Overview of Genesis 15

Genesis 15 follows Abram’s refusal of Sodom’s goods in 14:21–24 and closes before 16:1; those verses are context only, and Genesis 14 is pointed to, not taken up again. The chapter has three sections: 15:1–6, the vision, the promised heir, and the reckoning; 15:7–11, the land, the animals, and the halves; and 15:12–21, the sojourn, the pieces, and the land grant. The word of the Lord comes to Abram in a vision: “I am your shield, your very great reward.” Abram names the heir of his house; the Lord promises a son from his own body and offspring like the stars. Abram believed the Lord, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. The Lord cuts a covenant with Abram and promises the land to his descendants, from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates. The persons and the event are real. The form of the revelation, the syntax of the reward, the Eliezer phrase, the four hundred years and the fourth generation, the meaning of the rite, and the identity of the river of Egypt remain open and are set out below; no verdict is given. See the language and historical notes of this chapter, and the Genesis 12 and 13 notes on the land promise.