And, behold, the word of the LORD [came] unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
i.e. Out of thy own body: see Gen 35:11; 2Sa 7:12; 2Ch 6:9.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. This shall not be thine heirTothe first part of his address no reply was given; but having renewedit in a spirit of more becoming submission, “whereby shall Iknow that I shall inherit it” [Ge15:8], he was delighted by a most explicit promise of Canaan,which was immediately confirmed by a remarkable ceremony.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And behold, the word of the Lord [came] unto him,…. Either having disappeared, and then came a second time, or he again spoke unto him:
saying, this shall not be thine heir; this Eliezer, this servant of thine, as thou hast made him, or hast intended to make him, giving up all hopes of having issue by Sarai:
but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir; that is, one shall inherit all thou hast, that shall be begotten by thee; an own son of Abram’s, and not a servant born in his house; one that should spring out of his own loins: the Vulgate Latin version renders it, “out of thy womb”, that is, out of his wife’s, which was his; the phrase designs a genuine and legitimate son of his, who would be legally his heir.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
4. This shall not be thine heir. We hence infer that God had approved the wish of Abram. Whence also follows the other point, that Abram had not been impelled by any carnal affection to offer up this prayer, but by a pious and holy desire of enjoying the benediction promised to him. For God not only promises him a seed, but a great people, who in number should equal the stars of heaven. They who expound the passage allegorically; implying that a heavenly seed was promised him which might be compared with the stars, may enjoy their own opinion: but we maintain what is more solid; namely, that the faith of Abram was increased by the sight of the stars. For the Lord, in order more deeply to affect his own people, and more efficaciously to penetrate their minds, after he here reached their ears by his word, also arrests their eyes by external symbols, that eyes and ears may consent together. Therefore the sight of the stars was not superfluous; but God intended to strike the mind of Abram with this thought, ‘He who by his word alone suddenly produced a host so numerous by which he might adorn the previously vast and desolate heaven; shall not He be able to replenish my desolate house with offspring?’ It is, however, not necessary to imagine a nocturnal vision, because the stars, which, during the day, escape our sight, would then appear; for since the whole was transacted in vision, Abram had a wonderful scene set before him, which would manifestly reveal hidden things to him. Therefore though he perhaps might not move a step, it was yet possible for him in vision to be led forth out of his tent. The question now occurs, concerning what seed the promise is to be understood. And it is certain that neither the posterity of Ishmael nor of Esau is to be taken into this account, because the legitimate seed is to be reckoned by the promise, which God determined should remain in Isaac and Jacob; yet the same doubt arises respecting the posterity of Jacob, because many who could trace their descent from him, according to the flesh, cut themselves off, as degenerate sons and aliens, from the faith of their fathers. I answer, that this term seed is, indiscriminately, extended to the whole people whole God has adopted to himself. But since many were alienated by their unbelief, we must come for information to Christ, who alone distinguishes true and genuine sons from such as are illegitimate. By pursuing this method, we find the posterity of Abram reduced to a small numbers that afterwards it may be the more increased. For in Christ the Gentiles also are gathered together, and are by faith ingrafted into the body of Abram, so as to have a place among his legitimate sons. Concerning which point more will be said in the seventeenth chapter Gen 17:1
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
4. Behold How vivid the revelation!
This shall not be thine heir Such an express answer touching his heir was potent to quell all further doubt and fear .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And see, the word of Yahweh came to him saying, “This man will not be your heir. He who will be truly of your own blood (will come forth out of your own bowels) will be your heir”.’
We note that the writer himself responds to Abram. He responds to Abram’s ‘see’ (‘behold’), twice repeated, with a third ‘see’ (‘behold’). Three is the number of completeness and he wants us to know that what Abram was calling God to look at is completely answered.
“The word of Yahweh came to him”. He has become a prophet and his first prophecy will be concerning his own deepest desires. ‘This man will not be your heir, one who is of your own body and blood will be your heir.’ This is what he had craved, and this Yahweh gives him. A child of his own.
And yet it had not been a totally selfish craving, it had been a craving that God would fulfil in him what He had commanded in all, ‘Be fruitful and multiply’ (Gen 1:28; Gen 9:1; Gen 9:7). He had not only felt sick at heart, he had felt that he had failed God. But now Yahweh Himself assures him that this will not be so. He is to have a son and heir.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
How instant sometimes are the divine communications! See that promise, Isa 65:24 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 15:4 And, behold, the word of the LORD [came] unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
Ver. 4. And, behold, the word of the Lord, &c. ] Abram’s “Behold” of grief, is answered with God’s “Behold” of grace. The Greek rendereth it, “And straightway.” God was straight at hand to help Abram’s infirmity, and to raise up his faith that began to flag and hang the wing, as the best faith will, if long put to it. Adeo nihil est in nobis magni, quod non queat minui .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
shall come: Gen 17:16, Gen 21:12, 2Sa 7:12, 2Sa 16:11, 2Ch 32:21, Phm 1:12
Reciprocal: Psa 127:3 – children Isa 51:2 – for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Abram assumed that since he was old and childless, and since Lot had not returned to him, the heir God had promised him would be his chief servant, Eliezer (cf. Pro 17:2).
". . . under Hurrian law a man’s heir would be either his natural-born son-a direct heir-or, in the absence of any natural-born son, an indirect heir, who was an outsider adopted for the purpose. In the latter case, the adopted heir was required to attend to the physical needs of his ’parents’ during their lifetime." [Note: West, pp. 68-69. See also Sarna, Understanding Genesis, pp. 116, 121-22; Anthony Phillips, "Some Aspects of Family Law in Pre-Exilic Israel," Vetus Testamentum 23:3 (1973):360; and Kitchen, The Bible . . ., p. 70.]
God assured Abram that the descendants He had promised would come through a "natural-born son," not an adopted heir (cf. Gen 12:7; Gen 13:15-16).