Genesis 15

God's Covenant with Abram

1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram a in a vision, saying, b "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your c shield, 1 your exceedingly d great reward." 2 e But Abram said, "Lord GOD, what will You give me, f seeing I 2 go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed g one 3 born in my house is my heir!" 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who h will come from your own body shall be your heir." 5 Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and i count the j stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, k "So shall your l descendants be." 6 And he m believed in the LORD, and He n accounted it to him for righteousness.

7 Then He said to him, "I am the LORD, who o brought you out of p Ur of the Chaldeans, q to give you this land to inherit it." 8 And he said, "Lord GOD, r how shall I know that I will inherit it?" 9 So He said to him, "Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." 10 Then he brought all these to Him and s cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut t the birds in two. 11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12 Now when the sun was going down, u a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: "Know certainly v that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and w they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 "And also the nation whom they serve x I will judge; afterward y they shall come out with great possessions. 15 "Now as for you, z you shall 4 go a to your fathers in peace; b you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 "But c in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity d of the Amorites e is not yet complete."

17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that f passed between those pieces. 18 On the same day the LORD g made a covenant with Abram, saying:
h "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates - 19 "the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, 20 "the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 "the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."

  1. Cross References
    Genesis 15:4
    And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.
    Genesis 46:2
    Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, "Jacob, Jacob!" And he said, "Here I am.
    1 Samuel 15:10
    Now the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying.
    Daniel 10:1
    In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, but the appointed time was long; and he understood the message, and had understanding of the vision.
  2. Cross References
    Genesis 21:17
    And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, "What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.
    Genesis 26:24
    And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham's sake.
    Isaiah 41:10
    Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
    Daniel 10:12
    Then he said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.
  3. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 33:29
    Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, The shield of your help And the sword of your majesty! Your enemies shall submit to you, And you shall tread down their high places.
    Psalms 3:3
    But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.
    Psalms 84:11
    For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.
    Psalms 91:4
    He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
  4. Cross References
    Numbers 18:20
    Then the LORD said to Aaron: "You shall have no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.
    Psalms 58:11
    So that men will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely He is God who judges in the earth.
    Proverbs 11:18
    The wicked man does deceptive work, But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.
  5. Cross References
    Genesis 17:18
    And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!
  6. Cross References
    Acts 7:5
    And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him.
  7. Cross References
    Genesis 14:14
    Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
  8. Cross References
    2 Samuel 7:12
    When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
    Galatians 4:28
    Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.
  9. Cross References
    Genesis 22:17
    Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.
    Genesis 26:4
    And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.
    Deuteronomy 1:10
    The LORD your God has multiplied you, and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude.
    Psalms 147:4
    He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.
  10. Cross References
    Jeremiah 33:22
    'As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.'"
  11. Cross References
    Exodus 32:13
    "Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, 'I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'"
    Romans 4:18
    Who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be.
    Hebrews 11:12
    Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude - innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
  12. Cross References
    Genesis 17:19
    Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.
  13. Cross References
    Genesis 21:1
    And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and ...
    Romans 4:3
    For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham belie...
    Romans 4:9
    Does this blessedness then come upon the circum...
    Romans 4:22
    And therefore "it was accounted to him for righ...
    Galatians 3:6
    Just as Abraham "believed God, and it was accou...
    James 2:23
    And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Ab...
  14. Cross References
    Psalms 32:2
    Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit.
    Psalms 106:31
    And that was accounted to him for righteousness To all generations forevermore.
  15. Cross References
    Genesis 12:1
    Now the LORD had said to Abram: Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you.
  16. Cross References
    Genesis 11:28
    And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans.
    Genesis 11:31
    And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there.
  17. Cross References
    Genesis 13:15
    For all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.
    Genesis 13:17
    "Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you."
    Psalms 105:42
    For He remembered His holy promise, And Abraham His servant.
    Psalms 105:44
    He gave them the lands of the Gentiles, And they inherited the labor of the nations.
  18. Cross References
    Genesis 24:13
    Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and ...
    Genesis 24:14
    "Now let it be that the young woman to whom I s...
    Judges 6:36 - 40
    So Gideon said to God, "If You will save Israel...
    1 Samuel 14:9
    If they say thus to us, 'Wait until we come to ...
    1 Samuel 14:10
    "But if they say thus, 'Come up to us,' then we...
    Luke 1:18
    And Zacharias said to the angel, "How shall I k...
  19. Cross References
    Genesis 15:17
    And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.
    Jeremiah 34:18
    And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it -
  20. Cross References
    Leviticus 1:17
    Then he shall split it at its wings, but shall not divide it completely; and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.
  21. Cross References
    Genesis 2:21
    And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.
    Genesis 28:11
    So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.
    Job 33:15
    In a dream, in a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls upon men, While slumbering on their beds.
  22. Cross References
    Exodus 1:11
    Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses.
    Acts 7:6
    But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years.
  23. Cross References
    Exodus 12:40
    Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.
  24. Cross References
    Exodus 6:6
    Therefore say to the children of Israel: 'I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.
  25. Cross References
    Exodus 12:36
    And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
  26. Cross References
    Job 5:26
    You shall come to the grave at a full age, As a sheaf of grain ripens in its season.
  27. Cross References
    Genesis 25:8
    Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.
    Genesis 47:30
    "but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place." And he said, "I will do as you have said."
  28. Cross References
    Genesis 25:8
    Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.
  29. Cross References
    Genesis 15:13
    Then He said to Abram: "Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.
    Exodus 12:41
    And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years - on that very same day - it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.
  30. Cross References
    Genesis 48:22
    "Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow."
    Leviticus 18:24 - 28
    Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you.
    1 Kings 21:26
    And he behaved very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
  31. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:12
    Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son.
    Matthew 23:32
    Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.
  32. Cross References
    Jeremiah 34:18
    And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it -
    Jeremiah 34:19
    The princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf -
  33. Cross References
    Genesis 24:7
    The LORD God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, 'To your descendants I give this land,' He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.
  34. Cross References
    Genesis 12:7
    Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To y...
    Genesis 17:8
    "Also I give to you and your descendants after ...
    Exodus 23:31
    And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to ...
    Numbers 34:3
    Your southern border shall be from the Wilderne...
    Deuteronomy 11:24
    Every place on which the sole of your foot trea...
    Joshua 1:4
    From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as ...
    Joshua 21:43
    So the LORD gave to Israel all the land of whic...
    Acts 7:5
    And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even...
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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