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The Masoretic Hebrew text of Genesis 12:7 states that God appeared to Abram, using language that implies a physical presence. The Samaritan Pentateuch uses language meaning “envisioned,” to avoid the idea that God physically appeared to him.
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Genesis 12:7
Hebrew Bible
5 And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they left for the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan. 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree of Moreh at Shechem. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord. 9 Abram continually journeyed by stages down to the Negev.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Samaritan Genesis 12:7
Samaritan Penteteuch
Samaritan
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. 6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Mora. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 7 And the LORD envisioned himself to Abraham, and said to him, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who envisioned unto him. 8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el 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.
Date: 130-120 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Genesis 12:7: “Envisioned” — The Israelite Samaritan concept of the way that the Almighty appeared to a human being was only through vision, and not face to face. Even in the case of the greatest personality, Mooshe. This concept eliminates any possibility of seeing the Almighty face to face because He said “You cannot see My Face, for no man can see Me and live!” (Exodus 33:20). In the case of angels, this possibility of seeing them is obvious, and appearances of the Almighty by the cloud or by His Honor ..."
Tsedaka, Benyamim
The Israelite Samaritan Version of the Torah: First English Translation Compared with the Masoretic Version
(p. 27) William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2013
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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