But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
Parallel translations
- WEB Abram said, “Lord Yahweh, what will you give me, since I go childless, and he who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”
- KJV And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
- BSB But Abram replied, “O Lord GOD, what can You give me, since I remain childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
- NASB But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
- NLT But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth.
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
Abram lamented that he remained childless, with only a servant as heir. His honest complaint shows faith wrestling with an unfulfilled promise.
Overview
Abram voices the deep tension between God's promise of offspring and his ongoing childlessness. His candor with God is not unbelief but the prayer of a man clinging to the promise while perplexed by its delay. Such honest lament models how believers may bring their doubts and longings to God, trusting Him to answer in His time.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Gen 25:21Isaac entreated Yahweh for his wife, because she was barren. Yahweh was entreated by him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
- Gen 12:1–3Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you.
- Acts 7:5He gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on. He promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his offspring after him, when he still had no child.
- 1 Sam 1:11She vowed a vow, and said, “Yahweh of Armies, if you will indeed look at the affliction of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a boy, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and no razor shall come on his head.”
- Prov 17:2A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who causes shame, and shall have a part in the inheritance among the brothers.
- Gen 43:19They came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they spoke to him at the door of the house,
- Gen 44:1He commanded the steward of his house, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in his sack’s mouth.
- Isa 56:5I will give them in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name better than of sons and of daughters. I will give them an everlasting name, that will not be cut off.
- Ps 127:3Behold, children are a heritage of Yahweh. The fruit of the womb is his reward.
- Gen 24:10The servant took ten camels, of his master’s camels, and departed, having a variety of good things of his master’s with him. He arose, and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.
- Gen 24:2Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please put your hand under my thigh.
- Gen 39:4–6Joseph found favor in his sight. He ministered to him, and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
- Gen 30:1–2When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I will die.”
- Prov 13:12Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when longing is fulfilled, it is a tree of life.
- Gen 39:9No one is greater in this house than I am, and he has not kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
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 15:2 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.