God Calls Abram

Called by God · Haran

Genesis 12:1–5

¹The LORD had told Abram, "Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's household, and go to a land that I will show you." ²"I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great, and you will be a blessing." ³"I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse. Through you, every family on earth will be blessed." ⁴So Abram left, just as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. ⁵Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the souls they had acquired in Haran. They set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

Read Genesis 12

Up nextAn Altar at ShechemGenesis 12:6–9

About this event

What happened?

The LORD said to Abram, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee.” God promised to make him a great nation, to bless him and make his name great, and said that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him. So Abram went, as the LORD had told him. He was 75 years old when he left Haran, and he took Sarai, Lot, all their possessions and the people they had gained, and they came to the land of Canaan.

Who is here?

The LORD God
Sarai
Lot, his nephew

Where did this happen?

Haran

A city on the way from Ur to Canaan, where Terah settled and died, and where Abram's relatives later lived.

Where this fits

Event 2 of 3 in Called by God: Abram leaves Ur and Haran and follows God's call into the land of Canaan.

Good to know

Genesis does not say where God first spoke to Abram. Stephen says it was in Mesopotamia, before Haran (Acts 7:2-3), and readers explain this in different ways.

Keep exploring

Before thisLeaving UrGenesis 11:26–32 After thisAn Altar at ShechemGenesis 12:6–9

Abraham's Story