Genesis 15:1-11

The LORD’s Covenant With Abram

1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield,^[a]your very great reward.^[b] ”

2 But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit^[c] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”

3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.”

5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring^[d] be.”

6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

7 He also said to him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”

8 But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”

9 So the LORD said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”

10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half.

11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

Genesis 15:1-11 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 15

This chapter informs us of a gracious appearance of God to Abram, and of a kind promise made unto him, Ge 15:1; of Abram's request for an heir, Ge 15:2,3; of an answer to it, that he should have one, and even a numberless seed, Ge 15:4,5; which he gave credit to, Ge 15:6; upon which he has a fresh promise of the land of Canaan, Ge 15:7; of his inheriting of which he desires a sign, and this was given him, Ge 15:8-12; and at the same time it was predicted to him how long his posterity should be afflicted in a land not theirs, and afterwards come out with great substance, Ge 15:13-16; and the grant of the land of Canaan to his seed is renewed, Ge 15:17-21.

Cross References

• 1. 1 Samuel 15:10; 2 Samuel 7:4; 1 Kings 6:11; 1 Kings 12:22; Jeremiah 1:13; Ezekiel 3:16; Daniel 10:1
• 2. Genesis 46:2; Numbers 12:6; Numbers 24:4; Ruth 1:20; Job 33:15
• 3. Genesis 21:17; Genesis 26:24; Genesis 46:3; Exodus 14:13; Exodus 20:20; 2 Kings 6:16; 2 Chronicles 20:15,17; Psalms 27:1; Isaiah 7:4; Isaiah 41:10,13-14; Isaiah 43:1,5; Jeremiah 1:8; Haggai 2:5
• 4. Deuteronomy 33:29; 2 Samuel 22:3,31; Psalms 3:3; Psalms 5:12; Psalms 18:2; Psalms 28:7; Psalms 33:20; Psalms 84:11; Psalms 119:114; Psalms 144:2; Proverbs 2:7; Proverbs 30:5
• 5. Psalms 18:20; Psalms 37:25; Psalms 58:11; Isaiah 3:10
• 6. ver 8; Isaiah 49:22; Jeremiah 44:26; Ezekiel 5:11; Ezekiel 16:48
• 7. Acts 7:5
• 8. S Genesis 14:15
• 9. Genesis 24:2,34
• 10. S Genesis 12:5
• 11. Galatians 4:28
• 12. Job 11:8; Job 35:5; Psalms 8:3; Psalms 147:4; Jeremiah 33:22
• 13. S Genesis 12:2; Genesis 22:17; Exodus 32:13; S Jeremiah 30:19; Romans 4:18*; Hebrews 11:12
• 14. Psalms 106:31; Ro 4:3*,20-24*; Galatians 3:6*; James 2:23*
• 15. Genesis 12:1; Exodus 20:2; Acts 7:3; Hebrews 11:8
• 16. S Genesis 11:28; Acts 7:4
• 17. S Genesis 13:17; Genesis 17:8; Genesis 28:4; Genesis 35:12; Genesis 48:4; Exodus 6:8; Deuteronomy 9:5
• 18. S ver 2
• 19. Luke 1:18
• 20. Deuteronomy 12:20; Deuteronomy 19:8
• 21. Numbers 19:2; Deuteronomy 21:3; Hosea 4:16; Amos 4:1
• 22. 1 Samuel 1:24
• 23. Leviticus 1:14; Leviticus 5:7,11; Leviticus 12:8
• 24. ver 17; Jeremiah 34:18
• 25. Leviticus 1:17; Leviticus 5:8
• 26. Deuteronomy 28:26; Jeremiah 7:33

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "sovereign"
• [b]. Or "shield;" / "your reward will be very great"
• [c]. The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
• [d]. Or "seed"