Ramban on Genesis 12:1:2

מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ כָּתַב רַשִׁ"י (רש"י על בראשית י"ב:ב'), וַהֲלֹא כְּבָר יָצָא מִשָּׁם עִם אָבִיו וּבָא עַד חָרָן, אֶלָּא כָּךְ אָמַר לוֹ הקב"ה, הִתְרַחֵק עוֹד מִבֵּית אָבִיךָ. וְרַבִּי אַבְרָהָם פֵּרֵשׁ וּכְבָר אָמַר הַשֵּׁם אֶל אַבְרָם לֶךְ לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ, כִּי הַדִּבּוּר הַזֶּה הָיָה בְּעוֹדֶנּוּ בְּאוֹר כַּשְׂדִּים, וְשָׁם צִוָּהוּ לַעֲזֹב אַרְצוֹ וּמוֹלַדְתּוֹ וּבֵית אָבִיו אֲשֶׁר שָׁם. וְאֵינֶנּוּ נָכוֹן, כִּי אִם הָיָה כֵּן הָיָה אַבְרָם עִקַּר הַנְּסִיעָה מִבֵּית אָבִיו בְּמִצְוַת הָאֱלֹהִים, וְתֶרַח אָבִיו בִּרְצוֹן נַפְשׁוֹ הָלַךְ עִמּוֹ, וְהַכָּתוּב אָמַר (בראשית י"א:ל"א) "וַיִּקַּח תֶּרַח אֶת אַבְרָם בְּנוֹ", יוֹרֶה כִּי אַבְרָם אַחֲרֵי אָבִיו וּבַעֲצָתוֹ יָצָא מֵאוּר כַּשְׂדִּים לָלֶכֶת אַרְצָה כְּנַעַן. וְעוֹד, כִּי הַכָּתוּב שֶׁאָמַר (יהושע כד ג) "וָאֶקַּח אֶת אֲבִיכֶם אֶת אַבְרָהָם מֵעֵבֶר הַנָּהָר וָאוֹלֵךְ אוֹתוֹ בְּכָל אֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן", הָיָה רָאוּי שֶׁיֹּאמַר "וָאֶקַּח אֶת אֲבִיכֶם אֶת אַבְרָהָם מֵאוּר כַּשְׂדִּים וָאוֹלֵךְ אוֹתוֹ בְּכָל אֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן" כִּי מִשָּׁם לֻקַּח וְשָׁם נִצְטַוָּה בָּזֶה. וְעוֹד יִקְשֶׁה עֲלֵיהֶם כִּי אַבְרָהָם בְּצַוּוֹתוֹ אֶת אֱלִיעֶזֶר לָקַחַת אִשָּׁה לִבְנוֹ אָמַר לוֹ "כִּי אֶל אַרְצִי וְאֶל מוֹלַדְתִּי תֵּלֵךְ" (בראשית כ"ד:ד'), וְהוּא הָלַךְ "אֶל אֲרַם נַהֲרַיִם אֶל עִיר נָחוֹר" (שם כד י), אִם כֵּן הִיא אַרְצוֹ וּמוֹלַדְתּוֹ, וְשָׁם נֶאֱמַר (בראשית י"ב:ל"ח) "אִם לֹא אֶל בֵּית אָבִי תֵּלֵךְ וְאֶל מִשְׁפַּחְתִּי", כִּי שָׁם בֵּית אָבִיו וּמִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ שֶׁהִיא מוֹלַדְתּוֹ, לֹא כַּאֲשֶׁר הִשְׁתַּבֵּשׁ רַבִּי אַבְרָהָם לוֹמַר "אֶל אַרְצִי" חָרָן וּ"מוֹלַדְתִּי" אוּר כַּשְׂדִּים, וְהִנֵּה הוּא הָאוֹמֵר כָּאן כִּי בְּאוּר כַּשְׂדִּים נֶאֱמַר לוֹ "לֶךְ לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ", וְהִנֵּה לוֹ אֲרָצוֹת רַבּוֹת. אֲבָל הָעִקָּר כְּבָר יָדַעְתָּ אוֹתוֹ מִמָּה שֶׁכָּתַבְנוּ בַּסֵּדֶר שֶׁלִּפְנֵי זֶה (יא כח), כִּי חָרָן הִיא אַרְצוֹ וְשָׁם מוֹלַדְתּוֹ, וְהִיא אֶרֶץ אֲבוֹתָיו מֵעוֹלָם, וְשָׁם נִצְטַוָּה לַעֲזֹב אוֹתָם. וְכָךְ אָמְרוּ בִּבְרֵאשִׁית רַבָּה (בראשית רבה ל"ט:ח') "לֵךְ לְךָ", אַחַת מֵאֲרַם נַהֲרַיִם וְאַחַת מֵאֲרַם נָחוֹר. וְטַעַם לְהַזְכִּיר "אַרְצְךָ וּמוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּבֵית אָבִיךָ", כִּי יִקְשֶׁה עַל הָאָדָם לַעֲזֹב אַרְצוֹ אֲשֶׁר הוּא יֹשֵׁב בָּהּ וְשָׁם אוֹהֲבָיו וְרֵעָיו, וְכָל שֶׁכֵּן כְּשֶׁהוּא אֶרֶץ מוֹלַדְתּוֹ שֶׁשָּׁם נוֹלַד, וְכָל שֶׁכֵּן כְּשֶׁיֵּשׁ שָׁם כָּל בֵּית אָבִיו. וּלְכָךְ הֻצְרַךְ לוֹמַר לוֹ שֶׁיַּעֲזֹב הַכֹּל לְאַהֲבָתוֹ שֶׁל הקב"ה: OUT OF THY COUNTRY, AND FROM THY BIRTHPLACE. Rashi wrote,⁸In Verse 2 here. “But had he not already departed from there together with his father and reached as far as Haran?⁹Above, 11:31. But thus, in effect, did the Holy One, blessed be He, say to him, ‘Go still further away from thy father’s house.’”
And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained the verse as follows: “And G-d had already said to Abram, ‘Get thee out of thy country,’ since this command came to him when he was still in Ur of the Chaldees, and there He commanded him to leave his country, his birthplace and his father’s house, in which he was.”
But this is not correct, for if so, it would follow that Abram was the central figure in the journey from his father’s house by command of G-d, while Terah his father voluntarily went with him. Yet Scripture says, And Terah took Abram his son,⁹Above, 11:31. which teaches us that Abram followed his father and that it was by his counsel that Abram went forth from Ur of the Chaldees to go to the land of Canaan! Furthermore, [according to Ibn Ezra, who says that the above command came to Abram when he was still in Ur of the Chaldees], the verse stating, And I took your father Abraham from beyond the river and led him throughout all the land of Canaan,¹⁰Joshua 24:3. should have stated, “And I took your father from Ur of the Chaldees and led him throughout all the land of Canaan,” for it was from there that he was taken, and it was there that he was given this command. In addition, the following difficulty may be put to Rashi and Ibn Ezra: when Abraham commanded Eliezer to get a wife for his son, he said to him, ‘But thou shalt go unto my country and to my birthplace,’¹¹Genesis 24:4. The word moladeti, generally translated “my kindred,” connotes, according to Ramban, both “my birthplace” and “my family.” This is made clear further on in the text. and he went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor.¹²Ibid., Verse 10. Aram-naharaim is Mesopotamia. See Ramban above, 11:28. If so, that is his “country” and his “birthplace!” And there, Scripture further says [when Eliezer recounts Abraham’s charge to him], But thou shalt go unto my father’s house and to my family,¹³Ibid., Verse 38. thus clearly indicating that there (in Mesopotamia) were his father’s house and his family which is “his kindred.” This is not as Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra erred in interpreting, “Unto my country,¹¹Genesis 24:4. The word moladeti, generally translated “my kindred,” connotes, according to Ramban, both “my birthplace” and “my family.” This is made clear further on in the text. Haran; and to my birthplace, Ur of the Chaldees.” Now since Ibn Ezra says here that in Ur of the Chaldees it was said to Abraham, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, Abraham would thus have many countries!¹⁴Ramban points out the following contradiction in Ibn Ezra’s interpretation: Here in our verse he says that the command was given to Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees. Accordingly, Ur of the Chaldees is Abraham’s “country” for the verse says, from thy country. And further (Chapter 24, Verse 4) Ibn Ezra interprets my country as meaning “Haran,” which is Mesopotamia! Thus Ibn Ezra has “many countries” assigned to Abraham. But the essential principle you already know from what we have written in the preceding Seder,¹⁵Above, 11:28. namely, that Haran is Abraham’s country, and there is his birthplace, it having always been his father’s country, and there Abraham was commanded to leave them. In Bereshith Rabbah,¹⁶39:8. The Rabbis here interpret the double expression of the verse as signifying two departures which Abraham is to make: one from Mesopotamia generally, and one from his city in particular. the Rabbis similarly say “Lech lecha: one departure from Aram-naharaim, and one from Aram-nahor.”
The reason for mentioning out of thy country, and from thy birthplace, and from thy father’s house is that it is difficult for a person to leave the country wherein he dwells, where he has his friends and companions. This is true all the more if this be his native land, and all the more if his whole family is there. Hence it became necessary to say to Abraham that he leave all for the sake of his love of the Holy One, blessed be He.
UNTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW THEE. He wandered and went about from nation to nation, from kingdom to another people,¹⁷Psalms 105:13. until he came to the land of Canaan, where He said to him, Unto thy seed will I give this land.¹⁸Verse 7 here. Then the promise, Unto the land that I will show thee, was fulfilled, and Abraham tarried and settled there. The verse which states, And they went forth to go into the land of Canaan,¹⁹Verse 5. means that he was not heading for Canaan for the purpose of settling there since he did not as yet know that he had been commanded concerning this land. Rather, the righteous one²⁰Abraham. set his goal towards the land of Canaan for that was his intention as well as that of his father when they originally set forth from Ur of the Chaldees. This is the reason why Abraham later said, And it came to pass, when G-d caused me to wander from my father’s house:²¹Further, 20:13. he was indeed gone astray like a lost sheep.²²Psalms 119:176.
It is possible to say that Abraham knew from the first that the land of Canaan was “the inheritance of the Eternal,” destined that His special Providence be bestowed upon it, and he believed that the Divine promise, Unto the land that I will show thee, alluded to the land of Canaan either in its entirety or to one of all those lands [which together comprise Canaan]. He set his direction towards the land of Canaan generally for [he was certain that] there was the land which He would indeed show him.