Genesis 15:14
in Genesis 15But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
KJV
And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
⋯
This verse in Genesis 15
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd also that nation, etc. - How remarkably was this promise fulfilled, in the redemption of Israel from its bondage, in the plagues and destruction of the Egyptians, and in the immense wealth which the Israelites brought out of Egypt! Not a more circumstantial or literally fulfilled promise is to be found in the sacred writings.
This site's exposition
strangers in a land that is not their own
on Genesis 15:13-14
Abram is given the shape of the Exodus before Egypt has any hold on his family. Four beats come in order, a foreign land, slavery, judgment on that nation, and a departure with many possessions. Four hundred years is the figure here, and Exodus 12:40 gives four hundred and thirty. Paul takes the longer number at Galatians 3:17.
This site's exposition
they will depart with many possessions
John Wesley reads the judging of the nation as God repaying those who trouble His people, and he leaves afterward open, either after the four hundred years or after the plagues. Adam Clarke finds the promise kept in the wealth Israel carried out of Egypt. Exodus 12:35 and 36 record it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
The punishing of persecutors is the judging of them; it is a righteous thing with God, and a particular act of justice, to recompense tribulation to those that trouble his people. The deliverance of Abram's seed out of Egypt. And afterwards shall they come out with great substance - Either after they have been afflicted 400 years, or, after the Egyptians are judged and plagued.
And also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge,....
But God ensures both to him; and that which made these two, the promised seed and the promised land, comforts indeed to this great believer was that they were both typical of those two invaluable blessings, Christ and heaven; and so, we have reason to think, Abram eyed them. God's Covenant with Abram.
That great event is here foretold: Afterwards shall they come out with great substance. It is here promised, (1.) That they should be enlarged: Afterwards they shall come out; that is, either after they have been afflicted 400 years, when the days of their servitude are fulfilled, or after the Egyptians are judged and plagued, then they may expect deliverance.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
‘VEGAM’ (AND ALSO) THAT NATION THAT MADE SLAVES OF THEM WILL I JUDGE. The words, And also, include the kingdoms of the four exiles which will be judged for having enslaved Israel. Thus the language of Rashi.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
This is a verse that is to be transposed, its purport being that “thy seed shall be a stranger for four hundred years in a land that is not theirs, and they shall enslave them, and they shall afflict them.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְגַ֧ם | vegam | and also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַגּ֛וֹי | hagoy | the nation | H1471 → | 561 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יַעֲבֹ֖דוּ | yaavodu | they will serve | H5647 → | 288 times |
| דָּ֣ן | dan | [will be] judging | H1777 → | 24 times |
| אָנֹ֑כִי | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| וְאַחֲרֵי־ | veacharei- | and after | H310 → | 715 times |
| כֵ֥ן | khen | thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
| יֵצְא֖וּ | yetzeu | they will come out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| בִּרְכֻ֥שׁ | birkhush | with possession[s] | H7399 → | 28 times |
| גָּדֽוֹל׃ | gadol | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
וְגַ֧םand also
vegamH1571 →769 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַגּ֛וֹיthe nation
hagoyH1471 →561 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יַעֲבֹ֖דוּthey will serve
yaavoduH5647 →288 times
דָּ֣ן[will be] judging
danH1777 →24 times
אָנֹ֑כִיI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
וְאַחֲרֵי־and after
veacharei-H310 →715 times
כֵ֥ןthus
khenH3651 →771 times
יֵצְא֖וּthey will come out
yetzeuH3318 →1067 times
בִּרְכֻ֥שׁwith possession[s]
birkhushH7399 →28 times
גָּדֽוֹל׃great
gadolH1419 →526 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 12:8When Jacob went to Egypt, your fathers cried out to the LORD, and He sent them Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.
it leads to
- Exodus 4:14–16
Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he is now on his way to…
- Exodus 2:23–24
After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God.
- Genesis 46:5–7
Then Jacob departed from Beersheba, and the sons of Israel took their father Jacob in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him, along with their children and wives.
- Psalms 105:44
He gave them the lands of the nations, that they might inherit the fruit of others’ labor,
- Exodus 14:30–31
That day the LORD saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore.
- Exodus 4:14–16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
On this chapter
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Chuck Missler, Learn the Bible in 24 Hours; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.