Immediately following this, God said, “Then in the fourth generation they shall return here” (Gen 15:16). The pronoun “they” in this verse refers to the descendants of Abraham, the receiver of the revelation. Thus, according to the context of this passage, it is correct to consider Abraham as the starting point of the four generations.
The association between the first part of Genesis 15:16, “Then in the fourth generation they shall return here…,” and the latter part of the same verse, “…for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete,” further confirms this interpretation.
In Hebrew, the word yet in the latter part of Genesis 15:16 is
The conjunction for, which connects the first and second clauses of Genesis 15:16, is also a clue that the four generations begin with Abraham. In Hebrew, the word for is
Accordingly, the most accurate view that fully coincides with the original biblical text is that the four generations begin with Abraham, who received the revelation, and not from the time the Israelites entered Egypt. The covenant of the torch that God gave to Abraham and his descendants must be fulfilled because it is the Word of God (Isa 55:10–11; Matt 5:18; Luke 21:33). If the beginning of the four generations is Abraham, then it is also important to find out who are properly considered the second, third, and fourth generations. In His search for a king, God recognized David, the youngest son of Jesse. Yet, David was not even considered good enough to be king by his own father. People look at the outward appearance, but God searches the heart (1 Sam 16:7).
God sees faith in people (Matt 9:2; Mark 2:5; Luke 5:20) and delights in it (Heb 11:6). Thus, all the men related to the four generations—the ones who fulfill the Divine covenant—must have been men of faith after God’s own heart (1 Sam 13:14; Acts 13:22). These four generations were to be extraordinary generations that would accomplish God’s administration in the history of redemption.
PART THREE
The History of the Patriarchs
God’s work of salvation advanced through the godly descendants of Seth after Adam and Eve’s fall and their banishment from the Garden of Eden. God had commanded Noah, a descendant of Seth, to build an ark, and He judged the world through the flood. However, even after the judgment of the flood, mankind constructed the Tower of Babel in an attempt to challenge God. God chose Abraham, a descendant of Shem, from the midst of the sinful world, called him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, and led him to the land of Canaan.
After God called Abraham to Canaan, He made the covenant of the torch with Abraham (Gen 15). Through this covenant, God demonstrated how the Promised Land of Canaan would be given to the godly descendants.
Thus, the lives of these four patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph—play vital roles in the fulfillment of the covenant as part of God’s plan for salvation. After God first initiated the covenant with Abraham, He also reconfirmed the contents of the covenant with his descendants as He continued to advance its fulfillment. In this chapter, we will closely examine how God fulfilled his covenant through them by organizing the lives of these four patriarchs into a chronology.
Chapter 7
The History of Abraham
1. The Birth of Abraham (Gen 11:26), 2166 BC
Noah’s age, 892; Shem’s age, 390; Terah’s age, 70
Abraham and Noah lived contemporaneously for 58 years.
Ten generations of patriarchs, from Noah to Terah, were alive at his birth: Noah, Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah (Gen 10:21–25; 11:10–26).
Abraham lived about 2,000 years after Adam, and Jesus Christ was born as a descendant of Abraham approximately 2,000 years after him (Matt 1:1). Thus, Abraham lived during the junction in the work of salvation between the first man, Adam, and Jesus Christ.
Abraham was born as a descendant of Shem in 2166 BC in the fertile land of Ur of Chaldeans located southeast of what is now Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. By this time, it had been 292 years since the judgment of the flood, so the land enjoyed a period of great prosperity. Since Ur was especially fertile, even among the lands in the Mesopotamian region, it had flourished into an advanced civilization and enjoyed a luxurious material culture. According to archeological discoveries, Ur was a city in which the worship of objects found in nature, such as the moon and the stars, was widespread. Even Terah, Abraham’s father, was influenced by the practices of the land, and he, too, worshiped idols (Josh 24:2–3, 14–15). Ur and Haran, where Abraham lived, were central places for the worship of a moon-god named “Sin.” Thus, some of the names found in Abraham’s household, such as Terah, Sarai, Milcah, and Laban, are associated to moon-worship.12 When Abraham was called out from Ur of the Chaldeans, a place of splendid material civilization and idol-worship, he moved to Haran and dwelt there until he finally departed to the land of Canaan at the age of 75, in 2091 BC (Gen 12:1-4; Acts 7:2-4).
2. The Calling of Abraham (Gen 11:26–32; 12:1–5; Acts 7:2–4), 2091 BC
Abraham’s age, 75
According to the chronology of the patriarchs, Noah was still alive when Abraham was born, so they lived 58 years contemporaneously.13
Shem actually outlived Abraham. Abraham surely inherited the faith of his godly ancestors—Noah, Shem, and Eber—directly and indirectly through various channels. The faith of these godly ancestors was the light of salvation for Abraham during the dark times in which he lived. These ancestors helped kindle Abraham’s faith as he grew up in an environment immersed in idol-worship.
God’s calling of Abraham from an idol-worshiping pagan family was not just the calling and salvation of one individual.