Discovery BoxGenesis 17:1
Context17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, 1 the Lord appeared to him and said, 2 “I am the sovereign God. 3 Walk 4 before me 5 and be blameless. 6
Genesis 18:1-33
Context18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham 7 by the oaks 8 of Mamre while 9 he was sitting at the entrance 10 to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham 11 looked up 12 and saw 13 three men standing across 14 from him. When he saw them 15 he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low 16 to the ground. 17
18:3 He said, “My lord, 18 if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. 19 18:4 Let a little water be brought so that 20 you may all 21 wash your feet and rest under the tree. 18:5 And let me get 22 a bit of food 23 so that you may refresh yourselves 24 since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” 25 “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”
18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take 26 three measures 27 of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” 28 18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, 29 who quickly prepared it. 30 18:8 Abraham 31 then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food 32 before them. They ate while 33 he was standing near them under a tree.
18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, 34 in the tent.” 18:10 One of them 35 said, “I will surely return 36 to you when the season comes round again, 37 and your wife Sarah will have a son!” 38 (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. 39 18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; 40 Sarah had long since passed menopause.) 41 18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, 42 “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, 43 especially when my husband is old too?” 44
18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why 45 did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really 46 have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible 47 for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” 48 18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” 49
18:16 When the men got up to leave, 50 they looked out over 51 Sodom. (Now 52 Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) 53 18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 54 18:18 After all, Abraham 55 will surely become 56 a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 57 using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him 58 so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep 59 the way of the Lord by doing 60 what is right and just. Then the Lord will give 61 to Abraham what he promised 62 him.”
18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against 63 Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant 64 18:21 that I must go down 65 and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. 66 If not, 67 I want to know.”
18:22 The two men turned 68 and headed 69 toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 70 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 71 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 72 of the whole earth do what is right?” 73
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 74 (although I am but dust and ashes), 75 18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy 76 the whole city because five are lacking?” 77 He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
18:29 Abraham 78 spoke to him again, 79 “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
18:30 Then Abraham 80 said, “May the Lord not be angry 81 so that I may speak! 82 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
18:31 Abraham 83 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 84 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 85 when he had finished speaking 86 to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. 87
[17:1] 1 tn Heb “the son of ninety-nine years.”
[17:1] 2 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.
[17:1] 3 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
[17:1] 4 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.”
[17:1] 5 tn Or “in my presence.”
[17:1] 6 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
[18:1] 7 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:1] 9 tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.
[18:1] 10 tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.
[18:2] 13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:2] 14 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
[18:2] 15 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] 16 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] 17 tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
[18:2] 18 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] 19 sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the
[18:3] 19 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
[18:3] 20 tn Heb “do not pass by from upon your servant.”
[18:4] 25 tn The imperative after the jussive indicates purpose here.
[18:4] 26 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] 31 tn The Qal cohortative here probably has the nuance of polite request.
[18:5] 32 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] 33 tn Heb “strengthen your heart.” The imperative after the cohortative indicates purpose here.
[18:5] 34 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] 37 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] 38 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] 39 sn The bread was the simple, round bread made by bedouins that is normally prepared quickly for visitors.
[18:7] 43 tn Heb “the young man.”
[18:7] 44 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] 49 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:8] 50 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] 51 tn The disjunctive clause is a temporal circumstantial clause subordinate to the main verb.
[18:9] 55 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) often accompanies a gesture of pointing or a focused gaze.
[18:10] 61 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
[18:10] 62 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.
[18:10] 63 tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.
[18:10] 64 tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”
[18:10] 65 tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).
[18:11] 68 tn Heb “it had ceased to be for Sarah [after] a way like women.”
[18:12] 74 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] 75 tn The word “too” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[18:13] 79 tn Heb “Why, this?” The demonstrative pronoun following the interrogative pronoun is enclitic, emphasizing the
[18:13] 80 tn The Hebrew construction uses both הַאַף (ha’af) and אֻמְנָם (’umnam): “Indeed, truly, will I have a child?”
[18:14] 85 tn The Hebrew verb פָּלָא (pala’) means “to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be surpassing, to be amazing.”
[18:14] 86 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
[18:15] 91 tn Heb “And he said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’” The referent (the
[18:16] 97 tn Heb “And the men arose from there.”
[18:16] 98 tn Heb “toward the face of.”
[18:16] 99 tn The disjunctive parenthetical clause sets the stage for the following speech.
[18:16] 100 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] 103 tn The active participle here refers to an action that is imminent.
[18:18] 109 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] 110 tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.
[18:18] 111 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] 115 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
[18:19] 116 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] 117 tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the
[18:19] 118 tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.
[18:19] 119 tn Heb “spoke to.”
[18:20] 121 tn Heb “the outcry of Sodom,” which apparently refers to the outcry for divine justice from those (unidentified persons) who observe its sinful ways.
[18:21] 127 tn The cohortative indicates the
[18:21] 128 tn Heb “[if] according to the outcry that has come to me they have done completely.” Even the
[18:21] 129 sn The short phrase if not provides a ray of hope and inspires Abraham’s intercession.
[18:22] 133 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
[18:22] 135 tc An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition reads “but the
[18:24] 139 tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).
[18:25] 146 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] 151 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 30, 31, 32 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[18:27] 152 tn The disjunctive clause is a concessive clause here, drawing out the humility as a contrast to the
[18:28] 157 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.
[18:28] 158 tn Heb “because of five.”
[18:29] 163 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:29] 164 tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys – the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”
[18:30] 169 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:30] 170 tn Heb “let it not be hot to the
[18:30] 171 tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.
[18:31] 175 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:32] 181 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:33] 187 tn Heb “And the
[18:33] 188 tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”
