Genesis 18:2

18:2 Abraham ¹  looked up ²  and saw ³  three men standing across ⁴  from him. When he saw them ⁵  he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low ⁶  to the ground. ⁷ 

Genesis 19:1

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while ⁸  Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. ⁹  When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.

Genesis 37:7

37:7 There we were, ¹⁰  binding sheaves of grain in the middle of the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed down ¹¹  to it!”

Genesis 37:9

37:9 Then he had another dream, ¹²  and told it to his brothers. “Look,” ¹³  he said. “I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

Genesis 44:14

44:14 So Judah and his brothers ¹⁴  came back to Joseph’s house. He was still there, ¹⁵  and they threw themselves to the ground before him.

Revelation 3:9

3:9 Listen! ¹⁶  I am going to make those people from the synagogue ¹⁷  of Satan – who say they are Jews yet ¹⁸  are not, but are lying – Look, I will make ¹⁹  them come and bow down ²⁰  at your feet and acknowledge ²¹  that I have loved you.

[18:2]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

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

[18:2]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.

[18:2]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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.

[19:1]  ⁸ tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.

[19:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.

[37:7]  ¹⁰ tn All three clauses in this dream report begin with וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), which lends vividness to the report. This is represented in the translation by the expression “there we were.”

[37:7]  ¹¹ tn The verb means “to bow down to the ground.” It is used to describe worship and obeisance to masters.

[37:9]  ¹² tn Heb “And he dreamed yet another dream.”

[37:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Look.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons. Both clauses of the dream report begin with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), which lends vividness to the report.

[44:14]  ¹⁴ sn Judah and his brothers. The narrative is already beginning to bring Judah to the forefront.

[44:14]  ¹⁵ tn The disjunctive clause here provides supplemental information.

[3:9]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “behold” (L&N 91.13).

[3:9]  ¹⁷ sn See the note on synagogue in 2:9.

[3:9]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast between what these people claimed and what they were.

[3:9]  ¹⁹ tn The verb here is ποιέω (poiew), but in this context it has virtually the same meaning as δίδωμι (didwmi) used at the beginning of the verse. Stylistic variation like this is typical of Johannine literature.

[3:9]  ²⁰ tn The verb here is προσκυνήσουσιν (proskunhsousin), normally used to refer to worship.

[3:9]  ²¹ tn Or “and know,” “and recognize.”