Verses 1 to 6 together

After these things, the word of YHVH came to Avram in a vision to say, “Do not fear, Avram, I shield/protect you. Your reward is to multiply greatly.” Avram said, “Lord YHVH, what can be given to me? And I go/continue childless and the heir of my house will be he, Eliezer of Damesek/Damascus.” And Avram said, “Behold/See, you did not give me any seed/children/descendants! And behold/see, a son of my household will be my heir.” And behold/see the word of YHVH went out towards him to say, “This one will not inherit you, except that which will come from within you, he, will inherit you.” And took him outside and said, “Please, look up at the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And said to him, “In this manner will be the number of your seed/descendants.” And by faith in YHVH, counted it to Him as righteousness/justice/law/truth.

Conversation

HaShem: “Do not fear, Avram, I shield/protect you. Your reward is to multiply greatly.”

Avram: “Lord YHVH, what can be given to me? And I go/continue childless and the heir of my house will be he, Eliezer of Damesek/Damascus.”

Pause:

Avram: “Behold/See, you did not give me any seed/children/descendants! And behold/see, a son of my household will be my heir.”

HaShem interrupts Avram as he speaks: “This one will not inherit you, except that which will come from within you, he, will inherit you.”

HaShem physically takes Avram outside.

HaShem: “Please, look up at the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them.”

HaShem gives Avram some time to contemplate this, and HaShem continues.

HaShem: “In this manner will be the number of your seed/descendants.”

I put this together as a script to help you (I hope) understand the conversation. I hope that by putting it this way, you can tell the mood of the conversation. HaShem started by being reassuring, but Avram responded angrily. He was trying and failing not to sound angry. Both HaShem and Avram went back and forth until HaShem took him outside and told Avram, “Please, look up to the heavens.” These words to Avram make me feel like HaShem got his composure back and tried to reason with Avram, and He succeeded because of what scripture said next, “And by faith in YHVH, (Avram) counted it to Him as righteousness/justice/law/truth.” This means that Avram believed him and did not doubt HaShem about this subject anymore after that.

I do not know how you see this conversation, but to me, it sounds like two old friends arguing. Remember what was discussed before? Avram was the only man who lived, and HaShem called him “My Friend” in the Scriptures.

Isaiah 41:8

“But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend.”

In an argument, there is almost always someone on the right and the other on the wrong. Of course, HaShem is on the right, but I can understand Avram’s frustration, and HaShem also understands it. HaShem is doing everything with an end plan in mind because He promised us a Kingdom to come where only good will exist and no evil will be found. Avram is very important in this plan, but Avram can not see what Hashem sees and does not know what HaShem knows. This is why Avram is angry and resentful; HaShem promised him a son, but he does not have one yet. Avram is in his 90s and has had no children through Sarai yet. Sarai is in her 80s and no longer has a period cycle (we will find that out in Scripture as we keep studying). In Avram’s eyes, it is too late, but not in HaShem’s eyes. In HaShem's eyes, it is not time yet. Avram will have his child and a child from him and Sarai because, for HaShem, there is no impossibility.

Why does HaShem not tell Avram what he, in Avram’s eyes, should know? For example, why has Avram not had his promised child yet, and why does he have to wait so long? When would he have this child? All these are valid questions that I think flow into Avram’s mind. All I can say is that HaShem does not tell us all we want to know for one reason or another, but if he does not, it is because we should not know. Maybe it is because we would not understand. But I do know that HaShem does think of what He should and should not tell us in scripture. How can I know this?

BeReshi/Genesis 18:17-19

And YHVH said (to Himself), “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of YHVH by doing righteousness and justice, so that YHVH may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”

This verse teaches us that HaShem has to choose what we should know and what we should not, and we should only know what He tells us. We are like children, telling us only what we should know for our own good or because even if He did, we would not understand.

Now, let us break it into sections.

Verse One

After these things, the word of YHVH came to Avram in a vision to say, “Do not fear, Avram, I shield/protect you. Your reward is to multiply greatly.”

I already discussed this verse, but to summarize, Avram was worried about the repercussions of the war with the four kingdoms, and HaShem reassured him by telling him not to worry. He said that He, HaShem himself, would protect him and that his reward would be to multiply greatly. But at these words, Avram was angered because he remembered the son that he had been promised and thought of the reward as only wealth, not his descendantsy.

Verse Two

Avram said, “Lord YHVH, what can be given to me? And I go/continue childless and the heir of my house will be, he, Eliezer of Damesek/Damascus.”

Avram took HaShem's words as multiplying wealth because he said, “Eliezer will be my heir.” Either that or this was a ploy used by Avram to get to the subject of his promised son, but I do not think so. I believe that Avram was hurt and talked out of anger and desperation for his promised son, who never came. When we are in this state of emotions, we tend to say things that we do not mean or do mean but would never say under normal circumstances. It would seem that this question was accusatory and had heart feelings behind it, and the statement that followed started ramping up Avram’s feelings.

Rashi (approximately 1040 - approximately 1105) commentary: הולך ערירי I GO CHILDLESS — Menachem ben Seruk explained it (ערירי) as meaning heir, and another example of it is (Malachi 2:12) ער ועונה “son and grandsonערירי — (״ then would mean “without child or heir” being an example of a word that has two opposite meanings, just as you say (Job 31:12) “and it would תשרש all my increase” — meaning it would tear up its roots, and the same word might also mean to take root. So, too, the meaning of ערירי is “without a child” although ער means “a child”. old French désenfanté; English childless. It, however, seems to me that the word ער in ער ועונה is of the same derivation as the same word in (Song 5:2). ולבי ער “and my heart awaketh”, whereas ערירי has the meaning of destroyed (a childless person being “demolished” so far as his memory in future generations is concerned; cf. Rashi on Genesis 16:2). Similarly (Psalms 137:7) ערו ערו “Rase it, rase it”; (Habakkuk 3:13) ערות יסוד “destroying the foundation”, and (Jeremiah 51:58) ערער תתערער “shall be utterly destroyed” and (Zephaniah 2:14) כי ארזה ערה “for the cedar-work thereof shall be destroyed”.
ובן משק ביתי AND THE STEWARD OF MY HOUSE — Explain it as the Targum has it, “the man of my household”, meaning the man by whose orders all my household is fed. Similarly, (Genesis 41:40) “And according to thy word shall all my people be fed (ישק)” — so that it signifies my administrator.

Ibn Ezra (approximately 1089 - 1092 to approximately 1164 - 1167) commentary: [CHILDLESS.] The yod of ariri (childless) is like the yod of achzari (cruel). The yod is dropped in the plural. Compare, they shall be childless (aririm) (Lev. 20:21). Its meaning is as Onkelos explains it.
HE THAT SHALL BE POSSESSOR OF MY HOUSE. Meshek (possessor of) follows the paradigm of meches (levy) (Num. 31:28). It has a root whose second and third letters are identical. It comes from the same root as shokek (leap) in leap upon it (Is. 33:4). It means the same as the word devek (glue) and is also vocalized with a segol. The word ben is to be read as if written twice. The verse is to read as follows: and he that shall be possessor of my house (ben meshek beti) is Eliezer, a native of Damascus (ben damesek Eliezer).

Ramban (1194-1270) commentary: WHAT WILT THOU GIVE ME, SINCE I ‘HOLECH’ (GO) CHILDLESS? They have explained the word holech as meaning “I die childless,” even as is the meaning of that word in the verse, For man is ‘holech’ (going) to his eternal home.
The correct interpretation appears to me to be that at first he [Abraham] complained: “What can my reward be since I have no children and I go as a vagrant and vagabond alone in a strange land, like a tamarisk in the desert, no one going out, and no one coming in in my house except Eliezer, a stranger that I brought to me from Damascus, not from my family, and not from my country.” Then Abraham said, “Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed as Thou hast promised me, and lo my household slave, the one mentioned, will be mine heir, as I am old without child, and my time will come to die childless. I am thus punished, having lost the reward which Thou hast promised me at first.”

Let us discuss the word Ramban used, “slave” because I see this word used in many Bible traslations and it is not the right word to use. Verse two never says slave; it actually says בֶן/Ben/Son. Let us see the verse translation.

Avram said, “Lord YHVH, what can be given to me? And I go/continue childless and the heir/a son of my house will be he, Eliezer of Damesek/Damascus.”

I also inserted the word “heir” because that is what Avram meant when he said, “And I go childless, and a son of my house will be he.” Avram says that Eliezer will take the position of the son he never had and will inherit everything instead of that son who never came.
In the Hebrew Bible and even the Torah, the word translated as “slave” is “עבד/Ebed,” which means “servant” or “bondman/sevent.” The Torah has many laws to ensure these people should be treated right and with no injustice. The word “slave” is not the right word to use in any translation, especially nowadays, and especially because “slave” is not what the word עבד/Ebed means. This is misleading and not the right word to use to translate this word. Eliezer is an excellent example of how ebed/servants were treated by the Jewish people. Avram had chosen Eliezer as his heir and the replacement for the son he did not have. Did Avram have no other choice? Yes, he did. Just like we will see as we keep studying, Avram will tell Eliezer to go to Avram’s family in Kharan, where he came from, to get a wife for his son, which means that, like in that time, now too, he can send someone to go back to his family and get someone from his own family and blood to be his heir. He does not, though, because “ebed/servants” get treated as members of the family and not like the word that we know, “slaves.”

Verse Three

And Avram said, “Behold/See, you did not give me any seed/children/descendants! And behold/see, a son of my household will be my heir.”

Avram is still talking about Eliezer, the servant and the son he refers to in this verse. Eliezer is his servant, but even servants are treated like a part of the family. It just so happens that Eliezer is Avram’s most trusted employee and is in charge of all of Avram’s affairs. We will find this out later. Even though Eliezer is a servant, Avram refers to him as a son of his household or house, which, in Hebrew, the word for house is בַּיִת/Bayit/House also is equivalent to family. See how the word ebed/servant looks less and less like the word slave.

Or HaChaim (1696-1743) commentary: ויאמר אברם…מה תתן לי? Abram said:…"what are You able to give me?" How could Abraham begin by saying: "You have not given me, etc.," when he had received G'd's promise that he would father children? Surely he did not doubt G'd's words? Why did Abraham say: הן לי לא נתתה, instead of: הן לא נתתה לי? [why did he stress the word לי?] What did Abraham have in mind when he said to G'd that בן ביתי יורש אותי, that "a member of my household will inherit me?" Seeing that he had no seed of his own, what difference did it make to him if a member of his household or someone else would inherit him?
Abraham remembered that the promise of seed he had received was phrased thus: "your seed will be as the dust of the earth" (13,16). When people are compared to the dust of the earth such a comparison normally applies to poor and insignificant people, i.e. "as the dust"; it implies that such people do not possess a holy soul, that they are closer to animals than to angels. When Abraham stressed the לי aspect of his future descendants, he referred to the fact that G'd had not promised him children or grandchildren of any stature. This is why G'd told him "to count the stars." The stars were meant to be symbols. G'd wanted Abraham to know that his descendants would all be important in their own right. They would be righteous people who could overcome the stars, i.e. their fates would not be subject to zodiac constellations, to מזל. Bereshit Rabbah 69,5 explains the simile of the "dust of the earth" to mean that just as dust cannot prosper without water, so Jacob's (Abraham's) descendants would not prosper without Torah which is for the spirit what water if for the body. The Midrash there lists other qualities of dust which make it seem as something valuable and important. Examination of various Midrashim on the subject of עפר, dust, shows that we never find dust treated as something valuable until after Abraham's descendants were compared to stars for the first time. This is the reason that the quotation from the Midrash we have cited was from פרשת ויצא and not from here. At any rate, Abraham was concerned about the comparison of his descendants to dust in G'd's first promise.

Steinsaltz (1937-2020) commentary: Abram said: Behold, to me You have not given descendants, and a member of my household is my heir. Since I do not have a son, and my steward will inherit me, this reward has no meaning for me. Although Eliezer is indeed a faithful and decent man, he is not my child.

Verse Four

And behold/see the word of YHVH went out towards him to say, “This one will not inherit you, except that which will come from within you, he, will inherit you.”

Here is where it gives me the sense that HaShem was also getting angry and that they were both talking over each other. Why would Scripture have to say that “the word of Hashem went out towards Avram” if HaShem was already talking to Avram? I take this to mean that HaShem had to be a little more forceful in his communication so that Avram did not just hear HaShem but also felt His words and feelings. Of course, this is my take on it, but the more I read it, the more it feels that way. If this is your first time through, or you were not aware of HaShem, our God, and Creator, having an emotional conversation with a Bible figure in this way. Well, let me tell you that this is not the last time it will happen. It also happens with Moses and in many other places in the Bible, but we will get to that when we get to those sections.
I have discussed this. If you remember, we have emotions and act on them because we are created in HaShem’s image, and we are like we are, emotional beings because our Creator, in which image we are created, also has emotions. It should not be a surprise that HaShem reacts emotionally. What should be a surprise is that we are so much like Him. We have the privilege among all creations to be like him, to be made in His image. This is the real God, a God that cares, a God that loves, a God that you can be annoy and make angry with your actions and what you say (not that you would like to make Him angry at you; that is a bad idea). Just like you watch what you say and do not anger or upset your significant other or your parents and peers, you should have the same carefulness to not do the same to HaShem. Actually, you should do your utmost not to make Him upset at you. This is what HaShem wants. What He wants is a relationship with you. This comes with years of building this relationship. It does not happen overnight. In his story, Avram has taken all his life building this relationship, and by HaShem's admission, Avram was HaShem’s friend. What have we done to earn respect from HaShem in our lives? What can we do? You may ask. That is what we are finding out by reading all these stories. Hashem, in His Torah, is letting us know. What He is and what He is not, and what he wants and likes from us.

“This one will not inherit you, except that which will come from within you, he, will inherit you.”

More emotional talk from HaShem. Like Avram called Eliezer “he, Eliezer of Damascus,” now HaShem is mirroring Avram by calling him “this one.” Can you see it? Maybe even in a recollection of an argument you might have had with someone near to your heart?
In the part after this, Hashem says, “except that which will come from within you.” We all know what this means, but the important part is that Sarai is not mentioned because, as we discussed previously, we are both our father and mother made one flesh. Once again, you should know what I mean by one flesh because I discussed this subject before. This will be very important to the story as we continue, and I hope you remember it when that time comes. Remember, to understand the Bible, you must not forget what you have learned, or you will easily get lost and not understand what you are currently reading.
This phrase, HaShem, could have worded as He did intentionally so that Avram would understand it like he does in the future. I will explain that when we get there.

Ibn Ezra (approximately 1089 - 1092 to approximately 1164 - 1167) commentary: OF THY OWN BOWELS. A euphemism for the sexual organ. Bowels is used as a euphemism because the male member is close to them.

My translation here is “will come from within you,” some other translations are “by your very own issue,” “from your growing,” and many more. The word-for-word translation of this verse section is as follows;

“that which will come from your inner organs/inward parts/bowels/pace of emotions or distress or love.”

In other words, this indicates what I have said before: Avram and his wife are becoming one flesh. However, HaShem says, “from within you,” and does not name Sarai. I believe HaShem said it this way intentionally for a reason I will discuss in the next chapter or two.

Ramban (1194-1270) commentary: AND, BEHOLD, THE WORD OF THE ETERNAL CAME UNTO HIM, SAYING: THIS MAN SHALL NOT BE THINE HEIR. Since Abraham had his son who would be his heir after his old age [Yitzkhak/Isaac, the Eternal assured him only concerning the inheritance, i.e., that he should not worry, and his seed will inherit it.
The meaning of the expression, And, behold, the word of the Eternal came unto him, is that while Abraham was still saying, And, lo, my household slave will be mine heir, the word of G-d suddenly came to him, saying This man shall not be thine heir.

Tur HaAroch (1270-approximately 1340) commentary: והנה דבר ה', “and here came the word of the Lord, etc.” the word והנה here indicates that G’d’s response to Avraham’s concern was so immediate that He did not even wait until Avraham had voiced all his concerns.

Once again, this reinforces my belief that HaShem and Avram were having an argument over this matter.

Verse Five

“And took him outside and said, “Please, look up at the heavens and count the stars. If you are able to count them.” And said to him, “In this manner will be the number of your seed/descendants.”

First, this event happened at night because of the stars being out. This is why some commentators believe this event was a dream vision, and it could have been, but I do not think so because of the future verse we have not come to yet. These commentators believe that Avram has this vision all in his mind and that even the physical is in his mind. In this case, In some of this commentator’s minds, Avram being taken outside is also in his mind, and he was not physically taken outside. This is contrary to my belief because of what I mentioned about the events of the future vision that Avram will have with HaShem, and Avram will be moving around and talking to other people at the same time as he is having a conversation with Hashem. So, in the case of this verse, I believe that Avram was asked to go outside, and he physically got himself moving to walk outside and turned his head up to look up at the sky.
At this point, HaShem had calmed down and pleaded with Avram calmly and lovingly to “please, look up at the sky” and asked Avram to count the stars. After pausing to give Avram time to contemplate this because I doubt that Avram even tried to count the stars, HaShem added, “If you can count them.” HaShem added this because He knows this is impossible for mankind to do, but this is not the only reason. HaShem wanted Avram to know, and also for all of us to know that to try and count Avram’s descendants is the same as what HaShem asked Avram to do, and that is to try and count Avram’s descendants if we can. This task is impossible. To try and count Avram’s descendants is in the same “manner” as trying to count the stars.
As I explained before, Avram’s descendants have been exiled from the land of Israel multiple times. During that time, Israeli men and women were mixed with other non-Jewish people, and Avram’s descendants were all over the world. For all we know, some of us reading this are Avram’s descendants. I have explained this in detail in the past.

Rashi (approximately 1040 - approximately 1105) commentary: ויוצא אתו החוצה AND HE BROUGHT HIM FORTH OUTSIDE — Its real meaning is: He brought him outside his tent so that he could look at the stars. Its Midrashic explanation is: Go forth from (give up) your astrological speculations — that you have seen by the planets that you will not raise a son; Avram indeed may have no son but Abraham will have a son: Sarai may not bear a child but Sarah will bear. I will give you other names, and your destiny (מזל planet, luck) will be changed. Another explanation: He brought him forth from the terrestrial sphere, elevating him above the stars, and this is why He uses the term הבט ‘‘look”, when He said “look at the heavens” — for this word signifies looking from above downward (Genesis Rabbah 44:12).

Chizkuni (13th Century) commentary: ויוצא אותו, it appeared to Avram in his dream as if G-d were now taking him out of his house to look at the sky.

Da’at Zekenim (Author: Tosafot Composed: Middle-Age France / Germany / Italy / England, c.1100 – c.1300 CE. Da'at Zekenim is a Torah commentary compiled from the writings of French and German tosafists in the 12th and 13th centuries.) Commentary: כה יהיה זרעך, “so shall be your seed.” Rabbi Tanchuma son of Acha, basing himself on this phrase, commented that it is an assurance that there will never be fewer than 30 righteous people on earth at all times. He uses the word יהיה, “will be (singular),” as his proof. [The numerical value of the combined letters in that word is 30. Ed.]

Haamek Davar on Genesis (Author: Naphtali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin (Netziv) Composed: Valozhyn, c.1840 – c.1880 CE) Commentary: And count the stars: Not because of their abundance did He promise him here, since He had already compared the multitude of his children to the dust of the earth, but rather to add here that they will be many men of stature, who will bring light like the stars. And it was not as he had feared [upon hearing of their comparison to dust], lest they be small of worth.
Steinsaltz (1937-2020) commentary: He took him, or instructed him to go, outside, and said: Look now toward the heavens, and count the stars, and see if you can count them. And after Abram had looked toward the heavens, He said to him: So shall be your descendants; they will be as numerous as the stars.

As I mentioned before, I do not believe that HaShem meant to say that the descendants of Avram would be equal in number as the stars, but in the same manner as not being able to count them for the sheer number of them. The number is not essential, but the scale of the number of them.

Tur HaAroch (Arba'ah Turim (Hebrew: אַרְבָּעָה טוּרִים), often called simply the Tur, is an important Halakhic code composed by Yaakov ben Asher (Cologne, 1270 – Toledo, Spain c. 1340, also referred to as Ba'al Ha-Turim.)) commentary: וספור הכוכבים, “and count the stars, etc.” whereas in the previous prophecy Avraham’s offspring had been compared to the dust of the earth, now it was compared to the stars in the heaven. We are dealing with the relative positions of Esau and Yaakov, both descendants of Avraham, one compared to the earthly phenomena, i.e. dust, the other to celestial phenomena, i.e. stars. Whereas the stars are untouchable, beyond harm, dust is something people trample on.

This is an interesting commentary by Tur on this verse and one I think I have heard before, but I find it hard to believe that this is the message that HaShem wanted for us out of this verse. This is because, here, HaShem is talking of Avram’s descendant, through whom the Jewish people would come. Yes, I can see how both comparisons, the dirt and the stars, have different significance. Dirt is an easily attainable lowly substance; the stars are mystical and unreachable. Still, in both situations, the main subject of the message was the impossibility of counting Avram's descendants, not the number of them or their status compared to themselves. Yes, in other verses, it says that kings will come from him or some of Avram’s descendants, but not in this verse. Also, Esau had kings come from him, as did Ishmael.

Verse Six

“And by faith in YHVH, counted it to Him as righteousness/justice/law/truth.”

I can not say much about this verse. Only that, from then on, Avram doubted HaShem no more about this subject. Avram considered it a done promise that was the same as if it had already come true. Avram new that he would have a child.

Rashi (approximately 1040 - approximately 1105) commentary: 'והאמין בה AND HE BELIEVED IN THE LORD — He did not ask Him for a sign regarding this; but in respect to the promise that he would possess the land he asked for a sign, inquiring of God, במה אדע “By what sign shall I know [that I shall possess it?]” (Genesis 15:8).
ויחשבה לו צדקה AND HE ACCOUNTED IT UNTO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS — The Holy One, blessed be He, accounted it unto Abraham as a merit, because of the faith with which he had trusted in Him. Another explanation of במה אדע is: he did not, by these words, ask for a sign regarding this promise that he would possess the land, but he said to Him, “Tell me by what merit they (my descendants) will remain in it (the land).” God answered him, through the merit of the sacrifices (Taanit 27b).

Ibn Ezra (approximately 1089 - 1092 to approximately 1164 - 1167) commentary: RIGHTEOUSNESS. Compare, And it shall be righteousness unto us (Deut. 6:25). Tzedakah (righteousness) is a synonym for justice. However, in Rabbinic literature tzedakah has a different meaning. *There it has the meaning of charity.

Sforno (approximately 1470/1475-1549) commentary: He believed. He had utter confidence that God would fulfill His promise, even if it required a miracle.
And this He accounted. God reckoned Avraham’s trust as an act of righteousness, which proves that his subsequent inquiry, “How will I know, etc.?” could not have been an expression of doubt.

Chizkuni (13th Century) commentary: ויחשבה, the letter ח in this word is vocalised by the semi vowel sh’va na, which has a dot above it. (not in our editions) [This indicates that the subject of this word is Avram, not G-d. Ed.]
ויחשבה לו צדקה, “Avram did not consider this promise by G-d as something that he was entitled to, but as something beyond what he had a right to expect.

Or HaChaim (1696-1743) commentary: והאמין בה׳ ויחשבה לו צדקה. He believed G'd who considered this as a merit for him. We can understand this as similar to the laws concerning vows. The Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 6) says that when one makes a promise to give charity to a sacred cause it is considered as binding or as effective as if one had already actually handed over the object of a vow to an ordinary person. Abraham qualified for a reward by merely expressing his belief in G'd's promise. You may well ask what practical benefit Abraham received by this reward seeing that neither Ishmael nor Isaac had been born as yet? This is why the Torah says that "he considered it an act of righteousness," i.e. also Abraham treated G'd's promise to him as if it had already been fulfilled.

Rabbeinu Bahya (1255–1340) commentary: והאמין בה', “and he believed in G’d.” He believed the message that G’d had indeed decided that this would occur.
ויחשבה לו צדקה, “and Avram considered this as an act of kindness by G’d.” He believed that G’d would indeed carry out His promise as He was so fair and just. He did not expect G’d to do what He had said He was going to do as a reward for his good deeds. This is the view of Nachmanides concerning the meaning of these words.
It is possible to explain the words: “He considered it for him as an act of righteousness,” as G’d being the speaker and Avraham the one concerning whom G’d said it.