Then they said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.”
Parallel translations
- WEB They asked him, “Where is Sarah, your wife?” He said, “See, in the tent.”
- KJV And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
- BSB “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked. “There, in the tent,” he replied.
- NKJV Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” So he said, “Here, in the tent.”
- NLT “Where is Sarah, your wife?” the visitors asked. “She’s inside the tent,” Abraham replied.
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
The visitors ask after Sarah by name, signaling supernatural knowledge.
Overview
Their knowing Sarah's name, though she is unseen in the tent, hints at their divine identity and prepares for the promise about her. The question directs attention to Sarah, the one through whom the covenant child must come. It sets up the announcement that will test and ultimately confirm her faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Titus 2:5to be sober minded, chaste, workers at home, kind, being in subjection to their own husbands, that God’s word may not be blasphemed.
- Gen 4:9Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is Abel, your brother?” He said, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
- Gen 24:67Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife. He loved her. Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
- Gen 31:33Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the tent of the two female servants; but he didn’t find them. He went out of Leah’s tent, and entered into Rachel’s tent.
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 18:9 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.