Genesis 15:21 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 15:17-21

Here is, I. The covenant ratified (Gen. 15:17); the sign which Abram desired was given, at length, when the sun had gone down, so that it was dark; for that was a dark dispensation. 1. The smoking furnace signified the affliction of his seed in Egypt. They were there in the iron furnace (Deut. 4:20), the furnace of affliction (Isa. 48:10), labouring in the very fire. They were there in the smoke, their eyes darkened, that they could not see to the end of their troubles, and themselves at a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 15:21

And the Amorites ,.... The same with the Amorite, Genesis 10:16 ; they inhabited both on this and the other side Jordan: and the Canaanites ; which were a particular tribe or nation that bore the name of their great ancestor Canaan, see Genesis 13:7 , and the Girgashites ; the same with the Gergesenes in Matthew 8:28 ; of these see Genesis 10:16 , and the Jebusites ; who inhabited Jerusalem and about it, which was first called Jebus, from the founder of this nation; see... 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 15:18-21

In that day the Lord made a covenant —literally, cut a covenant (cf. ὅρκια τέμνειν , foedus icere ). On the import of בְּרִית vide Genesis 9:9 )— with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt —the Nile (Keil, Kurtz, Hengstenberg, Kalisch) rather than the Wady el Arch, or Brook of Egypt (Knobel, Lange, Clarke), at the southern limits of the country ( Numbers 34:5 ; Joshua 15:4 ; Isaiah 27:12 )— unto the great river, the river... 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

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 15:1-21

Click image for full-size versionGod’s covenant with Abram (15:1-21)Earlier God had promised Abram a people and a land (see 12:2; 13:15). Abram’s faith concerning the promised land had been tested through drought and conflict, and his faith concerning the promised people was constantly being tested through his wife’s inability to have children. According to a custom of the time, a childless couple could adopt a person and make him heir to the family property. Abram therefore decided to adopt... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Genesis 15:19-21

Ten nations. See App-10 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 15:18-21

"In that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Gergashite, and the Jebusite.""In that day Jehovah made a covenant ..." This must be understood in the sense that God ratified and confirmed with this ancient type of oath the covenant... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 15:19-21

Here Moses named ten of the native tribes then inhabiting the Promised Land. The longest of the 27 lists of pre-Israelite nations that inhabited the Promised Land name 12 entities (Genesis 10:15-18 a; 1 Chronicles 1:13-18). Sometimes as few as two receive mention, and most of these lists identify six. [Note: Mathews, Genesis 11:27-50:26, p. 177.] "Canaanites" is both a general name for all these tribes (a synecdoche) and, as used here, the name of one of them. These "Hittites" lived near Hebron... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 15:1-21

God Promises an Heir to Abraham and the Land of Canaan for his Descendants. The Promise is Ratified by a CovenantThe passage is from the Primitive source. A somewhat similar account from the Priestly narrative is given in Genesis 17. The repetition shows the importance attached by the compiler of Genesis to these records of the promises as testifying to the divine purposes for the Hebrew people.1. Vision] probably a trance, with the senses dormant, but the mind awake to spiritual impressions:... read more