to do or make · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Judges 13:15-16 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.
Genesis 19:3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened…
Amos 6:4 That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst…
Malachi 1:14 But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King…
Matthew 22:4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are kill…
Luke 15:23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
Luke 15:27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
Luke 15:30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 18:1-8
The appearance of God to Abraham seems to have had in it more of freedom and familiarity, and less of grandeur and majesty, than those we have hitherto read of; and therefore more resembles that great visit which, in the fullness of time, the Son of God was to make to the world, when the Word would be flesh, and appear as one of us. Observe here,
I. How Abraham expected strangers, and how richly his expectations were answered (Gen 18:1): He sat in the tent-door, in the heat of the day; not so much to repose or divert himself as to seek an opportunity of doing good, by giving entertainment to strangers and travellers, there being perhaps no inns to accommodate them. Note, 1. We are likely to…
Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf--Animal food is never provided, except for visitors of a superior rank when a kid or lamb is killed. A calf is still a higher stretch of hospitality, and it would probably be cooked as is usually done when haste is required--either by roasting it whole or by cutting it up into small pieces and broiling them on skewers over the fire. It is always eaten along with boiled corn swimming in butter or melted fat, into which every morsel of meat, laid upon a piece of bread, is dipped, before being conveyed by the fingers to the mouth.
Adam Clarke on Genesis 18:6
Three measures of fine meal - The סאה seah, which is here translated measure, contained, according to Bishop Cumberland, about two gallons and a half; and Mr. Ainsworth translates the word peck. On this circumstance the following observations of the judicious and pious Abbe Fleury cannot fail to be acceptable to the reader. Speaking of the frugality of the patriarchs he says: "We have an instance of a splendid entertainment in that which Abraham made for the three angels. He set a whole calf before them, new bread, but baked on the hearth, together with butter and milk. Three measures of meal were baked into bread on this occasion, which come to more than two of our bushels, and nearly to fi…
The bread and meat, which was in abundance, was not to satisfy the angels but rather so that the blessing might be distributed to all the members of his household. After the angels had washed and sat down beneath a tree, "Abraham brought and set before them what he had prepared"; he did not dare recline with them but like a servant "stood apart from them."
A calf is set forth—behold, another sacrament. The calf itself is not tough, but "good and tender." And what is so tender, what so good as he who "humbled himself" for us "even unto death" and "laid down his soul" "for his friends"? That "fatted calf" which the father slaughters for the son received back in repentance. "For God so loved this world, that he gave his only Son" for the life of this world. Yet it does not escape the wise man whom he had received. He meets three and adores one and speaks to one, saying: "Turn aside to your servant and refresh yourself under the tree."
Lot too received men, but only two, not the whole Trinity; moreover in the evening, not at noon. What did he serve them? "He baked unleavened bread, and they ate." Because he was much inferior to Abraham in merits he did not have a fatted calf. Nor did he recognize the mystery of the Trinity in the three measures of flour. However, since he offered what he could in a kindly spirit, he merited to be freed from the destruction of Sodom. Notice, brothers, that even Lot deserved to receive the angels, because he did not reject strangers. Behold, angels enter a hospitable home, but houses that are closed to strangers are burned with flames of sulphur.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Angel — A word signifying, both in the Hebrew and Greek, a “messenger,” and hence employed to denote any agent God sends forth to execute his purposes. It is used of an ordinary messenger (Job 1:14: 1 Sam.…
Cook — A person employed to perform culinary service. In early times among the Hebrews cooking was performed by the mistress of the household (Gen. 18:2-6; Judg. 6:19), and the process was very…
Cooking — As meet did not form an article of ordinary diet among the Jews, the art of cooking was not carried to any perfection. Few animals were slaughtered except for purposes of hospitality or festivity.…
Food — Originally the Creator granted the use of the vegetable world for food to man (Gen. 1:29), with the exception mentioned (2:17). The use of animal food was probably not unknown to the antediluvians.…
Abraham · Angels appear to — Angels appear to
Calf, The · Eaten in the patriarchal age — Eaten in the patriarchal age
Communion · .Abraham — .Abraham
Condescension Of God · Enters into covenant with Abraham — Enters into covenant with Abraham
Diet Of The Jews, The · In patriarchal age — In patriarchal age
Entertainments · Preparations made for — Preparations made for
God · .To Abraham — .To Abraham
Hospitality · .Abraham to the angels — .Abraham to the angels
John Gill on Genesis 18:7
And Abraham ran unto the herd,.... While Sarah and her maids were kneading the dough and making the cakes:
and fetched a calf tender and good; a fine fat calf, which was reckoned very delicious food, and much in use with the ancients (q) and generally made a part in any grand entertainment, and was accounted fit for a king, see 1 Samuel 28:24,
and gave it unto a young man: one of his servants, to kill and dress as soon as possible; Jarchi says this was Ishmael, whom he trained up to such service:
and he hasted to dress it; the young man made all the haste he could to get it ready, according to the orders of Abraham.
(q) --Orpheus de lapidibus, ver. 63.
John Calvin on Genesis 18:6-8
And Abraham hastened into the tent Abraham's care in entertaining his guests is here recorded; and Moses, at the same time, shows what a well-ordered house he had. In short, he presents us, in a few words, with a beautiful picture of domestic government. Abraham runs, partly, to command what he would have done; and partly, to execute his own duty, as the master of the house. Sarah keeps within the tent; not to indulge in sloth, but rather to take her own part also, in the labor. The servants are all prompt to obey. Here is the sweet concord of a well-conducted family; which could not have thus suddenly arisen, unless each had, by long practice, been accustomed to right discipline. A question…
When the three men had accepted the hospitable invitation, Abraham, just like a Bedouin sheikh of the present day, directed his wife to take three seahs (374 cubic inches each) of fine meal, and back cakes of it as quickly as possible (עגּות round unleavened cakes baked upon hot stones); he also had a tender calf killed, and sent for milk and butter, or curdled milk, and thus prepared a bountiful and savoury meal, of which the guests partook. The eating of material food on the part of these heavenly beings was not in appearance only, but was really eating; an act which may be attributed to the corporeality assumed, and is to be regarded as analogous to the eating on the part of the risen and…
My lord: The Hebrew text uses ’adonay (“Lord”), the word that is usually reserved for God. In Hebrew tradition, it was spoken in places where the holy name Yahweh (the Lord) was in the text. Perhaps the text uses ’adonay rather than the more common ’adoni to show that this was the angel of the Lord—i.e., the Lord himself (see study note on 16:7). We don’t know whether Abraham knew his visitors’ identity at the outset, but by the story’s end Abraham certainly knew he had been talking with God.
Mamre · .Entertains three angels, and is promised a — .Entertains three angels, and is promised a
Ox, The · Young of, considered a great delicacy — Young of, considered a great delicacy
Travellers · Generally treated with great hospitality — Generally treated with great hospitality
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
