Genesis 18:25

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 ¹  of the whole earth do what is right?” ² 

Genesis 18:2

18:2 Abraham ³  looked up ⁴  and saw ⁵  three men standing across ⁶  from him. When he saw them ⁷  he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low ⁸  to the ground. ⁹ 

Genesis 23:3

23:3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife ¹⁰  and said to the sons of Heth, ¹¹ 

Romans 3:5-7

3:5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates ¹²  the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is he? ¹³  (I am speaking in human terms.) ¹⁴  3:6 Absolutely not! For otherwise how could God judge the world? 3:7 For if by my lie the truth of God enhances ¹⁵  his glory, why am I still actually being judged as a sinner?

¹ tn Or “ruler.”

² 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.

³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

⁵ 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.

⁶ tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.

⁷ tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.

⁸ 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).

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ tn Heb “And Abraham arose from upon the face of his dead.”

¹¹ tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (also in vv. 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.

¹² tn Or “shows clearly.”

¹³ tn Grk “That God is not unjust to inflict wrath, is he?”

¹⁴ sn The same expression occurs in Gal 3:15, and similar phrases in Rom 6:19 and 1 Cor 9:8.

¹⁵ tn Grk “abounded unto.”