Genesischapter 18
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Abraham and the Three Angels — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
A.Three Visitors at Mamrevv. 1-8
1 Then the LORD appeared to Abraham by the Oaks of Mamre in the heat of the day, while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. 2 And Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. 3 “My lord,” said Abraham, “if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by. 4 Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 And I will bring a bit of bread so that you may refresh yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant’s way. After that, you may continue on your way.” “Yes,” they replied, “you may do as you have said.” 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Prepare three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and bake some bread.” 7 Meanwhile, Abraham ran to the herd, selected a tender and choice calf, and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 Then Abraham brought curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and he set them before the men and stood by them under the tree as they ate.
B.Sarah Laughs Behind the Tentvv. 9-15
9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked. “There, in the tent,” he replied. 10 Then the LORD said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” Now Sarah was behind him, listening at the entrance to the tent. 11 And Abraham and Sarah were already old and well along in years; Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 So she laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?” 13 And the LORD asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can I really bear a child when I am old?’ 14 Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.” 15 But Sarah was afraid, so she denied it and said, “I did not laugh.” “No,” replied the LORD, “but you did laugh.”
C.The Outcry Against Sodomvv. 16-21
16 When the men got up to leave, they looked out over Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them off. 17 And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed. 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has promised.” 20 Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Because their sin is so grievous, 21 I will go down to see if their actions fully justify the outcry that has reached Me. If not, I will find out.”
D.Abraham Bargains for the Cityvv. 22-33
22 And the two men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. 23 Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous ones in the city? Will You really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous ones who are there? 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?” 26 So the LORD replied, “If I find fifty righteous ones within the city of Sodom, on their account I will spare the whole place.” 27 Then Abraham answered, “Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord—though I am but dust and ashes— 28 suppose the fifty righteous ones lack five. Will You destroy the whole city for the lack of five?” He replied, “If I find forty-five there, I will not destroy it.” 29 Once again Abraham spoke to the LORD, “Suppose forty are found there?” He answered, “On account of the forty, I will not do it.” 30 Then Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak further. Suppose thirty are found there?” He replied, “If I find thirty there, I will not do it.” 31 And Abraham said, “Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord, suppose twenty are found there?” He answered, “On account of the twenty, I will not destroy it.” 32 Finally, Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. Suppose ten are found there?” And He answered, “On account of the ten, I will not destroy it.” 33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, He departed, and Abraham returned home.
Chapter summary
The three visitors at Mamre.
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Chapter summary
The three visitors at Mamre.
Read the rest, the context and the outline ▾Show less ▴
The three visitors at Mamre. Abraham runs to meet them, washes their feet, feeds them; Sarah laughs silently at the promise that she will bear a son. The question answers back: ‘is anything too hard for the LORD?’ Then the visitors turn toward Sodom. The LORD resolves to tell Abraham what he is about to do. The patriarch intercedes. Fifty, forty-five, forty, thirty, twenty, ten. With growing boldness and lowering numbers. ‘Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?’ Calvin makes much of the chapter's blend of hospitality and boldness; Abraham is friend of God (Jas 2:23), and friendship speaks up for cities.
Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.
Context
Law · Moses — Genesis overview
- A. 1–8 Three Visitors at Mamre
- B. 9–15 Sarah Laughs Behind the Tent
- C. 16–21 The Outcry Against Sodom
- D. 22–33 Abraham Bargains for the City
Top cross-references8 chapters ▾
Genesis 194 verses
- Genesis 19:1Now the two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them, bowed facedown,
- Genesis 19:2and said, “My lords, please turn aside into the house of your servant; wash your feet and spend the night. Then you can rise early and go on your way.” “No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”
- Genesis 19:3But Lot insisted so strongly that they followed him into his house. He prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
- Genesis 19:13because we are about to destroy this place. For the outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that He has sent us to destroy it.”
- Read Genesis 19 →
Luke 13 verses
- Luke 1:18“How can I be sure of this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.”
- Luke 1:36Look, even Elizabeth your relative has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is in her sixth month.
- Luke 1:37For no word from God will ever fail.”
- Read Luke 1 →
Matthew 73 verses
- Matthew 7:7Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
- Matthew 7:11So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
- Matthew 7:13Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
- Read Matthew 7 →
Genesis 182 verses
- Genesis 18:22And the two men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.
- Genesis 18:27Then Abraham answered, “Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord—though I am but dust and ashes—
- Read Genesis 18 →
4 more chapters this one speaks with
Genesis 172 verses
- Genesis 17:17Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth at the age of ninety?”
- Genesis 17:21But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”
- Read Genesis 17 →
Genesis 242 verses
- Genesis 24:32So the man came to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and feed were brought to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of his companions.
- Genesis 24:67And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah as his wife. And Isaac loved her and was comforted after his mother’s death.
- Read Genesis 24 →
Judges 62 verses
- Judges 6:18Please do not depart from this place until I return to You. Let me bring my offering and set it before You.” And the LORD said, “I will stay until you return.”
- Judges 6:39Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time let it be dry, and the ground covered with dew.”
- Read Judges 6 →
Galatians 32 verses
- Galatians 3:8The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
- Galatians 3:14He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
- Read Galatians 3 →
Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.