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
11:8 So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building 87 the city. 11:9 That is why its name was called 88 Babel 89 – because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth.
16:13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” 90 for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!” 91
17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, 92 the Lord appeared to him and said, 93 “I am the sovereign God. 94 Walk 95 before me 96 and be blameless. 97
18:33 The Lord went on his way 98 when he had finished speaking 99 to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. 100
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 Heb “and one lip to all of them.”
83 tn Heb “and now.” The foundational clause beginning with הֵן (hen) expresses the condition, and the second clause the result. It could be rendered “If this…then now.”
84 tn Heb “all that they purpose to do will not be withheld from them.”
85 tn The cohortatives mirror the cohortatives of the people. They build to ascend the heavens; God comes down to destroy their language. God speaks here to his angelic assembly. See the notes on the word “make” in 1:26 and “know” in 3:5, as well as Jub. 10:22-23, where an angel recounts this incident and says “And the
86 tn Heb “they will not hear, a man the lip of his neighbor.”
87 tn The infinitive construct לִבְנֹת (livnot, “building”) here serves as the object of the verb “they ceased, stopped,” answering the question of what they stopped doing.
88 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so can be rendered as a passive in the translation.
89 sn Babel. Here is the climax of the account, a parody on the pride of Babylon. In the Babylonian literature the name bab-ili meant “the gate of God,” but in Hebrew it sounds like the word for “confusion,” and so retained that connotation. The name “Babel” (בָּבֶל, bavel) and the verb translated “confused” (בָּלַל, balal) form a paronomasia (sound play). For the many wordplays and other rhetorical devices in Genesis, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).
90 tn Heb “God of my seeing.” The pronominal suffix may be understood either as objective (“who sees me,” as in the translation) or subjective (“whom I see”).
91 tn Heb “after one who sees me.”
92 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
93 tn Heb “appeared to Abram and said to him.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) and the final phrase “to him” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
94 tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain (see discussion below) its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. In Gen 17:1-8 he appeared to Abram, introduced himself as El Shaddai, and announced his intention to make the patriarch fruitful. In the role of El Shaddai God repeated these words (now elevated to the status of a decree) to Jacob (35:11). Earlier Isaac had pronounced a blessing on Jacob in which he asked El Shaddai to make Jacob fruitful (28:3). Jacob later prayed that his sons would be treated with mercy when they returned to Egypt with Benjamin (43:14). The fertility theme is not as apparent here, though one must remember that Jacob viewed Benjamin as the sole remaining son of the favored and once-barren Rachel (see 29:31; 30:22-24; 35:16-18). It is quite natural that he would appeal to El Shaddai to preserve Benjamin’s life, for it was El Shaddai’s miraculous power which made it possible for Rachel to give him sons in the first place. In 48:3 Jacob, prior to blessing Joseph’s sons, told him how El Shaddai appeared to him at Bethel (see Gen 28) and promised to make him fruitful. When blessing Joseph on his deathbed Jacob referred to Shaddai (we should probably read “El Shaddai,” along with a few Hebrew
95 tn Or “Live out your life.” The Hebrew verb translated “walk” is the Hitpael; it means “to walk back and forth; to walk about; to live out one’s life.”
96 tn Or “in my presence.”
97 tn There are two imperatives here: “walk…and be blameless [or “perfect”].” The second imperative may be purely sequential (see the translation) or consequential: “walk before me and then you will be blameless.” How one interprets the sequence depends on the meaning of “walk before”: (1) If it simply refers in a neutral way to serving the
98 tn Heb “And the
99 tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”
100 tn Heb “to his place.”
101 tn The preterite with the vav (ו) is subordinated as a temporal clause to the main point of the verse, that God called to him. The language is anthropomorphic, as if God’s actions were based on his observing what Moses did.
102 tn The particle כִּי (ki, “that”) introduces the noun clause that functions as the direct object of the verb “saw” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 81, §490).
103 sn The repetition of the name in God’s call is emphatic, making the appeal direct and immediate (see also Gen 22:11; 46:2). The use of the personal name shows how specifically God directed the call and that he knew this person. The repetition may have stressed even more that it was indeed he whom the
104 tn Heb “And he said”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
105 tn Heb “And he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
106 sn Even though the
107 sn The word קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh, “holy”) indicates “set apart, distinct, unique.” What made a mountain or other place holy was the fact that God chose that place to reveal himself or to reside among his people. Because God was in this place, the ground was different – it was holy.
108 tn The causal clause includes within it a typical relative clause, which is made up of the relative pronoun, then the independent personal pronoun with the participle, and then the preposition with the resumptive pronoun. It would literally be “which you are standing on it,” but the relative pronoun and the resumptive pronoun are combined and rendered, “on which you are standing.”
109 sn This self-revelation by Yahweh prepares for the revelation of the holy name. While no verb is used here, the pronoun and the predicate nominative are a construction used throughout scripture to convey the “I
110 tn The clause uses the Hiphil infinitive construct with a preposition after the perfect tense: יָרֵא מֵהַבִּיט (yare’ mehabbit, “he was afraid from gazing”) meaning “he was afraid to gaze.” The preposition min (מִן) is used before infinitives after verbs like the one to complete the verb (see BDB 583 s.v. 7b).
111 tn The participle ἀγαθουργῶν (agaqourgwn) is regarded as indicating means here, parallel to the following participles διδούς (didou") and ἐμπιπλῶν (empiplwn). This is the easiest way to understand the Greek structure. Semantically, the first participle is a general statement, followed by two participles giving specific examples of doing good.
112 tn Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
113 tn Grk “satisfying [filling] your hearts with food and joy.” This is an idiomatic expression; it strikes the English reader as strange to speak of “filling one’s heart with food.” Thus the additional direct object “you” has been supplied, separating the two expressions somewhat: “satisfying you with food and your hearts with joy.”
114 sn God’s general sovereignty and gracious care in the creation are the way Paul introduces the theme of the goodness of God. He was trying to establish monotheism here. It is an OT theme (Gen 8:22; Ps 4:7; 145:15-16; 147:8-9; Isa 25:6; Jer 5:24) which also appears in the NT (Luke 12:22-34).
115 tn Grk “all the things that are in it.” The speech starts with God as Creator, like 14:15.
116 tn Or “because he is.” The participle ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) could be either adjectival, modifying οὗτος (Joutos, “who is Lord…”) or adverbial of cause (“because he is Lord…”). Since the participle διδούς (didou") in v. 25 appears to be clearly causal in force, it is preferable to understand ὑπάρχων as adjectival in this context.
117 sn On the statement does not live in temples made by human hands compare Acts 7:48. This has implications for idols as well. God cannot be represented by them or, as the following clause also suggests, served by human hands.
118 tn L&N 57.45 has “nor does he need anything more that people can supply by working for him.”
119 tn Grk “he himself gives to all [people] life and breath and all things.”
120 sn The one man refers to Adam (the word “man” is understood).
121 tn Or “mankind.” BDAG 276 s.v. ἔθνος 1 has “every nation of humankind Ac 17:26.”
122 tn Grk “to live over all the face of the earth.”
123 tn BDAG 884-85 s.v. προστάσσω has “(οἱ) προστεταγμένοι καιροί (the) fixed times Ac 17:26” here, but since the following phrase is also translated “fixed limits,” this would seem redundant in English, so the word “set” has been used instead.
124 tn Grk “the boundaries of their habitation.” L&N 80.5 has “fixed limits of the places where they would live” for this phrase.
125 tn See BDAG 1097-98 s.v. ψηλαφάω, which lists “touch, handle” and “to feel around for, grope for” as possible meanings.
126 sn Perhaps grope around for him and find him. The pagans’ struggle to know God is the point here. Conscience alone is not good enough.
127 tn The participle ὑπάρχοντα (Juparconta) has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.
128 tn Grk “who being…and sustaining.” Heb 1:1-4 form one skillfully composed sentence in Greek, but it must be broken into shorter segments to correspond to contemporary English usage, which does not allow for sentences of this length and complexity.
129 tn Grk “by the word of his power.”
130 sn An allusion to Ps 110:1, quoted often in Hebrews.