Genesis 15:8-16
New English Translation
8 But[a] Abram[b] said, “O Sovereign Lord,[c] by what[d] can I know that I am to possess it?”
9 The Lord[e] 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.” 10 So Abram[f] took all these for him and then cut them in two[g] and placed each half opposite the other,[h] but he did not cut the birds in half. 11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep,[i] and great terror overwhelmed him.[j] 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain[k] that your descendants will be strangers[l] in a foreign country.[m] They will be enslaved and oppressed[n] for 400 years. 14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve.[o] Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15 But as for you,[p] you will go to your ancestors[q] in peace and be buried at a good old age.[r] 16 In the fourth generation[s] your descendants[t] will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.”[u]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 15:8 tn Here the vav carries adversative force and is translated “but.”
- Genesis 15:8 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 15:8 tn See note on the phrase “Sovereign Lord” in 15:2.
- Genesis 15:8 tn Or “how.”
- Genesis 15:9 tn Heb “He”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 15:10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 15:10 tn Heb “in the middle.”
- Genesis 15:10 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.
- Genesis 15:12 tn Heb “a deep sleep fell on Abram.”
- Genesis 15:12 tn Heb “and look, terror, a great darkness was falling on him.”
- Genesis 15:13 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, with the Qal infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect from יָדַע (yadaʿ, “know”). The imperfect here has an obligatory or imperatival force.
- Genesis 15:13 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 foreigners without rights of citizenship.
- Genesis 15:13 tn Heb “in a land not theirs.”
- Genesis 15:13 tn Heb “and they will serve them and they will oppress them.” The verb עִנּוּ, (ʾinnu, a Piel form from עָנָה, ʾanah, “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly”), is used in Exod 1:11 to describe the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt.
- Genesis 15:14 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.
- Genesis 15:15 tn The vav with the pronoun before the verb calls special attention to the subject in contrast to the preceding subject.
- Genesis 15:15 sn You will go to your ancestors. This is a euphemistic expression for death.
- Genesis 15:15 tn Heb “in a good old age.”
- Genesis 15:16 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 400 years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to 100 years.
- Genesis 15:16 tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 15:16 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.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.