ספורנו — אל הארץ אשר אראך / בית אל מים והעי מקדם

Q — Why does Hashem tell Avram "אל הארץ אשר אראך" — "to the land that I will show you" — as if the destination is unknown, when we already know from the end of Noach that Terach's family was headed to ארץ כנען? And once Avram arrives, why does he keep moving — to Shechem, then between Bet El and Ai, then south, then between Kadesh and Shur — instead of settling?

A — Sforno reads "אשר אראך" not as the destination land but as the specific spot *within* the land where Hashem will *appear* (אֵרָאֶה — same root). The country was already known; the location for the encounter wasn't. That's why Avram traverses the land without pitching his tent until Hashem appears at Shechem — that's "הארץ אשר אראך" landing in the precise place. Beyond that, Avram's settlement pattern is itself a chiddush: he camps deliberately between Bet El and Ai — "בין שתי עירות גדולות, למען ירבו הבאים לשמוע בקראו בשם ה'." Even his subsequent wandering "כמנהג הרועים" is constrained — "שלא לנטות מאחת משתי העירות שהתחילו קצתן להמשך אחריו." Same pattern reappears in Vayera: בין קדש ובין שור, "להגביר ברית לרבים." Avram's entire life-strategy is maximum outreach: choosing population-dense crossroads so the קריאה בשם ה' reaches the most people.