"These things" refers to when the kings fought and Abram rescued Lot.
"Yahweh gave a message to Abram in a vision. He said, 'Fear" or "Yahweh spoke this message to Abram in a vision: 'Fear"
"I will protect you like shield" or "I am your shield to protect you"
Possible meanings are 1) "I myself will be all that you need" or 2) "I will give you all you need."
the result of a person's actions. This is the gracious blessing God would give Abram.
The word "behold" emphasizes the fact that the word of Yahweh came to Abraham again.
"Yahweh gave him a message. He said, 'This" or "Yahweh spoke this message to him: 'This"
This refers to Eliezer of Damascus.
"the one that you will father" or "your very own son." Abram's own son would become his heir.
"count the stars"
Just as Abram would not be able to count all the stars, he would not be able to count all his descendants because there would be so many.
This means he accepted and trusted what Yahweh said was true.
"Yahweh counted Abram's belief as righteousness" or "Yahweh considered Abram righteous because Abram believed him"
Yahweh was reminding Abraham of what he had already done so that Abraham would know that Yahweh had the power to give Abram what he promised him.
"to receive it" or "so that you will possess it"
"the dead bodies of the animals and birds"
"Abram chased the birds away." He made sure the birds did not eat the dead animals.
"an extreme darkness that terrified him"
"surrounded him"
people who are at home in one place but have to live in another place
"the owners of that land will enslave your descendants and oppress them"
"I will punish"
"that your descendants will serve"
"many possessions" or "great wealth"
This is a polite way of saying "you will die."
"ancestors" or "ancestral fathers"
"you will be very old when you die and your family buries your body"
Here one generation refers to a lifespan of 100 years. "After four hundred years"
"your descendants will come back here." Abraham's descendants would come to the land where Abram was then living, the land that Yahweh had promised to give to him.
"is not yet complete" or "will get much worse before I punish them"
The word "behold" here alerts us to pay attention to the surprising information that follows.
God did this to show Abram that he was making a covenant with him.
"passed through between the two rows of animal pieces"
In this covenant God promises to bless Abram, and he will continue to bless him as long as Abram follows him.
By saying this, God was giving the land to Abram's descendants. God was doing this then, but the descendants would not go into the land until many years later.
These are the names of groups of people who lived in that land. God would allow Abraham's descendants to conquer these people and take their land.
These are the names of groups of people who lived in that land. God would allow Abraham's descendants to conquer these people and take their land.
These are the names of groups of people who lived in that land. God would allow Abraham's descendants to conquer these people and take their land.