Genesis 15:10

_AND HE TOOK UNTO HIM ALL THESE, AND DIVIDED THEM IN THE MIDST, AND LAID EACH PIECE ONE AGAINST ANOTHER: BUT THE BIRDS DIVIDED HE NOT._ Divided them in the midst - i:e., into halves. AND LAID EACH PIECE ONE AGAINST ANOTHER - i:e., each half at a little interval opposite its corresponding half. BUT THE BIRDS DIVIDED HE NOT - as was afterward prescribed in the Mosaic law (Leviticus 1:15; Leviticus 1:17)....

10._And divided them in the midst_. That no part of this sacrifice may be without mystery, certain interpreters weary themselves in the fabrication of subtleties; but it is our business, as I have often declared, to cultivate sobriety. I confess I do not know why he was commanded to take three kinds of animals besides birds; unless it were, that by this variety itself, it was declared, that all the posterity of Abram, of whatever rank they might be, should be offered up in sacrifice, so that the whole people, and each individual, should constitute one sacrifice. There are also some things, concerning which, if any one curiously seeks the reason, I shall not be ashamed to acknowledge my ignorance, because I do not choose to wander in uncertain speculations. Moreover, this, in my opinion, is the sum of the whole: That God, in commanding the animals to be killed, shows what will be the futu...

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, Jeremiah 34:18; Jeremiah 34:19. 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 thoughts, like these fowls, come down upon our sacrifices, we must drive them away, and seek to attend on God without distraction....

Verse Genesis 15:10. _DIVIDED THEM IN THE MIDST_] The ancient method of making covenants. as well as the original word, have been already alluded to, and in a general way explained. See Genesis 6:18. The word _covenant_ from _con_, together, and _venio_, I come, signifies an agreement, association, or meeting between two or more parties; for it is impossible that a covenant can be made between an individual and himself, whether God or man. This is a theological absurdity into which many have run; there must be at least _two_ parties to contract with each other. And often there was a _third_ party to _mediate_ the agreement, and to witness it when made. Rabbi Solomon Jarchi says, "It was a custom with those who entered into covenant with each other to take a heifer and cu...

- 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 _y__e__hovâh_ 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 solemn occasions. This is said to have arisen from a stringent interpretation of...

EXPOSITION GENESIS 15:7 AND HE (Jehovah, or the Word of the Lord) SAID UNTO HIM (after the act of faith on the part of the patriarch, and the act of imputation or justification on the part of God, and in explication of the exact nature of that relationship which had been constituted between them by the spiritual transaction so described), I am THE LORD THAT BROUGHT THEE OUT OF UR OF THE CHALDEES (_vide _Genesis 11:28), to give thee this land to inherit (or, to possess) IT. GENESIS 15:8 AND HE SAID, LORD GOD (_Adonai Jehovah_;_ vide_...

AND HE TOOK UNTO HIM ALL THESE,.... The heifer, goat, ram, turtle, and young pigeon, not to himself, but to the Lord, as he was bid, and offered them before him, as the above Targums paraphrase it; or however he took them for his use, and set them before him, and did with them as he directed him: AND DIVIDED THEM IN THE MIDST; that is, the three animals, the heifer, goat, and ram; he did not take off their several limbs, and cut them up in small parts, but cut them in halves; AND LAID EACH PIECE ONE AGAINST ANOTHER; one half against the other, the left side against the right, shoulder against shoulder, and leg against leg, so that they might seem to join, or might be easily joined together again, or however answer one another; though it is generally thought there was such a distance of the one from the other, as that there might be a passage between them; it being usual in making coven...

Genesis 15:1. _After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 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? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir._ Perhaps he did not doubt the promise, but he wanted to have it explained to him. He may have wondered if it meant that one born in his house, though not his son, was to be his heir; and that, through him, the blessing would come. He takes the opportunity of making an enquiry, that he may know how to act. At the same time, there does seem to be a clashing between Abraham's question, «What wilt thou give me?» and the declaration of God, «I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.» There is a gre

CHAPTER 15 THE FOURTH COMMUNICATION AND THE COVENANT AND THE VISION _ 1. The fourth communication (Genesis 15:1)_ 2. Abram's answer (Genesis 15:2) 3. The promised seed (Genesis 15:4) 4. Abram counted righteous (Genesis 15:6) 5. Continued communication (Genesis 15:7) 6. The divided animals (Genesis 15:9) 7. The vision (Genesis 15:12)

GENESIS 12:1 TO GENESIS 25:18. THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. In this section the three main sources, J. E, P are present. Gunkel has given strong reasons for holding that J is here made up of two main sources, one connecting Abraham with Hebron, the other with Beersheba and the Negeb. The former associates Abraham with Lot. (For details, see ICC.) On the interpretation to be placed on the figures of Abraham and the patriarchs, see the Introduction. The interest, which has hitherto been diffused over the fortunes of mankind in general, is now concentrated on Abraham and his posterity, the principle of election narrowing it down to Isaac, Ishmael being left aside, and then to Jacob, Esau being excluded....