Bible Commentaries
Genesis 18

Verse 2

18:2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three {a} men stood by him: and when he saw [them], he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

(a) That is, three angels in the shape of men.

Verse 3

18:3 And said, My {b} Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:

(b) Speaking to the one who appeared to be most majestic, for he thought they were men.

Verse 4

18:4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and {c} wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:

(c) For men used to go bare footed in those parts because of the heat.

Verse 5

18:5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye {d} come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.

(d) As sent by God that I should do my duty to you.

Verse 8

18:8 And 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 {e} they did eat.

(e) For as God gave them bodies for a time, so he gave them the abilities of them, to walk, to eat and drink, and such like.

Verse 10

18:10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of {f} life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard [it] in the tent door, which [was] behind him.

(f) That is, about this time when she shall be alive, or when the child shall come into this life.

Verse 12

18:12 Therefore Sarah {g} laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

(g) For she believed the order of nature, rather than believing the promise of God.

Verse 17

18:17 And the {h} LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;

(h) Jehovah the Hebrew word we call Lord, shows that this angel was Christ: for this word is only applied to God.

Verse 19

18:19 For I know him, {i} 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.

(i) He shows that fathers ought both to know God’s judgments, and to declare them to their children.

Verse 21

18:21 I will {k} go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the {l} cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

(k) God speaks after the fashion of men: that is, I will enter into judgment with good advise.

(l) For our sins cry for vengeance, though no one accuses us.

Verse 26

18:26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom {m} fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.

(m) God declares that his judgments were done with great mercy, even though all were so corrupt that not only fifty but ten righteous men could not be found there, and also that the wicked are spared for the sake of the righteous.

Verse 27

18:27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which [am {n} but] dust and ashes:

(n) By this we learn, that the nearer we approach to God, the more our miserable estate appears, and the more we are humbled.

Verse 32

18:32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this {o} once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy [it] for ten’s sake.

(o) If God did not refuse the prayer for the wicked Sodomites, even to the sixth request, how much more will he grant the prayers of the godly for the afflicted Church?