Genesis 15:18

Hebrew Bible

16 In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” 17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch passed between the animal parts. 18 That day the Lord made a covenant with Abram: “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,

1 Kings 4:21

Hebrew Bible

19 Geber son of Uri was in charge of the land of Gilead (the territory which had once belonged to King Sihon of the Amorites and to King Og of Bashan). He was sole governor of the area. 20 The people of Judah and Israel were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore; they had plenty to eat and drink and were happy. 21 (5:1) Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms paid tribute as Solomon’s subjects throughout his lifetime. 22 Each day Solomon’s royal court consumed 30 cors of finely milled flour, 60 cors of cereal, 23 10 calves fattened in the stall, 20 calves from the pasture, and 100 sheep, not to mention rams, gazelles, deer, and well-fed birds.

 Notes and References

"... The smoking fire pot and the flaming torch (verse 17) represent YHWH’s passing between the rows of animals to symbolize his binding himself to keep the covenant. verse 13–16 are a ‘prophecy after the event’ foretelling the captivity in Egypt and the Exodus; its purpose is to account for the long gap between promise and fulfilment. The 400 years of verse 13 and the ‘fourth generation’ of verse 16 can hardly be reconciled; it has been suggested that verse 16, which foreshadows the Israelites’ conquest of the Amorites (Canaanites), is a later revision of the prophecy. The Amorites are said not to be sufficiently wicked as yet to deserve this fate. The promise of verse 18–21, which contains a comprehensive list of the peoples believed to have preceded Israel in the land, describes the boundaries of the land in very grand terms—from the borders of Egypt to the Euphrates. In fact the borders of the state of Israel were probably never as extensive (1 Kings 4:21 is hardly a sober historical statement). The covenant with Abraham (verse 18), who here represents the future nation of Israel, is a free, unconditional promise, unlike the covenant of Sinai ..."

Barton, John, and John Muddiman Oxford Bible Commentary: The Pentateuch (p. 70) Oxford University Press, 2010

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