Bible Glide

Genesis 15

Genesis 15 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

Genesis 15 centers on God's promise to Abram when he has no child and no clear heir. The chapter shows Abram bringing his honest questions to the LORD, and it highlights faith, covenant, and God's commitment to fulfill what He has spoken.

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What happens in Genesis 15?

The LORD appears to Abram in a vision and tells him not to fear, promising protection and reward. Abram raises the problem of childlessness, but God assures him that his own descendant will be his heir and that his offspring will be as numerous as the stars. Abram believes the LORD, and that faith is counted as righteousness. God then confirms the promise of land through a covenant ceremony. He warns Abram that his descendants will face slavery and suffering in a foreign land, but they will later be brought out and return. The chapter ends with God formally binding the land promise to Abram's descendants.

This chapter comes after Abram's rescue of Lot and the meeting with Melchizedek in Genesis 14. It deepens the covenant promises first given to Abram earlier in Genesis by focusing on offspring and land. Genesis 15 also prepares for later chapters by explaining both the certainty of the promise and the future hardship of Abram's descendants.

Themes to notice

  • Faith and righteousnessAbram trusts God's word, and that trust is counted as righteousness.
  • Promise of descendantsGod answers Abram's childlessness with a promise of a future family beyond counting.
  • Covenant certaintyThe land promise is formally confirmed by God with a solemn covenant sign.

Questions for Genesis 15

  • What stands out about the way Abram brings his doubts to God?
  • Why is Abram's faith important in this chapter?
  • How does Genesis 15 connect promise, suffering, and future hope?

Read the full text of Genesis 15 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Genesis 15

God’s Covenant with Abram

1After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:

“Do not be afraid, Abram.

I am your shield,

your very great reward.”

2But Abram replied, “O Lord GOD, what can You give me, since I remain childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”3Abram continued, “Behold, You have given me no offspring, so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

4Then the word of the LORD came to Abram, saying, “This one will not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.”5And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”6Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.7The LORD also told him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”

God Confirms His Promise

8But Abram replied, “Lord GOD, how can I know that I will possess it?”

9And the LORD said to him, “Bring Me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a turtledove and a young pigeon.”10So Abram brought all these to Him, split each of them down the middle, and laid the halves opposite each other. The birds, however, he did not cut in half.11And the birds of prey descended on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

12As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him.13Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.14But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.15You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.16In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”17When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the halves of the carcasses.18On 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—19the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,20Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,21Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

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