Advanced Commentary
Texts -- Genesis 18:20 (NET)
Pericope
NET
- Gen 18:16-33 -- Abraham Pleads for Sodom
Bible Dictionary
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ANGEL
[ebd] a word signifying, both in the Hebrew and Greek, a "messenger," and hence employed to denote any agent God sends forth to execute his purposes. It is used of an ordinary messenger (Job 1:14: 1 Sam. 11:3; Luke 7:24; 9:52), of...
[isbe] ANGEL - an'-jel (mal'akh; Septuagint and New Testament, aggelos): I. DEFINITION AND SCRIPTURE TERMS II. ANGELS IN OLD TESTAMENT 1. Nature, Appearances and Functions 2. The Angelic Host 3. The Angel of the Theophany III. ANGE...
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Gomorrah
[ebd] submersion, one of the five cities of the plain of Siddim (q.v.) which were destroyed by fire (Gen. 10:19; 13:10; 19:24, 28). These cities probably stood close together, and were near the northern extremity of what is now th...
[nave] GOMORRAH One of the "cities of the plain,'' Gen. 10:19; 13:10. Its king defeated by Chedorlaomer, Gen. 14:2, 8-11. Wickedness of, Gen. 18:20. Destroyed, Gen. 19:24-28; Deut. 29:23; 32:32; Isa. 1:9, 10; 13:19; Jer. 23:14; ...
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Sodom
[ebd] burning; the walled, a city in the vale of Siddim (Gen. 13:10; 14:1-16). The wickedness of its inhabitants brought down upon it fire from heaven, by which it was destroyed (18:16-33; 19:1-29; Deut. 23:17). This city and its ...
[nave] SODOM, called also Sodoma. Situated in the plain of the Jordan, Gen. 13:10. The southeastern limit of the Canaanites, Gen. 10:19. Lot dwells at, Gen. 13:12. King of, joins other kings of the nations resisting the invasion ...
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Communion
[ebd] fellowship with God (Gen. 18:17-33; Ex. 33:9-11; Num. 12:7, 8), between Christ and his people (John 14:23), by the Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14; Phil. 2:1), of believers with one another (Eph. 4:1-6). The Lord's Supper is so called ...
[nave] COMMUNION. With God Psa. 16:7; John 14:16-18, 23; 1 Cor. 10:16; 2 Cor. 6:16; 2 Cor. 13:14; Gal. 4:6; Phil. 2:1, 2; 1 John 1:3; Rev. 3:20 See: Fellowship. Instances of Enoch, Gen. 5:22, 24. Noah, Gen. 6:9, 13-22; 8:15-17...
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God
[nave] GOD. List of Sub-Topics Miscellany; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Access to; Compassion of; Creator; Creator of Mankind; Eternity of; Faithfulness of; Fatherhood of; Favor of; Foreknowledge of; Glory of; Goodness of...
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Sin
[nave] SIN. Index of Sub-Topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-Topics; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to, Defining, and Illustrating; Confession of; Consequences of, Entailed Upon Children; Conviction of; Forgiveness of; Fruits of; Kn...
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Condescension of God
[nave] CONDESCENSION OF GOD In reasoning with his creatures: Sets forth his reasons for sending the flood, Gen. 6:11-13. Enters into covenant with Abraham, Gen. 15:1-21; 18:1-22. Indulges Abraham's intercession for Sodom, Gen. 18...
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Wicked
[nave] WICKED Compared with: Abominable branches, Isa. 14:19; ashes under the feet, Mal. 4:3; bad fishes, Matt. 13:48; beasts, Psa. 49:12; 2 Pet. 2:12; the blind, Zeph. 1:17; Matt. 15:14; bronze and iron, Jer. 6:28; Ezek. 22:18; br...
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GENESIS, 1-2
[isbe] GENESIS, 1-2 - jen'-e-sis: I. GENERAL DATA 1. The Name 2. Survey of Contents 3. Connection with Succeeding Books II. COMPOSITION OF GENESIS IN GENERAL 1. Unity of the Biblical Text (1) The Toledhoth (2) Further Indication of...
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ETHICS, III
[isbe] ETHICS, III - III. Principles and Characteristics of Biblical Ethics. The sketch of the history of ethics just offered, brief as it necessarily is, may serve to indicate the ideas which have shaped modern thought and helped ...
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GOD, 2
[isbe] GOD, 2 - II. The Idea of God in the Old Testament. 1. Course of Its Development: Any attempt to write the whole history of the idea of God in the Old Testament would require a preliminary study of the literary and historical...
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ABRAHAM
[smith] (father of a multitude) was the son of Terah, and founder of the great Hebrew nation. (B.C. 1996-1822.) His family, a branch of the descendants of Shem, was settled in Ur of the Chaldees, beyond the Euphrates, where Abraham w...
Arts
Questions
- There is doubtless difficulty in reconciling the passage in Genesis 18 with the statement in John 1:18, that "No man hath seen God at any time." Authorities regarded the Genesis passage as relating to one of the "theophanies"...
- Good question. The Matthew text certainly seems to square with the Book of Jonah. In chapter 1 the pagan sailors become worshippers of God (1:16). In chapter 3 we see the whole city of Nineveh repenting (the sackcloth and ash...
- God is Spirit. His essential nature is spirit ("pneuma" John 4:24). Therefore, he cannot be seen by our eyes (John 1:18). Any language in the Bible that refers to someone seeing him (e.g., John 14:7 eorakate "seen, beheld") i...
- The main chapters in the Old and New Testament that deal with the issue of homosexuality are: Old Testament: Leviticus 18:22, 29; 20:13; Genesis 19 (see also Genesis 18 for the context and problem of unrighteousness that e...
- The term "amen" is a very biblical word and concept used inclusively in the Bible. The fact that it is similar in spelling and sound to the name of a long-forgotten Egyptian sun god (at least for all practical purposes) is of...
Sermon Illustrations
Resources/Books
Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)
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The events recorded in Genesis stretch historically from Creation to Joseph's death, a period of at least 2500 years. The first part of the book (ch. 1-11) is not as easy to date precisely as the second part (ch. 12-50). The ...
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Genesis provides the historical basis for the rest of the Bible and the Pentateuch, particularly the Abrahamic Covenant. Chapters 1-11 give historical background essential to understanding that covenant, and chapters 12-50 re...
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The structure of Genesis is very clear. The phrase "the generations of"(toledotin Hebrew, from yaladmeaning "to bear, to generate") occurs ten times (really eleven times since 36:9 repeats 36:1), and in each case it introduce...
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The Lord destroyed the corrupt, violent human race and deluged its world, but He used righteous Noah to preserve life and establish a new world after the Flood."Noah's experience presents decisively the author's assertion tha...
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"The Babel account (11:1-9) is not the end of early Genesis. If it were, the story would conclude on the sad note of human failure. But as with earlier events in Genesis 1-11, God's grace once again supersedes human sin, insu...
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One of the significant changes in the emphasis that occurs at this point in Genesis is from cursing in the primeval record to blessing in the patriarchal narratives. The Abrahamic Covenant is most important in this respect. H...
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A major theme of the Pentateuch is the partial fulfillment of the promises to the patriarchs. The promises in Genesis 12:1-3 and 7 are the fountainhead from which the rest of the Pentateuch flows.397Walter Kaiser labeled the ...
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"These verses are of fundamental importance for the theology of Genesis, for they serve to bind together the primeval history and the later patriarchal history and look beyond it to the subsequent history of the nation."414"W...
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12:1 This section begins with a wawdisjunctive in the Hebrew text translated "Now"in the NASB. It introduces an independent circumstantial clause (cf. 1:2). Probably the revelation in view happened in Ur. The NIV captures thi...
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The second crisis Abram faced arose because of a famine in Canaan. Abram chose to sojourn in the Nile Valley until it was past. In this incident Abram tried to pass Sarai off as his sister because he feared for his life. By d...
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Chapters 18 and 19 constitute one integrated story, but we shall consider it section by section. Like the Flood story, it has a chiastic structure this time focusing on the announcement of the destruction of Sodom (19:12-13)....
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After God reviewed the reasons for sharing His plans for the destruction of Sodom with Abraham, He told the patriarch that He was about to investigate the wicked condition of that city. This news moved Abraham to ask God to b...
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Chapters 18 and 19 "paint a vivid contrast between the respective patriarchal ancestors, Abraham and Lot, with an obvious moralistic intent (i.e., a demonstration that human initiatives--Lot's choice--always lead to catastrop...
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Abraham's purchase of a burial site in the Promised Land demonstrated his intention to remain in Canaan rather than going back to his native homeland. Since he was a sojourner in Canaan his friends probably expected him to bu...
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A new toledotbegins with 25:19. Its theme is "the acquisition of the blessing and its development and protection by the Lord."625Moses set up the whole Jacob narrative in a chiastic structure that emphasizes the fulfillment o...
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Aalders, Gerhard Charles. Genesis. The Bible Student's Commentary series. 2 vols. Translated by William Heynen. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas...
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The food Gideon offered his visitor was what a person would normally set before a guest one wished to honor in a special way in that culture. The Angel directed Gideon to place the food on the rock as though it was a sacrific...
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The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
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105:7-11 God remembered His people (v. 7, cf. v. 42) so His people should remember Him (v. 5). God had been faithful to the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12:1-3, 7; 15:18-21; 22:15-18; 28:13-15). He made this covenant with Abraham...
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16:44-47 Other people would quote the proverb, "Like mother, like daughter,"in regard to Jerusalem. She was like her Hittite "mother"who was also idolatrous and selfish. And she was like her older (larger) sister, Samaria, an...
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14:22 There were two members of the Twelve named Judas. The one who voiced this question was Judas the son or brother of James (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13). He is probably the same man as Thaddaeus (cf. Matt. 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19)....
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13:1 When love for Jesus Christ falters, love for the brethren normally flags as well (cf. Rom. 12:10; 1 Thess. 4:9-10; 1 Pet. 1:22; 2 Pet. 1:7; 1 John 2:9).13:2 Abraham entertained angels when he showed them hospitality (Gen...
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5:4 Some of James' readers were evidently getting rich by cheating their hired workers out of their fair wages (cf. Deut. 24:15). Cries for justice from these oppressed people had entered God's ears (cf. Gen. 4:5; 18:20-21). ...
Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)
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Genesis 18:16-33The first verse of this chapter says that the Lord appeared' unto Abraham, and then proceeds to tell that three men stood over against him,' thus indicating that these were, collectively, the manifestation of ...
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Genesis 18:16-33We have seen that the fruit of Abraham's faith was God's entrance into close covenant relations with him; or, as James puts it, It was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God.'...