And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
All Commentaries on Genesis 15:17 Go To Genesis 15
Ephrem The Syrian
AD 373
Abraham thought, “Perhaps these kings will destroy each other, or other peoples might rise up and destroy them and empty out the land for us. Perhaps my seed will become strong and will go and slay its inhabitants and possess it, or maybe the land will swallow [its inhabitants] because of their deeds. Perhaps the [inhabitants] might go into exile into another land because of hunger or rumor or some such reason.” Abraham sought to know which of these [would happen], but he had no doubts whatsoever. Then God, who knew what he sought, showed him what he did not seek in addition to what he did seek. For by the offering that Abraham made [when] the birds came down and he chased them away, God clearly showed him that his descendants would sin and be oppressed but would be saved through the prayers of their righteous ones. And by the pot of fire that came down, God made known that even if all their righteous ones should come to an end, deliverance from heaven would come to them. By the threeyearold calf and the threeyearold ram and the threeyearold goat [God showed him] that either they would be delivered after three generations or that kings, priests and prophets would soon arise from among his descendants. By the limbs of the animals that Abraham cut in two [God] depicted their many tribes, and by the bird that Abraham did not cut in two [God] signified their unity.
