Genesis 18:2

18:2 Abraham ¹  looked up ²  and saw ³  three men standing across ⁴  from him. When he saw them ⁵  he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low ⁶  to the ground. ⁷ 

Genesis 19:1

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while ⁸  Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. ⁹  When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.

Genesis 33:3-7

33:3 But Jacob ¹⁰  himself went on ahead of them, and he bowed toward the ground seven times as he approached ¹¹  his brother. 33:4 But Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they both wept. 33:5 When Esau ¹²  looked up ¹³  and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob ¹⁴  replied, “The children whom God has graciously given ¹⁵  your servant.” 33:6 The female servants came forward with their children and bowed down. ¹⁶  33:7 Then Leah came forward with her children and they bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

³ 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.

⁴ tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.

⁵ tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.

⁶ 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).

⁷ sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the Lord and two angels (see Gen 19:1). It is not certain how soon Abraham recognized the true identity of the visitors. His actions suggest he suspected this was something out of the ordinary, though it is possible that his lavish treatment of the visitors was done quite unwittingly. Bowing down to the ground would be reserved for obeisance of kings or worship of the Lord. Whether he was aware of it or not, Abraham’s action was most appropriate.

⁸ tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.

⁹ tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.

¹⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ tn Heb “until his drawing near unto his brother.” The construction uses the preposition with the infinitive construct to express a temporal clause.

¹² tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹³ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵ tn The Hebrew verb means “to be gracious; to show favor”; here it carries the nuance “to give graciously.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “and the female servants drew near, they and their children and they bowed down.”