Genesis 18

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:4

Let a little water, I pray yon, be fetched, and wash your feet. Feet washing was a necessary part of Oriental hospitality (cf. Genesis 19:2 ; Genesis 24:32 ; Genesis 43:24 ). "Among the ancient Egyptians the basins kept in the houses of the rich for this purpose were sometimes of gold". " In India it is considered a necessary part of hospitality to wash the feet and ankles of the weary traveler, and even in Palestine this interesting custom is not extinct. Dr. Robinson and party on... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:5

And I will fetch a morsel of bread, —a modest description of what proved a sumptuous repast ( vide Genesis 18:6 , Genesis 18:8 )— and comfort ye your hearts; —literally, strengthen or support them, i.e. by eating and drinking ( 19:5 ; 1 Kings 21:7 )— after that ye shall pass on: for therefore — כִּי־עַל־כֵּן introduces the ground of what has already been stated, something like quando quidem, forasmuch as, since, or because (Kalisch), and not = עַל־כֵּש־כִּי , for... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:6

And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures . Hebrew, three seahs, a seah being a third of an ephah, and containing 374 cubic inches each (Keil); a third of a bushel (Kalisch)— of fine meal ,—literally, of flour, fine flour ; σεμίδαλις ( LXX .); the first term when alone denoting flour of ordinary quality (cf. Le Genesis 2:1 ; Genesis 5:11 ; Numbers 7:13 )— knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth — i.e. "round unleavened... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:7

And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, —the greatness of the honor done to the strangers was evinced by the personal activity of the patriarch, and the offering of animal food, which was not a common article of consumption among Orientals— and gave it unto a young man ;— i.e. the servant in attendance (cf. Genesis 14:24 )— and he hasted to dress it. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:8

And he took butter ,— חֶמְאָה , from the root חמא , to curdle or become thick, signifies curdled milk, not butter ( βούτυτρον , LXX .; butyrum, Vulgate), which was not used among Orientals except medicinally. The word occurs seven times in Scripture with four letters ( Deuteronomy 32:14 ; 5:25 ; 2 Samuel 17:29 ; Isaiah 7:15 , Isaiah 7:22 ; Proverbs 30:33 ; Job 20:17 ), and once without א — and milk ,— חָלָב , milk whilst still fresh, or containing its... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:9

And they said unto him ( i.e. the Principal One of the three, speaking for the others, interrogated Abraham during the progress, or perhaps at the close of, the meal saying), Where is Sarah thy wife? (thus indicating that their visit had a special reference to her). And he said, Behold, in the tent . It is obvious that if at first Abraham regarded his visitors only as men, by this time a suspicion of their true character must have begun to dawn upon his mind. How should ordinary... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:10

And he said (the Principal Guest, as above, who, by the very nature and terms of his announcement, identifies himself with Jehovah), I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life. Literally, at the time reviving ; i.e. when the year shall have been renewed, in the next year, or rather spring; though other interpretations of the phrase have been suggested, as, e.g; "according to the time of that which is born," i.e. at the end of nine months (Willet, Calvin, Bush,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:11

Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age. Literally, gone into days, i.e. into years. This was the first natural impediment to the accomplishment of Jehovah's premise; the second was peculiar to Sarah. And it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women ( vide Le Genesis 15:19 , 25). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:12

Therefore (literally, and) Sarah laughed within herself —Abraham had laughed in joyful amazement, ( Genesis 18:17 ) at the first mention of Sarah's son; Sarah laughs, if not in unbelief (Calvin, Keil, 'Speaker's Commentary,' Wordsworth), at least with a mingled feeling of doubt and delight (Lange, Murphy) at the announcement of her approaching maternity— saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?— literally, and my lord, i.e. my husband, is old. The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:12

"Sarah laughed within herself." 1. The incongruity between a Divine promise and the sphere of its fulfillment is temptation to unbelief. 2. A disposition to measure the reality and certainty of the Divine by a human or earthly standard is sure to lead us to irreverence and sinful doubt. 3. There may be an inward and concealed working, known to God though not outwardly expressed. Which is still both an insult to him a d an injury to us. 4. The root of unbelief is in the ground... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:5

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:6

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:7

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:9

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:10

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:11

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:12

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:12

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