Genesis 18:1

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.

Genesis 43:19

43:19 So they approached the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household and spoke to him at the entrance to the house.

Genesis 18:10

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 

Genesis 19:11

19:11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest to the oldest, ¹⁰  with blindness. The men outside ¹¹  wore themselves out trying to find the door.

[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.

[18:10]  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 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]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.

[18:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.

[18:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”

[18:10]  ⁹ tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).

[19:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “from the least to the greatest.”

[19:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.