Genesis 15:13

Then God said to Abram, “I want you to know that your descendants will become foreigners living in a land that does not belong to them. They will become slaves of the owners of that land. The owners of the land will mistreat them for 400 years.

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

In Context

12As the sun was going down, Abram fell sound asleep, and suddenly everything around him became dark and frightening.

14But then I will punish the people of that country that made them become slaves, and then your descendants will leave that country, taking many possessions with them.

Read all of Genesis 15

Cross References

Genesis 17:8I will give to you and to your descendants the land through which you are now traveling, all of the Canaan region. It will be an everlasting possession for your descendants, and I will be the God that they will worship.”

Exodus 1:11So the king and his officials put supervisors over the Israeli people to cause them to suffer very much by forcing them to work very hard. They forced the Israeli people to build two cities, Pithom and Ramses, in which to store supplies for the king/government.

Exodus 5:1Then Aaron and Moses/I went to the king and one of them/us said, “Yahweh God, whom we Israeli people worship, says this to you: ‘Let my people go to the desert, in order that they may have a feast to honor me!’”

Exodus 22:21You must not mistreat a foreigner who comes to live among you. Do not forget that you were previously foreigners in Egypt.

Leviticus 19:34You must treat them like you treat your fellow-citizens. Love them like you love yourselves, and do not forget that once, when you were foreigners in Egypt, you were badly mistreated by the people of Egypt. I, Yahweh your God, am commanding you to do this.

Deuteronomy 10:19So you must love those foreigners too, because you were once foreigners when you were living in Egypt.

Matthew Henry on Genesis 15:13-17

12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Genesis 15:13