Genesis 12 — Hebrew and Greek compared
↠Genesis 11 compared · Reading text of Genesis 12 · Genesis: all chapters · Genesis 13 compared →
Same 2 Similar 6 Different 8 Divergent 1 Disparate 3
Disparate in this chapter: 12:2, 12:9, 12:16
Each verse is rendered independently from the Hebrew (Rabbinic reading tradition) and from the Greek (Saints reading tradition). The badge classifies the relationship between the two readings; the note beneath records the source document’s comparison and attributed interpretation. Each column retains its own verse references where numbering differs.
The Call of Abram
12:1 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:1 YHWH said to Abram, “Go from your land, your kindred, and your father's house to the land that I will show you.
Greek · Saints priority
12:1 The Lord said to Abram, “Go out from your land, your kindred, and your father's house to the land that I will show you.
H's go for yourself is expressed as a direct departure command in G. The three points of departure agree.
Saints — Hebrews 11:8–10: Abraham’s departure and life in tents are interpreted as faithful obedience and expectation of a city founded by God.
12:2 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great. Be a blessing!
Greek · Saints priority
12:2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be blessed.
H concludes with an imperative to be a blessing; G promises that Abram will be blessed. The role and grammatical force differ.
12:3 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who treats you with contempt I will curse. In you all the families of the ground shall be blessed.â€
Greek · Saints priority
12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and those who curse you I will curse. In you all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed.â€
H distinguishes contempt from God's curse and has a singular offender; G uses curse in both clauses and plural offenders. H's final verb also permits a reflexive interpretation, bless themselves by you.
12:4 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:4 Abram went as YHWH had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
Greek · Saints priority
12:4 Abram went as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
The departure, companion, and age agree.
12:5 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:5 Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had gathered, and the people they had made in Haran. They set out for the land of Canaan and came to the land of Canaan.
Greek · Saints priority
12:5 Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had acquired, and every person they had acquired in Haran. They set out for the land of Canaan and came to the land of Canaan.
H literally says the soul they had made; G specifies acquisition of persons. H's unusual wording supports different interpretations of household formation, which belong in reception notes.
Rabbinic — Rashi on Genesis 12:5: He distinguishes an aggadic reading about Abram and Sarai bringing converts under God’s wings from the plain sense of acquiring household slaves.
Abram in the Land of Canaan
12:6 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:6 Abram passed through the land as far as the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. The Canaanites were then in the land.
Greek · Saints priority
12:6 Abram traveled through the length of the land as far as the place of Shechem, to the high oak. The Canaanites then inhabited the land.
G adds the length of the land and renders the tree designation high rather than preserving Moreh. The old combined high oak of Moreh blended the sources.
12:7 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:7 YHWH appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.†He built an altar there to YHWH, who had appeared to him.
Greek · Saints priority
12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “To your offspring I will give this land.†Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
G explicitly names Abram as the altar builder. The promise and act of worship agree.
12:8 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:8 He moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. He built an altar there to YHWH and called on the name of YHWH.
Greek · Saints priority
12:8 He departed from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent there, with Bethel toward the sea and Ai to the east. He built an altar there to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.
Toward the sea expresses the westward direction in this setting; the route and worship agree.
12:9 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:9 Abram journeyed onward, continuing toward the Negev.
Greek · Saints priority
12:9 Abram departed, traveled on, and encamped in the wilderness.
H gives a continuing southward journey toward the Negev; G states encampment in the wilderness. The Greek is not expanded to Negev wilderness.
Abram in Egypt
12:10 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:10 There was a famine in the land. Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there because the famine was severe in the land.
Greek · Saints priority
12:10 There was a famine in the land. Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there because the famine grew strong in the land.
The cause and journey agree; the description of the famine differs idiomatically.
12:11 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:11 As he drew near to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance.
Greek · Saints priority
12:11 As Abram drew near to enter Egypt, Abram said to his wife Sarai, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in face.
G repeats Abram's name and specifically describes the face; H describes appearance and includes an introductory appeal.
12:12 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me but keep you alive.
Greek · Saints priority
12:12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me but preserve you.
Abram's expressed fear agrees. G's preservation verb does not itself establish a different legal status.
12:13 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:13 Please say that you are my sister, so that it may go well with me because of you and my life may be preserved on your account.â€
Greek · Saints priority
12:13 Therefore say, ‘I am his sister,’ so that it may go well with me because of you and my life will be preserved on your account.â€
H gives Abram's request in second-person form; G supplies Sarai's first-person formula. Life renders nephesh/psychē in this context.
12:14 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
Greek · Saints priority
12:14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
The declared RH text does not add his wife in this verse. G's syntax continues into the next verse.
12:15 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:15 Pharaoh's officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.
Greek · Saints priority
12:15 Pharaoh's officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh, and they brought her into Pharaoh's house.
H uses a passive taking; G makes the officials the active agents bringing her in.
12:16 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:16 He treated Abram well because of her. Abram had flocks, cattle, male donkeys, male slaves, female slaves, female donkeys, and camels.
Greek · Saints priority
12:16 They treated Abram well because of her. Abram had sheep, calves, donkeys, male slaves, female slaves, mules, and camels.
H has a singular benefactor and female donkeys; G has plural benefactors and mules, with more specific sheep/calves. The inventory and agency differ. Slaves reflects the household-property context.
12:17 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:17 YHWH struck Pharaoh and his household with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.
Greek · Saints priority
12:17 God afflicted Pharaoh and his household with great and grievous afflictions because of Sarai, Abram's wife.
G names God instead of YHWH and explicitly adds grievous. Its affliction vocabulary differs from H's striking with plagues.
12:18 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:18 Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
Greek · Saints priority
12:18 Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me, that you did not tell me she was your wife?
The rebuke agrees; G joins the failure to disclose to the first question.
12:19 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take her and go!â€
Greek · Saints priority
12:19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ and I took her as my wife? Now, here is your wife before you. Take her and hurry away!â€
G adds before you and uses an urgent departure verb; H says take and go.
12:20 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
12:20 Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.
Greek · Saints priority
12:20 Pharaoh gave men orders concerning Abram to escort him away with his wife, all that he had, and Lot with him.
RH expressly includes Lot. H narrates the men's departure action; G states the content of Pharaoh's order.
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Saints Translation · Companion comparison edition · working draft awaiting specialist review.