Lech-Lecha, Lekh-Lekha, or Lech-L'cha (—the fifth and sixth words) is the third weekly Torah portion (, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 12:1–17:27. The parashah tells the stories of God's calling of Abram, Abram's passing off his wife Sarai as his sister, Abram's dividing the land with his nephew Lot, the war between the four kings and the five, the covenant between the pieces, Sarai's tensions with her maid Hagar and Hagar's son Ishmael, the changing of Abram's name to Abraham, and the covenant of circumcision (brit milah).
The parashah is made up of 6336 Hebrew letters, 1,686 Hebrew words, 126 verses, and 208 lines in a Torah scroll. Jews read it on the third Shabbat after Simchat Torah, in October or November.
Readings In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or , aliyot. In the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), Parashah Lech-Lecha has three "open portion" (, petuchah) divisions (roughly equivalent to paragraphs, often abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (peh)). Parashah Lech-Lecha has several further subdivisions, called "closed portion" (, setumah) divisions (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (samekh)) within the open portion divisions. The first open portion divides the first reading. The second open portion covers the balance of the first and all of the second and third readings. The third open portion spans the remaining readings. Closed portion divisions further divide the fifth and sixth readings.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2006), pages 60–85.
First reading—Genesis 12:1–13 In the first reading, God told Abram to leave his native land and his father's house for a land that God would show him, promising to make of him a great nation, bless him, make his name great, bless those who blessed him, and curse those who cursed him.. Following God's command, at age 75, Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and the wealth and persons that they had acquired in Haran, and traveled to the terebinth of Moreh, at Shechem in Canaan.. God appeared to Abram to tell him that God would assign the land to his heirs, and Abram built an altar to God.. Abram then moved to the hill country east of Bethel and built an altar to God there and invoked God by name.. Then Abram journeyed toward the Negeb or the south.. The first open portion ends here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis, page 62.
In the continuation of the reading, famine struck the land, so Abram went down to Egypt, asking Sarai to say that she was his sister so that the Egyptians would not kill him.. The first reading ends here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis, page 63.
Second reading—Genesis 12:14–13:4 In the second reading, when Abram and Sarai entered Egypt, Pharaoh's courtiers praised Sarai's beauty to Pharaoh, and she was taken into Pharaoh's palace. Pharaoh took Sarai as his wife.. Because of her, Abram acquired sheep, oxen, donkeys, slaves, and camels, but God afflicted Pharaoh and his household with mighty plagues.. Pharaoh asked Abram why he had not told Pharaoh that Sarai was his wife.. Pharaoh returned Sarai to Abram and had his men take them away with their possessions.. Abram, Sarai, and Lot returned to the altar near Bethel.. The second reading ends here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis, page 65.
Third reading—Genesis 13:5–18 In the third reading, Abram and Lot now had so many sheep and cattle that the land could not support them both, and their herdsmen quarreled.. Abram proposed to Lot that they separate, inviting Lot to choose which land he would take.. Lot saw how well watered the plain of the Jordan was, so he chose it for himself, and journeyed eastward, settling near Sodom, a city of wicked sinners, while Abram remained in Canaan.. God promised to give all the land that Abram could see to him and his offspring forever, and to make his offspring as numerous as the dust of the earth.. Abram moved to the terebinths of Mamre in Hebron, and built an altar there to God.. The third reading and the second open portion end here with the end of chapter 13.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis, page 68.
Fourth reading—Genesis 14:1–20 In the fourth reading, in chapter 14, the Mesopotamian Kings Amraphel of Shinar, Arioch of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer of Elam, and Tidal of Goiim made war on the Canaanite kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar, who joined forces at the Battle of Siddim, now the Dead Sea.. The Canaanite kings had served Chedorlaomer for twelve years, but rebelled in the thirteenth year.. In the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the Mesopotamian kings with him went on a military campaign and defeated several peoples in and around Canaan: the Rephaim, the Zuzim, the Emim, the Horites, the Amalekites, and the Amorites.. Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar engaged the four Mesopotamian kings in battle in the Valley of Siddim.. The Mesopotamians routed the Canaanites, and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled into bitumen pits in the valley, while the rest escaped to the hill country.. The Mesopotamians seized all the wealth of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as Lot and his possessions, and departed.. A fugitive brought the news to Abram, who mustered his 318 retainers, and pursued the invaders north to Dan.. Abram and his servants defeated them at night, chased them north of Damascus, and brought back all the people and possessions, including Lot and his possessions.. When Abram returned, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh, the Valley of the King.. King Melchizedek of Salem (Jerusalem), a priest of God Most High, brought out bread and wine and blessed Abram and God Most High, and he gave him a tenth of everything.. The fourth reading ends here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis, page 72.
Fifth reading—Genesis 14:21–15:6 In the fifth reading, the king of Sodom allowed Abram to keep all the possessions if he would merely return the people, but Abram swore to God Most High not to take so much as a thread or a sandal strap from Sodom, but would take only shares for the men who went with him.. A closed portion ends here with the end of chapter 14.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis, page 73.
As the reading continues in chapter 15, some time later,United Bible Societies, Translation commentary on Genesis 15:1, accessed on 2 April 2026 the word of God appeared to Abram, telling him not to fear, for his reward would be very great. Abram questioned what God could give him, as he was destined to die childless, and his steward, Eliezer of Damascus, would be his heir.. "The word of the " replied that Eliezer would not be his heir, but Abram's own son would.. God took Abram outside and bade him to count the stars, for so numerous would his offspring be, and because Abram put his trust in God, God reckoned it to his merit.. The fifth reading ends here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis, page 74.
Sixth reading—Genesis 15:7–17:6 In the sixth reading, God directed Abram to bring a three-year old heifer, a three-year old goat, a three-year old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon, to cut the three animals in two, and to place each half opposite the other. Abram did so, and drove away the birds of prey that came down upon the carcasses. As the sun was about to set, he fell into a deep sleep. God told Abram that his offspring would be strangers in a land not theirs, and be enslaved for 400 years, but God would execute judgment on the nation they were to serve, and in the end they would go free with great wealth and return in the fourth generation, after the iniquity of the Amorites was complete. After the sunset, there appeared a smoking oven, and a flaming torch, which passed between the pieces, and God made a covenant with Abram to assign to his offspring the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates: the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. A closed portion ends at the end of chapter 15.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis, pages 76–77
As the reading continues in chapter 16, having borne no children after 10 years in Canaan, Sarai bade Abram to consort with her Egyptian maidservant Hagar, so that Sarai might have a son through her, and Abram did as Sarai requested.. When Hagar saw that she had conceived, Sarai was lowered in her esteem, and Sarai complained to Abram.. Abram told Sarai that her maid was in her hands, and Sarai treated her harshly, so Hagar ran away.. An angel of God found Hagar by a spring of water in the wilderness, and asked her where she came from and where she was going, and she replied that she was running away from her mistress.. The angel told her to go back to her mistress and submit to her harsh treatment, for God would make Hagar's offspring too numerous to count; she would bear a son whom she should name Ishmael, for God had paid heed to her suffering.. Ishmael would be a wild donkey of a man, with his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him, but he would dwell alongside his kinsmen.. Hagar called God "El-roi," meaning that she had gone on seeing after God saw her, and the well was called Beer-lahai-roi.. And when Abram was 86 years old, Hagar bore him a son, and Abram gave him the name Ishmael.. A closed portion ends here with the end of chapter 16.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis, page 80.
As the reading continues in chapter 17, when Abram was 99 years old, God appeared to Abram as El Shaddai and asked him to walk in God's ways and be blameless, for God would establish a covenant with him and make him exceedingly numerous.. Abram threw himself on his face, and God changed his name from Abram to Abraham, promising to make him the father of a multitude of nations and ancestor of kings.. The sixth reading ends here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis, page 81.
Seventh reading—Genesis 17:7–27