Genesis 18:3
in Genesis 18“My lord,” said Abraham, “if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and said, My lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
KJV
And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
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This verse in Genesis 18
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAnd said, My Lord, etc. - The word is אדני Adonai, not יהוה Yehovah, for as yet Abraham did not know the quality of his guests. For an explanation of this word, See note on Gen 15:8.
This site's exposition
if I have found favor in your sight
on Genesis 18:3-5
Abraham addresses him as lord, Adonai in Hebrew, the word for a man of rank. Clarke takes that as a sign he still did not know who stood there. The offer is small, a little water, a bit of bread, a wash for their feet and rest under the tree. He calls himself their servant twice.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And said, my Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמַ֑ר | vaiyomar | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֗י | ʾadonai | Lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| נָ֨א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| מָצָ֤אתִי | matzati | I have found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| חֵן֙ | chen | favor | H2580 → | 69 times |
| בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָ | beeineikha | in view your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| נָ֥א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| תַעֲבֹ֖ר | taavor | you pass by | H5674 → | 556 times |
| מֵעַ֥ל | meal | from with | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עַבְדֶּֽךָ׃ | ʾavdekha | servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
וַיֹּאמַ֑רand he said
vaiyomarH559 →5305 times
אֲדֹנָ֗יLord my
ʾadonaiH113 →333 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
נָ֨אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
מָצָ֤אתִיI have found
matzatiH4672 →455 times
חֵן֙favor
chenH2580 →69 times
בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָin view your
beeineikhaH5869 →887 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
נָ֥אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
תַעֲבֹ֖רyou pass by
taavorH5674 →556 times
מֵעַ֥לfrom with
mealH5921 →5755 times
עַבְדֶּֽךָ׃servant your
ʾavdekhaH5650 →799 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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 32:5I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, menservants, and maidservants. I have sent this message to inform my master, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”
it leads to
- Genesis 33:8
“What do you mean by sending this whole company to meet me?” asked Esau. “To find favor in your sight, my lord,” Jacob answered.
- Genesis 33:15
“Let me leave some of my people with you,” Esau said. But Jacob replied, “Why do that? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.”
- 2 Samuel 16:4
So the king said to Ziba, “All that belongs to Mephibosheth is now yours!” “I humbly bow before you,” said Ziba. “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king!”
- Genesis 47:25
“You have saved our lives,” they said. “We have found favor in our lord’s eyes, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.”
- Genesis 30:43
Thus Jacob became exceedingly prosperous. He owned large flocks, maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys.
- Genesis 33:8
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).