Kejadian 18:2

18:2 Abraham ¹  looked up ²  and saw ³  three men standing across ⁴  from him. When he saw them ⁵  he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low ⁶  to the ground. ⁷ 

Kejadian 18:7-8

18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, ⁸  who quickly prepared it. ⁹  18:8 Abraham ¹⁰  then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food ¹¹  before them. They ate while ¹²  he was standing near them under a tree.

Kejadian 18:16

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

18:16 When the men got up to leave, ¹³  they looked out over ¹⁴  Sodom. (Now ¹⁵  Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) ¹⁶ 

Kejadian 18:22

18:22 The two men turned ¹⁷  and headed ¹⁸  toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. ¹⁹ 

[18:2]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:2]  ² tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

[18:2]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn The pronoun “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the verb has no stated object.

[18:2]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ sn The reader knows this is a theophany. The three visitors are probably the Lord and two angels (see Gen 19:1). It is not certain how soon Abraham recognized the true identity of the visitors. His actions suggest he suspected this was something out of the ordinary, though it is possible that his lavish treatment of the visitors was done quite unwittingly. Bowing down to the ground would be reserved for obeisance of kings or worship of the Lord. Whether he was aware of it or not, Abraham’s action was most appropriate.

[18:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “the young man.”

[18:7]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:8]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn The disjunctive clause is a temporal circumstantial clause subordinate to the main verb.

[18:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “And the men arose from there.”

[18:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “toward the face of.”

[18:16]  ¹⁵ tn The disjunctive parenthetical clause sets the stage for the following speech.

[18:16]  ¹⁶ 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.

[18:22]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “went.”

[18:22]  ¹⁹ 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.