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John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 15:15

Verse 15 15.And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace. Hitherto the Lord had respect to the posterity of Abram as well as to himself, that the consolation might be common to all; but now he turns his address to Abram alone, because he had need of peculiar confirmation. And the remedy proposed for alleviating his sorrow was, that he should die in peace, after he had attained the utmost limit of old age. The explanation given by some that he should die a natural death, exempt from violence; or an... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 15:16

Verse 16 16.The iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. The reason here given is deemed absurd, as seeming to imply that the sons of Abram could not otherwise be saved, than by the destruction of others. I answer, that we must with modesty and humility yield to the secret counsel of God. Since he had given that land to the Amorites, to be inhabited by them in perpetuity, he intimates, that he will not, without just cause, transfer the possession of it to others; as if he would say, ‘I grant... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 15:1-21

Faith. The substance of this chapter is the special intercourse between Jehovah and Abram. On that foundation faith rests. It is not feeling after God, if haply he be found; it is a living confidence and obedience, based upon revelation, promise, covenant, solemn ratification by signs, detailed prediction of the future. God said, " I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward"— i.e. I am with thee day by day as the God of providence; I will abundantly bless thee hereafter. The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 15:16

But in the fourth generation ,—τετάρτη δὲ γενεᾷ ( LXX .); but, more correctly, the fourth generation, calculating 100 years to a generation. "Caleb was the fourth from Judah, and Moses from Levi, and so doubtless many others" (Bush). Drs. Oort and Kuenen, reckoning four generations as a far shorter space of time than four centuries, detect a contradiction between this verse and Genesis 15:13 , and an evidence of the free use which the ancient and uncritical Israelitish author made... 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

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