אַחַ֣ר ׀ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה הָיָ֤ה דְבַר־יְהוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם בַּֽמַּחֲזֶ֖ה לֵאמֹ֑ר אַל־תִּירָ֣א אַבְרָ֗ם אָנֹכִי֙ מָגֵ֣ן לָ֔ךְ שְׂכָרְךָ֖ הַרְבֵּ֥ה מְאֹֽד׃

After these matters, after Abram’s war with the great kings of the north, he may have been concerned that the powerful rulers might return to Canaan for another military campaign in order to take revenge. And so the word of the Lord came to Abram in a prophetic vision, saying: Fear not, Abram, I am a shield for you, and I will protect you from all harm. Additionally, your future reward for your deeds is very great.

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אַבְרָ֗ם אֲדֹנָ֤י יֱהוִה֙ מַה־תִּתֶּן־לִ֔י וְאָנֹכִ֖י הוֹלֵ֣ךְ עֲרִירִ֑י וּבֶן־מֶ֣שֶׁק בֵּיתִ֔י ה֖וּא דַּמֶּ֥שֶׂק אֱלִיעֶֽזֶר׃

Abram said: My Lord God, what will You give me? I go childless. You have promised me an exceedingly great reward, but what can I do with it when I have no children? And the steward of my house, the one in charge of all my dealings since I have no son, is Eliezer of, who comes from,23 Damascus.

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אַבְרָ֔ם הֵ֣ן לִ֔י לֹ֥א נָתַ֖תָּה זָ֑רַע וְהִנֵּ֥ה בֶן־בֵּיתִ֖י יוֹרֵ֥שׁ אֹתִֽי׃

Abram said: Behold, to me You have not given descendants, and a member of my household is my heir . Since I do not have a son, and my steward will inherit me, this reward has no meaning for me. Although Eliezer is indeed a faithful and decent man, he is not my child.

וְהִנֵּ֨ה דְבַר־יְהוָ֤ה אֵלָיו֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לֹ֥א יִֽירָשְׁךָ֖ זֶ֑ה כִּי־אִם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יֵצֵ֣א מִמֵּעֶ֔יךָ ה֖וּא יִֽירָשֶֽׁךָ׃

Behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying: This man who is the steward of your house shall not be your heir; rather, one who shall emerge from your loins, he shall be your heir.

וַיּוֹצֵ֨א אֹת֜וֹ הַח֗וּצָה וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הַבֶּט־נָ֣א הַשָּׁמַ֗יְמָה וּסְפֹר֙ הַכּ֣וֹכָבִ֔ים אִם־תּוּכַ֖ל לִסְפֹּ֣ר אֹתָ֑ם וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֔וֹ כֹּ֥ה יִהְיֶ֖ה זַרְעֶֽךָ׃

He took him, or instructed him to go, outside, and said: Look now toward the heavens, and count the stars, and see if you can count them. And after Abram had looked toward the heavens, He said to him: So shall be your descendants; they will be as numerous as the stars.

וְהֶאֱמִ֖ן בַּֽיהוָ֑ה וַיַּחְשְׁבֶ֥הָ לּ֖וֹ צְדָקָֽה׃

Although this seemed impossible to Abram, as he and his wife were elderly, he believed in the Lord; and He, God, considered it, Abram’s faith, for him as righteousness, as a correct, upright, and proper act.

וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אֵלָ֑יו אֲנִ֣י יְהוָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֤ר הוֹצֵאתִ֙יךָ֙ מֵא֣וּר כַּשְׂדִּ֔ים לָ֧תֶת לְךָ֛ אֶת־הָאָ֥רֶץ הַזֹּ֖את לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃

He said to him: I am the Lord who took you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, among other reasons, in order to give you this land to inherit it.

וַיֹּאמַ֑ר אֲדֹנָ֣י יֱהוִ֔ה בַּמָּ֥ה אֵדַ֖ע כִּ֥י אִֽירָשֶֽׁנָּה׃

He said: My Lord God, how shall I know that I shall inherit it? This statement does not indicate a lack of faith in the fulfillment of God’s promise. However, the promise would come to pass only for Abram’s descendants, none of whom had yet been born, while in the present there was no practical expression of his possession of the land. Hence, Abram requested some sort of assurance or deed that would serve as a confirmation and reinforcement of the covenant.

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֗יו קְחָ֥ה לִי֙ עֶגְלָ֣ה מְשֻׁלֶּ֔שֶׁת וְעֵ֥ז מְשֻׁלֶּ֖שֶׁת וְאַ֣יִל מְשֻׁלָּ֑שׁ וְתֹ֖ר וְגוֹזָֽל׃

He said to him: Take Me a triple heifer, and a triple female goat, and a triple ram, and a dove, and a young pigeon.

וַיִּֽקַּֽח־ל֣וֹ אֶת־כָּל־אֵ֗לֶּה וַיְבַתֵּ֤ר אֹתָם֙ בַּתָּ֔וֶךְ וַיִּתֵּ֥ן אִישׁ־בִּתְר֖וֹ לִקְרַ֣את רֵעֵ֑הוּ וְאֶת־הַצִפֹּ֖ר לֹ֥א בָתָֽר׃

He took all these for him after they had each been slaughtered, divided them in the middle into approximately equal halves, and placed each half opposite the other, with a gap separating them. But the birds, the dove and young pigeon, he did not divide.

וַיֵּ֥רֶד הָעַ֖יִט עַל־הַפְּגָרִ֑ים וַיַּשֵּׁ֥ב אֹתָ֖ם אַבְרָֽם׃

The birds of prey, no specific bird, but birds of prey in general, descended onto the carcasses. These birds represent enemies who attempt to undermine the covenant. And Abram drove them away. He sought to fight these symbolic enemies and expel them. This indicates that the covenant and its fulfillment would encounter many future difficulties and threats, which must be opposed. Some explain that Abram put the pieces back to their initial state and miraculously restored them to life, as a sign of future renewal and resurrection.

וַיְהִ֤י הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ לָב֔וֹא וְתַרְדֵּמָ֖ה נָפְלָ֣ה עַל־אַבְרָ֑ם וְהִנֵּ֥ה אֵימָ֛ה חֲשֵׁכָ֥ה גְדֹלָ֖ה נֹפֶ֥לֶת עָלָֽיו׃

This episode involved three stages: First came the initial prophetic vision, which Abram apparently experienced at night; this was followed by the preparations for the covenantal ritual and the descent of the birds of prey upon the carcasses, which occurred during the day. Then came the third and final stage, which is described in this verse: It was when the sun was setting; a deep sleep fell upon Abram. This was not an ordinary sleep due to tiredness, but an absolute inability to stay awake, as though an external factor put him in a trance. And behold, together with the deep sleep, a dread, a great darkness, a terrible fear devoid of specific content or meaning, fell upon him.

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לְאַבְרָ֗ם יָדֹ֨עַ תֵּדַ֜ע כִּי־גֵ֣ר ׀ יִהְיֶ֣ה זַרְעֲךָ֗ בְּאֶ֙רֶץ֙ לֹ֣א לָהֶ֔ם וַעֲבָד֖וּם וְעִנּ֣וּ אֹתָ֑ם אַרְבַּ֥ע מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָֽה׃

Here the covenant is formulated as a detailed, defined prophecy. He, God, said to Abram: Know that your descendants shall be strangers in a land that is not theirs. Indeed you will father children and will ultimately inherit the land, but your descendants shall not receive it immediately. The covenant will not be fulfilled in a smooth, straightforward manner. Beforehand, they will be foreigners and nomads like you are. However, in contrast to you, their wanderings will not be in this land that they are destined to inherit, but rather in a foreign place that is not their own. And furthermore, they shall be enslaved to them, the inhabitants of that foreign land; and they shall oppress them for four hundred years. The content of this prophecy fits the dread that Abram felt, but straightaway, God encouraged him with a promise:

וְגַ֧ם אֶת־הַגּ֛וֹי אֲשֶׁ֥ר יַעֲבֹ֖דוּ דָּ֣ן אָנֹ֑כִי וְאַחֲרֵי־כֵ֥ן יֵצְא֖וּ בִּרְכֻ֥שׁ גָּדֽוֹל׃

And also that nation that they shall serve, I will judge. Your descendants will suffer there for reasons of My own, but the nation that enslaves them will be punished for doing so. And afterwards, when the designated hour arrives, they, your children, will emerge with great property.

וְאַתָּ֛ה תָּב֥וֹא אֶל־אֲבֹתֶ֖יךָ בְּשָׁל֑וֹם תִּקָּבֵ֖ר בְּשֵׂיבָ֥ה טוֹבָֽה׃

But these travails will not affect you personally, and you will not be exiled or suffer, but rather, you shall go to your fathers, you will die and be united with your ancestors in peace, and you shall even be buried at a good old age; you will live a long and peaceful life.

וְד֥וֹר רְבִיעִ֖י יָשׁ֣וּבוּ הֵ֑נָּה כִּ֧י לֹא־שָׁלֵ֛ם עֲוֺ֥ן הָאֱמֹרִ֖י עַד־הֵֽנָּה׃

And the fourth generation of your descendants shall return here to inherit the promised land, for the iniquity of the Emorite is not complete until then.

וַיְהִ֤י הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ בָּ֔אָה וַעֲלָטָ֖ה הָיָ֑ה וְהִנֵּ֨ה תַנּ֤וּר עָשָׁן֙ וְלַפִּ֣יד אֵ֔שׁ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָבַ֔ר בֵּ֖ין הַגְּזָרִ֥ים הָאֵֽלֶּה׃

As stated above, the vision started when the sun began to set. It was when the sun had set, and there was extreme darkness, and behold, there was an appearance of a smoking furnace, a thick cloud of smoke, like the smoke that emerges from a furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between those pieces. The smoking furnace and smoking torch represent the Divine Presence passing between the pieces, thereby completing the covenantal ritual.

בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא כָּרַ֧ת יְהוָ֛ה אֶת־אַבְרָ֖ם בְּרִ֣ית לֵאמֹ֑ר לְזַרְעֲךָ֗ נָתַ֙תִּי֙ אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֔את מִנְּהַ֣ר מִצְרַ֔יִם עַד־הַנָּהָ֥ר הַגָּדֹ֖ל נְהַר־פְּרָֽת׃

As befitting a formal covenant, its content is summarized in clear terms. On that day, the Lord established a covenant with Abram, saying: To your descendants I have given this land according to its greatest and fullest scope, from the river of Egypt, a name referring to the eastern branch of the Nile, often called the ravine of Egypt, which serves as the southwestern border of Canaan, until the great river, the Euphrates River, at its northeastern edge.

אֶת־הַקֵּינִי֙ וְאֶת־הַקְּנִזִּ֔י וְאֵ֖ת הַקַּדְמֹנִֽי׃

The promise of the inheritance of the land includes the removal of the nations currently living there: the Kenites, the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites. The identity of these peoples is unknown, but it can be assumed that they dwelled outside the standard area known as Canaan.

וְאֶת־הַחִתִּ֥י וְאֶת־הַפְּרִזִּ֖י וְאֶת־הָרְפָאִֽים׃

And the Hitites, the Perizites, Canaanite nations; and the Refaim, the Anakim, mentioned above (14:5), and on several occasions in Deuteronomy (2:11, 20–21);

וְאֶת־הָֽאֱמֹרִי֙ וְאֶת־הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֔י וְאֶת־הַגִּרְגָּשִׁ֖י וְאֶת־הַיְבוּסִֽי׃ (ס)

the Emorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Yevusites .