# The covenant between the pieces Patriarchs · Draft · BSB Content revision: e8de9594f8939c7d · No editorial review date recorded [Citation / readable page](https://wilderness-scripture-atlas.pages.dev/reference/events/covenant-between-the-pieces/) [Open interactive map](https://wilderness-scripture-atlas.pages.dev/?event=covenant-between-the-pieces) [Markdown](https://wilderness-scripture-atlas.pages.dev/reference/events/covenant-between-the-pieces/index.md) [JSON](https://wilderness-scripture-atlas.pages.dev/reference/events/covenant-between-the-pieces/index.json) Date: not assigned. God promises Abram a son of his own and offspring as many as the stars. Abram believes the LORD, and it is credited to him as righteousness. In a covenant ceremony God foretells that his descendants will be strangers and slaves in a land not their own for four hundred years before coming back, and promises the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates. Genesis 15:13–16 looks ahead to the slavery in Egypt and the Exodus, the story told in the Exodus & Wilderness era. ## Primary Scripture [Genesis 15:1–21 (BSB)](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2015%3A1%E2%80%9321&version=BSB) 15:1 After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” 15:2 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?” 15:3 Abram continued, “Behold, You have given me no offspring, so a servant in my household will be my heir.” 15:4 Then the word of the LORD came to Abram, saying, “This one will not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” 15:5 And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.” 15:6 Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness. 15:7 The LORD also told him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 15:8 But Abram replied, “Lord GOD, how can I know that I will possess it?” 15:9 And the LORD said to him, “Bring Me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a turtledove and a young pigeon.” 15:10 So Abram brought all these to Him, split each of them down the middle, and laid the halves opposite each other. The birds, however, he did not cut in half. 15:11 And the birds of prey descended on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 15:12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him. 15:13 Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 15:14 But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions. 15:15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age. 15:16 In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” 15:17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the halves of the carcasses. 15:18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates— 15:19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 15:20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 15:21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” ## Related Scripture [Romans 4:1–3 · letter](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%204%3A1%E2%80%933&version=BSB) Paul builds his teaching on faith on Genesis 15:6. [Exodus 12:40–41 · teaching](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2012%3A40%E2%80%9341&version=BSB) The stay in Egypt foretold here ends with the Exodus. ## Location evidence No event map marker is assigned. Do not infer an exact venue from related places. ## For the class What does it mean that Abram’s faith was credited to him as righteousness? ## Interpretation and reuse Narrative order is a reading arrangement, not a proven chronology. Dates retain their stated uncertainty. An identified locality does not establish the exact venue or prove an event. Region extents and routes are illustrative, not surveyed boundaries or ancient roads. Draft material has not completed editorial review. Record source: editorial (content/authored/patriarchs.json) Place coordinates from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, CC BY 4.0. Teaching stops, summaries and regional extents are original editorial content of this atlas. Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain. https://berean.bible/licensing.htm [Use this atlas with AI / data documentation](https://wilderness-scripture-atlas.pages.dev/reference/ai/)