The Covenant with Abram

The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, telling him not to be afraid because God was his shield and great reward. Abram questioned what could be given to him since he remained childless and a servant in his household was his heir (Genesis 15:2-3). In response, the LORD stated that this servant would not be the heir, but a son coming from Abram's own body would be. God brought Abram outside to look at the sky and told him to count the stars if he were able, declaring that his offspring would be just as numerous. Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:5-6).

God then identified himself as the one who brought Abram out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give him the land as a possession. When Abram asked how he could know he would possess it, God instructed him to bring a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon. Abram brought these, cut the larger animals in two, and arranged the halves opposite each other, though the text does not say he cut the birds. When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away (Genesis 15:9-11). As the sun set, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.

During this time, God told Abram that his descendants would be strangers in a country not their own and would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. God promised to punish the nation they served and stated they would eventually leave with great possessions, though Abram himself would go to his ancestors in peace at a old age (Genesis 15:13-15). When it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces of the animals. On that day, the LORD made a covenant with Abram, defining the boundaries of the land from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates (Genesis 15:17-18).