Bible Strands
Genesis 15:8
But Abram replied, “Lord GOD, how can I know that I will possess it?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Abram addresses the LORD GOD immediately after God declares in Genesis 15:7 that He will give Abram the land. The question occurs between God’s initial promise and the covenant ritual command in Genesis 15:9.
The words — The phrase בַּ/מָּה (ba./Mah) means “how?” and אֵדַ֖ע ('e.Da') means “will I know,” forming Abram’s direct query about verification. The verb אִֽירָשֶֽׁ/נָּה ('I.ra.She./nah) literally translates to “I will take possession of it,” anchoring the question to future land inheritance.
The thread — The same structural query appears when Zechariah asks how he will know the angel’s message will be fulfilled (Luke 1:18), when Mary asks how she will conceive as a virgin (Luke 1:34), and when Hezekiah requests a sign of healing (2 Kings 20:8).
Why it lands — The text records a request for tangible confirmation of a spoken promise rather than a statement of disbelief. It requires the reader to examine how human certainty is addressed when divine assurance precedes visible evidence.
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
King James Version
And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
Cross-references
- Luke 1:18 “How can I be sure of this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.”
- Luke 1:34 “How can this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
- 2 Kings 20:8 Now Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the LORD will heal me and that I will go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?”
- Isaiah 7:11 “Ask for a sign from the LORD your God, whether from the depths of Sheol or the heights of heaven.”
- Judges 6:17 Gideon answered, “If I have found favor in Your sight, give me a sign that it is You speaking with me.
- Judges 6:36 Then Gideon said to God, “If You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said,
- Psalms 86:17 Show me a sign of Your goodness, that my enemies may see and be ashamed; for You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
- Genesis 24:2 So Abraham instructed the chief servant of his household, who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh,
- Genesis 24:13 Here I am, standing beside the spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.
- 1 Samuel 14:9 If they say, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stay where we are and will not go up to them.