Genesis 18:16-19 NIV

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 18:17

Verse 17 17.Shall I hide from Abraham? Seeing that God here takes counsel, as if concerning a doubtful matter, he does it for the sake of men; for he had already determined what he would do. But he designed, in this manner, to render Abraham more intent upon the consideration of the causes of Sodom’s destruction. He adduces two reasons why He wished to manifest his design to Abraham, before he carried it into execution. The former is, that he had already granted him a singularly honorable... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 18:18

Verse 18 18.Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation. In Hebrew it is, ‘And being, he shall be,’ etc. But the copulative ought to be resolved into the causal adverb. (415) For this is the reasons to which we have already alluded, why God chose to inform his servant of the terrible vengeance He was about to take upon the men of Sodom; namely, that He had adorned him, above all others, with peculiar gifts. For, in this way, God continues his acts of kindness towards the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 18:19

Verse 19 19.For I know him, that he will command his children. The second reason why God chooses to make Abraham a partaker of his counsel is, because he foresees that this would not be done in vain, and without profit. And the simple meaning of the passage is, that Abraham is admitted to the counsel of God, because he would faithfully fulfill the office of a good householder, in instructing his own family. Hence we infer, that Abraham was informed of the destruction of Sodom, not for his own... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:16

And the men rose up from thence ,—Mamre ( vide supra , Genesis 18:1 )— and looked towards Sodom . Literally, toward the face (Rosenmüller), or towards the plain (Keil), of Sodom, as if intending to proceed thither. And Abraham went with them —across the mountains on the east of Hebron, as far as Caphar-barucha, according to tradition, whence a view can be obtained of the Dead Sea— solitudinem ac terras Sodomae (vide Keil, in loco ) — to bring them on the way .... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:16-33

Abraham's intercession for Sodom. The whole wonderful scene springs out of the theophany. Abraham's faith has given him a special position with the Lord. "Shall I hide from Abraham that thug which I do?" &c.; The true priesthood and mediatorship is friendship with God. The grace of God first gives the likeness and then exalts it. The Lord knew Abraham because Abraham knew the Lord . The superior angel, the Lord, remains behind his companions that Abraham might have the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:17

And the Lord said (to himself), Shall I hide from Abraham —the LXX . interpolate, τοῦ παιδός μου; but, as Philo observes, τοῦ φιλοῦ μου would have been a more appropriate designation for the patriarch (cf. 2 Chronicles 20:7 ; Isaiah 41:8 ; James 2:23 ) that thing which I do. I .e. propose to do, the present being used for the future, where, as m the utterances of God, whose will is equivalent to his deed, the action is regarded by the Speaker as being already as... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:17

Sodom's doom revealed. I. THE REASON OF THE REVELATION . 1. Abraham's new position . Having been lately taken into covenant with God, allied by the holy tie of a celestial friendship to Jehovah, the patriarch seemed in the Lord's eyes to occupy a footing of intimacy before him that demanded the disclosure of Sodom's impending doom. That footing the patriarch no doubt owed to Divine grace—sovereign, unmerited, free; but still, having been accorded to him, it is, by a further... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:18

Seeing that Abraham shall surely become (literally, becoming shall become ) a great and mighty nation (cf. Genesis 12:2 ; Genesis 17:4-6 ), and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him ? The import of Jehovah's self-interrogation was, that since Abraham had already been promoted to so distinguished a position, not only was there no sufficient reason why the Divine purpose concerning Sodom should be concealed from him, but, on the contrary, the gracious footing of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:19

For I know him, that —literally, for I have known (or chosen, יָדַע being— dilexi, as in Amos 3:2 ) him to the end that , the language expressing the idea that Abraham had been the object of Divine foreknowledge and election (Gesenius, Rosenmüller, Delitzsch, Keil, Oehler, Kalisch, Lange), although the reading of the text is substantially adopted by many ( LXX ; Vulgate, Targums, Luther, Calvin, Dathe, et alii ). The latter interpretation assigns as the reason of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:19

God's rule in the family. "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord." The promise to Abraham included— Of these points two at least are not confined to him personally, but belong to all who will. To know what God doeth a man must be taught of the Spirit ( 1 Corinthians 2:14 ; cf. Isaiah 7:12 ). There is a wide difference between seeing an event, or even foreseeing it, and understanding God's lessons... read more

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 18:17

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 18:18

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 18:19

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:16-33

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:17

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:17

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:18

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:19

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 18:19

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