Genesis 18:1-33

Three Special Visitors

18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham ¹  by the oaks ²  of Mamre while ³  he was sitting at the entrance ⁴  to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham ⁵  looked up ⁶  and saw ⁷  three men standing across ⁸  from him. When he saw them ⁹  he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low ¹⁰  to the ground. ¹¹ 

18:3 He said, “My lord, ¹²  if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. ¹³  18:4 Let a little water be brought so that ¹⁴  you may all ¹⁵  wash your feet and rest under the tree. 18:5 And let me get ¹⁶  a bit of food ¹⁷  so that you may refresh yourselves ¹⁸  since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” ¹⁹  “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”

18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take ²⁰  three measures ²¹  of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” ²²  18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, ²³  who quickly prepared it. ²⁴  18:8 Abraham ²⁵  then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food ²⁶  before them. They ate while ²⁷  he was standing near them under a tree.

18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, ²⁸  in the tent.” 18:10 One of them ²⁹  said, “I will surely return ³⁰  to you when the season comes round again, ³¹  and your wife Sarah will have a son!” ³²  (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. ³³  18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; ³⁴  Sarah had long since passed menopause.) ³⁵  18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, ³⁶  “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, ³⁷  especially when my husband is old too?” ³⁸ 

18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why ³⁹  did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really ⁴⁰  have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible ⁴¹  for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” ⁴²  18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” ⁴³ 

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

18:16 When the men got up to leave, ⁴⁴  they looked out over ⁴⁵  Sodom. (Now ⁴⁶  Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) ⁴⁷  18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? ⁴⁸  18:18 After all, Abraham ⁴⁹  will surely become ⁵⁰  a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ⁵¹  using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him ⁵²  so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep ⁵³  the way of the Lord by doing ⁵⁴  what is right and just. Then the Lord will give ⁵⁵  to Abraham what he promised ⁵⁶  him.”

18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against ⁵⁷  Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant ⁵⁸  18:21 that I must go down ⁵⁹  and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. ⁶⁰  If not, ⁶¹  I want to know.”

18:22 The two men turned ⁶²  and headed ⁶³  toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. ⁶⁴  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 ⁶⁵  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 ⁶⁶  of the whole earth do what is right?” ⁶⁷ 

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 ⁶⁸  (although I am but dust and ashes), ⁶⁹  18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy ⁷⁰  the whole city because five are lacking?” ⁷¹  He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

18:29 Abraham ⁷²  spoke to him again, ⁷³  “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”

18:30 Then Abraham ⁷⁴  said, “May the Lord not be angry ⁷⁵  so that I may speak! ⁷⁶  What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

18:31 Abraham ⁷⁷  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 ⁷⁸  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 ⁷⁹  when he had finished speaking ⁸⁰  to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. ⁸¹ 

Genesis 23:8

23:8 Then he said to them, “If you agree ⁸²  that I may bury my dead, ⁸³  then hear me out. ⁸⁴  Ask ⁸⁵  Ephron the son of Zohar

Genesis 31:8

31:8 If he said, ⁸⁶  ‘The speckled animals ⁸⁷  will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to speckled offspring. But if he said, ‘The streaked animals will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to streaked offspring.

Genesis 31:2

31:2 When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. ⁸⁸ 

Genesis 15:1

The Cutting of the Covenant

15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield ⁸⁹  and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” ⁹⁰ 

Genesis 17:6

17:6 I will make you ⁹¹  extremely ⁹²  fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. ⁹³ 

Genesis 17:23

17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) ⁹⁴  and circumcised them ⁹⁵  on that very same day, just as God had told him to do.

Genesis 18:1

Three Special Visitors

18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham ⁹⁶  by the oaks ⁹⁷  of Mamre while ⁹⁸  he was sitting at the entrance ⁹⁹  to his tent during the hottest time of the day.

[18:1]  ¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ² tn Or “terebinths.”

[18:1]  ³ tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.

[18:1]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.

[18:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

[18:2]  ⁷ 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.

[18:2]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.

[18:2]  ⁹ tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.

[18:2]  ¹⁰ 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).

[18:2]  ¹¹ 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.

[18:3]  ¹² 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 Lord, may have put the proper pointing with the word instead of the more common אֲדֹנִי (’adoni, “my master”).

[18:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “do not pass by from upon your servant.”

[18:4]  ¹⁴ tn The imperative after the jussive indicates purpose here.

[18:4]  ¹⁵ 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.

[18:5]  ¹⁶ tn The Qal cohortative here probably has the nuance of polite request.

[18:5]  ¹⁷ 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.

[18:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “strengthen your heart.” The imperative after the cohortative indicates purpose here.

[18:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “so that you may refresh yourselves, after [which] you may be on your way – for therefore you passed by near your servant.”

[18:6]  ²⁰ 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.

[18:6]  ²¹ 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.

[18:6]  ²² sn The bread was the simple, round bread made by bedouins that is normally prepared quickly for visitors.

[18:7]  ²³ tn Heb “the young man.”

[18:7]  ²⁴ tn The construction uses the Piel preterite, “he hurried,” followed by the infinitive construct; the two probably form a verbal hendiadys: “he quickly prepared.”

[18:8]  ²⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:8]  ²⁶ tn The words “the food” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.

[18:8]  ²⁷ tn The disjunctive clause is a temporal circumstantial clause subordinate to the main verb.

[18:9]  ²⁸ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) often accompanies a gesture of pointing or a focused gaze.

[18:10]  ²⁹ 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 Lord (cf. RSV, NIV) based on vv. 1, 13, but the Hebrew text merely has “he said” at this point, referring to one of the three visitors. Aside from the introductory statement in v. 1, the incident is narrated from Abraham’s point of view, and the suspense is built up for the reader as Abraham’s elaborate banquet preparations in the preceding verses suggest he suspects these are important guests. But not until the promise of a son later in this verse does it become clear who is speaking. In v. 13 the Hebrew text explicitly mentions the Lord.

[18:10]  ³⁰ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.

[18:10]  ³¹ tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.

[18:10]  ³² tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”

[18:10]  ³³ tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).

[18:11]  ³⁴ tn Heb “days.”

[18:11]  ³⁵ tn Heb “it had ceased to be for Sarah [after] a way like women.”

[18:12]  ³⁶ tn Heb “saying.”

[18:12]  ³⁷ 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.

[18:12]  ³⁸ tn The word “too” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[18:13]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Why, this?” The demonstrative pronoun following the interrogative pronoun is enclitic, emphasizing the Lord’s amazement: “Why on earth did Sarah laugh?”

[18:13]  ⁴⁰ tn The Hebrew construction uses both הַאַף (ha’af) and אֻמְנָם (’umnam): “Indeed, truly, will I have a child?”

[18:14]  ⁴¹ tn The Hebrew verb פָּלָא (pala’) means “to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be surpassing, to be amazing.”

[18:14]  ⁴² 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 Lord fixed an exact date for the birth of the child, the promise became rather overwhelming to Abraham and Sarah. But then this was the Lord of creation, the one they had come to trust. The point of these narratives is that the creation of Abraham’s offspring, which eventually became Israel, is no less a miraculous work of creation than the creation of the world itself.

[18:15]  ⁴³ tn Heb “And he said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:16]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “And the men arose from there.”

[18:16]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “toward the face of.”

[18:16]  ⁴⁶ tn The disjunctive parenthetical clause sets the stage for the following speech.

[18:16]  ⁴⁷ 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.

[18:17]  ⁴⁸ tn The active participle here refers to an action that is imminent.

[18:18]  ⁴⁹ 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?”

[18:18]  ⁵⁰ tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.

[18:18]  ⁵¹ 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.

[18:19]  ⁵² 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 Lord.

[18:19]  ⁵³ 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”).

[18:19]  ⁵⁴ tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the Lord.

[18:19]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.

[18:19]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “spoke to.”

[18:20]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “the outcry of Sodom,” which apparently refers to the outcry for divine justice from those (unidentified persons) who observe its sinful ways.

[18:20]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “heavy.”

[18:21]  ⁵⁹ tn The cohortative indicates the Lord’s resolve.

[18:21]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “[if] according to the outcry that has come to me they have done completely.” Even the Lord, who is well aware of the human capacity to sin, finds it hard to believe that anyone could be as bad as the “outcry” against Sodom and Gomorrah suggests.

[18:21]  ⁶¹ sn The short phrase if not provides a ray of hope and inspires Abraham’s intercession.

[18:22]  ⁶² 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 Lord was the third visitor, who remained behind with Abraham here. The words “from there” are not included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[18:22]  ⁶³ tn Heb “went.”

[18:22]  ⁶⁴ tc An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition reads “but the Lord remained standing before Abraham.” This reading is problematic because the phrase “standing before” typically indicates intercession, but the Lord would certainly not be interceding before Abraham.

[18:24]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).

[18:25]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “ruler.”

[18:25]  ⁶⁷ 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.

[18:27]  ⁶⁸ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 30, 31, 32 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[18:27]  ⁶⁹ tn The disjunctive clause is a concessive clause here, drawing out the humility as a contrast to the Lord.

[18:28]  ⁷⁰ tn The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.

[18:28]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “because of five.”

[18:29]  ⁷² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:29]  ⁷³ tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys – the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”

[18:30]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:30]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “let it not be hot to the Lord.” This is an idiom which means “may the Lord not be angry.”

[18:30]  ⁷⁶ tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.

[18:31]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:32]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:33]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “And the Lord went.”

[18:33]  ⁸⁰ tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”

[18:33]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “to his place.”

[23:8]  ⁸² tn Heb “If it is with your purpose.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) here has the nuance “purpose” or perhaps “desire” (see BDB 661 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ).

[23:8]  ⁸³ tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:8]  ⁸⁴ tn Or “hear me.”

[23:8]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “intercede for me with.”

[31:8]  ⁸⁶ tn In the protasis (“if” section) of this conditional clause, the imperfect verbal form has a customary nuance – whatever he would say worked to Jacob’s benefit.

[31:8]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “speckled” (twice this verse). The word “animals” (after the first occurrence of “speckled”) and “offspring” (after the second) have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. The same two terms (“animals” and “offspring”) have been supplied after the two occurrences of “streaked” later in this verse.

[31:2]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “and Jacob saw the face of Laban, and look, he was not with him as formerly.” Jacob knew from the expression on Laban’s face that his attitude toward him had changed – Jacob had become persona non grata.

[15:1]  ⁸⁹ sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.

[15:1]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).

[17:6]  ⁹¹ tn This verb starts a series of perfect verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive to express God’s intentions.

[17:6]  ⁹² tn Heb “exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:6]  ⁹³ tn Heb “and I will make you into nations, and kings will come out from you.”

[17:23]  ⁹⁴ 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.”

[17:23]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “circumcised the flesh of their foreskin.” The Hebrew expression is somewhat pleonastic and has been simplified in the translation.

[18:1]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ⁹⁷ tn Or “terebinths.”

[18:1]  ⁹⁸ tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.

[18:1]  ⁹⁹ tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.