Genesis 15:1

The Cutting of the Covenant

15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield ¹  and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” ² 

Genesis 30:32-33

30:32 Let me walk among ³  all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, ⁴  and the spotted or speckled goats. ⁵  These animals will be my wages. ⁶  30:33 My integrity will testify for me ⁷  later on. ⁸  When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, ⁹  if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen.” ¹⁰ 

[15:1]  ¹ sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.

[15:1]  ² tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).

[30:32]  ³ tn Heb “pass through.”

[30:32]  ⁴ tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”

[30:32]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”

[30:32]  ⁶ tn Heb “and it will be my wage.” The referent collective singular pronoun (“it) has been specified as “these animals” in the translation for clarity.

[30:33]  ⁵ tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”

[30:33]  ⁶ tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”

[30:33]  ⁷ tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”

[30:33]  ⁸ tn Heb “every one which is not speckled and spotted among the lambs and dark among the goats, stolen it is with me.”