Genesis 15

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 15:4

And behold, the word of the Lord came unto him ,.... Either having disappeared, and then came a second time, or he again spoke unto him: saying, this shall not be thine heir ; this Eliezer, this servant of thine, as thou hast made him, or hast intended to make him, giving up all hopes of having issue by Sarai: but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir ; that is, one shall inherit all thou hast, that shall be begotten by thee; an own son of Abram's,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 15:5

And he brought him forth abroad ,.... Out of his tent into the open air, which was done through his call, and at his direction; or by an impulse upon his mind; or this might not be real and local, only vision: and said, look now towards heaven ; either with his bodily eyes, or with the eyes of his mind: and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them ; this looks as if it were in a vision that this was said to him, and what follows done in the day, since it was in the daytime,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 15:6

And he believed in the Lord ,.... The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan are,"in the Word of the Lord;'in the essential Word of the Lord, in Christ the Lord his righteousness; he believed in the promise of God, that he should have a seed, and a very numerous one; he believed that the Messiah would spring from his seed; he believed in him as his Saviour and Redeemer; he believed in him for righteousness, and he believed in his righteousness as justifying him before God: and he counted it to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 15:7

And he said unto him ,.... After he had expressed his faith in him, and in his word, and the blessedness of a justifying righteousness came openly upon him, and he was declared a justified person: I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees ; not only called him, but brought him out of it; not out of a furnace there, as the Jews fable; but out of a place so called, an idolatrous one, where fire was worshipped, and from whence it might have its name; God had brought him... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 15:8

And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? Not as questioning or doubting whether he should or not; but this he asked for the further confirmation of his faith in the promise, and for the sake of his posterity, that they might more easily and strongly believe that they should inherit the land given and promised to them; nor is it culpable to ask a sign of God with such a view; good men have done it, as Gideon, Judges 6:36 , and Hezekiah, 2 Kings 20:8 , without... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 15:9

And he said unto him, take me an heifer of three years old ,.... This, with what follows, is the sign by which Abram might know that he, that is, his seed, should inherit the land of Canaan; for the whole of this is an emblem of the state and condition of his posterity, until they should enter into that land: wherefore he is ordered to "take" out of his herds and flocks this and the following creatures, which were used in sacrifice before the ceremonial law was given, as well as under it;... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 15:10

And he took unto him all these ,.... The heifer, goat, ram, turtle, and young pigeon, not to himself, but to the Lord, as he was bid, and offered them before him, as the above Targums paraphrase it; or however he took them for his use, and set them before him, and did with them as he directed him: and divided them in the midst ; that is, the three animals, the heifer, goat, and ram; he did not take off their several limbs, and cut them up in small parts, but cut them in halves: and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 15:11

And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses ,.... Upon the birds, as Aben Ezra and Ben Melech interpret it, whose carcasses were whole; or rather upon the divided carcasses of the animals, and indeed on both: this is to be understood of birds of prey, as eagles, vultures, kites, crows, &c.; and are an emblem of the Egyptians chiefly, and other enemies of Israel, who came upon them to devour them; so the Targum of Jonathan,"and the idolatrous nations descended, who were like to an... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 15:12

And when the sun was going down ,.... Just setting, descending below the hemisphere; or "about to enter" F13 ויהי השמש לבוא "et fuit sol ad intrandum", Montanus, Piscator. into his chamber, as Piscator observes, from whence he went forth in the morning, as a strong man to run his race; which at sunset is finished according to human appearance, and the common apprehensions of men, who have thought it goes under the earth, or drops into the ocean, see Psalm 19:5 , a deep sleep... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 15:13

And he said unto Abram ,.... While he was in a deep sleep; this he said to him in a vision of prophecy: know of a surety , or "in knowing thou shall or mayest know" F14 ידע תדע "cognoscendo cognosces", Pagninus, Montanus; so Schmidt. ; and be assured of it, being now told it by the Lord himself, who foreknows all things that ever come to pass; many of which he acquaints his people with beforehand, nor would he hide from Abram his friend what should befall his posterity, as... read more

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