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From: Genesis 18:1-15

The Apparition of God at Mamre

[1] And the Lord appeared to him (Abraham) by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at
the door of his tent in the heat of the day. [2] He lifted up his eyes and looked,
and behold, three men stood in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the
tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, [3] and said, “My lord, if
I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. [4] Let a little water
be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, [5] while I
fetch a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may
pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have
said.” [6] And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready
quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes. [7] And Abra-
ham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good and gave it to the servant,
who hastened to prepare it. [8] Then he took curds, and milk, and the calf which
he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree
while they ate.

Isaac’s Birth is Promised

[9] They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the
tent.” [10a] The Lord said, “I will surely return to you in the spring, and Sarah
your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.
[11] Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be
with Sarah after the manner of women. [12] So Sarah laughed to herself, saying,
“After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?” [13] The
Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a
child, now that I am old?’ [14] Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed
time I will return to you, in the spring, and Sarah shall have a son.” [15] But Sa-
rah denied, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you
did laugh.”

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Commentary:

18:1-19:38. These two episodes—God’s appearance to Abraham at Mamre and
the destruction of Sodom—form a single account. Once again we can see the
sort of relationship that obtains between God and Abraham; this time, what is
emphasized is not just the promise of a son for Sarah, but also the patriarch’s
intercession on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah. This intercession saves Lot and
his family (cf. 19:29). Thus, Abraham is already a blessing for all the descendants
of Lot. This narrative is quite colorful, and includes some curious little details —
making it one of the most popular passages in the story of the patriarchs.

18:1-15. This new appearance of God to Abraham is somewhat mysterious: the
three men stand for God. When Abraham speaks to them, sometimes he addres-
ses them in the singular (as if there were one person there: cf. v. 3), and some-
times in the plural (as if there were three: cf. v. 4). That is why some Fathers in-
terpreted this appearance as an early announcement of the mystery of the Holy
Trinity; others, following Jewish tradition (cf. Heb 13:2) take these personages to
be angels. The sacred text says that one of the three men (Yahweh, apparently)
stays with Abraham (cf. v. 22), while the other two, who are referred to as angels,
go to Sodom (cf. 19:1). Although the early chapters of Genesis do not expressly
talk about the creation of angels, that creation can be read into the word “hea-
vens” in Gen 1:1: “at the beginning of time, God created out of nothing both types
of creatures, spiritual and corporeal, that is, angelic and earthly,” says Lateran
Council IV (”De Fide Catolica”). In Holy Scripture angels are mentioned as being
servants and messengers of God, and, despite the way they are sometimes des-
cribed, such as in this passage, they should be understood as being purely spiri-
tual, personal and immortal creatures, endowed with intelligence and will. “Angels
have been present since creation (cf. Job 38:7, where the angels are called ‘sons
of God’) and throughout the history of salvation, announcing this salvation from
afar or near and serving the accomplishment of the divine plan: they closed the
earthly paradise (cf. Gen 3:24); protected Lot (cf. Gen 19); saved Hagar and her
child (cf. Gen 21:17); stayed Abraham’s hand (cf. Gen 22.11); communicated the
law by their ministry (cf. Acts 7:53); led the people of God (cf. Ex 23:20-23); an-
nounced births (cf. Judg 13) and callings (cf. Judg 6:11-24; Is 6:6); and assisted
the prophets (cf. 1 Kings 19:5), just to cite a few examples. Finally, the angel
Gabriel announced the birth of the Precursor and that of Jesus himself (cf. Lk
1:11-26)” (”Catechism of the Catholic Church”, 332).

In the general context of Genesis, this episode points up the new situation crea-
ted by the Covenant. God speaks to Abraham directly, as he spoke to Adam be-
fore he committed sin. Abraham, for his part, receives God through his hospita-
lity, and God again promises that Sarah will have a son (now specifying when
the child will be born). “Because Abraham believed in God and walked in his pre-
sence and in covenant with him (cf. Gen 15:6; 17:1-2), the patriarch is ready to
welcome a mysterious Guest into his tent. Abraham’s remarkable hospitality at
Mamre foreshadows the annunciation of the true Son of the promise (cf. Gen 18:
1-15; Lk 1: 26-38). After that, once God has confided his plan, Abraham’s heart
is attuned to his Lord’s compassion for men and he dares to intercede for them
with bold confidence (cf. Gen 18:16-33)” (ibid., 2571).

18:6. The measure mentioned here, a “seah” (pl. “seim”) is a measure of dry
grain (cf. 1 Sam 25:18; 2 Kings 7:1, 16, 18) which was probably a third of an
ephah, that is, about seven liters or two gallons.

18:10. “In the spring”; this could also be translated as “next year”. Literally, “the
time of life”, which some interpret as “the time of a woman’s pregnancy”, that is,
nine months.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.