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17 When the sun had gone down and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between the halves of the animal carcasses. 18 With this ritual and on this day, the Eternal One made a covenant with Abram.

This ritual may sound strange, but it is a common way of making agreements between parties in Abram’s day. The exact meaning is unclear, but the various elements and actions point to one undeniable fact: Abram and the Lord are entering into a relationship that has serious and long-lasting consequences. God’s covenant with Abram changes not only Abram’s future but the future of the world itself.

Eternal One: I make a solemn promise to give this land to your descendants—from the river of Egypt to the great Euphrates River, 19-21 the land where the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites all live. All of this I will give to you.

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17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch(A) appeared and passed between the pieces.(B) 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram(C) and said, “To your descendants I give this land,(D) from the Wadi[a] of Egypt(E) to the great river, the Euphrates(F) 19 the land of the Kenites,(G) Kenizzites, Kadmonites,

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 15:18 Or river