Kejadian 18:1

Three Special Visitors

18:1 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.

Kejadian 18:10-11

18:10 One of them ⁵  said, “I will surely return ⁶  to you when the season comes round again, ⁷  and your wife Sarah will have a son!” ⁸  (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. ⁹  18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; ¹⁰  Sarah had long since passed menopause.) ¹¹ 

Kejadian 18:13

18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why ¹²  did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really ¹³  have a child when I am old?’

Kejadian 18:22

18:22 The two men turned ¹⁴  and headed ¹⁵  toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. ¹⁶ 

[18:1]  ¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ² tn Or “terebinths.”

[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.

[18:10]  ⁵ 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 Lord (cf. RSV, NIV) based on vv. 1, 13, but the Hebrew text merely has “he said” at this point, referring to one of the three visitors. Aside from the introductory statement in v. 1, the incident is narrated from Abraham’s point of view, and the suspense is built up for the reader as Abraham’s elaborate banquet preparations in the preceding verses suggest he suspects these are important guests. But not until the promise of a son later in this verse does it become clear who is speaking. In v. 13 the Hebrew text explicitly mentions the Lord.

[18:10]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.

[18:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”

[18:10]  ⁹ tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).

[18:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “days.”

[18:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “it had ceased to be for Sarah [after] a way like women.”

[18:13]  ¹² tn Heb “Why, this?” The demonstrative pronoun following the interrogative pronoun is enclitic, emphasizing the Lord’s amazement: “Why on earth did Sarah laugh?”

[18:13]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew construction uses both הַאַף (ha’af) and אֻמְנָם (’umnam): “Indeed, truly, will I have a child?”

[18:22]  ¹⁴ 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 Lord was the third visitor, who remained behind with Abraham here. The words “from there” are not included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[18:22]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “went.”

[18:22]  ¹⁶ tc An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition reads “but the Lord remained standing before Abraham.” This reading is problematic because the phrase “standing before” typically indicates intercession, but the Lord would certainly not be interceding before Abraham.