Genesis 18:28
in Genesis 18suppose 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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I find there forty and five.
KJV
Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.
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This verse in Genesis 18
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
I am but dust and ashes
on Genesis 18:27-29
He drops from fifty to forty-five, and at each step he names what he is, dust and ashes. Clarke pairs the two words as the lightest particles of earth and what is left when a thing has burned. Genesis 2:7 says the man was formed from the dust.
This site's exposition
the fifty righteous ones lack five
The second plea asks about five missing from the fifty. John Gill reads the smaller step as Abraham's sense, from the answer he had been given, that fifty would be hard to find. He asks a little at a time.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Peradventure there should lack five of the fifty righteous,.... Or there should be but forty five; for Abraham perceived, by the Lord's answer, that there were not fifty righteous persons in the place: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? Abraham proceeds gradually in his requests, and does not ask too much at once, lest he should not succeed: and he said, if l find there forty and five, I will not destroy it; that is, forty five righteous persons.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| א֠וּלַי | ʾulai | perhaps | H194 → | 45 times |
| יַחְסְר֞וּן | yachserun | they will lack ! | H2637 → | 23 times |
| חֲמִשִּׁ֤ים | chamishim | fifty | H2572 → | 163 times |
| הַצַּדִּיקִם֙ | hatzadikim | the righteous [people] | H6662 → | 206 times |
| חֲמִשָּׁ֔ה | chamishah | five | H2568 → | 343 times |
| הֲתַשְׁחִ֥ית | hatashchit | ¿ will you destroy | H7843 → | 146 times |
| בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֖ה | bachamishah | for five | H2568 → | 343 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעִ֑יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אַשְׁחִ֔ית | ʾashchit | I will destroy [it] | H7843 → | 146 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| אֶמְצָ֣א | ʾemtza' | I will find | H4672 → | 455 times |
| שָׁ֔ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| אַרְבָּעִ֖ים | ʾarbaim | forty | H705 → | 136 times |
| וַחֲמִשָּֽׁה׃ | vachamishah | and five | H2568 → | 343 times |
א֠וּלַיperhaps
ʾulaiH194 →45 times
יַחְסְר֞וּןthey will lack !
yachserunH2637 →23 times
חֲמִשִּׁ֤יםfifty
chamishimH2572 →163 times
הַצַּדִּיקִם֙the righteous [people]
hatzadikimH6662 →206 times
חֲמִשָּׁ֔הfive
chamishahH2568 →343 times
הֲתַשְׁחִ֥ית¿ will you destroy
hatashchitH7843 →146 times
בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֖הfor five
bachamishahH2568 →343 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעִ֑ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אַשְׁחִ֔יתI will destroy [it]
ʾashchitH7843 →146 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
אֶמְצָ֣אI will find
ʾemtza'H4672 →455 times
שָׁ֔םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
אַרְבָּעִ֖יםforty
ʾarbaimH705 →136 times
וַחֲמִשָּֽׁה׃and five
vachamishahH2568 →343 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 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
Genesis 18:26So the LORD replied, “If I find fifty righteous ones within the city of Sodom, on their account I will spare the whole place.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 5:1
“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem. Look now and take note; search her squares. If you can find a single person, anyone who acts justly, anyone who seeks the truth, then I…
- Matthew 24:22
If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.
- Ezekiel 22:30
I searched for a man among them to repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, so that I should not destroy it. But I found no…
- Isaiah 65:8
This is what the LORD says: “As the new wine is found in a cluster of grapes, and men say, ‘Do not destroy it, for it contains a blessing,’ so I will act on…
- Isaiah 6:13
And though a tenth remains in the land, it will be burned again. As the terebinth and oak leave stumps when felled, so the holy seed will be a stump in the land.”
- Jeremiah 5:1
Through
Genesis 18:29Once again Abraham spoke to the LORD, “Suppose forty are found there?” He answered, “On account of the forty, I will not do it.”
it leads to
- Ephesians 6:18
Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
- Hebrews 4:16
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
- Ephesians 6:18
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).