Genesis 18
Abraham Pleads for Sodom
Three visitors come to Abraham’s tent in the heat of the day and are welcomed with a feast. The promise of a son is repeated where Sarah can hear it, and she laughs. Then the LORD tells Abraham what He means to do to Sodom, and Abraham pleads for the city, from fifty righteous down to ten.
Start reading Background
Genesis 18 follows straight on from the covenant of chapter 17. Abraham is ninety-nine and newly circumcised, and God has promised that Sarah will bear Isaac “at this set time in the next year” (Gen. 17:21). Now the promise is repeated, this time where Sarah can hear it. Abraham is still living by the oaks of Mamre at Hebron (Gen. 13:18), about twenty miles south of Jerusalem. His nephew Lot has moved down into Sodom (Gen. 14:12).
Chapters 18 and 19 are one story told in two places. In the heat of the day three visitors come to Abraham’s tent and are given a feast; at evening the messengers come to Lot in Sodom (Gen. 19:1–3). “In both cases, hospitality lies at the heart of the narrative.” Between the two scenes comes Abraham’s plea for the city.
Joseph Smith’s revision changes this chapter a good deal. It makes the visitors “holy men” sent by God, turns the Lord’s words about Sodom into a commission to them, and leaves Abraham alone with the Lord to plead. The notes on verses 1, 2, 3, 21 and 27 bring it in where it answers a reader’s question.
Later scripture draws on both halves of the chapter. The question of verse 14 comes back at the announcement of Jesus’ birth (Luke 1:37), and the fate of Sodom “is used throughout scripture as an example of the consequences of wickedness.”
The thread through the chapter
Genesis 18 sets a promise of life beside a sentence of death, and Abraham stands in the middle of both. The chapter turns on two questions. The first is the LORD’s, asked when Sarah laughs at the thought of a son: “Is any thing too hard for the LORD?” (verse 14). The second is Abraham’s, asked when the LORD tells him what He will do to Sodom: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (verse 25). One is about God’s power, the other about His justice.
Verse 19 joins the two halves. God chose Abraham so that he would teach his household “to do justice and judgment” (tsedaqah umishpat, righteousness and justice). A few verses later Abraham presses the Judge of all the earth to do mishpat Himself, and he pleads for mercy in the name of that justice: he “is pleading for mercy for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, but he does so with an appeal to the Lord’s justice and righteous judgment.”
The welcome at the tent prepares for the plea. Abraham’s “willingness to extend love and protection to strangers is not limited to travelers.” The man who ran to serve three travelers stands before the LORD for a city of strangers, and he does not stop asking until the number is ten.
Tap any highlighted phrase to open a note beneath its versein the margin.
Three visitors
The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them he ran from the tent door to meet them, bowed to the ground, and said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest under the tree. I will bring a bit of bread so that you can refresh yourselves, and after that you can go on, since this is why you have come to your servant.” They said, “Do as you have said.”
Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three measures of fine flour; knead it and make cakes.” He ran to the herd, chose a tender, good calf, and gave it to a young man, who hurried to prepare it. Then he brought butter and milk and the calf he had prepared and set it before them, and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
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;
2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
3 And said, My Lord, 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 wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come 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.
The promise and Sarah’s laughter
They asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He said, “There, in the tent.” One said, “I will surely come back to you when the season comes round, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Abraham and Sarah were old, far along in years, and Sarah was long past the age of bearing children. So Sarah laughed to herself: “After I am worn out, shall I have this delight, with my lord old too?”
The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I really bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will come back to you, when the season comes round, and Sarah will have a son.” Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. He said, “No, you did laugh.”
9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time 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.
What the Lord will do
The men got up from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham walked with them to see them on their way. The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him. For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord may bring about for Abraham what He has promised him.”
Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sin is very grievous. I will go down now and see whether they have done all that the outcry that has reached me says. And if not, I will know.”
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 hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19 For I know him, 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.
20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin 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 know.
Abraham pleads for Sodom
The men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. Abraham came near and said, “Will you destroy the righteous along with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous in the city; will you destroy it, and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked. Far be it from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
Abraham answered, “I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord, I who am only dust and ashes. Suppose the fifty righteous are five short; will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again Abraham spoke: “Suppose forty are found there.” He said, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: suppose thirty are found there.” He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” He said, “I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord: suppose twenty are found there.” He said, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak just once more: suppose ten are found there.” He said, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, He went His way, and Abraham went back to his place.
22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare 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 Judge of all the earth do right?
26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous 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 dust 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.
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 angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.
33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
Seeing Christ in Genesis 18
The LORD who comes to Abraham’s tent is Jehovah, “the premortal Jesus Christ.” Abraham calls Him “the Judge of all the earth” (verse 25). The Church’s footnote to that verse points to “Jesus Christ, Judge,” and John records that “the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son” (John 5:22). The question asked over Sarah’s laughter comes back at His own birth (see the note on verse 14).
Abraham’s own place in the scene, standing before the Lord and pleading for others, can be read as a type of Christ. Latter-day Saints may read prophetic intercession “as typological for the role of Jesus,” who is “our ‘advocate with the Father.’” In latter-day revelation He is the one “who is pleading your cause before him,” and His plea ends, “Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name” (D&C 45:3–5).
Worth exploring next
- What happened to Sodom. Gen. 19:1–29, especially verses 27–29, where Abraham goes back to the place where he stood before the Lord.
- Prophets who pleaded for a people. Ex. 32:9–14; Amos 7:1–6; Jer. 5:1. “O Lord God, Forgive! Prophetic Intercession in Amos” (Religious Studies Center, 2017) works through what these scenes teach about justice and mercy, and reads them as a type of Christ.
- Nothing too hard. Rom. 4:19–21, Paul on Abraham’s faith in the promise of a son.
- Joseph Smith’s revision. His manuscript of this chapter is Old Testament Revision 2, pages 44–47, in the Joseph Smith Papers.
Sources & further reading
- The Holy Scriptures (Latter-day Saint editions), text and chapter headings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- Westminster Leningrad Codex (the Masoretic Hebrew text), Read in the Hebrew–English interlinear on Bible Hub.
- Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.
- New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, National Council of Churches, 2021; on BibleGateway.
- The Septuagint (Rahlfs Greek text, with Brenton’s English translation), Elpenor Bilingual Septuagint.
- The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition, Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010; read in the interlinear on Bible Hub.
- “Jehovah”, Bible Dictionary.
- “Hebron”, Bible Dictionary.
- “Masoretic text”, Bible Dictionary.
- Genesis 18–23, Scripture Helps: Old Testament (2025).
- Genesis 18–23: Abraham—A Model of Faith and Righteousness, Old Testament Student Manual: Genesis–2 Samuel (Church Educational System, 2003).
- Old Testament Revision 2, The Joseph Smith Papers.
- George A. Horton Jr., “Insights into the Book of Genesis”, In The Joseph Smith Translation: The Restoration of Plain and Precious Truths, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Robert L. Millet (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1985), 51–70.
- Avram R. Shannon, “Abraham: A Man of Relationships”, In From Creation to Sinai: The Old Testament through the Lens of the Restoration, ed. Daniel L. Belnap and Aaron P. Schade (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book), 279–310.
- RoseAnn Benson, “Lot: Likened to Noah”, In From Creation to Sinai: The Old Testament through the Lens of the Restoration, ed. Daniel L. Belnap and Aaron P. Schade (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book), 311–34.
- Joshua M. Sears, ““O Lord God, Forgive!” Prophetic Intercession in Amos”, In Prophets and Prophecies of the Old Testament, ed. Aaron P. Schade, Brian M. Hauglid, and Kerry Muhlestein (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2017), 185–204.
- Spencer W. Kimball, “The Example of Abraham”, Ensign, June 1975, 3.
- Herbert E. Ryle, The Book of Genesis in the Revised Version, Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge: University Press, 1921); read on Bible Hub.
- Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Genesis, In Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, online at Bible Hub.