Genesis 18:28 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

NIV: what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?' 'If I find forty-five there,' he said, 'I will not destroy it.'

NASB: Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the entire city because of five?' And He said, 'I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.'

CSB: suppose the fifty righteous lack five. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five? "He replied, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there."

NLT: Suppose there are only forty-five righteous people rather than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?' And the Lord said, 'I will not destroy it if I find forty-five righteous people there.'

KJV: Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.

NKJV: Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?” So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.”

Abraham begins bargaining with the Lord in earnest now. In the previous verses, Abraham declared that the Lord could not, in good character, sweep away the city of Sodom if some of the residents were righteous. We know Abraham's nephew Lot lived in the city (Genesis 14:12). Abraham started by asking, what if 50 righteous people live in the city? The Lord stated flatly that He would not destroy the city if He found 50 righteous people.

This "negotiation," of course, is merely for the benefit of Abraham and the rest of mankind. God has no obligation to discuss this decision with anyone. However, like a patient teacher, God allows Abraham to "talk out" the situation. When all is said and done, this will only go to prove how truly justified God's wrath against Sodom truly is.

After getting a positive answer from God about sparing the city for the sake of a few people, Abraham continues to work a strategy to talk the Lord down to the smallest number of people possible. Here the Lord agrees not to destroy the city if He finds 45 righteous people. Abraham's intent, most likely, is to plead for the rescue of his nephew, Lot, who lives in Sodom.

It's important to note here that the word "righteous," as used by Abraham, does not mean sinlessly perfect people. In an Old Testament context, this term refers to those who don't participate in the grave sins openly practiced in Sodom and Gomorrah. Those sins included rape, sexual immorality including homosexuality, gluttony, and not caring for or helping the poor (Genesis 19; Ezekiel 16:49–50).

Genesis 18:22–33 describes Abraham's negotiation with the Lord for the city of Sodom, where his nephew Lot and his family live. Previously, God spoke from a poetic human perspective, saying that He would judge Sodom and Gomorrah if their sins were as awful as they seemed. Here, Abraham recoils at the idea that the Lord would annihilate righteous people along with the wicked, beginning a sort of negotiation with God. Of course, God does not need to negotiate with man, and already knows how depraved Sodom is. This conversation with Abraham has nothing to do with changing God's mind; it has everything to do with proving, beyond all doubt, that God's actions here are just. God says He will spare Sodom for the sake of just ten righteous people; later passages show the city fails that test.

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.