Kejadian 18:10

18:10 One of them ¹  said, “I will surely return ²  to you when the season comes round again, ³  and your wife Sarah will have a son!” ⁴  (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. ⁵ 

Kejadian 18:16

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

18:16 When the men got up to leave, ⁶  they looked out over ⁷  Sodom. (Now ⁸  Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) ⁹ 

Kejadian 17:18

17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that ¹⁰  Ishmael might live before you!” ¹¹ 

[18:10]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “as/when the time lives” or “revives,” possibly referring to the springtime.

[18:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “and there will be (הִנֵּה, hinneh) a son for Sarah.”

[18:10]  ⁵ tn This is the first of two disjunctive parenthetical clauses preparing the reader for Sarah’s response (see v. 12).

[18:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “And the men arose from there.”

[18:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “toward the face of.”

[18:16]  ⁸ tn The disjunctive parenthetical clause sets the stage for the following speech.

[18:16]  ⁹ 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.

[17:18]  ¹⁰ tn The wish is introduced with the Hebrew particle לוּ (lu), “O that.”

[17:18]  ¹¹ tn Or “live with your blessing.”