Genesis 18:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The Lord said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.

NIV: Then one of them said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him.

NASB: He said, 'I will certainly return to you at this time next year; and behold, your wife Sarah will have a son.' And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him.

CSB: The Lord said, "I will certainly come back to you in about a year’s time, and your wife Sarah will have a son!" Now Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent behind him.

NLT: Then one of them said, 'I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!' Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent.

KJV: And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.

NKJV: And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.)

Abraham has been entertaining three strangers who arrived mysteriously outside of his tent. He hurried to provide a royal feast for them. It's unclear whether Abraham understood clearly that one of the men was the Lord in human form before this moment, but now the Lord will reveal Himself completely. In the prior verse, the visitors asked where Sarah was. Knowing that these men are God and two angels, this question is really for Abraham's benefit, not their own.

Here, God speaks to Abraham about Sarah with the full knowledge that she is listening. The Lord repeats what He has said to Abraham in the previous chapter. This time, though, He speaks in a way that Sarah will be sure to hear. God announces, and Sarah clearly hears, that she will have a son by this time next year, when the Lord plans a return visit. Hearing such an announcement would clearly confirm for Abraham that this was the Lord who had made the same promise to him in the previous chapter.

Sarah, though, seems to be hearing this promise for the first time. Most likely, Abraham had not told her what God had revealed to him in the prior encounter. Sarah's initial reaction will be similar to Abraham's. Given her lifelong barrenness and advanced age, she will laugh at the suggestion of having a natural-born child.

Genesis 18:9–15 describes the moment when Sarah overhears a prediction that she will soon bear a child. Given that she is 90 years old, and her husband is approaching 100, Sarah's first response to this is to laugh in disbelief. The person speaking, however, is actually God in human form, and He gently reminds her that such things are well within His awesome power.

Abraham hurries to offer respect and hospitality to three men who appear near his tent. Over the course of the chapter, the men reveal themselves to be the Lord and two angels in human form. As He had told Abraham in the previous chapter, the Lord now reveals to Sarah that she will have a son within the year. Later, the Lord poetically says He will investigate the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, where Abraham's nephew Lot lives. Abraham asks, and the Lord agrees, not to destroy Sodom if God finds 10 righteous people there.

God appeared to Abraham in the previous chapter revealing, in part, that Sarah would bear Abraham a son within a year's time. Now the Lord appears again, this time in human form and accompanied by two disguised angels. He reveals to Sarah the same promise. She laughs, and the Lord insists that even her age isn't too hard for Him to overcome. Next the Lord reveals to Abraham that He will investigate the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham receives the Lord's promise not to destroy Sodom (where Abraham's nephew lives) if He finds 10 righteous people in the city. Unfortunately, the city is beyond saving, and the next chapter details its utter destruction.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.