Genesis 15:3
15:3 Abram added, 1 “Since 2 you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!” 3
Genesis 15:18
15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant 4 with Abram: “To your descendants I give 5 this land, from the river of Egypt 6 to the great river, the Euphrates River –
1 tn Heb “And Abram said.”
2 tn The construction uses הֵן (hen) to introduce the foundational clause (“since…”), and וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh) to introduce the main clause (“then look…”).
3 tn Heb “is inheriting me.”
4 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
5 tn The perfect verbal form is understood as instantaneous (“I here and now give”). Another option is to understand it as rhetorical, indicating certitude (“I have given” meaning it is as good as done, i.e., “I will surely give”).
sn To your descendants I give this land. The Lord here unconditionally promises that Abram’s descendants will possess the land, but he does not yet ratify his earlier promises to give Abram a multitude of descendants and eternal possession of the land. The fulfillment of those aspects of the promise remain conditional (see Gen 17:1-8) and are ratified after Abraham offers up his son Isaac (see Gen 22:1-19). For a fuller discussion see R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 35-54.
6 sn The river of Egypt is a wadi (a seasonal stream) on the northeastern border of Egypt, not to the River Nile.