New King James Version
Genesis 15:2
2But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house 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 Living Translation (NLT)But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth.
Context of Genesis 15:2
1After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!” 4And 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.”
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 had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.
- Genesis 25:21Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
- Genesis 30:1Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!”
- 1 Samuel 1:11Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”
- Psalms 127:3Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.
- Proverbs 13:12Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.
- Isaiah 56:5Even to them I will give in My house And within My walls a place and a name Better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name That shall not be cut off.
- Acts 7:5And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him.
- Genesis 24:2So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh,
- Genesis 39:4So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.
- Genesis 43:19When they drew near to the steward of Joseph’s house, they talked with him at the door of the house,
- Genesis 44:1And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack.
- Proverbs 17:2A wise servant will rule over a son who causes shame, And will share an inheritance among the brothers.
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries