Genesis 15
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 15
The Covenant Guarantee of the Promise.[a] 1 Some time later the Lord communicated these words to Abram in a vision,
“Do not fear, Abram.
I am your shield;
your reward shall be very great.”
2 Abram answered, “My Lord God, what will you give me? I will pass away without children and my heir will be Eliezer of Damascus.” 3 Abram continued, “Behold, you have not given me descendants, and my servant will be my heir.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came unto him, “He will not be your heir; your own child will be your heir.” 5 Then he led him outside and told him, “Look into the heavens and count the stars, if you can count them. Such,” he continued, “will your descendants be.”
6 Abraham believed the Lord, who credited it to him as righteousness.[b]
7 And he said, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to take possession of this land.”
8 He answered, “O Lord God, how will I know that I am to possess it?”
9 He said, “Take a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
10 He took all these animals and split them in two and placed each half opposite the other (except for the birds). 11 Birds of prey landed upon the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.
12 As the sun was setting, a trance fell upon Abram, and a fearful darkness descended upon him. 13 The Lord said to Abram, “Know that your descendants shall be foreigners in a land that is not their own. They shall be made slaves and oppressed for four hundred years. 14 But I will execute my judgment upon the nation that they will have served. They will leave it with great riches. 15 As for you, you will go in peace to your fathers, and you will be buried at a happy old age. 16 In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet come to full measure.”
17 When the sun set, it was dark, and a smoking brazier and a flaming torch passed between the carcasses of the animals that had been split in two.[c] 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, “To your descendants I will give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates, 19 the dwelling place of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
Footnotes
- Genesis 15:1 This chapter begins the contributions of the Elohist tradition, which frequently, as here, is fused with the Yahwist tradition. Twice, at different moments (vv. 1, 7), God reminds Abraham of his promises, but the latter complains privately to him that he has as yet received no fruit from them. At the divine confirmation Abraham renews his faith and the Lord acknowledges him as righteous. St. Paul will conclude from this that human beings attain to the life of grace not through works they have done but because they believe (Gal 3:5-9).
Using the image of a smoking flame, an habitual symbol of the power and mystery of God, the latter himself carries out the ancient rite of passing between the parts of the sacrificial victims. Abraham is not asked to join in this passage but is simply present to the vision; the reason for this is that the covenant is a completely free act of God. - Genesis 15:6 Righteousness in its general sense means the attitude with which human beings submit to the plans of God so that God the Savior can fulfill in them his purpose of freeing them from sin and rendering them righteous. St. Paul (Rom 4; Gal 3:5-9) and St. James (Jas 2:20-23) will explain the value of Abraham’s faith and righteousness: he becomes righteous in virtue of his faith, even before submitting to the ritual practice of circumcision (see Gen 17), which will be the outward sign of a faith that is to be lived interiorly. Faith, however, is not simply the acceptance of a theoretical truth; it is a principle of action that calls for a certain kind of behavior, without which the faith would be illusory and crippled (see Deut 6:25; 24:13; etc.).
- Genesis 15:17 This ancient covenant rite signified that the contracting parties called down on themselves the bloody fate of the animals if they violated the solemn commitment they had accepted (see Jer 34:18-20). The flame or lightning flashes express omnipotence; the smoke or darkness signifies the mystery of God that is inaccessible to the human gaze.
Genesis 15
EasyEnglish Bible
The Lord's covenant with Abram
15 After this, the Lord spoke to Abram in a dream. God said, ‘Do not be afraid Abram. I will keep you safe. I myself will give you many good gifts.’
2 But Abram said, ‘Almighty Lord, there is one gift that I want. I still have no children. When I die, Eliezer of Damascus will receive everything that I have. 3 Because you have not given me any children, understand this: Everything that I have will one day belong to a servant in my house.’[a]
4 The Lord gave Abram this message: ‘No! Eliezer will not be the one who receives your things. You will have your own son. He will be the one who receives everything that you have.’
5 The Lord took Abram outside. He said to Abram, ‘Look up at the sky. Count the stars. They are too many for you to count!’ Then God said, ‘That is how many descendants you will have.’
6 Abram believed the Lord. As a result, the Lord accepted Abram as right with him.
7 The Lord also said to Abram, ‘I am the Lord. I brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to bring you to this land. I am giving it to you. It will belong to you.’ 8 But Abram said, ‘Almighty Lord, how can I be sure that this land will belong to me?’
9 The Lord said to Abram, ‘Bring a young cow, a goat and a male sheep to offer them to me. Each animal must be three years old. Also bring a dove and a young pigeon.’
10 Abram brought the three animals and the two birds to offer to God. Abram cut each animal in two pieces. He put the halves opposite each other. But he did not cut the birds in two pieces. 11 Some birds flew down to eat the animals' dead bodies. But Abram sent them away.
12 When the sun was going down, Abram started to sleep. Suddenly he became very afraid because it was dark all around him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, ‘Be sure of this: Your descendants will live in a foreign country. They will be strangers there. People will do bad things to them and they will become slaves. This will continue for 400 years. 14 But I will punish the people of that country who give them trouble. After this, your descendants will leave that country. They will take many valuable things with them. 15 But as for you, Abram, you will have a long life. When you die, you will have peace in your mind. 16 After four generations, your descendants will come back here to Canaan. At that time, I will punish the Amorites because they do very bad things. But the time has not yet arrived that I will punish them.’[b]
17 Then the sun went down and it became dark. Abram saw a pot that had coals in it. The coals were burning and making smoke. There was also a branch that burned with bright fire. These passed between the halves of the animals that Abram had cut in two pieces.[c]
18 On that day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram. The Lord promised, ‘I give this land to your descendants. The land starts from the river of Egypt and continues as far as the River Euphrates. 19 These people live in the land: Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.’[d]
Footnotes
- 15:3 Eliezer of Damascus was Abram's servant. Abram did not have any children. When Abram died, there was no son to continue the family.
- 15:16 The Amorites lived in Canaan. They did not worship the Lord God. They worshipped false gods. They killed children and gave them as sacrifices to these gods. God told Abram that when his descendants returned to Canaan, he would punish the Amorites at that time.
- 15:17 The fire showed that God was passing between the halves of the animals. This showed that he was making a covenant with Abram.
- 15:21 These are the people who lived in the land of Canaan that God was giving to Abram and his descendants. Abram's descendants would win against these people. Then they would take the land for themselves to live in, because God had given it to them.
Genesis 15
International Children’s Bible
God’s Agreement with Abram
15 After these things happened, the Lord spoke his word to Abram in a vision. God said, “Abram, don’t be afraid. I will defend you. And I will give you a great reward.”
2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me? I have no son. So my slave Eliezer from Damascus will get everything I own after I die.” 3 Abram said, “Look, you have given me no son. So a slave born in my house will inherit everything I have.”
4 Then the Lord spoke his word to Abram. He said, “That slave will not be the one to inherit what you have. You will have a son of your own. And your son will inherit what you have.”
5 Then God led Abram outside. God said, “Look at the sky. There are so many stars you cannot count them. And your descendants will be too many to count.”
6 Abram believed the Lord. And the Lord accepted Abram’s faith, and that faith made him right with God.
7 God said to Abram, “I am the Lord who led you out of Ur of Babylonia. I did that so I could give you this land to own.”
8 But Abram said, “Lord God, how can I be sure that I will own this land?”
9 The Lord said to Abram, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old goat and a three-year-old male sheep. Also bring me a dove and a young pigeon.”
10 Abram brought them all to God. Then Abram killed the animals and cut each of them into two pieces. He laid each half opposite the other half. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 Later, large birds flew down to eat the animals. But Abram chased them away.
12 As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep. While he was asleep, a very terrible darkness came. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers and travel in a land they don’t own. The people there will make them slaves. And they will do cruel things to them for 400 years. 14 But I will punish the nation where they are slaves. Then your descendants will leave that land, taking great wealth with them. 15 Abram, you will live to be very old. You will die in peace and will be buried. 16 After your great-great-grandchildren are born, your people will come to this land again. It will take that long, because the Amorites are not yet evil enough to punish.”
17 The sun went down, and it was very dark. Suddenly a smoking firepot and a blazing torch passed between the halves of the dead animals.[a] 18 So on that day the Lord made an agreement with Abram. The Lord said, “I will give this land to your descendants. I will give them 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.”
Footnotes
- 15:17 passed . . . animals This showed that God sealed the agreement between himself and Abram.
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