Verse Lens · Context pointer
Genesis 18:29 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 29. 29And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
Abraham continues with forty, and the LORD agrees not to act against the city for their sake. The response remains immediate and unresisting.
Read It With
- Genesis 18:16–33
Read verses 24–32. Forty is the third of six proposals; the meaning lies in the repeated downward movement and divine agreement, not in symbolic numerology.
Why It Needs Context
The verse continues the negotiation pattern and should not be isolated as a special promise about forty people.
Read Genesis 18:29–32 together
Why these verses belong together: Four further proposals lower the number from forty to ten within one repeated dialogue pattern.
Verse 29. 29 And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake.
Verse 30. 30 And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.
Verse 31. 31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake.
Verse 32. 32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 18:16–33 — Abraham Pleads for Righteous JudgmentSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? very strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 ↗