Gen 12:7, 13:15 | Clarke | e4.org | Verse 7. The Lord appeared ] In what way this appearance was made we know not; it was probably by the great angel of the covenant, Jesus the Christ. The appearance, whatsoever it was, perfectly satisfied Abram, and proved itself to be supernatural and Divine. It is worthy of remark that Abram is the first man to whom God is said to have shown himself or appeared : 1. In Ur of the Chaldees , ; and 2. At the oak of Moreh , as in this verse. As Moreh signifies a teacher , probably this was called the oak of Moreh or the teacher , because God manifested himself here, and instructed Abram concerning the future possession of that land by his posterity, and the dispensation of the mercy of God to all the families of the earth through the promised Messiah. .

‏ Genesis 12:7

Verse 7. The Lord appeared] In what way this appearance was made we know not; it was probably by the great angel of the covenant, Jesus the Christ. The appearance, whatsoever it was, perfectly satisfied Abram, and proved itself to be supernatural and Divine. It is worthy of remark that Abram is the first man to whom God is said to have shown himself or appeared: 1. In Ur of the Chaldees, Ac 7:2; and 2. At the oak of Moreh, as in this verse. As Moreh signifies a teacher, probably this was called the oak of Moreh or the teacher, because God manifested himself here, and instructed Abram concerning the future possession of that land by his posterity, and the dispensation of the mercy of God to all the families of the earth through the promised Messiah. See Clarke on Ge 15:7.

‏ Genesis 13:15

Verse 15. To thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.] This land was given to Abram, that it might lineally and legally descend to his posterity; and though Abram himself cannot be said to have possessed it, Ac 7:5, yet it was the gift of God to him in behalf of his seed; and this was always the design of God, not that Abram himself should possess it, but that his posterity should, till the manifestation of Christ in the flesh. And this is chiefly what is to be understood by the words for ever, ad olam, to the end of the present dispensation, and the commencement of the new. olam means either ETERNITY, which implies the termination of all time or duration, such as is measured by the celestial luminaries: or a hidden, unknown period, such as includes a completion or final termination of a particular era, dispensation, &c.; therefore the first is its proper meaning, the latter its accommodated meaning. See Clarke on Ge 17:7. See Clarke on Ge 21:33.