Vincent Melli

The Holy Bible · Genesis

Genesis 18 — Hebrew and Greek compared

← Genesis 17 compared  Â·  Reading text of Genesis 18  Â·  Genesis: all chapters  Â·  Genesis 19 compared →

Same 2   Similar 8   Different 15   Divergent 4   Disparate 4

Disparate in this chapter: 18:9, 18:12, 18:19, 18:21

Each verse is rendered independently from the Hebrew (Rabbinic reading tradition) and from the Greek (Saints reading tradition). The badge classifies the relationship between the two readings; the note beneath records the source document’s comparison and attributed interpretation. Each column retains its own verse references where numbering differs.

The Hospitality of Abraham

18:1  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:1 YHWH appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day.

Greek · Saints priority

18:1 God appeared to him beside the oak of Mamre as he sat at the entrance of his tent at noon.

H has YHWH, plural oaks, and heat of the day; G has God, a singular oak, and noon.

18:2  Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:2 He raised his eyes and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them and bowed to the ground.

Greek · Saints priority

18:2 He raised his eyes and saw three men standing over him. When he saw them, he ran from his tent entrance to meet them and bowed to the ground.

The spatial phrases reflect the seated host and standing visitors. Bowing does not by itself settle whether the act is worship or respectful greeting.

18:3  Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:3 He said, “Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes, please do not pass by your servant.

Greek · Saints priority

18:3 He said, “Lord, if indeed I have found favor before you, do not pass by your servant.

The singular address agrees. H's Masoretic pointing treats the address as Adonai; interpretations of its recipient are recorded separately.

18:4  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:4 Let a little water be brought; wash your feet and rest under the tree.

Greek · Saints priority

18:4 Let water be brought, and let them wash your feet; refresh yourselves under the tree.

H tells the visitors to wash; G calls for others to wash their feet. G does not specify a little water.

18:5  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:5 I will bring a morsel of bread, and you may strengthen yourselves; afterward you may pass on, since you have come to your servant.” They said, “Do as you have said.”

Greek · Saints priority

18:5 I will bring bread, and you shall eat; afterward you may continue on your way, since you have turned aside to your servant.” They said, “Do as you have said.”

H has a morsel and strengthening the heart; RH says eat and explicitly mentions their onward road. The draft's Greek heart-refreshing clause is not in RH.

18:6  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:6 Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, three seahs of fine flour! Knead it and make cakes.”

Greek · Saints priority

18:6 Abraham hurried to the tent, to Sarah, and said to her, “Hurry, knead three measures of fine flour and make cakes baked in the embers.”

G uses generic measures for seahs and specifies the cake preparation. No modern volume is inserted into either translation.

18:7  Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:7 Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, and gave it to the young man, who hurried to prepare it.

Greek · Saints priority

18:7 Abraham ran to the cattle, took a tender and good calf, and gave it to the attendant, who hurried to prepare it.

The preparation corresponds. H na'ar and G pais are read in the household-service context without assuming a particular age.

18:8  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:8 He took curds, milk, and the calf he had prepared and set them before them. He stood by them under the tree, and they ate.

Greek · Saints priority

18:8 He took butter, milk, and the calf he had prepared and set them before them, and they ate. He stood by them under the tree.

The dairy terms and clause order differ. Both describe the visitors eating; neither explicitly calls the meal a sacrifice.

Sarah Laughs

18:9  Disparate

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:9 They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” He said, “There, in the tent.”

Greek · Saints priority

18:9 He said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” He answered, “There, in the tent.”

H gives a plural questioner; RH gives a singular speaker. The draft's Greek they obscured the change of agency.

18:10  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:10 He said, “I will surely return to you at the time of life, and behold, your wife Sarah shall have a son.” Sarah was listening at the tent entrance, which was behind him.

Greek · Saints priority

18:10 He said, “I will return to you at this season, when the time comes round, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” Sarah heard at the tent entrance, being behind him.

H's time of life and G's seasonal expression are commonly understood of the corresponding season next year. H relates behind him to the entrance; G expressly makes Sarah the person behind him.

18:11  Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in days. The way of women had ceased for Sarah.

Greek · Saints priority

18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in days. The things of women had ceased for Sarah.

Both use a euphemistic description of Sarah's cessation of menstruation.

18:12  Disparate

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:12 Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I am worn out, shall I have pleasure, with my lord also old?”

Greek · Saints priority

18:12 Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “It has not happened to me up to now, and my lord is old.”

H questions renewed pleasure after her decline; G speaks of what has not happened up to now, without H's explicit worn-out and pleasure wording. Both refer to Abraham as my lord.

18:13  Divergent

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:13 YHWH said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Will I really bear a child, now that I am old?’

Greek · Saints priority

18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh within herself, saying, ‘Will I really bear a child? But I have grown old.’

G adds within herself to the reported laughter, echoing verse 12; the question about old age corresponds.

18:14  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:14 Is anything too wonderful for YHWH? At the appointed time I will return to you, at the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

Greek · Saints priority

18:14 Is any word impossible with God? At this season I will return to you, when the time comes round, and Sarah shall have a son.”

H speaks of a matter too wonderful for YHWH; G of a word impossible with God. The promise agrees while its rhetorical and divine-name wording differs.

18:15  Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:15 Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. He said, “No, you did laugh.”

Greek · Saints priority

18:15 Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. He said, “No, you did laugh.”

The denial, fear, and correction agree.

God’s Plan for Sodom and Gomorrah

18:16  Divergent

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:16 The men rose from there and looked toward Sodom. Abraham walked with them to send them on their way.

Greek · Saints priority

18:16 The men rose from there and looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham accompanied them to escort them onward.

G adds Gomorrah to the viewed cities. The accompanying action corresponds.

18:17  Divergent

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:17 YHWH said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing,

Greek · Saints priority

18:17 The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham My servant what I am doing?

G expressly calls Abraham my servant. Pais is a relational service title here, not proof that child must replace servant.

18:18  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:18 since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

Greek · Saints priority

18:18 Abraham will surely become a great and numerous nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him.

H describes the nation as mighty; G as numerous. The shared scope of blessing remains.

18:19  Disparate

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:19 For I have known him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of YHWH, doing righteousness and justice, so that YHWH may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken concerning him.”

Greek · Saints priority

18:19 For I knew that he would command his children and his household after him, and they will keep the ways of the Lord, doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham everything He has spoken to him.”

H knows Abraham with a following purpose clause; G knows that Abraham will command his household. The relationship between divine knowledge and Abraham's conduct differs. G also has plural ways and everything.

Rabbinic — Rashi on Genesis 18:19: He reads God’s knowing Abraham as affectionate familiarity and explains the following clause through Abraham’s instruction of his household.

18:20  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:20 YHWH said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sin is very grave.

Greek · Saints priority

18:20 The Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah has increased, and their sins are very great.

H has collective sin and heaviness; G has plural sins and an increasing outcry. RH does not add to me here.

18:21  Disparate

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:21 I will go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to Me; if not, I will know.”

Greek · Saints priority

18:21 I will go down, then, and see whether they are being brought to an end according to their outcry that comes to Me; if not, that I may know.”

H asks about completed wrongdoing; G's passive syntelountai can describe their being brought to completion or destruction. The difficult Greek is not silently replaced with H's active they have done.

Rabbinic — Rashi on Genesis 18:21: He treats the descent as a lesson in careful judicial investigation and construes kalah as threatened destruction. This is an important alternative to the Hebrew syntax printed here.

18:22  Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:22 The men turned from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham still stood before YHWH.

Greek · Saints priority

18:22 The men turned from there and came to Sodom, while Abraham stood before the Lord.

Both present Abraham standing before the divine speaker. A proposed scribal reversal is not substituted for either attested running text.

Rabbinic — Rashi on Genesis 18:22: He invokes a scribal-emendation tradition concerning who stood before whom. That tradition is recorded here without silently replacing the extant Hebrew or Greek wording.

Abraham Negotiates for the Righteous

18:23  Divergent

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:23 Abraham drew near and said, “Will You sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

Greek · Saints priority

18:23 Abraham drew near and said, “Will You destroy the righteous with the ungodly, so that the righteous will be like the ungodly?

RH adds the equal-fate clause here; both contain a related clause in verse 25.

18:24  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:24 Perhaps there are fifty righteous people within the city. Will You sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous within it?

Greek · Saints priority

18:24 If there are fifty righteous people in the city, will You destroy them? Will You not spare the whole place for the sake of the fifty righteous, if they are in it?

G explicitly asks about destroying them and sparing the whole place; H's sweeping-away clause leaves its object implicit. Both appeal to fifty righteous people.

18:25  Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:25 Far be it from You to do such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare like the wicked! Far be it from You! Shall the Judge of all the earth not do justice?”

Greek · Saints priority

18:25 By no means shall You do such a thing, to kill the righteous with the ungodly, so that the righteous will be like the ungodly! By no means! You who judge all the earth, will You not do justice?”

The appeal to divine justice agrees; G directly addresses you in the closing question.

18:26  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:26 YHWH said, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, within the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

Greek · Saints priority

18:26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.”

H's lifting/bearing idiom can express forgiveness or sparing; G's release verb likewise overlaps. The shared promise covers the whole place, not only its righteous inhabitants.

18:27  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:27 Abraham answered, “Look, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, though I am dust and ashes.

Greek · Saints priority

18:27 Abraham answered, “Now I have begun to speak to the Lord, though I am earth and ashes.

H undertaken and dust differ from G begun and earth. Both express Abraham's lowliness.

18:28  Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:28 Perhaps the fifty righteous lack five. Will You destroy the whole city for lack of five?” He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

Greek · Saints priority

18:28 “If the fifty righteous lack five, will You destroy the whole city because of the five?” He said, “I will certainly not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

The numbers and assurance agree; G intensifies the negative response.

18:29  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:29 He spoke to Him again: “Perhaps forty will be found there?” He said, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”

Greek · Saints priority

18:29 He spoke to Him again: “What if forty are found there?” He said, “I will certainly not destroy it for the sake of the forty.”

G explicitly says destroy where H says do it; the assurance concerning forty agrees.

18:30  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:30 He said, “Please do not let the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Perhaps thirty will be found there?” He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

Greek · Saints priority

18:30 He said, “Please, Lord, if I may speak: what if thirty are found there?” He said, “I will certainly not destroy it if I find thirty there.”

H explicitly mentions anger; G has an elliptical polite appeal. G again specifies destroy for H do it.

18:31  Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:31 He said, “Look, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Perhaps twenty will be found there?” He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

Greek · Saints priority

18:31 He said, “Since I may speak to the Lord: what if twenty are found there?” He said, “I will certainly not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

The manner of asking differs; both give the same assurance about twenty.

18:32  Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:32 He said, “Please do not let the Lord be angry, and I will speak just this once. Perhaps ten will be found there?” He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

Greek · Saints priority

18:32 He said, “Please, Lord, if I may speak once more: what if ten are found there?” He said, “I will certainly not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

H again explicitly mentions anger; G uses its elliptical appeal. Both conclude with ten.

18:33  Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

18:33 YHWH departed when He finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

Greek · Saints priority

18:33 The Lord departed when He stopped speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

The conversation's conclusion and departures agree.

← Genesis 17 compared  Â·  Reading text of Genesis 18  Â·  Genesis: all chapters  Â·  Genesis 19 compared →

Saints Translation · Companion comparison edition · working draft awaiting specialist review.

Make a one-time donation

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate

Make a monthly donation

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate monthly

Make a yearly donation

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate yearly