Genesis 15:8

8 But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”

Genesis 15:8 in Other Translations

8 And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

8 But he said, "O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?"

8 But Abram replied, “O Sovereign LORD, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?”

8 Abram said, "Master God, how am I to know this, that it will all be mine?"

8 But he said, "Lord God , how can I know that I will possess it?"

Genesis 15:8 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 15:8

And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall
inherit it?
] Not as questioning or doubting whether he should or not; but this he asked for the further confirmation of his faith in the promise, and for the sake of his posterity, that they might more easily and strongly believe that they should inherit the land given and promised to them; nor is it culpable to ask a sign of God with such a view; good men have done it, as Gideon, ( Judges 6:36-40 ) , and Hezekiah, ( 2 Kings 20:8-11 ) , without being blamed for it; yea, Ahaz is blamed for not asking one, ( Isaiah 7:10-13 ) .

Genesis 15:8 In-Context

6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

7 He also said to him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”

8 But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”

9 So the LORD said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”

10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half.

Cross References

• 1. S ver 2
• 2. Luke 1:18
• 3. Deuteronomy 12:20; Deuteronomy 19:8