18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take 1 three measures 2 of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” 3
18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, 4 in the tent.” 18:10 One of them 5 said, “I will surely return 6 to you when the season comes round again, 7 and your wife Sarah will have a son!” 8 (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. 9
1 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.
2 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.
3 sn The bread was the simple, round bread made by bedouins that is normally prepared quickly for visitors.
4 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) often accompanies a gesture of pointing or a focused gaze.
5 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
6 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.
7 tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.
8 tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”
9 tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).