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Genesis 18

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Part of Abraham📖 Genesis introduction

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1And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; ✦ 2And 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, ✦ 3And said, My LORD, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: ✦ 4Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: ✦ 5And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. ✦ 6And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. ✦ 7And 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. ✦ 8And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. ✦ 9And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. ✦ 10And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. ✦ 11Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. ✦ 12Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? ✦ 13And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? ✦ 14Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. ✦ 15Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh. ✦ 16And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. ✦ 17And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; ✦ 18Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? ✦ 19For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. ✦ 20And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; ✦ 21I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. ✦ 22And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. ✦ 23And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? ✦ 24Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? ✦ 25That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? ✦ 26And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. ✦ 27And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD, which am but dust and ashes: ✦ 28Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. ✦ 29And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake. ✦ 30And he said unto him, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. ✦ 31And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake. ✦ 32And he said, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake. ✦ 33And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Where this chapter connects

Gen 18 ·16Gen 17 ·10Luke 1 ·9Gen 19 ·8Judg 13 ·6Matt 7 ·4Heb 11 ·4Luke 15 ·3

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 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.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical

    On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

  • ★ Start hereVideoOverview: Genesis 1–11BibleProject · 9 min · Free

    The single best free starting point for Genesis 1–11 — clear, visual, and faithful to the literary design.

  • VideoSpoken GospelSpoken Gospel · Free · evangelical

    Short, gospel-centered videos and spoken-word poems showing how each passage points to Jesus — especially strong on the Old Testament.

  • ReferenceBook of Genesis — Visual GuideBibleProject · Free

    A free structured guide to the whole book — outline, themes, and links to each video.

  • DocumentaryIs Genesis History?Del Tackett · Free · evangelical

    A young-earth-creationist case for a literal Genesis, free on YouTube. (YEC is one view held by faithful Christians; others read Genesis differently — see the genre guide on how to read it.)

Pastoral

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Seminary

  • ★ Start hereCommentaryGenesis (Word Biblical Commentary)Gordon J. Wenham · Paid · evangelical

    For decades the gold-standard commentary on Genesis — technical but rich. (See the ranked list for alternatives like Hamilton, NICOT.)

  • BookThe Pentateuch as NarrativeJohn H. Sailhamer · ~560 pp · Library · evangelical

    A literary-theological reading that makes Genesis's design visible.

Commentaries & study tools

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