Acts 7:5

5 He did not give him any of it as a heritage, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as his possession and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child.

Acts 7:5 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 7:5

And he gave him none inheritance in it
To be personally enjoyed by him; and which was a great trial to Abraham's faith, to be brought out of his country, and into another land, and which was promised to him and his; and yet, as not the whole, so not a single part of it was given him to possess:

no, not so much as to set his foot on:
so that when Sarah his wife died, he was obliged to buy a piece of ground for a burying place to bury her in: and which could not be said to be given him by the Lord, for he bought it with his money:

yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and
to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child;
which was another exercise of Abraham's faith, that he should have a whole country promised him and his seed, and yet had no seed given him; see ( Genesis 12:7 ) ( 13:15 ) ( Genesis 15:2 Genesis 15:3 Genesis 15:7 ) .

Acts 7:5 In-Context

3 and said to him, "Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.'
4 Then he left the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God had him move from there to this country in which you are now living.
5 He did not give him any of it as a heritage, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as his possession and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child.
6 And God spoke in these terms, that his descendants would be resident aliens in a country belonging to others, who would enslave them and mistreat them during four hundred years.
7 "But I will judge the nation that they serve,' said God, "and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.'
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.