Genesis 19:1

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while ¹  Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. ²  When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.

Genesis 23:10

23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite ³  replied to Abraham in the hearing ⁴  of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate ⁵  of his city –

Genesis 24:60

24:60 They blessed Rebekah with these words: ⁶ 

“Our sister, may you become the mother ⁷  of thousands of ten thousands!

May your descendants possess the strongholds ⁸  of their enemies.”

Genesis 28:17

28:17 He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”

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

[19:1]  ² tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.

[23:10]  ³ tn Or perhaps “Hittite,” but see the note on the name “Heth” in v. 3.

[23:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “ears.” By metonymy the “ears” stand for the presence or proximity (i.e., within earshot) of the persons named.

[23:10]  ⁵ sn On the expression all who entered the gate see E. A. Speiser, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate,” BASOR 144 (1956): 20-23; and G. Evans, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate: A Discussion of Professor Speiser’s Paper,” BASOR 150 (1958): 28-33.

[24:60]  ⁵ tn Heb “and said to her.”

[24:60]  ⁶ tn Heb “become thousands of ten thousands.”

[24:60]  ⁷ tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”). A similar phrase occurs in Gen 22:17.