CHAPTER 12

12:1-2 And the Lord said to Abram, Go forth out of thy land and out of thy kindred, and out of the house of thy father, and come into the land which I will shew thee. 2And I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and magnify thy name, and thou shalt be blessed.

ALCUIN OF YORK. What should be understood by the three departures when Abraham is told by the Lord to go forth out of his country/earth, and from his kindred, and out of his father’s house? — Answer. Nothing else but that we should depart from the earthly** man, and from the kindred of our vices, and from our father’s house, that is, the world, which is called the Devil’s house, as in the Psalm: “forget thy people and thy father’s house” (Ps. 44:11). [Question 154]

HOW MANY PROMISES DID THE LORD MAKE TO ABRAHAM? — Answer. Two. One of them was that he would possess the land of Canaan in his seed, which is what is meant by “Go into the land which I shall shew thee, and I will make of thee a great nation”. The other, much more important, is that he is the father not only of the Israelite nation, but also of all nations that follow the footsteps of his faith, which is promised in these words: “and all the nations [of the earth] shall be blessed in thee”, [which means that] those who imitate Abraham’s faith shall be blessed in Abraham’s seed. [Questions and Answers on Genesis, 155]

JOHN CASSIAN THE ROMAN. A calling is from God whenever some inspiration has taken possession of our heart, and even while we are asleep stirs in us a desire for eternal life and salvation, and bids us follow God and cleave to His commandments with life-giving contrition: as we read in Holy Scripture that Abraham was called by the voice of the Lord from his native country, and all his dear relations, and his father’s house; when the Lord said “Go forth out of thy land and out of thy kind, and out of the house of thy father.” [Conf. 3.4 NPNF s.2 v. 11]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. Arrived at Charran, they pitched their tent there; after Tharra's death (it was his father's name), God again ordered him to travel. Leave him, your land and your family, and come to the land that I will show you. (Gen. 12:1) As they had emigrated to Charran with all their family and their home, God added in this new order: Leave your land and your family, so that he would travel alone without taking away his brother Nachor, nor anyone else. He said your land because his family had been living there for some time and that home was like a homeland for her. In spite of the recent loss of his parents, in spite of all the difficulties of the journey, he obeyed with all his heart the Lord's command, and that, without knowing where his errands were to stop. Go, said God, not in this or that country, but in the land that I will show you. However, in spite of the vagueness of such an order, he undertook without hesitation to execute it; he took his nephew away, still showing his virtue. He had gradually captivated this young man who sought to imitate his virtues, and who, in order not to leave him, wished to be his traveling companion. If my father, he said, unfaithful as he was, consented, for the sake of me and to accompany me, to leave the paternal home where we were born and where we grew up, and then to die on the foreign land, still more, I will not leave here the son of my brother, whose youth announces so much progress in virtue.

Moreover, God did not bring him before the death of his father. But after this death, the Lord said to Abraham, Leave this land, your family, and your father's house, and come to the land that I will show you. I will bring forth a great nation from you, I will bless you, and I will glorify your name, and you will be blessed; I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you, and all the tribes of the earth will be blessed in you. (Gen. 12:1-3) Carefully study each word to see what was the piety of the patriarch. Let us not neglect anything of the foregoing, but let us think of the gravity of this injunction: Go out, said he, from your country, leave your family and your father's house, and come to the land that I will show you. It is as if he were saying: Abandon a known and assured existence to take an unknown and uncertain. See how righteous is experienced from the beginning, as he must abandon the certain for the uncertain and the present for the future. Indeed, this is not an order that one is used to receiving; he had to leave the country he had lived so long, his whole family, his father's house, and go without knowing where, in an unknown country. For God does not tell him in what country he wants to carry it, but he feels the piety of the patriarch for what is vague in his command. Come, he says, into the land that I will show you. Remember, my beloved, what strength of mind it required, and how much should be freed from all affection and habit. Even now, after the progress of religion, many people are slaves to habit to the point of willingly enduring a thousand sufferings, rather than abandoning the places they inhabit, unless necessity compels them to do so; and this is not seen only among the first comers; but among those who flee from the tumult of the world, and who have chosen the existence of the solitaries: how much more likely was it that such an order would be repugnant to this righteous man and would be painful for him to accomplish? Go, leave your parents, the paternal home, and come to the land that I will show you.

Who would not be disturbed by such words? God does not precisely designate the place or the country for him, but he searches the spirit of the just through the uncertainty of his command. If all else, if the first comer had received this order, he would have said: Either; you want me to leave the country where I live, my family, my father's house. Why do not you tell me also where you send me so I know if I have a long way to go? How will I know if my new residence will prevail over the one I abandon, by abundance and fertility? Now the righteous said nothing, thought nothing of the like, but thinking of the importance of such an order, he preferred the uncertain to the certain. However, if he had not had high thoughts and a wise mind, if he had not known that one must obey God, he would still have had a grave reason for holding him back; I hear it. death of his father. You know, indeed, that many people prefer to die at the places where are the tombs of their family, where their ancestors died themselves.

No doubt this sage, if he had had less piety, could have said: My father left his house out of love for me, he broke his old habits and neglected everything to come here; it is almost for me that he died on a foreign land, and I will not seek to reciprocate him after his death, I will leave my family and my father's tomb, and I will leave! None of this could slow his zeal, but his love for God made it all simple and easy.

Perhaps, if he had wanted to listen to human reasoning, would he have used that language? In this age when I arrive, at the end of old age, where will I go? I do not take brothers, I have no parents with me; separated from all my family, alone and stranger, how will I go to this unknown country without knowing when I will stop wandering on the earth? If I die in the middle of my journey, what will have served me so much suffering? who will worry about an old man, a stranger without a homeland, without a house? Perhaps my wife will implore the neighbors to get their pity and pick up some alms, to bury me. (213) How much better would it be to finish here the short time that me. It remains to live only to wander in my old age and to wipe everyone's jeers! We will make fun of a man who can not live at my age and who goes from one place to another without stopping anywhere. Eli well! this righteous thought of nothing of all this, and thought of nothing but the desire to obey.

But it may be said: it was enough, to excite him, of this promise: Come into the land that I will show you, and I will bring forth a great nation from you, and I will bless you. Now, that very thing, if he had not had so much piety, could have rendered him more obedience. painful and more difficult. In his place, the first comer could have said: Why do you exile me and send me to a foreign land? why, if you want to raise me, do not you raise me here? why do you not find me worthy of your blessing in my father's house? Before I reach this stay where you send me, if I succumb to the fatigues of the journey and if I die, what will I have withdrawn from your promises? None of these ideas penetrated his mind; but, as a faithful servant, he listened only to the commandment, without showing curiosity and without seeking pretexts: he obeyed, knowing that God never promises in vain. I will bring forth a great nation from you, and I will bless you; I will glorify your name and you will be blessed. This is a wonderful promise. I will bring forth a great nation from you, and I will bless you and glorify your name. Not only will you be the origin of a great people and I will make your name glorious, but I will bless you, you will be blessed! Do not believe, my beloved ones, that there is a useless repetition in words: I will bless you and you will be blessed. I will grant you, he says, such a blessing that it will spread into eternity. You will be blessed to the point that we will look upon it as the highest honor to be allied with you. See how long beforehand and from the beginning he predicted the illustration he was preparing for him. So the Jews, proud of their patriarch, boasted of attaching themselves to his family and saying: We are the sons of Abraham. But to show them that their wickedness made them unworthy of this descent, Christ said to them, "If you were the sons of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham. (John, VIII, 39.) Similarly, John, the son of Zacharias, when he saw the Jews coming to him and rushing to be baptized, said to them, "Breed of vipers, where did you learn to to run away from the anger that threatens you? Do worthy fruits of penance and do not think to say: We are Abraham's father? I tell you, God can bring even children out of these stones to Abraham. (Mat III, 7, 9.) Do you see how big the name was in the eyes of all? But long before fulfillment, the piety of the righteous manifests itself in his confidence in the words of God and the ease with which he takes on a burden that seemed so heavy. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you; and all the tribes of the earth will be blessed in you. See how God descends to him, and what proof he gives of his affection! I will have, as he says, for friends, those who will live in peace with you, and for enemies, those who wish to harm you; while the sons are scarcely sharing the friendships and enmities of their fathers. See, my beloved, how far God's benevolence for the patriarch is. I will bless, he says, those who will bless you. and I will curse those who curse you, and all the tribes of the earth will be blessed in you. See what extra liberality! All the tribes of the earth, he says, will strive to be blessed in your name and will do themselves an honor to invoke you. [Homilies on Genesis]

12:3-4 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4 And Abram went as the Lord spoke to him, and Lot departed with him, and Abram was seventy-five years old, when he went out of Charrhan.

JEROME OF STRIDON. 12:3 ABRAHAM WAS SEVENTY YEARS OLD WHEN HE LEFT CHARRA. — Here is an mysterious question. If Thare, the father of Abraham, begat the latter when he was still living in Chaldea at the age of seventy, and if he died at Charra in the two hundred and fifth year of his age, can it be said now that after the death of Thare, Abraham coming out of Charra was seventy-five years old, when we are shown that a hundred and thirty-five years have elapsed since the birth of Abraham until the death of his father. It is true, then, that a tradition of the Jews, mentioned above, which says that Thare and his sons escaped the fire of the Chaldeans, that Abraham, surrounded by the flames of the Babylonians, was delivered by the help of God in reward of this which he had not wished to worship, and that the days of his life and the years of his age were reckoned with him only from the time when he confessed the Lord, despising the idol of the Chaldeans. It may still be done, as Scripture leaves it uncertain, that Thare, from Chaldea, should have come to Charra some years before his death, or else he would have come to Charra immediately after the persecution, and would have stayed there for a long time. If anyone is against this explanation, let him seek another way; then he can rightly disapprove of what we have just said. [Hebrew Questions on Genesis]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. You have seen, my beloved, what the Lord commanded the old man of Chaldea, who knew not the law, and did not know the prophets, and had not received any teaching. You have seen how many precepts have been given to him, and how much he must have elevation and vigor in the spirit to accomplish them. See also the wisdom of this patriarch, as Scripture makes us feel! Abram departed as the Lord God had told him, and Lot went with him. (Gen. 12:4) The text does not say simply: Abram left; but he adds: As the Lord God had told him. He did all that was ordained to him. God told him to give up everything, his family and his house: he abandoned them. God tells him to go to an unknown land: he obeys. God promised to make him father of a great people and to bless him: he thought it would happen. He departed as the Lord God had said to him, that is to say, he believed in all the words of God without hesitation, without doubting, but he departed his soul full of constancy and firmness. So he was very agreeable to the Lord.

Yet the scripture says, And Lot departed with him. Why, when God had told him Leave your land, your family, and your father's house, did Abram take Lot? It is not that he disobeyed the Lord, but perhaps it was that he was a father to Lot, who was still young, and that this one, of a gentle and loving character, had difficulty in to leave the righteous, who for that reason did not have the courage to part with it. Moreover, he treated him as his son, having not been able, until this advanced age, any child because of the sterility of Sara. Besides, the young man's manners approached the virtues of the just. In fact, having to choose between two brothers, he had attached himself to the just: how much prudence did he need to judge and appreciate that of his uncles to whom he had to rely? The party he took of traveling was therefore a proof of his good qualities. If later he did not always seem irreproachable, at least when he had to choose, he tried to follow in the footsteps of the righteous. So when the righteous choose him for traveling companion, he accepted with ardor, preferring, at home, distant races.

Then, to let us know that the patriarch was no longer young when God commanded him these trips, but that he was in advanced age where men usually fear these fatigues, it is said: Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Charran. You see that age has not hindered him, nor any of the reasons that could have kept him at home, but his love for God has triumphed over everything. The watchful and foresighted soul breaks all the shackles, gives itself entirely to the God whom she loves and is not allowed to be delayed by any of the obstacles she encounters: she crosses everything and stops only when she has arrived at purpose of his desires. That is why the just, that old age and other reasons might have prevented him from leaving, breaking all his bonds, as if he had been young and vigorous, as if he had not encountered obstacles, was hastening and hastened to fulfill the Lord's command. Besides, it is always impossible to succeed in a business that requires courage and energy, without preparing and arming itself against anything that can oppose it. Knowing this truth, this righteous surmounted everything, and, without thinking of his habits, his family, his father's house, or his father's tomb, or his own old age, he only attached his spirit to the fulfillment of his duties. works of God. And one could see a truly marvelous thing a man of extreme old age with his wife, herself well advanced in age, and all their aftermath, traveling without knowing the end of their wandering race. We must also consider how difficult the roads were then; we could not then, as today; to join without fear to other people to circulate freely; each country governed itself separately, and travelers forced from one prince to another were almost every day in a new kingdom. All this would have been enough to stop the righteous, if his love and desire for obedience had not been stronger. [Homilies on Genesis]

THEODORET OF CYRUS. The divine apostle writes in his Epistle to the Galatians “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made.” He said not “seeds” as of many, but as of one…which is Christ, very plainly showing that the manhood of Christ sprang from the seed of Abraham, and fulfilled the promise made to Abraham. [Dialogue 1 NPNF s.2 v.3]

12:5-7 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 Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 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.

EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA. Sychem. City of Jacob now deserted. The place is pointed out in the suburb of Neapolis. There (near) the tomb of Joseph is pointed out near by. Abimelech came down on it “And sowed it with salt” as in the book of Judges (9:45). (Afterwards) Jeroboam rebuilt it according to Kings. (1 Kgs. 12:25). Located on the border of the (tribe of) lot of Ephraim. One of the sons of Emmōr is called Sychem from which the place is called. There is also another Sychem in the mountain of Ephraim, a city of refuge. [Onomasticon]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. (Gen. 12:5) But he, having broken these obstacles like cobwebs and strengthened his soul by his faith, set out. Abram took Sarah, his wife, and Lot, the son of his brother, with all that they had in Charran, and went to the land of Chanaan.

See how accurate Scripture is, as it tells us everything that can bring out the piety of the righteous. He took his wife Sara and Lot, his brother's son, and all they had in Charran. It is not without intention that Scripture says: all that they possessed at Charran; she wants to inform us that the patriarch has taken nothing of the goods of Chaldea, that he has left to his brother all the paternal property situated in this country, and that he has brought with him only what he possessed. in Charran. And even if that admirable man carried them away, it was not out of interest or avarice; but so that his wealth could show everywhere how God protected him. For whoever drew him from the land of the Chaldeans, and commanded him a new journey, increased his goods daily, and saved him from all trouble; also, was it still a proof of his piety to see him make such a long journey with so great a crew. All who saw him were rightly wondering why this righteous man was traveling. Then, on hearing that God's order made him change his country and leave his property, it was judged by his very conduct how much the obedience of the righteous proved piety and how God protected him: He went to go to the land of God. Canaan. How did he know that the land of Chanaan was to be the end of his journey, although the order had at first been thus conceived: Go to the land that I will show you. Perhaps God told him so, showing to his mind the land where he wanted to establish it. So, in commanding him, he said indefinitely: Go to the land that I will show you, to reveal to us the virtue of the righteous. Then when the latter had completely gathered all that depended on him, God was not slow to tell him the land he was to inhabit. As he foresaw the great virtues of this just man, he made him change his residence, without telling him to take his brother; it was because he wanted to use it to make his law penetrate, not only in Palestine, but soon afterwards. Egypt.

You see that it is not from birth, but from the will of our mind, that our virtue and our perversity depend. The patriarch and Nachor were brothers by birth, but not by will. The latter, although his brother had attained so high a virtue, was still subject to error; he showed every day, by his works, the progress he made in the sight of God in virtue. Abram came to the land of Chanaan and crossed it all the way to a place called Shechem, near a large oak tree. (Gen. 12:5-6) Scripture tells us the parts of the country where the righteous now places his tent. Then she adds, so that we know how he lived there: The Chananeans lived in this land. It is not without reason that Blessed Moses adds this observation, but for us to be able to appreciate the resignation of the patriarch all the country being occupied in advance by the Canaanites, he was forced, as a stranger and a vagabond, as the the basest and most abject man, to stop anywhere, without finding any asylum. Yet he was not impatient; he did not say: what is it? I, who lived so respectfully with Charran, who had so many servants, am now forced, as an exile, a stranger, a passenger, to find myself too happy to be allowed to travel, to seek a modest refuge. And I do not even find it; I am forced to live in tents and cabins and carry with me those burdens that necessity imposes on me. Is this what was said to me: Come, and I will bring forth a great nation from you? This was a beautiful prelude: what benefit will I get? The righteous did not say anything like it, he did not hesitate: The firmness of his spirit and the perfection of his faith made unshakeable his confidence in the promises of God, as well as his wisdom, and he deserved to receive promptly the reward from the top.

But in order not to spread this speech too much, we will stop here, begging that your charity penetrate the spirit of this righteous person. It would be the height of the absurdity to see that this righteous, called from one land to another, showed so much obedience, and that neither old age, nor the other obstacles that we have counted, nor the difficulty of time, nor so many other embarrassments able to stop it, could not slow down this obedience, but that, breaking all ties, he rushed, he hastened as if his old age had suddenly been rejuvenated, taking his wife, his nephew, and his servants, to accomplish the work imposed by God; while we, who are not called from one earth to another, but from the earth to heaven, we would not show as much ardor as this just in our obedience, but that we would often excuse insignificant and senseless reasons and that neither the greatness of the promises, nor the smallness of all that we see, so fragile and fleeting, nor the majesty of the One who calls us, would be enough to attract us, but that we would be so careless as to prefer what is transient to what is eternal, earth to heaven, and goods that vanish when touched to those who will never end. How long, tell me, will we be mad enough to amass wealth? What is this rage which torments us every day with such painful desires, which gives us no rest, and which puts us in a state even worse than that of drunk men? These, in fact, the more they drink, the more they are thirsty, and the fire of their passion is ardent; likewise, those who have let themselves be tyrannized by the desire for riches never cease to desire; the more they are full of treasures, the more their ardor increases, the more their fire comes on. Do you not see that all our predecessors, had they possessed the whole earth, were naked and alone when they left this world, with no other profit than to have to account there for their immense wealth? As for the goods which they had amassed, various heirs shared them, but all the sins committed (216) for the acquisition of these goods, it is the one who goes away which carries them to undergo the dreadful punishment, without ever being able to derive any consolation from nowhere. Why then, tell me, do we remain so indolent for our salvation, without thinking of our soul more than if it were foreign to us? Do you not hear the Christ who says to us: What will man give in exchange for his soul (Matt XVI, 26)? and again: What is the use of man to win the world, if he loses his soul? Do you have anything to compare? When you say, all the earth, it would be nothing. What use would it be for us, says Christ, to win the world and to lose our soul, which touches us more than anything? And yet, this soul so precious, which requires so much attention and care, we will let it every day tug in all directions; sometimes besieged by greed, sometimes torn by lust, sometimes withered by anger, finally agitated in a thousand ways by all passions, and we will not end by thinking about it! Who can now judge us worthy of forgiveness and save us from the torment that awaits us? Also, I beg of you, while we still have time, cleanse it of its defilements with abundant alms which will extinguish the pyre of our sins! Indeed, the water will extinguish the fire and the alms will remove the sins. (Eccl III, 33.) Nothing therefore, nothing is more powerful to preserve us from the eternal fire than the abundance of alms. If we do them according to the laws established by the Lord Himself, that is to say, without giving anything to ostentation, but all to the love of God, we can erase the defilement of our sins and obtain the God's mercy, by the grace and mercy of his only begotten Son, to whom, as well as to the Father and the Holy Spirit, glory, power, honor, now and forever, and for ever and ever. Amen.

(Gen. 12:7) The Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, Were I not right in telling you at the beginning that a great treasure was hidden in that few words? Here at first a strange and unheard preamble: The Lord God appeared to Abram. It is the first time that we find in Scripture this word: it appeared. For Holy Scripture never used this word about Adam, Abel, Noah, or any other. Why is it said, He appeared? And how is it further that no one will be able to see God and stay alive? (Exodus XXXIII, 20.) What shall we say by reading in Scripture: He appeared? How did he appear? Does this one live the very substance of God? No, far from us this thought! But what was this vision? What she was, only God knows; the righteous alone could see it; for our wise and good Master still knows how to condescend to human nature to manifest himself to men who have prepared themselves to be worthy of it. He has it seen by the Prophet, saying: I have multiplied the visions, and in the hand of the prophets I have been represented in various images. (Hosea, xii. 10.) For example, Isaiah saw him sitting. (Isaiah VI, 1); this is unworthy of God, for God is not seated; how can it be, since its nature is incorporeal, and imperishable? Daniel also saw him as the Ancient of Days (Dan VII, 9, 22); Zechariah saw him in a different aspect (Zach, I), and Ezekiel still under others. That is why he said: I have multiplied the visions, that is to say: I have appeared before each one according to his merit.

And now he had pulled this right from his house, and ordered him to go to another land. The latter, when he arrived there, wandered like a vagabond and a stranger, in this country still occupied by the Canaanites, and sought where he could settle. The Lord, in his goodness, wished to comfort him and strengthen his courage, to prevent him from falling into despair and into doubt with regard to the promise that had already been made to him in these terms: Come, and I And the righteous would see that events appeared contrary to this promise; he wandered like a vile and despised man, without recommendations and without refuge, it was necessary to raise his courage; wherefore it is said, The Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, I will give to thy seed all this land. This is a great promise to follow the one that made him leave his country. He said to him, I will glorify your name; so he adds now: I will give your race all this land. While the righteous, already old, had no children because of the sterility of Sarah, this land is promised to the son he must have. Consider here the mercy of God who, foreseeing the virtue of the righteous, wanted to show it to all and to make it burst into the eyes like a pearl hitherto hidden. After having followed his promises with other larger promises, and having confirmed them again, he is still waiting a little to further shatter the piety of the righteous: the holy man, seeing that these promises were not fulfilled, had not neither anxiety, nor impatience, nor disturbance of mind, knowing that what God once announced arrives in a certain and infallible way. Let us examine how much the wisdom of the good God is ingenious and what care he took from this righteous, as well as to learn the love of the patriarch for the Lord: And the Lord God appeared to Abram. What do you mean? As only God knows, and only the righteous could see. Because, I can not repeat it too much, I do not know how it was done. I only hear, the scripture that said to me, The Lord God appeared to Abram, and said to him, I will give to your seed all this earth.

Remember accurately the promises that God had made, and when you will see the righteous suffer tribulations, when you recognize the excess of his resignation, the strength of his courage, the strength and firmness of his love for God, you will learn by all that has happened to him never to think that God leaves his work imperfect. If you see a man well endowed with temptations or some other trials of life, consider how varied the ways of God are, and give up everything to his incomprehensible providence. In fact, if he allowed that righteous person, who showed so much piety and obedience, to have undergone the trials that you will know, it is not because he disdained his servant, but rather because he to make known his virtue to everyone; moreover, he usually does so with all the righteous, and those of you who have gone into the reading of the Holy Scriptures will be able to conclude, from all that they have already found, that it is Here, in fact, is the way in which God directs the lives of his servants: therefore, would it not be the most extreme injustice to take this conduct of God for abandonment, and should we not see it as the greatest proof of God's protection and kindness? In thus showing the extent of his power, he has a double intention; on one side he makes the patience and courage of his servants shine to all eyes, and on the other he makes his providence triumph in the most difficult circumstances: when everything seems almost desperate, he arranges everything to his will, and no obstacle can resist him. The Lord God appeared to Abram and said to him, "I will give to your seed all this land. This is a great promise, and desirable especially for the just. You know that those who are already old, and have spent their lives without children, want to have them. That is why the Lord offered him this reward of the obedience he had shown when, on hearing this saying: "Come out of your land, he did not delay or delay, but he obeyed this order by executing immediately; so when he had done this (219) which was commanded him, God said to him, "I will give to your seed all this earth."

See how by this word he raises his spirit and makes up for his fatigue. So the righteous one showing his gratitude makes at once acts of grace. He set up an altar there to the God he had seen. And the very place where God had deigned to speak with Him was consecrated, by these acts of grace, as much as it was in His power. This is why he set up an altar, that is, he thanked God for his promises. Just as men are often inclined by their inclination to build houses where they find their best neighbors, often even to found cities and to name them under the inspiration of their friendship; so also this righteous, after being honored with the vision of God, set up an altar to the God whom he had seen, and departed from there.

On every occasion he showed piety; so when he made this journey which brought him to Palestine and to the borders of the Canaanites, God appeared to him to strengthen his zeal and to extend his hand to him, and said to him: I will give this land to your race. (Gen. 12:7) What he desired and desired above all, that is to say, sons to succeed him, this reward for so many labors is permitted to him immediately. Nature had not given him a child, and his age gave him no hope, but the promise of God raises the athlete's courage, rejuvenates him, and prepares him for future struggles. See after this promise what fight the just had to support. [Homilies on Genesis]

12:8-14 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD. 9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. 10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous 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: 12Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall 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 my soul shall 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.

ALCUIN OF YORK. WAS IT RIGHT FOR SUCH A HOLY MAN AS ABRAHAM TO CONCEAL THE FACT THAT SARA WAS HIS WIFE RATHER THAN PUT HIS HOPE IN GOD NOT TO BE KILLED BY THE KING (VERSE 13)? — Answer. By this doing of his it is shown that a man should not tempt the Lord his God when he himself can find what to do by rational reflection. He did what was in his power to save his own life; what was not in his power, he entrusted to the one in whom he hoped, and he entrusted to him even his spouse’s chastity. His faith [and hope] did not deceive him, for Pharaoh was frightened by God and afflicted with many evils because of her [variant: him], and when he learned [from God] that she was Abraham’s wife, he gave her back unhurt and with honor to her husband. [Questions and Answers on Genesis, 157]

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. There he called his wife his sister, and told no lie. For she was this also, because she was near of blood; just as Lot, on account of the same nearness, being his brother’s son, is called his brother. Now he did not deny that she was his wife, but held his peace about it, committing to God the defense of his wife’s chastity, and providing as a man against human wiles; because if he had not provided against the danger as much as he could, he would have been tempting God rather than trusting in Him… At last what Abraham had expected the Lord to do took place. For Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who had taken her to him as his wife, restored her to her husband on being severely plagued. And far be it from us to believe that she was defiled by lying with another; because it is much more credible that, by these great afflictions, Pharaoh was not permitted to do this. [City of God 16.19 NPNF s. 1 v. 2]

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. WHY DID ABRAHAM HIDE THAT SARAH WAS HIS SISTER FROM THE EGYPTIANS? — And it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see you, that they say, It is his wife. It happened that as soon as Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. How can we understand the fact that Abram, when he came to Egypt, wanted to hide that Sarah was his wife, according to all that is written on this subject? Is it appropriate for such a holy man or should we think of a certain lack of faith, as some have addressed? I already dealt with this subject in the work Against Faustus. And the elder Jerome (Quest. Hebr. in Gen. 20:22) expounded more broadly than I; why it is not necessary, that even if Sarah spent some days in the house of the king of Egypt, it must be admitted that she committed a carnal sin with him. Indeed, it was customary for kings to have intercourse with wives from time to time in their palaces. But no one approached the king if they had not washed and perfumed their body with great care. Well, while these preparations were taking place Pharaoh was punished by God, (Cf. Gen. 12:17-20) so he returned her restored to her husband. The wife whom Abraham had entrusted to God by concealing that she was his wife, but without lying, said that she was his sister so that he could, as much as a man could do, entrust to God what he could not avoid, so that, if she herself only entrusted to God the things she could avoid, she did not give the impression that she did not believe in God, but rather tempted God. [Questions on Genesis, 26]

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Gen. 12:12) Erit ergo, cum te viderint : Aegyptii, dicent: Quia uxor illius haec.  (When the Egyptians have seen you, they will say: that is the wife of this man.). It is by a kind of phrase that the word quia (that) has been added here; we could have said simply, uxor illius haec (She is the wife of this man).

(Gen. 12:14) Instead of saying: Factum est autem statim ut intravit Abram in Aegyptum (But it happened, as soon as Abram entered Egypt), we could have been content to put: Statim autem ut intravit Abram in Aegyptum (As soon as Abram entered Egypt). [Locutions]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. As the place was consecrated and sanctified by God, he went away and came to another place. And he went and came to a mountain east of Bethel, and pitched his tent there. (Gen. 12:8) Stay fragile, will you say! See how he avoided luxury and embarrassment, how easily he carried himself with his wife and his servants! Listen, men and women! Often, when we want to go to the country, we make a thousand preparations, we have a lot of embarrassments, because we drag a lot of things which are useless, which are superfluous and useless, which satisfy only our quirks, and that nevertheless we must carry and win with us. Such was not the conduct of this righteous man. What did he do? After having been honored with the maintenance of God, having consecrated the place and built the altar, he passed elsewhere without difficulty. He pitched his tent there, having Bethel near the sea in the west, and Aggi in the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord, and he called upon the name of the Lord.

See how he shows his piety in all his conduct! In one place he, built an altar to God who had made a promise to him, and he leaves the place after consecrating it. Elsewhere, after setting up his tent, he again builds an altar to the Lord and invokes the name of the Lord. See what wisdom! see this precept written by the doctor of the universe, by St. Paul: Raising to heaven in all places their holy hands, see how the patriarch had accomplished in advance by erecting in each place an altar to give thanks to the Lord. He knew, indeed, that he knew with certainty that the God of all things asks nothing of human nature, for so many ineffable graces, that a grateful heart that knows how to thank him highly for its benefits. But let's also see how the righteous still leaves this trip. Abram went away and pitched his camp in the desert. (Gen. 12:9) See again his piety and great resignation. He left this place again and pitched his camp in the desert. Why this other departure? Perhaps he saw that his presence displeased some inhabitants. If he went to the desert, he showed the excess of his sweetness and the importance he attached to living in peace without having anything to do with anyone. He left and pitched his camp in the desert. This is a strange custom that divine Scripture makes of this word, for it speaks of the just as if it were an army chief; but this expression of camp shows that the just was as at ease in his movements as the soldiers who go easily from one place to another. Thus this righteous, though he took with him his wife, his nephew, and a crowd of servants, had no difficulty in moving. Have you noticed the simple and easy existence of this old man with his wife and so many servants? For me, I admire even more the courage of the woman. When I think of the woman's natural weakness and reflect on the ease with which she helps her husband in his movements, without impatience or embarrassment, I am amazed and I do not think that no less reason and courage than himself. We will see it even better by continuing our reading. You have seen that after hearing these words: I will give to your race all this earth, the righteous has not rested, and has gone continually from one place to another. But see how he is still driven out of the desert, no longer by men, but by the constraint of famine. There was a famine in the land. (Gen. 12:10) On this I call the attention of those who speak at random, who augur awkwardly and say, "Such has happened, the famine has come; such was there, accidents occurred. You see that at the arrival of this righteous, there is a shortage, and a severe famine; yet the righteous is not tormented, has nothing to suffer from men, and no one attributes famine to his presence. But when he ran out of provisions and the famine increased, Abram went to Egypt because famine reigned on the earth.

Threatened by the famine and scarcity that reigned in the land of Chanaan, he went to Egypt, and to flee the famine he was exposed to the greatest dangers. Near the borders of Egypt, and about to enter, he said to his wife: I know that you are beautiful (Gen. 12:11), I know the beauty of your beauty and I fear libertinism Egyptians. If they see you, and if they know that it is my wife that I lead with me, they will leave you alive to satisfy their shameless fury, but they will kill me in order to indulge in crime, so that no one remains to accuse them of adultery. Therefore, say that I am your brother. See which soul, better tempered than steel, as hard as diamond! The misfortune he was waiting for could not trouble him; he did not make these reflections in himself: have I shown so much obedience in leaving my country for another land, in order to fall into such a misfortune? Have I not received this promise, I will give this land to your race? and now I am tormented by the fear of adultery and that of death. He gave no access in his heart to any of these thoughts, he only thought of playing this painful comedy, in order to escape at least one of the dangers which threatened him.

When he had done all that depended on him by his courage and wisdom, his wife also cooperated with his projects out of affection and obedience, and helped them to decide. Then when they had done all that depended on them, that all was humanly despaired, and that the work of iniquity was almost consumed, then God showed Abraham his providence. Not only did he save the woman from outrage by the anger which he had burst upon the king and all his household, but he sent the patriarch of Egypt back to Palestine, with great honors. See how, in the midst of all these trials, the Lord, in his benevolence, supports him with his strength, and prepares his athlete for all the struggles to come; he never deprives him of his assistance, but he arranges everything so well that the least cooperation brought by the patriarch to the work of God is rewarded with benefits that go beyond human nature.

Notice how long the races of the righteous are. God intended him to serve as an example, not only to the inhabitants of Palestine, but to those of Egypt, and to make the brilliancy of his virtue shine everywhere. It was, so to speak, a light unknown and hidden in the land of Chaldea; he drew him out of it to lead on the road of truth those who had stopped in the darkness of error. But it may be said: Why did not he use it to teach piety by his example to the people of Chaldea? He has doubtless provided for their salvation in another way; for the rest, listen to these words of Christ: A prophet is nowhere less honored than in his country. (Matt XIII, 27.) Also to fulfill the promise that he had made to him by saying to him: I will glorify your name, God allowed that the famine, survived and forced him to go to Egypt so that the inhabitants of this country know his virtue. For famine, like a lictor who takes a prisoner chained, dragged them from the desert into Egypt. But see what will follow, and in what difficulties the righteous fell, so that we know his courage and the wisdom of his wife. As they had come a long way and were near Egypt, the righteous, seized with anguish, and almost fearful for his life, spoke to his wife trembling. As Abram approached and he was going to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sara, "I know you are a beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, He is his wife; they will kill me and keep you. Tell them then: I am his sister, so that I may be treated well for your sake and my soul may live because of you. (Gen. 12:11-13) These words show you the anxiety and the fear of the just; he did not miss the reflection, he did not trouble himself and did not say outside of himself: What is it? are we abandoned, are we deceived? Did the providence of the Lord leave us? He who said, "I will glorify you, and I will give to your seed all this earth, does he deliver us to the most cruel fate, and throw us into an inevitable danger?" None of this entered the spirit of the just; he had no other problem than to imagine the means of avoiding famine and escaping the hands of the Egyptians. I know, he says, that you are a beautiful woman. See what was this beauty! After so many years, and as she was touching old age, the graces of youth still appeared on her face, in spite of so many fatigues and pains that she had borne on a journey to visit so many countries, from Chaldea to Charran, Charran in Chanaan, Chanaan again here and there, and finally in Egypt.

What is the same vigorous man that would not have fallen, these continual strokes? But this admirable woman, after having sustained so many fatigues, was still so radiantly beautiful that the just conceived a great one. frightful; so he says to him: I know you are a beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, This is his wife, they will kill me; and will keep you. Watch the trust he; had in his wife, the certainty where he was she would be inflexible praise, since he gives him this advice: so they do not kill me to keep you, tell them: I'm his sister, for let me be treated well and let my soul live because of you. As this request had something extraordinary, he wanted, by the words that accompanied him, to attract him and to persuade him to condescend to it, and to persuade him to play his role of good heart. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, Behold his wife, they will kill me and keep you. He does not say, they will outrage you, he does not want to frighten him, but his fear was relative to the promise of God. This is what he says: they will keep you, tell them: I am his sister. Imagine, please, this. what should the righteous think by giving this advice to his wife? You know, indeed, you all know how painful it is for a husband to conceive such a suspicion on his wife. Well! this just strives to consume adultery. However, my beloved, do not condemn it recklessly, rather take a high idea of ​​his prudence and his courage; it takes courage, indeed, to resist with so much energy the confusion of his thoughts and to have dominated him, as he did, by giving such advice. Indeed, nothing is more unbearable than this trouble, as Solomon says. The anger of the husband is full of jealousy, he will not forgive the day of judgment, and will change his hatred against any present. (Prov.VI, 34, 35); and again: Jealousy is cruel as hell. (Cant VIII, 6.)

We see men so possessed with this fury that they not only forgive their wives, but kill the lover and themselves with him. This fury is so great, this jealousy so indomitable, that he who is once seized with this disease neglects even his salvation. This proves the courage of the just.

As to her prudence one sees how far she goes, since reduced to such extremities and engaged as in nets, he can find this means of reducing evil. If he had said that it was his wife, and if he had not imagined that he would pass for his sister, she would still have been taken away from him, since his beauty would have excited the Egyptians' licentiousness, and it would have been killed himself so that no one could lodge a complaint. Thus placed between these two fatal dangers of the incontinence of the subjects and the tyranny of the king, he seeks in his distress a slight softening, and he says to his wife: Tell them, I am his sister, that will perhaps save me to be dangerous. Because, as for you, that you pass for sister or for woman, nothing can prevent you from being removed because of your beauty; for me, I will probably avoid their pitfalls by taking your brother's name. Do you see what was the prudence of the righteous, how in his embarrassment he knew how to find the path he was seeking to divert the pitfalls of the Egyptians? . Think again about the patience of the just and the wisdom of his wife! The righteous, indeed, was not indignant and did not say: why lead with me a woman who raises this storm? What good is his society to me, since I fall for her in the greatest danger? what profit do I have, since it not only gives me no relief, but its beauty puts my life in danger? He did not say or think of anything like it, he rejected all idea of ​​this kind and did not doubt the promise of God, he only took care to escape this imminent danger. Here, my beloved ones, admire the ineffable patience of God, who does not attend. and do not console the righteous, but let the evil grow worse and increase to the extreme, and only then shows his providence. Tell them then: I am his sister so that I may be treated well and my darling may live because of you. If the righteous man speaks thus, it is not that the soul must die; in fact: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but who can not kill the soul. (Matt X, 28.) He only speaks to his wife by habit. So that I be treated well and my soul vice because of you. It is as if he were saying to him: Say: I am his sister, to avoid that, forced by the famine to flee Chanaan, I do not fall under the blows of the Egyptians. Become for me a cause of salvation so that I may be treated well because of you. These words are touching: that the fury of the Egyptians was terrible, and that the tyranny of death was not yet broken; so the just one consents to the adultery of his wife and even seems to favor this defilement to avoid death. Indeed, the appearance of death was still terrible, its brass doors were not broken yet, its sting was not yet blunted. You have seen the bond of affection between husband and wife, you also see what advises husband dares to give and the woman can receive! She does not refuse and does not get angry, but she does everything so that pretense is not discovered. Listen, men and women, imitate this concord, this bond of affection, this effort of piety and this perfect modesty of Sara. So beautiful in her old age, she rivaled the virtues of her husband; so she was honored with the protection of God and favors from on high. Let no one therefore accuse beauty, let no one say these unthinking words: such a woman, such a man, have been lost by their beauty. We must not attack beauty; certainly not! because it comes from God; it is the perversity of the will that is the cause of all evils. This woman, as admirable for the beauty of her soul as for that of her face, sees her following the steps of the just. Let women follow her example! Neither the external graces, nor his prolonged sterility, nor the great riches, nor the travels and displacements, nor the continual and successive temptations, nothing, in a word, could shake his reason, nor alter his calm. So she obtained a worthy price for her resignation; in her extreme old age her sterile and almost dead entrails were able to engender.

In order, he says, they treat me well for your sake, and my soul will live because of you. I have no other way of salvation left unless you agree to say: I am his sister. Perhaps then I will avoid the danger that I fear; Then I will live thanks to you, and I will keep you in mind for the rest of my life. These words sufficed to touch his wife and to persuade him to please him.

This is truly a marriage, when the spouses are united, not only in tranquility, but in danger, even! it is the proof of a legitimate affection and a perfect friendship. A king does not derive so much honor from the diadem that crowns him, that this blessed woman did not draw from the brilliance and illustration of the condescension which she showed to the counsel of the just. How not to admire this obedience? how to praise her worthily, when, after such a long chastity and at such an advanced age, she consents, to save her husband, to the project of an adultery with a barbarian? But wait a little, and you will see the resources of Divine Providence. [Homilies on Genesis]

12:15-16 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.

ALCUIN OF YORK. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT SARA WAS NOT RAPED WHEN SHE WAS CAPTURED BY PHARAOH (VERSE 15)? — Answer. Because, according to the book of Esther, among the ancients, whenever a king liked a woman, she would be anointed with oil of myrrh for six months and would spend six months using various perfumes in the care of women, and only then would she go in to the king (Es. 2:12). Thus it is possible that after Pharaoh took a liking to Sara, while her entrance to the king was being prepared during a year, Pharaoh gave many presents to Abraham and then was struck by the Lord while Sara still remained sexually untouched by him. [Questions and Answers on Genesis, 156]

JEROME OF STRIDON. 12:15 THE OFFICERS OF PHARAOH SAW HER, PRAISED HER NEAR HIM, AND BROUGHT HER INTO HIS PALACE; AND ABRAHAM PROSPERED BECAUSE OF HER, AND HAD SHEEP, AND HERDS, AND ASSES, AND SLAVES, AND HANDMAIDS, AND MULES, AND CAMELS. — Although violence does not defile the body of holy women, but free consent, and that Sara could be excused in the fact that, in a time of famine, alone in the midst of the state of a foreign prince, she could not resist it, by her husband's own admission, or may nevertheless explain this shame necessity in another way. According to the book of Esther, in the past, every woman who pleased the king was anointed for six months with myrtle oil; for another six months, passed through the perfumes and hands of women, and then only was admitted to the monarch. Therefore it may happen that when Sara pleased the king, since it was in the course of the year in which his introduction was being prepared that Abraham received great presents from Pharaoh, he was struck by God soon after, when Sara had not yet been brought into his bed. [Hebrew Questions on Genesis]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. God had shown so much patience only to better assert the righteous, and to teach not only to the Egyptians, but to the people of Palestine, how much the patriarch was protected by the Master of all things. It came to pass, when Abram entered Egypt, that the Egyptians saw his wife who was extremely beautiful; And the officers of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh, and brought her to Pharaoh's house, and treated Abram well for her sake. They brought him sheep, calves, donkeys, servants and maidservants, mules and camels. (Gen. 12:14-16) You see all the forecasts of the righteous come true when he entered Egypt. The Egyptians saw that his wife was extremely beautiful, not just beautiful, but extremely, to the point of attracting all eyes. The Pharaoh's officers saw her, and praised her before Pharaoh.

Do not let these words escape, my beloved ones, but admire that no Egyptian touched this foreign traveler and offended her husband, but that they went to warn the king. Moreover, it happened so that the evidence was greater and that the responsibility not falling on the first comer, but on the king, the consequences were known everywhere. They took her to Pharaoh's house. So the righteous is separated from his wife and she is taken to Pharaoh. See again the patience of God! it is not from the beginning that his providence shows itself, he lets things go, and almost drops this woman into the mouth of the monster, and it is then that he unfolds his power in the eyes of all. They took her to Pharaoh's house. What were the thoughts of this woman then? what trouble agitated his mind! what a storm was rising in her! how, instead of being shipwrecked, she remained steadfast like a rock, her eyes turned to the heavenly power! But why talk about the woman? What should the righteous think when we took it to Pharaoh? And Abram was well treated by them, since he passed for his brother; Sheher, calves, donkeys, servants, maidservants, camels and mules were brought to him. All the gifts given him, all the luxury of which he was honored, what fire should they not light at home? how was not his soul on fire, his heart devoured, when he thought of what all these presents were worth to him? You have seen how his misfortune was almost accomplished, how no human force could oppose it, how everything was lost according to human predictions; finally, you saw how the woman was almost in the mouth of the monster. Well ! now see the inexpressible goodness of God, and admire the full extent of his power! God struck Pharaoh and his house with great and painful afflictions because of Abram's wife Sarah. What does that word mean, knocked? This means that he punishes him because of his audacity and his intention of adultery. He struck him with great afflictions. He did not strike the king in an ordinary manner, but great afflictions. As the insolence was great, the punishment was to be too. Like his house, that is, the king's punishment spread over his house. And why, when the king alone makes a mistake, does all his house share the punishment? This is not without reason, but to put a brake on the passions of the king. He needed an energetic punishment to deter him from crime. But, will you say, how is it fair to punish others about him? This punishment was not only deserved by the king, but also by those whom he had undoubtedly engaged and aided in this culpable attempt. You have already heard these words of Scripture: When Pharaoh's officers saw her, they praised her and led her to her dwelling. You see that they make the office of purveyors to the king, concerning the wife of the righteous. Therefore it is not the king alone, but those with whom he is surrounded, who are partakers of the punishment, so that they learn that their outrages were not directed at a stranger, at the first comer, but at a loved man of God, who honored him with such protection. So the severity of this punishment struck the king's mind, distracted him from his criminal audacity, repressed his insensate passion, put a check on his debauchery, chained his impetuous desires, and subdued his furious ardor. [Homilies on Genesis]

12:17-20 And the LORD 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 I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. 20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Gen. 12:18) Quid hoc fecisti mihi, quia non annuntiasti mihi quia uxor tua est (Why did not you tell me she was your wife)? it was enough to say non annuntiasti (you did not say). [Locutions]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. Therefore you see how gently this king, this tyrant speaks to this stranger, to this vagabond he did not fear to remove the woman. As Scripture rightly says, God struck Pharaoh and his house about Abram's wife Sarah. Punishment makes her understand that she is the wife of a righteous man. Indeed, even after being introduced to Pharaoh, she remained the wife of the righteous. When Pharaoh sent for Abram, he said to him, Why have you done this to me? (Gen. 12:18) See what are the words of the king. Why did you do that to me? he said. "And what have I done to you, stranger unknown, driven by famine, to you, king, tyrant, and ruler of Egypt? what did I do to you? You took away my wife, you despised me, humiliated me, scorned me as a stranger; you have only listened to your disordered desires and you have wanted to do according to your whim. What have I done to you? You did me a great deal of trouble, said the king, and you have caused me a great deal of trouble. (Gen. 12:18-19) See what a reversal of what is usually happening! It is the king who says to the particular: What did you do to me? You have drawn to me the hatred and anger of God, you have made me guilty, you have made me punish, as well as all my house, for the injury that was done to you. Why did you do that to me? why did not you tell me it was your wife? why did you tell me it was your sweat, so that I could take her for a wife? So, he said, believing her sweat, I wanted to marry her. - But how did you know it was my wife? - I know it from Himself who punished me for my fault. Why did you do that to me, and did not you tell me it was your wife, exposing me to marry her myself by a crime? I got ready, thinking it was your sweat. See how the severity of the punishment has moved his mind to the point of making it fair and humane with the righteous! But without the action of God, who softened his soul and filled it with fear, he would then have given himself terrible anger, he would have punished the just as having deceived him, and would have made him suffer the most cruel tortures. It was not so: the fear of punishment moderated and extinguished his anger; and he thought only of being human to the just. He thinks that an ordinary man would not have been so protected from above. And now your wife is here before you; take it and leave. Now, he says, that I know that she is not your sister, but your wife, I give her back to you. I have not dishonored your union, I have not deprived you of your wife, but here it is before you, take it there, and leave.

What intelligence could worthily appreciate this miracle, and what language would be able to tell it? A woman of splendid beauty enters the house of the all-powerful king of the Egyptians; inflamed with passion for her, she comes out pure and brings back her chastity intact. These are, as I said at first, the works of God, always astonishing and admirable, and when men believe everything desperate, it is then that he shows his invincible strength. Was it not an astonishing and admirable thing to see the man of desires surrounded, like a circle of sheep, by ferocious beasts that did him no harm, and coming out of the pit without injury (Dan. )? to see the three young people stay in the furnace like in a field or garden, without suffering the flame, and come out of there such as statues? It was no less prodigious, less worthy of admiration, to see the wife of the just returned by the king of Egypt, this despotic dissolute, safe and sound. It was God who had led everything, God who can always do what is impossible and give hope to those who despair. And now, behold your wife before you, take her and go. Do not think I hurt you. If, in my ignorance, I had guilty plans, I understood what defender you had; the anger that struck me proved to me what was the benevolence of the God of the universe for you. Take back your wife, and go away. Now the righteous made them tremble; so they had for him a great deal of attentions, in order to be forgiven by the Lord for the wrongs they had done to his protege.

You see, my beloved ones, all the cost of patience and perseverance. Remember, I pray you, these words which the patriarch said when entering Egypt: I know that you are a beautiful woman; when the Egyptians see you, they will kill me and keep it. Reflecting on it, consider what has happened and admire the patience of the righteous and the (224) strength of the merciful God, who is preparing for a just so glorious departure, after an arrival full of so much fright and anguish. Pharaoh ordered his people to accompany Abram to lead him with his wife and all that belonged to them, and Lot with him. (Gen. 12:20) The righteous returned with many honors and riches, and all these events served as lessons not only to the Egyptians, but to those who were on the road and to the inhabitants of Palestine. Because, seeing this man ,. who had gone under the constraint of famine, seized with fear and trembling, now returning with so much brilliancy, abundance, and opulence, they learned with what force God protected him. Who has ever seen and heard such things? He has gone to escape the rigors of famine, and he returns filled with riches and glory. Do not be too surprised, my beloved ones, do not be so surprised by the fact in itself, reserve your stupefaction, your admiration, for our common Master; he is the one to be glorified. See that the descendants of the patriarch, having again come to Egypt to flee famine, also supported the servitude and the persecutions, but came back glorious and prosperous. This is the wisdom of our Lord! when he has allowed misfortunes to accumulate, he dispels the clouds again and brings back a sudden and unexpected calm, to show us the greatness of his power. [Homilies on Genesis]