Genesis 15:16

In the fourth generation ¹  your descendants ²  will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” ³ 

Ex 12:40; 1Ki 21:26; Da 8:23; Zec 5:5-11; Mt 23:32-35; 1Th 2:16; 2Pe 3:8,9

¹ sn The term generation is being used here in its widest sense to refer to a full life span. When the chronological factors are considered and the genealogies tabulated, there are four hundred years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to one hundred years.

² tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Heb “is not yet complete.”

sn The sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit. The justice of God is apparent. He will wait until the Amorites are fully deserving of judgment before he annihilates them and gives the land to Israel.