Genesis 18:9

9 They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "She is in the tent."

Genesis 18:9 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 18:9

And they said unto him, where [is] Sarah thy wife?
&c.] One of them put the question; and so the Septuagint version renders it, "and he said unto him", the principal of them, whom Abraham at first addressed and called him "my Lord", and was no other than the Son of God in an human form; and various things in the context show him to be a divine Person, particularly his promise of return next year, and Sarah should have a son: and the question here put by him was not out of ignorance, for he who knew the name of Abraham's wife, knew where she was; but this was asked in order to lead on to say something more concerning her, and that, hearing her name, she might draw nearer and listen to what was said of her: and he said, behold, in the tent;
for in those times they dwelt in tents, and this was either the tent common to the family, or rather was Sarah's own tent, ( Genesis 24:67 ) ; Sarah was where she should be, in her own apartment, attending to the business of her family, and answered to the description the apostle gives of a good housewife, a keeper at home, ( Titus 2:5 ) ;

Genesis 18:9 In-Context

7 And Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it.
8 Then he took curds, and milk, and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
9 They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "She is in the tent."
10 The LORD said, "I will surely return to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.