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.

And he gave him no inheritance in it; no, not the pace of a foot: but he promised to give it him in possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

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.

and He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a footstep, and did promise to give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, he having no child.

But he gave him no inheritance in it, no, not a single square yard of ground. And yet He promised to bestow the land as a permanent possession on him and his posterity after him - and promised this at a time when Abraham was childless.

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.

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 descendants after him, when he still had no child.

And he gave him no inheritance in it, not even the space of one step. But he promised to give it to him as a possession, and to his offspring after him, though he did not have a son.

God did not at that time give him any part of it, not even a foot of ground. But he promised to give him possession of it and his descendants after him, though at that time he had no child.

[First,] For Abraham possessed not one foot's-breadth, save only that which he bought to bury in. And that is counted no possession which serveth not for the uses of this life. Secondly, forasmuch as that field was bought, Stephen doth for good causes say, that God gave Abraham nothing. For that could not be gotten either with money, or by any other means which man could invent, which Abraham did hope for of the promise. Secondly, we must note, that though God did not show Abraham the thing itself as yet, yet did he uphold him by his word. And this is our stay, when God promiseth that that is laid up for us which as yet we possess not. Therefore, when as the thing, that is, the possession of the land, was wanting, Abraham had for his help and stay the promise of God; and being content with the same alone, he desired nothing in the land of Canaan save only an uncertain resting-place wherein he might sojourn. For as much as [epangellesthai] signifieth simply to promise, I thought there was no cause why, with Erasmus, I should translate it in this place, to promise again. For I resolve it adversatively, although he had promised, that by the way we may note as it were, a show of deceiving, [1] unless peradventure some man be disposed to apply it unto the promises which are oftentimes repeated. [2] Thirdly, we must note that the promise was such that it did not much differ from a mere mock. God promised the land to the seed of Abraham when he was fourscore years old, and had to wife one that was barren, neither had he any hope to have any issue. This seemeth to be more than frivolous. For why doth he not rather promise that he will give him seed? But this was a notable trial of faith, in that Abraham, without asking any question, or any curious disputation, did obediently and meekly embrace that which he had heard proceed out of the mouth of the Lord. Therefore, let us remember that God doth so lift up and comfort his servant with his word, that he doth not only defer the giving of the thing, [3] but also he may seem after a sort to mock him; as he dealeth with us also in some respect. For, although he call us the heirs of the world, (James 2:5,) he suffereth us oftentimes to want even a competent living and necessary helps. And this doth he of set purpose, that he may bring the wisdom of the flesh to nought, seeing that we do not otherwise give due honor to his word.

Footnotes

1 - "Ut oblique species frustrationis," that a species of frustration may be indirectly noted.

2 - "Quod liberum relinquo," I leave the point open, omitted.

3 - "Exhibitionem," the exhibition, or manifestation.

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.

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.

And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not [so much as] to (c) set his foot on: yet he (d) promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when [as yet] he had no child.
(c) Not enough ground to even set his foot upon.
(d) The promise of the possession was certain, and belonged to Abraham, though it was his posterity that enjoyed it a great while after his death: and this is the figure of speech synecdoche.

And he gave him none inheritance in it,.... To be personally enjoyed by him; and which was a great trial to Abraham's faith, to be brought out of his country, and into another land, and which was promised to him and his; and yet, as not the whole, so not a single part of it was given him to possess:
no, not so much as to set his foot on: so that when Sarah his wife died, he was obliged to buy a piece of ground for a burying place to bury her in: and which could not be said to be given him by the Lord, for he bought it with his money:
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; which was another exercise of Abraham's faith, that he should have a whole country promised him and his seed, and yet had no seed given him; see Genesis 12:7.

Gave him none inheritance in it. Abraham possessed Canaan only by faith. He looked to the fulfillment of the promise, that it would be the possession of his children when he had neither land nor seed. See Hebrews 11:8-16.

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