According to the story told in the Bible's book of Genesis, chapters 12 and 13, Abram is told to go to "a place that the LORD promises to show." Here it gets interesting to me, because Abram "sets out for Canaan."
Remember: When Noah cursed his youngest son, Ham, progenitor of the Canaanites (Genesis 9), Noah also blessed his older sons, Shem and Japheth. In particular look at Shem's blessing, recorded in Genesis 9:26, "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem."
Abram is a direct descendant of Shem (Genesis 11). Ancient blessings and curses seem to privilege Shem's tribe over Ham's (Canaan). If Abram is aware of the ancient blessings and curses, then it seems likely he is predisposed to travel to Canaanite territory when given the message, "Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you." (Genesis 12:1)
Whether predisposed, predestined, or perceived Abram goes. According to Genesis 12:5, "He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there."
The plot thickens...
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