Genesis 15:10

15:10 So Abram ¹  took all these for him and then cut them in two ²  and placed each half opposite the other, ³  but he did not cut the birds in half.

Genesis 18:2

18:2 Abraham ⁴  looked up ⁵  and saw ⁶  three men standing across ⁷  from him. When he saw them ⁸  he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low ⁹  to the ground. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 19:1

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while ¹¹  Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. ¹²  When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.

Genesis 24:65

24:65 and asked ¹³  Abraham’s servant, ¹⁴  “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. ¹⁵  So she took her veil and covered herself.

Genesis 32:6

32:6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him.”

Genesis 46:29

46:29 Joseph harnessed his chariot and went up to meet his father Israel in Goshen. When he met him, ¹⁶  he hugged his neck and wept on his neck for quite some time.

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

² tn Heb “in the middle.”

³ tn Heb “to meet its neighbor.”

⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.

⁸ tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.

⁹ 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).

¹⁰ 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.

⁷ tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.

⁸ 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 she said to.”

¹¹ tn Heb “the servant.” The word “Abraham’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹² tn Heb “and the servant said.” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹³ tn Heb “and he appeared to him.”