Old Testament Commentary - Genesis 18

A point of explanation is required for this chapter. The traditional sectarian Christian view has been that Abraham was visited by just three visitors, but a careful study of the text establishes that Abraham was visited by the Lord and also three aditional visitors. This point will be emphasized in the presentation of this chapter. The logic on this matter follows:

1. Genesis 18:1 clearly states that 'the LORD appeared unto Abraham in the plains of Mamre; and he [presumably Abraham] sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; ... '
2. Genesis 18:2 continues the compound sentence stating, ' ... and he [once again presumably Abraham] lift up his eyes [he was sitting] and looked and, lo, three men stood by him [this second 'him' is presumably the LORD who did appear accompanied by three men or angels]: and when he [presumably Abraham again] saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, ...'
3. Genesis 18:3, and yet the sentence still continues, ' ... and said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: ...'

Now, when Abraham ran to meet the visitors he did not address the three, but rather, he properly bowed himself to the ground and addressed the one, the Lord, as 'My Lord'; for Abraham did recognize the Lord and distinguish him from the other three visitors. That is the consistency there. Bishop Eusebius of Ceasarea does confirm this aspect, as he speaks of this incidence is some detail not had in our KJV of the Bible today. Remember Bishop Eusebius Pamphili had access to that great Christian library or records available at Ceasarea. He states regarding this event, " ... the Lord God, it is said, appeared as a common man to Abraham while he was sitting at the oak of Mambre [Mamre]. And he, immediately failing down, although he saw a man with his eyes, nevertheless worshiped him as God [~ Genesis 18:2], and sacrificed to him as Lord, and confessed that he was not ignorant of his identity when he uttered the words, 'Lord, the judge of all the earth, wilt thou not execute righteous judgement?' [~ Genesis 18:25]" (Ecclesiastical History, Book I, by Bishop Eusebius Pamphili of Caesarea, Chapter 2, Paragraph 5.) Though Bishop Eusebius condenses his account to his purpose of reference, it is apparrent that he has an 'enlarged' account and understinding of the events than what has survived in our Bible today, for he states that Abraham did offer sacrifice unto the Lord upon this occation. And in particular Bishop Eusebius is quite well aware that it was the Lord accompanied by the three other messengers who all appear as a 'common men' and not the Lord of Glory upon this visit to Abraham. These truths, well understood by our early Christian brothers, have been lost and changed not only in the text of the Bible but in the interpretations placed upon them by the precept of men, particularly those who do not fancy the Lord appearing to man face to face and speaking to men as one man speaks to another.

Further in the Biblical record it states:

4. Genesis 18:22, when it came time to part ways 'the men [the three angels] turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.'
5. Genesis 19:1, when these [three] men or angels arrived at Sodom the King James Version has in error stated them to be but 'two'. Joseph Smith corrects this error in the JST where is states, and this is the kicker, 'And it came to pass, that there came three angels to Sodom in the evening; and Lot sat in the door of his house, in the city of Sodom.

Additionaly, Hugh Nibly is correct in stating that the Lord and the angels did visit Abraham that day. Sectarian Traditional Christianity as well as the Jewish perspective, which presumes no man has seen God in the form of a man and directly spoken to him as such, and thus they have altared the Biblical account and traditionally twisted it in their commentaries. And even though the chapter states that the Lord appeared unto Abraham (verse 1), they have made it to be but angels and only three without the Lord included to made it a fourth. Though Hugh Nibly is correct that the Lord himself was among the visitors, he stays with just three rather than four visiting Abraham not having reconciled properly between the KJV and the JST account. Nibley presumes that the Lord who remained with Abraham meant that only two continued on to Sodom which the KJV so states it to be two. But since the corrected version, the JST, states that three angels arrived at Sodon, then we are back to the corrected number of four, the Lord and three angels with him. Hugh's briliant mind has captured the important and hurried past the detail which Joseph Smith did correct in chapter 19 of the JST, that there were three angels, not two, who had accompanied the Lord, making four visitors in total that day in the plains of Mamre.

The fact that it was the Lord who did appear unto Abraham that day, accompanied by those three angels seems quite signifcant, as the bulk of the conversation is between the Lord and Abraham and not just an angel speaking with Abraham that day. That gives a completely new perspective to the discussion when one understands that it was the Lord speaking directly with Abraham and not just a messenger of the Lord. And it also raises some question of interest as to just who were those 'three' angels?

(A side note of curiosity interest is that 'spirits', made up of more pure matter than the natural temporal mortal man, do eat and drink as the Lord and the three angels did sit and eat and drink with Abraham.)

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 18             Abraham entertains three holy men—They promise that Sarah shall have a son—Abraham will command his children to do justice and judgment—The Lord appears to him—They discuss the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.	Abraham entertains the LORD Jehovah and three accompanying holy angels—The LORD again promises that Sarah shall have a son—Abraham will command his children to do justice and judgment—The three angels leave Abraham and the LORD in order to complete their task at Sodom and Gomorrah—The LORD and Abraham discuss the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.	NOTE: The currently supplied LDS scriptures heading to this chapter follows the traditional sectarian thought that only three messengers appeared and visited Abraham and that the Lord later speaks with Abraham. This is not what the scriptures state. Beginning with the very first verse of the chapter it plainly states that 'the LORD appeared unto Abraham.'
1 ¶ AND the LORD aappeareda unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the daya;  2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three amen stood by hima [the LORD]: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bbowed himself toward the ground,  3 And said, My aLorda, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:  4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and awash your feet, and brest yourselves under the tree:  5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and acomfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye bcome to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.  6 And 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.  7  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. .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 they did eat. No Man Has Seen God  There are various takes upon this concept. John states, 'No man hath seen God at any thim; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.' (John 1:18) Again John states, 'No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfeced in us.' (John 4:12) The JST gives a new twist to John 4;12 by stating 'No man hath seen God at any time, except them who believe.' Thus one's faith seems to figure into the equation. Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament. Did Abraham see him or does this apply just to the Father? Yet Steven and Joseph Smith have seen the Father and the Son. And various scriptures state in vision seeing Jesus standing on the right hand of God. Modern revelation clarifies this to some degree. "For no man has seen God at any time in the flesh, except guicked by the Spirit of God. Neither can any natural man abide the presence of God, neither after the carnal mind.' (D&C 67:11-12) This seems to give an explanation of when man can see God. The natural man with his natural eyes can not behold the glory of God. But by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, one is 'quickened' that the spirit, the eyes and ears of the Spirit, can both hear and see God. This would mean that when a man does see God, the presence of the spirit is revealing Him and to the man, and the carnal man is some how 'masked' and protected. D&C 84:22-25 explains that withouth the priesthood power and the ordinances of it operating that man can not see god and live. And it also points out that though Moses tried to bring the Children of Israel to stand in faith before God, face to face, because of their unbeleif they could not stand in the presence of God. (See topical guide, God, privilege of seeing) All the visitors in the case of Abraham, the Lord and the three accompanying angels did not seem to appear in their glory but as natural men, as Abraham proceeded to have their feet washed and did feed them. And certainly Sarah seems to see and react to them as merely being men. Thus it further seems that such spirits and angels of God can appear as ordinary men and not in the fulness of their glory.	1a The Lord appeared Abraham is no stranger to the Lord. The Lord had appeared and spoken to Abraham before as clearly established in the Book of Abraham. This is a clear and straight foreward statement that once again the Lord has come to visit Abraham. As as confirmed by Bishop Eusebius of Ceasarea as referrenced in the openning intorductory paragraphs at the beginning of this chapter, the Lord did not appear in his glory but as a common man visible to the natural eye of man as Abraham's wife also saw and heard the conversations which followed.   1b he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day Abraham siting in the door of his tent in the heat of the day would be somewhat comparable to sitting on ones front porch relaxing and resting in the heat of the day. It seems significant that it is the middle of a bright sunny hot day when the LORD and his accopanying three angels do appear unto Abraham. There is little mistaking that Abraham did see his four visitors, it was not a night vision, Sarah saw and heard them two and did fix them food to eat. It was not just a dream or a vision but an actual 'visitation' and the visitors did eat and drink and sit and talk with Abraham as one man talketh to another.   2a three men stood by him Accompanying the LORD were three angels who had charge concerning the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. There is some speculation as to who these three 'angels' were, but surfice it to say that they had their charge from heaven and it could have been any number of possible beings under God's direction including the pre-mortal Peter, James and John, the Lord's Chief Apostles whom the temple endowment presents as assisting the Lord in his work. Or it could have been some others so assigned to dealling with this particular circumstance such as Noah, Melchizedek, Enoch, etc.   3a My Lord The word for "Lord" used here is 'adhonay' or 'adonai' which refers to Jehovah as Master thus avoiding the too frequent use of the name Yahwhe or Jehovah. Thus it becomes all too obvious to any good student of the scriptures that Jehovah was one of the visitors to Abraham that day. Nature of the Spirit ~ They Did Eat ~  A curiosity in passing could noted, that is the Lord who was at this time a Spirit Being and also possibly his three angel assisting messengers who appear in such form which allows washing of feet and eating of common earthly food. This may answer some questions some may raise about the nature of a spirit. A spirit being has material substance and does or can eat and drink as does the mortal being. And it would seem that when Jehovah and Elohim discused the making and forming the temporal body of man the stating in Genesis 1:26 of making man in their image some not just of the outer physical image but also that of the inner workings of the spirit as it related to the temporal tabernacle. That is we are not merely head, shoulders, knees and toes; eyes ears mouth and nose like unto Jehovah and Elohim. But we are also inwardly designed after the workings of the inner body, be it spirit or celestial glorified being. And the process of eating for bodily neutrision and such as the breathing system and even the likely circulartory system and such are of that same image. And while blood but 'spirit' ciculates in the veins of spirit and higher beings of glory, the systems regulating life either in the mortal sphere of celestial sphere are of similar nature inside and out. So if I am asked if angels and Gods do eat in a manner in which we do, then the answer is yes. And not only that. Within the opperations of the temporal second estate, they do even appear to eat such things as meat, that is the meat of the calf which was prepared and offered to them and 'they did eat'.	1a TG Jesus Christ, Appearances,       Antemortal  2a Josh. 5:13; TG Angels    b 3 Ne. 11:19; Ether 6:12;       TG Courtesy  3a JST Gen. 18:3 ...brethren...  4a TG Washing    b TG Hospitality  5a OR sustain...    b Gen. 19:8 Three or Two Angels?  Three messenger angels attend the LORD and Abraham in chapter 18 of Genesis. The three messengers depart from the LORD and Abraham and travel to Sodom, to the house of Lot. KJV of Genesis 19 sets out that two angels come to Sodom and to Lot's house but the JST corrects this error and sets the number straight as being three angels that enter Sodom and thus into Lot's house (See Genesis 19:1) Three Measures of Meal  How many 'cakes' three measures of meal makes is not set out. Some assume that three measures made three cakes, thus three visitors. But this is not necessarily so. Three measures may well have make any number of cakes and loafs are dividable. The Misnomer of Tradition  As depicted in the artist conception above, most all pictures of this event place Abraham speaking with only the three messengers of God and not the LORD himself as being included. Traditional Christianity has wiped the Lord from being envolved in this event even as clearly stated in the scriptural account which remains and as pointed out by the early Christian Historian Bishop Eusebius of Ceasarea. In fact the bulk of the recorded conversation is with the Lord and Abraham throughout the chapter, which gives many new perspectives and understandings to not only this event but the true nature of God.
9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife?a And he said, Behold, in the tent.  10 And he [the LORD] said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, aSarah thy wife shall have a bsona. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.  11 Now Abraham and Sarah were aold and well stricken in age; and it bceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.  12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herselfa, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being aold also?  13 And the LORD saida unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah alaugh, saying, Shall I of a surety beara child, which am bold?  14 Is any thing too ahard for the LORD?a At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the btime of life, and Sarah shall have a son.  15  Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.	9a Where is Sarah thy wife? The visitors with Abraham would be only men. Whether the cultrual norm for the house of Abraham, it was the cultrual norm prevailing in the region that men ate and met together apart from the women. Thus this question was not in harmony with the cultural expectation of ordinanry men of the time. But these where not ordinary visitors and they knew Abraham's wife by name. Sarah may not have known who these visitors where, but Abraham's familiarity with the Lord would have revealed to Abraham who they were. This question of invitation was for Sarah, who had not witnessed previous visits from the LORD. She was to hear from the LORD's mouth the promise of a son for herself. Abraham's faith already believed (See Romans 4:16-24).  10a Sarah thy wife shall have a son Sarah heard the promise from the mouth of the LORD, but knew not who had spoken it. Abraham had previously spoken with the LORD (See Genesis 17:15-17) and had a similar reaction to the news of a son born of Sarah. Now hearing it a second time within the hearing of Sarah herself, Abraham's reaction was more fully believing in the LORD's word.   12a Sarah laughed within herself The statement was not so humorous but in doubt did Sarah scoff as had Abraham previously.   13a the LORD said Here is confirmation that the LORD himself sat amoung the men at this gathering of Abraham, the LORD and the three messenger angels. It is the LORD who speaks and takes Sarah and indirectly Abraham to task for their none belief that Abraham at 100 years old and Sarah at 90 years old could have a son if the LORD so stated it to be so.   14a Is any thing too hard for the LORD? The question was likely not only to Sarah's doubt but to reinforce to both Sarah and Abraham that it was so and it would happen.	10a Gen. 17:19; Gen. 21:1      b TG Seed of Abraham  11a TG Old Age      b TG Barrenness  12a Gen. 21:7; Ether 7:3-7,26;         Ether 9:23  13a TG Laughter      b Luke 1:18  14a Luke 1:37; Rom. 4:21;         TG God, Power of      b 2 Kings 4:16 The Thread of Life Continues  God had washed the face of the earth clean of wickedness with the flood of Noah. God had acted against man at Babel because they would not desperse and fill the earth. Now God again would cause a great destruction to come upon the wicked of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their degenerative perversion against the Plan of Heaven. Through all such great destructions, God's Love toward man is yet revealed in such small things as keeping the 'Tread of Life' and the promise of 'God's Covenant with Man' alive in the family of Noah and now in the family of Abraham and his son of the covenant Issac. This thread of life would continue through Jacob and then to Joseph by whom the promises would remain (See D&C 27:10). In addition to Joseph's right in the covenant, Jacob would add the blessings upon Ephraim's head as the Firstborn of the Covenant in Israel (See Genesis 48 ~ Jacob's blessing of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh). Just how the ancestry of Christ is preserved as the legal and rightful seed of Joseph and Ephraim is set out in the text entitled Messiah ben David ~ Messiah ben Joseph. The dual ancestry of Christ is discussed and presented in some detail.
16 ¶ And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.  17 And the LORD said, Shall I ahide from Abraham that thing which I do;  18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty anation, and all the bnations of the earth shall be cblessed in him?  19  For I aknow him, that he will bcommand his cchildren and his dhousehold after him, and they shall ekeep the way of the LORD, to do justice and fjudgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.  20 And the LORD said, Because the acry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their bsin is very grievous;  21 I 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 aknow.  22 aAnd the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham bstood yet before the LORD.	17a Shall I hide The complete and utter destruction of two great cities of people would come as a shock to any who lived round about, and the question would arise as to why it had occurred. God reasons with his messengers that Abraham would remain faithful to the Lord even understanding that the Lord had caused such destruction to come upon man. Not all have such faith. Many question why the God of Love causes or allows men to suffer and perish. Abraham would be better off having the understanding that God had caused the destruction and why in this particular case the destruction was necessary due to the extreme wickedness of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. God's relevation to Abraham, a prophet, is consistent with God's actions of revealing such information to man for man's benefit. It is through this information that we understand just how wicked the people were. Only Lot and his family could be saved. (See Amos 3:7).   21a I will go ... and see God would already have known that the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah was great, but confirmation is a part of the process of the Lord. It is the difference between God just judging us without our earthly probation and allowing us the actual experience of passing through such probation. We must go through the actual physical testing process. It confirms what God already knows, but it is for the actual witness to man of these things that we must go through the actual process and experience it for ourselves. Punishment rests upon actual deeds, not just the knowledge and understanding of the nature of man. God knew what was going on in Sodom. But actual judgments are to be based upon observed facts of examination, not merely abstract understanding. Before the final punishment of the wicked at the time of Christ's return, we may expect such actual observation of the facts of the matter of the wickedness of the world for the Lord's judgment to be based upon.re1407d, ez01pic, and see on da0525.	17a Abr. 3:15; TG Revelation  18a TG Nations      b TG Abrhamic Covenant      c Zech. 8:13; D&C 110:12;         D&C 115:5;         TG Israel, Mission of  19a TG God, Omniscience of      b TG Family, Children,         Responsibilities toward;         TG Teaching      c TG Children; TG Family      d Alma 23:3      e TG Loyalty; TG Trustworthiness      f TG Judgment  20a Gen. 19:13; Mosiah 19:7 (1-9)         Morm. 2:13 (10-15)      b TG Homosexuality  21a 2 Ne. 27:27  22a JST Gen. 18:23 And the angels         which were holy men, and were         sent forth after the order of         God, turned their faces...      b TG God, Access to Sin Today and Yesterday  In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve were commanded to multiply and fill the earth. The whole existence of society is based upon 'Family' and the procreation of the species of 'Man'. Adam partook of the fruit with Eve, understanding that the greater commandment to multiply could not be fulfilled without man and woman. Often the greater weight and consequence of a situation over rides. It is important to understand that the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah was such that it attacked the very foundation of society and God's Eternal Plan of bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. This same attack is once again being established in the earth against the Plan of God. Homosexuality is becoming common place and even protected by legislative processes as the 'right of man'. God gave man no such right to pervert the commandments of God. At what point God will proceed to destroy such perverted wickedness is a part of the destruction by the hand of God at His Second Coming. Who can say that we are not nearing such a judgment of God against man again?
23 ¶ And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also adestroy the brighteous with the cwickeda?  24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not aspare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?  25 That 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 aJudge of all the earth do right?  26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty arighteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.  27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but adust and ashes:  28 Peradventure 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.	23a destroy the righteous with the wicked In the course of nature's events, tradgedy happens to both the righteous and the wicked. In this case it was not going to be 'nature's course' which would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom and Gomorrah was to be destroyed by the hand of the Lord. The Lord had provided that Lot and his family members, who would respond to the word of the Lord, would be saved. It was not the Lord's intent to destroy the righteous, but rather to put to an end the great unrepentant wickedness the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah whose wickedness was fully ripe. Even the babies and children would be better off to not be raise up in the ways of sin as was occurring in Soddom and Gomorrah.	23a 1 Ne. 22:16; Omni 1:6-7;         Hel. 13:12-14; D&C 64:24      b Gen. 20:4;      c TG Wickedness  24a TG Worth of Souls  25a TG Jesus Christ, Judge  26a Jer. 5:1; Ezek.22:30;         3 Ne. 9:13; TG Righteousness  27a Gen. 2:7; Gen.3:19;         Mosiah 4:1-3; Hel. 12:7;
29 And 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.  30 And 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.  31 And 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.  32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be aangry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will bnot destroy it for ten’s sake.	32 - Not ... for ten's sake In the great punishment at the coming of Jesus, many will be saved but we may expect the vast majority to be destroyed as in the case of Sodom mt0713.	32a Judg. 6:39      b Isa. 65:8
33 And the LORD awent his waya, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.	33a Went his way The LORD had come as a common man in appearance, and when he left Abraham, the LORD walked away as a comman man would. There was no great vision with grand entrance and departure. Abraham had visited with the LORD this day as a man.	33a TG God, Body of--Corporeal        Nature

.

Previous

Next

Genesis home

Commentary home

Family Home