In the ancient Near East, a person's children inherited the property and land of their parents. Abram doubted the fulfillment of God's covenant because he did not have any children to whom to give his land. This showed a lack of faith. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tw?section=kt#inherit and /WA-Catalog/en_tw?section=kt#fulfill,/WA-Catalog/en_tw?section=kt#covenant and /WA-Catalog/en_tw?section=kt#faith)
In the ancient Near East, two people performed a similar sacrifice by dividing animals in half. It was a way to say to the other person, "may this happen to me if I do not fulfill my promise." The event recorded here indicates that God will fulfill his promise and only he is responsible for bringing it about. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tw?section=kt#fulfill and /WA-Catalog/en_tw?section=kt#promise)
God made a covenant with Abram. This covenant was not conditioned upon anything that Abram needed to do, but the fulfillment of its promises is conditioned upon the actions of each generation of his descendants. This covenant has not yet been fulfilled in its entirety.
"These things" refers to when the kings fought and Abram rescued Lot.
The idiom "the word of Yahweh came to" is used to introduce a special message from God. Alternate translation: "Yahweh gave a message to Abram in a vision. He said, 'Fear" or "Yahweh spoke this message to Abram in a vision: 'Fear" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-idiom)
God used these two metaphors to tell Abram about his character and his relationship to Abram. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-metaphor)
Soldiers use a shield to protect themselves from their enemies. Alternate translation: "I will protect you like shield" or "I am your shield to protect you" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-metaphor)
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 seems to be a metonym for the gracious blessing God would give Abram. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-metonymy)
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"Abram continued speaking and said, 'Since you have given me'"
The word "behold" emphasizes the fact that the word of Yahweh came to Abraham again.
The idiom "The word of Yahweh came to" is used to introduce a special message from God. See how you translated this idiom in Genesis 15:1. Alternate translation: "Yahweh gave him a message. He said, 'This" or "Yahweh spoke this message to him: 'This" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-idiom)
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"
Abram was asking for more proof that Yahweh would give him the land.
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"the dead bodies of the animals and birds"
"Abram chased the birds away." He made sure the birds did not eat the dead animals.
This is an idiom. Alternate translation: "Abraham slept deeply" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-idiom)
"an extreme darkness that terrified him"
"surrounded him"
people who are at home in one place but have to live in another place
This can be stated in active form. Alternate translation: "the owners of that land will enslave your descendants and oppress them" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-activepassive)
Yahweh continued to speak to Abram while Abram dreamed.
Here "judge" is a metonym for what will happen after God makes the judgment. Alternate translation: "I will punish" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-metonymy)
The full meaning of this statement can be made explicit. Alternate translation: "that your descendants will serve" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-explicit)
This is an idiom. Alternate translation: "many possessions" or "great wealth" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-idiom)
This is a polite way of saying "you will die." (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-euphemism)
The word "fathers" is a synecdoche for all ancestors. Alternate translation: "ancestors" or "ancestral fathers" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-synecdoche)
"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. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#translate-names)
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. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#translate-names)
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. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#translate-names)