaps, also, the clause refers to the sacred tree. Abram recognized the sanctity of the spot in the old religious customs of the Canaanites; and here Jehovah manifested Himself. As the Canaanite was to yield to Israel, so the Canaanite religion was to make way for a higher Revelation. The reverence and awe of the unseen Deity were not to be banished, but to be purified and elevated for a higher worship.

6. Passed through the land — Descending, probably, by way of Damascus — as we find afterwards that the steward of his house is a native of that city — thence southward and along the valley of the