36 | Genesis 15:8
brought you out of Ur of the Chal de ans to give you this land to take pos ses sion of it .”
8
But Abram said , “ Sov er eign Lord , how can I know that I will gain pos ses sion of it ?”
9
So the Lord said to him , “ Bring me a heif er , a goat and a ram , each three years old , along with a dove and a young pi geon .”
10
Abram brought all these to him , cut them in two and ar ranged the halves op po site each oth er ; the birds , how ev er , he did not cut in half . 11 Then birds of prey came down on the car cass es , but Abram drove them away .
12
As the sun was set ting , Abram fell into a deep sleep , and a thick and dread ful dark ness came over him . 13 Then the Lord said to him , “ Know for cer tain that for four hun dred years your descen dants will be strang ers in a coun try not their own and that they will be en slaved and mis treat ed there . 14 But I will pun ish the na tion they serve as slaves , and af ter ward they will come out with great pos ses sions . 15 You , how ev er , will go to your an ces tors in peace and be bur ied at a good old age .
16
In the fourth gen er a tion your de scen dants will come back here , for the sin of the Am o rites has not yet reached its full mea sure .”
17
When the sun had set and dark ness had fall en , a smok ing fire pot with a blaz ing torch ap peared and passed be tween the piec es . 18 On that day the Lord made a cov enant with Abram and said , “ To your de scen dants I give this land , from the Wadi a of Egypt to the great riv er , the Eu phra tes — 19 the land of the Ke nites , Ken iz zites , Kad mon ites , 20 Hittites , Per iz zites , Reph a ites , 21 Am o rites , Ca naanites , Gir ga shites and Jeb u sites .”
Hagar and Ishmael
Now Sa rai , Abram ’ s wife , had borne him
16 no chil dren . But she had an Egyp tian slave named Ha gar ; 2 so she said to Abram , “ The Lord has kept me from hav ing chil dren . Go , sleep with my slave ; per haps I can build a fam i ly through her .”
Abram agreed to what Sa rai said . 3 So af ter a
18 Or river
15:8 how can I know This is not an expression of doubt that would undermine Abram ’ s statement of faith in Ge 15:6 . Yahweh now offers Abram land — such transactions in the ancient Near East required a covenant ceremony ( compare ch . 23 ). Abram is asking for this ceremony .
15:9 – 21 Yahweh ’ s response to Abram is a covenant ceremony that closely follows the pattern of ancient Near Eastern land grant treaties . It is unclear whether the covenant relationship with Abram begins here or in 12:1 – 3 ( see v . 18 ; note on 12:2 ). The covenant of 15:9 – 21 is unilateral ( one-sided ), but when the sign of the covenant ( circumcision ) is given later , the covenant relationship becomes two-sided — it includes obligations for Abram ( 17:1 – 2,10 – 14 ).
15:10 cut them in two The animals are cut in half , and the halves are separated . The most common expression for making a covenant in the OT uses the Hebrew word karath ( meaning “ to cut ”). This is because covenants usually involved literally cutting animals . This type of covenant practice was common in the ancient Near East . Ordinarily , those entering into a covenant would walk through the halved carcasses — indicating that they should end up like the animals if they break the agreement ( see Jer 34:17 – 20 ). The fate of the sacrificial animals is applied onto the participants . In this case , only Yahweh — whose presence is signaled by the firepot and flaming torch — passes through ( Ge 15:17 ). 15:13 four hundred years It is difficult to fit these 400 years into Biblical chronology . There is no information about when this sequence of years begins , and the OT does not state the number of years between Joseph ’ s death and the beginning of the Israelites ’ enslavement in Egypt . It also appears inconsistent with the mention of the fourth generation in 15:16 , and it fails to match the 430-year figure given in Ex 12:40 regarding Israel ’ s time in Egypt . Most likely , the 400 years here is a round number . 15:14 will punish the nation they serve See Ex 7 – 12 ; note on Ex 7:3 . they will come out with great possessions This is fulfilled when the Egyptians send the Hebrew people away with great wealth ( Ex 12:33 – 36 ).
15:15 to your ancestors in peace This expression for death conveys an optimistic belief about the afterlife . While the OT at times can seem to lack this optimism , the righ teous are depicted as hoping that God would remove them from she ’ ol — the Hebrew word for the grave or underworld ( e . g ., 1Sa 2:6 ; Pr 15:24 ; Ps 30:3 ; 49:15 ; 73:23 – 26 ). See the infographic “ Ancient Hebrew Conception of the Universe ” on p . 5 . 15:16 sin of the Amorites This phrase shows that Yahweh does not later displace those occupying the promised land because of favoritism — he makes a judgment against their abhorrent practices ( see Lev 18:24 – 25 ; 20:23 – 24 ). 15:18 your descendants See note on Ge 12:7 . the Wadi of Egypt The river ( nahar in Hebrew ) mentioned here is not the Nile , which is referred to with the Hebrew word ye ’ or elsewhere in the OT ( 41:1 ; Ex 2:3,5 ); rather , this river is the Wadi elʿArish .
15:19 – 21 This passage presents the most complete OT list of the preconquest inhabitants of the promised land . The Kenites , Kenizzites , Kadmonites and Rephaim ( Rephaites ) appear in no other list like this . This list is also the only one to exclude the Hivites .
15:19 the Kenites This people group seems to be named after Cain ( 4:1,22 ). This seminomadic tribe was known for metalworking and are connected to the Midianites and Amalekites ( compare Jdg 1:16 ; 4:11 ; Nu 24:21 – 22 ; 1Sa 15:1 – 6 ). Kenizzites This group of people are connected to the Edomites — descendants of Esau ( Ge 36:4,11,15,42 ). Kadmonites This people group is not mentioned elsewhere in the OT , but may be the same as the Kedemites ( a phrase which may be rendered “ people of the east ”) noted in several passages . The Kedemites were seminomadic and ventured as far north as Aram ( Syria ) and as far south as the Red Sea ( Jdg 6:3,33 ; 7:12 ; 8:10 ). 15:20 Perizzites See note on 13:7 . Rephaites See note on Ge 14:5 . 15:21 Amorites See note on 10:16 . Canaanites A general term for a wide range of people groups . Girgashites and Jebusites See note on 10:16 .