The covenant with Abram in Genesis 15 signifies God's completed transfer of the land as a title deed to Abraham and his seed.
God appeared to Abram and literally went through the ancient transfer ceremony, and on the same day made a covenant declaring, "Unto thy seed have I given this land" (Genesis 15:18). Because the verb is past tense, the land promise is presented as an accomplished deed, not a distant future offer. Les Feldick calls this "the signing of Israel's deed."
Genesis 15:18 — This verse records the covenant God made with Abram on the same day, using the past-tense "I have given" to define the land as a completed gift to his seed.
Genesis 15 records God's covenant with Abram. After Abram asked how he would know he would inherit the land (Genesis 15:8), God instructed him to prepare a heifer, a she-goat, a ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon (Genesis 15:9). Abram divided them and laid each piece against another, but did not divide the birds (Genesis 15:10). That night a smoking furnace and a burning lamp passed between the pieces (Genesis 15:17). Then "in the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates" (Genesis 15:18).
Les teaches that in Genesis 15 God literally went through the ancient rites of transferring the title deed of the land to Abraham. He calls verses 10 through 18 "the signing of Israel's deed." According to Les, the dividing of the carcasses was the typical means of transferring real estate under ancient Babylonian rules, likely the rules of Hammurabi, and it served as visible proof for Abram's question, "Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?"
Les says the ceremony in verses 10 through 18 is the signing of Israel's deed. In that passage, God passed through the rite of transferring the title deed, and then said, "Unto thy seed have I given this land." The past-tense language shows the transaction was completed, not left as a promise for some remote future.
Although Abram was a man of faith, he still asked God, "Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?" Les explains that God then acted out the ancient Babylonian/Hammurabi real-estate transfer ceremony, which involved dividing animals and passing between the pieces. This gave Abram visible, concrete proof of the inheritance.
God told Abram that the land given to his seed extends from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates (Genesis 15:18). Les notes that he does not take advantage of the phrase "river of Egypt" to say it is the Nile, because at that time there was another river a little east of the Nile in the same region.
Les identifies Genesis 12:2-3 as the Abrahamic Covenant. He explains that a covenant in Scripture is from God to man and is unbreakable and irrevocable. He also teaches that God promised Abraham that out of him would come a great nation, that God would place that nation in a geographical land, and that one day God Himself would be their king and Messiah. The Genesis 15 event is the working out of the land promise within that larger covenant.
Israel’s Title Deed: Understanding God's Covenant in Genesis 15
For then, while they were in active worship of these female goddesses, for then we had plenty of victuals and were well and saw no evil. Now, that was a lie. It was just the opposite. Now, verse 18, But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, have been consumed by the sword and the famine.
God's Title-Deed Transfer
Les explains that in Genesis 15 God literally went through the ancient rites of transferring the title deed of the land to Abraham, then declared that the land was given to his seed from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates.
The Irrevocable Abrahamic Covenant
Les defines the Abrahamic Covenant as a covenant from God to man that is unbreakable and irrevocable, which frames how Genesis 15 should be understood.
God’s Promise to Abraham: Understanding Genesis 12 & 15
All right, now let's chase some Scriptures. But for now, let's just establish the fact that indeed when God made this covenant with Abraham that He promised them to be a nation. Let's take that first, not the land but the nation. Genesis 15, come down to verse 2, and all these things just point up how human all these patriarchs were.
Covenant Components
Les recalls that the Abrahamic covenant included a great nation, a geographical land, and God Himself as King, which the Genesis 15 land transfer fits into.
The Signing of Israel's Deed
Les calls Genesis 15:10-18 the signing of Israel's deed, emphasizing that the words "I have given" are past tense and that the land is large.
Why God Commanded Israel to Destroy Entire Nations — Deuteronomy 7
But back here in Genesis chapter 15, you'll remember, God has just called Abram out of the Ur of the Chaldees in chapter 12 and given him the covenant, and in that covenant He has promised the man Abram that out of him would come a nation, a race of people totally different than anything that's been on the scene, and that race of people, when they would become a nation, He would put in a geographi…
The Ancient Real-Estate Ceremony
Les says Abram's question "whereby shall I know?" prompted God to act out the ancient Babylonian/Hammurabi real-estate transfer ceremony, which was built on blood sacrifice.
Genesis 15:8: And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
Abram's request for proof prompted the covenant sign that follows.
Genesis 15:10: And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
The divided pieces were part of the ancient ceremony God used to confirm the land to Abram.
Genesis 15:17: 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.
The smoking furnace and burning lamp passed between the divided pieces during the covenant ceremony.
Genesis 15:18: In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
This verse is the heart of the answer—God's past-tense declaration that the land was given.
In Genesis 15:18 God said, "Unto thy seed have I given this land." Les Feldick points out that "I have given" is past tense, indicating that God transferred the title deed of the land to Abraham on that same day. It is a completed act, not merely a future promise.
God told Abram that the land extends from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates. Les notes that the "river of Egypt" may not be the Nile, but another river a little east of the Nile in the same region.
Les explains that this was the typical means of transferring real estate according to ancient Babylonian rules, likely those of Hammurabi. Abram's question in Genesis 15:8 prompted God to perform this visible proof of the land inheritance.
Watch the Teaching: Israel’s Title Deed: Understanding God's Covenant in Genesis 15