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The Torah · Old Testament

Genesis 15

An heir and a covenant promise

General context

The Lord addresses Abram in a vision as his shield and reward, and Abram asks about remaining childless. He is promised an heir from his own body and descendants compared with the stars. His belief is counted for righteousness. When he asks how he will know he will inherit the land, he is instructed to bring animals, which he divides except for the birds. A deep sleep and a terrifying darkness fall on him. The Lord describes his descendants' future foreign residence, service and affliction, followed by judgment on the nation they serve and a return. A smoking furnace and burning lamp pass between the pieces, and the Lord makes a covenant concerning the land.

Cited passages: Genesis 15:1, Genesis 15:2, Genesis 15:3, Genesis 15:4, Genesis 15:5, Genesis 15:6, Genesis 15:7, Genesis 15:8, Genesis 15:9, Genesis 15:10, Genesis 15:12, Genesis 15:13, Genesis 15:14, Genesis 15:16, Genesis 15:17, Genesis 15:18

Genesis 15 (KJV)

1After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

2And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?

3And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

4And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

5And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

6And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

7And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.

8And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

9And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.

10And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.

11And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.

12And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

13And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

14And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

15And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

16But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

17And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

18In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

19The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,

20And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,

21And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

Abram names Eliezer of Damascus while explaining his present lack of an heir from his own body. The animals specified are a three-year-old heifer, goat and ram, together with a turtledove and young pigeon; the birds are not divided. The speech gives four hundred years of foreign residence, service and affliction, and a return in the fourth generation. It connects that delay with the Amorites' iniquity not yet being full. The land promise names the river of Egypt and the Euphrates and lists peoples. The future country of affliction is not named in this speech, and the boundaries are not mapped onto modern states here.

Cited passages: Genesis 15:2, Genesis 15:3, Genesis 15:4, Genesis 15:9, Genesis 15:10, Genesis 15:13, Genesis 15:14, Genesis 15:16, Genesis 15:18, Genesis 15:19, Genesis 15:20, Genesis 15:21

Literary context

Two questions organize the chapter: Abram asks about an heir, then asks how he will know he will inherit the land. The stars give the first promise a scale beyond counting, and the narrator follows with the statement about belief and righteousness. The second exchange moves from speech into the preparation of animals, sleep, darkness and passing fire. The promise includes a warning of affliction and delayed return rather than immediate possession. The final covenant statement names the land after these scenes, without explaining the meaning of every object in the ceremony.

Cited passages: Genesis 15:2, Genesis 15:3, Genesis 15:4, Genesis 15:5, Genesis 15:6, Genesis 15:8, Genesis 15:9, Genesis 15:10, Genesis 15:12, Genesis 15:13, Genesis 15:14, Genesis 15:16, Genesis 15:17, Genesis 15:18, Genesis 15:19, Genesis 15:20, Genesis 15:21

Key moments

  1. Belief and righteousness (Genesis 15:6). Abram believes in the Lord, and it is counted to him for righteousness.
  2. Future affliction is announced (Genesis 15:13). Abram is told that his descendants will live as strangers, serve and suffer affliction for four hundred years.
  3. Fire passes between the pieces (Genesis 15:17). After sunset, a smoking furnace and burning lamp pass between the divided pieces.
  4. The covenant names the land (Genesis 15:18). The Lord makes a covenant with Abram, naming land for his descendants from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates.

For reflection

How do Abram's questions and the warning of future affliction shape your reading of the promises in this chapter?

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