The NIV Study Bible

genesis chapter xv

God's Covenant With Abram

15:1 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

"Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield[a],
your very great reward."

15:2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?"

15:3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so, a servant in my household will be my heir."

15:4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir."

15:5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars — if indeed you can count them." Then He said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

15:6 Abram believed the Lord and he credited it to him as righteousness.

15:7 He also said to him, "I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."

15:8 But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"

15:9 So the Lord said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."

15:10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two, and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half.

15:11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

15:12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.

15:13 Then the Lord said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.

15:14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward, they will come out with great possessions.

15:15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age.

15:16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."

15:17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.

15:18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants, I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river[c], the Euphrates —

15:19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,

15:20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,

15:21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites."

Footnotes

[a] or sovereign

[b] the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain

[c] or Wadi

Other Notes

verse 1 — I am your shield. Whether "shield" or "sovereign" is meant, the reference is to the Lord as Abram's King. As elsewhere, "shield" stands for king (Dt 33:29); 2Sa 22:3; Ps 7:10; 84:9).

your very great reward. Though Abram was quite rich (13:2; 14:23), God Himself was Abram's greatest treasure.

verse 2 — Eliezer of Damascus. A servant probably acquired by Abram on his journey southward from Haran (12:5). He may also be the unnamed "chief servant" of 24:2.

verse 3 — Ancient documents uncovered at Nuzi near Kirkuk on a branch of the Tigris River, as well as at other places, demonstrate that a childless man could adopt one of his own male servants to be heir and guardian of his estate. Abram apparently contemplated doing this with Eliezer, or perhaps had already done so.

verse 5 — So shall your offspring be. The promise was initially fulfilled in Egypt (Ex 1; Dt 1:10; Heb 11:12). Ultimately, all who belong to Christ are Abram's offspring. (Gal 3:29).

verse 6 — Abram is the "father of all who believes" (Ro 4:11), and this verse is the first explicit reference to faith in God's promises (Ro 4:3). It also teaches that God graciously responds to faith by crediting righteousness to one who believes (Heb 11:7).

verse 7 — I am the Lord, who brought you out. Ancient royal covenants often began with (1) the self-identification of a king and (2) a brief historical prologue (Ex 20:2).

verse 10 — birds... he did not cut in half. Perhaps because they were so small (Lev 1:17).

verse 13 — country not their own. Egypt (46:3 to 4).

four hundred years. A round number. According to Ex 12:40, Israel spent 430 years in Egypt.

verse 16 — In the fourth generation. That is, after 400 years (v. 13). A "generation" was the age of a man when his firstborn son (from a legal standpoint) was born — in Abram's case, 100 years (21:5).

sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure. Just how sinful many Canaanite practices were is now known from archaeological artifacts discovered at Ras Shamra (ancient Ugarit) on the north Syrian coast beginning in 1929. Their "worship" was polytheistic and included idolatry, religious prostitution, divination, and at times even child sacrifice. God was patient in judgment, even with the wicked Canaanites.

verse 17 — smoking firepot with a blazing torch. Symbolizing the presence of God (Ex 3:2; 14:24; 19:18; 1Ki 18:28; Ac 2:3).

passed between the pieces. Of the slaughtered animals (v. 10). In ancient times the parties sometimes solemnized a covenant by walking between the pieces of slaughtered animals (Jer 34:19 to 19). The practice signified a self-maledictory oath: "May it be so done to me if I do not keep my oath and pledge." Having credited Abram's faith as righteousness, God now graciously ministered to his need for assurance concerning the land. He granted Abram a promissory covenant, as He had to Noah.

verse 18 — made a covenant. "Cut a covenant," referring to the slaughtering of the animals (the same Hebrew verb is translated 'made' and 'cut' in Jer 34:18).

I give this land. The Lord initially fulfilled this covenant through Joshua (Jos 1:2 to 9; 21:43 to 45; 1Ki 4:20 to 21).

river of Egypt. Probably the modern Wadi el-Arish in northeastern Sinai (see map at the bottom; brook of Egypt).

Euphrates. The longest river in western Asia (about 1,700 miles). It marked the boundary between Israel and Israel's historic enemies (Assyria and Babylonia) to the east and northeast.

verse 19 to 21 — A similar list associated with Canaan is found in 10:15 to 18. Here ten people are listed, the number ten signifying completeness.

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