Bereshis 15
Orthodox Jewish Bible
15 After these things the Devar Hashem came unto Avram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Avram; I am thy mogen, and thy exceeding great sachar (reward).
2 And Avram said, Adonoi Hashem, what wilt Thou give me, since I go childless, and the Ben Meshek of my Bais is this Eliezer of Dameshek (Damascus)?
3 And Avram said, See, to me Thou hast given no zera; and, hinei, one born in my bais is my yoresh (heir).
4 And, hinei, the Devar Hashem came unto him saying, This shall not be thy yoresh; but he that shall come forth out of thine own body shall be thy yoresh.
5 And He brought him forth outside, and said, Look now toward Shomayim, and count the kokhavim, if thou be able to number them; and He said unto him, So shall thy zera be.
6 And he believed in Hashem; and He credited [emunah (faith)] to him as tzedakah (righteousness).
7 And He said unto him, I am Hashem Who brought thee out of Ur Kasdim, to give thee ha’aretz hazot to be the yoresh of it.
8 And he said, Adonoi Hashem, how can I have da’as that I will be its yoresh?
9 And He said unto him, Bring Me a heifer meshuleshet, and a she goat meshuleshet, and a ram meshulash, and a dove, and a pigeon.
10 And he brought unto Him all these, and divided them in two, and laid each half one opposite another; but the birds divided he not.
11 And when the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Avram drove them away.
12 And when the shemesh was going down, a tardemah fell upon Avram; and, hinei, a horror of great darkness fell upon him.
13 And Hashem said unto Avram, Know of a surety that thy zera shall be a ger in a land not their own, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them arba me’ot shanah;
14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with rechush gadol (great substance).
15 And thou shalt go to thy avot in shalom; thou shalt be buried at a good old age.
16 But in the fourth generation they shall come back here again; for the avon (iniquity) of the Emori (Amorite) is not yet full.
17 And it came to pass, that, when the shemesh went down, and it was dark, hinei a smoking fire-pot, and a blazing torch passed between those pieces.
18 On that day Hashem cut a brit (covenant) with Avram, saying, Unto thy zera have I given ha’aretz hazot, from the Wadi of Mitzrayim unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 [the land of] the Keni, and the Kenizzi, and the Kadmoni,
20 And the Chitti, and the Perizzi, and the Repha’im,
21 And the Emori, and the Kena’ani, and the Girgashi, and the Yevusi.
Genesis 15
Expanded Bible
God’s Covenant with Abram
15 After these things happened, the Lord spoke his word to Abram in a vision: “Abram, don’t be afraid. I will ·defend [L be a shield to] you, and ·I will give you a great reward [L your reward will be great].”
2 But Abram said, “Lord God [C Hebrew Adonai Yahweh; combination of covenant name YHWH (2:4) with common Hebrew word for “sir,” “lord,” or “master”], what can you give me? I ·have no son [am childless], so my ·slave [servant] Eliezer from Damascus [C a major city in Syria] will ·get everything I own after I die [be my heir; C a household servant would take care of a childless couple in their old age and in turn inherit their possessions].” 3 Abram said, “Look, you have given me no son, so a slave born in my house will ·inherit everything I have [be my heir].”
4 Then the Lord spoke his word to Abram: “He will not be the one to inherit what you have. You will have a son of your own who will inherit what you have.”
5 Then God led Abram outside and said, “Look at the ·sky [heavens]. There are so many stars you cannot count them. Your ·descendants [L seed] also will be too many to count.”
6 Abram ·believed [put his trust/faith in] the Lord. And the Lord ·accepted Abram’s faith, and that faith made him right with God [T counted/credited it as righteousness; Rom. 4:3, 9, 22; Gal. 3:6; James 2:23].
7 God said to Abram, “I am the Lord who led you out of Ur of ·Babylonia [L the Chaldeans] so that I could give you this land ·to own [L as a possession; 12:1–3].”
8 But Abram said, “Lord God, how can I ·be sure [L know] that I will ·own this land [possess/inherit it]?”
9 ·The Lord [L He] said to Abram, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ·male sheep [ram], a ·dove [turtledove], and a young pigeon.”
10 Abram brought them all to God. Then Abram ·killed the animals and cut each of them into two pieces [L split them down the middle], laying each half opposite the other half. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 Later, ·large birds [or birds of prey] flew down to eat the ·animals [L carcasses], but Abram chased them away [C perhaps representing later enemies of Israel].
12 As the sun was ·going down [setting], Abram fell into a deep sleep. While he was asleep, a very ·terrible [or frightening] darkness came. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your ·descendants [L seed] will be ·strangers [sojourners; wanderers; resident aliens] in a land they don’t own. The people there will make them slaves and ·be cruel to [oppress] them for four hundred years. 14 But I will ·punish [judge] the nation ·where they are slaves [L which they serve]. Then your ·descendants [L seed] will leave that land, taking great ·wealth [possessions] with them. 15 And you, Abram, will ·die [L go to your fathers/ancestors] in peace and will be buried at an old age. 16 ·After your great-great-grandchildren are born [L After the fourth generation], ·your people [L they] will come ·to this land [L here] again. It will take that long, because ·I am not yet going to punish the Amorites for their evil behavior [T the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete; C Amorites is one name for the pre-Israelite inhabitants of Canaan].”
17 After the sun went down, it was very dark. Suddenly a smoking firepot and a blazing torch [C fire and smoke often represent God] passed between the ·halves of the dead animals [L pieces; C a self-curse ritual; by passing between the pieces of the sacrifice, one vowed to keep an agreement or suffer the same fate as the animals]. 18 So on that day the Lord ·made an agreement [L cut a covenant/treaty; 6:18] with Abram and said, “I will give to your ·descendants [L seed] the land between the river of Egypt and the great river Euphrates. 19 This is the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites [C the name of peoples who lived in pre-Israelite Canaan].”
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