And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened 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.
- BSB Meanwhile, Abraham ran to the herd, selected a tender and choice calf, and gave it to a servant, who hurried 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 13:15–16Manoah said to Yahweh’s angel, “Please stay with us, that we may make a young goat ready for you.”
- Luke 15:23Bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat, and celebrate;
- Luke 15:30But when this, your son, came, who has devoured your living with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’
- Amos 6:4Who lie on beds of ivory, and stretch themselves on their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the middle of the stall;
- Matt 22:4Again he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner. My cattle and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the marriage feast!”’
- Mal 1:14“But the deceiver is cursed, who has in his flock a male, and vows, and sacrifices to the Lord a defective thing; for I am a great King,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and my name is awesome among the nations.”
- Luke 15:27He said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and healthy.’
- Gen 19:3He urged them greatly, and they came in with him, and entered into his house. He made them a feast, 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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