Discovery BoxGenesis 15:8-17
Context15:8 But 1 Abram 2 said, “O sovereign Lord, 3 by what 4 can I know that I am to possess it?”
15:9 The Lord 5 said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 15:10 So Abram 6 took all these for him and then cut them in two 7 and placed each half opposite the other, 8 but he did not cut the birds in half. 15:11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
15:12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, 9 and great terror overwhelmed him. 10 15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain 11 that your descendants will be strangers 12 in a foreign country. 13 They will be enslaved and oppressed 14 for four hundred years. 15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. 15 Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15:15 But as for you, 16 you will go to your ancestors 17 in peace and be buried at a good old age. 18 15:16 In the fourth generation 19 your descendants 20 will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” 21
15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch 22 passed between the animal parts. 23
[15:8] 1 tn Here the vav carries adversative force and is translated “but.”
[15:8] 2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:8] 3 tn See note on the phrase “sovereign
[15:9] 5 tn Heb “He”; the referent (the
[15:10] 6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:10] 7 tn Heb “in the middle.”
[15:10] 8 tn Heb “to meet its neighbor.”
[15:12] 9 tn Heb “a deep sleep fell on Abram.”
[15:12] 10 tn Heb “and look, terror, a great darkness was falling on him.”
[15:13] 11 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] 12 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] 13 tn Heb “in a land not theirs.”
[15:13] 14 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] 15 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] 16 tn The vav with the pronoun before the verb calls special attention to the subject in contrast to the preceding subject.
[15:15] 17 sn You will go to your ancestors. This is a euphemistic expression for death.
[15:15] 18 tn Heb “in a good old age.”
[15:16] 19 sn The term generation is being used here in its widest sense to refer to a full life span. When the chronological factors are considered and the genealogies tabulated, there are four hundred years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to one hundred years.
[15:16] 20 tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[15:16] 21 tn Heb “is not yet complete.”
[15:17] 22 sn A smoking pot with a flaming torch. These same implements were used in Mesopotamian rituals designed to ward off evil (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 113-14).
