“I am the Lord who brought you out” and “How shall I know?”
Says אֲנִי יְהוָה is “I am the Lord,” and אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאוּר כַּשְׂדִּים is “who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans,” with the Hiphil of the verb used in 15:5 (“he brought him outside”). The purpose is לָתֶת לְךָ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת לְרִשְׁתָּהּ, “to give you this land to possess it.” The Greek has “ἐκ χώρας Χαλδαίων” (“from the land of the Chaldeans”), with no word for Ur.
Says In 15:8 Abram again says אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה, and asks בַּמָּה אֵדַע כִּי אִירָשֶׁנָּה, “by what shall I know that I will possess it?” The verb yarash links the heir and the land: it stands in 15:3, twice in 15:4, and in 15:7 and 15:8.
Implies The question comes after Abram has believed (15:6). It asks how he will know, and the Lord answers with the rite of 15:9–21.
Claims
- Saysאֲנִי יְהוָה is “I am the Lord,” and אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאוּר כַּשְׂדִּים is “who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans,” with the Hiphil of the verb used in 15:5 (“he brought him outside”). The purpose is לָתֶת לְךָ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת לְרִשְׁתָּהּ, “to give you this land to possess it.” The Greek has “ἐκ χώρας Χαλδαίων” (“from the land of the Chaldeans”), with no word for Ur.
- SaysIn 15:8 Abram again says אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה, and asks בַּמָּה אֵדַע כִּי אִירָשֶׁנָּה, “by what shall I know that I will possess it?” The verb yarash links the heir and the land: it stands in 15:3, twice in 15:4, and in 15:7 and 15:8.
- ImpliesThe question comes after Abram has believed (15:6). It asks how he will know, and the Lord answers with the rite of 15:9–21.
Citations
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 15:7–8 (WLC/OSHB; morph HVhp1cs/Sp2ms HR/Vqc/Sp3fs HR/Ti HVqi1cs/Sp3fs)
- BSB public domain Gen 15:7–8 (BSB)
- LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Gen 15:7, text and apparatus. LXX: Swete, vol. 1 (1901), p. 23 (leaf n54). Checked against the printed page (scan).
Quotations from LXX (Swete) are used under CC BY-SA 4.0 · Credits
2026-11-12
Open in Reader All notes on this passage