New English Translation
Genesis 15:2
2But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, what will you give me since I continue to be childless, and my heir is Eliezer of Damascus?”
Genesis 15:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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?
- New International Version (NIV)But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)But Abram said, "O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
Context of Genesis 15:2
1After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, what will you give me since I continue to be childless, and my heir is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3Abram added, “Since you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!” 4But look, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but instead a son who comes from your own body will be your heir.”
Read all of Genesis 15Genesis 15:2 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אַבְרָ֗ם אֲדֹנָ֤י יֱהוִה֙ מַה־תִּתֶּן־לִ֔י וְאָנֹכִ֖י הוֹלֵ֣ךְ עֲרִירִ֑י וּבֶן־מֶ֣שֶׁק בֵּיתִ֔י ה֖וּא דַּמֶּ֥שֶׂק אֱלִיעֶֽזֶר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Abramאַבְרָם'abrâm · AbramH87
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
- Godיְהֹוִהyehôvih · YHWH/GodH3069
- what wilt thou giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- me, seeing I goהָלַךְhâlak · to go: continueH1980
- childlessעֲרִירִי‛ărîyrîy · childlessH6185
- and the stewardמֶ֫שֶׁקmesheq · acquisitionH4943
- and the stewardבֵּןbên · sonH1121
- of my houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
- thisהוּאhû' hîy' · he/she/itH1931
- Eliezerאֱלִיעֶ֫זֶר'ĕlîy‛ezer · EliezerH461
- of Damascusדַּמֶּ֫שֶׂקdammeώeq dûmeώeq darmeώeq · DamascusH1834
Cross-references for Genesis 15:2
- Genesis 12:1Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go out from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household to the land that I will show you.
- Genesis 25:21Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.
- Genesis 30:1When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children or I’ll die!”
- 1 Samuel 1:11She made a vow saying, “O Lord of hosts, if you will look with compassion on the suffering of your female servant, remembering me and not forgetting your servant, and give a male child to your servant, then I will dedicate him to the Lord all the days of his life. His hair will never be cut.”
- Psalms 127:3Yes, sons are a gift from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.
- Proverbs 13:12Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is like a tree of life.
- Isaiah 56:5I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument that will be better than sons and daughters. I will set up a permanent monument for them that will remain.
- Acts 7:5He did not give any of it to him for an inheritance, not even a foot of ground, yet God promised to give it to him as his possession, and to his descendants after him, even though Abraham as yet had no child.
- Genesis 24:2Abraham said to his servant, the senior one in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh
- Genesis 39:4So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. Potiphar appointed Joseph overseer of his household and put him in charge of everything he owned.
- Genesis 43:19So they approached the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household and spoke to him at the entrance to the house.
- Genesis 44:1He instructed the servant who was over his household, “Fill the sacks of the men with as much food as they can carry and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack.
- Proverbs 17:2A servant who acts wisely will rule over an heir who behaves shamefully, and will share the inheritance along with the relatives.
Commentaries on Genesis 15:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2What wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless - The anxiety of the Asiatics to have offspring is intense and universal. Among the Hindoos the want of children renders all other blessings of no esteem. See Ward. And the steward of my house - Abram, understanding the promise as relating to that person who was to spring from his family, in whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed, expresses his surprise that there should be such a promise, and yet…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. 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. 22. Lord God, what wilt thou give?--To his mind the declaration, "I am thy exceeding great reward" [Ge 15:1], had but one meaning, or was viewed but in one particular light, as bearing on the fulfilment of the promise, and he was still experiencing the sickness of hope deferred.Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 15:2
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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