(Genesis 18:1 - 18:33)
Jehovah visited Abraham again one day in the forests of Mamre when Abraham was sitting in the opening of his tent at the hottest time of the day. He glanced up and saw three men [Jehovah and two companions] standing before him. He ran to them and bowed to the ground.
"Oh, master, if I have found favor with you, please don't leave. Let me fetch water to wash your feet. Rest in the shade while I get some bread for you. Relax and refresh yourself before you go on your way, for you have come upon a servant."
"Very well, you may do as you have said," they replied.
Abraham hurried into the tent and told Sarah "Quickly, prepare three measures of flour, knead it into dough, and bake loaves upon the hearth." He ran out to the herd and selected a fine tender calf. He gave it to a young male servant who quickly dressed it and boiled its meat. Abraham served his guests the veal, along with milk and cottage cheese. He stood near them under the tree as they had their meal.
They asked him "Where is Sarah, your wife?"
"There, she's in the tent."
Jehovah told him "I will certainly be returning when her time is due, for Sarah, your wife, will be having a son."
Sarah was listening at the tent flap behind them. (Abraham and Sarah were advanced in age and felt their years: they had ceased having sexual relations.) Sarah laughed to herself and mused "My husband and I are both old folks, how can we still enjoy intimacy?"
Jehovah said to Abraham "why did Sarah laugh and ask 'can I, an old woman really bear a child?'. Is there anything too difficult for Jehovah? At the time appointed for her, I will return to see Sarah give birth to a son."
Sarah denied Jehovah’s assertion, saying "I did not laugh!" For she was afraid to admit it.
Jehovah responded "No, but you did."
The men then rose and gazed toward Sodom. When they departed, Abraham walked with them for a time to see them on their way.
Jehovah thought "Can I conceal from Abraham what I plan to do, considering that he is sure to become a great and mighty nation, through which all the nations of the earth will be blessed? I know him and I am assured that he will command his children and his household to follow the ways of Jehovah, to do what's right and proper, so that I will be able to fulfill the promises I made to him."
Jehovah spoke. “I have heard more and more reports that the wickedness Sodom and Gomorrah has become intolerable. Go down there,” he told his companions, “and investigate whether these reports are true or not, so I may know for sure.”
Abraham remained with Jehovah while his two extraterrestrial companions left them and made their way to Sodom. Drawing near to Jehovah, Abraham asked "Will you destroy the just along with the wicked? --- If there are 50 just men in the city, won't you spare the place for their sake, if they exist? It doesn't sound like you, to kill the just along with the wicked. To treat the just and the wicked alike is not in your character. You, who judges the whole world, would surely not make such a judgment.”
Jehovah agreed. "If I find in Sodom 50 just men, I will spare the city for their sake."
Abraham replied "Since I have ventured to speak to my god, though I am just dust and ashes, let me continue and inquire if you would destroy the entire city if there were less than 50 just men in it, say, only 45?"
"I will not destroy the city if I find 45 just men."
Again Abraham asked "How about if 40 are found there, what will you do?"
"I will not destroy the city for the 4o's sake."
"Let not my master be angry if I speak again. What if 30 are found there?"
"I won't do it, if I find 30."
"As long as I've broached the subject, let me continue to speak with my god. What if 20 are found there?"
"I won't destroy it for the 20's sake."
"I hope you won't become angry if I speak once again. What if 10 can be found there?"
"I won't destroy it for the 10's sake."
Jehovah departed after he had finished his conversation with Abraham, who went back to his home.
Notes
1. It is interesting to be reminded that Abraham is still living in a tent and was continuing to pursue a rather primitive lifestyle requiring no fixed abode. He is, of course, the hero of the story, not just the leader of a small tribe of herdsman, and becomes important because of his contact with Jehovah and the great destiny promised to him.
2. It is not explicitly stated in the text, but can be reasonably assumed that of the three men who appeared to Abraham, Jehovah was one. The three men seem to appear suddenly. No reference is made of their origin or how they came to Abraham's tent in the forests of Mamre. It is possible that they merely materialized, but the text does not quite say so. At any rate, Abraham is overjoyed to see them. He either recognizes Jehovah or notices immediately that they are men of Jehovah's race, that is, extraterrestrials. (At this point in the narrative nothing is said of the difference in appearance between the extraterrestrials and ordinary men. --- An extraterrestrial being a person not of this earth.) Abraham implores them not to leave and falls all over himself to be a good host. As a matter of respect and an acknowledgment of his inferior standing, Abraham does not sit or eat with them.
3. The three extraterrestrial beings enjoy a meal under a shade tree as would any earth men. This seems to settle the question of whether these extraterrestrials, Jehovah and his companions, angels, if you prefer, are spiritual or material beings. A spirit being might, in a vision or as a phantasm, seem to possess tangible human form, but a spirit would not sit down and eat boiled veal and cottage cheese. (By the way, Sarah went to all the trouble to bake bread, but there is no report of the guests eating it. Was it served with the veal (breaded veal cutlets perhaps)?
4. Sarah laughs and speaks to herself, that is, in her mind, not audibly. Yet Jehovah is aware of her thoughts and lets her know that he is. Obviously, Jehovah is endowed with certain telepathic, clairvoyant, and mind-reading abilities, which, however, as we have learned before, fall far, far short of God-like omniscience.
5. The miracle of the aged or infertile woman bearing a child is a familiar mythological theme. In this story one wonders why Jehovah, if he wished for Abraham and Sarah to have a son, waited so long to make it happen? If Sarah was infertile and Jehovah could remedy the situation, why didn't he do it when they were still young? Was Jehovah occupied elsewhere? Did he just want to show off his magical powers by making it possible for an aged woman to conceive?
6. Most translation have Jehovah saying he will go himself to Sodom and investigate the reports of sinful behavior there. That doesn’t make sense, since he specifically sends his two companions to do just that. I have, therefore, altered the text to reflect what actually is said to have happened.
7. When the two extraterrestrials leave for Sodom, Abraham is left alone with Jehovah. Apparently apprised of Jehovah’s plans to destroy Sodom, he takes the opportunity to plead for the inhabitants of Sodom who might be just men and undeserving of Jehovah's murderous wrath. In doing so he rather cheekily challenges Jehovah sense of justice and almost preaches to him. This is maybe the first time Abraham has shown any compassion or concern for anyone but himself. This is especially interesting since at an earlier time, after the Battle of Siddim, Abraham went out of his way to snub the King of Sodom.
8. Abraham taxes the patience of Jehovah (and the reader) by repeatedly asking how many just men would be needed in the town to spare it from being destroyed. He wheedles him down to only ten men and after that Abraham goes home.
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