Albert Barnes Commentary Genesis 15:1-21

"After these things the word of Jehovah came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, [and] thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, O Lord Jehovah, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and he that shall be possessor of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of Jehovah came unto him, saying, This man shall not be thine heir; But he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness. And he said unto him, I am Jehovah that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, O Lord Jehovah, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? And he said unto him, Take me a heifer three years old, and a she-goat three years old, and a ram three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon. And he took him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each half over against the other: but the birds divided he not. And the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. And in the fourth generation they shall come hither again; for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between these pieces. In that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite." — Genesis 15:1-21 (ASV)

1. דבר dābār — “a word, a thing;” the word being the sign of the thing.
2. אדני 'ǎdonāy — “Adonai, the Lord;” related: “bring down, lay down.” This is the name usually read in place of Yahweh; but when, as in the present case, יהוה y^ehovâh and אדני 'ǎdonāy are in apposition, אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym is read instead of the former. The Jews from a feeling of reverence avoided the utterance of this sacred name except on the most solemn occasions. This is said to have arisen from a stringent interpretation of (Leviticus 24:16). According to some, this name was pronounced only once a year by the high priest, on the day of atonement, in the Holy of Holies, and according to others only in the solemn benedictions pronounced by the priests.

At an earlier period, however, the name must have been freely used by the people, since it enters into the composition of proper names. Adon אדן 'ǎdôn in the singular and plural is used as a common name. משׁק mesheq — “possession,” בן־משׁק ben-mesheq, “possessor.” This forms a paronomasia with דמשׂק dameśeq — which is for דמשׂקי damaśqı̂y. אליעזר ‛elı̂y'ezer, “Eliezer, God of help, or mighty to help.”

קיני qēynı̂y — Kenite, patronymic of קין qayı̂n — Kain. קנזי q^enı̂zı̂y — Kenizzite, patronymic of קנז qenaz — Kenaz, “hunter.” קדמני qad^emonı̂y — Kadmonite, “eastern, old.”

The events recorded in the preceding chapter reveal the influence of the new nature in Abram, and meet the approval of the Lord. This approval is exhibited in a heavenly visit to the patriarch, in which the Lord solemnly reiterates the promise of the seed and the land. Abram believes in the Lord, who then enters into covenant with him.

(Genesis 15:1–6)

After these things,—the victory, the blessing, and the self-denial recorded in the previous chapter. The word of the Lord, manifesting himself by speech to his servant. In the vision the intelligent observer passes from the merely sensible to the supersensible sphere of reality. Fear not, Abram. The patriarch had some reason to fear. The formidable allies had indeed been defeated, and the fruits of their marauding enterprise wrested from them.

But they might resume their purpose, and return with an overwhelming force. And Abram was still a stranger in a foreign land, occupied by tribes of another race, who would combine against him as soon as they suspected him of being an intruder. But the Lord had stood by him and given him the victory, and now speaks to him in the language of encouragement. I am thy shield, thy exceeding great reward. The word I is separately expressed, and, therefore, emphatic in the original.

I, Jehovah (Yahweh), the Self-existent One, the Author of existence, the Performer of promise, the Manifester of myself to man, and not any creature however exalted. This was something beyond a seed, or a land, or any temporal thing. The Creator infinitely transcends the creature. The mind of Abram is here lifted up to the spiritual and the eternal.

1. thy shield.
2. thy exceeding great reward.

Abram has two fears—the presence of evil, and the absence of good.

Experience and conscience had begun to teach him that both of these were justly his doom. But Yahweh has chosen him, and here engages himself to stand between him and all harm, and himself to be to him all good. With such a shield from all evil, and such a source of all good, he need not be afraid. The Lord, we see, begins, as usual, with the immediate and the tangible; but he propounds a principle that reaches to the eternal and the spiritual. We have here the initial seed of the great doctrine of the Lord our righteousness, redeeming us on the one hand from the sentence of death, and on the other to a title to eternal life.

(Genesis 15:2–3)

Notwithstanding the unbounded grandeur and preciousness of the promise, or rather assurance, now given, Abram is still childless and landless; and the Lord has made as yet no sign of action in regard to these objects of special promise. Lord Jehovah (Yahweh). The name אדני 'ǎdonāy is here for the first time used in the divine records. It denotes one who has authority; and, therefore, when applied to God, the Supreme Lord.

Abram by this acknowledges Yahweh as Supreme Judge and Governor, and therefore entitled to dispose of all matters concerning his present or prospective welfare. What wilt thou give me? Of what use will land or wealth be to me, the immediate reward specified by the promise? Eliezer of Damascus is master of my house.

To me thou hast given no seed. This was the present shield mentioned also in former words of promise. There is something strikingly human in all this. Abram is no enthusiast or fanatic. He fastens on the substantive blessings which the Lord had expressly named.

(Genesis 15:4–5)

The Lord reiterates the promise concerning the seed. As he had commanded him to view the land, and see in its dust the emblem of the multitude that would spring from him, so now, with a sublime simplicity of practical illustration, he brings him out to contemplate the stars, and challenges him to tell their number, if he can; adding, So shall thy seed be. He who made all these out of nothing, by the word of his power, is able to fulfill his promise, and multiply the seed of Abram and Sarai. Here, we perceive, the vision does not interfere with the notice of the sensible world, so far as is necessary (Daniel 10:7; John 12:29).

(Genesis 15:6)

And Abram believed in the Lord.—Thus, at length, after many throes of labor, faith in Yahweh has come to birth in the heart of Abram, based on His simple promise in the absence of all present fulfillment, and in the face of all perceptible hindrances. The command to go to the land which the Lord would show him, accompanied with the promise to make of him a great nation, had awakened in him a certain expectation; which, however, waited for some performance to ripen it into faith. But waiting in a state of suspense is not faith, but doubt; and faith after performance is not faith, but sight.

The second and third renewal of the promise, while performance was still unseen in the distance, was calculated to overcome the expectation that still paused for realization, to give it the vitality of a settled consent and acceptance of the faithfulness of God, and mature it into conviction and confession.

What was there now, then, to call forth Abram’s faith more than at the first promise? There was the reiteration of the promise. There was the withholding of the performance, leaving room for the exercise of pure faith. There was time to train the mind to this unaccustomed idea and determination. And, lastly, there was the sublime assurance conveyed in the sentence, I am thy shield, thy exceeding great reward, transcending all the limits of time and place, comprehending alike the present and the eternal, the earthly and the heavenly.

This, coupled with all the recorded and unrecorded dealings of the Lord, leads him to conceive the nobler feeling of faith in the Promiser, prior to any part of the execution, any unfolding of the plan, or any removal of the obvious difficulty.

The moment of deliverance draws near, when Abram at last ventures to open his mouth and lay bare, in articulate utterance, the utmost questionings of his soul before the Lord. And then, in due time the birth of faith is brought about; not by commencing the accomplishment of the promise, but by the explicit reassertion of its several parts, in the light of that grand assurance which covers it in its narrowest and in its most expanded forms.

Thus, faith springs solely from the seed of promise. And from that moment there stands up and grows within the heart of man the right frame of mind toward the God of mercy—the germ of a mutual good understanding between God and man which will spread its roots and branches through the whole soul, to the exclusion of every noxious plant, and blossom forth into the blessed fruit of all holy feelings and actions.

And he counted it to him for righteousness.—

1. From this admittedly weighty sentence we learn, implicitly, that Abram had no righteousness. And if he had not, no man had. We have seen enough of Abram to know this on other grounds. And here the universal fact of man’s depravity is incidentally noted, as a thing usually taken for granted, in the words of God.
2. Righteousness is here imputed to Abram. Hence, mercy and grace are extended to him; mercy taking effect in the pardon of his sin, and grace in bestowing the rewards of righteousness.
3. That in him which is counted for righteousness is faith in Yahweh promising mercy. In the absence of righteousness, this is the only thing in the sinner that can be counted for righteousness.

1. First, it is not of the nature of righteousness. If it were actual righteousness, it could not be counted as such. But believing God, who promises blessing to the undeserving, is essentially different from obeying God, who guarantees blessing to the deserving. Hence, it has a negative fitness to be counted for what it is not.
2. Secondly, it is trust in him who engages to bless in a holy and lawful way. Hence, it is this trust in the sinner that brings him into conformity with the law through another who undertakes to satisfy its demands and secure its rewards for him. Thus, it is the only thing in the sinner which, while it is not righteousness, has yet a claim to be counted for such, because it brings him into union with one who is just and having salvation.

It does not matter what the Almighty and All-gracious promises in the first instance to him who believes in him, whether it be a land, or a seed, or any other blessing. All other blessing, temporal or eternal, will flow out of that specific one, in a perpetual course of development, as the believer advances in experience, in compass of intellect, and capacity of enjoyment. Hence, a land involves a better land, a seed a nobler seed, a temporal an eternal good. The patriarchs were like children compared to us in their comprehension of the love of God: we are children to those who will hereafter experience still grander manifestations of what God has prepared for those who love him. The shield and exceeding great reward await a still inconceivable expansion of meaning.

(Genesis 15:7–21)

The Lord next confirms and explains the promise of the land to Abram. When God announces himself as Yahweh, who purposed to give him the land, Abram asks, Whereby shall I know that I shall possess it? He appears to expect some intimation as to the time and mode of entering upon possession. The Lord now directs him to prepare the things required for entering into a formal covenant regarding the land. These include all the kinds of animals later used in sacrifice. The number three is sacred, and denotes the perfection of the victim in point of maturity.

The division of the animals refers to the covenant between two parties, who participate in the rights which it guarantees. The birds are two without being divided. Abram drove them away. As the animals slain and divided represent the only means and way through which the two parties can meet in a covenant of peace, they must be preserved pure and unmutilated for the purpose they have to serve.

(Genesis 15:12–17)

And the sun was about to set.—This visit of the Lord to Abram continues for two nights, with the intervening day. In the previous night he led him out to view the stars (Genesis 15:5). The second night sets in with the consummation of the covenant (Genesis 15:17). The revelation comes to Abram in a trance of deep sleep. The Lord releases the mind from attention to the perceptions of the senses in order to engage it with higher things. And he who makes the loftier revelation can enable the recipient to distinguish the voice of heaven from the play of fancy.

(Genesis 15:13–15)

Know, know thou.—Know certainly. This responds to Abram’s question, Whereby shall I know? (Genesis 15:8). Four hundred years are to elapse before the seed of Abram will actually proceed to take possession of the land. This interval can only commence when the seed is born; that is, at the birth of Isaac, when Abram was a hundred years of age and therefore thirty years after the call.

During this interval they are to be, first, strangers in a land not theirs for one hundred and ninety years; and then for the remaining two hundred and ten years in Egypt: at first, servants, with considerable privilege and position; and at last, afflicted serfs, under a hard and cruel bondage. At the end of this period Pharaoh and his nation were visited with a succession of tremendous judgments, and Israel went out free from bondage with great wealth (Exodus 12-14). Go to thy fathers. This implies that the fathers, though dead, still exist. To go from one place to another implies, not annihilation, but the continuance of existence. The doctrine of the soul’s perpetual existence is here intimated. Abram died in peace and happiness, one hundred and fifteen years before the going down into Egypt.

(Genesis 15:16)

In the fourth age.—An age here means the average period from the birth to the death of one man. This use of the word is proved by (Numbers 32:13)—He made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was consumed. This age or generation ran parallel with the life of Moses, and therefore consisted of one hundred and twenty years. Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. Four such generations amount to four hundred and eighty or four hundred and forty years. From the birth of Isaac to the return to the land of promise was an interval of four hundred and forty years. Isaac, Levi, Amram, and Eleazar may represent the four ages.

For the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.—

1. From this simple sentence we have much to learn. The Lord foreknows the moral character of people.
2. In his providence he administers the affairs of nations on the principle of moral rectitude.
3. Nations are spared until their iniquity is full.
4. They are then cut off in retributive justice.
5. The Amorite was to be the chief nation extirpated for its iniquity on the return of the seed of Abram.

Accordingly, we find the Amorites occupying by conquest the country east of the Jordan, from the Arnon to Mount Hermon, under their two kings, Sihon and Og (Numbers 21:21–35). On the west of Jordan we have already met them at En-gedi and Hebron, and they dwelt in the mountains of Judah and Ephraim (Numbers 13:29), from where they seem to have crossed the Jordan for conquest (Numbers 21:26). Thus, of all the tribes that overspread the land, they had by far the largest extent of territory. And they seem to have been extinguished as a nation by the invasion of Israel, as we hear no more of them in the subsequent history of the country.

(Genesis 15:17)

And the sun went down.—The light of day is gone. The covenant is now formally concluded. Abram had risen to the height of faith in the God of promise. He has come into the position of the father of the faithful. He is therefore qualified for entering into this solemn compact.

This covenant has a uniqueness which distinguishes it from that with Noah. It refers to a patriarch and his seed chosen out of a coexisting race. It is not, however, subversive of the ancient and general covenant, but only a special measure for overcoming the legal and moral difficulties in the way, and ultimately bringing its comprehensive provisions into effect. It refers to the land of promise, which is not only a reality, but a type and an earnest of all analogous blessings.

The oven of smoke and lamp of flame symbolize the smoke of destruction and the light of salvation. Their passing through the pieces of the victims and probably consuming them as an accepted sacrifice are the ratification of the covenant on the part of God, as the dividing and presenting of them were on the part of Abram. The propitiatory foundation of the covenant here comes into view, and connects Abram with Habel and Noah, the primeval confessors of the necessity of an atonement.

(Genesis 15:18–21)

In that instant the covenant was solemnly completed. Its primary form of benefit is the grant of the promised land with the extensive boundaries of the river of Egypt and the Euphrates. The former seems to be the Nile with its banks which constitute Egypt, as the Phrat with its banks describes the land of the East, with which countries the promised land was conterminous.

(Genesis 15:19–21)

The ten principal nations inhabiting this area are here enumerated. Of these five are Canaanite, and the other five probably not. The first three are new to us, and seem to occupy the extremities of the region here defined. The Kenite dwelt in the country bordering on Egypt and south of Palestine, in which the Amalekites also are found (Numbers 24:20–22; 1 Samuel 15:6). They dwelt among the Midianites, as Hobab was both a Midianite and a Kenite (Numbers 10:29; Judges 1:16; Judges 4:11). They were friendly to the Israelites, and hence some of them followed their fortunes and settled in their land (1 Chronicles 2:55).

The Kenizzite dwelt apparently in the same region, having affinity with the Horites, and subsequently with Edom and Israel (Genesis 36:11, 36:20-23; Joshua 15:17; 1 Chronicles 2:50–52). The Kadmonite seems to be the Eastern, and, therefore, to hold the other extreme boundary of the promised land, toward Tadmor and the Phrat. These three tribes were probably related to Abram, and, therefore, descendants of Shem. The other seven tribes have already come under our notice.