Acts 7:5

Translations

King James Version (KJV)

And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

American King James Version (AKJV)

And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

American Standard Version (ASV)

and he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: and he promised that he would give it to him in possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

Basic English Translation (BBE)

And God gave him no heritage in it, not even enough to put his foot on: but he gave him an undertaking that he would give it to him and to his children after him, though he had no child at that time.

Webster's Revision

And he gave him no inheritance in it, no not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his offspring after him, when as yet he had no child.

World English Bible

He gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on. He promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when he still had no child.

English Revised Version (ERV)

and he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: and he promised that he would give it to him in possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

Clarke's Acts 7:5 Bible Commentary

Gave him none inheritance - Both Abraham and Jacob had small parcels of land in Canaan; but they had them by purchase, not by God's gift; for, as Abraham was obliged to buy a burying-place in Canaan, Genesis 23:3-18, it is obvious he had no inheritance there.

And to his seed after him - See Genesis 12:7 (note); Genesis 13:15, and the notes there.

Barnes's Acts 7:5 Bible Commentary

And he gave him none inheritance - Abraham led a wandering life; and this passage means that he did not himself receive a permanent possession or residence in that land. The only land which he owned was the field which he "purchased" of the children of Heth for a burial place, Genesis 23:As this was obtained by "purchase," and not by the direct gift of God, and as it was not designed for a "residence," it is said that God gave him no "inheritance." It is mentioned as a strong instance of his faith that he should remain there without a permanent residence himself, with only the prospect that his children, at some distant period, would inherit it.

Not so much as to set his foot on - This is a proverbial expression, denoting in an emphatic manner that he had no land, Deuteronomy 2:5.

Would give it to him - Genesis 13:15. Abraham did not himself possess all that land; and the promise is evidently equivalent to saying that it would be conferred on the family of Abraham, or the family of which he was the father, without affirming that "he" would himself personally possess it. It is true, however, that Abraham himself afterward dwelt many years in that land as his home, Genesis 13, etc.

For a possession - To be held as his own property.

When as yet he had no child - When there was no human probability that he would have any posterity. Compare Genesis 15:2-3; Genesis 18:11-12. This is mentioned as a strong instance of his faith; "who against hope believed in hope," Romans 4:18.

Wesley's Acts 7:5 Bible Commentary

7:5 No, not to set his foot on - For the field mentioned, Acts 7:16 , he did not receive by a Divine donation, butbought it; even thereby showing that he was a stranger in the land.