Yahweh appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day.
Parallel translations
- KJV And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
- BSB Then the LORD appeared to Abraham by the Oaks of Mamre in the heat of the day, while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent.
- NKJV Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.
- NASB Now the Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day.
- NLT The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Yahweh appears to Abraham at Mamre as he sits in his tent in the day's heat.
Overview
This theophany opens a key scene where God renews the promise of a son and reveals his plan for Sodom. That the LORD himself draws near to a man's tent shows his intimate, condescending grace. Many in the historic church have seen here a striking picture of God visiting his people, ultimately fulfilled when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Gen 14:13One who had escaped came and told Abram, the Hebrew. At that time, he lived by the oaks of Mamre, the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner; and they were allies of Abram.
- Gen 13:18Abram moved his tent, and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to Yahweh.
- Gen 48:3Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
- Acts 7:2He said, “Brothers and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,
- Gen 17:22When he finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.
- Gen 26:2Yahweh appeared to him, and said, “Don’t go down into Egypt. Live in the land I will tell you about.
- 2 Chr 1:7That night, God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for what you want me to give you.”
- Gen 17:1–3When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty. Walk before me, and be blameless.
- Exod 4:1Moses answered, “But, behold, they will not believe me, nor listen to my voice; for they will say, ‘Yahweh has not appeared to you.’”
- Gen 15:1After these things Yahweh’s word came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
- Gen 12:7Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” He built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 18:1 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.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.