1 And Jehovah saith unto Abram, 'Go for thyself, from thy land, and from thy kindred, and from the house of thy father, unto the land which I shew thee.
2 And I make thee become a great nation, and bless thee, and make thy name great ; and be thou a blessing.
3 And I bless those blessing thee, and him who is disesteeming thee I curse, and blessed in thee have been all families of the ground.'
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 And Abram goeth on, as Jehovah hath spoken unto him, and Lot goeth with him, and Abram [is] a son of five and seventy years in his going out from Charan.
5 And Abram taketh Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they have gained, and the persons that they have obtained in Charan ; and they go out to go towards the land of Canaan ; and they come in to the land of Canaan.
6 And Abram passeth over into the land, unto the place Shechem, unto the oak of Moreh ; and the Canaanite [is] then in the land.
7 And Jehovah appeareth unto Abram, and saith, 'To thy seed I give this land ;' and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, who hath appeared unto him.
8 And he removeth from thence towards a mountain at the east of Beth-El, and stretcheth out the tent (Beth-El at the west, and Hai at the east), and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, and preacheth in the name of Jehovah.
9 And Abram journeyeth, going on and journeying towards 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 is a famine in the land, and Abram goeth down towards Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine [is] grievous in the land ;
11 and it cometh to pass as he hath drawn near to enter Egypt, that he saith unto Sarai his wife, 'Lo, I pray thee, I have known that thou [art] a woman of beautiful appearance ;
12 and it hath come to pass that the Egyptians see thee, and they have said, 'This [is] his wife,' and they have slain me, and thee they keep alive :
13 say, I pray thee, thou [art] my sister, so that it is well with me because of thee, and my soul hath lived for thy sake.'
14 And it cometh to pass, at the entering of Abram into Egypt, that the Egyptians see the woman that she [is] exceeding fair ;
15 and princes of Pharaoh see her, and praise her unto Pharaoh, and the woman is taken [to] Pharaoh's house ;
16 and to Abram he hath done good because of her, and he hath sheep and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and handmaids, 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 plagueth Pharaoh and his house — great plagues — for the matter of Sarai, Abram's wife.
18 And Pharaoh calleth for Abram, and saith, 'What [is] this thou hast done to me ? why hast thou not declared to me that she [is] thy wife ?
19 Why hast thou said, She [is] my sister, and I take her to myself for a wife ? and now, lo, thy wife, take and go.'
20 And Pharaoh chargeth men concerning him, and they send him away, and his wife, an all that he hath.
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.
