Genesis 15:1–16

THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT

15After these events, the word of the Lord came^a to Abram in a vision:

Do not be afraid,^b Abram.

I am your shield;^c

your reward will be very great.

²But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”^{A 3}Abram continued, “Look, you have given me no offspring, so a slave born in^B my house will be my heir.”

⁴Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body^C will be your heir.” ⁵He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.”^d

⁶Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.^e

⁷He also said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”^f

⁸But he said, “Lord God, how can I know^g that I will possess it?”

⁹He said to him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

¹⁰So he brought all these to him, cut them in half, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut the birds^h in half. ¹¹Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. ¹²As the sun was setting, a deep sleepⁱ came over Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him.

¹³Then the Lord said to Abram,^j “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be resident aliens^k for four hundred years^l in a land that does not belong to them and will be enslaved and oppressed.^{D 14}However, I will judge the nation they serve,^m and afterward they will go out with many possessions.^{n 15}But you will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.^{o 16}In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”^Ep