New English Translation
Genesis 15:17
17When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch passed between the animal parts.
Genesis 15:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.
- English Standard Version (ESV)When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.
Context of Genesis 15:17
15But as for you, you will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch passed between the animal parts. 18That day the Lord made a covenant with Abram: “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River – 19the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
Read all of Genesis 15Genesis 15:17 word by word
וַיְהִ֤י הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ בָּ֔אָה וַעֲלָטָ֖ה הָיָ֑ה וְהִנֵּ֨ה תַנּ֤וּר עָשָׁן֙ וְלַפִּ֣יד אֵ֔שׁ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָבַ֔ר בֵּ֖ין הַגְּזָרִ֥ים הָאֵֽלֶּה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And it came to pass, that, when the sunשֶׁ֫מֶשׁshemesh · sunH8121
- went downבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- and it was darkעֲלָטָה‛ălâţâh · darknessH5939
- behold a smokingעָשָׁן‛âshân · smokeH6227
- furnaceתַּנּוּרtannûr · ovenH8574
- and a burningאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
- lampלַפִּידlappîyd lappid · torchH3940
- that passedעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
- betweenבַּ֫יִןbêyn · betweenH996
- those piecesגֶּ֫זֶרgezer · pieceH1506
Cross-references for Genesis 15:17
- Exodus 3:2The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from within a bush. He looked – and the bush was ablaze with fire, but it was not being consumed!
- Deuteronomy 4:20You, however, the Lord has selected and brought from Egypt, that iron-smelting furnace, to be his special people as you are today.
- Judges 6:21The Lord’s messenger touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of his staff. Fire flared up from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened bread. The Lord’s messenger then disappeared.
- Judges 13:20As the flame went up from the altar toward the sky, the Lord’s messenger went up in it while Manoah and his wife watched. They fell facedown to the ground.
- 1 Chronicles 21:26David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings. He called out to the Lord, and the Lord responded by sending fire from the sky and consuming the burnt sacrifice on the altar.
- Isaiah 62:1“For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines brightly and her deliverance burns like a torch.”
- Jeremiah 11:4Those are the terms that I charged your ancestors to keep when I brought them out of Egypt, that place which was like an iron-smelting furnace. I said at that time, “Obey me and carry out the terms of the agreement exactly as I commanded you. If you do, you will be my people and I will be your God.
- 2 Samuel 22:9Smoke ascended from his nose; fire devoured as it came from his mouth; he hurled down fiery coals.
- Jeremiah 34:18I will punish those people who have violated their covenant with me. I will make them like the calf they cut in two and passed between its pieces. I will do so because they did not keep the terms of the covenant they made in my presence.
Commentaries on Genesis 15:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Smoking furnace and a burning lamp - Probably the smoking furnace might be designed as an emblem of the sore afflictions of the Israelites in Egypt; but the burning lamp was certainly the symbol of the Divine presence, which, passing between the pieces, ratified the covenant with Abram, as the following verse immediately states.Read the comment
- 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. 17-21Verses 17-21 The smoking furnace and the burning lamp, probably represented the Israelites' severe trials and joyful deliverance, with their gracious supports in the mean time. It is probable that this furnace and lamp, which passed between the pieces, burned and consumed them, and so completed the sacrifice, and testified God's acceptance of it. So it intimates that God's covenants with man are made by sacrifice, Psa 50:5. And we may know that he accepts…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-18smoking firepot and a flaming torch: Fire represented the Lord's cleansing and consuming zeal. It also represented how no one could come near him because of his holiness (compare Isaiah 6:3–7). The holy God made (literally cut) a one-sided covenant with Abram. The promises were absolutely certain. This was because they did not rely on what Abram or his descendants' might do.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 9-219-21. Take me an heifer, &c.--On occasions of great importance, when two or more parties join in a compact, they either observe precisely the same rites as Abram did, or, where they do not, they invoke the lamp as their witness. According to these ideas, which have been from time immemorial engraven on the minds of Eastern people, the Lord Himself condescended to enter into covenant with Abram. The patriarch did not pass between the sacrifice and the…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 15:17
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
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