Verse

Genesis 18:16

ESV Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way.
NIV When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way.
NASB Then the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off.
CSB The men got up from there and looked out over Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to see them off.
NLT Then the men got up from their meal and looked out toward Sodom. As they left, Abraham went with them to send them on their way.
KJV And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
NKJV Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way.

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.
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