1 Now Jehovah said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto the land that I will show thee :
2 and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great ; and be thou a blessing :
3 and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse : and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
Note · Genèse 12.1–3
Une vocation qui regarde au-delà de soi
Abram reçoit des promesses de descendance, de nom et de bénédiction. Leur horizon inclut les familles de la terre. L’appel particulier ne fonde pas un droit de mépriser les autres : il introduit une responsabilité dans une histoire dont le but dépasse la seule sécurité du bénéficiaire.
4 So Abram went, as Jehovah had spoken unto him ; and Lot went with him : and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran ; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan ; and into the land of Canaan they came.
6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the oak of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
7 And Jehovah appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land : and there builded he an altar unto Jehovah, who appeared unto him.
8 And he removed from thence unto the mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Ai on the east : and there he builded an altar unto Jehovah, and called upon the name of Jehovah.
9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.
Note · Genèse 12.4–9
Habiter sans tout posséder
Le déplacement et les autels rythment l’entrée en Canaan. La promesse du pays concerne une descendance à venir alors qu’Abram vit encore en voyageur. Le passage maintient cette distance entre parole reçue et possession ; il ne décrit pas une installation déjà achevée.
10 And there was a famine in the land : and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there ; for the famine was sore in the land.
11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon :
12 and it will come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they will say, This is his wife : and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister ; that it may be well with me for thy sake, and that my soul may live because of thee.
14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.
15 And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh : and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
16 And he dealt well with Abram for her sake : and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels.
Note · Genèse 12.10–16
La peur d’Abram met Saraï en danger
La famine ne disparaît pas parce qu’Abram a obéi à l’appel. En Égypte, sa stratégie de survie place Saraï dans la maison de Pharaon. Le narrateur décrit cette conduite sans l’ériger en modèle conjugal ni inviter une personne vulnérable à subir le risque au bénéfice d’un proche.
17 And Jehovah plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me ? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife ?
19 why saidst thou, She is my sister, so that I took her to be my wife ? now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.
20 And Pharaoh gave men charge concerning him : and they brought him on the way, and his wife, and all that he had.
Note · Genèse 12.17–20
Le reproche vient de l’extérieur
Pharaon confronte Abram au mensonge qui a mis sa maison en difficulté. L’homme appelé doit recevoir un reproche d’un souverain étranger. Le choix de Dieu ne rend donc pas toute parole du croyant plus juste que celle des autres et n’abolit pas la possibilité d’être corrigé par eux.
