Genesis 15:6–18

15:6 Abram believed20 the Lord, and the Lord21 considered his response of faith22 as proof of genuine loyalty.23

15:7 The Lord said24 to him, “I am the Lord25 who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans26 to give you this land to possess.” 15:8 But27 Abram28 said, “O sovereign Lord,29 by what30 can I know that I am to possess it?”

15:9 The Lord31 said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 15:10 So Abram32 took all these for him and then cut them in two33 and placed each half opposite the other,34 but he did not cut the birds in half. 15:11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

15:12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep,35 and great terror overwhelmed him.36 15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain37 that your descendants will be strangers38 in a foreign country.39 They will be enslaved and oppressed40 for four hundred years. 15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve.41 Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15:15 But as for you,42 you will go to your ancestors43 in peace and be buried at a good old age.44 15:16 In the fourth generation45 your descendants46 will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.”47

15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch48 passed between the animal parts.49 15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant50 with Abram: “To your descendants I give51 this land, from the river of Egypt52 to the great river, the Euphrates River—

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20	tn The nonconsecutive vav (ו) is on a perfect verbal form. If the composer of the narrative had wanted to show simple sequence, he would have used the vav consecutive with the preterite. The perfect with vav conjunctive (where one expects the preterite with vav consecutive) in narrative contexts can have a variety of discourse functions, but here it probably serves to highlight Abram’s response to God’s promise. For a detailed discussion of the vav + perfect construction in Hebrew narrative, see R. Longacre, “Weqatal Forms in Biblical Hebrew Prose: A Discourse-modular Approach,” Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, 50–98. The Hebrew verb אָמַן (’aman) means “to confirm, to support” in the Qal verbal stem. Its derivative nouns refer to something or someone that/who provides support, such as a “pillar,” “nurse,” or “guardian, trustee.” In the Niphal stem it comes to mean “to be faithful, to be reliable, to be dependable,” or “to be firm, to be sure.” In the Hiphil, the form used here, it takes on a declarative sense: “to consider something reliable [or “dependable”].” Abram regarded the God who made this promise as reliable and fully capable of making it a reality.
21	tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
22	tn Heb “and he reckoned it to him.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix refers back to Abram’s act of faith, mentioned in the preceding clause. On third feminine singular pronouns referring back to verbal ideas see GKC 440–41 §135.p. Some propose taking the suffix as proleptic, anticipating the following feminine noun (“righteousness”). In this case one might translate: “and he reckoned it to him—[namely] righteousness.” See O. P. Robertson, “Genesis 15:6: A New Covenant Exposition of an Old Covenant Text,” WTJ 42 (1980): 259–89.
23	tn Or “righteousness”; or “evidence of steadfast commitment.” The noun is an adverbial accusative. The verb translated “considered” (Heb “reckoned”) also appears with צְדָקָה (tsédaqah, “righteousness”) in Ps 106:31. Alluding to the events recorded in Numbers 25, the psalmist notes that Phinehas’ actions were “credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.” Reference is made to the unconditional, eternal covenant with which God rewarded Phinehas’ loyalty (Num 25:12–13). So צְדָקָה seems to carry by metonymy the meaning “loyal, rewardable behavior” here, a nuance that fits nicely in Genesis 15, where God responds to Abram’s faith by formally ratifying his promise to give Abram and his descendants the land. (See R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 40.) In Phoenician and Old Aramaic inscriptions cognate nouns glossed as “correct, justifiable conduct” sometimes carry this same semantic nuance (DNWSI 2:962). sn This episode is basic to the NT teaching of Paul on justification (Romans 4). Paul weaves this passage and Psalm 32 together, for both use this word. Paul explains that for the one who believes in the Lord, like Abram, God credits him with righteousness but does not credit his sins against him because he is forgiven. Justification does not mean that the believer is righteous; it means that God credits him with righteousness, so that in the records of heaven (as it were) he is declared righteous. See M. G. Kline, “Abram’s Amen,” WTJ 31 (1968): 1–11.
24	tn Heb “And he said.”
25	sn I am the Lord. The Lord initiates the covenant-making ceremony with a declaration of who he is and what he has done for Abram. The same form appears at the beginning of the covenant made at Sinai (see Exod 20:1).
26	sn The phrase of the Chaldeans is a later editorial clarification for the readers, designating the location of Ur. From all evidence there would have been no Chaldeans in existence at this early date; they are known in the time of the neo-Babylonian empire in the first millennium b.c.
27	tn Here the vav carries adversative force and is translated “but.”
28	tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
29	tn See note on the phrase “sovereign Lord” in 15:2.
30	tn Or “how.”
31	tn Heb “He”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
32	tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
33	tn Heb “in the middle.”
34	tn Heb “to meet its neighbor.” sn For discussion of this ritual see G. F. Hasel, “The Meaning of the Animal Rite in Genesis 15,” JSOT 19 (1981): 61–78.
35	tn Heb “a deep sleep fell on Abram.”
36	tn Heb “and look, terror, a great darkness was falling on him.”
37	tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, with the Qal infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “know”). The imperfect here has an obligatory or imperatival force.
38	tn The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger, “sojourner, stranger”) is related to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to stay for awhile”). Abram’s descendants will stay in a land as resident aliens without rights of citizenship.
39	tn Heb “in a land not theirs.”
40	tn Heb “and they will serve them and they will oppress them.” The verb עִנּוּ, (’innu, a Piel form from עָנָה, ’anah, “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly”), is used in Exod 1:11 to describe the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt.
41	tn The participle דָּן (dan, from דִּין, din) is used here for the future: “I am judging” = “I will surely judge.” The judgment in this case will be condemnation and punishment. The translation “execute judgment on” implies that the judgment will certainly be carried out.
42	tn The vav with the pronoun before the verb calls special attention to the subject in contrast to the preceding subject.
43	sn You will go to your ancestors. This is a euphemistic expression for death.
44	tn Heb “in a good old age.”
45	sn The term generation is being used here in its widest sense to refer to a full life span. When the chronological factors are considered and the genealogies tabulated, there are four hundred years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to one hundred years.
46	tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
47	tn Heb “is not yet complete.” sn The sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit. The justice of God is apparent. He will wait until the Amorites are fully deserving of judgment before he annihilates them and gives the land to Israel.
48	sn A smoking pot with a flaming torch. These same implements were used in Mesopotamian rituals designed to ward off evil (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 113–14).
49	tn Heb “these pieces.”
50	tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
51	tn The perfect verbal form is understood as instantaneous (“I here and now give”). Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, indicating certitude (“I have given” meaning it is as good as done, i.e., “I will surely give”). sn To your descendants I give this land. The Lord here unconditionally promises that Abram’s descendants will possess the land, but he does not yet ratify his earlier promises to give Abram a multitude of descendants and eternal possession of the land. The fulfillment of those aspects of the promise remain conditional (see Gen 17:1–8) and are ratified after Abraham offers up his son Isaac (see Gen 22:1–19). For a fuller discussion see R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 35–54.
52	sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.

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