Genesis 15:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half.

NIV: Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half.

NASB: Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds.

CSB: So he brought all these to him, cut them in half, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut the birds in half.

NLT: So Abram presented all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; he did not, however, cut the birds in half.

KJV: And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.

NKJV: Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.

In response to Abram's request for reassurance that he and his offspring would possess the land as God had promised, the Lord told Abram to bring five specific animals before Him. Abram did so and now proceeds to cut the heifer, goat, and ram (all three years old) in half and to lay each half opposite the other. He did not cut the turtledove or pigeon in half.

The symbolic meaning of this bloody-but-purposeful covenant ritual will be clarified in the following verses. In part, this meaning involves a unity of those making the agreement. According to some interpreters, this ritual was also used as a way of demonstrating sincerity; by implying that those passing between the pieces were willing to be destroyed, as the animals were, if they broke their part of the agreement. The use of the animals also provides Abram with a symbolic picture of Israel's future struggles under the oppressive rule of Egypt.

Genesis 15:1–21 falls between Abram's heroic rescue of Lot in Genesis 14 and his less-than-heroic choice to have a child with his wife's servant in chapter 16. Chapter 15 features Abram's hard questions to the Lord about how the lofty promises of uncountable descendants and possession of the land will be kept. God responds, in part, by formalizing His covenant promises to Abram with an elaborate ritual. He also reveals to Abram details about the difficult circumstances his descendants will face before they come back to take possession of the land ''in the fourth generation.''

Genesis 15 consists entirely of a long encounter between the Lord and Abram. When the ''word of the Lord'' comes to Abram in a vision to bring reassurance of God's support for him, Abram takes the opportunity to press God with questions. Abram asks both about his childlessness and how he can know he will one day possess the land of Canaan. God responds, and Abram believes. God's response includes leading Abram through a covenant ritual involving slaughtered animals, as well as a prophecy about the future of Abram's descendants before the time will come to occupy the Promised Land.

Where Genesis 14 was an action-packed story of war and rescue, Genesis 15 consists of a single conversational encounter between the Lord and Abram. This concludes with the formalizing of God's covenant promises to Abram in a dramatic covenant ritual. Abram respectfully asks the Lord some hard questions about how the seemingly impossible promises might be kept. God responds and Abram believes. In addition, God reveals to Abram a prophecy about the difficult future his descendants will face as servants in another country before returning to take possession of the land of Canaan.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 5/5/2024 10:04:00 PM