12:1 Now the Lord said 1 to Abram, 2
“Go out 3 from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household
to the land that I will show you. 4
17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, 5 the Lord appeared to him and said, 6 “I am the sovereign God. 7 Walk 8 before me 9 and be blameless. 10 17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant 11 between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” 12
17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, 13 and God said to him, 14 17:4 “As for me, 15 this 16 is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 17:5 No longer will your name be 17 Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham 18 because I will make you 19 the father of a multitude of nations. 17:6 I will make you 20 extremely 21 fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. 22 17:7 I will confirm 23 my covenant as a perpetual 24 covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 25 17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing 26 – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent 27 possession. I will be their God.”
17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep 28 the covenantal requirement 29 I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: 30 Every male among you must be circumcised. 31 17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder 32 of the covenant between me and you. 17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old 33 must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. 17:13 They must indeed be circumcised, 34 whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant 35 will be visible in your flesh as a permanent 36 reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male 37 who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off 38 from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” 39
17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; 40 Sarah 41 will be her name. 17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. 42 Kings of countries 43 will come from her!”
17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed 44 as he said to himself, 45 “Can 46 a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? 47 Can Sarah 48 bear a child at the age of ninety?” 49 17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that 50 Ishmael might live before you!” 51
17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. 52 I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual 53 covenant for his descendants after him. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. 54 I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. 55 He will become the father of twelve princes; 56 I will make him into a great nation. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” 17:22 When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. 57
17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) 58 and circumcised them 59 on that very same day, just as God had told him to do. 17:24 Now Abraham was 99 years old 60 when he was circumcised; 61 17:25 his son Ishmael was thirteen years old 62 when he was circumcised. 17:26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the very same day. 17:27 All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham 63 by the oaks 64 of Mamre while 65 he was sitting at the entrance 66 to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham 67 looked up 68 and saw 69 three men standing across 70 from him. When he saw them 71 he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low 72 to the ground. 73
18:3 He said, “My lord, 74 if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. 75 18:4 Let a little water be brought so that 76 you may all 77 wash your feet and rest under the tree. 18:5 And let me get 78 a bit of food 79 so that you may refresh yourselves 80 since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” 81 “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”
18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take 82 three measures 83 of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” 84 18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, 85 who quickly prepared it. 86 18:8 Abraham 87 then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food 88 before them. They ate while 89 he was standing near them under a tree.
18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, 90 in the tent.” 18:10 One of them 91 said, “I will surely return 92 to you when the season comes round again, 93 and your wife Sarah will have a son!” 94 (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. 95 18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; 96 Sarah had long since passed menopause.) 97 18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, 98 “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, 99 especially when my husband is old too?” 100
18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why 101 did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really 102 have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible 103 for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” 104 18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” 105
18:16 When the men got up to leave, 106 they looked out over 107 Sodom. (Now 108 Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) 109 18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 110 18:18 After all, Abraham 111 will surely become 112 a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 113 using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him 114 so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep 115 the way of the Lord by doing 116 what is right and just. Then the Lord will give 117 to Abraham what he promised 118 him.”
18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against 119 Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant 120 18:21 that I must go down 121 and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. 122 If not, 123 I want to know.”
18:22 The two men turned 124 and headed 125 toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 126 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 127 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 128 of the whole earth do what is right?” 129
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 130 (although I am but dust and ashes), 131 18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy 132 the whole city because five are lacking?” 133 He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
18:29 Abraham 134 spoke to him again, 135 “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
18:30 Then Abraham 136 said, “May the Lord not be angry 137 so that I may speak! 138 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
18:31 Abraham 139 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 140 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 141 when he had finished speaking 142 to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. 143
1 sn The
2 tn The call of Abram begins with an imperative לֶךְ־לְךָ (lekh-lÿkha, “go out”) followed by three cohortatives (v. 2a) indicating purpose or consequence (“that I may” or “then I will”). If Abram leaves, then God will do these three things. The second imperative (v. 2b, literally “and be a blessing”) is subordinated to the preceding cohortatives and indicates God’s ultimate purpose in calling and blessing Abram. On the syntactical structure of vv. 1-2 see R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 37. For a similar sequence of volitive forms see Gen 45:18.
3 tn The initial command is the direct imperative (לֶךְ, lekh) from the verb הָלַךְ (halakh). It is followed by the lamed preposition with a pronominal suffix (לְךָ, lÿkha) emphasizing the subject of the imperative: “you leave.”
4 sn To the land that I will show you. The call of Abram illustrates the leading of the
5 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
6 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.
7 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
8 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.”
9 tn Or “in my presence.”
10 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
9 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the
10 tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
13 tn Heb “And Abram fell on his face.” This expression probably means that Abram sank to his knees and put his forehead to the ground, although it is possible that he completely prostrated himself. In either case the posture indicates humility and reverence.
14 tn Heb “God spoke to him, saying.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
17 tn Heb “I.”
18 tn Heb “is” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).
21 tn Heb “will your name be called.”
22 sn Your name will be Abraham. The renaming of Abram was a sign of confirmation to the patriarch. Every time the name was used it would be a reminder of God’s promise. “Abram” means “exalted father,” probably referring to Abram’s father Terah. The name looks to the past; Abram came from noble lineage. The name “Abraham” is a dialectical variant of the name Abram. But its significance is in the wordplay with אַב־הֲמוֹן (’av-hamon, “the father of a multitude,” which sounds like אַבְרָהָם, ’avraham, “Abraham”). The new name would be a reminder of God’s intention to make Abraham the father of a multitude. For a general discussion of renaming, see O. Eissfeldt, “Renaming in the Old Testament,” Words and Meanings, 70-83.
23 tn The perfect verbal form is used here in a rhetorical manner to emphasize God’s intention.
25 tn This verb starts a series of perfect verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive to express God’s intentions.
26 tn Heb “exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
27 tn Heb “and I will make you into nations, and kings will come out from you.”
29 tn The verb קוּם (qum, “to arise, to stand up”) in the Hiphil verbal stem means “to confirm, to give effect to, to carry out” (i.e., a covenant or oath; see BDB 878-79 s.v. קוּם).
30 tn Or “as an eternal.”
31 tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”
33 tn The verbal root is גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to reside temporarily,” i.e., as a resident alien). It is the land in which Abram resides, but does not yet possess as his very own.
34 tn Or “as an eternal.”
37 tn The imperfect tense could be translated “you shall keep” as a binding command; but the obligatory nuance (“must”) captures the binding sense better.
38 tn Heb “my covenant.” The Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) can refer to (1) the agreement itself between two parties (see v. 7), (2) the promise made by one party to another (see vv. 2-3, 7), (3) an obligation placed by one party on another, or (4) a reminder of the agreement. In vv. 9-10 the word refers to a covenantal obligation which God gives to Abraham and his descendants.
41 tn Heb “This is my covenant that you must keep between me and you and your descendants after you.”
42 sn For a discussion of male circumcision as the sign of the covenant in this passage see M. V. Fox, “The Sign of the Covenant: Circumcision in the Light of the Priestly ‘ot Etiologies,” RB 81 (1974): 557-96.
45 tn Or “sign.”
49 tn Heb “the son of eight days.”
53 tn The emphatic construction employs the Niphal imperfect tense (collective singular) and the Niphal infinitive.
54 tn Heb “my covenant.” Here in v. 13 the Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) refers to the outward, visible sign, or reminder, of the covenant. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.
55 tn Or “an eternal.”
57 tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.
58 tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
59 tn Heb “he has broken my covenant.” The noun בְּרִית (bÿrit) here refers to the obligation required by God in conjunction with the covenantal agreement. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.
61 tn Heb “[As for] Sarai your wife, you must not call her name Sarai, for Sarah [will be] her name.”
62 sn Sarah. The name change seems to be a dialectical variation, both spellings meaning “princess” or “queen.” Like the name Abram, the name Sarai symbolized the past. The new name Sarah, like the name Abraham, would be a reminder of what God intended to do for Sarah in the future.
65 tn Heb “she will become nations.”
66 tn Heb “peoples.”
69 sn Laughed. The Hebrew verb used here provides the basis for the naming of Isaac: “And he laughed” is וַיִּצְחָק (vayyitskhaq); the name “Isaac” is יִצְחָק (yitskhaq), “he laughs.” Abraham’s (and Sarah’s, see 18:12) laughter signals disbelief, but when the boy is born, the laughter signals surprise and joy.
70 tn Heb “And he fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart.”
71 tn The imperfect verbal form here carries a potential nuance, as it expresses the disbelief of Abraham.
72 tn Heb “to the son of a hundred years.”
73 sn It is important to note that even though Abraham staggers at the announcement of the birth of a son, finding it almost too incredible, he nonetheless calls his wife Sarah, the new name given to remind him of the promise of God (v. 15).
74 tn Heb “the daughter of ninety years.”
73 tn The wish is introduced with the Hebrew particle לוּ (lu), “O that.”
74 tn Or “live with your blessing.”
77 tn Heb “will call his name Isaac.” The name means “he laughs,” or perhaps “may he laugh” (see the note on the word “laughed” in v. 17).
78 tn Or “as an eternal.”
81 sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.
82 tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.
83 tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.
85 tn Heb “And when he finished speaking with him, God went up from Abraham.” The sequence of pronouns and proper names has been modified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
89 tn Heb “Ishmael his son and all born in his house and all bought with money, every male among the men of the house of Abraham.”
90 tn Heb “circumcised the flesh of their foreskin.” The Hebrew expression is somewhat pleonastic and has been simplified in the translation.
93 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
94 tn Heb “circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin” (also in v. 25).
97 tn Heb “the son of thirteen years.”
101 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
102 tn Or “terebinths.”
103 tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.
104 tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.
105 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
106 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
107 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.
108 tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.
109 tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
110 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).
111 sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the
109 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
110 tn Heb “do not pass by from upon your servant.”
113 tn The imperative after the jussive indicates purpose here.
114 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.
117 tn The Qal cohortative here probably has the nuance of polite request.
118 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.
119 tn Heb “strengthen your heart.” The imperative after the cohortative indicates purpose here.
120 tn Heb “so that you may refresh yourselves, after [which] you may be on your way – for therefore you passed by near your servant.”
121 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.
122 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.
123 sn The bread was the simple, round bread made by bedouins that is normally prepared quickly for visitors.
125 tn Heb “the young man.”
126 tn The construction uses the Piel preterite, “he hurried,” followed by the infinitive construct; the two probably form a verbal hendiadys: “he quickly prepared.”
129 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
130 tn The words “the food” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
131 tn The disjunctive clause is a temporal circumstantial clause subordinate to the main verb.
133 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) often accompanies a gesture of pointing or a focused gaze.
137 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
138 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.
139 tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.
140 tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”
141 tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).
141 tn Heb “days.”
142 tn Heb “it had ceased to be for Sarah [after] a way like women.”
145 tn Heb “saying.”
146 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.
147 tn The word “too” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
149 tn Heb “Why, this?” The demonstrative pronoun following the interrogative pronoun is enclitic, emphasizing the
150 tn The Hebrew construction uses both הַאַף (ha’af) and אֻמְנָם (’umnam): “Indeed, truly, will I have a child?”
153 tn The Hebrew verb פָּלָא (pala’) means “to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be surpassing, to be amazing.”
154 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
157 tn Heb “And he said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’” The referent (the
161 tn Heb “And the men arose from there.”
162 tn Heb “toward the face of.”
163 tn The disjunctive parenthetical clause sets the stage for the following speech.
164 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.
165 tn The active participle here refers to an action that is imminent.
169 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?”
170 tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.
171 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.
173 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
174 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”).
175 tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the
176 tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.
177 tn Heb “spoke to.”
177 tn Heb “the outcry of Sodom,” which apparently refers to the outcry for divine justice from those (unidentified persons) who observe its sinful ways.
178 tn Heb “heavy.”
181 tn The cohortative indicates the
182 tn Heb “[if] according to the outcry that has come to me they have done completely.” Even the
183 sn The short phrase if not provides a ray of hope and inspires Abraham’s intercession.
185 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
186 tn Heb “went.”
187 tc An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition reads “but the
189 tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).
193 tn Or “ruler.”
194 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.
197 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 30, 31, 32 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
198 tn The disjunctive clause is a concessive clause here, drawing out the humility as a contrast to the
201 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.
202 tn Heb “because of five.”
205 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
206 tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys – the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”
209 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
210 tn Heb “let it not be hot to the
211 tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.
213 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
217 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
221 tn Heb “And the
222 tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”
223 tn Heb “to his place.”