Genesis 15:12-15

15:12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, ¹  and great terror overwhelmed him. ²  15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain ³  that your descendants will be strangers ⁴  in a foreign country. ⁵  They will be enslaved and oppressed ⁶  for four hundred years. 15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. ⁷  Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15:15 But as for you, ⁸  you will go to your ancestors ⁹  in peace and be buried at a good old age. ¹⁰ 

[15:12]  ¹ tn Heb “a deep sleep fell on Abram.”

[15:12]  ² tn Heb “and look, terror, a great darkness was falling on him.”

[15:13]  ³ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, with the Qal infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “know”). The imperfect here has an obligatory or imperatival force.

[15:13]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger, “sojourner, stranger”) is related to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to stay for awhile”). Abram’s descendants will stay in a land as resident aliens without rights of citizenship.

[15:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “in a land not theirs.”

[15:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “and they will serve them and they will oppress them.” The verb עִנּוּ, (’innu, a Piel form from עָנָה, ’anah, “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly”), is used in Exod 1:11 to describe the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt.

[15:14]  ⁵ tn The participle דָּן (dan, from דִּין, din) is used here for the future: “I am judging” = “I will surely judge.” The judgment in this case will be condemnation and punishment. The translation “execute judgment on” implies that the judgment will certainly be carried out.

[15:15]  ⁷ tn The vav with the pronoun before the verb calls special attention to the subject in contrast to the preceding subject.

[15:15]  ⁸ sn You will go to your ancestors. This is a euphemistic expression for death.

[15:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “in a good old age.”