And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him.
12. a deep sleep ] See note on the same word in Gen 2:21. LXX .
an horror of great darkness fell ] Lit. “an horror, even great darkness was falling.” A vivid description of the sensation of terror, preliminary to the revelation he was to receive.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gen 15:12
An horror of great darkness fell upon him
Abrams horror in the night
Abrams condition here may be looked upon in two aspects.
1. As indicating the chequered experience of the good.
2. As suggesting solemn facts in mans existence.
I. MAN HAS A SOUL.
II. MANS SOUL IS IN A FALLEN CONDITION.
III. MANS SOUL, THOUGH IN A FALLEN CONDITION, IS STILL ACCESSIBLE TO ITS MAKER. In His communication now to Abram, God must have impressed the patriarch with four things concerning Himself.
1. His infinite intelligence.
2. His righteous control.
3. His special regard for His people.
4. That he, individually, should be taken care of. (Homilist.)
Watching and visions
What was the meaning of that vision of fire?
I. IT INDICATED THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE OFFERINGS.
II. The furnace may be taken also as referring to PURIFICATION, and the lamp to DIVINE LIGHT AND GUIDANCE.
1. Significant of the Divine treatment of the descendants of Abraham.
2. Illustrating the course of the spiritual descendants of Abraham–the true Israel–the Christian Church.
3. The life and work of Christ were shadowed forth in that smoking furnace and burning lamp. Abraham rejoiced to see Christs day.
4. An illustration of the character of the life of individual believers. In life, trial and joy must be intermingled. (F. Hastings.)
I. WHAT ABRAM HEARD.
1. The word of the Lord. Revelation, commandment
2. Mode of communication. In a vision. The word of the Lord needs now no vision. How little of the word of the Lord Abram had. But here was a word addressed to him personally.
3. Time. Immediately after the record of Abrahams courage, etc.
4. Subject of the communication.
(1) Encouragement: Fear not, shield, reward.
(2) Promise: A son. Numerous posterity, Fulfilled in the Jews, but more particularly in believers–the spiritual seed of Abram. Though not addressed to us by name, as this word to Abram, the word of the Lord is for us. Of salvation, comfort, precept, promise, doctrine. A more sure word of prophecy. Do we prize the word of the Lord? seek to understand? practise it?
II. WHAT ABRAM DID.
1. He believed God. Some men need much evidence and argument before they give mental assent to the word they hear. Abram had little evidence. God spoke, and Abram believed.
2. He prepared the animals and birds (see Jer 34:18-20). Thepassing between the divided parts of sacrificial offerings, the most solemn confirmation of words and covenants (see especially Heb 6:13-17).
3. He watched and guarded the victims thus dedicated. Would not suffer unclean birds to alight near them. The profound reverence with which he regarded this act and command of God. His faith thoroughly practical.
4. He slept. It was in a vision he had heard the word, now in a vision he should behold its solemn ratification. Did not sleep until he had discharged his duty.
III. WHAT ABRAM SAW. A horror of great darkness had fallen upon him. The hour, the work the circumstances, filled him with awe. He expected he hardly knew what. The profound darkness would make the light that appeared more visible.
1. He saw a lamp of fire. The sacred symbol of the Divine presence. The Shekinah.
2. He saw the fire pass between the victims. He knew no more solemn confirmation of words than this. God in His infinite condescension adopted the method of ratifying His word, which Abram, adopting to confirm his own promise, would have regarded as a most solemn oath.
3. This solemn assurance was combined with the repetition of the promise not only as previously given, but with detail and enlargement (15-21). Learn–
I. To regard with thankfulness this record of the Divine word which has come to us.
II. Christ is the true and final sin offering. The Divine presence was in that sacrifice.
III. God was in Christ, as the lamp was among these victims. And speaking merciful words of promise and pardon to us.
IV. Christ Jesus is the Word of God. Henceforth we hear no man, save Jesus only. (J. C. Gray.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 12. A deep sleep] tardemah, the same word which is used to express the sleep into which Adam was cast, previous to the formation of Eve; Ge 2:21.
A horror of great darkness] Which God designed to be expressive of the affliction and misery into which his posterity should be brought during the four hundred years of their bondage in Egypt; as the next verse particularly states.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
A deep sleep fell upon Abram; partly natural, from his labour in killing and sacrificing those creatures; and partly sent upon him from God, to make way for the following representation. He seemed to be covered with a dreadful darkness, which was either,
1. A token of God’s special presence: compare 1Ki 8:12. Or,
2. A signification of the distressed and doleful condition of Abram’s seed; for darkness in Scripture is frequently mentioned as an emblem or sign of great misery, as Psa 88:6; 107:14, &c.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And when the sun was going down,…. Just setting, descending below the hemisphere; or “about to enter” m into his chamber, as Piscator observes, from whence he went forth in the morning, as a strong man to run his race; which at sunset is finished according to human appearance, and the common apprehensions of men, who have thought it goes under the earth, or drops into the ocean, see Ps 19:5:
a deep sleep fell upon Abram: through the great fatigue he had had the preceding day, in doing what is before related; or rather through a more than ordinary influence of God upon him, which bound up his senses, and cast him into an ecstasy or trance, when he had the following prophecy and vision, which more fully explained to him the emblem he had been conversant with; this was such a sleep as fell on Adam, Ge 2:21:
and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him; or such darkness as was horrible and terrible, so it was represented to his mind in vision; which signified the great afflictions after expressed by darkness, that should come upon his children in Egypt and elsewhere: and so Jarchi says it refers to the distresses and darkness of their captivities in Egypt, and in other places. The Targumists observe, that Abram in this vision saw the four monarchies that should bring his children into bondage.
m “et fuit sol ad intrandum”, Montanus, Piscator.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
“ And when the sun was just about to go down (on the construction, see Ges. 132), and deep sleep ( , as in Gen 2:21, a deep sleep produced by God) had fallen upon Abram, behold there fell upon him terror, great darkness.” The vision here passes into a prophetic sleep produced by God. In this sleep there fell upon Abram dread and darkness; this is shown by the interchange of the perfect and the participle . The reference to the time is intended to show “the supernatural character of the darkness and sleep, and the distinction between the vision and a dream” ( O. v. Gerlach). It also possesses a symbolical meaning. The setting of the sun prefigured to Abram the departure of the sun of grace, which shone upon Israel, and the commencement of a dark and dreadful period of suffering for his posterity, the very anticipation of which involved Abram in darkness. For the words which he heard in the darkness were these (Gen 15:13.): “ Know of a surety, that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them (the lords of the strange land), and they (the foreigners) shall oppress them 400 years.” That these words had reference to the sojourn of the children of Israel in Egypt, is placed beyond all doubt by the fulfilment. The 400 years were, according to prophetic language, a round number for the 430 years that Israel spent in Egypt (Exo 12:40). “ Also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge (see the fulfilment, Exo 6:11); and afterward shall they come out with great substance (the actual fact according to Exo 12:31-36). And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and be buried in a good old age (cf. Gen 25:7-8); and in the fourth generation they shall come hither again.” The calculations are made here on the basis of a hundred years to a generation: not too much for those times, when the average duration of life was above 150 years, and Isaac was born in the hundredth year of Abraham’s life. “ For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” Amorite, the name of the most powerful tribe of the Canaanites, is used here as the common name of all the inhabitants of Canaan, just as in Jos 24:15 (cf. Gen 10:5), Jdg 6:10, etc.).
By this revelation Abram had the future history of his seed pointed out to him in general outlines, and was informed at the same time why neither he nor his descendants could obtain immediate possession of the promised land, viz., because the Canaanites were not yet ripe for the sentence of extermination.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
We have here a full and particular discovery made to Abram of God’s purposes concerning his seed. Observe,
I. The time when God came to him with this discovery: When the sun was going down, or declining, about the time of the evening oblation,1Ki 18:36; Dan 9:21. Early in the morning, before day, while the stars were yet to be seen, God had given him orders concerning the sacrifices (v. 5), and we may suppose it was, at least, his morning’s work to prepare them and set them in order; when he had done this, he abode by them, praying and waiting till towards evening. Note, God often keeps his people long in expectation of the comforts he designs them, for the confirmation of their faith; but though the answers of prayer, and the performance of promises, come slowly, yet they come surely. At evening time it shall be light.
II. The preparatives for this discovery. 1. A deep sleep fell upon Abram, not a common sleep through weariness or carelessness, but a divine ecstasy, like that which the Lord God caused to fall upon Adam (ch. ii. 21), that, being hereby wholly taken off from the view of things sensible, he might be wholly taken up with the contemplation of things spiritual. The doors of the body were locked up, that the soul might be private and retired, and might act the more freely and like itself. 2. With this sleep, a horror of great darkness fell upon him. How sudden a change! But just before we had him solacing himself in the comforts of God’s covenant, and in communion with him; and here a horror of great darkness falls upon him. Note, The children of light do not always walk in the light, but sometimes clouds and darkness are round about them. This great darkness, which brought horror with it, was designed, (1.) To strike an awe upon the spirit of Abram, and to possess him with a holy reverence, that the familiarity to which God was pleased to admit him might not breed contempt. Note, Holy fear prepares the soul for holy joy; the spirit of bondage makes way for the spirit of adoption. God wounds first, and then heals; humbles first, and then lifts up, Isa 6:5; Isa 6:6, c. (2.) To be a specimen of the methods of God’s dealings with his seed. They must first be in the horror and darkness of Egyptian slavery, and then enter with joy into the good land and therefore he must have the foretaste of their sufferings, before he had the foresight of their happiness. (3.) To be an indication of the nature of that covenant of peculiarity which God was now about to make with Abram. The Old-Testament dispensation, which was founded on that covenant, was a dispensation, [1.] Of darkness and obscurity, 2Co 3:13; 2Co 3:14. [2.] Of dread and horror, Heb. xii. 18, c.
III. The prediction itself. Several things are here foretold.
1. The suffering state of Abram’s seed for a long time, <i>v. 13. Let not Abram flatter himself with the hopes of nothing but honour and prosperity in his family; no, he must know, of a surety, that which he was loth to believe, that the promised seed should be a persecuted seed. Note, God sends the worst first; we must first suffer, and then reign. He also lets us know the worst before it comes, that when it comes it may not be a surprise to us, John xvi. 4. Now we have here,
(1.) The particulars of their sufferings. [1.] They shall be strangers; so they were, first in Canaan (Ps. cv. 12) and afterwards in Egypt; before they were lords of their own land they were strangers in a strange land. The inconveniences of an unsettled state make a happy settlement the more welcome. Thus the heirs of heaven are first strangers on earth, a land that is not theirs. [2.] They shall be servants; so they were to the Egyptians, Exod. i. 13. See how that which was the doom of the Canaanites (ch. ix. 25), proves the distress of Abram’s seed: they are made to serve, but with this difference, the Canaanites serve under a curse, the Hebrews under a blessing; and the upright shall have dominion in the morning, Ps. xlix. 14. [3.] They shall be suffers. Those whom they serve shall afflict them; see Exod. i. 11. Note, Those that are blessed and beloved of God are often sorely afflicted by wicked men; and God foresees it, and takes cognizance of it.
(2.) The continuance of their sufferings–four hundred years. This persecution began with mocking, when Ishmael, the son of an Egyptian, persecuted Isaac, who was born after the Spirit,Gen 21:9; Gal 4:29. It continued in loathing; for it was an abomination to the Egyptians to eat bread with the Hebrews, ch. xliii. 32; and it came at last to murder, the basest of murders, that of their new-born children; so that, more or less, it continued 400 years, though, in extremity, not so many. This was a long time, but a limited time.
2. The judgment of the enemies of Abram’s seed: That nation whom they shall serve, even the Egyptians, will I judge, v. 14. This points at the plagues of Egypt, by which God not only constrained the Egyptians to release Israel, but punished them for all the hardships they had put upon them. Note, (1.) Though God may suffer persecutors and oppressors to trample upon his people a great while, yet he will certainly reckon with them at last; for his day is coming,Psa 37:12; Psa 37:13. (2.) The punishing of persecutors is the judging of them: it is a righteous thing with God, and a particular act of justice, to recompense tribulations to those that trouble his people. The judging of the church’s enemies is God’s work: I will judge. God can do it, for he is the Lord; he will do it, for he is his people’s God, and he has said, Vengeance is mine, I will repay. To him therefore we must leave it, to be done in his way and time.
3. The deliverance of Abram’s seed out of Egypt. That great event is here foretold: Afterwards shall they come out with great substance. It is here promised, (1.) That they should be enlarged: Afterwards they shall come out; that is, either after they have been afflicted 400 years, when the days of their servitude are fulfilled, or after the Egyptians are judged and plagued, then they may expect deliverance. Note, The destruction of oppressors is the redemption of the oppressed; they will not let God’s people go till they are forced to it. (2.) That they should be enriched: They shall come out with great substance; this was fulfilled, Exo 12:35; Exo 12:36. God took care they should have, not only a good land to go to, but a good stock to carry with them.
4. Their happy settlement in Canaan, v. 16. They shall not only come out of Egypt, but they shall come hither again, hither to the land of Canaan, wherein thou now art. The discontinuance of their possession shall be no defeasance of their right: we must not reckon those comforts lost for ever that are intermitted for a time. The reason why they must not have the land of promise in possession till the fourth generation was because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full. Israel cannot be possessed of Canaan till the Amorites be dispossessed; and they are not yet ripe for ruin. The righteous God has determined that they shall not be cut off till they have persisted in sin so long, and arrived at such a pitch of wickedness, that there may appear some equitable proportion between their sin and their ruin; and therefore, till it come to that, the seed of Abram must be kept out of possession. Note, (1.) The measure of sin fills gradually. Those that continue impenitent in wicked ways are treasuring up unto themselves wrath. (2.) Some people’s measure of sin fills slowly. The Sodomites, who were sinners before the Lord exceedingly, soon filled their measure; so did the Jews, who were, in profession, near to God. But the iniquity of the Amorites was long in the filling up. (3.) That this is the reason of the prosperity of wicked people; the measure of their sins is not yet full. The wicked live, become old, and are mighty in power, while God is laying up their iniquity for their children,Job 21:7; Job 21:19. See Mat 23:32; Deu 32:34.
5. Abram’s peaceful quiet death and burial, before these things should come to pass, v. 15. As he should not live to see that good land in the possession of his family, but must die, as he lived, a stranger in it, so, to balance this, he should not live to see the troubles that should come upon his seed, much less to share in them. This is promised to Josiah, 2 Kings xxii. 20. Note, Good men are sometimes greatly favoured by being taken away from the evil to come, Isa. lvii. 1. Let this satisfy Abram, that, for his part,
(1.) He shall go to his fathers in peace. Note, [1.] Even the friends and favourites of Heaven are not exempted from the stroke of death. Are we greater than our father Abram, who is dead? John viii. 53. [2.] Good men die willingly; they are not fetched, they are not forced, but they go; their soul is not required, as the rich fool’s (Luke xii. 20), but cheerfully resigned: they would not live always. [3.] At death we go to our fathers, to all our fathers that have gone before us to the state of the dead (Job 21:32; Job 21:33), to our godly fathers that have gone before us to the state of the blessed, Heb. xii. 23. The former thought helps to take off the terror of death, the latter puts comfort into it. [4.] Whenever a godly man dies, he dies in peace. If the way be piety, the end is peace, Ps. xxxvii. 37. Outward peace, to the last, is promised to Abram, peace and truth is his days, whatever should come afterwards (2 Kings xx. 19); peace with God, and everlasting peace, are sure to all the seed.
(2.) He shall be buried in a good old age. Perhaps mention is made of his burial here, where the land of Canaan is promised him, because a burying place was the first possession he had in it. He shall not only die in peace, but die in honour, die, and be buried decently; not only die in peace, but die in season, Job v. 26. Note, [1.] Old age is a blessing. It is promised in the fifth commandment; it is pleasing to nature; and it affords a great opportunity for usefulness. [2.] Especially, if it be a good old age. Theirs may be called a good old age, First, That are old and healthful, not loaded with such distempers as make them weary of life. Secondly, That are old and holy, old disciples (Acts xxi. 16), whose hoary head is found in the way of righteousness (Prov. xvi. 31), old and useful, old and exemplary for godliness; theirs is indeed a good old age.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Verses 12-17:
The vision began the previous evening, with Abraham’s view of the starry sky. It continued throughout the day, with his preparation of the sacrificial animals. At sunset, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, either induced by weariness or by supernatural intervention. An overwhelming sense of dread came upon him, occasioned by the dense darkness surrounding the entire scene. God spoke from this darkness to give Abram a message of the future of his descendants. This future included three stages: (1) exile; (2) bondage; and (3) affliction. The period of time involved is four hundred years. For three generations Abram’s seed should suffer exile and affliction, but in the fourth they were to return and enter into possession of the Promised Land. At that time the measure of the full iniquity of the Canaanites would be full.
Scholars disagree as to the interpretation of the four hundred years’ time frame. Some consider it a round number for 430, beginning with the date of Jacob’s move to Egypt (Ex 12:39; Ac 7:6; Ga 3:17), considering the death of Jacob as the closing of the time of promise. Others offer an exact period beginning with Isaac’s birth (thirty years after departing Ur).
The “nation” who is to enslave Abram’s descendants is here unnamed. History reveals it to be Egypt. Jehovah promises that Abraham’s descendants will leave that land much increased in substance.
In the dense darkness there appeared a smoking “furnace” or fire-pot, with a flaming torch emerging from it. This pictures the Divine presence, the Shekinah glory of Jehovah (Ex 19:18). This flaming torch passed among the pieces of the sacrifice, indicating Divine acceptance and ratification.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
12. A deep sleep fell upon Abram. The vision is now mingled with a dream. Thus the Lord here joins those two kinds of communication together, which I have before related from Num 12:6, where it is said,
‘
When I appear unto my servants the prophets, I speak to them in a vision or a dream.’
mention has already been made of a vision: Moses now relates, that a dream was superadded. A horrible darkness intervened, that Abram might know that the dream is not a common one, but that the whole is divinely conducted; it has, nevertheless, a correspondence with the oracle then present, as God immediately afterwards explains in his own words, “Thou shalt surely know that thy seed shall be a stranger,” etc. We have elsewhere said, that God was not wont to dazzle the eyes of his people with bare and empty spectres; but that in visions, the principal parts always belonged to the word. Thus here, not a mute apparition is presented to the eyes of Abram, but he is taught by an oracle annexed, what the external and visible symbol meant. It is, however, to be observed, that before one son is given to Abram, he hears that his seed shall be, for a long time, in captivity and slavery. For thus does the Lord deal with his own people; he always makes a beginning from death, so that by quickening the dead, he the more abundantly manifests his power. It was necessary, in part, on Abram’s account, that this should have been declared; but the Lord chiefly had regard to his posterity, lest they should faint in their sufferings, of which, however, the Lord had promised a joyful and happy issue; especially since their long continuance would produce great weariness. And three things are, step by step, brought before them; first, that the sons of Abram must wander four hundred years, before they should attain the promised inheritance; secondly, that they should be slaves; thirdly that they were to be inhumanly and tyrannically treated. Wherefore the faith of Abram was admirable and singular, seeing that he acquiesced in an oracle so sorrowful, and felt assured, that God would be his Deliverer, after his miseries had proceeded to their greatest height.
It is, however, asked, how the number of years here given agrees with the subsequent history? Some begin the computation from the time of his departure out of Charran. But it seems more probable that the intermediate time only is denoted; (376) as if he would say, ‘It behoves thy posterity to wait patiently; because I have not decreed to grant what I now promise, until the four hundredth year: yea, up to that very time their servitude will continue.’ According to this mode of reckoning, Moses says, (Exo 12:40,) that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt four hundred and thirty years: while yet, from the sixth chapter (Gen 6:1,) we may easily gather, that not more than two hundred and thirty years, or thereabouts, elapsed from the time that Jacob went down thither, to their deliverance. Where then, shall we find the remaining two hundred years, but by referring to the oracle? Of this matter all doubt is removed by Paul, who (Gal 3:17) reckons the years from the gratuitous covenant of life, to the promulgation of the Law. In short, God does not indicate how long the servitude of the people should be from its commencement to its close, but how long he intended to suspend, or to defer his promise. As to his omitting the thirty years, it is neither a new nor unfrequent thing, where years are not accurately computed, to mention only the larger sums. But we see here, that for the sake of brevity, the whole of that period is divided into four centuries. Therefore, there is no absurdity in omitting the short space of time: this is chiefly to be considered, that the Lord, for the purpose of exercising the patience of his people, suspends his promise more than four centuries.
(376) “ Sed magis probabile videtur, notari duntaxat tempus intermedium.” Calvin evidently means the time which was to intervene between the giving of the oracle and the exodus from Egypt. — Ed
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(12) When the sun was going down.The time described was the evening following the night on which he had received the assurance that his seed should be countless as the stars. He had then, in his trance, also asked for some security that Canaan should be the heritage of his posterity, and in answer had received the command to arrange, upon a large scale, the ceremonial of a solemn treaty-making. The morning had been spent in the performance of the command, and after wards he had watched, probably for several hours, by the side of the divided bodies, uncertain what would happen, but occupied in driving away the vultures, which gathered from all quarters round the abundant feast. At sunset the revelation came to him, not in a waking trance, as on the previous night, but in a deep sleep, and with those accompaniments of terror so powerfully described in Job. 4:12-16, and which the creature cannot but feel when brought near to the manifest presence of the Creator (Dan. 10:8).
Lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.Heb., lo, a terror, even great darkness, falling upon him. The terror was not mental so much as bodily, caused by a deep gloom settling round him, such as would be the effect of an eclipse of the setting sun, and shutting all mortal things away from his view.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. When the sun was going down Hebrews, was about to go down . All day long had Abram been busy selecting the victims, slaying them, and placing them in order . See introductory note to the chapter . Now night comes on again, and a deep sleep fell upon Abram A profound slumber, like that which fell on Adam when Jehovah God would take one of his ribs . Gen 2:21. This sleep was superinduced by divine agency, and is called in the Sept . an ecstasy . It doubtless served a special purpose in conveying or impressing the word of God upon his soul .
And, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him Both the horror and the darkness seem to have been a deepening effect of the manner of the vision . The language used cannot legitimately mean that “when he awoke he was terrified by the dense darkness which surrounded him . ” Kalisch. The horror and darkness were rather a part of the vision of his sleep.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And when the sun was going down a deep sleep fell on Abram, and lo, a horror of great darkness fell on him.’
Words fail to describe the sacredness of that moment, and the awe and even godly terror that seizes hold of Abram. He falls into a deep sleep (compare Gen 2:21; Job 4:13; Job 33:15-16), for wakeful he could not see God and live. And the horror of darkness is an awareness of inconceivable things that are occurring at this moment, which he can sense but cannot comprehend. An awareness of darkness, of unbelievable darkness, for before the light there must be darkness; it is as though this was a new creation (Gen 1:2-3) and one hovers near who would destroy this symbolic act which speaks of something, although he knows not what, which will totally destroy him.
And Another will one day hang, with His blood shed, and he too will experience such intense and unbelievable darkness so that even the skies around Him will become dark in sympathy. But Abram knows nothing of this. Yet he is a prophet, and a prophet reveals better than he knows.
Now before the symbolic act, the words of the covenant must be spoken over the dead carcasses of the victims.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gen 15:12. And when the sun was going down The original is, and the sun was ( labo, ad intrandum, says Montanus) about to enter, “the time of sun-rising approached,” which I take to be the true sense of the passage. For, as I conceive, God came to Abram in the night, perhaps the beginning of it; after which he brought him forth, and ordered him to count the stars, if possible, Gen 15:5. This done, he employs him in preparing this sacrifice; by which time morning drew near, “the sun was about to enter:” when Abram, fatigued with the business in which he had been employed, and wanting rest, fell into a deep sleep: then, as the sacred writer expresses it, an horror of great darkness fell upon him, or was represented in vision to him; the meaning of which is fully and clearly explained in the next verse.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
The sun going down denotes the season of sacrifice, Dan 9:21 .Concerning the sleep, see Gen 2:21 . Solomon’s Song Son 5:1 ; Mat 25:5 . Concerning the horror-(perhaps a cry in the soul, like that at midnight, Mat 25:6 ) See Psa 55:5 ; Act 16:29-30Act 16:29-30 . Or may we not in both observe an emblem of the different tendencies in the law and the gospel? 2Co 3:13 ; Heb 12:22Heb 12:22 . As it was said of the Lord Jesus, that Christ ought first to suffer, and then enter into his glory; so his people. Luk 24:26-46 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 15:12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
Ver. 12. And when the sun was going down ] Heb., When he was ready to enter, to wit, into his “bride chamber”. Psa 19:6
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gen 15:12-16
12Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. 13God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. 14But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. 16Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”
Gen 15:12 “Now when the sun was going down” This implies that a new day was beginning (cf. Gen 1:5). Exactly how long this vision lasted is uncertain, but it may cover two nights and one day (see note at Gen 15:1 c).
“a deep sleep fell upon Abram” This is the same Hebrew phrase (BDB 922) that is used concerning the deep sleep that fell upon Adam when God took one of his ribs to create Eve (cf. Gen 2:21). This VERB implies a divinely initiated unconsciousness in preparation for revelation (cf. Job 4:13; Job 33:15).
NASBterror and great darkness”
NKJVhorror and great darkness”
NRSVa deep and terrifying darkness”
TEVfear and terror”
NJBa deep and dark dread”
The term “terror” (BDB 33, KB 41) means fright, horror, terror, dread. It is often used in poetic passages of God’s terror.
1. to enemies – Exo 15:16; Exo 23:27
2. to Job – Job 9:34; Job 13:21
3. to Israel – Deu 32:25; Psa 88:16
The term “darkness” (, BDB 365, KB 362 and its related root ) relates to
1. cosmic darkness – Gen 1:2
2. one of the plagues of the Exodus – Exo 10:21
3. death/underworld – Psa 139:7-12
4. disaster – Job 15:22-30; Job 20:26; Isa 8:22; Isa 50:10
5. God’s hiddenness – Psa 18:11
6. lack of revelation – Mic 3:6
Again, there have been several interpretations of this phrase.
1. that although God’s promises were wonderful it would be a long, hard road to fulfillment
2. that humans are always physically drained after God’s revelations of the future; this is true of Daniel and many of the other prophets
3. that God was approaching, which is always frightening (cf. Job 4:12-21)
Gen 15:13 “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs” The phrase “know for certain” is the result of the combination of the INFINITE ABSOLUTE and the IMPERFECT VERB of the same root (BDB 393, KB 390), “to know,” which is a grammatical way to show emphasis. YHWH is answering Abram’s question of Gen 15:8. There is still a faith/doubt struggle in Abram! This does not offend God!
Notice that the land of Egypt is not mentioned specifically. The term “strangers” means “sojourners” (BDB 158) or someone who has limited rights because they are not official citizens of a nation. YHWH is predicting the Egyptian experience. Faith in God does not mean an easy life! God’s promises are delayed and often misunderstood, but faith remains.
“they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years” There seems to be a discrepancy between this verse, which is mentioned in Act 7:6 in Stephen’s speech, and Exo 12:40, which mentions the number 430 and is quoted by Paul in Gal 3:17. The Septuagint and the Samaritan Pentateuch take this 430 year period as the Patriarch’s sojourn both in Canaan and Egypt. It is possible that the number 400 is simply a round number. The rabbis say that it extends from the birth of Isaac until the Exodus. It must be taken into account that Gen 15:16 mentions the fourth generation and, from our best computation, that is exactly how long this period lasted.
Gen 15:14 “But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve and afterwards they will come out with many possessions” This is amply fulfilled in Exo 3:22 and Exo 12:35-51. These very possessions consisted of the gold, silver, bronze, and jewelry that was used to construct the tabernacle and its furniture (cf. Exodus 25-40).
This text cannot be used to assert that faith always produces wealth. Initially prosperity was a way to attract the nations to YHWH. However, the focus was never on the prosperity, but on the faith relationship. One of my favorite commentators, Gordon Fee, himself a charismatic, denounces the use of proof-texts such as this to preach a “health, wealth, prosperity” gospel. His booklet is penetrating (i.e., The Disease of the Health and Wealth Gospels).
Gen 15:15 “you shall go to your father in peace” The Hebrew term “peace” (BDB 1022) denotes a contention with the life and God (see Special Topic following). God promises Abraham that he will live to a ripe, old age and will die a gentle death. There is also the question of what it means to be “gathered to your fathers.” It is obviously a reference to Sheol (cf. Deu 32:50), but some wonder if it means that in Sheol families are together. This may be reading too much into this passage because Abram’s parents were not YHWHists and, therefore, may be in a different part of Hades or Sheol. We are uncertain about the afterlife and the biblical terms of Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, and exactly how they relate to each other in an intermediate state.
SPECIAL TOPIC: Where Are the Dead?
SPECIAL TOPIC: PEACE (SHALOM)
Gen 15:16 “for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete” This shows that God was continuing to try to bring the Canaanite population of the Promised Land to Himself. Melchizedek was a Canaanite. Only after adequate opportunity and time does God judge them and remove them. This is not an act of favoritism toward the Jews, for when they take up the practices of the Canaanites, they are also removed from the land (i.e., the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles).
Amorite and Canaanite are both used as a way to refer to all the tribes of Canaan. In a sense this text is a foreshadow of the conflict that will occur when Israel conquers the land, but is itself conquered by Canaanite idolatry. This foreshadowing is similar to Gen 9:20-27, esp. Gen 9:25. It is Ham who sins, but his son Canaan who is cursed. Canaanite culture is the problem. Many, most, if not all, of the regulations in the Pentateuch are related to Canaanite culture and worship. Israel was to be distinct! Israel was to reveal YHWH!
How this got into the text of Genesis is that either
1. God is preparing them for future events
2. a later scribe added these comments to highlight his own day
Just a note, when I mention a later scribe or editor this is not meant to depreciate “inspiration.” I assume the Spirit guided all the writers, editors, scribes, and the compilers! The real author of Scripture is God. Exactly how, when, and who of the historical process is unknown (lost to history).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Abram. Put to sleep so that he should have no part in it, and that the Covenant should be unconditional, in which “God was the one” and only contracting party (Gal 1:3, Gal 1:20). Compare Gen 15:17. Contrast “both”, Gen 21:27.
lo. Figure of speech Asterismos. See App-6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
deep: Gen 2:21, 1Sa 26:12, Job 4:13, Job 4:14, Job 33:15, Dan 10:8, Dan 10:9, Act 20:9
horror: Psa 4:3-5, Act 9:8, Act 9:9
Reciprocal: Gen 28:12 – he dreamed Num 24:4 – saw Isa 42:9 – the former Eze 7:18 – and horror Dan 8:18 – he touched
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gen 15:12. And when the sun was going down About the time of the evening oblation; for, he abode by them, praying and waiting till toward evening; a deep sleep fell upon Abram Not a common sloop through weariness or carelessness, but a divine ecstasy, that, being wholly taken off from things sensible, he might be wholly taken up with the contemplation of things spiritual. And lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him This was designed to strike an awe upon the spirit of Abram, and to possess him with a holy reverence. Holy fear prepares the soul for holy joy; God humbles first, and then lifts up.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Abram’s terror reflects his reaction to the flame that passed between the parts and to the revelation of the character of God that the flame represented (cf. Gen 15:17).