Genesis 12 · Verse 6

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.
Genesis 12:6, King James Version

Genesis 12:6 in other translations

BSBAbram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land.
WEBAbram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time, Canaanites were in the land.
ASVAnd Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the oak of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
YLTAnd Abram passeth over into the land, unto the place Shechem, unto the oak of Moreh; and the Canaanite is then in the land.
DARBYAnd Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
BBEAnd Abram went through the land till he came to Shechem, to the holy tree of Moreh. At that time, the Canaanites were still living in the land.
WebsterAnd Abram passed through the land to the place of Sichem, to the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

What does Genesis 12:6 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
6. the place of Sichem--or Shechem, a pastoral valley then unoccupied (compare Ge 33:18). plain of Moreh--rather, the "terebinth tree" of Moreh, very common in Palestine, remarkable for its wide-spreading branches and its dark green foliage. It is probable that in Moreh there was a grove of these trees, whose inviting shade led Abram to choose it for an encampment.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 6 The plain of Moreh - אלון elon should be translated oak, not plain; the Septuagint translate την δρυν την ὑψηλην, 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, Gen 13:7 (note).

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 12:6-9
Abram found the country peopled by Canaanites, who were bad neighbours. He journeyed, going on still. Sometimes it is the lot of good men to be unsettled, and often to remove into various states. Believers must look on themselves as strangers and sojourners in this world, He 11:8, 13, 14. But observe how much comfort Abram had in God. When he could have little satisfaction in converse with the Canaanites whom he found there, he had abundance of pleasure in communion with that God, who brought him thither, and did not leave him. Communion with God is kept up by the word and by prayer. God reveals himself and his favours to his people by degrees; before, he had promised to show Abram this land, now, to give it to him: as grace is growing, so is comfort. It should seem, Abram understood it also as a grant of a better land, of which this was a type; for he looked for a heavenly country, He 11:16. As soon as Abram was got to Canaan, though he was but a stranger and sojourner there, yet he set up, and kept up, the worship of God in his family. He not only minded the ceremonial part of religion, the offering of sacrifice; but he made conscience of seeking his God, and calling on his name; that spiritual sacrifice with which God is well pleased. He preached concerning the name of the Lord; he taught his family and neighbours the knowledge of the true God, and his holy religion. The way of family worship is a good old way, no new thing, but the ancient usage of the saints. Abram was rich, and had a numerous family, was now unsettled, and in the midst of enemies; yet, wherever he pitched his tent, he built an altar: wherever we go, let us not fail to take our religion along with us.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Genesis 12:6 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיַּעֲבֹ֤רvai.ya.'a.Vorand he passedH5674
אַבְרָם֙'av.RamAbramH87
בָּאָ֔רֶץba.'A.retzin the landH776
עַ֚ד'adtoH5704
מְק֣וֹםme.Kom[the] place ofH4725
שְׁכֶ֔םshe.KhemShechemH7927
עַ֖ד'adtoH5704
אֵל֣וֹן'e.Lon[the] great tree ofH436
מוֹרֶ֑הmo.RehMorehH4176
וְהַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֖יve.ha.ke.na.'a.Niand the Canaanite[s]H3669
אָ֥ז'azthenH227
בָּאָֽרֶץ\׃ba.'A.retz[was] in the landH776

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 12:6

  • Hebrews 11:9

    By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

  • Deuteronomy 11:30

    Are they not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell in the champaign over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh?

  • Genesis 13:7

    And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

  • Genesis 35:4

    And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

  • Genesis 15:18-21

    In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

  • Genesis 10:18-19

    And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad. And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.

  • Judges 7:1

    Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

  • 1 Kings 12:1

    And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.

  • Acts 7:16

    And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.

  • Genesis 33:18

    And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan–aram; and pitched his tent before the city.

  • John 4:5

    Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

  • Joshua 20:7

    And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjath–arba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
passed.
Heb 11:9
Sichem.
33:18; 34:2; 35:4; Jos 20:7; 24:32; Jud 9:1; 1Ki 12:1
Shechem.
Joh 4:5
Sychar.
Ac 7:16
Sychem. plain.The word rendered "plain" should be rendered "oak," or according to Celsius, the "turpentine-tree."
Moreh.
De 11:30; Jud 7:1
Canaanite.
10:15,18,19; 13:7; 15:18-21

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 12:5

    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.

  • 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.

  • Genesis 12:7

    And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.

Read all of Genesis 12

Genesis 12:6 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y pasó Abram por aquella tierra hasta el lugar de Sichêm, hasta el valle de Moreh: y el Cananeo estaba entonces en la tierra.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Abram passa au travers du pays, jusqu’au lieu de Sichem, jusqu’au chêne de Moré. Et le Cananéen était alors dans le pays.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Abram durchzog das Land bis zu dem Orte Sichem, bis zur Terebinthe Mores. Und die Kanaaniter waren damals im Lande.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		pertransivit Abram terram usque ad locum Sichem, usque ad convallem illustrem: Chananæus autem tunc erat in terra.