Genesis 15:18

18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi[a] of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—

Genesis 15:18 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
18 In 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:
English Standard Version (ESV)
18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,
New Living Translation (NLT)
18 So the LORD made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River—
The Message Bible (MSG)
18 That's when God made a covenant with Abram: "I'm giving this land to your children, from the Nile River in Egypt to the River Euphrates in Assyria -
American Standard Version (ASV)
18 In that day Jehovah 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:
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
18 At that time the LORD made a promise to Abram. He said, "I will give this land to your descendants. This is the land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, "I give this land to your offspring, from the brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River:
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram. He said, "I am giving this land to your children after you. It reaches from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates.

Genesis 15:18 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 15:18

In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram
Which he confirmed by passing between the pieces and accepting his sacrifice:

saying, unto thy seed have I given this land;
he had given it in his purpose, and he had given the promise of it, and here he renews the grant, and ratifies and confirms it, even the land of Canaan, where Abram now was, though only a sojourner in it; and which is described by its boundaries and present occupants, in this and the following verses, as is usually done in grants of lands and deeds of conveyance:

from the river of Egypt, unto the great river, the river of Euphrates;
the river of Egypt is the Nile, which overflowed it annually and made it fruitful; so the Targum of Jonathan calls it the river of Egypt; it may be rendered, "from the river Mizraim or Egypt", for the name of Egypt was given to the river Nile as well as to the country, and so it is called by Homer F16; and Diodorus Siculus F17 says, the Nile was first called Egypt; some F18 think the Nile is not here meant, but a little river of Egypt that ran through the desert that lay between Palestine and Egypt; but it seems to be a branch of the river Nile, which was lesser about Palestine or Damiata, at the entrance of Egypt, than at other places. Brocardus F19 says,

``from Delta to Heliopolis were three miles, where another river was separated from the Nile, and carried to the city of Pelusium; and, adds he, this river is properly called in Scripture the river of Egypt, and at it is bounded the lot of the tribe of Judah.''

This river of Egypt, or the Nile, was the southern boundary of the land of Canaan, and from hence to the river Euphrates, the eastern boundary, was the utmost extent of it in which it was ever possessed, as it was in the times of David and Solomon, ( 2 Samuel 8:3 ) ( 1 Kings 4:21 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F16 Odyss. 14. vid. Pausan. Boeotica, sive l. 9. p. 606.
F17 Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 56.
F18 See Rollin's Ancient History, vol. 1. p. 92.
F19 Apud Drusium in loc.

Genesis 15:18 In-Context

16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.
18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—
19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,

Cross References 4

  • 1. Ge 17:2,4,7; Exodus 6:4; Exodus 34:10,27; 1 Chronicles 16:16; Psalms 105:9
  • 2. S Genesis 12:7
  • 3. Numbers 34:5; Joshua 15:4,47; 1 Kings 8:65; 2 Kings 24:7; 2 Chronicles 7:8; Isaiah 27:12; Jeremiah 37:5; Jeremiah 46:2; Lamentations 4:17; Ezekiel 30:22; Ezekiel 47:19
  • 4. S Genesis 2:14

Footnotes 1

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