Genesis 15
Young's Literal Translation
15 After these things hath the word of Jehovah been unto Abram in a vision, saying, `Fear not, Abram, I [am] a shield to thee, thy reward [is] exceeding great.'
2 And Abram saith, `Lord Jehovah, what dost Thou give to me, and I am going childless? and an acquired son in my house is Demmesek Eliezer.'
3 And Abram saith, `Lo, to me Thou hast not given seed, and lo, a domestic doth heir me.'
4 And lo, the word of Jehovah [is] unto him, saying, `This [one] doth not heir thee; but he who cometh out from thy bowels, he doth heir thee;'
5 and He bringeth him out without, and saith, `Look attentively, I pray thee, towards the heavens, and count the stars, if thou art able to count them;' and He saith to him, `Thus is thy seed.'
6 And he hath believed in Jehovah, and He reckoneth it to him -- righteousness.
7 And He saith unto him, `I [am] Jehovah who brought thee out from Ur of the Chaldees, to give to thee this land to possess it;'
8 and he saith, `Lord Jehovah, whereby do I know that I possess it?'
9 And He saith unto him, `Take for Me a heifer of three years, and a she-goat of three years, and a ram of three years, and a turtle-dove, and a young bird;'
10 and he taketh to him all these, and separateth them in the midst, and putteth each piece over against its fellow, but the bird he hath not divided;
11 and the ravenous birds come down upon the carcases, and Abram causeth them to turn back.
12 And the sun is about to go in, and deep sleep hath fallen upon Abram, and lo, a terror of great darkness is falling upon him;
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.'
17 And it cometh to pass -- the sun hath gone in, and thick darkness hath been -- and lo, a furnace of smoke, and a lamp of fire, which hath passed over between those pieces.
18 In that day hath Jehovah made with Abram a covenant, saying, `To thy seed I have given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Phrat,
19 with the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite,
20 and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim,
21 and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.'
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.
