Deep Dive

Genesis 18:28

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suppose the fifty righteous ones lack five. Will You destroy the whole city for the lack of five?” He replied, “If I find forty-five there, I will not destroy it.”

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Commentaries

Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.

Matthew Henry Bible Commentaryv. 28

We have an account in this chapter of another interview between God and Abraham, probably within a few days after the former, as the reward of his cheerful obedience to the law of circumcision. Here is, I. The kind visit which God made him, and the kind entertainment which he gave to that visit (Gen 18:1-8). II. The matters discoursed of between them. 1. The purposes of God's love concerning Sarah (Gen 18:9-15). 2. The purposes of God's wrath concerning Sodom. (1.) The discovery God made to Abraham of his design to destroy Sodom (Gen 18:16-22). (2.) The intercession Abraham made for Sodom (Gen 18:23, etc.).

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Original language

The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).

Strong's Concordancev. 28

חָסֵר (châçêr, H2637) — to lack; by implication, to fail, want, lessen חָמֵשׁ (châmêsh, H2568) — five חֲמִשִּׁים (chămishshîym, H2572) — fifty צַדִּיק (tsaddîyq, H6662) — just שָׁחַת (shâchath, H7843) — to decay, i.e. (causatively) ruin (literally or figuratively) עִיר (ʻîyr, H5892) — a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere… אָמַר (ʼâmar, H559) — to say (used with great latitude) מָצָא (mâtsâʼ, H4672) — properly, to come forth to, i.e. appear or exist; transitively, to attain, i.e. find or… אַרְבָּעִים (ʼarbâʻîym, H705) — forty

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Cross-references

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Genesis 18:26rank 2

So the LORD replied, “If I find fifty righteous ones within the city of Sodom, on their account I will spare the whole place.”

Genesis 18:29rank 2

Once again Abraham spoke to the LORD, “Suppose forty are found there?” He answered, “On account of the forty, I will not do it.”

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