13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
13 And he said H559 unto Abram, H87 Know H3045 of a surety H3045 that thy seed H2233 shall be a stranger H1616 in a land H776 that is not theirs, and shall serve H5647 them; and they shall afflict H6031 them four H702 hundred H3967 years; H8141
14 And also that nation, H1471 whom they shall serve, H5647 will I judge: H1777 and afterward H310 H3651 shall they come out H3318 with great H1419 substance. H7399
15 And thou shalt go H935 to thy fathers H1 in peace; H7965 thou shalt be buried H6912 in a good H2896 old age. H7872
16 But in the fourth H7243 generation H1755 they shall come hither H2008 again: H7725 for the iniquity H5771 of the Amorites H567 is not yet H2008 full. H8003
13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
14 and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15 But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
16 And in the fourth generation they shall come hither again; for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.
13 and He saith to Abram, `knowing -- know that thy seed is a sojourner in a land not theirs, and they have served them, and they have afflicted them four hundred years,
14 and the nation also whom they serve I judge, and after this they go out with great substance;
15 and thou -- thou comest in unto thy fathers in peace; thou art buried in a good old age;
16 and the fourth generation doth turn back hither, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.'
13 And he said to Abram, Know assuredly that thy seed will be a sojourner in a land [that is] not theirs, and they shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.
14 But also that nation which they shall serve I will judge; and afterwards they shall come out with great property.
15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
16 And [in the] fourth generation they shall come hither again; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
13 He said to Abram, "Know for sure that your seed will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years.
14 I will also judge that nation, whom they will serve. Afterward they will come out with great substance.
15 But you will go to your fathers in peace. You will be buried in a good old age.
16 In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full."
13 And he said to Abram, Truly, your seed will be living in a land which is not theirs, as servants to a people who will be cruel to them for four hundred years;
14 But I will be the judge of that nation whose servants they are, and they will come out from among them with great wealth.
15 As for you, you will go to your fathers in peace; at the end of a long life you will be put in your last resting-place.
16 And in the fourth generation they will come back here; for at present the sin of the Amorite is not full.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 15
Commentary on Genesis 15 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 15
Ge 15:1-21. Divine Encouragement.
1. After these things—the conquest of the invading kings.
the word of the Lord—a phrase used, when connected with a vision, to denote a prophetic message.
Fear not, Abram—When the excitement of the enterprise was over, he had become a prey to despondency and terror at the probable revenge that might be meditated against him. To dispel his fear, he was favored with this gracious announcement. Having such a promise, how well did it become him (and all God's people who have the same promise) to dismiss fears, and cast all burdens on the Lord (Ps 27:3).
2. Lord God, what wilt thou give?—To his mind the declaration, "I am thy exceeding great reward" [Ge 15:1], had but one meaning, or was viewed but in one particular light, as bearing on the fulfilment of the promise, and he was still experiencing the sickness of hope deferred.
3. Eliezer of Damascus … one born in my house is mine heir—According to the usage of nomadic tribes, his chief confidential servant, would be heir to his possessions and honors. But this man could have become his son only by adoption; and how sadly would that have come short of the parental hopes he had been encouraged to entertain! His language betrayed a latent spirit of fretfulness or perhaps a temporary failure in the very virtue for which he is so renowned—and absolute submission to God's time, as well as way, of accomplishing His promise.
4. This shall not be thine heir—To the first part of his address no reply was given; but having renewed it in a spirit of more becoming submission, "whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it" [Ge 15:8], he was delighted by a most explicit promise of Canaan, which was immediately confirmed by a remarkable ceremony.
9-21. Take me an heifer, &c.—On occasions of great importance, when two or more parties join in a compact, they either observe precisely the same rites as Abram did, or, where they do not, they invoke the lamp as their witness. According to these ideas, which have been from time immemorial engraven on the minds of Eastern people, the Lord Himself condescended to enter into covenant with Abram. The patriarch did not pass between the sacrifice and the reason was that in this transaction he was bound to nothing. He asked a sign, and God was pleased to give him a sign, by which, according to Eastern ideas, He bound Himself. In like manner God has entered into covenant with us; and in the glory of the only-begotten Son, who passed through between God and us, all who believe have, like Abram, a sign or pledge in the gift of the Spirit, whereby they may know that they shall inherit the heavenly Canaan.