Twice Abraham was called to leave his roots. We do not read about the first time in Genesis, but we hear about it from Stephen (Acts 7:2–3): The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, 'Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.' Terah and Lot also followed that calling (Genesis 11:31): Terah took Abram his son and Lot [...] Sarai [...] from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan. (Thus, the destination was known too: Canaan). But they stopped midway in Haran, and settled there, north of Canaan. Why? Perhaps because Terah was ill, because in Genesis 11:31–32, we read: But when they came to Haran, they settled there. The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.

Then in Haran, God repeats the calling to Abraham in Genesis 12:1: Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.