Genesis 15:4

4 But the word of the Lord came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir."

Genesis 15:4 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 15:4

And behold, the word of the Lord [came] unto him
Either having disappeared, and then came a second time, or he again spoke unto him:

saying, this shall not be thine heir;
this Eliezer, this servant of thine, as thou hast made him, or hast intended to make him, giving up all hopes of having issue by Sarai:

but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine
heir;
that is, one shall inherit all thou hast, that shall be begotten by thee; an own son of Abram's, and not a servant born in his house; one that should spring out of his own loins: the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "out of thy womb", that is, out of his wife's, which was his; the phrase designs a genuine and legitimate son of his, who would be legally his heir.

Genesis 15:4 In-Context

2 But Abram said, "O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"
3 And Abram said, "You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir."
4 But the word of the Lord came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir."
5 He brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
6 And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.