And Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
Parallel translations
- WEB He 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,
- KJV And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
- NKJV So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,
- NASB When he raised his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed down to the ground,
- NLT He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground.
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
Three men suddenly appear, and Abraham runs to welcome them with deep respect.
Overview
The 'three men' are the LORD and two accompanying angels (19:1), and Abraham's eager running and bowing model wholehearted hospitality. His reverence hints that he senses these are no ordinary visitors. The scene displays the welcome God's people are to extend to strangers (Hebrews 13:2).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Heb 13:2Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
- Gen 18:22And the two men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.
- Judg 13:3The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “It is true that you are barren and have no children; but you will conceive and give birth to a son.
- Gen 19:1Now the two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them, bowed facedown,
- Gen 23:7Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites.
- Josh 5:13Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua approached Him and asked, “Are You for us or for our enemies?”
- Gen 18:16When the men got up to leave, they looked out over Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them off.
- Gen 43:26When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought, and they bowed to the ground before him.
- Gen 43:28“Your servant our father is well,” they answered. “He is still alive.” And they bowed down to honor him.
- Gen 44:14When Judah and his brothers arrived at Joseph’s house, he was still there, and they fell to the ground before him.
- Gen 32:24So Jacob was left all alone, and there a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
- Gen 33:3–7But Jacob himself went on ahead and bowed to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.
- Judg 13:6–11So the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. His appearance was like the angel of God, exceedingly awesome. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.
- 1 Pet 4:9Show hospitality to one another without complaining.
- Ruth 2:10At this, she fell on her face, bowing low to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me, even though I am a foreigner?”
- 2 Kgs 2:15When the sons of the prophets who were facing him from Jericho saw what had happened, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him.
- Rom 12:13Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 18:2 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.