Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does Genesis Chapter 15 mean?

Genesis 15 consists entirely of an extended encounter between the Lord and Abram, the man who will later be renamed Abraham. This concludes with the formal establishment of God’s covenant promise to Abram: to give him and his descendants the land of Canaan.

The chapter begins with the “word of the Lord” coming to Abram in a vision. This arrives with reassurance to Abram about God’s continued commitment to him: Don’t be afraid. I am your shield. Your reward will be great. Abram, though, takes the opportunity of this visitation from the Lord to ask some hard questions. He is curious about God’s repeated promises to him.

First, addressing the promise that God will make of him a great nation, Abram respectfully points out that his current heir is a servant, not a son. He has no children. And, at this point, Abram is well over seventy-five years old (Genesis 12:4). God’s response is to show Abram the stars. Using this as an analogy, God repeats His promise that Abram’s descendants will be so numerous as to be uncountable.

Abram believes God. This statement, from Genesis 15:6, is one of the key verses in all of the Bible. Abram’s belief in God is credited to him as righteousness. In the New Testament, both Paul and James quote this verse (Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23), making it a cornerstone of the Christian teaching that God’s acceptance of us comes by His grace and through our faith.

Even though Abram has faith, he respectfully asks one more question of the Lord, in response to God’s repeated promise to give him the land of Canaan: “How am I to know?” God doesn’t reject Abram’s request for reassurance. Instead He instructs Abram to gather five specific animals, to cut some in half, and to arrange them in a specific way. This begins a covenant ritual between God and Abram that is momentarily interrupted by birds of prey trying to eat the remains of Abram’s slaughtered animals.

Before God completes the ritual, He causes a deep sleep to fall on Abram and reveals to Abram a prophecy about the future of his descendants. They will live as captives for 400 years in another country, serving that nation. When the time comes, they will be released with abundant possessions and return to execute God’s judgment on the Amorites and other inhabitants of the land of Canaan. Abram learns that he will live to a good, old age, but that he will not live to see the troubling events of this prophecy.

Finally, God completes the covenant ritual in a dramatic fashion. Abram witnesses a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch pass through the pieces of the animals, a sight he would likely long remember as evidence of God’s covenant promises. God completes the covenant by describing both the southern and northern borders of the Promised Land, as well as identifying the peoples who would have previously occupied the various regions of the land when Abram’s descendants would receive it as their own.

Chapter Context
Where Genesis 14 was an action-packed story of war and rescue, Genesis 15 consists of a single conversational encounter between the Lord and Abram. This concludes with the formalizing of God’s covenant promises to Abram in a dramatic covenant ritual. Abram respectfully asks the Lord some hard questions about how the seemingly impossible promises might be kept. God responds and Abram believes. In addition, God reveals to Abram a prophecy about the difficult future his descendants will face as servants in another country before returning to take possession of the land of Canaan.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”

Sometime after the dramatic events of the previous chapter, the Lord came and spoke to Abram again. Specifically, we’re told that the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. This language is sometimes used in the Bible to describe God’s relationship with a prophet. As with other prophetic visions, this encounter will involve dramatic imagery.

God’s first words to Abram are reassurance: Don’t be afraid. I am your shield. Your reward will be great. The following verses make it clear that Abram did indeed have questions about how God would keep the enormous promises He had made to Abram. God addresses Abram’s emotions: It is safe to set aside your fear. I will serve as your shield, your protection against harm. The reward will be worth the wait.

Given that Abram had been called by God at the age of seventy-five (Genesis 12:4), and had not yet had any children, his concern is understandable. Abram is not necessarily questioning God’s ability, but he is asking God for more details on how God plans to accomplish His purposes.

Context Summary
Genesis 15:1–21 falls between Abram’s heroic rescue of Lot in Genesis 14 and his less-than-heroic choice to have a child with his wife’s servant in chapter 16. Chapter 15 features Abram’s hard questions to the Lord about how the lofty promises of uncountable descendants and possession of the land will be kept. God responds, in part, by formalizing His covenant promises to Abram with an elaborate ritual. He also reveals to Abram details about the difficult circumstances his descendants will face before they come back to take possession of the land ”in the fourth generation.”

Verse 2. But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

Up to this point in Abram’s relationship with God, we have seen him silently receive the promise that his descendants would become a great nation. Now, after receiving another assurance, Abram speaks back to God. His current heir is a servant, not a son. He boldly—but respectfully—says to the Lord, “What will you give me?” Though it sounds like a complaint, Abram’s question is built on his faith in God’s power and promises. Abram believes God, but he cannot yet see a path to the things God has promised. Instead of ceasing to believe, Abram takes the opportunity to ask his hard question to the source of his hope.

Sometimes asking a hard question in prayer is the most faithful step a believer can take. Acknowledging our own limitations to God, while asking for His wisdom, is a much better approach than suffering in silence or ignorance. At times, admitting that we cannot understand God’s plan is part of submitting ourselves to it. As we’ll see through Abram’s example, God is always fully faithful to keep His Word.

Verse 3. And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”

The word of the Lord has come to Abram in a vision, offering reassurance that He would continue to protect Abram and reward Him. Beginning in the previous verse and continuing here, Abram responds with his heartfelt concern: God has given him no children. If Abram died at that very moment, all that he owned would be passed on to one of his servants. Being well over seventy-five years old, this is not an unreasonable fear on Abram’s part (Genesis 12:4). So far, Abram has responded in faith to the promises of God. All the same, he cannot help but wonder what they could mean to a man who is aging and childless.

Even in this, Abram manages to express faith in God. Those who ask hard questions of God are, in fact, acting in faith. Abram had not ceased to believe. If so, why speak to God, at all? He is not accusing God or rejecting God. Instead, Abram is taking his questions to the source of his hope and waiting, in faith, for God’s answer. That response will come in the following verses.

Verse 4. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”

In the previous verses, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. Abram took the opportunity to ask God—who had promised to make of him a great nation—some hard questions. As things stand now, Abram’s questions point out, his heir will be a servant, not a son. If God is not going to give him children, how is God going to fulfill these promises?

First, in this verse, God begins to reassure Abram that He still intends to keep His promises: Abram’s heir will be his actual, literal son, his own flesh and blood. The Hebrew phrase used here is aser’ yē’sē mi mē’e kā hu yi’ra’se kā. This literally means “one who will come from your own body will be your heir.” God is doubling down on iHs promise to provide Abram with a natural-born child. This reply is important for all who trust God to remember. The fact that God has not yet given what He promised does not mean He will not. Time does not empty God’s promises of their power, even if waiting challenges our patience and, sometimes, our faith.

Verse 5. And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, reassuring Abram of God’s protection and reward. Abram responded with heartfelt concerns, pointing out that the Promise-maker still had not given to him any children. God assured Abram once more that his heir would be his own flesh and blood, not a servant. The Hebrew phrasing used in the prior verse explicitly referred to a biological child—a literal, natural “son” for Abram.

Now God somehow shows Abram the stars. Given that this encounter is described as a vision, it’s hard to know if this look at the stars was an illusion, or an actual trip outside. Later verses suggest that this part of the story happens prior to sunset (Genesis 15:12). In any case, God directs Abram to look up and count the stars above, if he was able. Of course, Abram could not count the stars. Neither could he count the dust on the earth, which God had pointed to in making a similar promise in Genesis 13:16.

God assures Abram once more that his offspring would be so numerous as to be uncountable.

Verse 6. And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

For Christians, this is one of the key verses in all the Old Testament. Abram responded to God’s latest promises with doubts, asking how God’s promises could be true if he still did not have a son. And yet, Abram also willingly received the reassurance of God’s Word. After God showed him the stars and promised once more that Abram’s descendants would be uncountable, Abram chose to continue to believe God.

It’s important to note here that this is not the beginning of Abram’s faith. It is a statement about his continuing belief in God. This is more than assumption: the Hebrew word used in this verse, from the root word ‘aman is in a form which implies something that occurred before this encounter. This moment of trust, during the vision of chapter 15, is not the instant where Abram “finally” came to faith in God. He has expressed faith in God—and that faith is the reason he is choosing to trust God now.

More importantly, this is a statement about how any sinful human could possibly be counted as righteous in any way by a perfectly holy God. Abram’s heroic rescue of Lot, from chapter 14, was not credited to him as righteousness. His believing the Lord was what was counted as righteousness. It is faith in God that makes people acceptable to God. This idea is key to Christianity, and this verse is referenced by the New Testament writers in Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6, and James 2:23.

God kept His word. Abram will be renamed Abraham, and his descendants will become Israel, the uncountable people of God. However, as Paul will write in Galatians 3:6, millennia after Abram, all those who trust God are the sons of Father Abraham, who believed.

Verse 7. And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”

This verse continues the coming of the word of the Lord to Abram in a vision. Previously, Abram has questioned God about not yet having a son, yet continued to believe God’s renewed promise to give him an uncountable number of descendants. Prior verses have shown that God’s promise is that of a literal, natural, biological son (Genesis 15:4). The Hebrew terms used also make it clear that the faith expressed in this encounter is not new—this is a continuation of the faith Abram has already placed in God (Genesis 15:6).

Now the Lord returns to His other great promise to Abram, to give Abram—and his descendants—the land of Canaan as their own possession. As the Lord puts it, He brought Abram out of his old life, his former home, for this very purpose (Genesis 12:1–3). As we’ll see in the next verse, Abram would like reassurance about this seemingly impossible promise, as well.

Verse 8. But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”

As the Lord’s conversation with Abram continues, God reminds Abram of His promise to give to him and his descendants the land of Canaan. Now Abram asks for something tangible: “How can I know I will possess it?”

Notice, as when he asked about having children (Genesis 15:2), Abram begins his question with great respect, addressing God as “O Lord God” or “Sovereign Lord.” Abram’s questions do not represent a lack of faith, accusation, or bitterness. This passage makes it clear that Abram has already put his faith in God (Genesis 15:6), and continues to do so. This is a request for God to reveal even more of Himself to Abram—Abram is asking for reassurance.

That’s exactly what God will provide in the following verses. The symbolism of the ritual shown in these next verses is powerful, and includes prophetic hints at the future of Abram’s nation. Along with this symbolism is a demonstration of how certain God’s promise to Abram really is.

Verse 9. He 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.”

As the Lord’s conversation with Abram continues, God reminds Abram of His promise to give to him (and his descendants) the land of Canaan. In the previous verse, Abram asked, “How can I know I will possess it?” Abram asks this in a respectful, humble way. He is not challenging God, or accusing Him. Rather, Abram is admitting that he cannot see a path from where he is now, to the promise God has made for him.

In response to the question, God directs Abram through the steps of a very specific ritual, formalizing that covenant promise. The first step, in this verse, is a list of animals Abram was to bring before the Lord: a heifer, goat, and ram, each three years old, along with a turtledove and young pigeon. The processes which follow emphasized the seriousness of this promise, on the part of God. It also includes a surprising prophesy about the future of Abram’s large family.

Verse 10. And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half.

In response to Abram’s request for reassurance that he and his offspring would possess the land as God had promised, the Lord told Abram to bring five specific animals before Him. Abram did so and now proceeds to cut the heifer, goat, and ram (all three years old) in half and to lay each half opposite the other. He did not cut the turtledove or pigeon in half.

The symbolic meaning of this bloody-but-purposeful covenant ritual will be clarified in the following verses. In part, this meaning involves a unity of those making the agreement. According to some interpreters, this ritual was also used as a way of demonstrating sincerity; by implying that those passing between the pieces were willing to be destroyed, as the animals were, if they broke their part of the agreement. The use of the animals also provides Abram with a symbolic picture of Israel’s future struggles under the oppressive rule of Egypt.

Verse 11. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

In response to Abram’s question about how he would know that he and his offspring would possess the land, as God had promised, the Lord told Abram to bring five specific animals before Him. Abram did so and then proceeded to cut the heifer, goat, and ram (all three years old) in half and to lay each half opposite the other. He did not cut the turtledove or pigeon in half. Some scholars believe the symbolism of this ritual was meant to highlight the promise made, as if saying “may I be so destroyed if I break my part of this covenant.” Others see it as an expression of unity: passing “inside” the sacrificial animals.

However, something dreadful happens that threatened to derail this covenant ritual between God and Abram. Each of the five animals chosen for the ritual were “clean” animals that would be appropriate, especially under the Law, to use as a sacrifice before God. But before the ritual is ended, a group of unclean birds of prey descend upon the remains of the animals. Abram is forced to drive them away. This seems to be an omen of the coming 400-year affliction of Abram’s descendants described by the Lord’s prophecy in the following verses.

Verse 12. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.

Abram, the man who will soon be renamed Abraham, is in the midst of a covenant ritual between himself and the Lord. In the previous verses, the Lord instructed Abram to bring to him five animals. Abram cut a heifer, goat, and ram in half, arranging the halves opposite of each other and chasing birds of prey away from them. This attack on the covenant promise is symbolic of Israel’s future captivity under Egypt.

At this point in the story, the sun is going down. Previously, God had instructed Abram to look at the stars (Genesis 15:5). That moment either took place within Abram’s vision or on the previous night. On this night, at dusk, Abram seems supernaturally overpowered by a deep sleep and a great and dreadful darkness.

In the following verses, the Lord will speak to Abram in a dream or vision as he sleeps or after Abram is awakened. The upcoming words will prophesy the slavery of Abram’s descendants in Egypt, their eventual exodus, and their conquest of the sinful nations of Canaan.

Verse 13. Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.

The Lord will soon complete a covenant ritual between Himself and Abram, a ritual that will specify, in part, the boundaries of future Israel to be occupied and possessed by Abram’s descendants.

First, however, God will reveal to Abram a prophecy about the difficult future his descendants will face before they occupy the Promised Land. Abram’s offspring, God says, will be strangers, sojourners, serving others in a land that is not their own. They will be afflicted or mistreated for 400 years. God is referring to Israel’s slavery in Egypt, after the death of Joseph (Genesis 50:26) and before the story of Moses and the Exodus (Exodus 1:1–8). As is common in all forms of literature, the reference to time here is a generic, round number. It is perhaps meant to refer to four generations that will come and go during that time. Exodus 12:40 and Galatians 3:17 specify the length of that captivity as 430 years.

God is making clear to Abram that, though the promise of the land will be kept, it will be kept in God’s own time, centuries in the future.

Verse 14. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

Here, God continues to deliver His prophecy about Abram’s future family. In the previous verse, God revealed that Abram’s descendants will spend 400 years as strangers and servants in another land. Here, He continues by saying there will be an end to their captivity, and the nation that mistreated them will be judged. In fact, Abram’s future family, then a nation, will leave that country with great possessions. Soon after this passage, Abram will be renamed Abraham, and his grandson Jacob will be renamed Israel: the father of the promised nation.

God never mentions that the nation bound to enslave Abram’s people is Egypt. More than likely, though, Abram did not miss the similarities between these future events and what happened when he and his company left Egypt with great possessions of their own. In fact, Israel’s captivity will begin in a very similar way to the start of Abram’s adventure in Egypt (Genesis 12:10–20). They will come seeking survival during a time of famine (Genesis 46).

Verse 15. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.

After revealing to Abram, perhaps in a dream, the affliction his future family will face in captivity, serving another nation, God informs Abram he will not live to see any of this. Instead, Abram will “go to his fathers”—a common reference to death—in a time of peace and at a good, old age. Of course, at this point in time, Abram is already somewhere between 75 and 85 years old (Genesis 12:4; Genesis 16:16). God’s words about Abram’s immediate future are a comfort, but they also let Abram know not to expect to possess the land of Canaan in his own lifetime. Instead, it will one day belong to him through his descendants.

This promise comes along with God’s prior reassurance that Abram will, in fact, see a natural-born son (Genesis 15:4). As it turns out, this promise itself will take some time for God to complete (Genesis 17:16–19). In the meantime, Abram will be renamed as Abraham (Genesis 17:5), and will attempt to “help” God fulfill His promises by having children with his servant, Hagar (Genesis 16:16).

Verse 16. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

Finally, God concludes his prophecy about Abram’s future family. In the previous verses, God revealed that they would be captives, serving another nation for around 400 years, before leaving that country with great possessions. Then, and not before, Abram’s descendants would return to the land of Canaan “in the fourth generation.” Later passages of Scripture will give a more specific number than this round figure: Israel will be in Egypt for 430 years, all told (Exodus 12:40).

God’s given reason for that delay is that the sin—the “iniquity”—of the Amorite people had not yet reached its full measure, or was not yet complete. In other words, one purpose of Abram’s future family, the nation of Israel, is to serve as an instrument of judgment on the Amorite people for their sins against God. However, God would not preemptively judge the Amorites or any other people group of Canaan. In His justice, He would wait for them to earn the judgment He would pour out on them through His people Israel when they came to claim the land of Canaan as their own. This delay also serves as an expression of God’s mercy, allowing that much more time for the wicked inhabitants of Canaan to see their sin and repent.

Verse 17. When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.

After God completes His prophecy about Abram’s descendants, He returns to the covenant ritual that began with Abram dividing and arranging the halves of the animals God had instructed him to bring (Genesis 15:9). Now the sun goes down, and God completes the ritual. Whether Abram is now awake and sees it with his own physical eyes, or sees this event in his vision or dream, we don’t know for sure. Either way, what Abram sees is remarkable. In the dark, two items move between the halves of the animals. One is a smoking fire pot, something that served as an oven in Abram’s day. The other is a flaming torch.

In the narrative itself, we’re not told what these two items represent. However, fire is often associated with both God’s judgment and His holiness. In addition, these elements of smoke, fire, and the various kinds of animals later used for sacrifice under the Law point to God’s future relationship with Israel.

Finally, in moving between the two halves of the animals, God is apparently finalizing the agreement between Himself and His people through Abram. This aspect, in particular, is important for its symbolism. Scholars suggest that this ritual—passing between the halves of sacrificed animals—was meant to imply a binding oath on those who participated. By walking between the animals, the person was accepting that same destruction if they broke their end of the bargain. Pointedly, note that Abram does not pass between the halves—only God does, via the symbolism of the pot and flame. The promise God has made here is entirely dependent on His will and His work.

Abram had begun this part of the conversation by asking the Lord how he would know if God would keep His promise to give Abram and his descendants the land of Canaan. Abram’s dramatic experience of God’s answer in performing this covenant ritual would surely have made a lifelong impression on him.

Verse 18. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,

With the covenant ritual between the Lord and Abram completed, God gets very specific about the boundaries of the land He is promising to Abram and his descendants.

Covenants between God and humans are significant, of course. Often they include conditions from God which, if met by the people involved, will result in God keeping His end of the agreement. This covenant is different. Sometimes referred to as the Abrahamic Covenant, this was an agreement in which all the conditions and promises were on God’s side. For example, in the prior passage, God symbolically passes between the severed halves of the animals. This might have been a common ritual of that era, where both parties declared their obligations by walking through the middle of the carcasses. Notably, only God is shown to do this in the preceding verses—Abram’s work is not part of this promise.

God was binding Himself to do as He promised no matter what Abram or Abram’s descendants did or did not do. Put another way, this promise from God to the people of Israel to give them this land, was a unilateral covenant.

In defining this Promised Land, God begins at the southern border with the “river of Egypt,” which many scholars identify as the Wadi el-Arish River, not the Nile. The northern border would be the great Euphrates River. The following verses will define the remaining areas of the land promised to Abram’s offspring in terms of the people groups occupying those lands previously.

Verse 19. the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,

In the previous verse, God established His unilateral covenant with Abram and his descendants. This is a promise which depends only on one side’s agreement: in this case, God’s vow, which He will fulfill no matter what Abram or his descendants do.

That covenant includes possession of the land of Canaan as defined by God Himself. Verse 18 revealed the southern and northern borders to be the “river of Egypt,” meaning the Wadi el-Arish River, and the Euphrates River, respectively. Now the Lord continues to define the areas of the nation His people will possess in terms of the people groups occupying those lands previously. He begins in this verse by naming the lands of the Kenites (who lived in the south), the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites.

Verse 20. the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,

In the previous verses, God established the southern and northern borders of the Promised Land to be the Wadi el-Arish River, referred to here as the “river of Egypt” the Euphrates, respectively. That covenant includes possession of the land, based solely on God’s work, and not on the efforts of Abram or his descendants.

Now the Lord continues to define the areas of the nation His people will possess in terms of the people groups occupying those lands previously. This verse lists the Hittites and Perizzites, both well-known occupiers of the land of Canaan, as well as the Rephaim, one of the people groups defeated by the four kings of the east in the previous chapter (Genesis 14:5).

Verse 21. the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”

The Lord continues to define the area His chosen people will possess, by naming more of the people groups which currently occupy it. This is in the context of God’s vow to grant all the land between the Wadi el-Arish—the “river of Egypt”—and the Euphrates to Abram’s descendants. This final verse lists the Amorites, who were already mentioned as the future recipients of God’s judgment, as well as the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

End of Chapter 15.

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