American Standard Version
Genesis 15:3
3And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
Genesis 15:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
- New International Version (NIV)And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And Abram said, "Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”
Context of Genesis 15:3
1After these things the word of Jehovah came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 2And Abram said, O Lord Jehovah, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and he that shall be possessor of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4And, behold, the word of Jehovah came unto him, saying, This man shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
Read all of Genesis 15Genesis 15:3 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אַבְרָ֔ם הֵ֣ן לִ֔י לֹ֥א נָתַ֖תָּה זָ֑רַע וְהִנֵּ֥ה בֶן־בֵּיתִ֖י יוֹרֵ֥שׁ אֹתִֽי׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Genesis 15:3
- Genesis 12:2and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing:
- Genesis 13:16And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then may thy seed also be numbered.
- Proverbs 13:12Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; But when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
- Jeremiah 12:1Righteous art thou, O Jehovah, when I contend with thee; yet would I reason the cause with thee: wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they at ease that deal very treacherously?
- Hebrews 10:35Cast not away therefore your boldness, which hath great recompense of reward.
- Genesis 14:14And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan.
- Proverbs 29:21He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child Shall have him become a son at the last.
- Proverbs 30:23For an odious woman when she is married; And a handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
- Ecclesiastes 2:7I bought men-servants and maid-servants, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all that were before me in Jerusalem;
Commentaries on Genesis 15:3
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-21Verses 1-21 - The Faith of Abram 1. דבר dābār “a word, a thing;” the word being the sign of the thing. 2. אדני 'ǎdonāy “Adonai, the Lord;” related: “bring down, lay down.” This is the name usually read in place of Yahweh; but when, as in the present case, יהוה yehovâh and אדני 'ǎdonāy are in apposition, אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym is read instead of the former. The Jews from a feeling of reverence avoided the utterance of this sacred name except on the most…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 2-6Verses 2-6 Though we must never complain of God, yet we have leave to complain to him; and to state all our grievances. It is ease to a burdened spirit, to open its case to a faithful and compassionate friend. Abram's complaint is, that he had no child; that he was never likely to have any; that the want of a son was so great a trouble to him, that it took away all his comfort. If we suppose that Abram looked no further than outward comfort, this…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-3Abram used wordplay to show his concern that Eliezer of Damascus (Hebrew dammeseq), a man in Abram's household, would become his heir (Hebrew ben-mesheq, which means “son of possession”). This was the usual practice when a man had no son.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. Eliezer of Damascus ... one born in my house is mine heir--According to the usage of nomadic tribes, his chief confidential servant, would be heir to his possessions and honors. But this man could have become his son only by adoption; and how sadly would that have come short of the parental hopes he had been encouraged to entertain! His language betrayed a latent spirit of fretfulness or perhaps a temporary failure in the very virtue for which he is so…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 15:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries