And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
Parallel translations
- WEB The birds of prey came down on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
- KJV And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
- BSB And the birds of prey descended on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
- NASB And birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
- NLT Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Birds of prey descended on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. This detail suggests opposition to the covenant that Abram must guard against.
Overview
As Abram waits, scavenging birds threaten the prepared sacrifice, and he must vigilantly protect it. Many readers see here a picture of forces that would assault God's covenant promises or, later, Israel's future trials. Abram's watchfulness models perseverance in guarding what God has promised against intrusion.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Matt 13:4As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them.
- Ps 119:13With my lips, I have declared all the ordinances of your mouth.
- Ezek 17:3and say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “A great eagle with great wings and long feathers, full of feathers, which had various colors, came to Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar.
- Ezek 17:7“‘“There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers. Behold, this vine bent its roots toward him, and shot out its branches toward him, from the beds of its plantation, that he might water it.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 15:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.