Genesis 18:16
in Genesis 18When the men got up to leave, they looked out over Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them off.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
KJV
And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
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This verse in Genesis 18
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAbraham went with them to bring them on the way - This was another piece of primitive hospitality - to direct strangers in the way. Public roads did not then exist and guides were essentially necessary in countries where villages were seldom to be met with, and where solitary dwellings did not exist.
This site's exposition
they looked out over Sodom
on Genesis 18:16-17
The meal ends with the three looking out over Sodom, and Abraham walks with them to see them off. Clarke counts that walk as hospitality of its own in a country with no roads. God asks whether He will hide from Abraham what He is about to do. Amos 3:7 makes the same thing a standing rule.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
After the three men promised Sarah fruit, "they arose, and they looked toward Sodom." It was not revealed to Sarah that they were going to Sodom lest, on the same day that they had given her joy in the promise that a son was to …
The Medieval Church1 voice
When the men got up from there, they directed their eyes toward Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
); they set their faces against it in wrath, as God is said to look unto the host of the Egyptians, Exod. xiv. Note, Though God has long seemed to connive at sinners, from which they have inferred that the Lord does not see, does not regard, yet, when the day of his wrath comes, he will look towards them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And the men rose up from thence,....
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּקֻ֤מוּ | vaiyakumu | and they arose | H6965 → | 628 times |
| מִשָּׁם֙ | misham | from there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֔ים | haanashim | the men | H582 → | 566 times |
| וַיַּשְׁקִ֖פוּ | vaiyashkifu | and they looked down | H8259 → | 22 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| סְדֹ֑ם | sedom | Sodom | H5467 → | 39 times |
| וְאַ֨בְרָהָ֔ם | veavraham | and Abraham | H85 → | 175 times |
| הֹלֵ֥ךְ | holekh | [was] walking | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| עִמָּ֖ם | ʾimam | with them | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| לְשַׁלְּחָֽם׃ | leshalecham | to send off them | H7971 → | 845 times |
וַיָּקֻ֤מוּand they arose
vaiyakumuH6965 →628 times
מִשָּׁם֙from there
mishamH8033 →834 times
הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֔יםthe men
haanashimH582 →566 times
וַיַּשְׁקִ֖פוּand they looked down
vaiyashkifuH8259 →22 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֣י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
סְדֹ֑םSodom
sedomH5467 →39 times
וְאַ֨בְרָהָ֔םand Abraham
veavrahamH85 →175 times
הֹלֵ֥ךְ[was] walking
holekhH1980 →1546 times
עִמָּ֖םwith them
ʾimamH5973 →1050 times
לְשַׁלְּחָֽם׃to send off them
leshalechamH7971 →845 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
3 John 1:6They have testified to the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.
it leads to
- Acts 15:3
Sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, recounting the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers.
Reached by 4 separate paths from here.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:12
encouraging you, comforting you, and urging you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
- Titus 3:13
Do your best to equip Zenas the lawyer and Apollos, so that they will have everything they need.
- Acts 15:3
Through
Acts 15:3Sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, recounting the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers.
it leads to
- Acts 21:5
But when our time there had ended, we set out on our journey. All the disciples, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city and knelt down on the beach to…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Acts 14:27
When they arrived, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them, and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
- Acts 21:5
Through
Romans 15:24I hope to see you on my way to Spain. And after I have enjoyed your company for a while, you can equip me for my journey.
it leads to
- Romans 15:28
So after I have completed this service and have safely delivered this bounty to them, I will set off to Spain by way of you.
- Romans 1:12
that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.
- Romans 15:28
Through
Acts 21:5But when our time there had ended, we set out on our journey. All the disciples, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city and knelt down on the beach to…
it leads to
- Acts 20:36
When Paul had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed.
- Acts 20:36
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsAbrahamCalled out of Ur, the father of all who believe, justified by faith, and the friend of God through whose seed all nations are bles…
- PlaceCities of the plainSodomThe city of the plain that Abraham pleaded for and that fire from heaven destroyed while Lot fled, named by the prophets, by Peter…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 16:1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.