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Pentecost Season · Proper 11 · Year C

Genesis 18:1-10a

Three Visitors at the Oaks of Mamre

July 23, 2028

The Trinity (Hospitality of Abraham), Andrei Rublev
The Trinity (Hospitality of Abraham), Andrei Rublev, c. 1425Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
The most famous icon ever painted. Three angels sit round a table with a cup on it, and the empty fourth side is where the viewer is. Abraham and Sarah have been left out entirely.The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the entrance of his tent: the reading is three visitors at a meal, and Rublev made it the Trinity.Andrei RublevA Russian monk and icon painter, canonised in 1988, whose work is the high point of Russian religious art.Tretyakov Gallery, MoscowBuilt on a merchant's private collection of Russian art, given to the city in 1892 and still the national collection of Russian painting.Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
Revised Common Lectionary
GospelLuke 10:38-42Lk 10:38-42
EpistleCol. 1:15-28Col 1:15-28
Old TestamentAmos 8:1-12Am 8:1-12Alt. OTGen. 18:1-10aGn 18:1-10a
PsalterPs. 52Ps 52Alt. PsalmPs. 15Ps 15

Overview & Insights

"Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you... and Sarah shall have a son." (Genesis 18:14)

The Lord appears to Abraham as three travelers by the oaks of Mamre, and Abraham rushes to offer them lavish hospitality. One of the visitors promises that Sarah, long past childbearing age, will have a son within the year.

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Take it further: Genesis 18:1-10a

Commentary

Commentary on Genesis 18:1-10aCommentary on Gn 18:1-10a Working Preacher

Reads the story as God meeting Abraham not in power but in the ordinary form of guests to be fed.

Genesis 18 Bible CommentaryGn 18 Bible Commentary Enduring Word · David Guzik

Verse-by-verse evangelical commentary on the visit and the promise of Isaac.

Genesis 18:1 CommentariesGn 18:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Aggregates classic commentaries verse by verse on the passage.

Genesis 18 CommentaryGn 18 Commentary Precept Austin

A detailed inductive-study commentary with cross-references on the whole chapter.

Background & Word Study

Genesis 18:1 InterlinearGn 18:1 Interlinear BibleHub

Shows the Hebrew behind Abraham's hurried hospitality language.

Genesis 12-50 (video)Gn 12-50 (video) BibleProject

Animated overview of the Abraham narrative cycle including this visitation.

Genesis 18:1-10 (Hebrew text)Gn 18:1-10 (Hebrew text) Sefaria

The Masoretic Hebrew text with facing translation for direct word study.

The Church Fathers

Catena on Genesis 18Catena on Gn 18 Catena

Patristic comments reading the three visitors as an early witness to the Trinity.

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