for Genesis: Creation to Isaac · Part 6 · Genesis 15–17
God’s Covenant with Abraham
8 Adventures40 min
What Happens in Part 6
Genesis 15 begins with the LORD telling Abram not to be afraid, promising that Abram's own offspring — not a servant — will be his heir, and that his descendants will be as many as the stars. Abram believes the LORD, and it is counted to him as righteousness. The LORD then confirms this promise with a formal covenant ceremony: Abram cuts several animals in half, and after dark, a smoking fire pot and a blazing torch pass between the pieces. The LORD also tells Abram that his descendants will live as sojourners in a foreign land for four hundred years before coming out with great possessions, and describes the borders of the promised land. Genesis 16 tells how Sarai, still childless, gives her servant Hagar to Abram, and Hagar bears a son named Ishmael. In Genesis 17, when Abram is ninety-nine, God appears again, establishes his covenant, changes Abram's name to Abraham and Sarai's name to Sarah, and promises that Sarah herself will bear a son within the year. God gives circumcision as the sign of this covenant for every male in Abraham's household, and Abraham circumcises himself and every male of his household that same day.
What We Will Learn
Section
What you will practice
Word Study
Words for promises, waiting, and belonging: righteous, offspring, heir, sojourner, covenant, establish, circumcision
Bible Study
How to notice when a character receives a new name, and what that name change marks in the story
Scripture Discovery
Real ancient covenant ceremonies and the archaeological evidence for circumcision in the ancient world
Chapter Summary
Ch.
What happens
15
A Promise Confirmed — The LORD promises Abram an heir of his own and descendants as many as the stars. Abram believes the LORD, and it is counted to him as righteousness. The LORD then confirms the covenant through a formal ceremony with animals cut in half, and describes four hundred years of sojourning ahead.
16
Hagar and Ishmael — Sarai, still childless, gives her servant Hagar to Abram, and Hagar bears a son named Ishmael. An angel of the LORD meets Hagar in the wilderness and tells her to return, promising to greatly multiply her offspring as well.
17
New Names, a New Sign — God establishes his covenant with Abram, renaming him Abraham and Sarai Sarah, and promises Sarah will bear a son within the year. God gives circumcision as the sign of the covenant, and Abraham circumcises himself and every male of his household that day.
Part 1
Word Study
Study 7 key words from Genesis 15–17, then answer each question.
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💎 Treasure Wisdom · a true fact behind the storyCutting a Covenant, For Real
Word Study · Ancient CeremonyGenesis 15 describes Abram cutting animals in half so a smoking fire pot and torch can pass between the pieces. Sealing a promise by killing an animal is documented across the ancient Near East. A letter from Mari, about 1770 BC, reports a donkey foal killed to make peace between two rulers, and a text from Alalakh records a king cutting a sheep's neck as he swore an oath. Centuries later, a treaty carved in stone at Sefire spells out what the cutting meant: the animal's fate showed what should happen to whoever broke the agreement. Hebrew uses the same verb for cutting an animal and for making an agreement, which is why scholars call this pattern covenant-cutting — a documented ancient practice.
righteousadj.Gen 15:6
Right or good, especially in God's sight
“Abram believes the LORD, and the LORD counts him as righteous.”
offspringn.Gen 15:5
A person's children and their children's children
“The LORD tells Abram his offspring will be as many as the stars.”
heirn.Gen 15:4
The person who will receive what belongs to someone else
“The LORD promises Abram that his own son will be his heir.”
sojournern.Gen 15:13
Someone living for a time in a land that is not their own
“Abram's descendants will be sojourners in a foreign land.”
covenantn.Gen 17:2
A solemn promise or agreement, especially one made with God
“God establishes his covenant with Abraham and his descendants.”
establishv.Gen 17:7
To set up or make something lasting
“God will establish his covenant as everlasting, for the generations to come.”
circumcisionn.Gen 17:11
A mark made in the body, given as the sign of God's covenant with Abraham's household
“God gives circumcision as the sign of the covenant.”
ⓘ The vocabulary words in this list are selected to help you understand and complete this workbook. Some may not appear word-for-word in your Bible.
1Someone who is right or good in God's sight is called ___.Gen 15:6
2In Genesis 15, ‘offspring’ means a person's children and their children's children.Gen 15:5
3Write your answer in the blank, then click Check.Gen 15:4
Word choices:heirsojournercovenantoffspring- some words will not be used
The LORD promises Abram that his own son, not a servant, will be his .
4Someone living for a time in a land that is not their own is called a ___.Gen 15:13
5In Genesis 17, God gives circumcision as the sign of his covenant with Abraham.Gen 17:11
6In Genesis 17, God promises to establish his covenant only for Abraham's own lifetime.Gen 17:7
7Write your answer in the blank, then click Check.Gen 17:2
Word choices:covenantheirsojournerrighteous- some words will not be used
God tells Abram he will establish his between them and their descendants.
Part 2
Understanding
Show you understood what happens in Genesis 15–17.
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💎 Treasure Wisdom · a true fact behind the storyReading a Promise Made Twice
Close Reading · Comparing Two ScenesGenesis 15 and Genesis 17 both record God making a covenant with Abram, but the two chapters are not identical. In Genesis 15, God confirms the promise with a ceremony involving animals cut in half. In Genesis 17, God adds something new: a sign carried in the body of every male in Abraham's household, and new names for Abram and Sarai. A careful reader lines up two similar passages side by side and asks what is the same in both and what is genuinely new the second time. Here, the promise of descendants stays the same across both chapters, but Genesis 17 adds the covenant sign and the renaming, showing the promise growing more specific.
1What does the LORD promise Abram at the start of Genesis 15?Gen 15:1–5
2What happens after Abram cuts the animals in half?Gen 15:17
3Who does Sarai give to Abram in Genesis 16?Gen 16:1–3
4What does God do to Abram's and Sarai's names in Genesis 17?Gen 17:5–15
5Write the numbers 1–5 in the boxes to show the correct order across Genesis 15–17. Number 1 = what happens first.Gen 15–17
The LORD promises Abram that his own offspring will be his heir.
Abraham circumcises himself and every male of his household.
Sarai gives Hagar to Abram, and Hagar bears Ishmael.
A smoking fire pot and torch pass between the cut animals.
God changes Abram's name to Abraham and Sarai's to Sarah.
6The LORD tells Abram his descendants will live in a land not their own, and speaks of four hundred years.Gen 15:13
7In Genesis 17, God promises that Sarah herself, not only Hagar, will bear a son.Gen 17:16–19
Part 3
Literary Craft
Understanding HOW and WHY Genesis tells the story across Genesis 15–17.
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💎 Treasure Wisdom · a true fact behind the storyA New Name for a New Chapter
Literary Craft · Significant NamingIn Genesis 17, God changes Abram's name to Abraham and Sarai's name to Sarah. Names in Genesis are rarely just labels; a changed name usually marks a real turning point in a character's story. The text itself explains part of the change: Abraham's new name connects to being father of many nations, matching the promise God has just made. A writer who marks a turning point with a new name is using what's sometimes called significant naming — the name itself carries meaning a reader is meant to notice, not just a new sound to get used to. Watching for a name change is one clear signal that a story wants you to see a character differently going forward.
Significant naming
When a name change marks a real turning point in a character's story and carries meaning tied to it. Abram becomes Abraham as part of God's covenant promise.
Ceremony
A formal, repeated set of actions that marks something binding or important. The animals cut in half in Genesis 15 form a ceremony that confirms the covenant.
Parallel scene
Two passages that describe a similar event so a reader can compare what stays the same and what is new. Genesis 15 and 17 both record God making a covenant with Abram.
1What is significant naming?Gen 17
2Fill in the blank with the correct word.Gen 17
Word choices:namingceremonyparallelcovenant- some words will not be used
A name change that marks a turning point is called significant .
3What makes the animals-cut-in-half scene in Genesis 15 a ceremony?Gen 15:9–17
4Genesis 15 and Genesis 17 both record a covenant scene between God and Abram.Gen 15–17
5A parallel scene is useful because it shows a reader two completely unrelated stories.Gen 15–17
6Fill in the blank with the correct word.Gen 15–17
Word choices:parallelnamingceremonysojourner- some words will not be used
Two passages describing a similar event are called a scene.
7What does comparing Genesis 15 and Genesis 17 as a parallel scene help a reader notice?Gen 15–17
Part 6
Wisdom
Four deeper challenges — no single-word recall. Read, weigh the evidence, and reason it out.
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💎 Treasure Wisdom · a true fact behind the storyA Sign Carved in Stone, Long Before Genesis 17
Archaeology · Material EvidenceCircumcision itself was not invented in Genesis 17. The oldest surviving picture of it is a stone carving — a relief — at Saqqara, Egypt, from roughly 2350 BC, centuries before the events of Genesis 17. It shows the rite being carried out on young men by an attendant holding a blade, and Egyptian writings connect it with becoming a man of standing. Circumcision is documented among more than one ancient people; Egypt simply gives us the earliest surviving picture of it, not its only ancient practice. Genesis 17 does not claim the physical act was new to the world; the text gives it new meaning, as the sign of a specific covenant between God and Abraham's household.
Read Genesis 15–17 in your Bible first. Notice exactly what Abram believes in Genesis 15:6, and how the LORD responds. Then watch the covenant ceremony closely — what Abram does with the animals, and what happens after dark. In Genesis 17, pay close attention to which names change and what new sign is given, and compare this chapter back to Genesis 15: what stays the same about the promise, and what is added. Keep the passage's own wording about ‘the sign of the covenant’ separate from any question about what happens in later chapters.
Original passage written for this workbook — not a quotation from Scripture.
1Claim: “Genesis 15–17 shows God confirming his promise to Abram through repeated, formal covenant scenes.” — choose the three details that best support it.Claim & Evidence
2Stated in Genesis 15–17, or Not stated there? Tap each detail to send it left or right.Sort into two
◄ Stated in Genesis 15–17Not stated there ►
3Match each first detail with the detail paired with it.Match the Pairs
Abram→
Hagar→
Abraham→
Sarah→
Circumcision→
4Fill both blanks to complete the reasoning.Build the Argument
Genesis 15's covenant ceremony, with animals cut in half, would have looked familiar to people living in Abram's world because , which shows that .
Part 5
World Discovery (SAT/TOEFL)
Reading passage · Sealed with a Ceremony · Ancient Legal Custom and Careful Evidence · practices the same reading-comprehension skills tested on the SAT and TOEFL: main idea, detail, vocabulary in context, inference and synthesis.
📖 Read the passage below (the highlighted words are tested), then answer the questions. Tap an answer to select it, tap again to confirm — you get one chance to change it before it's final.
Original passage written for this workbook — not a quotation from Scripture.
Sealed with a Ceremony
Long before written law codes, agreements in the ancient Near East were often sealed by killing an animal rather than signing a document. A letter from the ancient city of Mari, written about 1770 BC, describes a donkey foal killed to make peace between two rulers. Another text, from the city of Alalakh, records a king cutting a sheep's neck as he swore an oath. Centuries later, a treaty carved in stone at the site of Sefire spells out exactly what the killing meant: the animal's fate showed what should happen to whoever broke the agreement. Ancient Hebrew uses the same verb for cutting an animal and for making a covenant, a small detail that hints at how closely the two ideas were linked in that world. Scholars studying these documents note that sealing a promise this way was not limited to any one kingdom; versions of it turn up at sites across the region and across many centuries. A single set of documents cannot prove exactly how every ancient promise was sealed, but it does show that a real, physical act, not just spoken words, stood behind a serious agreement in the ancient Near East.
1What is the passage mostly about?SAT/TOEFL Reading · Main Idea
2Which ancient sites does the passage name as sources of evidence?SAT/TOEFL Reading · Detail
3In this passage, “closely” most nearly means ___.SAT/TOEFL Reading · Vocabulary in Context
4What detail from Hebrew does the passage use as a clue?SAT/TOEFL Reading · Detail
5Why might a ceremony have felt more binding than spoken words alone?SAT/TOEFL Reading · Inference
6What kind of evidence does the passage rely on to make its point?SAT/TOEFL Reading · Evidence
7According to the passage, what can and cannot these treaty texts show?SAT/TOEFL Reading · Synthesis
Part 6
Writing
A print-only writing prompt — not part of your online score.
Writing Task — Part 6 “A Promise Worth Keeping”
In Genesis 15, God confirms his promise to Abram in a way Abram could see and remember. Think of a promise someone made to you, or a promise you made to someone else, that mattered enough to remember clearly. What was the promise, and how did you know it was serious? 4–6 sentences. End by saying whether the promise was kept.
You can start with: “One promise I remember clearly is…”
Write your response on paper or in a notebook. This section is for print and take-home use; it is not scored online.
Part 6 Complete!
You finished Genesis 15–17 of Genesis: Creation to Isaac.
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The best last step is to teach it. In your own words, explain what happened — retell a favorite scene, teach a character’s big choice, or sum up the main idea for a parent, friend, or classmate. When you can teach it clearly, you truly own it.
