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,
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,
- BSB 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.
- 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,
- 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 13:2Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for in doing so, some have entertained angels without knowing it.
- Gen 18:22The men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before Yahweh.
- Judg 13:3Yahweh’s angel appeared to the woman, and said to her, “See now, you are barren and childless; but you shall conceive, and bear a son.
- Gen 19:1The two angels came to Sodom at evening. Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them. He bowed himself with his face to the earth,
- Gen 23:7Abraham rose up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.
- Josh 5:13When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood in front of him with his sword drawn in his hand. Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our enemies?”
- Gen 18:16The men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom. Abraham went with them to see them on their way.
- Gen 43:26When Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves down to him to the earth.
- Gen 43:28They said, “Your servant, our father, is well. He is still alive.” They bowed down humbly.
- Gen 44:14Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, and he was still there. They fell on the ground before him.
- Gen 32:24Jacob was left alone, and wrestled with a man there until the breaking of the day.
- Gen 33:3–7He himself passed over in front of them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
- Judg 13:6–11Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A man of God came to me, and his face was like the face of the angel of God, very awesome. I didn’t ask him where he was from, neither did he tell me his name;
- 1 Pet 4:9Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
- Ruth 2:10Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take knowledge of me, since I am a foreigner?”
- 2 Kgs 2:15When the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho over against him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
- Rom 12:13contributing to the needs of the saints; given to hospitality.
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 18:2 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.