Genesis15

English Standard Version

TranslationKJV WEB ASV ESV NIV NASB NKJV NLT

¹ these the of the Lord to in a : , , I am your ; your shall be .

²But , O God, will you me, for I , and the of my is of ?

³And , , you have me no , and a of my will be my .

⁴And , the of the Lord came to him: man shall not be your ; your very own shall be your .

⁵And he him and , toward , and the , you are to them. Then he to him, shall your .

⁶And he the Lord, and he it to him as .

⁷And he to him, I am the Lord who from of the to you to .

⁸But he , O God, am I to that I shall it?

⁹He to him, me a three , a three , a three , a , and a .

¹⁰And he him these, them in , and over the other. But he did not the in .

¹¹And when birds of on the , drove them .

¹²As the was , a on . And , and him.

¹³Then the Lord to , for that your will be in a that is theirs and will be there, and they will be for .

¹⁴But I will on the that they , and they shall come with .

¹⁵As for you, you shall to your in ; you shall be in a .

¹⁶And they shall come in the , for the of the is not .

¹⁷When the had and it was , , a and a these .

¹⁸On the Lord a with , , To your I this , from the of to the , the ,

¹⁹the land of the , the , the ,

²⁰the , the , the ,

²¹the , the , the and the .

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Genesis 15.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: God encourages Abram. (1). The Divine promise, Abraham is justified by faith. (2–6). God promises Canaan to Abraham for an inheritance. (7–11). The promise confirmed in a vision. (12–16). The promise confirmed by a sign. (17–21).

v1

God assured Abram of safety and happiness; that he should for ever be safe. I am thy shield; or, I am a shield to thee, present with thee, actually caring for thee. The consideration that God himself is, and will be a shield to his people, to secure them from all evils, a shield ready to them, and a shield round about them, should silence all perplexing, tormenting fears.

vv2-6

Though we must never complain of God, yet we have leave to complain to him; and to state all our grievances. It is ease to a burdened spirit, to open its case to a faithful and compassionate friend. Abram's complaint is, that he had no child; that he was never likely to have any; that the want of a son was so great a trouble to him, that it took away all his comfort. If we suppose that Abram looked no further than outward comfort, this complaint was to be blamed. But if we suppose that Abram herein had reference to the promised Seed, his desire was very commendable. Till we have evidence of our interest in Christ, we should not rest satisfied; what will all avail me, if I go Christless? If we continue instant in prayer, yet pray with humble submission to the Divine will, we shall not seek in vain. God gave Abram an express promise of a son. Christians may believe in God with respect to the common concerns of this life; but the faith by which they are justified, always has respect to the person and work of Christ. Abram believed in God as promising Christ; they believe in him as having raised him from the dead, Ro 4:24. Through faith in his blood they obtain forgiveness of sins.

vv7-11

Assurance was given to Abram of the land of Canaan for an inheritance. God never promises more than he is able to perform, as men often do. Abram did as God commanded him. He divided the beasts in the midst, according to the ceremony used in confirming covenants, Jer 34:18, 19. Having prepared according to God's appointment, he set himself to wait for the sign God might give him. A watch must be kept upon our spiritual sacrifices. When vain thoughts, like these fowls, come down upon our sacrifices, we must drive them away, and seek to attend on God without distraction.

Key Words

AfterH310Hebrew

אַחַר: properly, the hind part; generally used as an adverb or conjunction, after (in various senses)

thingsH1697Hebrew

דָּבָר: a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause

AbramH87Hebrew

אַבְרָם: Abram, the original name of Abraham

visionH4236Hebrew

מַחֲזֶה: a vision

FearH3372Hebrew

יָרֵא: to fear; morally, to revere; caus. to frighten

notH3808Hebrew

לֹא: not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles

shieldH4043Hebrew

מָגֵן: a shield (i.e. the small one or buckler); figuratively, a protector; also the scaly hide of the crocodile

rewardH7939Hebrew

שָׂכָר: payment of contract; concretely, salary, fare, maintenance; by implication, compensation, benefit

veryH3966Hebrew

מְאֹד: properly, vehemence, i.e. (with or without preposition) vehemently; by implication, wholly, speedily, etc. (often with other words as an intensive or superlative; especially when repeated)

greatH7235Hebrew

רָבָה: to increase (in whatever respect)