Genesis 15:21 kjv
And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
Genesis 15:21 nkjv
the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."
Genesis 15:21 niv
Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."
Genesis 15:21 esv
the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites."
Genesis 15:21 nlt
Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites."
Genesis 15 21 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 12:7 | The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." | First promise of the land. |
| Gen 13:15 | "...all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever." | Extent and perpetuity of the land promise. |
| Gen 15:7 | He said to him, "I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur... to give you this land." | God's identity as the promiser and giver. |
| Gen 15:13-16 | Then the Lord said to Abram, "Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs... then they shall come back here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." | Prophecy of exile, return, and divine timing for judgment on inhabitants. |
| Gen 15:18 | On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates..." | Defines the promised land's vast boundaries. |
| Ex 3:8 | "I have come down to deliver them... and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites." | God's stated purpose for the Exodus and nations in the land. |
| Ex 13:5 | "When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you..." | Reinforces the covenant promise before entry. |
| Ex 23:23-24 | "When My angel goes before you... and utterly destroys them. You shall not worship their gods..." | Divine assistance and command against idolatry of these nations. |
| Ex 34:11 | "Observe what I command you this day: Behold, I am driving out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites." | Specific divine action of dispossessing the nations. |
| Num 13:29 | (Report from spies) "The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan." | Acknowledges the presence of these tribes in the land. |
| Deut 7:1-2 | "When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than you—and when the Lord your God gives them over to you..." | Enumerates seven prominent nations to be driven out and conquered. |
| Deut 11:24 | "Every place where the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be from the wilderness to the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the Western Sea." | Reiteration of the expansive geographical promise. |
| Josh 3:10 | Joshua said, "...by this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites." | Confirmation of God's power and intent for the conquest. |
| Josh 12:7-8 | These are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the people of Israel defeated beyond the Jordan... in the hill country, in the Shephelah, in the Arabah, in the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the Negeb—the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites... | Summarizes the conquest of these peoples in Joshua. |
| Judg 1:21 | But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. | Shows incomplete obedience in driving out nations. |
| Judg 3:5 | So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. | Demonstrates Israel's failure leading to compromise. |
| 1 Ki 9:20-21 | All the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the people of Israel—their descendants who were left after them in the land... Solomon drafted them as forced labor, to this day. | Solomon's continued control and subjection of these remnants. |
| Neh 9:8 | "You found his heart faithful before You, and made with him a covenant... and You gave their land before them, namely, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite..." | Recalls God's covenant faithfulness and land transfer. |
| Ps 105:11 | "...Saying, 'To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion of your inheritance.'" | Affirmation of God's unchanging covenant oath regarding the land. |
| Acts 7:4-5 | Stephen recounts, "Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him..." | Emphasizes Abraham's faith and the future nature of the promise. |
| Acts 13:19 | (Paul recounts God's deeds) "And after He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land to them by allotment." | Apostolic summary of the historical conquest of these nations. |
| Rom 4:13 | For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. | Expands the covenant's spiritual significance to universal inheritance. |
| Heb 11:8-9 | By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance... and he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land... | Abraham's faith in living in the land given by promise. |
Genesis 15 verses
Genesis 15 21 Meaning
Genesis 15:21 concludes a detailed list of nations whose territories God promises to give to Abram's descendants as an inheritance. It specifically names the Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites. This verse is a precise affirmation of God's covenant with Abram, delineating the future geographical and geopolitical scope of the promised land and the displacement of its existing inhabitants by divine decree.
Genesis 15 21 Context
Genesis 15 forms the core of the Abrahamic Covenant's initial phase. God has already promised Abram land and descendants (Gen 12, 13). However, Abram expresses concern about the fulfillment of the promise of a child and an heir (Gen 15:2-3). In response, God reaffirms His promises (Gen 15:4-6), even accrediting Abram's faith as righteousness (Gen 15:6). To further solidify these astonishing promises, God enters into a solemn, binding covenant ceremony (Gen 15:7-12, 17-18). This ancient ritual, involving cutting animals and passing between the pieces, signified a self-malediction upon the party who failed to uphold the covenant terms. Notably, only God (symbolized by the smoking pot and flaming torch) passed between the pieces, signifying a unilateral, unconditional promise to Abram.
Within this profound covenant assurance, God also reveals future events: the 400 years of servitude for Abram's descendants (Israel in Egypt), and their subsequent return to the land (Gen 15:13-16). Crucially, this return would only occur "when the iniquity of the Amorites is complete" (Gen 15:16), indicating that the dispossession of these nations would be an act of divine judgment. Genesis 15:19-21 then lists the full extent of the promised land by identifying its current inhabitants, ten specific tribal groups (Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites). This precise enumeration underscores the literal and detailed nature of God's oath. The land was not empty, but God's sovereign right and plan would move its current occupants in His timing, based on their growing sin. This also served as an indirect polemic against local beliefs that divine favor was tied to long-established claims; here, Yahweh explicitly promises to overturn established claims based on His sovereign will and justice.
Genesis 15 21 Word analysis
- the Amorites (הָאֱמֹרִי, ha-ʾĕmōrī): Derived from 'אֱמֹרִי. This term refers to an influential Semitic people group who, by the second millennium BCE, were prominent in various parts of Mesopotamia and Syria, as well as the hill country of Canaan. In biblical lists, 'Amorite' can sometimes be used broadly to refer to the indigenous inhabitants of Canaan as a whole, particularly those in the central highlands (e.g., Josh 5:1, 10:5-6). Other times, it denotes a specific tribe distinct from other Canaanite groups (e.g., Deut 7:1). Their iniquity (Gen 15:16) was cited as the reason for their eventual dispossession, indicating a divine judgment for their escalating wickedness (cf. Lev 18:24-25, Deut 9:4).
- and the Canaanites (וְהַכְּנַעֲנִי, və-hakkənaʿanî): From כְּנַעֲנִי. These are the descendants of Canaan, Ham's son (Gen 10:6, 15). The term 'Canaanite' generally refers to the diverse group of peoples inhabiting the region of Canaan (modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, parts of Syria and Jordan), particularly those dwelling in the lowlands and along the coastal plains. They were known for their trade, maritime activity, and urban centers. The consistent mention of 'Canaanites' highlights them as the overarching population of the promised land.
- and the Girgashites (וְהַגִּרְגָּשִׁי, və-haggirgāshî): From גִּרְגָּשִׁי. This group is consistently included in biblical lists of the peoples of Canaan, often alongside the other six or ten prominent tribes (e.g., Deut 7:1, Josh 3:10, Neh 9:8). Unlike the Amorites and Canaanites, the Girgashites are less frequently mentioned outside of these specific lists, and their precise location or significant historical actions are not detailed. Their inclusion here confirms the exhaustive nature of God's promise regarding all inhabitants of the land.
- and the Jebusites (וְהַיְבוּסִי, və-hayvûsî): From יְבוּסִי. This refers to the inhabitants of the city of Jebus, which later became Jerusalem. They are known for their strong fortifications. Unlike most other groups, the Jebusites maintained control of Jerusalem until King David conquered it centuries later (2 Sam 5:6-9), underscoring the formidable nature of their strongholds. Their eventual displacement signifies the full establishment of Israelite dominion, including the central city.
Words-group analysis:
- "the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.": The repetition of "and the" (וְהַ, və-ha) preceding each tribal name emphasizes the specificity and totality of God's promise. It underscores that each and every identified group's land would be inherited by Abram's descendants. This enumeration acts as a detailed geographical description, marking out the physical extent of the inheritance by listing its inhabitants. This particular selection of four nations, following six others in Gen 15:19-20, forms part of a list of ten groups that were distinct but also sometimes collectively categorized under broader terms like "Canaanites" or "Amorites." This broader list demonstrates God's comprehensive sovereignty over the entire land. The divine decision to displace these groups highlights a profound theological principle: God has the authority to remove existing populations from land that He grants to His chosen people, often as an act of judgment against the sinfulness of the dispossessed (Gen 15:16).
Genesis 15 21 Bonus section
The list of nations in Genesis 15:19-21 (Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, Jebusites) differs in length and specific names from later lists in the Pentateuch (e.g., Ex 3:8, Deut 7:1 which often list 6 or 7 nations). Scholars suggest that the Genesis 15 list provides the fullest, most ancient, and perhaps the ideal/maximal extent of the promised land as revealed to Abraham. Some groups, like the Rephaim, may refer to a giant-like race or ancient inhabitants, underscoring the profound obstacles Israel would face, requiring divine intervention. Others, like Kenites and Kenizzites, were more nomadic or peripheral but still within the scope of the original expansive promise, emphasizing God's sweeping vision. This also reveals the complexity of Canaanite ethnogeography, where specific tribal identities coexisted with broader regional designations. The inclusion of these nations also serves a legal-historical purpose within ancient Near Eastern covenant practice, demonstrating God's ultimate ownership and power to transfer land as He wills.
Genesis 15 21 Commentary
Genesis 15:21 concludes a vital list of the indigenous inhabitants of the land God solemnly swore to Abram's descendants. This verse is not merely a geographic detail; it is a profound declaration of God's specific, sovereign promise, illustrating His meticulous planning and foreknowledge. The naming of these distinct ethnic groups emphasizes that the covenant land was not vacant but occupied by various peoples with their own cultures and deities. God's promise therefore entailed a divinely sanctioned dispossession, driven by both His covenant faithfulness to Abram and His righteous judgment against the escalating wickedness of these very nations, though the specifics of their iniquity are not fully elaborated until later in Scripture (e.g., idolatry, child sacrifice, sexual perversion, Lev 18, Deut 18).
This explicit naming also serves to underscore the literal nature of God's promise. The inheritance was a physical territory, currently inhabited, that would be truly possessed by Abram's offspring. It foreshadows centuries of Israel's history, from the initial conquest under Joshua, through the periods of partial occupation, to the eventual failures and struggles documented in Judges and Kings. The list provided in Genesis 15, mentioning ten tribes, is the most expansive in the Pentateuch, reinforcing the ultimate and broadest vision of the promised territory, often later condensed to seven or six core nations in subsequent biblical passages for pedagogical or literary reasons.
Furthermore, this detailed promise, given to Abram before the birth of Isaac and long before the Law, highlights that the land was an unearned gift based solely on God's initiative and grace, rooted in His unconditional covenant. It prefigures the ongoing spiritual warfare of God's people in all generations: inheriting God's promises often requires displacing entrenched opposition, a principle extending beyond the physical land to the spiritual battle for "heavenly places" against spiritual forces (Eph 6:12).