Genesis 18:1

Genesis 18:1

And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;

a. NLT: The LORD appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day.

b. NIV: The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.

c. YLT: And Jehovah appeareth unto him among the oaks of Mamre, and he is sitting at the opening of the tent, about the heat of the day;

d. Amplified Bible: Now the Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks or terebinths of Mamre; as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day,

e. Septuagint: And God appeared to him by the oak of Mambre, as he sat by the door of his tent at noon.

f. Stone Edition Chumash: HASHEM appeared to him in the plains of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day.

1. “And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre…”

a. the LORD [3068 * Yhovah] [Strong: from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord.]

b. appeared [7200 * ra’ah] [Strong: a primitive root; to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative):--advise self, appear, approve, behold, X certainly, consider, discern, (make to) enjoy, have experience, gaze, take heed, X indeed, X joyfully, lo, look (on, one another, one on another, one upon another, out, up, upon), mark, meet, X be near, perceive, present, provide, regard, (have) respect, (fore-, cause to, let) see(-r, -m, one another), shew (self), X sight of others, (e-)spy, stare, X surely, X think, view, visions.]

c. in the plains [436 * ‘elown] [Strong: prolonged from 352; an oak or other strong tree:--plain.]

d. of Mamre [4471 * Mamre’] [Strong: from 4754 (in the sense of vigor); lusty; Mamre, an Amorite:--Mamre.]

2. “…and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;”

a. as he sat [3427 * yashab] [Strong: a primitive root; properly, to sit down (specifically as judge. in ambush, in quiet); by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry:--(make to) abide(-ing), continue, (cause to, make to) dwell(-ing), ease self, endure, establish, X fail, habitation, haunt, (make to) inhabit(-ant), make to keep (house), lurking, X marry(-ing), (bring again to) place, remain, return, seat, set(- tle), (down-)sit(-down, still, -ting down, -ting (place) -uate), take, tarry.]

b. in the tent [168 * ‘ohel] [Strong: from 166; a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance):--covering, (dwelling)(place), home, tabernacle, tent.]

e. door [6607 * pethach] [Strong: from 6605; an opening (literally), i.e. door (gate) or entrance way:--door, entering (in), entrance (-ry), gate, opening, place.]

f. in the heat [2527 * chom] [Strong: from 2552; heat:--heat, to be hot (warm).]

g. of the day [3117 * yowm] [Strong: from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb):--age, + always, + chronicals, continually(-ance), daily, ((birth-), each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), + elder, X end, + evening, + (for) ever(-lasting, -more), X full, life, as (so) long as (... live), (even) now, + old, + outlived, + perpetually, presently, + remaineth, X required, season, X since, space, then, (process of) time, + as at other times, + in trouble, weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), X whole (+ age), (full) year(-ly), + younger.

1). a. This gives us a time marker. The heat of the day usually is middle to late afternoon, from 2 to 5 PM. Considering that the angels arrived at the entrance to Sodom at even, approximately 6 PM, the whole time visiting with Abraham probably took about 4 hours.