1 Now the Lord came to him by the holy tree of Mamre, when he was seated in the doorway of his tent in the middle of the day;
2 And lifting up his eyes, he saw three men before him; and seeing them, he went quickly to them from the door of the tent, and went down on his face to the earth;
3 And said, My Lord, if now I have grace in your eyes, do not go away from your servant:
4 Let me get water for washing your feet, and take your rest under the tree:
5 And let me get a bit of bread to keep up your strength, and after that you may go on your way: for this is why you have come to your servant. And they said, Let it be so.
6 Then Abraham went quickly into the tent, and said to Sarah, Get three measures of meal straight away and make cakes.
7 And running to the herd, he took a young ox, soft and fat, and gave it to the servant and he quickly made it ready;
8 And he took butter and milk and the young ox which he had made ready and put it before them, waiting by them under the tree while they took food.
9 And they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, She is in the tent.
10 And he said, I will certainly come back to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife will have a son. And his words came to the ears of Sarah who was at the back of the tent-door.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah was past the time for giving birth.
12 And Sarah, laughing to herself, said, Now that I am used up am I still to have pleasure, my husband himself being old?
13 And the Lord said, Why was Sarah laughing and saying, Is it possible for me, being old, to give birth to a child?
14 Is there any wonder which the Lord is not able to do? At the time I said, in the spring, I will come back to you, and Sarah will have a child.
15 Then Sarah said, I was not laughing; for she was full of fear. And he said, No, but you were laughing.
16 And the men went on from there in the direction of Sodom; and Abraham went with them on their way.
17 And the Lord said, Am I to keep back from Abraham the knowledge of what I do;
18 Seeing that Abraham will certainly become a great and strong nation, and his name will be used by all the nations of the earth as a blessing?
19 For I have made him mine so that he may give orders to his children and those of his line after him, to keep the ways of the Lord, to do what is good and right: so that the Lord may do to Abraham as he has said.
20 And the Lord said, Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is very great, and their sin is very evil,
21 I will go down now, and see if their acts are as bad as they seem from the outcry which has come to me; and if they are not, I will see.
22 And the men, turning from that place, went on to Sodom: but Abraham was still waiting before the Lord.
23 And Abraham came near, and said, Will you let destruction come on the upright with the sinners?
24 If by chance there are fifty upright men in the town, will you give the place to destruction and not have mercy on it because of the fifty upright men?
25 Let such a thing be far from you, to put the upright to death with the sinner: will not the judge of all the earth do right?
26 And the Lord said, If there are fifty upright men in the town, I will have mercy on it because of them.
27 And Abraham answering said, Truly, I who am only dust, have undertaken to put my thoughts before the Lord:
28 If by chance there are five less than fifty upright men, will you give up all the town to destruction because of these five? And he said, I will not give it to destruction if there are forty-five.
29 And again he said to him, By chance there may be forty there. And he said, I will not do it if there are forty.
30 And he said, Let not the Lord be angry with me if I say, What if there are thirty there? And he said, I will not do it if there are thirty.
31 And he said, See now, I have undertaken to put my thoughts before the Lord: what if there are twenty there? And he said, I will have mercy because of the twenty.
32 And he said, O let not the Lord be angry and I will say only one word more: by chance there may be ten there. And he said, I will have mercy because of the ten.
33 And the Lord went on his way when his talk with Abraham was ended, and Abraham went back to his place.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 18
Commentary on Genesis 18 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 18
Ge 18:1-8. Entertainment of Angels.
1. the Lord appeared—another manifestation of the divine presence, more familiar than any yet narrated; and more like that in the fulness of time, when the Word was made flesh.
plains of Mamre—rather, terebinth or oak of Mamre; a tall-spreading tree or grove of trees.
sat in the tent door—The tent itself being too close and sultry at noon, the shaded open front is usually resorted to for the air that may be stirring.
2. lift up his eyes … and, lo, three men—Travellers in that quarter start at sunrise and continue till midday when they look out for some resting-place.
he ran to meet them—When the visitor is an ordinary person, the host merely rises; but if of superior rank, the custom is to advance a little towards the stranger, and after a very low bow, turn and lead him to the tent, putting an arm round his waist, or tapping him on the shoulder as they go, to assure him of welcome.
3. My Lord, if now I have found favor—The hospitalities offered are just of the kind that are necessary and most grateful, the refreshment of water, for feet exposed to dust and heat by the sandals, being still the first observed among the pastoral people of Hebron.
5. for therefore are ye come—No questions were asked. But Abraham knew their object by the course they took—approaching directly in front of the chief sheik's tent, which is always distinguishable from the rest and thus showing their wish to be his guests.
6. Abraham hastened … unto Sarah … make cakes upon the hearth—Bread is baked daily, no more than is required for family use, and always by the women, commonly the wife. It is a short process. Flour mixed with water is made into dough, and being rolled out into cakes, it is placed on the earthen floor, previously heated by a fire. The fire being removed, the cakes are laid on the ground, and being covered over with hot embers, are soon baked, and eaten the moment they are taken off.
7. Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf—Animal food is never provided, except for visitors of a superior rank when a kid or lamb is killed. A calf is still a higher stretch of hospitality, and it would probably be cooked as is usually done when haste is required—either by roasting it whole or by cutting it up into small pieces and broiling them on skewers over the fire. It is always eaten along with boiled corn swimming in butter or melted fat, into which every morsel of meat, laid upon a piece of bread, is dipped, before being conveyed by the fingers to the mouth.
8. milk—A bowl of camel's milk ends the repast.
he stood by them under the tree—The host himself, even though he has a number of servants, deems it a necessary act of politeness to stand while his guests are at their food, and Abraham evidently did this before he was aware of the real character of his visitors.
Ge 18:9-15. Reproof of Sarah. An inquiry about his wife, so surprising in strangers, the subject of conversation, and the fulfilment of the fondly cherished promise within a specified time, showed Abraham that he had been entertaining more than ordinary travellers (Heb 13:2).
10. Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him—The women's apartment is in the back of the tent, divided by a thin partition from the men's.
12. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself—Long delay seems to have weakened faith. Sarah treated the announcement as incredible, and when taxed with the silent sneer, she added falsehood to distrust. It was an aggravated offense (Ac 5:4), and nothing but grace saved her (Ro 9:18).
Ge 18:16-22. Disclosure of Sodom's Doom.
16. the men rose … Abraham went with them—It is customary for a host to escort his guests a little way.
17. the Lord said, Shall I hide—The chief stranger, no other than the Lord, disclosed to Abraham the awful doom about to be inflicted on Sodom and the cities of the plain for their enormous wickedness.
21. I will go down … and see—language used after the manner of men. These cities were to be made examples to all future ages of God's severity; and therefore ample proof given that the judgment was neither rash nor excessive (Eze 18:23; Jer 18:7).
Ge 18:23-33. Abraham's Intercession.
23. Abraham drew near, and said, &c.—The scene described is full of interest and instruction—showing in an unmistakable manner the efficacy of prayer and intercession. (See also Pr 15:8; Jas 5:16). Abraham reasoned justly as to the rectitude of the divine procedure (Ro 3:5, 6), and many guilty cities and nations have been spared on account of God's people (Mt 5:13; 24:22).
33. the Lord … left communing … and Abraham returned unto his place—Why did Abraham cease to carry his intercessions farther? Either because he fondly thought that he was now sure of the cities being preserved (Lu 13:9), or because the Lord restrained his mind from further intercession (Jer 7:16; 11:14). But there were not ten "righteous persons." There was only one, and he might without injustice have perished in the general overthrow (Ec 9:2). But a difference is sometimes made, and on this occasion the grace of God was manifested in a signal manner for the sake of Abraham. What a blessing to be connected with a saint of God!