Genesis 18:23–26
Abraham approaches God and pleads for the righteous in Sodom
Study it word by word23Abraham came near and said, “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24Perhaps there are fifty righteous within the city; will you really sweep away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it?
25Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put to death 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?”
26YHWH said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
In its context
21Let me go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to its outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know.”
22The men turned from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before YHWH.
…
27Abraham answered and said, “Look, I have ventured to speak to Adonai, though I am dust and ashes.
28Perhaps the fifty righteous will lack five; will you destroy for the five the whole city?” He said, “I will not destroy it if I find there forty-five.”
Its words in the original
- יִּגַּשׁyigash· come near, bring near
Come near, approach; in the causative form, bring near, present. Also come near to attack, or to worship.
- אַבְרָהָםavraham· Abraham
Abraham, the name God gave to Abram; it sounds like "father of a multitude" (Genesis 17:5). The father of the people of Israel, to whom God promised the land and blessing for all the families of the earth.
- יֹּאמַרyomar· say
Say, speak. The most common verb for bringing in what someone says; sometimes "think" (say to oneself) or "command".
- תִּסְפֶּהtispe· sweep away
Sweep away, destroy; perish.
- צַדִּיקtsadik· righteous
Righteous: one who does what is right before God and before others; just, innocent.
- רָשָׁעrasha· wicked
Wicked: one who does evil and is guilty before God and before others.
- אוּלַיulay· perhaps
Perhaps, maybe.
- חֲמִשִּׁיםchamishim· fifty
Fifty.
- תוֹךְtoch· midst
The middle, the center of something; "in the midst of", "among".
- עִירir· city
City: in ancient times any settlement with protection, however small.
- תִשָּׂאtisa· lift, carry, bear
Lift up, carry, bear. "Bear sin" is to suffer its consequences; said of God, "taking away" sin is forgiving it. "Lift up the eyes" is to look.
- מָּקוֹםmakom· place
Place, spot; the space someone or something occupies; also a home or a holy place.
- קִרְבָּkirba· inside, midst
The inside, what is within; "in the midst of", "within".
- חָלִלָchalila· far be it!
"Far be it!", "by no means!": an expression that rejects something as unthinkable.
- עֲשֹׂתasot· do, make
Do, make, in the widest sense: build, produce, carry out, keep (a command), prepare.
- דָּבָרdavar· word, matter, thing
Word; what is said. Also "matter" or "thing": what is spoken about, an affair, an event.
- הָמִיתhamit· die
Die. In the causative form, kill, put to death. Hebrew can repeat the verb for emphasis ("dying you will die" = "you will surely die").
- הָיָהhaya· be, become, happen
Be, exist; also "become" or "happen". It is the verb of "there was", "it was" and "it came to pass".
- שֹׁפֵטshofet· judge
Judge: decide who is in the right and do him justice; also punish. Also rule, govern.
- אָרֶץarets· earth, land
The earth, in two senses: the whole world in contrast with the heavens, or a particular country or region ("the land of Egypt").
- מִשְׁפָּטmishpat· justice, judgment
What is right and the decision that establishes it: the judgment of a judge, someone's right, a rule or ordinance, a custom. "Do righteousness and justice" is to treat each one as is due.
- יְהוָהyehva· YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
- אֶמְצָאemtsa· find
Find, come upon; also obtain, reach; in the passive, be found, be present.
- סְדֹםsedom· Sodom
Sodom, a city of the plain of the Jordan, destroyed for its wickedness; later an example of sin and of judgment.