Tag: Abram

To Cut a Covenant

Posted on by jovial_cynic

On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,
“To your descendants I have given this land,
From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.
Genesis 15:18 (NIV)

When the scriptures tell us that God “made a covenant” with Abram in Genesis 15:18, the word “made” is the hebrew word כָּרַת (kaw-rath). It means to cut down. The idiom is to “cut a covenant.”

1. to cut off
– 1. to cut off a body part, behead
2. to cut down
3. to hew
4. to cut or make a covenant
H3772: כָּרַת (kāraṯ)

I wonder if scripture gives this because God is responding to Abram’s action.

Cut in Pieces

Posted on by jovial_cynic

So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”
Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half.
Genesis 15:9-10 (NIV)

It seems very sad to me that Abram cut up the animals. If you look closely, God did not ask him to do this.

Even in Death

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As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.
Genesis 15:15 (NASB)

The English renders the Hebrew word “bo” here as “go,” and it makes the place of the dead seem far away, like a distant place to arrive after a long journey through life.

But the rabbis say this word more often means “come.” As in, even in death there is nearness to God.

From the Fire

Posted on by jovial_cynic

Then [God] said to him, “I am יהוה who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to assign this land to you as a possession.”
Genesis 15:7 (The Contemporary Torah, JPS 2006)

The Midrash contains a fascinating story about Abram, suggesting that Nimrod (king of Babylon) threw Abram into a blazing furnace for not worshipping his idol. “Ur” means “flame.”

He was in the fire, but not consumed by it.

The rabbis say that Genesis 15:7 is the first time God tells Abram His name.

Later, when God meets Moses, He presents His name and another fire, this time on a bush that is not consumed.

Perhaps this is how Moses remembers the covenant God made with Abram: these are intentionally linked stories. God preserves us, even through the fire that should consume us.

God is my Help

Posted on by jovial_cynic

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?”
Genesis 15:2 (NIV)

Abram has a servant named Eliezer. His name is a compound word, comprised of El (God) and ezer (help). It means “God is my help.”

This is the same servant who later will find a bride for Isaac.

Fear Not

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He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
Genesis 3:10 (NIV)

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
Genesis 15:1 (NIV)

If you study it from the beginning, you’ll see that Genesis 15 is speaking directly to the things of Genesis 3.

These are the first two instances of this word “afraid” in scripture.

Sleep and Darkness

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As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.
Genesis 15:12 (NIV)

The rabbis say that sleep is a microcosm of death. How would Adam have known to fear death until he was terrorized with unnatural sleep?

And here in Genesis 15, we see it plainly. Darkness hasn’t been mentioned since Genesis 1. This is an echo of Genesis 2.

The Kingdom of Heaven is Like…

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Now it came about, when Abram entered Egypt, that the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
Genesis 12:14-15 (NASB)

Now it came about, when mankind began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.
Genesis 6:1-2 (NASB)

The scriptures echo. Or perhaps a better way of describing it is that the later instances are parables to teach you the meaning of the earlier ones.

Curses

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And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
Genesis 12:3 (NASB)

As far as Genesis has taught us, you can’t curse anyone God has blessed. So what does it mean when God says “anyone who curses you, I will curse” after He blesses Abram in verse 2?

As it turns out, there are two different words being translated as “curse” in this verse!

The first is kalal, which means to revile or dishonor or slight.
The second is arar, which means to bind with a curse.

Seeds in the Dirt

Posted on by jovial_cynic

And the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your [a]descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.
Genesis 12:7 (NASB)

[a] Lit seed

I’m charmed by the imagery of “seed in the land” that ties us back to the third day of creation.

Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit according to their kind with seed in them”; and it was so.
Genesis 1:11 (NASB)

After the water was separated from land, plants began to grow.

Yes, “seed” refers to descendants and offspring, but the word choice gives us an echo.