Meanwhile, Abraham ran to the herd, selected a tender and choice calf, and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it.
Parallel translations
- WEB Abraham ran to the herd, and fetched a tender and good calf, and gave it to the servant. He hurried to dress it.
- KJV And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
- NKJV And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it.
- NASB Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it.
- NLT Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it.
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
Abraham runs to select a choice calf and has it quickly prepared.
Overview
Slaughtering a tender calf was a costly, special-occasion gesture, far beyond ordinary fare. Abraham's running again conveys his joyful eagerness to serve. The lavishness of the meal honors guests he increasingly perceives to be divine.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Judg 13:15–16“Please stay here,” Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “and we will prepare a young goat for you.”
- Luke 15:23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us feast and celebrate.
- Luke 15:30But when this son of yours returns from squandering your wealth with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
- Amos 6:4You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge upon your couches. You dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall.
- Matt 22:4Again, he sent other servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
- Mal 1:14“But cursed is the deceiver who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord. For I am a great King,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and My name is to be feared among the nations.
- Luke 15:27‘Your brother has returned,’ he said, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has him back safe and sound.’
- Gen 19:3But Lot insisted so strongly that they followed him into his house. He prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
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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 18:7 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
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