Genesis 15:13-15 NIV,NKJV

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 15:12-17

Abraham's watch and vision. "And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep," &c.; The great blessings promised are still afar off. As yet Abraham has no son to hand down his name to posterity. By means of a vision God strengthened his faith. Weird is the picture in this fifteenth chapter. See the solitary sheik in the desert offering his varied sacrifice, then watching until the sun goes down to drive off the vultures from the slain offerings. His arms become weary with waving and his... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 15:13

And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety —literally, knowing know — that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land which is not there , and shall serve them ( i.e. the inhabitants of that alien country); and they ( i.e. these foreigners) shall afflict them —three different stages of adverse fortune are described:— or the two last clauses depict the contents of the first (Kalisch)— four hundred years . The duration not of their affliction merely, but either of their bondage and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 15:14

And also that nation (the name of which he does not reveal, in case of seeming to interfere with the free volition of his creatures, who, while accomplishing his high designs and secret purposes, are ever conscious of their moral freedom), whom they shall serve, will I judge: — i.e. punish after judging, which prediction was in due course fulfilled ( Exodus 6:11 )— and afterward shall they come out with great substance — recush (cf. Genesis 13:6 ; vide Exodus 12:36 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 15:15

And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace (cf. Genesis 25:8 ; Genesis 35:29 ; Genesis 49:33 ). Not a periphrasis for going to the grave (Rosenmüller), since Abram's ancestors were not entombed in Canaan; but a proof of the survival of departed spirits in a state of conscious existence after death (Knobel, Murphy, Wordsworth, 'Speaker's Commentary,' Inglis), to the company of which the patriarch was in due time to be gathered. The disposal of his remains is provided for in what follows.... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 15:1-21

- The Faith of Abram1. 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 yehovâh 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... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 15:13

Genesis 15:13. Thy seed shall be strangers So they were in Canaan first, Psalms 105:12, and afterward in Egypt: before they were lords of their own land, they were strangers in a strange land. The inconveniences of an unsettled state make a happy settlement the more welcome. Thus the heirs of heaven are first strangers on earth. And they shall serve them So they did the Egyptians, Exodus 1:13. See how that which was the doom of the Canaanites, Genesis 9:25, proves the distress of Abram’s... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 15:14

Genesis 15:14. That nation whom they shall serve, even the Egyptians, will I judge This points at the plagues of Egypt, by which God not only constrained the Egyptians to release Israel, but punished them for all the hardships they had put upon them. The punishing of persecutors is the judging of them; it is a righteous thing with God, and a particular act of justice, to “recompense tribulation to those that trouble” his people. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 15:15

Genesis 15:15. Thou shalt go to thy fathers At death we go to our fathers, to all our fathers that are gone before us to the state of the dead, to our godly fathers that are gone before us to the state of the blessed. The former helps to take off the terror of death, the latter puts comfort into it. Thou shalt be buried in a good old age Perhaps mention is made of his burial here, where the land of Canaan is promised him, because a burying-place was the first possession he had in... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 15:1-21

Click image for full-size versionGod’s covenant with Abram (15:1-21)Earlier God had promised Abram a people and a land (see 12:2; 13:15). Abram’s faith concerning the promised land had been tested through drought and conflict, and his faith concerning the promised people was constantly being tested through his wife’s inability to have children. According to a custom of the time, a childless couple could adopt a person and make him heir to the family property. Abram therefore decided to adopt... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Genesis 15:13

Know of a surety. Hebrew. knowing thou shalt know. Figure of speech Polyptoton , and note on Genesis 26:28 . thy seed , i.e. Isaac. See note on Genesis 21:12 . The 400 years date from Isaac's birth (Acts 7:6 ). The 430 from the "promise" or Covenant here made (compare Galatians 1:3 , Galatians 1:17 ), and include the whole "sojourning" (Exodus 12:40 ). and shall serve, &c. Figure of speech Epitrechon. See App-6 . This is shown by the Structure ( Introversion ). a | Thy seed shall be a... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 15:12-17

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 15:13

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 15:14

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 15:15

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 15:1-21

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 15:13

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 15:14

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 15:15

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 15:1-21

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Genesis 15:13

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