Limitless Word

Genesis 18

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Part of Abraham📖 Genesis introduction

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1Yahweh appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. ✦ 2He lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw that three men stood opposite him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth, ✦ 3and said, “My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please don’t go away from your servant. ✦ 4Now let a little water be fetched, wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. ✦ 5I will get a morsel of bread so you can refresh your heart. After that you may go your way, now that you have come to your servant.” They said, “Very well, do as you have said.” ✦ 6Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly prepare three seahs of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.” ✦ 7Abraham ran to the herd, and fetched a tender and good calf, and gave it to the servant. He hurried to dress it. ✦ 8He took butter, milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them. He stood by them under the tree, and they ate. ✦ 9They asked him, “Where is Sarah, your wife?” He said, “See, in the tent.” ✦ 10He said, “I will certainly return to you at about this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” Sarah heard in the tent door, which was behind him. ✦ 11Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. ✦ 12Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old will I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” ✦ 13Yahweh said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Will I really bear a child, yet I am old?’ ✦ 14Is anything too hard for Yahweh? At the set time I will return to you, when the season comes round, and Sarah will have a son.” ✦ 15Then Sarah denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.” ✦ 16The men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom. Abraham went with them to see them on their way. ✦ 17Yahweh said, “Will I hide from Abraham what I do, ✦ 18since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him? ✦ 19For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that Yahweh may bring on Abraham that which he has spoken of him.” ✦ 20Yahweh said, “Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, ✦ 21I will go down now, and see whether their deeds are as bad as the reports which have come to me. If not, I will know.” ✦ 22The men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before Yahweh. ✦ 23Abraham came near, and said, “Will you consume the righteous with the wicked? ✦ 24What if there are fifty righteous within the city? Will you consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are in it? ✦ 25Be it far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that be far from you. Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do right?” ✦ 26Yahweh said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place for their sake.” ✦ 27Abraham answered, “See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord, although I am dust and ashes. ✦ 28What if there will lack five of the fifty righteous? Will you destroy all the city for lack of five?” He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” ✦ 29He spoke to him yet again, and said, “What if there are forty found there?” He said, “I will not do it for the forty’s sake.” ✦ 30He said, “Oh don’t let the Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if there are thirty found there?” He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” ✦ 31He said, “See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord. What if there are twenty found there?” He said, “I will not destroy it for the twenty’s sake.” ✦ 32He said, “Oh don’t let the Lord be angry, and I will speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He said, “I will not destroy it for the ten’s sake.” ✦ 33Yahweh went his way, as soon as he had finished communing with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Where this chapter connects

Gen 18 ·16Gen 17 ·10Luke 1 ·9Gen 19 ·8Judg 13 ·6Matt 7 ·4Heb 11 ·4Luke 15 ·3

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical

    On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

  • ★ Start hereVideoOverview: Genesis 1–11BibleProject · 9 min · Free

    The single best free starting point for Genesis 1–11 — clear, visual, and faithful to the literary design.

  • VideoSpoken GospelSpoken Gospel · Free · evangelical

    Short, gospel-centered videos and spoken-word poems showing how each passage points to Jesus — especially strong on the Old Testament.

  • ReferenceBook of Genesis — Visual GuideBibleProject · Free

    A free structured guide to the whole book — outline, themes, and links to each video.

  • DocumentaryIs Genesis History?Del Tackett · Free · evangelical

    A young-earth-creationist case for a literal Genesis, free on YouTube. (YEC is one view held by faithful Christians; others read Genesis differently — see the genre guide on how to read it.)

Pastoral

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Seminary

  • ★ Start hereCommentaryGenesis (Word Biblical Commentary)Gordon J. Wenham · Paid · evangelical

    For decades the gold-standard commentary on Genesis — technical but rich. (See the ranked list for alternatives like Hamilton, NICOT.)

  • BookThe Pentateuch as NarrativeJohn H. Sailhamer · ~560 pp · Library · evangelical

    A literary-theological reading that makes Genesis's design visible.

Commentaries & study tools

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