Genesis 15:4

Genesis 15:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: "This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir."
• New King James Version (NKJV)And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”

Context of Genesis 15:4

2But Abram said, ‘Almighty Lord, there is one gift that I want. I still have no children. When I die, Eliezer of Damascus will receive everything that I have. 3Because you have not given me any children, understand this: Everything that I have will one day belong to a servant in my house.’ The Lord gave Abram this message: ‘No! Eliezer will not be the one who receives your things. You will have your own son. He will be the one who receives everything that you have.’ 5The Lord took Abram outside. He said to Abram, ‘Look up at the sky. Count the stars. They are too many for you to count!’ Then God said, ‘That is how many descendants you will have.’ 6Abram believed the Lord. As a result, the Lord accepted Abram as right with him.

Genesis 15:4 word by word

וְהִנֵּ֨ה דְבַר־יְהוָ֤ה אֵלָיו֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לֹ֥א יִֽירָשְׁךָ֖ זֶ֑ה כִּי־אִם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יֵצֵ֣א מִמֵּעֶ֔יךָ ה֖וּא יִֽירָשֶֽׁךָ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And, behold, the wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• unto him, sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• This shall not be thine heirיָרַשׁyârash yârêsh · to possess: possessH3423
• but he that shall come forthיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: produceH3318
• out of thine own bowelsמֵעֶהmê‛eh · bellyH4578

Cross-references for Genesis 15:4

• Genesis 17:16I will bless her. She will give birth to a son for you. Many nations of people will be her descendants. Some of them will become kings. That is how much I will bless her!’
• Genesis 21:12God said to Abraham, ‘Do not be upset about Ishmael or about Hagar. Do whatever Sarah tells you. Your family's descendants will come through Isaac, not Ishmael.
• 2 Samuel 7:12When you die, people will bury you in the grave of your ancestors. Then I will choose your descendant, one of your own sons, to become king. I will make his kingdom strong.
• 2 Samuel 16:11Then David said to Abishai and to all his officers, ‘My own son is trying to kill me. Now this man from Benjamin's tribe wants to do the same thing. The Lord has told him to do this, so do not stop him cursing me.
• 2 Chronicles 32:21The Lord God sent an angel to destroy Assyria's army. The angel killed all the soldiers and the army officers in their camp. So the king of Assyria had to return home to his own country. He was very ashamed. He went into the temple of his god. There some of his own sons used their swords to kill him.
• Philemon 1:12So I am now sending him back to you. Because I love him, it is like I am sending you my own heart.

Commentaries on Genesis 15:4

• 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. 4-6God confirmed that the promise to Abram was for his own children. Then God showed Abram the stars as a sign of the many descendants he would have (22:17; 26:4). The apostle Paul quotes this promise in Romans 4:18 to emphasize Abram’s strong faith.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. This shall not be thine heir--To the first part of his address no reply was given; but having renewed it in a spirit of more becoming submission, "whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it" [Ge 15:8], he was delighted by a most explicit promise of Canaan, which was immediately confirmed by a remarkable ceremony.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 15:4

• Blessing
• Children
• Concubinage
• Condescension of God
• Faith
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• Chronology
• Count
• Covenant
• Exceeding
• Fear
• Heir
• Horror
• Surety
• Tell
• Accommodation

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