New Living Translation
Genesis 15:2
2But 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.
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
1Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.” 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. 3You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.” 4Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who 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 12:1The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.
- Genesis 25:21Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins.
- Genesis 30:1When Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”
- 1 Samuel 1:11And she made this vow: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut.”
- Psalms 127:3Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.
- Proverbs 13:12Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.
- Isaiah 56:5I will give them—within the walls of my house— a memorial and a name far greater than sons and daughters could give. For the name I give them is an everlasting one. It will never disappear!
- Acts 7:5“But God gave him no inheritance here, not even one square foot of land. God did promise, however, that eventually the whole land would belong to Abraham and his descendants—even though he had no children yet.
- Genesis 24:2One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh.
- Genesis 39:4This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned.
- Genesis 43:19The brothers approached the manager of Joseph’s household and spoke to him at the entrance to the palace.
- Genesis 44:1When his brothers were ready to leave, Joseph gave these instructions to his palace manager: “Fill each of their sacks with as much grain as they can carry, and put each man’s money back into his sack.
- Proverbs 17:2A wise servant will rule over the master’s disgraceful son and will share the inheritance of the master’s children.
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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