Genesis 15:18
in Genesis 15On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
KJV
In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
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This verse in Genesis 15
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThe Lord made a covenant - כרת ברית carath berith signifies to cut a covenant, or rather the covenant sacrifice; for as no covenant was made without one, and the creature was cut in two that the contracting parties might pass between the pieces, hence cutting the covenant signified making the covenant.
This site's exposition
the LORD made a covenant with Abram
on Genesis 15:18-21
The grant is in the past tense, the land already given to his descendants. The boundaries run from the river of Egypt as far as the Euphrates, and the peoples sitting on that ground are listed by name. Ten are counted here, where Deuteronomy 7:1 later counts seven.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
When the torches had passed over the divided animals, the covenant was made. God said to Abraham, "To your descendants I will give this land," and he described in detail how far the land extended in each direction.
Foreign peoples are given to Abraham as though for education and so that the most scrupulous mind of the just person might cut away their vices and correct their errors. But what is most evident here is rather the mystery of the church. Through its apostles, "who are Israelites, to whom belong the patriarchs," and from whose patriarchs "Christ was born according to the flesh" under the law, the church was to be constituted from the gathering of pagan peoples who would believe.
The Medieval Church1 voice
On that day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: To your descendants, I will give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He had said before, To thy seed will I give this land, ch. xii. But here he says, I have given it; that is, (1.) I have given the promise of it, the charter is sealed and delivered, and cannot be disannulled. Note, God's promises are God's gifts, and are so to be accounted.
And then, for the greater certainty, as is usual in such cases, he mentions in whose tenure and occupation these lands now were.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram,....
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.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֗וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| כָּרַ֧ת | karat | he made | H3772 → | 288 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| אַבְרָ֖ם | ʾavram | Abram | H87 → | 61 times |
| בְּרִ֣ית | berit | a covenant | H1285 → | 284 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לְזַרְעֲךָ֗ | lezarakha | to offspring your | H2233 → | 229 times |
| נָתַ֙תִּי֙ | natati | I give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָ֣רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| הַזֹּ֔את | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| מִנְּהַ֣ר | minehar | from [the] river of | H5104 → | 119 times |
| מִצְרַ֔יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הַנָּהָ֥ר | hanahar | the river | H5104 → | 119 times |
| הַגָּדֹ֖ל | hagadol | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| נְהַר־ | nehar- | [the] river of | H5104 → | 119 times |
| פְּרָֽת׃ | perat | Euphrates | H6578 → |
בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֗וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
כָּרַ֧תhe made
karatH3772 →288 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
אַבְרָ֖םAbram
ʾavramH87 →61 times
בְּרִ֣יתa covenant
beritH1285 →284 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
לְזַרְעֲךָ֗to offspring your
lezarakhaH2233 →229 times
נָתַ֙תִּי֙I give
natatiH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָ֣רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
הַזֹּ֔את<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
מִנְּהַ֣רfrom [the] river of
mineharH5104 →119 times
מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
הַנָּהָ֥רthe river
hanaharH5104 →119 times
הַגָּדֹ֖ל<the> great
hagadolH1419 →526 times
נְהַר־[the] river of
nehar-H5104 →119 times
פְּרָֽת׃Euphrates
peratH6578 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Genesis 12:7Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
it leads to
- Genesis 13:15
for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 17:8
And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”
- Genesis 17:1
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.
- Genesis 18:1
Then the LORD appeared to Abraham by the Oaks of Mamre in the heat of the day, while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent.
- Genesis 13:15
Through
Deuteronomy 11:24Every place where the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Western Sea.
it leads to
- Joshua 14:9
On that day Moses swore to me, saying, ‘Surely the land on which you have set foot will be an inheritance to you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD…
- Genesis 15:18–21
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
- Exodus 23:31
And I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates. For I will deliver the inhabitants into your hand, and you…
- Joshua 14:9
Through
Genesis 13:15for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 20:7
Our God, did You not drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham Your friend?
- 2 Chronicles 20:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies36
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Covenant34 verses
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On Abraham; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Didymus the Blind, ON GENESIS 234; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.