Bible Strands

Genesis 15:21

Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — God addresses Abram after the covenant ratification, concluding the enumeration of nations occupying the territory promised to his descendants.

The words — The Hebrew text appends four definite ethnic groups using the accusative marker וְאֶת (ve'et): הָאֱמֹרִי (ha'Emori, "the Amorite"), הַכְּנַעֲנִי (haKena'ani, "the Canaanite"), הַגִּרְגָּשִׁי (haGirgashi, "the Girgashite"), and הַיְבוּסִי (haYevusi, "the Jebusite").

The thread — These same populations recur in the genealogical records of Genesis 10:15 and the military expulsion commands of Exodus 23:23 and Exodus 33:2.

Why it lands — The verse fixes the geographic and demographic scope of the covenant, demanding that the reader acknowledge the promise as a concrete claim over named, existing peoples.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>הָֽאֱמֹרִי֙ha./'e.mo.Rithe/ Amorite[s]וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֔יha./ke.na.'a.Nithe/ Canaanite[s]וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>הַגִּרְגָּשִׁ֖יha./gir.ga.Shithe/ Girgashite[s]וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>הַיְבוּסִֽי׃ סha/y.vu.Sithe/ Jebusite[s]

King James Version

And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Cross-references