Genesis 15
15
The Abrahamic Covenant
1After these events, the word of the Lord came#1Sm 15:10; 2Sm 7:4; 1Kg 6:11; Is 38:4; Jr 1:2 to Abram in a vision:
Do not be afraid,#Gn 26:24; Is 41:10; Jr 30:10; Lk 1:13,30 Abram.
I am your shield;#Dt 33:29; 2Sm 22:3,31; Ps 3:3; 7:10
your reward will be very great.
2But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” #15:2 Hb obscure 3Abram continued, “Look, you have given me no offspring, so a slave born in#15:3 Lit a son of my house will be my heir.”
4Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body#15:4 Lit loins will be your heir.” 5He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.”#Gn 22:17; 26:4; Ex 32:13; Dt 1:10; 10:22; 1Ch 27:23; Rm 4:18; Heb 11:12
6Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.#Rm 4:3,9,22; Gl 3:6; Jms 2:23
7He also said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”#Gn 11:31; 12:1; Neh 9:7–8; Ac 7:2–4
8But he said, “Lord God, how can I know#Jdg 6:17; 2Kg 20:8; Ps 86:17; Is 7:11–13; Lk 1:18 that I will possess it?”
9He said to him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
10So he brought all these to him, cut them in half, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut the birds#Lv 1:17 in half. 11Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12As the sun was setting, a deep sleep#Gn 2:21 came over Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him.
13Then the Lord said to Abram,#Ac 7:6–7 “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be resident aliens#Ex 22:21; 23:9 for four hundred years#Ex 12:40; Gl 3:17 in a land that does not belong to them and will be enslaved and oppressed.#15:13 Lit will serve them and they will oppress them 14However, I will judge the nation they serve,#Ex 6:6; 7:4; 12:12 and afterward they will go out with many possessions.#Ex 3:22 15But you will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.#Gn 25:8; 47:30 16In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”#15:16 Lit Amorites is not yet complete#Lv 18:24–28; Dn 8:23; Mt 23:32; 1Th 2:16
17When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided animals. 18On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring,#Gn 12:7; 13:15; 17:8; 24:7; 26:4; Nm 34:2; Dt 34:4; Jos 21:43; Neh 9:8; Ac 7:5 from the Brook of Egypt#Ex 23:31; Nm 34:1–15; Dt 1:7–8; 2Kg 24:7 to the great river, the Euphrates River: 19the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20Hethites, Perizzites, Rephaim, 21Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Genesis 15
15
Yahweh’s Covenant with Abram
1After these things the word of Yahweh came#Literally “was” to Abram in a vision, saying: “Do not be afraid, Abram; I am your shield, and your reward shall be very great.” 2Then#Or “And” Abram said, “O Yahweh, my Lord, what will you give me? I continue to be#Literally “I am going” childless, and my heir#Literally “the son of the inheritance of my house” is Eliezer of Damascus.” 3And Abram said, “Look, you have not given me a descendant, and here, a member of my household#Literally “a son of my house” is my heir.”#Literally “inheriting me” 4And behold, the word of Yahweh came to him saying, “This person will not be your heir,#Literally “inherit you” but your own son will be your heir.”#Literally “he who goes out from your body, he will inherit you” 5And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward the heavens and count the stars if you are able to count them.” And he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6And he believed in Yahweh, and he reckoned it to him as righteousness. 7And he said to him, “I am Yahweh, who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give this land to you, to possess it.” 8And he said, “O Yahweh God, how shall I know that I will possess it?” 9And he said to him, “Take for me a three-year-old heifer, and a three-year-old female goat, and a three-year-old ram, and a turtledove and a young pigeon.” 10And he took for him all these and cut them in pieces down the middle. And he put each piece opposite the other,#Literally “its companion” but the birds he did not cut. 11And the birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12And it happened that, as the sun went down,#Literally “to go” then a deep sleep fell upon Abram and, behold, a great terrifying darkness fell upon him. 13And he said to Abram, “You must surely know#Literally “knowing you must know” that your descendants shall be as aliens in a land not their own.#Literally “not to them” And they shall serve them#Some nation hostile to Abram’s descendants (Egypt in later history) and they#Some nation hostile to Abram’s descendants (Egypt in later history) shall oppress them four hundred years. 14And also that the nation which they#That is, Abram’s descendants serve I will judge. Then#Or “And” afterward they shall go out with great possessions. 15And as for you, you shall go to your ancestors#Or “fathers” in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16And the fourth generation shall return here, for the guilt of the Amorites is not yet complete.”#Literally “is not complete up to now” 17And after the sun had gone down and it was dusk, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between those half pieces. 18On that day Yahweh made#Literally “cut” a covenant with Abram saying, “To your offspring I will give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates river, 19the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
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