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Chapter 17
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Genesis, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
God, Humanity, and Creation
Mistrust, Disobedience, and Death
Covenants and Faith in God’s Promises
The Role of Women
Summary
Analysis
While Abraham sits outside his tent by the oaks of Mamre, three men suddenly approach. Abraham runs and bows to them, urging the men to stop and refresh themselves. When the men agree, Abraham tells Sarah to prepare cakes, and a calf is slaughtered. He sets this feast before the visitors. Then one of the men tells Abraham that the next time he visits this tent, Sarah will have a son. Sarah, listening at the tent entrance, begins to laugh—she is long past childbearing age. The LORD repeats the promise, adding that nothing is “too wonderful” for God.
Following up on the covenant God made with Abraham in the preceding chapter, this is a divine visit—note that the three men are identified with the Lord later in the passage. Seeming to recognize this, Abraham prepares a feast. Eavesdropping, Sarah laughs at the visitor’s claim, much as Abraham did at the end of the previous chapter. Whether her laugh is bitterly disbelieving or happily incredulous, God hears it and responds with reassurance.
Themes
When the guests depart, Abraham walks with them in the direction of Sodom. The LORD says that he has heard an outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah because of their grave sin, and he is going to see if the report is true. Abraham asks God if he will destroy the righteous along with the wicked—if there were only 50 righteous people in Sodom, would God still destroy the whole city? Surely that would not be just. Abraham continues questioning God, asking if God would refrain from destroying Sodom for the sake of 45, 20, or even just 10 righteous residents. God says that he would not destroy Sodom if 10 righteous people could be found.
In this conversation with God, Abraham questions and even challenges God regarding what is just. God’s justice, in other words, should not be arbitrary, but should be based on evidence, and the righteous shouldn’t perish along with the wicked. Abraham’s argument demonstrates his own reputation for righteousness as well as God’s promise to bless others through Abraham.
Themes
