Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land
Parallel translations
- WEB Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land.
- KJV And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.
- NKJV Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land;
- NASB And Abraham bowed before the people of the land.
- NLT Abraham again bowed low before the citizens of the land,
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 again bows before the people of the land. He continues to deal with humility and respect throughout the negotiation.
Overview
Abraham's repeated bow shows persistent courtesy as he presses toward an actual purchase. His humility never abandons his clear purpose. The patriarch models gracious firmness in securing what is right.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Gen 18:2And 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.
- Gen 19:1Now the two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them, bowed facedown,
- Gen 23:7Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites.
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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 23:12 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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