Old Testament Commentary - Genesis 15

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 15 Abram desires offspring—The Lord promises him seed in number as the stars—He believes the promise—His seed shall be strangers in Egypt— Then, after four generations, they shall inherit Canaan.
1 AFTER these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a ^avision, saying, ^bFear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the ^asteward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, ^aone born in my house is mine heir.		1^a TG Creation ^b Isa. 45:12; D&C 29:36; D&C 38:1; D&C 45:1; Moses 3:1; Abr. 5:1 2^a OR done ^b HEB stopped, ceased; from the verb shavat, the noun shabbat (Engl. Sabbath) means a stopping of cessation; D&C 77:12; Moses 3:2; Abr. 5:2 (1-3); TG Rest ^c TG Industry 3^a TG Sabbath ^b Ex. 20:11; Mosiah 13:19 (16-19); D&C 77:12; Moses 3:3 (1-3); Abr. 5:3 (1-3); TG Sacred ^c Ex. 31:17 ^d OR created through working
4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and ^atell the ^bstars, if thou be ^cable to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy ^dseed be.		1^a TG Creation ^b Isa. 45:12; D&C 29:36; D&C 38:1; D&C 45:1; Moses 3:1; Abr. 5:1 2^a OR done ^b HEB stopped, ceased; from the verb shavat, the noun shabbat (Engl. Sabbath) means a stopping of cessation; D&C 77:12; Moses 3:2; Abr. 5:2 (1-3); TG Rest ^c TG Industry 3^a TG Sabbath ^b Ex. 20:11; Mosiah 13:19 (16-19); D&C 77:12; Moses 3:3 (1-3); Abr. 5:3 (1-3); TG Sacred ^c Ex. 31:17 ^d OR created through working
6 ^aAnd he ^bbelieved in the LORD; and he counted it to him for ^crighteousness. 7 And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to ^ainherit it.		1^a TG Creation ^b Isa. 45:12; D&C 29:36; D&C 38:1; D&C 45:1; Moses 3:1; Abr. 5:1 2^a OR done ^b HEB stopped, ceased; from the verb shavat, the noun shabbat (Engl. Sabbath) means a stopping of cessation; D&C 77:12; Moses 3:2; Abr. 5:2 (1-3); TG Rest ^c TG Industry 3^a TG Sabbath ^b Ex. 20:11; Mosiah 13:19 (16-19); D&C 77:12; Moses 3:3 (1-3); Abr. 5:3 (1-3); TG Sacred ^c Ex. 31:17 ^d OR created through working
8 And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I ^aknow that I shall inherit it? 9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 10 And he took unto him all these, and ^adivided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. 11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great ^adarkness fell upon him. 13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a ^astranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall ^bafflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they ^acome out with great ^bsubstance.
15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good ^aold age. 16 But in the ^afourth generation they shall come ^bhither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet ^cfull^a. 17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that ^apassed between those pieces.	16^a the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full Before the Lord destoryed the people in the time of Noah their iniquity had come to the point of 'fulness'. And so it was with the Jaredites and Nephites. The Lord always give adequate time unto repentance. And allowing for such free agency of man, the Lord does not destory a people until their wickedness is beyond them turning to repentance and causing all who dwell in their society to continue to be raised up in iniquity.
18 In the same day the LORD made a ^acovenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this ^bland, from ^cthe river of Egypt unto the great river, the river ^dEuphrates: 19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.