Parashat Lech-Lecha — Go for yourself (get yourself out)
לֶךְ־לְךָ
Lech-Lecha (לֶךְ־לְךָ) means "go for yourself (get yourself out)" — taken, as every parashah name is, from the portion's opening words in the Hebrew.
The Readings
Torah Genesis 12:1-17:27 Read →
Haftarah Isaiah 40:27-41:16 Read →
B'rit Chadashah Galatians 3:6-29 Read →
What Happens in Lech-Lecha
Lech lecha — go for yourself, get yourself out. YHVH's call to Avram demands he release everything that defines a man in the ancient world: his country, his kindred, his father's house — destination unspecified, 'to the land that I will show you.' Attached to the demand is a sevenfold promise: a great nation, blessing, a great name, and the widest horizon in Scripture — in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. At seventy-five years old, Avram goes. At Shechem YHVH appears and adds the deed: to your seed I will give this land. Avram's answer, here and everywhere, is an altar and the name of YHVH called aloud.
The promise is immediately tested. Famine drives Avram to Egypt, where fear leads him to pass Sarai off as his sister; YHVH plagues Pharaoh's house and the couple is expelled — richer, but chastened, in a scene that quietly rehearses Israel's future exodus. Back in the land, wealth strains family: Avram gives his nephew Lot first choice, and Lot pitches his tent toward Sodom. When four eastern kings sack Sodom and carry Lot away, Avram arms his three hundred eighteen trained men, routs the invaders by night, and recovers everything. Returning, he is met by Malki-Tzedek (Melchizedek), king of Shalem and priest of El Elyon, who brings out bread and wine and blesses him; Avram gives him a tenth of all, while refusing so much as a sandal strap from the king of Sodom.
Then YHVH cuts covenant. Against a childless old man's doubt, He brings Avram outside: count the stars, if you are able — so shall your seed be. And he believed in YHVH, and He counted it to him as righteousness — the verse on which Paul builds the gospel of faith. In the covenant between the pieces, a smoking furnace and a flaming torch pass alone between the halves: God binds Himself unilaterally, even while foretelling four hundred years of affliction. Sarai's shortcut through Hagar produces Yishmael and a house full of strife — yet God sees and hears the outcast slave. Thirteen years later, El Shaddai appears: Avram becomes Avraham, father of a multitude; Sarai becomes Sarah; circumcision seals the everlasting covenant in flesh; and a son by Sarah is promised within the year.
Main Themes
The call to leave everything on the strength of a promise Blessing for all nations through one man's seed Faith counted as righteousness Covenant — the pieces, the name change, and circumcision God's timing versus human shortcuts
Key Events
· The call and journey to Canaan
· The descent to Egypt during famine
· Avram and Lot separate
· The rescue of Lot and the meeting with Malki-Tzedek
· The covenant between the pieces
· The birth of Yishmael
· The covenant of circumcision and the new names
Key People
Avram / Avraham Sarai / Sarah Lot Hagar Yishmael Malki-Tzedek (Melchizedek) Pharaoh
Key Verses
Genesis 12:3 Read →
“I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.””
Genesis 15:6 Read →
“He believed in the LORD, who credited it to him for righteousness.”
Genesis 17:7 Read →
“I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your offspring after you.”
All 54 Torah portions → · Open the Torah Portion tool in Hebrew Explorer