Genesis 15:6

Hebrew Bible

4 But look, the Lord’s message came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but instead a son who comes from your own body will be your heir.” 5 The Lord took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars—if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.” 6 Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord credited it as righteousness to him. 7 The Lord said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But Abram said, “O Sovereign Lord, by what can I know that I am to possess it?”

Nehemiah 9:8

Hebrew Bible

6 You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, along with all their multitude of stars, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You impart life to them all, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. 7 “You are the Lord God who chose Abram and brought him forth from Ur of the Chaldeans. You changed his name to Abraham. 8 When you perceived that his heart was faithful toward you, you established a covenant with him to give his descendants the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites. You have fulfilled your promise, for you are righteous. 9 “You saw the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cry at the Red Sea. 10 You performed awesome signs against Pharaoh, against his servants, and against all the people of his land, for you knew that the Egyptians had acted presumptuously against them. You made for yourself a name that is celebrated to this day.

 Notes and References

"... Israel’s experience of the land was partly rooted in Abraham’s response to God’s initiative. The combination of the niphal participle in the description of Abraham’s fidelity, the making of the covenant concerning the land and the list of peoples of the land in Nehemiah 9:8 seems to allude to the context of Genesis 15, especially verse 6 where the hiphil perfect is used to describe Abraham’s response to YHWH’s promise and verse 18 concerning the promise of the land of the peoples. However, Genesis 15:6 does not concern Abraham’s obedience to God’s command; rather it concerns Abraham’s acceptance of God’s self-commitment. Indeed, Genesis 15 as a whole presents the promises of descendants (15:1–6) and land (15:7–21) as unconditional and unilateral. The relationship between Abraham’s obedience and God’s promise can be found elsewhere, Genesis 17:1, 18:19, 22:16, 18 and 26:5. Therefore, it seems that the phrase “you found his heart faithful before you” in Nehemiah 9:8a need not be seen as referring to a particular event in Abraham’s life in Genesis 15 on the basis of the common usage but rather as indicating YHWH’s overall approval of Abraham’s disposition and lifestyle throughout his journey after Ur ..."

Vincent, Kean Hong Scripture and Its Readers: Readings of Israel's Story in Nehemiah 9:6-37, Ezekiel 20:5-31 and Acts 7:2-6 (p. 101) Durham University, 2011

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