וַיֵּרָ֨א אֵלָ֤יו יְהוָה֙ בַּלַּ֣יְלָה הַה֔וּא וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אָנֹכִ֕י אֱלֹהֵ֖י אַבְרָהָ֣ם אָבִ֑יךָ אַל־תִּירָא֙ כִּֽי־אִתְּךָ֣ אָנֹ֔כִי וּבֵֽרַכְתִּ֙יךָ֙ וְהִרְבֵּיתִ֣י אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֔ בַּעֲב֖וּר אַבְרָהָ֥ם עַבְדִּֽי׃
At nagpakita sa kanya ang Walang-Hanggan nang gabi ring iyon at nagsabi: “Ako ang Diyos ni Abraham na iyong ama. Huwag kang matakot, sapagkat Ako ay sumasaiyo; at pagpapalain kita at pararamihin Ko ang iyong lahi alang-alang kay Abraham na Aking lingkod.”
Ramban
AND BE THOU A BLESSING. You will be the blessing by whom people will be blessed, saying, “G-d make thee as Abraham.” To this He added that all families of the earth23Verse 3 here. will cite him in blessing, not just the people of his country alone. It may be that the expression, And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed,23Verse 3 here. means that they will all be blessed on his account.
Now this portion of Scripture is not completely elucidated. What reason was there that the Holy One, blessed be He, should say to Abraham, “Leave your country, and I will do you good in a completely unprecedented measure,” without first stating that Abraham worshipped G-d or that he was a righteous man, [and] perfect?24Above, 6:9. As was the case with Noah. Or it should state as a reason for his leaving the country that the very journey to another land constituted an act of seeking the nearness of G-d.25Psalms 73:28. This may indeed be an illuminating personal remark shedding light on Ramban’s journey, towards the end of his life, to the Land of Israel; the very journey constituted to him a religious experience of “seeking the nearness of G-d.” The custom of Scripture is to state, “Walk before Me,26Genesis 17:1. and hearken to My voice, and I will do good unto you,” as is the case with David27See I Kings 2:4. and Solomon,28Ibid., 3:13-14. as well as throughout the Torah: If ye walk in My statute;29Leviticus 26:3. And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Eternal thy G-d.30Deuteronomy 28:1. And in the case of Isaac, it says, For My servant Abraham’s sake.31Genesis 26:24. But there is no reason for G-d to promise [Abraham a reward merely] for his leaving the country.
However, the reason [for G-d’s promising Abraham this reward] is that the people of Ur of the Chaldees did him much evil on account of his belief in the Holy One, blessed be He, and he fled from them to go to the land of Canaan, tarrying for a time at Haran, whereupon the Eternal told him to leave these places as well and to fulfill his original intention that his worship be dedicated to Him alone and that he call upon people [for the worhip of] the Name of the Eternal in the Chosen Land. There He would make his name great, and these nations would bless themselves by him, not as they treated him in Ur of the Chaldees, where they abused and cursed him, put him in prison or in the fiery furnace. He further told Abraham that He will bless those who bless him, and if some individual will curse him, he will be cursed in turn.
This then is the meaning of this portion of Scripture. The Torah, however, did not want to deal at length with the opinions of idol worshippers and explain the matter between him and the Chaldeans in the subject of faith, just as it dealt briefly with the matter of the generation of Enosh32Above, 4:26. See also above in Seder Noach, Note 280. and their thesis concerning the idol-worship which they instituted.
Now this portion of Scripture is not completely elucidated. What reason was there that the Holy One, blessed be He, should say to Abraham, “Leave your country, and I will do you good in a completely unprecedented measure,” without first stating that Abraham worshipped G-d or that he was a righteous man, [and] perfect?24Above, 6:9. As was the case with Noah. Or it should state as a reason for his leaving the country that the very journey to another land constituted an act of seeking the nearness of G-d.25Psalms 73:28. This may indeed be an illuminating personal remark shedding light on Ramban’s journey, towards the end of his life, to the Land of Israel; the very journey constituted to him a religious experience of “seeking the nearness of G-d.” The custom of Scripture is to state, “Walk before Me,26Genesis 17:1. and hearken to My voice, and I will do good unto you,” as is the case with David27See I Kings 2:4. and Solomon,28Ibid., 3:13-14. as well as throughout the Torah: If ye walk in My statute;29Leviticus 26:3. And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Eternal thy G-d.30Deuteronomy 28:1. And in the case of Isaac, it says, For My servant Abraham’s sake.31Genesis 26:24. But there is no reason for G-d to promise [Abraham a reward merely] for his leaving the country.
However, the reason [for G-d’s promising Abraham this reward] is that the people of Ur of the Chaldees did him much evil on account of his belief in the Holy One, blessed be He, and he fled from them to go to the land of Canaan, tarrying for a time at Haran, whereupon the Eternal told him to leave these places as well and to fulfill his original intention that his worship be dedicated to Him alone and that he call upon people [for the worhip of] the Name of the Eternal in the Chosen Land. There He would make his name great, and these nations would bless themselves by him, not as they treated him in Ur of the Chaldees, where they abused and cursed him, put him in prison or in the fiery furnace. He further told Abraham that He will bless those who bless him, and if some individual will curse him, he will be cursed in turn.
This then is the meaning of this portion of Scripture. The Torah, however, did not want to deal at length with the opinions of idol worshippers and explain the matter between him and the Chaldeans in the subject of faith, just as it dealt briefly with the matter of the generation of Enosh32Above, 4:26. See also above in Seder Noach, Note 280. and their thesis concerning the idol-worship which they instituted.
Ramban
AND HE CALLED UPON THE NAME OF THE ETERNAL. Onkelos explained it as meaning that he prayed there, just as in the verse, I called upon Thy name, O Eternal, out of the lowest dungeon.61Lamentations 3:55.
The correct interpretation is that Abraham loudly proclaimed the name of the Eternal there before the altar, informing people of Him and of His Divine essence. In Ur of the Chaldees he taught people but they refused to listen. Now, however, that he had come to the land concerning which he had been promised, And I will bless them that bless thee,62Verse 3 here. he became accustomed to teach and to proclaim the Deity. Scripture likewise tells of Isaac — when he went to the valley of Gerar where he was promised, Fear not, for I am with thee63Further, 26:24. — that he built an altar there and invoked the name of the Eternal64Ibid., Verse 25. since he had come to a new place where they had not heard of His fame or seen His glory, and he proclaimed His glory among these nations.65See Isaiah 66:19. Now a similar statement is not made concerning Jacob, [i.e., that he proclaimed the name of the Eternal before the peoples of the land of Canaan], for since he begot many children — all of whom were worshippers of G-d — and he had a great community, which was called “the congregation of Israel,”66Exodus 12:3, et al. it was through them that the Faith was proclaimed and became known to all people. Besides, the Faith had been proclaimed throughout the entire land of Canaan since the days of his ancestors. In Bereshith Rabbah6739:24. the Rabbis similarly say, “And he called upon the name of the Eternal. This teaches us that he caused the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, to be in the mouth of all people.”
The correct interpretation is that Abraham loudly proclaimed the name of the Eternal there before the altar, informing people of Him and of His Divine essence. In Ur of the Chaldees he taught people but they refused to listen. Now, however, that he had come to the land concerning which he had been promised, And I will bless them that bless thee,62Verse 3 here. he became accustomed to teach and to proclaim the Deity. Scripture likewise tells of Isaac — when he went to the valley of Gerar where he was promised, Fear not, for I am with thee63Further, 26:24. — that he built an altar there and invoked the name of the Eternal64Ibid., Verse 25. since he had come to a new place where they had not heard of His fame or seen His glory, and he proclaimed His glory among these nations.65See Isaiah 66:19. Now a similar statement is not made concerning Jacob, [i.e., that he proclaimed the name of the Eternal before the peoples of the land of Canaan], for since he begot many children — all of whom were worshippers of G-d — and he had a great community, which was called “the congregation of Israel,”66Exodus 12:3, et al. it was through them that the Faith was proclaimed and became known to all people. Besides, the Faith had been proclaimed throughout the entire land of Canaan since the days of his ancestors. In Bereshith Rabbah6739:24. the Rabbis similarly say, “And he called upon the name of the Eternal. This teaches us that he caused the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, to be in the mouth of all people.”
Rashbam
ויעל משם באר שבע, because he was physically afraid of them. We have proof for this, seeing that G’d told him not to be afraid (verse 24)