What does Genesis 18:16 mean?

In the previous verses, three strange men arrived near Abraham's tent, apparently traveling and on their way to somewhere else. Abraham had urged them to stay and rest, to allow him to provide for them a meal. After the meal, it became abundantly clear that one of the men was the Lord in human form. He confirmed this by restating for Sarah's benefit what He had promised to Abraham in the previous chapter: By this time next year, Sarah will have a son.

Now the three men return to their mysterious journey. As a good host seeing his guests off, Abraham walks with them for some distance. They would have walked through the hills near Hebron and come to a good spot for glimpsing the city of Sodom in the distance. This city, like Gomorrah, had already established a reputation for moral depravity (Genesis 13:13).

When we saw him last in Genesis 14, Abraham's nephew Lot had been rescued from foreign invaders and returned to his home in Sodom. Lot's place in that town will become central to the rest of this chapter.