The Lord answers Abram’s fear and uncertainty by promising seed and land, crediting Abram’s faith as righteousness, and binding Himself by covenant oath to accomplish what Abram cannot secure.
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Genesis 15
The Lord Assures Abram, Credits Him with Righteousness, and Ratifies the Covenant by Oath
The Lord answers Abram’s fear and uncertainty by promising seed and land, crediting Abram’s faith as righteousness, and binding Himself by covenant oath to accomplish what Abram cannot secure.
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Chapter Summary
The Lord answers Abram’s fear and uncertainty by promising seed and land, crediting Abram’s faith as righteousness, and binding Himself by covenant oath to accomplish what Abram cannot secure.
Overview
Genesis 15 teaches that covenant assurance rests on the self-committing word and oath of God rather than on human strength, clarity, or immediate fulfillment. Abram begins the chapter as a man who has promise but still lacks visible resolution. He has victory, but no son. He has a promise of land, but no possession. The Lord therefore addresses both his fear and his questions.
First, God identifies Himself as Abram’s shield and reward, shifting Abram’s focus from external gain to divine sufficiency. Then God promises a biological heir and expands the seed promise through the star imagery. Abram responds with faith, and this believing response is counted as righteousness, revealing that right standing before God is tied to trusting His word.
The land question then leads to covenant ratification. The ritual of the divided animals evokes a formal oath structure in which covenant breakers would invoke judgment upon themselves. Yet Abram does not walk between the pieces. God alone, symbolized by the smoking fire pot and flaming torch, passes through them. This signifies that the fulfillment of the covenant promise rests decisively upon God’s own sworn faithfulness.
The delay of fulfillment, the future oppression of Abram’s descendants, and the measured judgment on the Amorites all show that God’s purposes unfold in moral and historical precision. Thus Genesis 15 argues that faith receives righteousness, covenant rests on divine commitment, inheritance may be delayed without being denied, and history itself unfolds under God’s holy timing.
Genesis 15 stands as one of the most decisive covenant chapters in all of Scripture. After Abram’s victory in Genesis 14 and his refusal of Sodom’s wealth, this chapter turns inward to Abram’s fear, unanswered questions, and need for assurance. The promises first announced in Genesis 12 and renewed in Genesis 13 now receive formal covenantal clarification and ratification.
Within the Abraham cycle, Genesis 15 is foundational because it addresses two major covenant tensions: Abram still has no son, and he does not yet possess the land. The chapter answers both tensions by divine revelation, promise, and covenant-making action. In the wider canon, Genesis 15 becomes a cornerstone for biblical theology, covenant theology, and the doctrine of justification by faith.
It reveals that the covenant rests ultimately on God’s sworn commitment rather than Abram’s power to secure the future. It also places Abram’s story within a larger historical horizon, including affliction, delay, judgment, and eventual inheritance.
Structural Flow
The word of the Lord comes to Abram in a vision, telling him not to fear, declaring that the Lord is Abram’s shield and exceedingly great reward.
Abram responds honestly, raising the problem of his childlessness and the prospect that his household servant will be his heir.
The Lord rejects Abram’s assumption, promises that a son from his own body will be his heir, and brings him outside to count the stars as an image of his future offspring.
Abram believes the Lord, and it is counted to him as righteousness.
The Lord identifies Himself as the one who brought Abram out of Ur to give him the land, and Abram asks how he may know that he will possess it.
The Lord commands Abram to prepare covenant animals, which Abram arranges, while birds of prey descend and Abram drives them away.
As a deep sleep falls on Abram, the Lord reveals that Abram’s offspring will be sojourners in a foreign land, oppressed for four hundred years, but afterward delivered with great possessions; the Amorites are not yet ripe for judgment.
A smoking fire pot and flaming torch pass between the divided pieces, and the Lord ratifies the covenant, promising Abram’s seed the land from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates and naming the peoples presently occupying it.
Chapter Outline
- 15:1: The word of the Lord comes to Abram in a vision, telling him not to fear, declaring that the Lord is Abram’s shield and exceedingly great reward.
- 15:2-3: Abram responds honestly, raising the problem of his childlessness and the prospect that his household servant will be his heir.
- 15:4-5: The Lord rejects Abram’s assumption, promises that a son from his own body will be his heir, and brings him outside to count the stars as an image of his future offspring.
- 15:6: Abram believes the Lord, and it is counted to him as righteousness.
- 15:7-8: The Lord identifies Himself as the one who brought Abram out of Ur to give him the land, and Abram asks how he may know that he will possess it.
- 15:9-11: The Lord commands Abram to prepare covenant animals, which Abram arranges, while birds of prey descend and Abram drives them away.
- 15:12-16: As a deep sleep falls on Abram, the Lord reveals that Abram’s offspring will be sojourners in a foreign land, oppressed for four hundred years, but afterward delivered with great possessions · the Amorites are not yet ripe for judgment.
- 15:17-21: A smoking fire pot and flaming torch pass between the divided pieces, and the Lord ratifies the covenant, promising Abram’s seed the land from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates and naming the peoples presently occupying it.
Key Hebrew Terms
Sense shield
Definition shield
Why it matters The Lord identifies Himself as Abram’s shield, grounding covenant assurance not in circumstances but in God’s own protective presence.
Sense reward, wages
Definition reward, wages
Why it matters God Himself is Abram’s exceedingly great reward, shifting the focus from material gain to divine sufficiency.
Pastoral Entry
Pastoral Definition
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זֶרַע is one of the most structurally important words in the entire Hebrew Bible. At its simplest it means seed — the agricultural stuff that is planted and produces a harvest. But from the beginning of Genesis, the word carries a weight that transcends horticulture. When God promises in Genesis 3:15 that the woman's זֶרַע will crush the serpent's head, he is setting in motion a narrative thread that will run through every book of the Bible until it reaches its resolution in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the first gospel promise, and it is spoken in terms of seed.
The covenant trajectory of זֶרַע is the backbone of biblical theology. God promises Abraham that through his זֶרַע all the nations of the earth will be blessed (Gen 22:18). He makes the same covenant with Isaac and Jacob. He narrows the promise through Judah and then David: the covenant seed will come from David's line, and his throne will endure forever (2 Sam 7:12). Isaiah 53 reaches an extraordinary moment when the servant of Yahweh — who has died as a guilt offering — 'sees his offspring' (zeraʿ) and prolongs his days. Death and seed in the same verse: the seed that falls into the ground and dies still brings forth fruit.
Paul's argument in Galatians 3 is the canonical resolution: the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring, and the Greek singular — not 'seeds, as of many, but as of one, to your offspring, which is Christ' (Gal 3:16). The entire trajectory of the זֶרַע converges on Jesus. Every Abrahamic covenant, every Davidic promise, every seed image in the prophets finds its 'yes' in him (2 Cor 1:20). For the preacher, זֶרַע is the word that places every passage about offspring, descendants, and promise inside the one story that culminates in Christ.
Sense seed, offspring
Definition seed, offspring
Why it matters The chapter intensifies the seed promise by insisting that Abram will have an heir from his own body and descendants as numerous as the stars.
Pastoral Entry
Pastoral Definition
Open full pastoral entry
The root of אָמַן carries the idea of firmness, stability, and reliability. Something that is אָמַן is solid, dependable, established, and can be trusted to hold. From this root come some of the most theologically important words in the Hebrew Bible: אֱמוּנָה (emunah, faithfulness), אֶמֶת (emet, truth/reliability), and the liturgical word אָמֵן, which affirms that what has been said is firm and true. The word is a family, and the family's meaning is governed by this core: what is אָמַן can be counted on to stand.
The hiphil stem (הֶאֱמִין) is the theologically central form. It means to treat something or someone as firm and reliable, to trust, to believe. This is the form used in Genesis 15:6: Abraham believed (הֶאֱמִין) the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness. The word does not primarily name an emotion or a feeling. It names a cognitive and volitional act: treating God and His promise as firm, reliable, and worth building a life upon. Abraham was fully persuaded (Romans 4:21 uses a Greek word meaning this), and the persuasion was not self-generated confidence but a trusting response to what God had said.
The related noun אֱמוּנָה (H530, faithfulness) in Habakkuk 2:4, the righteous shall live by his faithfulness/faith, is quoted three times in the New Testament as the OT ground for NT faith-theology: Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38. The word family at the center of the NT's teaching on faith is rooted in this Hebrew verb.
The derived word אָמֵן (Amen) is one of the most globally known Hebrew words. When congregations say Amen, they are not merely offering a verbal period to a sentence. They are speaking from this root: this is firm, true, reliable, I affirm it as standing. The congregational Amen is an act of אָמַן, a declaration that what has been proclaimed can be counted on.
For preaching, this root teaches that biblical faith is not a feeling of confidence that the believer generates and then offers to God. It is the response of treating God's person and word as what they actually are: firm, reliable, and capable of bearing the whole weight of a life. The quality of the faith is secondary. The object of the faith is what matters.
Sense believe, trust
Definition believe, trust
Why it matters Abram’s believing response is the central faith-act of the chapter and becomes foundational for later biblical teaching on justification.
Sense count, reckon, credit
Definition count, reckon, credit
Why it matters The reckoning language reveals that righteousness is credited to Abram on the basis of faith in God’s word.
Pastoral Entry
Pastoral Definition
Open full pastoral entry
צְדָקָה (ṣĕdāqāh) is one of the most theologically loaded nouns in the Hebrew Bible and one of the most frequently misunderstood by readers trained only in Western legal categories. The root tsādaq (H6663) means to be right, to be in the right, to be in conformity with a standard — but the standard is relational and covenantal, not merely legal and abstract.
Righteousness in the OT is fundamentally about right relationship: a person, action, or legal ruling is ṣaddîq (righteous) when it is in right standing in relation to the covenant, the community, or the character of God. The semantic range of ṣĕdāqāh is broad and sometimes surprising to Western readers. It can describe: (1) legal/judicial rightness — the judge who decides correctly is ṣaddîq; (2) moral integrity — the righteous person lives according to the covenant standard; (3) divine saving acts — 'the righteous acts of the Lord' (ṣidqôt YHWH, Judg 5:11; 1 Sam 12:7) are God's saving interventions in history; and (4) almsgiving/generosity — giving to the poor is ṣĕdāqāh (Ps 112:9; Dan 4:27), because generous provision for the needy is the covenant-relational behavior of a righteous member of the community.
The prophetic literature concentrates on ṣĕdāqāh as the social dimension of covenant: right relationship in the community requires justice for the poor, the widow, the foreigner, and the orphan. Isaiah, Amos, and Micah use ṣĕdāqāh and its companion term mišpāṭ (justice, right judgment) as the twin tests of covenant faithfulness. The absence of ṣĕdāqāh in the community is ipso facto evidence of broken relationship with the ṣaddîq God.
Sense righteousness
Definition righteousness
Why it matters Righteousness in this verse becomes a central theological category later used to explain justification by faith.
Pastoral Entry
Pastoral Definition
Open full pastoral entry
YARASH, H3423, often speaks of taking possession, inheriting, or dispossessing. It is a land word, but it is never merely real estate language. In the Torah and Former Prophets, Israel receives land because the Lord gives it, and possession often includes the removal of peoples under divine judgment. That makes the word weighty and easy to mishandle. It must be read under covenant promise, holy judgment, and obedience, not as a blank authorization for human conquest.
The Psalms and Prophets widen the inheritance theme toward the righteous dwelling securely and God's people possessing what he promises. The word teaches gift, responsibility, judgment, and hope together.
Sense possess, inherit
Definition possess, inherit
Why it matters The possession of the land is a major covenant concern in the chapter and is tied directly to God’s sworn promise.
Pastoral Entry
Pastoral Definition
Open full pastoral entry
בְּרִית (berit) is the Hebrew Bible's primary word for covenant — the formal relational bond that establishes binding obligations between parties. The local Hebrew index currently counts about 284 occurrences, spanning human covenants (treaties, alliances) and the central theological reality of God's binding commitment to His people. The word's etymology is debated, but its usage is consistent: a berit is a sworn, binding relationship that reshapes the entire future of those who enter it.
The covenant structure of the OT is the spine of the entire biblical narrative. God's covenants with Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and the promise of a new covenant (Jeremiah 31) are not independent events but a single, developing story of God's commitment to restore creation through a particular people. Each covenant adds to and builds on what preceded it: the Noahic covenant is cosmic (with all creation); the Abrahamic is particular (with one family for the sake of all); the Sinaitic is constitutive (the covenant community's life and worship); the Davidic is royal (the king through whom the covenant's promises will be mediated); the new covenant is consummating (the inner transformation that all the others pointed toward).
Genesis 15 is the most dramatic covenant-making scene in Scripture: God passes through the divided animals as a smoking firepot and flaming torch, taking on Himself the covenant curse if the covenant is broken. In the ancient Near East, both parties to a treaty would pass through divided animals, invoking the curse on the breaker. God alone passes through — making the covenant unilaterally His own responsibility. This is the theological heart of biblical covenant: God binds Himself to His promises in a way that goes beyond mere promise to the assumption of the covenant's consequences.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 prophesies the new covenant that addresses the old covenant's failure: 'I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts... they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest... for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.' The new covenant resolves what the Sinai covenant exposed: that external law-giving cannot produce internal covenant loyalty. The new covenant writes what the old could only command.
For the preacher, בְּרִית is the word that names the non-negotiable relational commitment at the center of the biblical story — God's binding of Himself to His people, which reaches its fullest expression in the blood of Christ, 'the blood of the new covenant' (Mat 26:28).
Sense covenant
Definition covenant
Why it matters The chapter culminates in covenant-ratification, showing that God binds Himself formally to the promise made to Abram.
Sense deep sleep
Definition deep sleep
Why it matters Abram’s deep sleep underscores his passive role in the covenant-ratification scene and heightens the emphasis on God’s unilateral action.
Individual words תֵּאָפֶה בַּתַּנּוּר tēʾāp̄eh battannûr · תִּימֲרוֹת עָשָׁן tîmarōṯ ʿāšān · תַּנּוּר עָשָׁן וְלַפִּיד אֵשׁ tannur ashan ve-lappid esh · אֵשׁ דָּת esh dath
Sense smoking fire pot and flaming torch
Definition smoking fire pot and flaming torch
Why it matters These symbols represent the divine presence passing between the pieces, indicating that God alone takes the covenant oath upon Himself.
Pastoral Entry
Pastoral Definition
Open full pastoral entry
נָתַן is one of the most common verbs in the Hebrew Bible, and its very ordinariness is part of its theological weight. At its center it means to give — to pass something from one hand to another, one person to another, one realm to another. But BDB's note that it is used with the greatest latitude of application is not a caveat to its meaning; it is an invitation to see how deeply a theology of giving runs through Israel's life with God.
The range is genuinely vast. נָתַן can mean to give, place, put, set, deliver, appoint, cause, hand over, allow, produce, assign, render, or make. A father gives his daughter in marriage. A king appoints an official. God gives rain to the land. A man delivers his enemy into another's hands. The word does not carry a single nuance but a governing posture: something is transferred, entrusted, released, or assigned. Agency moves. What was held is now extended toward another.
When the subject is God, נָתַן becomes one of the most expansive verbs of divine generosity in Scripture. God gives the land to Abraham's seed. He gives rest to Israel. He gives his law at Sinai. He gives kings, gives rain, gives commands, gives children to the barren, gives deliverance to the hunted, gives an everlasting covenant. The repetition is not incidental — it is the texture of covenant life. Israel exists because God gave: gave rescue, gave inheritance, gave name, gave presence, gave future.
But נָתַן also moves in darker directions. Israel is given over to enemies when she breaks the covenant. Cities are given into judgment. A person can give themselves over to folly or to faithfulness. The same verb that describes divine generosity can describe divine discipline, human betrayal, and the handing over of the innocent. Preachers need both registers. The word opens the full range of what it means to live inside a covenant with a God who acts, transfers, appoints, and — when mercy runs out — hands over.
Pastorally, נָתַן keeps pointing toward a God who is not hoarding. He gives and gives and gives again — land, law, life, covenant, and eventually, in the fullness of time, his Son. The verb's sheer frequency is itself a theological witness: Israel's entire story is held together by the one who keeps giving.
Sense give
Definition give
Why it matters The land is repeatedly described as something God gives, reinforcing that inheritance is received by divine grant rather than seized autonomously.
Cross-language bridge 1 link · View in lexicon
Lexicon data: MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML (CC0) · Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (CC BY 4.0) · Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon (CC BY 4.0) · STEPBible Data (CC BY 4.0) · Full details
Hebrew Verb Morphology
| v.1 | H1961הָיָהQal · Perfect · IndicativeH3372יָרֵאQal · Imperfect · JussiveH7235רָבָהHiphil · Infinitive absolute |
| v.10 | H1334Qal · Perfect · Indicative |
| v.12 | H5307נָפַלQal · Perfect · IndicativeH5307נָפַלQal · Participle |
| v.13 | H3045יָדַעQal · Infinitive absoluteH3045יָדַעQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH1961הָיָהQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.14 | H5647עָבַדQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH1777דִּיןQal · ParticipleH3318יָצָאQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.15 | H935בּוֹאQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH6912קָבַרNiphal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.16 | H7725שׁוּבQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.17 | H935בּוֹאQal · Perfect · IndicativeH1961הָיָהQal · Perfect · IndicativeH5674עָבַרQal · Perfect · Indicative |
| v.18 | H3772כָּרַתQal · Perfect · IndicativeH5414נָתַןQal · Perfect · Indicative |
| v.2 | H5414נָתַןQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH1980הָלַךְQal · Participle |
| v.3 | H5414נָתַןQal · Perfect · IndicativeH3423יָרַשׁQal · Participle |
| v.4 | H3318יָצָאQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.5 | H5027נָבַטHiphil · Imperative · ImperativeH3201יָכֹלQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH1961הָיָהQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.8 | H3045יָדַעQal · Imperfect · Indicative/cohortative |
| v.9 | H8027שָׁלַשׁPual · Participle passiveH8027שָׁלַשׁPual · Participle passiveH8027שָׁלַשׁPual · Participle passive |
Aspect in Hebrew is grammatical form, not tense. Perfect = completed action; Imperfect = incomplete/ongoing. Stem modifies action type (Qal=simple, Niphal=passive, Piel=intensive).
Morphology: OSHB WLC (Open Scriptures, CC BY 4.0) · STEPBible TEHMC (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0)
Theological Focus
- Covenant Ratification
- Faith
- Righteousness
- Divine Assurance
- Seed Promise
- Land Promise
- Providence
- Divine Oath
- Justification by Faith
- Covenant Theology
- Theology Proper
- Biblical Theology
- Christology Preparation
- Soteriology Preparation
Theme Weights
Promise
10
Covenant
10
Providence
10
Seed Line
10
Land
10
Blessing
8
Judgment
5
Family Dynamics
5
Fall
3
Creation
2
Covenant Significance
Genesis 15 is one of the great covenant-ratification chapters of the Bible. It formalizes the Abrahamic promise structure through divine oath and establishes that the certainty of the covenant rests on God Himself. The chapter binds together the promise of offspring, the promise of land, and the future history of Abram’s descendants. It also makes clear that the covenant will move through delay, suffering, judgment, and eventual inheritance.
The unilateral nature of the covenant ceremony is especially significant, because God alone passes between the pieces, highlighting that the covenant’s final certainty depends on His faithfulness. This chapter is therefore indispensable for understanding the Abrahamic covenant and its place in the unfolding redemptive story.
Canonical Connections
Genesis 15 is one of the great covenant-ratification chapters of the Bible. It formalizes the Abrahamic promise structure through divine oath and establishes that the certainty of the covenant rests on God Himself. The chapter binds together the promise of offspring, the promise of land, and the future history of Abram’s descendants. It also makes clear that the covenant will move through delay, suffering, judgment, and eventual inheritance.
The unilateral nature of the covenant ceremony is especially significant, because God alone passes between the pieces, highlighting that the covenant’s final certainty depends on His faithfulness. This chapter is therefore indispensable for understanding the Abrahamic covenant and its place in the unfolding redemptive story.
Genesis 12:1-7
Exodus 2:23-25
Deuteronomy 1:8
Psalm 105:8-11
Jeremiah 34:18-19
Genesis 14:17-24
Genesis 17:1-21
Exodus 1:1-14
Romans 4:16-25
Cross References
Canon-Wide Connections
Cross-reference data: OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Gospel Clarity
Genesis 15 is one of the great gospel-preparing chapters of the Old Testament. Abram has no visible heir and no present possession of the land, yet God speaks promise, and Abram believes. That faith is counted to him as righteousness. Later Scripture makes clear that this is foundational for understanding the gospel, because sinners are justified by faith, not by works.
The covenant ceremony also points forward to the truth that God Himself secures the promise. In the fullness of Scripture, Christ is the true seed of Abraham, and all who believe in Him are counted righteous and made heirs of the promise by grace.
Primary Emphasis
Genesis 15 contributes profoundly to Christology in at least two ways. First, the seed promise continues to narrow toward the line that will ultimately culminate in Christ. Second, Abram’s faith being counted as righteousness becomes a foundational text later used to explain justification through faith in the gospel. The covenant ceremony also anticipates the truth that God Himself will bear the covenantal burden necessary to secure the promise.
In the fuller canonical frame, Christ is the true seed of Abraham, the one in whom the promise reaches fulfillment, and the one through whom righteousness is counted to those who believe.
Chapter Contribution
Genesis 15 teaches that covenant assurance rests on the self-committing word and oath of God rather than on human strength, clarity, or immediate fulfillment. Abram begins the chapter as a man who has promise but still lacks visible resolution. He has victory, but no son. He has a promise of land, but no possession. The Lord therefore addresses both his fear and his questions.
First, God identifies Himself as Abram’s shield and reward, shifting Abram’s focus from external gain to divine sufficiency. Then God promises a biological heir and expands the seed promise through the star imagery. Abram responds with faith, and this believing response is counted as righteousness, revealing that right standing before God is tied to trusting His word.
The land question then leads to covenant ratification. The ritual of the divided animals evokes a formal oath structure in which covenant breakers would invoke judgment upon themselves. Yet Abram does not walk between the pieces. God alone, symbolized by the smoking fire pot and flaming torch, passes through them. This signifies that the fulfillment of the covenant promise rests decisively upon God’s own sworn faithfulness.
The delay of fulfillment, the future oppression of Abram’s descendants, and the measured judgment on the Amorites all show that God’s purposes unfold in moral and historical precision. Thus Genesis 15 argues that faith receives righteousness, covenant rests on divine commitment, inheritance may be delayed without being denied, and history itself unfolds under God’s holy timing.
Doctrines in This Chapter
God establishes binding promises with His people based on His faithfulness.
God’s promise of offspring is central to His redemptive plan.
God guarantees the fulfillment of His promises regardless of human ability.
God reveals Himself and His promises through His word.
God Himself is the ultimate reward and protection for His people.
Faith involves trusting God’s word despite contrary circumstances.
The covenant is grounded in God’s initiative, not human merit.
Righteousness is credited through faith in God’s promise, not through works.
God reveals future events as part of His unfolding plan.
God controls history, including suffering and deliverance.
Reading Lenses
5 Imperatives
- Do not fear
- Look toward heaven and count the stars
- Bring the covenant animals
- Wait under divine revelation for assurance and fulfillment
Warnings and Misreadings
- Genesis 15 warns against interpreting delay as divine failure, because God may postpone fulfillment for generations while still moving with perfect faithfulness, justice, and timing.
- Treating Abram’s questions as unbelief pure and simple, rather than recognizing that the chapter portrays honest covenant wrestling that God answers with assurance.
- Reading Abram’s counted righteousness as if it were based on merit rather than on believing the Lord.
- Missing the significance of God alone passing between the covenant pieces and thus weakening the chapter’s emphasis on divine commitment.
- Reducing the land promise to a vague spiritual metaphor and ignoring the chapter’s explicit geographical boundaries.
- Ignoring the historical prophecy concerning affliction in a foreign land and thus missing the chapter’s link to the Exodus.
- Flattening the covenant ritual into symbolism without appreciating its oath-bound seriousness and self-maledictory background.
Discipleship Questions
- Where are you tempted to measure God’s faithfulness by what you do not yet see?
- How does Abram’s honest questioning help you bring your own fears and uncertainties before the Lord?
- Do you truly rest in God Himself as shield and reward, or do you still seek security in visible gains?
- What does it mean for you personally that righteousness is counted through believing God’s word?
- How does the unilateral covenant ceremony deepen your confidence that God will accomplish what He has promised?
Pastoral Applications
- Preach Genesis 15 to show that God is not threatened by the honest fears of His people, but meets them with promise and assurance.
- Use Abram’s faith being counted as righteousness to teach clearly that right standing with God comes through faith, not self-achieved merit.
- Help believers understand that covenant life often includes delay, unanswered questions, and long horizons that extend beyond one generation.
- Show that God’s people may be called to trust promises that unfold through suffering, exile, and affliction before visible fulfillment comes.
- Use the covenant ceremony to magnify the faithfulness of God, who binds Himself to His promises and bears the certainty of their outcome.
- Encourage saints who feel exposed or uncertain by reminding them that the Lord Himself is their shield and reward.
- Connect the chapter to Christ and the gospel so that believers see the deeper fulfillment of counted righteousness and covenant certainty in Him.
Pastoral Trajectories
Genesis 15 is one of the great gospel-preparing chapters of the Old Testament. Abram has no visible heir and no present possession of the land, yet God speaks promise, and Abram believes. That faith is counted to him as righteousness. Later Scripture makes clear that this is foundational for understanding the gospel, because sinners are justified by faith, not by works.
The covenant ceremony also points forward to the truth that God Himself secures the promise. In the fullness of Scripture, Christ is the true seed of Abraham, and all who believe in Him are counted righteous and made heirs of the promise by grace.
Genesis 15 is one of the great gospel-preparing chapters of the Old Testament. Abram has no visible heir and no present possession of the land, yet God speaks promise, and Abram believes. That faith is counted to him as righteousness. Later Scripture makes clear that this is foundational for understanding the gospel, because sinners are justified by faith, not by works.
The covenant ceremony also points forward to the truth that God Himself secures the promise. In the fullness of Scripture, Christ is the true seed of Abraham, and all who believe in Him are counted righteous and made heirs of the promise by grace.
Genesis 15 is one of the great gospel-preparing chapters of the Old Testament. Abram has no visible heir and no present possession of the land, yet God speaks promise, and Abram believes. That faith is counted to him as righteousness. Later Scripture makes clear that this is foundational for understanding the gospel, because sinners are justified by faith, not by works.
The covenant ceremony also points forward to the truth that God Himself secures the promise. In the fullness of Scripture, Christ is the true seed of Abraham, and all who believe in Him are counted righteous and made heirs of the promise by grace.
Genesis 15 is one of the great gospel-preparing chapters of the Old Testament. Abram has no visible heir and no present possession of the land, yet God speaks promise, and Abram believes. That faith is counted to him as righteousness. Later Scripture makes clear that this is foundational for understanding the gospel, because sinners are justified by faith, not by works.
The covenant ceremony also points forward to the truth that God Himself secures the promise. In the fullness of Scripture, Christ is the true seed of Abraham, and all who believe in Him are counted righteous and made heirs of the promise by grace.
Genesis 15 is one of the great gospel-preparing chapters of the Old Testament. Abram has no visible heir and no present possession of the land, yet God speaks promise, and Abram believes. That faith is counted to him as righteousness. Later Scripture makes clear that this is foundational for understanding the gospel, because sinners are justified by faith, not by works.
The covenant ceremony also points forward to the truth that God Himself secures the promise. In the fullness of Scripture, Christ is the true seed of Abraham, and all who believe in Him are counted righteous and made heirs of the promise by grace.
Imperatives
5
Very high
Imperative Themes
- Do not fear
- Look toward heaven and count the stars
- Bring the covenant animals
- Wait under divine revelation for assurance and fulfillment
Commentary (Keil & Delitzsch)
C.F. Keil & F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–91) — public domain
The Biblical World
Chapter At A Glance
Genesis 15 is one of the great covenant-ratification chapters of the Bible. It formalizes the Abrahamic promise structure through divine oath and establishes that the certainty of the covenant rests on God Himself. The chapter binds together the promise of offspring, the promise of land, and the future history of Abram’s descendants. It also makes clear that the covenant will move through delay, suffering, judgment, and eventual inheritance.
The unilateral nature of the covenant ceremony is especially significant, because God alone passes between the pieces, highlighting that the covenant’s final certainty depends on His faithfulness. This chapter is therefore indispensable for understanding the Abrahamic covenant and its place in the unfolding redemptive story.
Genesis 15 is one of the great gospel-preparing chapters of the Old Testament. Abram has no visible heir and no present possession of the land, yet God speaks promise, and Abram believes. That faith is counted to him as righteousness. Later Scripture makes clear that this is foundational for understanding the gospel, because sinners are justified by faith, not by works.
The covenant ceremony also points forward to the truth that God Himself secures the promise. In the fullness of Scripture, Christ is the true seed of Abraham, and all who believe in Him are counted righteous and made heirs of the promise by grace.
Focus Points
- Covenant Ratification
- Faith
- Righteousness
- Divine Assurance
- Seed Promise
- Land Promise
- Providence
- Divine Oath
- Justification by Faith
- Covenant Theology
- Theology Proper
- Biblical Theology
- Christology Preparation
- Soteriology Preparation
Cross References
Then the Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be...
Old Testament foundation
After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God. So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God saw the Israelites and took notice.
Old Testament foundation
See, I have placed the land before you. Enter and possess the land that the Lord swore He would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants after them.”
Old Testament foundation
He remembers His covenant forever, the word He ordained for a thousand generations— the covenant He made with Abraham, and the oath He swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
Old Testament foundation
And those who have transgressed My covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before Me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two in order to pass between its pieces. The officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the pieces of the calf,
Old Testament foundation
To show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath He swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
Gospel resolution
What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has discovered? If Abraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Gospel resolution
So also, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Understand, then, that those who have faith are sons of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
Gospel resolution
When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and multiply your descendants.” And so Abraham, after waiting patiently, obtained the promise.
Gospel resolution
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with...
Gospel resolution
After Abram returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine—since he was priest of God Most High— and he blessed Abram and said: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and...
Thematic parallel
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.” Then Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,
Thematic parallel
These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;
Thematic parallel
Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may rest on grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the presence of God, in whom he believed,...
Thematic parallel
Passages
Chapter opening: Genesis 15:1-6
Gen 15:1-6 The words of Jehovah run thus: “ Fear not, Abram: I am a shield to thee, thy reward very much . ” הרבּה an inf. absol. , generally used adverbially, but here as an adjective, equivalent to “ thy very great reward . ” The divine promise to be a shield to him, that is to say, a protection against all enemies, and a reward, i. e. , richly to reward his confidence, his ready obedience, stands here, as the opening words “after these things” indicate, in close connection with the previous guidance of Abram.
Whilst the protection of his wife in Egypt was a practical pledge of the possibility of his having a posterity, and the separation of Lot, followed by the conquest of the kings of the East, was also a pledge of the possibility of his one day possessing the promised land, there was as yet no prospect whatever of the promise being realized, that he should become a great nation, and possess an innumerable posterity. In these circumstances, anxiety about the future might naturally arise in his mind.
To meet this, the word of the Lord came to him with the comforting assurance, “Fear not, I am thy shield. ” But when the Lord added, “and thy very great reward,” Abram could only reply, as he thought of his childless condition: “ Lord Jehovah, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go childless? ” Of what avail are all my possessions, wealth, and power, since I have no child, and the heir of my house is Eliezer the Damascene?
משׁק, synonymous with ממשׁק (Zep 2:9), possession, or the seizure of possession, is chosen on account of its assonance with דּמּשׂק. בּן־משׁק, son of the seizing of possession = seizer of possession, or heir. Eliezer of Damascus (lit. , Damascus viz. , Eliezer): Eliezer is an explanatory apposition to Damascus, in the sense of the Damascene Eliezer; though דּמּשׂק, on account of its position before אליעזר, cannot be taken grammatically as equivalent to דּמּשׂקי.
To give still more distinct utterance to his grief, Abram adds (Gen 15:3): “ Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed; and lo, an inmate of my house (בּן־בּיתי in distinction from יליד־בּית, home-born, Gen 14:14) will be my heir . ” The word of the Lord then came to him: “ Not he, but one who shall come forth from thy body, he will be thine heir . ” God then took him into the open air, told him to look up to heaven, and promised him a posterity as numerous as the innumerable host of stars (cf.
Gen 22:17; Gen 24:4; Exo 32:13, etc.) Whether Abram at this time was “in the body or out of the body,” is a matter of no moment. The reality of the occurrence is the same in either case. This is evident from the remark made by Moses (the historian) as to the conduct of Abram in relation to the promise of God: “ And he believed in Jehovah, and He counted it to him for righteousness .
” In the strictly objective character of the account in Genesis, in accordance with which the simple facts are related throughout without any introduction of subjective opinions, this remark appears so striking, that the question naturally arises, What led Moses to introduce it? In what way did Abram make known his faith in Jehovah ? And in what way did Jehovah count it to him as righteousness?
The reply to both questions must not be sought in the New Testament, but must be given or indicated in the context. What reply did Abram make on receiving the promise, or what did he do in consequence? When God, to confirm the promise, declared Himself to be Jehovah , who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees to give him that land as a possession, Abram replied, “Lord, whereby shall I know that I shall possess it?
” God then directed him to “fetch a heifer of three years old,” etc. ; and Abram fetched the animals required, and arranged them (as we may certainly suppose, thought it is not expressly stated) as God had commanded him. By this readiness to perform what God commanded him, Abram gave a practical proof that he believed Jehovah ; and what God did with the animals so arranged was a practical declaration on the part of Jehovah , that He reckoned this faith to Abram as righteousness.
The significance of the divine act is, finally, summed up in Gen 15:18, in the words, “ On that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram . ” Consequently Jehovah reckoned Abram’s faith to him as righteousness, by making a covenant with him, by taking Abram into covenant fellowship with Himself. האמין, from אמן to continue and the preserve, to be firm and to confirm, in Hiphil to trust, believe (πιστεύσιν), expresses “that state of mind which is sure of its object, and relies firmly upon it;” and as denoting conduct towards God, as “a firm, inward, personal, self-surrendering reliance upon a personal being, especially upon the source of all being,” it is construed sometimes with ל (e.
g. , Deu 9:23), but more frequently with בּ (Num 14:11; Num 20:12; Deu 1:32), “to believe the Lord,” and “to believe on the Lord,” to trust in Him, - πιστεύειν ἐπὶ τὸν Θεόν, as the apostle has more correctly rendered the ἐπίστευσεν τῷ Θεῷ of the lxx (vid. , Rom 4:5). Faith therefore is not merely assensus , but fiducia also, unconditional trust in the Lord and His word, even where the natural course of events furnishes no ground for hope or expectation.
This faith Abram manifested, as the apostle has shown in Rom 4; ; and this faith God reckoned to him as righteousness by the actual conclusion of a covenant with him. צדקה, righteousness, as a human characteristic, is correspondence to the will of God both in character and conduct, or a state answering to the divine purpose of a man’s being. This was the state in which man was first created in the image of God; but it was lost by sin, through which he placed himself in opposition to the will of God and to his own divinely appointed destiny, and could only be restored by God.
When the human race had universally corrupted its way, Noah alone was found righteous before God (Gen 7:1), because he was blameless and walked with God (Gen 6:9). This righteousness Abram acquired through his unconditional trust in the Lord, his undoubting faith in His promise, and his ready obedience to His word. This state of mind, which is expressed in the words בּיהוה האמין, was reckoned to him as righteousness, so that God treated him as a righteous man, and formed such a relationship with him, that he was placed in living fellowship with God.
The foundation of this relationship was laid in the manner described in Gen 15:7-11.
Gen 15:1-6 The words of Jehovah run thus: “ Fear not, Abram: I am a shield to thee, thy reward very much . ” הרבּה an inf. absol. , generally used adverbially, but here as an adjective, equivalent to “ thy very great reward . ” The divine promise to be a shield to him, that is to say, a protection against all enemies, and a reward, i. e. , richly to reward his confidence, his ready obedience, stands here, as the opening words “after these things” indicate, in close connection with the previous guidance of Abram.
Whilst the protection of his wife in Egypt was a practical pledge of the possibility of his having a posterity, and the separation of Lot, followed by the conquest of the kings of the East, was also a pledge of the possibility of his one day possessing the promised land, there was as yet no prospect whatever of the promise being realized, that he should become a great nation, and possess an innumerable posterity. In these circumstances, anxiety about the future might naturally arise in his mind.
To meet this, the word of the Lord came to him with the comforting assurance, “Fear not, I am thy shield. ” But when the Lord added, “and thy very great reward,” Abram could only reply, as he thought of his childless condition: “ Lord Jehovah, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go childless? ” Of what avail are all my possessions, wealth, and power, since I have no child, and the heir of my house is Eliezer the Damascene?
משׁק, synonymous with ממשׁק (Zep 2:9), possession, or the seizure of possession, is chosen on account of its assonance with דּמּשׂק. בּן־משׁק, son of the seizing of possession = seizer of possession, or heir. Eliezer of Damascus (lit. , Damascus viz. , Eliezer): Eliezer is an explanatory apposition to Damascus, in the sense of the Damascene Eliezer; though דּמּשׂק, on account of its position before אליעזר, cannot be taken grammatically as equivalent to דּמּשׂקי.
To give still more distinct utterance to his grief, Abram adds (Gen 15:3): “ Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed; and lo, an inmate of my house (בּן־בּיתי in distinction from יליד־בּית, home-born, Gen 14:14) will be my heir . ” The word of the Lord then came to him: “ Not he, but one who shall come forth from thy body, he will be thine heir . ” God then took him into the open air, told him to look up to heaven, and promised him a posterity as numerous as the innumerable host of stars (cf.
Gen 22:17; Gen 24:4; Exo 32:13, etc.) Whether Abram at this time was “in the body or out of the body,” is a matter of no moment. The reality of the occurrence is the same in either case. This is evident from the remark made by Moses (the historian) as to the conduct of Abram in relation to the promise of God: “ And he believed in Jehovah, and He counted it to him for righteousness .
” In the strictly objective character of the account in Genesis, in accordance with which the simple facts are related throughout without any introduction of subjective opinions, this remark appears so striking, that the question naturally arises, What led Moses to introduce it? In what way did Abram make known his faith in Jehovah ? And in what way did Jehovah count it to him as righteousness?
The reply to both questions must not be sought in the New Testament, but must be given or indicated in the context. What reply did Abram make on receiving the promise, or what did he do in consequence? When God, to confirm the promise, declared Himself to be Jehovah , who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees to give him that land as a possession, Abram replied, “Lord, whereby shall I know that I shall possess it?
” God then directed him to “fetch a heifer of three years old,” etc. ; and Abram fetched the animals required, and arranged them (as we may certainly suppose, thought it is not expressly stated) as God had commanded him. By this readiness to perform what God commanded him, Abram gave a practical proof that he believed Jehovah ; and what God did with the animals so arranged was a practical declaration on the part of Jehovah , that He reckoned this faith to Abram as righteousness.
The significance of the divine act is, finally, summed up in Gen 15:18, in the words, “ On that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram . ” Consequently Jehovah reckoned Abram’s faith to him as righteousness, by making a covenant with him, by taking Abram into covenant fellowship with Himself. האמין, from אמן to continue and the preserve, to be firm and to confirm, in Hiphil to trust, believe (πιστεύσιν), expresses “that state of mind which is sure of its object, and relies firmly upon it;” and as denoting conduct towards God, as “a firm, inward, personal, self-surrendering reliance upon a personal being, especially upon the source of all being,” it is construed sometimes with ל (e.
g. , Deu 9:23), but more frequently with בּ (Num 14:11; Num 20:12; Deu 1:32), “to believe the Lord,” and “to believe on the Lord,” to trust in Him, - πιστεύειν ἐπὶ τὸν Θεόν, as the apostle has more correctly rendered the ἐπίστευσεν τῷ Θεῷ of the lxx (vid. , Rom 4:5). Faith therefore is not merely assensus , but fiducia also, unconditional trust in the Lord and His word, even where the natural course of events furnishes no ground for hope or expectation.
This faith Abram manifested, as the apostle has shown in Rom 4; ; and this faith God reckoned to him as righteousness by the actual conclusion of a covenant with him. צדקה, righteousness, as a human characteristic, is correspondence to the will of God both in character and conduct, or a state answering to the divine purpose of a man’s being. This was the state in which man was first created in the image of God; but it was lost by sin, through which he placed himself in opposition to the will of God and to his own divinely appointed destiny, and could only be restored by God.
When the human race had universally corrupted its way, Noah alone was found righteous before God (Gen 7:1), because he was blameless and walked with God (Gen 6:9). This righteousness Abram acquired through his unconditional trust in the Lord, his undoubting faith in His promise, and his ready obedience to His word. This state of mind, which is expressed in the words בּיהוה האמין, was reckoned to him as righteousness, so that God treated him as a righteous man, and formed such a relationship with him, that he was placed in living fellowship with God.
The foundation of this relationship was laid in the manner described in Gen 15:7-11.
Gen 15:1-6 The words of Jehovah run thus: “ Fear not, Abram: I am a shield to thee, thy reward very much . ” הרבּה an inf. absol. , generally used adverbially, but here as an adjective, equivalent to “ thy very great reward . ” The divine promise to be a shield to him, that is to say, a protection against all enemies, and a reward, i. e. , richly to reward his confidence, his ready obedience, stands here, as the opening words “after these things” indicate, in close connection with the previous guidance of Abram.
Whilst the protection of his wife in Egypt was a practical pledge of the possibility of his having a posterity, and the separation of Lot, followed by the conquest of the kings of the East, was also a pledge of the possibility of his one day possessing the promised land, there was as yet no prospect whatever of the promise being realized, that he should become a great nation, and possess an innumerable posterity. In these circumstances, anxiety about the future might naturally arise in his mind.
To meet this, the word of the Lord came to him with the comforting assurance, “Fear not, I am thy shield. ” But when the Lord added, “and thy very great reward,” Abram could only reply, as he thought of his childless condition: “ Lord Jehovah, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go childless? ” Of what avail are all my possessions, wealth, and power, since I have no child, and the heir of my house is Eliezer the Damascene?
משׁק, synonymous with ממשׁק (Zep 2:9), possession, or the seizure of possession, is chosen on account of its assonance with דּמּשׂק. בּן־משׁק, son of the seizing of possession = seizer of possession, or heir. Eliezer of Damascus (lit. , Damascus viz. , Eliezer): Eliezer is an explanatory apposition to Damascus, in the sense of the Damascene Eliezer; though דּמּשׂק, on account of its position before אליעזר, cannot be taken grammatically as equivalent to דּמּשׂקי.
To give still more distinct utterance to his grief, Abram adds (Gen 15:3): “ Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed; and lo, an inmate of my house (בּן־בּיתי in distinction from יליד־בּית, home-born, Gen 14:14) will be my heir . ” The word of the Lord then came to him: “ Not he, but one who shall come forth from thy body, he will be thine heir . ” God then took him into the open air, told him to look up to heaven, and promised him a posterity as numerous as the innumerable host of stars (cf.
Gen 22:17; Gen 24:4; Exo 32:13, etc.) Whether Abram at this time was “in the body or out of the body,” is a matter of no moment. The reality of the occurrence is the same in either case. This is evident from the remark made by Moses (the historian) as to the conduct of Abram in relation to the promise of God: “ And he believed in Jehovah, and He counted it to him for righteousness .
” In the strictly objective character of the account in Genesis, in accordance with which the simple facts are related throughout without any introduction of subjective opinions, this remark appears so striking, that the question naturally arises, What led Moses to introduce it? In what way did Abram make known his faith in Jehovah ? And in what way did Jehovah count it to him as righteousness?
The reply to both questions must not be sought in the New Testament, but must be given or indicated in the context. What reply did Abram make on receiving the promise, or what did he do in consequence? When God, to confirm the promise, declared Himself to be Jehovah , who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees to give him that land as a possession, Abram replied, “Lord, whereby shall I know that I shall possess it?
” God then directed him to “fetch a heifer of three years old,” etc. ; and Abram fetched the animals required, and arranged them (as we may certainly suppose, thought it is not expressly stated) as God had commanded him. By this readiness to perform what God commanded him, Abram gave a practical proof that he believed Jehovah ; and what God did with the animals so arranged was a practical declaration on the part of Jehovah , that He reckoned this faith to Abram as righteousness.
The significance of the divine act is, finally, summed up in Gen 15:18, in the words, “ On that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram . ” Consequently Jehovah reckoned Abram’s faith to him as righteousness, by making a covenant with him, by taking Abram into covenant fellowship with Himself. האמין, from אמן to continue and the preserve, to be firm and to confirm, in Hiphil to trust, believe (πιστεύσιν), expresses “that state of mind which is sure of its object, and relies firmly upon it;” and as denoting conduct towards God, as “a firm, inward, personal, self-surrendering reliance upon a personal being, especially upon the source of all being,” it is construed sometimes with ל (e.
g. , Deu 9:23), but more frequently with בּ (Num 14:11; Num 20:12; Deu 1:32), “to believe the Lord,” and “to believe on the Lord,” to trust in Him, - πιστεύειν ἐπὶ τὸν Θεόν, as the apostle has more correctly rendered the ἐπίστευσεν τῷ Θεῷ of the lxx (vid. , Rom 4:5). Faith therefore is not merely assensus , but fiducia also, unconditional trust in the Lord and His word, even where the natural course of events furnishes no ground for hope or expectation.
This faith Abram manifested, as the apostle has shown in Rom 4; ; and this faith God reckoned to him as righteousness by the actual conclusion of a covenant with him. צדקה, righteousness, as a human characteristic, is correspondence to the will of God both in character and conduct, or a state answering to the divine purpose of a man’s being. This was the state in which man was first created in the image of God; but it was lost by sin, through which he placed himself in opposition to the will of God and to his own divinely appointed destiny, and could only be restored by God.
When the human race had universally corrupted its way, Noah alone was found righteous before God (Gen 7:1), because he was blameless and walked with God (Gen 6:9). This righteousness Abram acquired through his unconditional trust in the Lord, his undoubting faith in His promise, and his ready obedience to His word. This state of mind, which is expressed in the words בּיהוה האמין, was reckoned to him as righteousness, so that God treated him as a righteous man, and formed such a relationship with him, that he was placed in living fellowship with God.
The foundation of this relationship was laid in the manner described in Gen 15:7-11.
Gen 15:1-6 The words of Jehovah run thus: “ Fear not, Abram: I am a shield to thee, thy reward very much . ” הרבּה an inf. absol. , generally used adverbially, but here as an adjective, equivalent to “ thy very great reward . ” The divine promise to be a shield to him, that is to say, a protection against all enemies, and a reward, i. e. , richly to reward his confidence, his ready obedience, stands here, as the opening words “after these things” indicate, in close connection with the previous guidance of Abram.
Whilst the protection of his wife in Egypt was a practical pledge of the possibility of his having a posterity, and the separation of Lot, followed by the conquest of the kings of the East, was also a pledge of the possibility of his one day possessing the promised land, there was as yet no prospect whatever of the promise being realized, that he should become a great nation, and possess an innumerable posterity. In these circumstances, anxiety about the future might naturally arise in his mind.
To meet this, the word of the Lord came to him with the comforting assurance, “Fear not, I am thy shield. ” But when the Lord added, “and thy very great reward,” Abram could only reply, as he thought of his childless condition: “ Lord Jehovah, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go childless? ” Of what avail are all my possessions, wealth, and power, since I have no child, and the heir of my house is Eliezer the Damascene?
משׁק, synonymous with ממשׁק (Zep 2:9), possession, or the seizure of possession, is chosen on account of its assonance with דּמּשׂק. בּן־משׁק, son of the seizing of possession = seizer of possession, or heir. Eliezer of Damascus (lit. , Damascus viz. , Eliezer): Eliezer is an explanatory apposition to Damascus, in the sense of the Damascene Eliezer; though דּמּשׂק, on account of its position before אליעזר, cannot be taken grammatically as equivalent to דּמּשׂקי.
To give still more distinct utterance to his grief, Abram adds (Gen 15:3): “ Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed; and lo, an inmate of my house (בּן־בּיתי in distinction from יליד־בּית, home-born, Gen 14:14) will be my heir . ” The word of the Lord then came to him: “ Not he, but one who shall come forth from thy body, he will be thine heir . ” God then took him into the open air, told him to look up to heaven, and promised him a posterity as numerous as the innumerable host of stars (cf.
Gen 22:17; Gen 24:4; Exo 32:13, etc.) Whether Abram at this time was “in the body or out of the body,” is a matter of no moment. The reality of the occurrence is the same in either case. This is evident from the remark made by Moses (the historian) as to the conduct of Abram in relation to the promise of God: “ And he believed in Jehovah, and He counted it to him for righteousness .
” In the strictly objective character of the account in Genesis, in accordance with which the simple facts are related throughout without any introduction of subjective opinions, this remark appears so striking, that the question naturally arises, What led Moses to introduce it? In what way did Abram make known his faith in Jehovah ? And in what way did Jehovah count it to him as righteousness?
The reply to both questions must not be sought in the New Testament, but must be given or indicated in the context. What reply did Abram make on receiving the promise, or what did he do in consequence? When God, to confirm the promise, declared Himself to be Jehovah , who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees to give him that land as a possession, Abram replied, “Lord, whereby shall I know that I shall possess it?
” God then directed him to “fetch a heifer of three years old,” etc. ; and Abram fetched the animals required, and arranged them (as we may certainly suppose, thought it is not expressly stated) as God had commanded him. By this readiness to perform what God commanded him, Abram gave a practical proof that he believed Jehovah ; and what God did with the animals so arranged was a practical declaration on the part of Jehovah , that He reckoned this faith to Abram as righteousness.
The significance of the divine act is, finally, summed up in Gen 15:18, in the words, “ On that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram . ” Consequently Jehovah reckoned Abram’s faith to him as righteousness, by making a covenant with him, by taking Abram into covenant fellowship with Himself. האמין, from אמן to continue and the preserve, to be firm and to confirm, in Hiphil to trust, believe (πιστεύσιν), expresses “that state of mind which is sure of its object, and relies firmly upon it;” and as denoting conduct towards God, as “a firm, inward, personal, self-surrendering reliance upon a personal being, especially upon the source of all being,” it is construed sometimes with ל (e.
g. , Deu 9:23), but more frequently with בּ (Num 14:11; Num 20:12; Deu 1:32), “to believe the Lord,” and “to believe on the Lord,” to trust in Him, - πιστεύειν ἐπὶ τὸν Θεόν, as the apostle has more correctly rendered the ἐπίστευσεν τῷ Θεῷ of the lxx (vid. , Rom 4:5). Faith therefore is not merely assensus , but fiducia also, unconditional trust in the Lord and His word, even where the natural course of events furnishes no ground for hope or expectation.
This faith Abram manifested, as the apostle has shown in Rom 4; ; and this faith God reckoned to him as righteousness by the actual conclusion of a covenant with him. צדקה, righteousness, as a human characteristic, is correspondence to the will of God both in character and conduct, or a state answering to the divine purpose of a man’s being. This was the state in which man was first created in the image of God; but it was lost by sin, through which he placed himself in opposition to the will of God and to his own divinely appointed destiny, and could only be restored by God.
When the human race had universally corrupted its way, Noah alone was found righteous before God (Gen 7:1), because he was blameless and walked with God (Gen 6:9). This righteousness Abram acquired through his unconditional trust in the Lord, his undoubting faith in His promise, and his ready obedience to His word. This state of mind, which is expressed in the words בּיהוה האמין, was reckoned to him as righteousness, so that God treated him as a righteous man, and formed such a relationship with him, that he was placed in living fellowship with God.
The foundation of this relationship was laid in the manner described in Gen 15:7-11.
Gen 15:1-6 The words of Jehovah run thus: “ Fear not, Abram: I am a shield to thee, thy reward very much . ” הרבּה an inf. absol. , generally used adverbially, but here as an adjective, equivalent to “ thy very great reward . ” The divine promise to be a shield to him, that is to say, a protection against all enemies, and a reward, i. e. , richly to reward his confidence, his ready obedience, stands here, as the opening words “after these things” indicate, in close connection with the previous guidance of Abram.
Whilst the protection of his wife in Egypt was a practical pledge of the possibility of his having a posterity, and the separation of Lot, followed by the conquest of the kings of the East, was also a pledge of the possibility of his one day possessing the promised land, there was as yet no prospect whatever of the promise being realized, that he should become a great nation, and possess an innumerable posterity. In these circumstances, anxiety about the future might naturally arise in his mind.
To meet this, the word of the Lord came to him with the comforting assurance, “Fear not, I am thy shield. ” But when the Lord added, “and thy very great reward,” Abram could only reply, as he thought of his childless condition: “ Lord Jehovah, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go childless? ” Of what avail are all my possessions, wealth, and power, since I have no child, and the heir of my house is Eliezer the Damascene?
משׁק, synonymous with ממשׁק (Zep 2:9), possession, or the seizure of possession, is chosen on account of its assonance with דּמּשׂק. בּן־משׁק, son of the seizing of possession = seizer of possession, or heir. Eliezer of Damascus (lit. , Damascus viz. , Eliezer): Eliezer is an explanatory apposition to Damascus, in the sense of the Damascene Eliezer; though דּמּשׂק, on account of its position before אליעזר, cannot be taken grammatically as equivalent to דּמּשׂקי.
To give still more distinct utterance to his grief, Abram adds (Gen 15:3): “ Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed; and lo, an inmate of my house (בּן־בּיתי in distinction from יליד־בּית, home-born, Gen 14:14) will be my heir . ” The word of the Lord then came to him: “ Not he, but one who shall come forth from thy body, he will be thine heir . ” God then took him into the open air, told him to look up to heaven, and promised him a posterity as numerous as the innumerable host of stars (cf.
Gen 22:17; Gen 24:4; Exo 32:13, etc.) Whether Abram at this time was “in the body or out of the body,” is a matter of no moment. The reality of the occurrence is the same in either case. This is evident from the remark made by Moses (the historian) as to the conduct of Abram in relation to the promise of God: “ And he believed in Jehovah, and He counted it to him for righteousness .
” In the strictly objective character of the account in Genesis, in accordance with which the simple facts are related throughout without any introduction of subjective opinions, this remark appears so striking, that the question naturally arises, What led Moses to introduce it? In what way did Abram make known his faith in Jehovah ? And in what way did Jehovah count it to him as righteousness?
The reply to both questions must not be sought in the New Testament, but must be given or indicated in the context. What reply did Abram make on receiving the promise, or what did he do in consequence? When God, to confirm the promise, declared Himself to be Jehovah , who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees to give him that land as a possession, Abram replied, “Lord, whereby shall I know that I shall possess it?
” God then directed him to “fetch a heifer of three years old,” etc. ; and Abram fetched the animals required, and arranged them (as we may certainly suppose, thought it is not expressly stated) as God had commanded him. By this readiness to perform what God commanded him, Abram gave a practical proof that he believed Jehovah ; and what God did with the animals so arranged was a practical declaration on the part of Jehovah , that He reckoned this faith to Abram as righteousness.
The significance of the divine act is, finally, summed up in Gen 15:18, in the words, “ On that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram . ” Consequently Jehovah reckoned Abram’s faith to him as righteousness, by making a covenant with him, by taking Abram into covenant fellowship with Himself. האמין, from אמן to continue and the preserve, to be firm and to confirm, in Hiphil to trust, believe (πιστεύσιν), expresses “that state of mind which is sure of its object, and relies firmly upon it;” and as denoting conduct towards God, as “a firm, inward, personal, self-surrendering reliance upon a personal being, especially upon the source of all being,” it is construed sometimes with ל (e.
g. , Deu 9:23), but more frequently with בּ (Num 14:11; Num 20:12; Deu 1:32), “to believe the Lord,” and “to believe on the Lord,” to trust in Him, - πιστεύειν ἐπὶ τὸν Θεόν, as the apostle has more correctly rendered the ἐπίστευσεν τῷ Θεῷ of the lxx (vid. , Rom 4:5). Faith therefore is not merely assensus , but fiducia also, unconditional trust in the Lord and His word, even where the natural course of events furnishes no ground for hope or expectation.
This faith Abram manifested, as the apostle has shown in Rom 4; ; and this faith God reckoned to him as righteousness by the actual conclusion of a covenant with him. צדקה, righteousness, as a human characteristic, is correspondence to the will of God both in character and conduct, or a state answering to the divine purpose of a man’s being. This was the state in which man was first created in the image of God; but it was lost by sin, through which he placed himself in opposition to the will of God and to his own divinely appointed destiny, and could only be restored by God.
When the human race had universally corrupted its way, Noah alone was found righteous before God (Gen 7:1), because he was blameless and walked with God (Gen 6:9). This righteousness Abram acquired through his unconditional trust in the Lord, his undoubting faith in His promise, and his ready obedience to His word. This state of mind, which is expressed in the words בּיהוה האמין, was reckoned to him as righteousness, so that God treated him as a righteous man, and formed such a relationship with him, that he was placed in living fellowship with God.
The foundation of this relationship was laid in the manner described in Gen 15:7-11.
Gen 15:1-6 The words of Jehovah run thus: “ Fear not, Abram: I am a shield to thee, thy reward very much . ” הרבּה an inf. absol. , generally used adverbially, but here as an adjective, equivalent to “ thy very great reward . ” The divine promise to be a shield to him, that is to say, a protection against all enemies, and a reward, i. e. , richly to reward his confidence, his ready obedience, stands here, as the opening words “after these things” indicate, in close connection with the previous guidance of Abram.
Whilst the protection of his wife in Egypt was a practical pledge of the possibility of his having a posterity, and the separation of Lot, followed by the conquest of the kings of the East, was also a pledge of the possibility of his one day possessing the promised land, there was as yet no prospect whatever of the promise being realized, that he should become a great nation, and possess an innumerable posterity. In these circumstances, anxiety about the future might naturally arise in his mind.
To meet this, the word of the Lord came to him with the comforting assurance, “Fear not, I am thy shield. ” But when the Lord added, “and thy very great reward,” Abram could only reply, as he thought of his childless condition: “ Lord Jehovah, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go childless? ” Of what avail are all my possessions, wealth, and power, since I have no child, and the heir of my house is Eliezer the Damascene?
משׁק, synonymous with ממשׁק (Zep 2:9), possession, or the seizure of possession, is chosen on account of its assonance with דּמּשׂק. בּן־משׁק, son of the seizing of possession = seizer of possession, or heir. Eliezer of Damascus (lit. , Damascus viz. , Eliezer): Eliezer is an explanatory apposition to Damascus, in the sense of the Damascene Eliezer; though דּמּשׂק, on account of its position before אליעזר, cannot be taken grammatically as equivalent to דּמּשׂקי.
To give still more distinct utterance to his grief, Abram adds (Gen 15:3): “ Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed; and lo, an inmate of my house (בּן־בּיתי in distinction from יליד־בּית, home-born, Gen 14:14) will be my heir . ” The word of the Lord then came to him: “ Not he, but one who shall come forth from thy body, he will be thine heir . ” God then took him into the open air, told him to look up to heaven, and promised him a posterity as numerous as the innumerable host of stars (cf.
Gen 22:17; Gen 24:4; Exo 32:13, etc.) Whether Abram at this time was “in the body or out of the body,” is a matter of no moment. The reality of the occurrence is the same in either case. This is evident from the remark made by Moses (the historian) as to the conduct of Abram in relation to the promise of God: “ And he believed in Jehovah, and He counted it to him for righteousness .
” In the strictly objective character of the account in Genesis, in accordance with which the simple facts are related throughout without any introduction of subjective opinions, this remark appears so striking, that the question naturally arises, What led Moses to introduce it? In what way did Abram make known his faith in Jehovah ? And in what way did Jehovah count it to him as righteousness?
The reply to both questions must not be sought in the New Testament, but must be given or indicated in the context. What reply did Abram make on receiving the promise, or what did he do in consequence? When God, to confirm the promise, declared Himself to be Jehovah , who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees to give him that land as a possession, Abram replied, “Lord, whereby shall I know that I shall possess it?
” God then directed him to “fetch a heifer of three years old,” etc. ; and Abram fetched the animals required, and arranged them (as we may certainly suppose, thought it is not expressly stated) as God had commanded him. By this readiness to perform what God commanded him, Abram gave a practical proof that he believed Jehovah ; and what God did with the animals so arranged was a practical declaration on the part of Jehovah , that He reckoned this faith to Abram as righteousness.
The significance of the divine act is, finally, summed up in Gen 15:18, in the words, “ On that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram . ” Consequently Jehovah reckoned Abram’s faith to him as righteousness, by making a covenant with him, by taking Abram into covenant fellowship with Himself. האמין, from אמן to continue and the preserve, to be firm and to confirm, in Hiphil to trust, believe (πιστεύσιν), expresses “that state of mind which is sure of its object, and relies firmly upon it;” and as denoting conduct towards God, as “a firm, inward, personal, self-surrendering reliance upon a personal being, especially upon the source of all being,” it is construed sometimes with ל (e.
g. , Deu 9:23), but more frequently with בּ (Num 14:11; Num 20:12; Deu 1:32), “to believe the Lord,” and “to believe on the Lord,” to trust in Him, - πιστεύειν ἐπὶ τὸν Θεόν, as the apostle has more correctly rendered the ἐπίστευσεν τῷ Θεῷ of the lxx (vid. , Rom 4:5). Faith therefore is not merely assensus , but fiducia also, unconditional trust in the Lord and His word, even where the natural course of events furnishes no ground for hope or expectation.
This faith Abram manifested, as the apostle has shown in Rom 4; ; and this faith God reckoned to him as righteousness by the actual conclusion of a covenant with him. צדקה, righteousness, as a human characteristic, is correspondence to the will of God both in character and conduct, or a state answering to the divine purpose of a man’s being. This was the state in which man was first created in the image of God; but it was lost by sin, through which he placed himself in opposition to the will of God and to his own divinely appointed destiny, and could only be restored by God.
When the human race had universally corrupted its way, Noah alone was found righteous before God (Gen 7:1), because he was blameless and walked with God (Gen 6:9). This righteousness Abram acquired through his unconditional trust in the Lord, his undoubting faith in His promise, and his ready obedience to His word. This state of mind, which is expressed in the words בּיהוה האמין, was reckoned to him as righteousness, so that God treated him as a righteous man, and formed such a relationship with him, that he was placed in living fellowship with God.
The foundation of this relationship was laid in the manner described in Gen 15:7-11.
Gen 15:7-10 Abram’s question, “ Whereby shall I know that I shall take possession of it (the land)? ” was not an expression of doubt, but of desire for the confirmation or sealing of a promise, which transcended human thought and conception. To gratify this desire, God commanded him to make preparation for the conclusion of a covenant. “ Take Me, He said, a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon; ” one of every species of the animals suitable for sacrifice.
Abram took these, and “ divided them in the midst, ” i. e. , in half, “ and placed one half of each opposite to the other (בּתרו אישׁ, every one its half, cf. Gen 42:25; Num 16:17); only the birds divided he not, ” just as in sacrifice the doves were not divided into pieces, but placed upon the fire whole (Lev 1:17). The animals chosen, as well as the fact that the doves were left whole, corresponded exactly to the ritual of sacrifice.
Yet the transaction itself was not a real sacrifice, since there was neither sprinkling of blood nor offering upon an altar ( oblatio ), and no mention is made of the pieces being burned. The proceeding corresponded rather to the custom, prevalent in many ancient nations, of slaughtering animals when concluding a covenant, and after dividing them into pieces, of laying the pieces opposite to one another, that the persons making the covenant might pass between them.
Thus Ephraem Syrus (1, 161) observes, that God condescended to follow the custom of the Chaldeans, that He might in the most solemn manner confirm His oath to Abram the Chaldean. The wide extension of this custom is evident from the expression used to denote the conclusion of a covenant, בּרית כּרת to hew, or cut a covenant, Aram . קרם גּרז, Greek ὅρκια τέμνειν, faedus ferire , i.
e. , ferienda hostia facere faedus ; cf. Bochart ( Hieroz . 1, 332); whilst it is evident from Jer 34:18, that this was still customary among the Israelites of later times. The choice of sacrificial animals for a transaction which was not strictly a sacrifice, was founded upon the symbolical significance of the sacrificial animals, i. e. , upon the fact that they represented and took the place of those who offered them.
In the case before us, they were meant to typify the promised seed of Abram. This would not hold good, indeed, if the cutting of the animals had been merely intended to signify, that any who broke the covenant would be treated like the animals that were there cut in pieces. But there is no sure ground in Jer 34:18. for thus interpreting the ancient custom. The meaning which the prophet there assigns to the symbolical usage, may be simply a different application of it, which does not preclude an earlier and different intention in the symbol.
The division of the animals probably denoted originally the two parties to the covenant, and the passing of the latter through the pieces laid opposite to one another, their formation into one: a signification to which the other might easily have been attached as a further consequence and explanation. And if in such a case the sacrificial animals represented the parties to the covenant, so also even in the present instance the sacrificial animals were fitted for that purpose, since, although originally representing only the owner or offerer of the sacrifice, by their consecration as sacrifices they were also brought into connection with Jehovah .
But in the case before us the animals represented Abram and his seed, not in the fact of their being slaughtered, as significant of the slaying of that seed, but only in what happened to and in connection with the slaughtered animals: birds of prey attempted to eat them, and when extreme darkness came on, the glory of God passed through them. As all the seed of Abram was concerned, one of every kind of animal suitable for sacrifice was taken, ut ex toto populo et singulis partibus sacrificium unum fieret ( Calvin ).
The age of the animals, three years old, was supposed by Theodoret to refer to the three generations of Israel which were to remain in Egypt, or the three centuries of captivity in a foreign land; and this is rendered very probable by the fact, that in Jdg 6:25 the bullock of seven years old undoubtedly refers to the seven years of Midianitish oppression. On the other hand, we cannot find in the six halves of the three animals and the undivided birds, either 7 things or the sacred number 7, for two undivided birds cannot represent one whole, but two; nor can we attribute to the eight pieces any symbolical meaning, for these numbers necessarily followed from the choice of one specimen of every kind of animal that was fit for sacrifice, and from the division of the larger animals into two.
Gen 15:7-10 Abram’s question, “ Whereby shall I know that I shall take possession of it (the land)? ” was not an expression of doubt, but of desire for the confirmation or sealing of a promise, which transcended human thought and conception. To gratify this desire, God commanded him to make preparation for the conclusion of a covenant. “ Take Me, He said, a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon; ” one of every species of the animals suitable for sacrifice.
Abram took these, and “ divided them in the midst, ” i. e. , in half, “ and placed one half of each opposite to the other (בּתרו אישׁ, every one its half, cf. Gen 42:25; Num 16:17); only the birds divided he not, ” just as in sacrifice the doves were not divided into pieces, but placed upon the fire whole (Lev 1:17). The animals chosen, as well as the fact that the doves were left whole, corresponded exactly to the ritual of sacrifice.
Yet the transaction itself was not a real sacrifice, since there was neither sprinkling of blood nor offering upon an altar ( oblatio ), and no mention is made of the pieces being burned. The proceeding corresponded rather to the custom, prevalent in many ancient nations, of slaughtering animals when concluding a covenant, and after dividing them into pieces, of laying the pieces opposite to one another, that the persons making the covenant might pass between them.
Thus Ephraem Syrus (1, 161) observes, that God condescended to follow the custom of the Chaldeans, that He might in the most solemn manner confirm His oath to Abram the Chaldean. The wide extension of this custom is evident from the expression used to denote the conclusion of a covenant, בּרית כּרת to hew, or cut a covenant, Aram . קרם גּרז, Greek ὅρκια τέμνειν, faedus ferire , i.
e. , ferienda hostia facere faedus ; cf. Bochart ( Hieroz . 1, 332); whilst it is evident from Jer 34:18, that this was still customary among the Israelites of later times. The choice of sacrificial animals for a transaction which was not strictly a sacrifice, was founded upon the symbolical significance of the sacrificial animals, i. e. , upon the fact that they represented and took the place of those who offered them.
In the case before us, they were meant to typify the promised seed of Abram. This would not hold good, indeed, if the cutting of the animals had been merely intended to signify, that any who broke the covenant would be treated like the animals that were there cut in pieces. But there is no sure ground in Jer 34:18. for thus interpreting the ancient custom. The meaning which the prophet there assigns to the symbolical usage, may be simply a different application of it, which does not preclude an earlier and different intention in the symbol.
The division of the animals probably denoted originally the two parties to the covenant, and the passing of the latter through the pieces laid opposite to one another, their formation into one: a signification to which the other might easily have been attached as a further consequence and explanation. And if in such a case the sacrificial animals represented the parties to the covenant, so also even in the present instance the sacrificial animals were fitted for that purpose, since, although originally representing only the owner or offerer of the sacrifice, by their consecration as sacrifices they were also brought into connection with Jehovah .
But in the case before us the animals represented Abram and his seed, not in the fact of their being slaughtered, as significant of the slaying of that seed, but only in what happened to and in connection with the slaughtered animals: birds of prey attempted to eat them, and when extreme darkness came on, the glory of God passed through them. As all the seed of Abram was concerned, one of every kind of animal suitable for sacrifice was taken, ut ex toto populo et singulis partibus sacrificium unum fieret ( Calvin ).
The age of the animals, three years old, was supposed by Theodoret to refer to the three generations of Israel which were to remain in Egypt, or the three centuries of captivity in a foreign land; and this is rendered very probable by the fact, that in Jdg 6:25 the bullock of seven years old undoubtedly refers to the seven years of Midianitish oppression. On the other hand, we cannot find in the six halves of the three animals and the undivided birds, either 7 things or the sacred number 7, for two undivided birds cannot represent one whole, but two; nor can we attribute to the eight pieces any symbolical meaning, for these numbers necessarily followed from the choice of one specimen of every kind of animal that was fit for sacrifice, and from the division of the larger animals into two.
Gen 15:7-10 Abram’s question, “ Whereby shall I know that I shall take possession of it (the land)? ” was not an expression of doubt, but of desire for the confirmation or sealing of a promise, which transcended human thought and conception. To gratify this desire, God commanded him to make preparation for the conclusion of a covenant. “ Take Me, He said, a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon; ” one of every species of the animals suitable for sacrifice.
Abram took these, and “ divided them in the midst, ” i. e. , in half, “ and placed one half of each opposite to the other (בּתרו אישׁ, every one its half, cf. Gen 42:25; Num 16:17); only the birds divided he not, ” just as in sacrifice the doves were not divided into pieces, but placed upon the fire whole (Lev 1:17). The animals chosen, as well as the fact that the doves were left whole, corresponded exactly to the ritual of sacrifice.
Yet the transaction itself was not a real sacrifice, since there was neither sprinkling of blood nor offering upon an altar ( oblatio ), and no mention is made of the pieces being burned. The proceeding corresponded rather to the custom, prevalent in many ancient nations, of slaughtering animals when concluding a covenant, and after dividing them into pieces, of laying the pieces opposite to one another, that the persons making the covenant might pass between them.
Thus Ephraem Syrus (1, 161) observes, that God condescended to follow the custom of the Chaldeans, that He might in the most solemn manner confirm His oath to Abram the Chaldean. The wide extension of this custom is evident from the expression used to denote the conclusion of a covenant, בּרית כּרת to hew, or cut a covenant, Aram . קרם גּרז, Greek ὅρκια τέμνειν, faedus ferire , i.
e. , ferienda hostia facere faedus ; cf. Bochart ( Hieroz . 1, 332); whilst it is evident from Jer 34:18, that this was still customary among the Israelites of later times. The choice of sacrificial animals for a transaction which was not strictly a sacrifice, was founded upon the symbolical significance of the sacrificial animals, i. e. , upon the fact that they represented and took the place of those who offered them.
In the case before us, they were meant to typify the promised seed of Abram. This would not hold good, indeed, if the cutting of the animals had been merely intended to signify, that any who broke the covenant would be treated like the animals that were there cut in pieces. But there is no sure ground in Jer 34:18. for thus interpreting the ancient custom. The meaning which the prophet there assigns to the symbolical usage, may be simply a different application of it, which does not preclude an earlier and different intention in the symbol.
The division of the animals probably denoted originally the two parties to the covenant, and the passing of the latter through the pieces laid opposite to one another, their formation into one: a signification to which the other might easily have been attached as a further consequence and explanation. And if in such a case the sacrificial animals represented the parties to the covenant, so also even in the present instance the sacrificial animals were fitted for that purpose, since, although originally representing only the owner or offerer of the sacrifice, by their consecration as sacrifices they were also brought into connection with Jehovah .
But in the case before us the animals represented Abram and his seed, not in the fact of their being slaughtered, as significant of the slaying of that seed, but only in what happened to and in connection with the slaughtered animals: birds of prey attempted to eat them, and when extreme darkness came on, the glory of God passed through them. As all the seed of Abram was concerned, one of every kind of animal suitable for sacrifice was taken, ut ex toto populo et singulis partibus sacrificium unum fieret ( Calvin ).
The age of the animals, three years old, was supposed by Theodoret to refer to the three generations of Israel which were to remain in Egypt, or the three centuries of captivity in a foreign land; and this is rendered very probable by the fact, that in Jdg 6:25 the bullock of seven years old undoubtedly refers to the seven years of Midianitish oppression. On the other hand, we cannot find in the six halves of the three animals and the undivided birds, either 7 things or the sacred number 7, for two undivided birds cannot represent one whole, but two; nor can we attribute to the eight pieces any symbolical meaning, for these numbers necessarily followed from the choice of one specimen of every kind of animal that was fit for sacrifice, and from the division of the larger animals into two.
Gen 15:7-10 Abram’s question, “ Whereby shall I know that I shall take possession of it (the land)? ” was not an expression of doubt, but of desire for the confirmation or sealing of a promise, which transcended human thought and conception. To gratify this desire, God commanded him to make preparation for the conclusion of a covenant. “ Take Me, He said, a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon; ” one of every species of the animals suitable for sacrifice.
Abram took these, and “ divided them in the midst, ” i. e. , in half, “ and placed one half of each opposite to the other (בּתרו אישׁ, every one its half, cf. Gen 42:25; Num 16:17); only the birds divided he not, ” just as in sacrifice the doves were not divided into pieces, but placed upon the fire whole (Lev 1:17). The animals chosen, as well as the fact that the doves were left whole, corresponded exactly to the ritual of sacrifice.
Yet the transaction itself was not a real sacrifice, since there was neither sprinkling of blood nor offering upon an altar ( oblatio ), and no mention is made of the pieces being burned. The proceeding corresponded rather to the custom, prevalent in many ancient nations, of slaughtering animals when concluding a covenant, and after dividing them into pieces, of laying the pieces opposite to one another, that the persons making the covenant might pass between them.
Thus Ephraem Syrus (1, 161) observes, that God condescended to follow the custom of the Chaldeans, that He might in the most solemn manner confirm His oath to Abram the Chaldean. The wide extension of this custom is evident from the expression used to denote the conclusion of a covenant, בּרית כּרת to hew, or cut a covenant, Aram . קרם גּרז, Greek ὅρκια τέμνειν, faedus ferire , i.
e. , ferienda hostia facere faedus ; cf. Bochart ( Hieroz . 1, 332); whilst it is evident from Jer 34:18, that this was still customary among the Israelites of later times. The choice of sacrificial animals for a transaction which was not strictly a sacrifice, was founded upon the symbolical significance of the sacrificial animals, i. e. , upon the fact that they represented and took the place of those who offered them.
In the case before us, they were meant to typify the promised seed of Abram. This would not hold good, indeed, if the cutting of the animals had been merely intended to signify, that any who broke the covenant would be treated like the animals that were there cut in pieces. But there is no sure ground in Jer 34:18. for thus interpreting the ancient custom. The meaning which the prophet there assigns to the symbolical usage, may be simply a different application of it, which does not preclude an earlier and different intention in the symbol.
The division of the animals probably denoted originally the two parties to the covenant, and the passing of the latter through the pieces laid opposite to one another, their formation into one: a signification to which the other might easily have been attached as a further consequence and explanation. And if in such a case the sacrificial animals represented the parties to the covenant, so also even in the present instance the sacrificial animals were fitted for that purpose, since, although originally representing only the owner or offerer of the sacrifice, by their consecration as sacrifices they were also brought into connection with Jehovah .
But in the case before us the animals represented Abram and his seed, not in the fact of their being slaughtered, as significant of the slaying of that seed, but only in what happened to and in connection with the slaughtered animals: birds of prey attempted to eat them, and when extreme darkness came on, the glory of God passed through them. As all the seed of Abram was concerned, one of every kind of animal suitable for sacrifice was taken, ut ex toto populo et singulis partibus sacrificium unum fieret ( Calvin ).
The age of the animals, three years old, was supposed by Theodoret to refer to the three generations of Israel which were to remain in Egypt, or the three centuries of captivity in a foreign land; and this is rendered very probable by the fact, that in Jdg 6:25 the bullock of seven years old undoubtedly refers to the seven years of Midianitish oppression. On the other hand, we cannot find in the six halves of the three animals and the undivided birds, either 7 things or the sacred number 7, for two undivided birds cannot represent one whole, but two; nor can we attribute to the eight pieces any symbolical meaning, for these numbers necessarily followed from the choice of one specimen of every kind of animal that was fit for sacrifice, and from the division of the larger animals into two.
Gen 15:11 “ Then birds of prey (העיט with the article, as Gen 14:13) came down upon the carcases, and Abram frightened them away .” The birds of prey represented the foes of Israel, who would seek to eat up, i.e., exterminate it. And the fact that Abram frightened them away was a sign, that Abram’s faith and his relation to the Lord would preserve the whole of his posterity from destruction, that Israel would be saved for Abram’s sake (Psa 105:42).
Gen 15:12-16 “ And when the sun was just about to go down (on the construction, see Ges. §132), and deep sleep (תּרדּמה, as in Gen 2:21, a deep sleep produced by God) had fallen upon Abram, behold there fell upon him terror, great darkness . ” The vision here passes into a prophetic sleep produced by God. In this sleep there fell upon Abram dread and darkness; this is shown by the interchange of the perfect נפלה and the participle נפלת.
The reference to the time is intended to show “the supernatural character of the darkness and sleep, and the distinction between the vision and a dream” ( O. v. Gerlach ). It also possesses a symbolical meaning. The setting of the sun prefigured to Abram the departure of the sun of grace, which shone upon Israel, and the commencement of a dark and dreadful period of suffering for his posterity, the very anticipation of which involved Abram in darkness.
For the words which he heard in the darkness were these (Gen 15:13.) : “ Know of a surety, that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them (the lords of the strange land), and they (the foreigners) shall oppress them 400 years . ” That these words had reference to the sojourn of the children of Israel in Egypt, is placed beyond all doubt by the fulfilment.
The 400 years were, according to prophetic language, a round number for the 430 years that Israel spent in Egypt (Exo 12:40). “ Also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge (see the fulfilment, Exo 6:11); and afterward shall they come out with great substance (the actual fact according to Exo 12:31-36). And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and be buried in a good old age (cf.
Gen 25:7-8); and in the fourth generation they shall come hither again . ” The calculations are made here on the basis of a hundred years to a generation: not too much for those times, when the average duration of life was above 150 years, and Isaac was born in the hundredth year of Abraham’s life. “ For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full . ” Amorite , the name of the most powerful tribe of the Canaanites, is used here as the common name of all the inhabitants of Canaan, just as in Jos 24:15 (cf.
Gen 10:5), Jdg 6:10, etc.) By this revelation Abram had the future history of his seed pointed out to him in general outlines, and was informed at the same time why neither he nor his descendants could obtain immediate possession of the promised land, viz. , because the Canaanites were not yet ripe for the sentence of extermination.
Gen 15:12-16 “ And when the sun was just about to go down (on the construction, see Ges. §132), and deep sleep (תּרדּמה, as in Gen 2:21, a deep sleep produced by God) had fallen upon Abram, behold there fell upon him terror, great darkness . ” The vision here passes into a prophetic sleep produced by God. In this sleep there fell upon Abram dread and darkness; this is shown by the interchange of the perfect נפלה and the participle נפלת.
The reference to the time is intended to show “the supernatural character of the darkness and sleep, and the distinction between the vision and a dream” ( O. v. Gerlach ). It also possesses a symbolical meaning. The setting of the sun prefigured to Abram the departure of the sun of grace, which shone upon Israel, and the commencement of a dark and dreadful period of suffering for his posterity, the very anticipation of which involved Abram in darkness.
For the words which he heard in the darkness were these (Gen 15:13.) : “ Know of a surety, that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them (the lords of the strange land), and they (the foreigners) shall oppress them 400 years . ” That these words had reference to the sojourn of the children of Israel in Egypt, is placed beyond all doubt by the fulfilment.
The 400 years were, according to prophetic language, a round number for the 430 years that Israel spent in Egypt (Exo 12:40). “ Also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge (see the fulfilment, Exo 6:11); and afterward shall they come out with great substance (the actual fact according to Exo 12:31-36). And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and be buried in a good old age (cf.
Gen 25:7-8); and in the fourth generation they shall come hither again . ” The calculations are made here on the basis of a hundred years to a generation: not too much for those times, when the average duration of life was above 150 years, and Isaac was born in the hundredth year of Abraham’s life. “ For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full . ” Amorite , the name of the most powerful tribe of the Canaanites, is used here as the common name of all the inhabitants of Canaan, just as in Jos 24:15 (cf.
Gen 10:5), Jdg 6:10, etc.) By this revelation Abram had the future history of his seed pointed out to him in general outlines, and was informed at the same time why neither he nor his descendants could obtain immediate possession of the promised land, viz. , because the Canaanites were not yet ripe for the sentence of extermination.
Gen 15:12-16 “ And when the sun was just about to go down (on the construction, see Ges. §132), and deep sleep (תּרדּמה, as in Gen 2:21, a deep sleep produced by God) had fallen upon Abram, behold there fell upon him terror, great darkness . ” The vision here passes into a prophetic sleep produced by God. In this sleep there fell upon Abram dread and darkness; this is shown by the interchange of the perfect נפלה and the participle נפלת.
The reference to the time is intended to show “the supernatural character of the darkness and sleep, and the distinction between the vision and a dream” ( O. v. Gerlach ). It also possesses a symbolical meaning. The setting of the sun prefigured to Abram the departure of the sun of grace, which shone upon Israel, and the commencement of a dark and dreadful period of suffering for his posterity, the very anticipation of which involved Abram in darkness.
For the words which he heard in the darkness were these (Gen 15:13.) : “ Know of a surety, that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them (the lords of the strange land), and they (the foreigners) shall oppress them 400 years . ” That these words had reference to the sojourn of the children of Israel in Egypt, is placed beyond all doubt by the fulfilment.
The 400 years were, according to prophetic language, a round number for the 430 years that Israel spent in Egypt (Exo 12:40). “ Also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge (see the fulfilment, Exo 6:11); and afterward shall they come out with great substance (the actual fact according to Exo 12:31-36). And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and be buried in a good old age (cf.
Gen 25:7-8); and in the fourth generation they shall come hither again . ” The calculations are made here on the basis of a hundred years to a generation: not too much for those times, when the average duration of life was above 150 years, and Isaac was born in the hundredth year of Abraham’s life. “ For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full . ” Amorite , the name of the most powerful tribe of the Canaanites, is used here as the common name of all the inhabitants of Canaan, just as in Jos 24:15 (cf.
Gen 10:5), Jdg 6:10, etc.) By this revelation Abram had the future history of his seed pointed out to him in general outlines, and was informed at the same time why neither he nor his descendants could obtain immediate possession of the promised land, viz. , because the Canaanites were not yet ripe for the sentence of extermination.
Gen 15:12-16 “ And when the sun was just about to go down (on the construction, see Ges. §132), and deep sleep (תּרדּמה, as in Gen 2:21, a deep sleep produced by God) had fallen upon Abram, behold there fell upon him terror, great darkness . ” The vision here passes into a prophetic sleep produced by God. In this sleep there fell upon Abram dread and darkness; this is shown by the interchange of the perfect נפלה and the participle נפלת.
The reference to the time is intended to show “the supernatural character of the darkness and sleep, and the distinction between the vision and a dream” ( O. v. Gerlach ). It also possesses a symbolical meaning. The setting of the sun prefigured to Abram the departure of the sun of grace, which shone upon Israel, and the commencement of a dark and dreadful period of suffering for his posterity, the very anticipation of which involved Abram in darkness.
For the words which he heard in the darkness were these (Gen 15:13.) : “ Know of a surety, that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them (the lords of the strange land), and they (the foreigners) shall oppress them 400 years . ” That these words had reference to the sojourn of the children of Israel in Egypt, is placed beyond all doubt by the fulfilment.
The 400 years were, according to prophetic language, a round number for the 430 years that Israel spent in Egypt (Exo 12:40). “ Also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge (see the fulfilment, Exo 6:11); and afterward shall they come out with great substance (the actual fact according to Exo 12:31-36). And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and be buried in a good old age (cf.
Gen 25:7-8); and in the fourth generation they shall come hither again . ” The calculations are made here on the basis of a hundred years to a generation: not too much for those times, when the average duration of life was above 150 years, and Isaac was born in the hundredth year of Abraham’s life. “ For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full . ” Amorite , the name of the most powerful tribe of the Canaanites, is used here as the common name of all the inhabitants of Canaan, just as in Jos 24:15 (cf.
Gen 10:5), Jdg 6:10, etc.) By this revelation Abram had the future history of his seed pointed out to him in general outlines, and was informed at the same time why neither he nor his descendants could obtain immediate possession of the promised land, viz. , because the Canaanites were not yet ripe for the sentence of extermination.
Gen 15:12-16 “ And when the sun was just about to go down (on the construction, see Ges. §132), and deep sleep (תּרדּמה, as in Gen 2:21, a deep sleep produced by God) had fallen upon Abram, behold there fell upon him terror, great darkness . ” The vision here passes into a prophetic sleep produced by God. In this sleep there fell upon Abram dread and darkness; this is shown by the interchange of the perfect נפלה and the participle נפלת.
The reference to the time is intended to show “the supernatural character of the darkness and sleep, and the distinction between the vision and a dream” ( O. v. Gerlach ). It also possesses a symbolical meaning. The setting of the sun prefigured to Abram the departure of the sun of grace, which shone upon Israel, and the commencement of a dark and dreadful period of suffering for his posterity, the very anticipation of which involved Abram in darkness.
For the words which he heard in the darkness were these (Gen 15:13.) : “ Know of a surety, that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them (the lords of the strange land), and they (the foreigners) shall oppress them 400 years . ” That these words had reference to the sojourn of the children of Israel in Egypt, is placed beyond all doubt by the fulfilment.
The 400 years were, according to prophetic language, a round number for the 430 years that Israel spent in Egypt (Exo 12:40). “ Also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge (see the fulfilment, Exo 6:11); and afterward shall they come out with great substance (the actual fact according to Exo 12:31-36). And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and be buried in a good old age (cf.
Gen 25:7-8); and in the fourth generation they shall come hither again . ” The calculations are made here on the basis of a hundred years to a generation: not too much for those times, when the average duration of life was above 150 years, and Isaac was born in the hundredth year of Abraham’s life. “ For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full . ” Amorite , the name of the most powerful tribe of the Canaanites, is used here as the common name of all the inhabitants of Canaan, just as in Jos 24:15 (cf.
Gen 10:5), Jdg 6:10, etc.) By this revelation Abram had the future history of his seed pointed out to him in general outlines, and was informed at the same time why neither he nor his descendants could obtain immediate possession of the promised land, viz. , because the Canaanites were not yet ripe for the sentence of extermination.
Gen 15:17 When the sun had gone down, and thick darkness had come on (היה impersonal), “ behold a smoking furnace, and (with) a fiery torch, which passed between those pieces, ” - a description of what Abram saw in his deep prophetic sleep, corresponding to the mysterious character of the whole proceeding. תּנּוּר, a stove, is a cylindrical fire-pot, such as is used in the dwelling-houses of the East.
The phenomenon, which passed through the pieces as they lay opposite to one another, resembled such a smoking stove, from which a fiery torch, i. e. , a brilliant flame, was streaming forth. In this symbol Jehovah manifested Himself to Abram, just as He afterwards did to the people of Israel in the pillar of cloud and fire. Passing through the pieces, He ratified the covenant which He made with Abram.
His glory was enveloped in fire and smoke, the produce of the consuming fire, - both symbols of the wrath of God (cf. Psa 18:9, and Hengstenberg in loc. ), whose fiery zeal consumes whatever opposes it (vid. , Exo 3:2). - To establish and give reality to the covenant to be concluded with Abram, Jehovah would have to pass through the seed of Abram when oppressed by the Egyptians and threatened with destruction, and to execute judgment upon their oppressors (Exo 7:4; Exo 12:12).
In this symbol, the passing of the Lord between the pieces meant something altogether different from the oath of the Lord by Himself in Gen 22:16, or by His life in Deu 32:40, or by His soul in Amo 6:8 and Jer 51:14. It set before Abram the condescension of the Lord to his seed, in the fearful glory of His majesty as the judge of their foes. Hence the pieces were not consumed by the fire; for the transaction had reference not to a sacrifice, which God accepted, and in which the soul of the offerer was to ascend in the smoke to God, but to a covenant in which God came down to man.
From the nature of this covenant, it followed, however, that God alone went through the pieces in a symbolical representation of Himself, and not Abram also. For although a covenant always establishes a reciprocal relation between two individuals, yet in that covenant which God concluded with a man, the man did not stand on an equality with God, but God established the relation of fellowship by His promise and His gracious condescension to the man, who was at first purely a recipient, and was only qualified and bound to fulfil the obligations consequent upon the covenant by the reception of gifts of grace.
Gen 15:18-21 In Gen 15:18-21 this divine revelation is described as the making of a covenant (בּרית, from בּרה to cut, lit. , the bond concluded by cutting up the sacrificial animals), and the substance of this covenant is embraced in the promise, that God would give that land to the seed of Abram, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates. The river (נהר) of Egypt is the Nile, and not the brook (נחל) of Egypt (Num 34:5), i.
e. , the boundary stream Rhinocorura , Wady el Arish . According to the oratorical character of the promise, the two large rivers, the Nile and the Euphrates, are mentioned as the boundaries within which the seed of Abram would possess the promised land, the exact limits of which are more minutely described in the list of the tribes who were then in possession.
Ten tribes are mentioned between the southern border of the land and the extreme north, “to convey the impression of universality without exception, of unqualified completeness, the symbol of which is the number ten” ( Delitzsch ). In other passages we find sometimes seven tribes mentioned (Deu 7:1; Jos 3:10), at other times six (Exo 3:8, Exo 3:17; Exo 23:23; Deu 20:17), at others five (Exo 13:5), at others again only two (Gen 13:7); whilst occasionally they are all included in the common name of Canaanites (Gen 12:6).
The absence of the Hivites is striking here, since they are not omitted from any other list where as many as five or seven tribes are mentioned. Out of the eleven descendants of Canaan (Gen 10:15-18) the names of four only are given here; the others are included in the common name of the Canaanites. On the other hand, four tribes are given, whose descent from Canaan is very improbable.
The origin of the Kenites cannot be determined. According to Jdg 1:16; Jdg 4:11, Hobab, the brother-in-law of Moses, was a Kenite. His being called Midianite (Num 10:29) does not prove that he was descended from Midian (Gen 25:2), but is to be accounted for from the fact that he dwelt in the land of Midian, or among the Midianites (Exo 2:15). This branch of the Kenites went with the Israelites to Canaan, into the wilderness of Judah (Jdg 1:16), and dwelt even in Saul’s time among the Amalekites on the southern border of Judah (1Sa 15:6), and in the same towns with members of the tribe of Judah (1Sa 30:29).
There is nothing either in this passage, or in Num 24:21-22, to compel us to distinguish these Midianitish Kenites from those of Canaan. The Philistines also were not Canaanites, and yet their territory was assigned to the Israelites. And just as the Philistines had forced their way into the land, so the Kenites may have taken possession of certain tracts of the country.
All that can be inferred from the two passages is, that there were Kenites outside Midian, who were to be exterminated by the Israelites. On the Kenizzites , all that can be affirmed with certainty is, that the name is neither to be traced to the Edomitish Kenaz (Gen 36:15, Gen 36:42), nor to be identified with the Kenezite Jephunneh, the father of Caleb of Judah (Num 32:12; Jos 14:6 : see my Comm.
on Joshua, p. 356, Eng. tr.) - The Kadmonites are never mentioned again, and their origin cannot be determined. On the Perizzites see Gen 13:7; on the Rephaims , Gen 14:5; and on the other names, Gen 10:15-16.
Gen 15:18-21 In Gen 15:18-21 this divine revelation is described as the making of a covenant (בּרית, from בּרה to cut, lit. , the bond concluded by cutting up the sacrificial animals), and the substance of this covenant is embraced in the promise, that God would give that land to the seed of Abram, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates. The river (נהר) of Egypt is the Nile, and not the brook (נחל) of Egypt (Num 34:5), i.
e. , the boundary stream Rhinocorura , Wady el Arish . According to the oratorical character of the promise, the two large rivers, the Nile and the Euphrates, are mentioned as the boundaries within which the seed of Abram would possess the promised land, the exact limits of which are more minutely described in the list of the tribes who were then in possession.
Ten tribes are mentioned between the southern border of the land and the extreme north, “to convey the impression of universality without exception, of unqualified completeness, the symbol of which is the number ten” ( Delitzsch ). In other passages we find sometimes seven tribes mentioned (Deu 7:1; Jos 3:10), at other times six (Exo 3:8, Exo 3:17; Exo 23:23; Deu 20:17), at others five (Exo 13:5), at others again only two (Gen 13:7); whilst occasionally they are all included in the common name of Canaanites (Gen 12:6).
The absence of the Hivites is striking here, since they are not omitted from any other list where as many as five or seven tribes are mentioned. Out of the eleven descendants of Canaan (Gen 10:15-18) the names of four only are given here; the others are included in the common name of the Canaanites. On the other hand, four tribes are given, whose descent from Canaan is very improbable.
The origin of the Kenites cannot be determined. According to Jdg 1:16; Jdg 4:11, Hobab, the brother-in-law of Moses, was a Kenite. His being called Midianite (Num 10:29) does not prove that he was descended from Midian (Gen 25:2), but is to be accounted for from the fact that he dwelt in the land of Midian, or among the Midianites (Exo 2:15). This branch of the Kenites went with the Israelites to Canaan, into the wilderness of Judah (Jdg 1:16), and dwelt even in Saul’s time among the Amalekites on the southern border of Judah (1Sa 15:6), and in the same towns with members of the tribe of Judah (1Sa 30:29).
There is nothing either in this passage, or in Num 24:21-22, to compel us to distinguish these Midianitish Kenites from those of Canaan. The Philistines also were not Canaanites, and yet their territory was assigned to the Israelites. And just as the Philistines had forced their way into the land, so the Kenites may have taken possession of certain tracts of the country.
All that can be inferred from the two passages is, that there were Kenites outside Midian, who were to be exterminated by the Israelites. On the Kenizzites , all that can be affirmed with certainty is, that the name is neither to be traced to the Edomitish Kenaz (Gen 36:15, Gen 36:42), nor to be identified with the Kenezite Jephunneh, the father of Caleb of Judah (Num 32:12; Jos 14:6 : see my Comm.
on Joshua, p. 356, Eng. tr.) - The Kadmonites are never mentioned again, and their origin cannot be determined. On the Perizzites see Gen 13:7; on the Rephaims , Gen 14:5; and on the other names, Gen 10:15-16.
Gen 15:18-21 In Gen 15:18-21 this divine revelation is described as the making of a covenant (בּרית, from בּרה to cut, lit. , the bond concluded by cutting up the sacrificial animals), and the substance of this covenant is embraced in the promise, that God would give that land to the seed of Abram, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates. The river (נהר) of Egypt is the Nile, and not the brook (נחל) of Egypt (Num 34:5), i.
e. , the boundary stream Rhinocorura , Wady el Arish . According to the oratorical character of the promise, the two large rivers, the Nile and the Euphrates, are mentioned as the boundaries within which the seed of Abram would possess the promised land, the exact limits of which are more minutely described in the list of the tribes who were then in possession.
Ten tribes are mentioned between the southern border of the land and the extreme north, “to convey the impression of universality without exception, of unqualified completeness, the symbol of which is the number ten” ( Delitzsch ). In other passages we find sometimes seven tribes mentioned (Deu 7:1; Jos 3:10), at other times six (Exo 3:8, Exo 3:17; Exo 23:23; Deu 20:17), at others five (Exo 13:5), at others again only two (Gen 13:7); whilst occasionally they are all included in the common name of Canaanites (Gen 12:6).
The absence of the Hivites is striking here, since they are not omitted from any other list where as many as five or seven tribes are mentioned. Out of the eleven descendants of Canaan (Gen 10:15-18) the names of four only are given here; the others are included in the common name of the Canaanites. On the other hand, four tribes are given, whose descent from Canaan is very improbable.
The origin of the Kenites cannot be determined. According to Jdg 1:16; Jdg 4:11, Hobab, the brother-in-law of Moses, was a Kenite. His being called Midianite (Num 10:29) does not prove that he was descended from Midian (Gen 25:2), but is to be accounted for from the fact that he dwelt in the land of Midian, or among the Midianites (Exo 2:15). This branch of the Kenites went with the Israelites to Canaan, into the wilderness of Judah (Jdg 1:16), and dwelt even in Saul’s time among the Amalekites on the southern border of Judah (1Sa 15:6), and in the same towns with members of the tribe of Judah (1Sa 30:29).
There is nothing either in this passage, or in Num 24:21-22, to compel us to distinguish these Midianitish Kenites from those of Canaan. The Philistines also were not Canaanites, and yet their territory was assigned to the Israelites. And just as the Philistines had forced their way into the land, so the Kenites may have taken possession of certain tracts of the country.
All that can be inferred from the two passages is, that there were Kenites outside Midian, who were to be exterminated by the Israelites. On the Kenizzites , all that can be affirmed with certainty is, that the name is neither to be traced to the Edomitish Kenaz (Gen 36:15, Gen 36:42), nor to be identified with the Kenezite Jephunneh, the father of Caleb of Judah (Num 32:12; Jos 14:6 : see my Comm.
on Joshua, p. 356, Eng. tr.) - The Kadmonites are never mentioned again, and their origin cannot be determined. On the Perizzites see Gen 13:7; on the Rephaims , Gen 14:5; and on the other names, Gen 10:15-16.