Chapter Overview
The covenant to Abram is repeated again in this chapter, this time with stars rather than dust. Abram asks about who is going to be inheriting his stuff and is told he’ll be having a child at some point. Abram then asks how he knows he can trust that this will happen, and god, presumably getting huffy, tells Abram that sometime down the line, his offspring are going to spend 400 years in slavery.
Additional Thoughts
This chapter has more repetitions in it, such as repeating the covenant to Abram again. This time it uses the stars in the sky rather than the dust analogy. Given that this repeats similar things to chapter 13, I suspect this has a different author and that this would really be better organized closer to (or rather than) chapter 13.
The Scientific/logic/sequence mistakes in this chapter
- The amount of children promised to Abram is quite different (Genesis 15:5 vs 13:16)
- Is god SO forgettable since so many other gods are running around that everyone forgets the things he did? God is always reminding people about this stuff. (Genesis 15:7)
- God’s promise is VERY convoluted and strange. Why subject everyone to slavery for 400 years? Wouldn’t it be easier to just give this to Abram, no strings attached? (Genesis 15:13)
- God promises slavery and then promises to punish the nation that enslaves everyone. Why not just skip the slavery? If we take god to be powerful enough to grant everything here, then god is the direct cause of the slavery through a nation. It sounds like god needs to be punished instead (Genesis 15:14)
- Why does god need to punish the Amorites? Wouldn’t a loving god take corrective steps now to prevent needing to punish in the future? (Genesis 15:16)
- Abram fell asleep. Why assume this was a vision? Because the bible says so? (Genesis 15:17)
Chapter 15: Abram Questions God
| 1. After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. | What things? There was no mention of god taking part in the last chapter. This seems to be here just to reinforce how amazingly awesome we’re supposed to find Abram. |
| 2. And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? | |
| 3. And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. | |
| 4. And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. | Hopefully this phrase isn’t meant literally… having a baby come forth from a man’s bowels sounds like quite a painful experience. |
| 5. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. | I’m pretty sure that the grains of dust from a chapter 13 have a far different number than the amount of stars in the sky. Just a guess though. |
| 6. And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. | Because we need to be reminded that believing in god is good. |
| 7. And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. | It seems like god has to continually remind people who he is. This could make sense if this was a polytheistic faith at the time…. |
| 8. And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? | Asking for evidence? This doesn’t sound like he believes god very much. |
| 9. And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. | Go grab a bunch of animals. Never mind the fact that I could (in theory) just create a bunch for us to use here. It’s more pleasing if they’re natural. |
| 10. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. | That sounds pretty messy. Are there just animal carcasses lying around? |
| 11. And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. | Sounds like they’re just lying around. That’s gotta stink. |
| 12. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. | Maybe god should give him a nightlight and a good security blanket? |
| 13. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; | This sounds more like a threat rather than what Abram was asking for, ie, evidence that he’s the chosen one. Why subject everyone to slavery for 400 years? |
| 14. And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. | See point 3 above. Also, this seems ambiguous. Who will come out with great substance, the nation, or the people? |
| 15. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. | You’ll die peacefully. Presumably in accordance with Genesis 6:3, right? |
| 16. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. | But your children are just going to be the worst. |
| 17. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. | Why assume it was a vision? It was probably just a dream. We have no evidence that visions are real. |
| 18. 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: | Haven’t we been over this covenant several times now? |
| 19. The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, | These people are going to be subservient to you |
| 20. And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, | |
| 21. And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. |