Genesis 18 · The Lantern

Forsothe in the valei of Mambre the Lord apperide to Abraham, sittynge in the dore of his tabernacle, in thilke heete of the dai.

But let us see what this tree represents, under which Abraham stood and provided a meal for the Lord and the angels. "Under the tree of Mamre" the text says. Mamre in our language is translated "vision" or "sharpness of sight." Do you see what kind of place it is where the Lord can have a meal? Abraham's vision and sharpness of sight pleased the Lord.

[Daniel 8:15] "And it came to pass that when I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it." He beheld the vision by way of a picture or likeness, and he failed to understand it.

The Lord appeared to him in the valley of Mamre as he was sitting at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day, etc. This appearance of the Lord is considered to be more sacred than all the previous ones, in which He was seen so many times by the blessed Abraham.

And whanne he hadde reisid his iyen, thre men apperiden to hym, and stoden nyy hym. And whanne he hadde seyn hem, he ran fro the dore of his tabernacle in to the meting of hem, and he worschipide on erthe,

Now let us see how each man receives his guests. "Abraham saw," the text says, "and ran to meet them." Notice that Abraham immediately is energetic and eager in his duties.

"Three men came to Abraham and stood over him." Observe how it is that they come upon him but not against him. He had subjected himself to God's will, and for this reason God is said to stand over him. "They stood over him," not against him to repulse him but over him for protection.

The other way of anagogy is above the skies, as in the case of Abraham who saw three men and worshiped one, for the Trinity appeared in these three; and in the case of the two angels who were sent to Sodom, the Son and the Holy Spirit who are sent by the Father; and because the Father is never sent, He was not seen there, but He was seen in the case of the three men, for here H…

and seide, Lord, if Y haue founde grace in thin iyen, passe thou not thi seruaunt,

but I schal brynge a litil watir, and youre feet be waischid, and reste ye vndur the tre;

and Y schal sette a mussel of breed, and youre herte be coumfortid; aftirward ye schulen passe; for herfor ye bowiden to youre seruaunt. Whiche seiden, Do thou as thou hast spoke.

Abraham hastide in to the tabernacle, to Sare, and seide to hir, Hast thou, meddle thou thre half buschelis of clene flour; and make thou looues bakun vndur aischis.

He serves therefore bread mixed "with three measures of fine wheat flour." He received three men; he mixed the bread "with three measures of fine wheat flour." Everything he does is mystical; everything is filled with mystery.

(Chapter 18, Verse 6) And he said to him: Hurry, mix three measures of wheat flour. Because three measures are explicitly mentioned here, and the measure is uncertain: therefore I added that in Hebrew it has three sata, that is, three amphoras: so that we may understand the same mystery here and in the Gospel, where a woman is said to have fermented three measures of wheat flou…

Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said to her: "Hurry, mix three measures of fine meal, and make cakes upon the hearth." And he himself ran to the herd, and took a tender and good calf and gave it to the servant, who hastened and cooked it.

Forsothe he ran to the droue of beestis, and took therof a calf moost tendre and best, and yaf to a child, which hastide, and sethede the calfe;

"But he ran," the text says, "to the cattle and took a calf." What kind of calf? Perhaps the first one he encountered? Not at all, but "a good and tender" calf. And although he would hasten in all things, nevertheless he knows that what is excellent and great should be offered to the Lord or to angels.

Now although this meat is a burden unto the wise and prudent, yet was it given by promise unto Noah, and it was sent unto Elijah in a gift, and Abraham received God and His angels thereby, and Isaac was pleased to pour out blessings upon Jacob thereby, and Samuel offered this gift beforehand to Saul as to a king, and David and all the righteous kings made use of such meat, and…

The tender and excellent calf that Abraham took from the herd signifies the Mediator between God and humans, whom the most merciful Father killed for his returning younger son, that is, the Gentile people, according to the parable of the Gospel.

and he took botere, and mylk, and the calf which he hadde sode, and settide bifore hem; forsothe Abraham stood bisidis hem vndur the tre.

And whanne thei hadden ete, thei seiden to hym, Where is Sare thi wijf? He answerde, Lo! sche is in the tabernacle.

What then does the Lord say to Abraham? "Where," the text reads, "is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "Lo, she is in the tent." But the Lord said, "I will certainly come to you at this time in due season, and Sarah your wife will have a son." But Sarah, standing behind the door of the tent behind Abraham, heard.Let the wives learn from the examples of the patriarchs; let the wive…

After they had eaten, "they inquired about Sarah." She, who even in her old age had preserved her modesty, came out from inside the tent to the door of the tent.

And when they had eaten, they said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" He answered, "Behold, she is in the tent." Then he said, "I will return to you at this time next year, if life be with us, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." Both indeed the lords of the house, and evidently Abraham and Sarah, prepared with the utmost haste a meal; but as if in a well-ordered house, Abra…

To whom the Lord seide, Y schal turne ayen, and Y schal come to thee in this tyme, if Y lyue; and Sare, thi wijf, schal haue a sone. Whanne this was herd, Sare leiyede bihynde the dore of the tabernacle.

Forsothe bothe weren olde, and of greet age, and wommans termes ceessiden to be maad to Sare.

And she leiyede, seiynge pryueli, after that Y wexede eld, and my lord is eld, schal Y yyue diligence to lust?

Forsothe the Lord seide to Abraham, Whi leiyeth Sare, thi wijf, seiynge, whether Y an eld womman schal bere child verili?

whether ony thing is hard to God? Bi the biheeste Y schal turne ayen to thee in this same tyme, if Y lyue; and Sara schal haue a sone.

Sare was aferd for drede, and denyede, seiynge, Y leiyede not. Forsothe the Lord seide, It is not so, but thou leiyedist.

Therfor whanne the men hadden risen fro thennus, thei dressiden the iyen ayens Sodom; and Abraham yede to gidre, ledynge hem forth.

And the Lord seide, Wher Y mowe hele fro Abraham what thingis Y schal do,

sithen he schal be in to a greet folk and moost strong, and alle naciouns of erthe schulen be blessid in hym?

For Y woot that Abraham schal comaunde hise children, and his hows after hym, that thei kepe the weie of the Lord, and that thei do riytfulnesse and dom, that the Lord bringe for Abraham alle thingis whiche he spak to Abraham.

And so the Lord seide, The cry of men of Sodom and of men of Gomorre is multiplied, and her synne is agreggid greetli; Y schal come doun,

It was not that God, who had just said, "their sins were very grave," did not know that they had sinned. This was an example to judges not to prejudge a case, even based on very reliable hearsay.

The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is multiplied, he said. Well did he say that sins can cry out. Great surely is the cry of sinners as it mounts from earth to heaven. But why does he say that the sins of people cry out? It is because God says his ears are assaulted by the cries of our sins that the punishment of sinners be not delayed.

The Lord therefore said: "The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah has been multiplied, and their sin has become very grave." He calls the outcry of Sodom the reputation or rather the infamy of their crimes, from which the Apostle, admonishing us, says: "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and blasphemy, be put away from you, with all malice" (Ephesians 4:31).

and schal se whether thei han fillid in werk the cry that cam to me, that Y wite whether it is not so.

These are the words of the divine Scripture. Let us see, therefore, now what is fitting to be understood in them. "I have descended," the text says, "to see." When responses are delivered to Abraham, God is not said to descend but to stand before him, as we explained above: "Three men," the text says, "stood before him." But now, because sinners are involved, God is said to des…

"I will go down," he says, "and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry which has come to me; and if not, I will know." Therefore, when the Lord said that he would go down to see whether the same outcry was true, he did not show his ignorance, who possesses the knowledge of all things, but instructs our rashness, lest we presume to blame the deeds of other…

And thei turneden han fro thennus, and yeden to Sodom. Abraham sotheli stood yit bifore the Lord,

and neiyede, and seide, Whether thou schalt leese a iust man with the wickid man?

if fifti iust men ben in the citee, schulen thei perische togidere, and schalt thou not spare that place for fifti iust men, if thei ben ther ynne?

Fer be it fro thee that thou do this thing, and sle a iust man with a wickid man, and that a iust man be maad as a wickid man; this is not thin that demest al erthe; thou schalt not make this doom.

And the Lord seide to him, If Y schal fynde in Sodom fifti iust men in the myddis of the citee, Y schal foryyue to al the place for hem.

Abraham answerde and seide, For Y bigan onys, Y schal speke to my Lord, sithen Y am dust and aische;

Let us be imitators also of those who in goat-skins and sheep-skins [Hebrews 11:37] went about proclaiming the coming of Christ; I mean Elijah, Elisha, and Ezekiel among the prophets, with those others to whom a like testimony is borne [in Scripture].

[Daniel 8:27] "And I, Daniel, languished and was sick for some days. And when I rose from my bed, I performed the king's tasks." This is the same thing as we read in Genesis about Abraham, for after he had heard the Lord speaking to him, he averred that he was but dust and ashes (Genesis 18:27).

Since I have begun, I will speak to my Lord, though I am but dust and ashes. By this word he clearly rebukes our pride, we who are far distant from the height of his merits, far removed from divine conversation due to our slowness and inertia, nevertheless inflated with the pride of arrogance, do not recall that we are destined to be dust and ashes; for blessed Abraham, the clo…

what if lesse than fifti iust men bi fyue ben, schalt thou do a wey al the cite for fyue and fourti? And the Lord seide, Y schal not do a wei, if I schal fynde fyue and fourti there.

And eft Abraham seide to hym, But if fourti ben there, what schalt thou do? The Lord seide, Y schal not smyte for fourti.

Abraham seide, Lord, Y biseche, take thou not to indignacioun, if Y speke; what if thretti be foundun there? The Lord answerde, Y schal not do, if Y schal fynde thretti there.

Abraham seide, For Y bigan onys, Y schal speke to my Lord; what if twenti be foundun there? The Lord seide, Y schal not sle for twenti.

Abraham seide, Lord, Y biseche, be thou not wrooth, if Y speke yit onys; what if ten be founden there? The Lord seide, Y schal not do a wey for ten.

Finally, because no one besides Lot is found who would repent, no one would be converted. He alone is known; he alone is delivered from the conflagration. Neither his children, having been admonished, nor his neighbors nor his next of kin followed him. No one wished to know the mercy of God; no one wished to take refuge in his compassion.

For proof that such persons' good standing is a means of winning long suffering for us, take heed in that very story to what he says to the patriarch: "If I find ten good people, I will not destroy the city." Why do I say ten good people? No one was found there free from lawlessness, except alone the good man Lot and his two daughters.

(Verse 32) And he said, 'Is it, Lord, if I speak?' Which is written in Greek, μήτι, Κύριε, ἐὰν λαλήσω. Secondly, Abraham spoke to the Lord, which does not seem to clearly indicate what he is saying.

The Lord yede forth, after that he ceesside to speke to Abraham, and Abraham turnede ayen in to his place.

Genesis18