1And Jehovah appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre. And he was sitting at the door of the tent in the heat of the day. 2And he lifted up his eyes and looked; and, behold, three men were standing by him. And he saw, and he ran to meet them from the entrance of the tent. And he bowed to the ground. 3And he said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, I beg You, do not leave from near Your servant. 4Please allow a little water to be taken and You wash Your feet, and rest under the tree. 5And I will bring a bite of bread and will sustain Your heart. Then You may pass on, for this is why You have passed over to Your servant. And they said, Do so, as you have said. 6And Abraham ran into the tent to Sarah and said, Hurry, prepare three measures of fine meal, knead it and make cakes. 7And Abraham ran to the herd and brought a son of the herd, tender and good, and gave it to a youth. And he hurried to prepare it. 8And he took curds and milk and the son of the herd which he had prepared, and he set before them. And he stood by them under the tree. And they ate. 9And they said to him, Where is your wife Sarah? And he said, See, in the tent. 10And He said, Returning I will return to you at the time of life; and, Behold! A son shall be to your wife Sarah. And Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, and it was behind Him. 11And Abraham and Sarah were aged, going on in days. The custom as to women had ceased to be to Sarah. 12And Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After my being old, shall there be pleasure to me; my lord also being old? 13And Jehovah said to Abraham, Why has Sarah laughed at this, saying, Indeed, truly shall I bear, even I who am old? 14Is anything too difficult for Jehovah? At the appointed time I will return to you, at the time of life, and there will be a son to Sarah. 15And Sarah denied, saying, I did not laugh; for she was afraid. And He said, No, but you did laugh. 16And the men rose up from there and looked on the face of Sodom. And Abraham was going with them, to send them away. 17And Jehovah said, Shall I hide from Abraham that which I am doing? 18And Abraham shall become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19For I have known him, so that whatever he may command his sons and his house after him, even they may keep the way of Jehovah, to do righteousness and justice; to the intent that Jehovah may bring on Abraham that which He has spoken of him. 20And Jehovah said, The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sin is exceedingly heavy. 21I will go down and see if they have at all done according to the cry coming to Me. And if not, I will know. 22And the men faced around from there and went toward Sodom. And Abraham was still standing before Jehovah. 23And Abraham drew near and said, Is it so? Will You cut off the righteous with the wicked? 24Perhaps there are fifty righteous within the city; is it so You will cut off and will not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous ones that are within it? 25Far be it from You to act in this way, to put to death the righteous with the wicked. Far be it from You. The Judge of all the earth, shall He not do right? 26And Jehovah said, If I find fifty righteous within the city, in Sodom, then I will spare all the place because of them. 27And Abraham answered and said, Behold, I pray, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, and I am dust and ash. 28Perhaps there will be lacking five from the fifty righteous, will You destroy all the city for the five? And He said, If I find forty five there, I will not destroy. 29And he continued still to speak to Him and said, Perhaps forty will be found there. And He said, I will not do it because of the forty. 30And he said, Please do not my Lord be angry, that I may speak; perhaps thirty will be found there. And He said, I will not do it if I find thirty there. 31And he said, Behold, I pray, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord; perhaps twenty will be found there. And He said, I will not destroy because of the twenty. 32And he said, I pray, let not my Lord be angry that I may speak only this time; perhaps ten will be found there. And He said, I will not destroy because of the ten. 33And when Jehovah had left off speaking to Abraham, He was finished. And Abraham returned to his place.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 ENTERTAINMENT OF ANGELS. (
Gen 18:1-
Gen 18:8)
the Lord appeared--another manifestation of the divine presence, more familiar than any yet narrated; and more like that in the fulness of time, when the Word was made flesh.
plains of Mamre--rather, terebinth or oak of Mamre; a tall-spreading tree or grove of trees.
sat in the tent door--The tent itself being too close and sultry at noon, the shaded open front is usually resorted to for the air that may be stirring.
2 lift up his eyes . . . and, lo, three men--Travellers in that quarter start at sunrise and continue till midday when they look out for some resting-place.
he ran to meet them--When the visitor is an ordinary person, the host merely rises; but if of superior rank, the custom is to advance a little towards the stranger, and after a very low bow, turn and lead him to the tent, putting an arm round his waist, or tapping him on the shoulder as they go, to assure him of welcome.
3 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.
5 for therefore are ye come--No questions were asked. But Abraham knew their object by the course they took--approaching directly in front of the chief sheik's tent, which is always distinguishable from the rest and thus showing their wish to be his guests.
6 Abraham hastened . . . unto Sarah . . . make cakes upon the hearth--Bread is baked daily, no more than is required for family use, and always by the women, commonly the wife. It is a short process. Flour mixed with water is made into dough, and being rolled out into cakes, it is placed on the earthen floor, previously heated by a fire. The fire being removed, the cakes are laid on the ground, and being covered over with hot embers, are soon baked, and eaten the moment they are taken off.
7 Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf--Animal food is never provided, except for visitors of a superior rank when a kid or lamb is killed. A calf is still a higher stretch of hospitality, and it would probably be cooked as is usually done when haste is required--either by roasting it whole or by cutting it up into small pieces and broiling them on skewers over the fire. It is always eaten along with boiled corn swimming in butter or melted fat, into which every morsel of meat, laid upon a piece of bread, is dipped, before being conveyed by the fingers to the mouth.
8 milk--A bowl of camel's milk ends the repast.
he stood by them under the tree--The host himself, even though he has a number of servants, deems it a necessary act of politeness to stand while his guests are at their food, and Abraham evidently did this before he was aware of the real character of his visitors.
10 REPROOF OF SARAH. An inquiry about his wife, so surprising in strangers, the subject of conversation, and the fulfilment of the fondly cherished promise within a specified time, showed Abraham that he had been entertaining more than ordinary travellers (
Heb 13:2). (
Gen 18:9-
Gen 18:15)
Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him--The women's apartment is in the back of the tent, divided by a thin partition from the men's.
12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself--Long delay seems to have weakened faith. Sarah treated the announcement as incredible, and when taxed with the silent sneer, she added falsehood to distrust. It was an aggravated offense (
Acts 5:4), and nothing but grace saved her (
Rom 9:18).
16 DISCLOSURE OF SODOM'S DOOM. (
Gen 18:16-
Gen 18:22)
the men rose . . . Abraham went with them--It is customary for a host to escort his guests a little way.
17 the Lord said, Shall I hide--The chief stranger, no other than the Lord, disclosed to Abraham the awful doom about to be inflicted on Sodom and the cities of the plain for their enormous wickedness.
21 I will go down . . . and see--language used after the manner of men. These cities were to be made examples to all future ages of God's severity; and therefore ample proof given that the judgment was neither rash nor excessive (
Ezek 18:23;
Jer 18:7).
23 ABRAHAM'S INTERCESSION. (
Gen 18:23-
Gen 18:33)
Abraham drew near, and said, &c.--The scene described is full of interest and instruction--showing in an unmistakable manner the efficacy of prayer and intercession. (See also
Pro 15:8;
Jas 5:16). Abraham reasoned justly as to the rectitude of the divine procedure (
Rom 3:5-
Rom 3:6), and many guilty cities and nations have been spared on account of God's people (
Matt 5:13;
Matt 24:22).
33 the Lord . . . left communing . . . and Abraham returned unto his place--Why did Abraham cease to carry his intercessions farther? Either because he fondly thought that he was now sure of the cities being preserved (
Luke 13:9), or because the Lord restrained his mind from further intercession (
Jer 7:16;
Jer 11:14). But there were not ten "righteous persons." There was only one, and he might without injustice have perished in the general overthrow (
Eccl 9:2). But a difference is sometimes made, and on this occasion the grace of God was manifested in a signal manner for the sake of Abraham. What a blessing to be connected with a saint of God!