18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham 1 by the oaks 2 of Mamre while 3 he was sitting at the entrance 4 to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham 5 looked up 6 and saw 7 three men standing across 8 from him. When he saw them 9 he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low 10 to the ground. 11
18:3 He said, “My lord, 12 if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. 13 18:4 Let a little water be brought so that 14 you may all 15 wash your feet and rest under the tree. 18:5 And let me get 16 a bit of food 17 so that you may refresh yourselves 18 since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” 19 “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”
18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take 20 three measures 21 of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” 22 18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, 23 who quickly prepared it. 24 18:8 Abraham 25 then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food 26 before them. They ate while 27 he was standing near them under a tree.
18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, 28 in the tent.” 18:10 One of them 29 said, “I will surely return 30 to you when the season comes round again, 31 and your wife Sarah will have a son!” 32 (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. 33 18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; 34 Sarah had long since passed menopause.) 35 18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, 36 “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, 37 especially when my husband is old too?” 38
18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why 39 did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really 40 have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible 41 for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” 42 18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” 43
18:16 When the men got up to leave, 44 they looked out over 45 Sodom. (Now 46 Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) 47 18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 48 18:18 After all, Abraham 49 will surely become 50 a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 51 using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him 52 so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep 53 the way of the Lord by doing 54 what is right and just. Then the Lord will give 55 to Abraham what he promised 56 him.”
18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against 57 Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant 58 18:21 that I must go down 59 and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. 60 If not, 61 I want to know.”
18:22 The two men turned 62 and headed 63 toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 64 18:23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare 65 the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge 66 of the whole earth do what is right?” 67
18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
18:27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord 68 (although I am but dust and ashes), 69 18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy 70 the whole city because five are lacking?” 71 He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
18:29 Abraham 72 spoke to him again, 73 “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
18:30 Then Abraham 74 said, “May the Lord not be angry 75 so that I may speak! 76 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
18:31 Abraham 77 said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
18:32 Finally Abraham 78 said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
18:33 The Lord went on his way 79 when he had finished speaking 80 to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. 81
3:16 To the woman he said,
“I will greatly increase 82 your labor pains; 83
with pain you will give birth to children.
You will want to control your husband, 84
but he will dominate 85 you.”
3:18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
but you will eat the grain 86 of the field.
2:7 The king says, 87 “I will announce the Lord’s decree. He said to me: 88
‘You are my son! 89 This very day I have become your father!
1:5 For to which of the angels did God 94 ever say, “You are my son! Today I have fathered you”? 95 And in another place 96 he says, 97 “I will be his father and he will be my son.” 98
5:1 For every high priest is taken from among the people 101 and appointed 102 to represent them before God, 103 to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.
1 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Or “terebinths.”
3 tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.
4 tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.
5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
7 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to what he saw. The drawn-out description focuses the reader’s attention on Abraham’s deliberate, fixed gaze and indicates that what he is seeing is significant.
8 tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.
9 tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
10 tn The form וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ (vayyishtakhu, “and bowed low”) is from the verb הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtakhavah, “to worship, bow low to the ground”). It is probably from a root חָוָה (khavah), though some derive it from שָׁחָה (shakhah).
11 sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the
12 tc The MT has the form אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Master”) which is reserved for God. This may reflect later scribal activity. The scribes, knowing it was the
13 tn Heb “do not pass by from upon your servant.”
14 tn The imperative after the jussive indicates purpose here.
15 tn The word “all” has been supplied in the translation because the Hebrew verb translated “wash” and the pronominal suffix on the word “feet” are plural, referring to all three of the visitors.
16 tn The Qal cohortative here probably has the nuance of polite request.
17 tn Heb “a piece of bread.” The Hebrew word לֶחֶם (lekhem) can refer either to bread specifically or to food in general. Based on Abraham’s directions to Sarah in v. 6, bread was certainly involved, but v. 7 indicates that Abraham had a more elaborate meal in mind.
18 tn Heb “strengthen your heart.” The imperative after the cohortative indicates purpose here.
19 tn Heb “so that you may refresh yourselves, after [which] you may be on your way – for therefore you passed by near your servant.”
20 tn The word “take” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the sentence lacks a verb other than the imperative “hurry.” The elliptical structure of the language reflects Abraham’s haste to get things ready quickly.
21 sn Three measures (Heb “three seahs”) was equivalent to about twenty quarts (twenty-two liters) of flour, which would make a lot of bread. The animal prepared for the meal was far more than the three visitors needed. This was a banquet for royalty. Either it had been a lonely time for Abraham and the presence of visitors made him very happy, or he sensed this was a momentous visit.
22 sn The bread was the simple, round bread made by bedouins that is normally prepared quickly for visitors.
23 tn Heb “the young man.”
24 tn The construction uses the Piel preterite, “he hurried,” followed by the infinitive construct; the two probably form a verbal hendiadys: “he quickly prepared.”
25 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26 tn The words “the food” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
27 tn The disjunctive clause is a temporal circumstantial clause subordinate to the main verb.
28 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) often accompanies a gesture of pointing or a focused gaze.
29 tn Heb “he”; the referent (one of the three men introduced in v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some English translations have specified the referent as the
30 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.
31 tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.
32 tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”
33 tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).
34 tn Heb “days.”
35 tn Heb “it had ceased to be for Sarah [after] a way like women.”
36 tn Heb “saying.”
37 tn It has been suggested that this word should be translated “conception,” not “pleasure.” See A. A. McIntosh, “A Third Root ‘adah in Biblical Hebrew,” VT 24 (1974): 454-73.
38 tn The word “too” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
39 tn Heb “Why, this?” The demonstrative pronoun following the interrogative pronoun is enclitic, emphasizing the
40 tn The Hebrew construction uses both הַאַף (ha’af) and אֻמְנָם (’umnam): “Indeed, truly, will I have a child?”
41 tn The Hebrew verb פָּלָא (pala’) means “to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be surpassing, to be amazing.”
42 sn Sarah will have a son. The passage brings God’s promise into clear focus. As long as it was a promise for the future, it really could be believed without much involvement. But now, when it seemed so impossible from the human standpoint, when the
43 tn Heb “And he said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’” The referent (the
44 tn Heb “And the men arose from there.”
45 tn Heb “toward the face of.”
46 tn The disjunctive parenthetical clause sets the stage for the following speech.
47 tn The Piel of שָׁלַח (shalakh) means “to lead out, to send out, to expel”; here it is used in the friendly sense of seeing the visitors on their way.
48 tn The active participle here refers to an action that is imminent.
49 tn Heb “And Abraham.” The disjunctive clause is probably causal, giving a reason why God should not hide his intentions from Abraham. One could translate, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation?”
50 tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.
51 tn Theoretically the Niphal can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Abram were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in later formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless [i.e., “pronounce blessings upon”] themselves [or “one another”].” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 18:18 (like 12:2) predicts that Abraham will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.
52 tn Heb “For I have known him.” The verb יָדַע (yada’) here means “to recognize and treat in a special manner, to choose” (see Amos 3:2). It indicates that Abraham stood in a special covenantal relationship with the
53 tn Heb “and they will keep.” The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the subjective nuance of the preceding imperfect verbal form (translated “so that he may command”).
54 tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the
55 tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.
56 tn Heb “spoke to.”
57 tn Heb “the outcry of Sodom,” which apparently refers to the outcry for divine justice from those (unidentified persons) who observe its sinful ways.
58 tn Heb “heavy.”
59 tn The cohortative indicates the
60 tn Heb “[if] according to the outcry that has come to me they have done completely.” Even the
61 sn The short phrase if not provides a ray of hope and inspires Abraham’s intercession.
62 tn Heb “And the men turned from there.” The word “two” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied here for clarity. Gen 19:1 mentions only two individuals (described as “angels”), while Abraham had entertained three visitors (18:2). The implication is that the
63 tn Heb “went.”
64 tc An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition reads “but the
65 tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).
66 tn Or “ruler.”
67 sn Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right? For discussion of this text see J. L. Crenshaw, “Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel,” ZAW 82 (1970): 380-95, and C. S. Rodd, “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?” ExpTim 83 (1972): 137-39.
68 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 30, 31, 32 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
69 tn The disjunctive clause is a concessive clause here, drawing out the humility as a contrast to the
70 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.
71 tn Heb “because of five.”
72 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
73 tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys – the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”
74 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
75 tn Heb “let it not be hot to the
76 tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.
77 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
78 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
79 tn Heb “And the
80 tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”
81 tn Heb “to his place.”
82 tn The imperfect verb form is emphasized and intensified by the infinitive absolute from the same verb.
83 tn Heb “your pain and your conception,” suggesting to some interpreters that having a lot of children was a result of the judgment (probably to make up for the loss through death). But the next clause shows that the pain is associated with conception and childbirth. The two words form a hendiadys (where two words are joined to express one idea, like “good and angry” in English), the second explaining the first. “Conception,” if the correct meaning of the noun, must be figurative here since there is no pain in conception; it is a synecdoche, representing the entire process of childbirth and child rearing from the very start. However, recent etymological research suggests the noun is derived from a root הרר (hrr), not הרה (hrh), and means “trembling, pain” (see D. Tsumura, “A Note on הרוֹן (Gen 3,16),” Bib 75 [1994]: 398-400). In this case “pain and trembling” refers to the physical effects of childbirth. The word עִצְּבוֹן (’itsÿvon, “pain”), an abstract noun related to the verb (עָצַב, ’atsav), includes more than physical pain. It is emotional distress as well as physical pain. The same word is used in v. 17 for the man’s painful toil in the field.
84 tn Heb “and toward your husband [will be] your desire.” The nominal sentence does not have a verb; a future verb must be supplied, because the focus of the oracle is on the future struggle. The precise meaning of the noun תְּשׁוּקָה (tÿshuqah, “desire”) is debated. Many interpreters conclude that it refers to sexual desire here, because the subject of the passage is the relationship between a wife and her husband, and because the word is used in a romantic sense in Song 7:11 HT (7:10 ET). However, this interpretation makes little sense in Gen 3:16. First, it does not fit well with the assertion “he will dominate you.” Second, it implies that sexual desire was not part of the original creation, even though the man and the woman were told to multiply. And third, it ignores the usage of the word in Gen 4:7 where it refers to sin’s desire to control and dominate Cain. (Even in Song of Songs it carries the basic idea of “control,” for it describes the young man’s desire to “have his way sexually” with the young woman.) In Gen 3:16 the
85 tn The Hebrew verb מָשַׁל (mashal) means “to rule over,” but in a way that emphasizes powerful control, domination, or mastery. This also is part of the baser human nature. The translation assumes the imperfect verb form has an objective/indicative sense here. Another option is to understand it as having a modal, desiderative nuance, “but he will want to dominate you.” In this case, the
86 tn The Hebrew term עֵשֶׂב (’esev), when referring to human food, excludes grass (eaten by cattle) and woody plants like vines.
87 tn The words “the king says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The speaker is the Lord’s chosen king.
88 tn Or “I will relate the decree. The
89 sn ‘You are my son!’ The Davidic king was viewed as God’s “son” (see 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 89:26-27). The idiom reflects ancient Near Eastern adoption language associated with covenants of grant, by which a lord would reward a faithful subject by elevating him to special status, referred to as “sonship.” Like a son, the faithful subject received an “inheritance,” viewed as an unconditional, eternal gift. Such gifts usually took the form of land and/or an enduring dynasty. See M. Weinfeld, “The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament and in the Ancient Near East,” JAOS 90 (1970): 184-203, for general discussion and some striking extra-biblical parallels.
90 tn Grk “that this”; the referent (the promise mentioned in the previous verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
91 tn Or “by resurrecting.” The participle ἀναστήσας (anasthsa") is taken as instrumental here.
92 sn You are my Son. The key to how the quotation is used is the naming of Jesus as “Son” to the Father. The language is that of kingship, as Ps 2 indicates. Here is the promise about what the ultimate Davidic heir would be.
93 tn Grk “I have begotten you.” The traditional translation for γεγέννηκα (gegennhka, “begotten”) is misleading to the modern English reader because it is no longer in common use. Today one speaks of “fathering” a child in much the same way speakers of English formerly spoke of “begetting a child.”
94 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
95 tn Grk “I have begotten you.”
96 tn Grk “And again,” quoting another OT passage.
97 tn The words “he says” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to make a complete English sentence. In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence, but English does not normally employ such long and complex sentences.
98 tn Grk “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me.”
99 tn Grk “the one”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
100 tn Grk “I have begotten you”; see Heb 1:5.
101 tn Grk “from among men,” but since the point in context is shared humanity (rather than shared maleness), the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) has been translated “people.”
102 tn Grk “who is taken from among people is appointed.”
103 tn Grk “appointed on behalf of people in reference to things relating to God.”