2136. GENESIS 18

1. And Jehovah appeared unto him in the oak-groves of Mamre, and he was sitting at the door of the tent, as the day was growing hot.

2. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold three men standing over him; and he saw, and ran to meet them from the door of the tent, and bowed himself toward the earth.

3. And he said, My Lord, if I pray I have found grace in thine eyes, pass not I pray from over thy servant.

4. Let I pray a little water be taken, and wash ye your feet, and lie down under the tree.

5. And I will take a piece of bread, and support ye your heart; afterwards ye may pass on; for therefore have ye passed over unto your servant. And they said, So do as thou hast spoken.

6. And Abraham hastened toward the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of meal of fine flour, knead, and make cakes.

7. And Abraham ran unto the herd and took a son of an ox, tender and good, and gave it to the lad, and he hasted to make it.

8. And he took butter and milk, and the son of an ox that he had made, and set before them; and he stood before them under the tree, and they did eat.

9. And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold in the tent.

10. And he said, Returning I will return unto thee about this time of life, and behold Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard at the door of the tent, and it was behind him.

11. And Abraham and Sarah were old, entering into days; it had ceased to be with Sarah in the way as of women.

12. And Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am grown old shall I have pleasure? and my lord old?

13. And Jehovah said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I indeed truly bear, and I am become old?

14. Shall anything be wonderful for Jehovah? At the set time I will return unto thee, about this time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

15. And Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And He said, Nay, for thou didst laugh.

16. And the men rose up thence, and looked toward the faces of Sodom; and Abraham went with them, to send them away.

17. And Jehovah said, Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do?

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

19. For I know him, because he will command his sons, and his house after him, and they will keep the way of Jehovah, to do righteousness and judgment; that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken concerning him.

20. And Jehovah said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah has become great, and because their sin has become very grievous.

21. I will go down I pray, and I will see whether they have made a consummation according to the cry thereof which is come unto Me, and if not I will know.

22. And the men looked forth thence, and went toward Sodom; and Abraham as yet he was standing before Jehovah.

23. And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt Thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

24. Peradventure there be fifty righteous in the midst of the city; wilt Thou also destroy and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous that are in the midst of it?

25. Be it far from Thee to do according to this thing, to cause the righteous to die with the wicked, so that the righteous be as the wicked; be it far from Thee; shall not the Judge of all the earth do judgment?

26. And Jehovah said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous in the midst of the city, I will spare all the place for their sake.

27. And Abraham answered and said, Behold I pray I have taken upon me to speak unto my Lord, and I am dust and ashes.

28. Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous; wilt Thou destroy all the city for five? and He said, I will not destroy it, if I find there forty and five.

29. And he added yet to speak unto Him, and said, Peradventure forty shall be found there; and He said, I will not do it for forty’s sake.

30. And he said, Oh let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak: peradventure thirty shall be found there; and He said, I will not do it if I find thirty there.

31. And he said, Behold I pray I have taken upon me to speak unto my Lord: peradventure twenty shall be found there; and He said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake.

32. And he said, Oh let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak but this once: peradventure ten shall be found there; and He said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.

33. And Jehovah went when He had completed His speaking unto Abraham; and Abraham returned unto his place.

THE CONTENTS.

In the first place, this chapter treats concerning the Lord’s state of perception in the Human and concerning the communication with the Divine at that time, before the perfect union of His Human Essence with the Divine Essence, which state is also that in regard to which the Lord says, “No one hath seen God at any time, the Only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father” (John 1:18).

9429. 'And the glory of Jehovah lay over Mount Sinai' means the more internal levels of the Lord's Word in heaven. This is clear from the meaning of 'the glory of Jehovah', when the Word is the subject, as its inward sense, thus the more internal levels of the Word, dealt with in the Preface to Genesis 18, and in 5922; and from the meaning of 'Mount Sinai' as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, and consequently as heaven, dealt with above in 9420, 9427. The reason why the more internal levels of the Word are called 'the glory' is that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord as the Sun composes the light in heaven, which enables the angels there to see with their eyes and at the same time gives them intelligence and wisdom, 1531, 1619-1632, 2776, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3643, 3862, 3993, 4302, 4415, 4527, 5400, 6313, 6608, 6907, 8644, 8707, 8861. This Divine light is the source of all the glory in heaven, whose brightness is such that it exceeds all human imagination. From this it is evident why the inward sense of the Word is 'the glory'; for the inward sense of the Word is the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord in heaven, and so it is the light which is the source of all the glory there.

[2] This is what 'glory' is used to mean in a large number of places in the Word, such as where it says that they would see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with glory, Matthew 24:30; Luke 21:27; that the Lord, after He had suffered would enter into His glory, Luke 24:26; that when He came in His glory He would sit on the throne of His glory, Matthew 25:31, 'sitting on the throne of glory' meaning judging with Divine Truth that comes from Him; and that Moses and Elijah appeared in glory, Luke 9:30-31, 'Moses and Elijah' there being the Word, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 2762, 5247, 9372. It is also what the Lord's 'being glorified' is used to mean in John,

Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him at once. John 13:31-32.

'Being glorified in God' means becoming Divine Good from which Divine Truth springs. Something similar appears in John 12:28.

[3] Divine Truth emanating from the Lord as it exists in heaven is meant by 'the glory' in the following places as well: In Isaiah,

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of Jehovah. And the glory of Jehovah will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together. Isaiah 40:3, 5.

These are words referring to the Coming of the Lord, in which 'the glory of Jehovah' that will be revealed is Divine Truth. The Lord is that Truth because it comes from Him, as is evident in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. He was the true light. And the Word became flesh; and we saw His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father. John 1:1, 4, 9, 14.

'The Word' here is Divine Truth, and so is 'the light', from which it is evident what 'seeing His glory' means. The Lord, as is well known, did not appear in any glory in the world, apart from when He was transfigured.

[4] 'The glory' has the same meaning elsewhere in John,

These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him. But they delighted in the glory of men more than in the glory of God. I have come as light into the world in order that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness. John 12:41, 43, 46.

Here also 'the Lord's glory' and 'the glory of God' stand for Divine Truth, while 'the glory of men' stands for falsity. In Isaiah,

Shine, for your light has come, and the glory of Jehovah has risen upon you. Jehovah will arise upon you, and His glory will be seen over you. The glory of Lebanon will come to you to beautify the place of My sanctuary. Your sun will no longer go down and your moon will not be withdrawn, for Jehovah will be to you an everlasting light. Isaiah 60:1-end.

This plainly refers to the Coming of the Lord, His kingdom, heaven, and the Church. Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Human is described in the whole of that chapter, where it is called light, honour, and glory.

[5] In the same prophet,

They will fear the name of Jehovah from the setting of the sun, and His glory from the rising of the sun. The Redeemer will come to Zion. Isaiah 59:19-20.

Here also it refers to the Lord. 'The name of Jehovah' stands for all the truth of faith and good of love from which worship flows, 2724, 3006, 6674, 9310. In the same prophet,

I have called You in righteousness, and will give You as a covenant of the people, ¹ a light of the nations. I am Jehovah, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another. Isaiah 42:6, 8.

This too is a reference to the Lord, in which 'a light of the nations' means Divine Truth which comes from Him; 'not giving glory to another' means that that Divine Truth comes from no one other than the Lord, who is one with Jehovah, as again in the same prophet,

For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it; and My glory I will not give to another. Isaiah 48:11.

[6] 'Glory' has a like meaning elsewhere in Isaiah,

Your light will break forth like the dawn; your righteousness will walk before you, the glory of Jehovah will gather you up. Isaiah 58:8.

In the same prophet,

One will come to gather all nations and tongues, that they may come and see My glory. Isaiah 66:18.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah Zebaoth will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before all His elders, glory. Isaiah 24:23.

In Moses,

Jehovah said, I am the Living One, and the whole earth will be filled with the glory of Jehovah. Numbers 14:20-21.

In all these places, which refer to the Lord, 'glory' means Divine Truth which emanates from Him.

[7] In Isaiah,

I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. And above Him stood the seraphim. And one cried to another, Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah Zebaoth; the whole earth is full of His glory. Isaiah 6:1-3.

In David,

The heavens recount the glory of God. Psalms 19:1.

And in the same author,

... that the nations may fear the name of Jehovah, and the kings of the earth Your glory, in that Jehovah has built Zion and appeared in His glory. Psalms 102:15-16.

In Revelation,

The glory of God will give the holy Jerusalem light, and its lamp is the Lamb. And the nations that are saved will walk in His light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory and honour into it. Revelation 21:23-25.

'The holy Jerusalem' stands for a new Church; 'the glory of God' stands for Divine Truth from the Lord there, as does 'His light' in which they will walk; and 'the kings of the earth' who 'will bring glory' stands for those who are guided by truths derived from good, 2015, 2069, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148. All this now makes clear what the meaning is of 'the glory of Jehovah' which lay over Mount Sinai. See also 8427.

Footnotes: