Genesis 18:1-2

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 

Genesis 18:10

18:10 One of them ¹²  said, “I will surely return ¹³  to you when the season comes round again, ¹⁴  and your wife Sarah will have a son!” ¹⁵  (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. ¹⁶ 

Genesis 31:34

31:34 (Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle ¹⁷  and sat on them.) ¹⁸  Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. ¹⁹ 

[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.

[18:10]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.

[18:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.

[18:10]  ¹² tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”

[18:10]  ¹³ tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).

[31:34]  ¹³ tn The “camel’s saddle” was probably some sort of basket-saddle, a cushioned saddle with a basket bound on. Cf. NAB “inside a camel cushion.”

[31:34]  ¹⁴ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides another parenthetical statement necessary to the storyline.

[31:34]  ¹⁵ tn The word “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.