Kejadian 18:1-33
Konteks18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham 1 by the oaks 2 of Mamre while 3 he was sitting at the entrance 4 to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham 5 looked up 6 and saw 7 three men standing across 8 from him. When he saw them 9 he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low 10 to the ground. 11
18:3 He said, “My lord, 12 if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. 13 18:4 Let a little water be brought so that 14 you may all 15 wash your feet and rest under the tree. 18:5 And let me get 16 a bit of food 17 so that you may refresh yourselves 18 since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” 19 “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”
18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take 20 three measures 21 of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” 22 18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, 23 who quickly prepared it. 24 18:8 Abraham 25 then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food 26 before them. They ate while 27 he was standing near them under a tree.
18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, 28 in the tent.” 18:10 One of them 29 said, “I will surely return 30 to you when the season comes round again, 31 and your wife Sarah will have a son!” 32 (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. 33 18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; 34 Sarah had long since passed menopause.) 35 18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, 36 “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, 37 especially when my husband is old too?” 38
18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why 39 did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really 40 have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible 41 for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” 42 18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” 43
18:16 When the men got up to leave, 44 they looked out over 45 Sodom. (Now 46 Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) 47 18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 48 18:18 After all, Abraham 49 will surely become 50 a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 51 using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him 52 so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep 53 the way of the Lord by doing 54 what is right and just. Then the Lord will give 55 to Abraham what he promised 56 him.”
18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against 57 Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant 58 18:21 that I must go down 59 and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. 60 If not, 61 I want to know.”
18:22 The two men turned 62 and headed 63 toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 64 18:23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare 65 the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge 66 of the whole earth do what is right?” 67
18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
18:27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord 68 (although I am but dust and ashes), 69 18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy 70 the whole city because five are lacking?” 71 He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
18:29 Abraham 72 spoke to him again, 73 “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
18:30 Then Abraham 74 said, “May the Lord not be angry 75 so that I may speak! 76 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
18:31 Abraham 77 said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
18:32 Finally Abraham 78 said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
18:33 The Lord went on his way 79 when he had finished speaking 80 to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. 81
Kejadian 1:5
Konteks1:5 God called 82 the light “day” and the darkness 83 “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day. 84
Kejadian 1:7
Konteks1:7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. 85 It was so. 86
Mazmur 107:43
Konteks107:43 Whoever is wise, let him take note of these things!
Let them consider the Lord’s acts of loyal love!
Yesaya 5:12
Konteks5:12 They have stringed instruments, 87 tambourines, flutes,
and wine at their parties.
So they do not recognize what the Lord is doing,
they do not perceive what he is bringing about. 88
Hosea 14:9
Konteks14:9 Who is wise?
Let him discern 89 these things!
Who is discerning?
Let him understand them!
For the ways of the Lord are right;
the godly walk in them,
but in them the rebellious stumble.
Maleakhi 3:8-11
Konteks3:8 Can a person rob 90 God? You indeed are robbing me, but you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and contributions! 91 3:9 You are bound for judgment 92 because you are robbing me – this whole nation is guilty. 93
3:10 “Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse 94 so that there may be food in my temple. Test me in this matter,” says the Lord who rules over all, “to see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until there is no room for it all. 3:11 Then I will stop the plague 95 from ruining your crops, 96 and the vine will not lose its fruit before harvest,” says the Lord who rules over all.
Roma 6:21
Konteks6:21 So what benefit 97 did you then reap 98 from those things that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death.
Roma 6:1
Konteks6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase?
Kolose 1:1
Konteks1:1 From Paul, 99 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
[18:1] 1 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:1] 3 tn The disjunctive clause here is circumstantial to the main clause.
[18:1] 4 tn The Hebrew noun translated “entrance” is an adverbial accusative of place.
[18:2] 5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:2] 6 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
[18:2] 7 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) draws attention to what he saw. The drawn-out description focuses the reader’s attention on Abraham’s deliberate, fixed gaze and indicates that what he is seeing is significant.
[18:2] 8 tn The Hebrew preposition עַל (’al) indicates the three men were nearby, but not close by, for Abraham had to run to meet them.
[18:2] 9 tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
[18:2] 10 tn The form וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ (vayyishtakhu, “and bowed low”) is from the verb הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtakhavah, “to worship, bow low to the ground”). It is probably from a root חָוָה (khavah), though some derive it from שָׁחָה (shakhah).
[18:2] 11 sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the
[18:3] 12 tc The MT has the form אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Master”) which is reserved for God. This may reflect later scribal activity. The scribes, knowing it was the
[18:3] 13 tn Heb “do not pass by from upon your servant.”
[18:4] 14 tn The imperative after the jussive indicates purpose here.
[18:4] 15 tn The word “all” has been supplied in the translation because the Hebrew verb translated “wash” and the pronominal suffix on the word “feet” are plural, referring to all three of the visitors.
[18:5] 16 tn The Qal cohortative here probably has the nuance of polite request.
[18:5] 17 tn Heb “a piece of bread.” The Hebrew word לֶחֶם (lekhem) can refer either to bread specifically or to food in general. Based on Abraham’s directions to Sarah in v. 6, bread was certainly involved, but v. 7 indicates that Abraham had a more elaborate meal in mind.
[18:5] 18 tn Heb “strengthen your heart.” The imperative after the cohortative indicates purpose here.
[18:5] 19 tn Heb “so that you may refresh yourselves, after [which] you may be on your way – for therefore you passed by near your servant.”
[18:6] 20 tn The word “take” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the sentence lacks a verb other than the imperative “hurry.” The elliptical structure of the language reflects Abraham’s haste to get things ready quickly.
[18:6] 21 sn Three measures (Heb “three seahs”) was equivalent to about twenty quarts (twenty-two liters) of flour, which would make a lot of bread. The animal prepared for the meal was far more than the three visitors needed. This was a banquet for royalty. Either it had been a lonely time for Abraham and the presence of visitors made him very happy, or he sensed this was a momentous visit.
[18:6] 22 sn The bread was the simple, round bread made by bedouins that is normally prepared quickly for visitors.
[18:7] 23 tn Heb “the young man.”
[18:7] 24 tn The construction uses the Piel preterite, “he hurried,” followed by the infinitive construct; the two probably form a verbal hendiadys: “he quickly prepared.”
[18:8] 25 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:8] 26 tn The words “the food” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.
[18:8] 27 tn The disjunctive clause is a temporal circumstantial clause subordinate to the main verb.
[18:9] 28 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) often accompanies a gesture of pointing or a focused gaze.
[18:10] 29 tn Heb “he”; the referent (one of the three men introduced in v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some English translations have specified the referent as the
[18:10] 30 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense.
[18:10] sn I will surely return. If Abraham had not yet figured out who this was, this interchange would have made it clear. Otherwise, how would a return visit from this man mean Sarah would have a son?
[18:10] 31 tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.
[18:10] 32 tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”
[18:10] 33 tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).
[18:11] 35 tn Heb “it had ceased to be for Sarah [after] a way like women.”
[18:12] 37 tn It has been suggested that this word should be translated “conception,” not “pleasure.” See A. A. McIntosh, “A Third Root ‘adah in Biblical Hebrew,” VT 24 (1974): 454-73.
[18:12] 38 tn The word “too” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[18:13] 39 tn Heb “Why, this?” The demonstrative pronoun following the interrogative pronoun is enclitic, emphasizing the
[18:13] 40 tn The Hebrew construction uses both הַאַף (ha’af) and אֻמְנָם (’umnam): “Indeed, truly, will I have a child?”
[18:14] 41 tn The Hebrew verb פָּלָא (pala’) means “to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be surpassing, to be amazing.”
[18:14] 42 sn Sarah will have a son. The passage brings God’s promise into clear focus. As long as it was a promise for the future, it really could be believed without much involvement. But now, when it seemed so impossible from the human standpoint, when the
[18:15] 43 tn Heb “And he said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’” The referent (the
[18:16] 44 tn Heb “And the men arose from there.”
[18:16] 45 tn Heb “toward the face of.”
[18:16] 46 tn The disjunctive parenthetical clause sets the stage for the following speech.
[18:16] 47 tn The Piel of שָׁלַח (shalakh) means “to lead out, to send out, to expel”; here it is used in the friendly sense of seeing the visitors on their way.
[18:17] 48 tn The active participle here refers to an action that is imminent.
[18:18] 49 tn Heb “And Abraham.” The disjunctive clause is probably causal, giving a reason why God should not hide his intentions from Abraham. One could translate, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation?”
[18:18] 50 tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the finite verb that follows.
[18:18] 51 tn Theoretically the Niphal can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Abram were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in later formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless [i.e., “pronounce blessings upon”] themselves [or “one another”].” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 18:18 (like 12:2) predicts that Abraham will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.
[18:19] 52 tn Heb “For I have known him.” The verb יָדַע (yada’) here means “to recognize and treat in a special manner, to choose” (see Amos 3:2). It indicates that Abraham stood in a special covenantal relationship with the
[18:19] 53 tn Heb “and they will keep.” The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the subjective nuance of the preceding imperfect verbal form (translated “so that he may command”).
[18:19] 54 tn The infinitive construct here indicates manner, explaining how Abraham’s children and his household will keep the way of the
[18:19] 55 tn Heb “bring on.” The infinitive after לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) indicates result here.
[18:20] 57 tn Heb “the outcry of Sodom,” which apparently refers to the outcry for divine justice from those (unidentified persons) who observe its sinful ways.
[18:21] 59 tn The cohortative indicates the
[18:21] sn I must go down. The descent to “see” Sodom is a bold anthropomorphism, stressing the careful judgment of God. The language is reminiscent of the
[18:21] 60 tn Heb “[if] according to the outcry that has come to me they have done completely.” Even the
[18:21] 61 sn The short phrase if not provides a ray of hope and inspires Abraham’s intercession.
[18:22] 62 tn Heb “And the men turned from there.” The word “two” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied here for clarity. Gen 19:1 mentions only two individuals (described as “angels”), while Abraham had entertained three visitors (18:2). The implication is that the
[18:22] 64 tc An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition reads “but the
[18:24] 65 tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).
[18:25] 67 sn Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right? For discussion of this text see J. L. Crenshaw, “Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel,” ZAW 82 (1970): 380-95, and C. S. Rodd, “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?” ExpTim 83 (1972): 137-39.
[18:27] 68 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 30, 31, 32 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[18:27] 69 tn The disjunctive clause is a concessive clause here, drawing out the humility as a contrast to the
[18:28] 70 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.
[18:28] 71 tn Heb “because of five.”
[18:29] 72 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:29] 73 tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys – the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”
[18:30] 74 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:30] 75 tn Heb “let it not be hot to the
[18:30] 76 tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.
[18:31] 77 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:32] 78 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:33] 79 tn Heb “And the
[18:33] 80 tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”
[18:33] 81 tn Heb “to his place.”
[1:5] 82 tn Heb “he called to,” meaning “he named.”
[1:5] sn God called. Seven times in this chapter naming or blessing follows some act of creation. There is clearly a point being made beyond the obvious idea of naming. In the Babylonian creation story Enuma Elish, naming is equal to creating. In the Bible the act of naming, like creating, can be an indication of sovereignty (see 2 Kgs 23:34). In this verse God is sovereign even over the darkness.
[1:5] 83 tn Heb “and the darkness he called night.” The words “he called” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[1:5] 84 tn Another option is to translate, “Evening came, and then morning came.” This formula closes the six days of creation. It seems to follow the Jewish order of reckoning time: from evening to morning. Day one started with the dark, continued through the creation of light, and ended with nightfall. Another alternative would be to translate, “There was night and then there was day, one day.”
[1:5] sn The first day. The exegetical evidence suggests the word “day” in this chapter refers to a literal twenty-four hour day. It is true that the word can refer to a longer period of time (see Isa 61:2, or the idiom in 2:4, “in the day,” that is, “when”). But this chapter uses “day,” “night,” “morning,” “evening,” “years,” and “seasons.” Consistency would require sorting out how all these terms could be used to express ages. Also, when the Hebrew word יוֹם (yom) is used with a numerical adjective, it refers to a literal day. Furthermore, the commandment to keep the sabbath clearly favors this interpretation. One is to work for six days and then rest on the seventh, just as God did when he worked at creation.
[1:7] 85 tn Heb “the expanse.”
[1:7] 86 tn This statement indicates that it happened the way God designed it, underscoring the connection between word and event.
[5:12] 87 tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).
[5:12] 88 tn Heb “the work of the Lord they do not look at, and the work of his hands they do not see.” God’s “work” can sometimes be his creative deeds, but in this context it is the judgment that he is planning to bring upon his people (cf. vv. 19, 26; 10:12; 28:21).
[14:9] 89 tn The shortened form of the prefix-conjugation verb וְיָבֵן (vÿyaven) indicates that it is a jussive rather than an imperfect. When a jussive comes from a superior to an inferior, it may connote exhortation and instruction or advice and counsel. For the functions of the jussive, see IBHS 568-70 §34.3.
[3:8] 90 tc The LXX presupposes an underlying Hebrew text of עָקַב (’aqav, “deceive”), a metathesis of קָבַע (qava’, “rob”), in all four uses of the verb here (vv. 8-9). The intent probably is to soften the impact of “robbing” God, but the language of the passage is intentionally bold and there is no reason to go against the reading of the MT (which is followed here by most English versions).
[3:8] 91 sn The tithes and contributions mentioned here are probably those used to sustain the Levites (see Num 18:8, 11, 19, 21-24).
[3:9] 92 tn Heb “cursed with a curse” that is, “under a curse” (so NIV, NLT, CEV).
[3:9] 93 tn The phrase “is guilty” is not present in the Hebrew text but is implied, and has been supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.
[3:10] 94 tn The Hebrew phrase בֵּית הָאוֹצָר (bet ha’otsar, here translated “storehouse”) refers to a kind of temple warehouse described more fully in Nehemiah (where the term לִשְׁכָּה גְדוֹלָה [lishkah gÿdolah, “great chamber”] is used) as a place for storing grain, frankincense, temple vessels, wine, and oil (Neh 13:5). Cf. TEV “to the Temple.”
[3:11] 95 tn Heb “the eater” (אֹכֵל, ’okhel), a general term for any kind of threat to crops and livelihood. This is understood as a reference to a locust plague by a number of English versions: NAB, NRSV “the locust”; NIV “pests”; NCV, TEV “insects.”
[3:11] 96 tn Heb “and I will rebuke for you the eater and it will not ruin for you the fruit of the ground.”
[6:21] 98 tn Grk “have,” in a tense emphasizing their customary condition in the past.
[1:1] 99 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
