Genesis 15:11

Genesis 15:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
• New International Version (NIV)Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

Context of Genesis 15:11

9The Lord told him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10So Abram presented all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; he did not, however, cut the birds in half. Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away. 12As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down over him. 13Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years.

Genesis 15:11 word by word

וַיֵּ֥רֶד הָעַ֖יִט עַל־הַפְּגָרִ֑ים וַיַּשֵּׁ֥ב אֹתָ֖ם אַבְרָֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And when the fowlsעַ֫יִט‛ayiţ · bird of preyH5861
• came downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• upon the carcasesפֶּ֫גֶרpeger · corpseH6297
• Abramאַבְרָם'abrâm · AbramH87
• drove them awayנָשַׁבnâshab · to blowH5380

Cross-references for Genesis 15:11

• Ezekiel 17:3Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: “A great eagle with broad wings and long feathers, covered with many-colored plumage, came to Lebanon. He seized the top of a cedar tree
• Matthew 13:4As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them.
• Psalms 119:13I have recited aloud all the regulations you have given us.

Commentaries on Genesis 15:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11And when the fowls - העיט haayit, birds of prey, came down upon the carcasses to devour them, Abram, who stood by his sacrifice waiting for the manifestation of God, who had ordered him to prepare for the ratification of the covenant, drove them away, that they might neither pollute nor devour what had been thus consecrated to God.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. 7-11Verses 7-11 Assurance was given to Abram of the land of Canaan for an inheritance. God never promises more than he is able to perform, as men often do. Abram did as God commanded him. He divided the beasts in the midst, according to the ceremony used in confirming covenants, Jer 34:18, 19. Having prepared according to God's appointment, he set himself to wait for the sign God might give him. A watch must be kept upon our spiritual sacrifices. When vain…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11birds of prey: These are ceremonially unclean birds that symbolize those who unjustly attack Abraham's heirs (15:13–14).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 15:11

• Abraham
• Condescension of God
• Covenant
• Sign
• Symbols and Similitudes
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• Abram
• Abraham, Abram
• Chronology
• Count
• Covenant
• Exceeding
• Fear
• Heir
• Horror
• Sacrifice

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