The Bible — World English Bible
Genesis 15
In brief
Genesis 15 is a central chapter in the story of Abraham. God reassures Abram, who has no child, and promises him descendants as numerous as the stars. Abram believes, and God counts it to him as righteousness, a verse Paul will take up to explain salvation by faith. Abram then asks how he will know that he will possess the land, and God seals his covenant in a strange scene: animals cut in two, a deep night, a smoking furnace and a flaming torch passing between the pieces. God also announces the years of slavery to come, then the exodus.
The chapter in 4 parts
- v. 1-6“Don’t be afraid”: the promise of descendants and faith counted as righteousness
- v. 7-11Abram's question about the land and the preparation of the animals
- v. 12-16The deep night and the announcement of the coming exile
- v. 17-21The fire passes between the animals: God seals the covenant and gives the land
1After these things Yahweh’s word came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
2Abram said, “Lord Yahweh, what will you give me, since I go childless, and he who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”
3Abram said, “Behold, you have given no children to me: and, behold, one born in my house is my heir.”
4Behold, Yahweh’s word came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir, but he who will come out of your own body will be your heir.”
5Yahweh brought him outside, and said, “Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “So your offspring will be.”
6He believed in Yahweh, who credited it to him for righteousness.
7He said to Abram, “I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.”
8He said, “Lord Yahweh, how will I know that I will inherit it?”
9He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
10He brought him all these, and divided them in the middle, and laid each half opposite the other; but he didn’t divide the birds.
11The birds of prey came down on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
12When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. Now terror and great darkness fell on him.
13He said to Abram, “Know for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years.
14I will also judge that nation, whom they will serve. Afterward they will come out with great wealth;
15but you will go to your fathers in peace. You will be buried at a good old age.
16In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.”
17It came to pass that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
18In that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I have given this land to your offspring, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:
19the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
20the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
21the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
Key verses
After these things Yahweh’s word came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
God speaks to Abram before his complaint: “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield”. The promised reward is not first a possession, it is God himself who protects.
Yahweh brought him outside, and said, “Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “So your offspring will be.”
God brings Abram outside and asks him to count the stars. The image lets him see the promise: to a man with no child, God shows descendants too many to count.
He believed in Yahweh, who credited it to him for righteousness.
“He believed in Yahweh, who credited it to him for righteousness.” Paul quotes this verse in Romans 4 and Galatians 3 to say that God welcomes the one who trusts him, before any work.
He said to Abram, “Know for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years. I will also judge that nation, whom they will serve. Afterward they will come out with great wealth;
God does not soften the future: Abram's descendants will be foreigners and oppressed before coming out with great wealth. He shows that the promise passes through the trial, it is not exempt from it.
It came to pass that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. In that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I have given this land to your offspring, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:
Only the fire passes between the divided animals, while Abram sleeps. The covenant therefore rests on God's commitment, who takes on himself the guarantee of his word.
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What the sermons say
Frequently asked questions about Genesis 15
What does “He believed in Yahweh, who credited it to him for righteousness” mean?
The verse says that God counted Abram's trust as righteousness, that is, he received him as righteous before him. The New Testament comes back to it to show that salvation is received by faith and not earned by works. Christian traditions draw nuances from it, but agree on the central role of trust in God.
Why does God ask Abram to cut animals in two?
In the ancient world, a covenant was sealed by passing between divided animals, as if to say that whoever breaks his commitment should suffer the same fate. In Genesis 15, Abram sleeps and only God's fire passes between the pieces: God takes the commitment on himself. This is what several preachers link to the new covenant in Jesus.
What do the birds of prey in verse 11 represent?
The text simply says that Abram drove them away. Readers often see in them the image of obstacles that threaten what God is sealing, and a call to stay watchful through prayer and perseverance. It is a symbolic reading, which the text itself does not develop.
What is the main message of Genesis 15?
God keeps his promises and himself takes the guarantee of the covenant. Abram doubts, questions and waits, but God reassures him, shows him the stars and passes through the fire. The chapter invites us to believe that God's word holds even when nothing seems to move.
Articles quoting Genesis 15
- What Is Justification According to the Bible?
- Putting to Death the Flesh That Wants to Save Itself
- Matthew 5: Divorce, Remarriage and Covenant in a World of Convenience
- Who Are the True Heirs of the Promised Land?
- John 15: Obedience Opens the Way to the Father's Heart
- James 2: Faith Alone Saves, but It Is Never Alone
World English Bible translation — public domain.