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Genesis 18:16–33, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Genesis 18:16–33
Abraham Pleads for Righteous Judgment
Chosen to teach justice, then asked to watch it
Because Abraham is to become a blessing and teach righteousness and justice, the LORD lets him hear the outcry against Sodom. The case is serious enough to investigate. Abraham remains before the LORD and asks whether the Judge of all the earth will sweep righteous people away with the wicked.
He descends from fifty to ten. The LORD agrees each time to spare the place for a righteous minority. The dialogue does not name Sodom's exact sins here, and it does not tell us why Abraham stops at ten.
How this should shape us
When an outcry of harm reaches you, investigate rather than deny or blame a whole group. Intercede with courage and humility, and teach faith as a practiced way of justice rather than as private privilege.
Teach it back
Explain why the LORD discloses the Sodom case to Abraham in Genesis 18:16–33. Include Abraham's blessing-and-justice vocation, the meaning of the outcry and investigation, the difference between protecting the righteous and sparing the whole place, the six proposals, and two conclusions the text does not permit.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Best judgment:
How certain? probableBest judgment:
How certain? probableBest judgment:
How certain? probableBest judgment:
How certain? probableBest judgment:
How certain? strongResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Displayed wording, unit movement, vocation, outcry, investigation, intercession, numbers, and canonical links.
Genesis 18:16–33 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 13:10–13; 14:1–24; 19:1–29; 20:7; Exodus 32:7–14; Jeremiah 15:1
Supports: Yada, purpose clauses, righteousness and justice, outcry, cohortative investigation sequence, standing, sweep away, spare, far-be-it, Judge, dust and ashes, conditional proposals, and closure.
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 18:16–33
Supports: Know/choose, syntax, outcry, investigation wording, spare, rhetorical force, and translation alternatives.
NET Bible, Genesis 18:16–33 and translator notes, especially verses 17, 19, 20–25, 27, and 32
Supports: Final-form placement, Sodom movement, Abraham's prophetic role, and canonical storyline.
Genesis commentary, Abraham narrative discussion of Genesis 18–20
Supports: Critical setting, compositional questions, promise, Sodom, and Abraham-cycle context.
Genesis 16 and 22: Abraham and Isaac study guide and course material on the Abraham cycle
Supports: Literary placement and commentary navigation only.
Genesis, official Cambridge contents and introduction; commentary locator for Genesis 18:16–33
Supports: Visitor departure, identity ambiguity, Abraham's narrative role, and transition to Sodom.
Old Testament Essays 36.3, pp. 709–735, narrative analysis of Genesis 18–19
Supports: Translation and syntax, literary form, yada, outcry, investigation, verse 22 tradition, six dialogue rounds, justice, intercession, and the unexplained stopping point at ten.
Characterization in the Triangle of Intercession, especially pp. 69–78, 127–166, 203–212, and conclusion
Supports: Traditional Jewish and Christian readings of disclosure, repentance, intercession, verse 22, justice and mercy, and why Abraham stops.
Tyndale Bulletin 58.2, pp. 196–202
Supports: Modern peer-reviewed framing of divine justice and mercy; no unseen page-specific conclusion treated as verified.
Catholic Biblical Quarterly 66.1, pp. 25–43; official St Andrews metadata and abstract-level record
Supports: Modern specialist framing of Abraham's negotiations as prologue to the Sodom narrative; no unseen page-specific claim treated as verified.
For the Sake of Righteousness, in Sodom's Sin, pp. 3–15; official Groningen metadata and abstract-level record
Supports: The debated identity and force of the outcry and its relation to knowledge and judgment; use limited to accessible metadata.
Outcry, Knowledge, and Judgment in Genesis 18–19, pp. 71–100; official SBL/JSTOR chapter metadata and description
Supports: The relation of Genesis 18:19 to righteousness, justice, promise, and the Sodom narrative; use limited to accessible metadata.
Keeping the Way of Yhwh: Righteousness and Justice in Genesis 18–19, pp. 113–126; official SBL/JSTOR chapter metadata and description
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed wording, unit movement, vocation, outcry, investigation, intercession, numbers, and canonical links.
Exact location: Genesis 18:16–33 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 13:10–13; 14:1–24; 19:1–29; 20:7; Exodus 32:7–14; Jeremiah 15:1
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Yada, purpose clauses, righteousness and justice, outcry, cohortative investigation sequence, standing, sweep away, spare, far-be-it, Judge, dust and ashes, conditional proposals, and closure.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 18:16–33
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Know/choose, syntax, outcry, investigation wording, spare, rhetorical force, and translation alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 18:16–33 and translator notes, especially verses 17, 19, 20–25, 27, and 32
Open NET Genesis 18 ↗modern open whole book commentary
Genesis
T. Desmond Alexander
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: Final-form placement, Sodom movement, Abraham's prophetic role, and canonical storyline.
Exact location: Genesis commentary, Abraham narrative discussion of Genesis 18–20
Open source ↗modern critical open study guide
Genesis 16 and 22: Abraham and Isaac — Study Guide
Joel S. Baden and Yale Bible Study
Yale Divinity School, 2021 course; page inspected 2026
Supports: Critical setting, compositional questions, promise, Sodom, and Abraham-cycle context.
Exact location: Genesis 16 and 22: Abraham and Isaac study guide and course material on the Abraham cycle
Open source ↗modern scholarly commentary publisher material
Genesis
Bill T. Arnold
Cambridge University Press, 2009
Supports: Literary placement and commentary navigation only.
Exact location: Genesis, official Cambridge contents and introduction; commentary locator for Genesis 18:16–33
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access narrative study
The Narrative Significance of the Role of Abraham in the Identity of the Visitors in Genesis 18–19
Michael Ndele
Old Testament Essays 36.3, 2024
Supports: Visitor departure, identity ambiguity, Abraham's narrative role, and transition to Sodom.
Exact location: Old Testament Essays 36.3, pp. 709–735, narrative analysis of Genesis 18–19
Open source ↗open access masters thesis literary Hebrew and comparative study
Characterization in the Triangle of Intercession: A Literary and Theological Study of Genesis 18:16–33
Peter Tin Yan Chu
Tyndale Seminary, 2008
Supports: Translation and syntax, literary form, yada, outcry, investigation, verse 22 tradition, six dialogue rounds, justice, intercession, and the unexplained stopping point at ten.
Exact location: Characterization in the Triangle of Intercession, especially pp. 69–78, 127–166, 203–212, and conclusion
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access reception history study
The Compassionate God of Traditional Jewish and Christian Exegesis
Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer
Tyndale Bulletin 58.2, 2007
Supports: Traditional Jewish and Christian readings of disclosure, repentance, intercession, verse 22, justice and mercy, and why Abraham stops.
Exact location: Tyndale Bulletin 58.2, pp. 196–202
Open source ↗peer reviewed specialist exegetical study
Listening to Abraham—Listening to YHWH: Divine Justice and Mercy in Genesis 18:16–33
Nathan MacDonald
Catholic Biblical Quarterly 66.1, 2004
Supports: Modern peer-reviewed framing of divine justice and mercy; no unseen page-specific conclusion treated as verified.
Exact location: Catholic Biblical Quarterly 66.1, pp. 25–43; official St Andrews metadata and abstract-level record
Open source ↗peer reviewed specialist literary and theological study
For the Sake of Righteousness: Abraham’s Negotiations with YHWH as Prologue to the Sodom Narrative: Genesis 18:16–33
Ed Noort
Brill, in Sodom’s Sin: Genesis 18–19 and Its Interpretations, 2004
Supports: Modern specialist framing of Abraham's negotiations as prologue to the Sodom narrative; no unseen page-specific claim treated as verified.
Exact location: For the Sake of Righteousness, in Sodom's Sin, pp. 3–15; official Groningen metadata and abstract-level record
Open source ↗peer reviewed specialist Hebrew and literary study
Outcry, Knowledge, and Judgment in Genesis 18–19
Ellen J. van Wolde
Society of Biblical Literature, in Universalism and Particularism at Sodom and Gomorrah, 2012
Supports: The debated identity and force of the outcry and its relation to knowledge and judgment; use limited to accessible metadata.
Exact location: Outcry, Knowledge, and Judgment in Genesis 18–19, pp. 71–100; official SBL/JSTOR chapter metadata and description
Open source ↗peer reviewed specialist literary and compositional study
Keeping the Way of YHWH: Righteousness and Justice in Genesis 18–19
Megan Warner
Society of Biblical Literature, in Universalism and Particularism at Sodom and Gomorrah, 2012
Supports: The relation of Genesis 18:19 to righteousness, justice, promise, and the Sodom narrative; use limited to accessible metadata.
Exact location: Keeping the Way of Yhwh: Righteousness and Justice in Genesis 18–19, pp. 113–126; official SBL/JSTOR chapter metadata and description
Open source ↗