Genesis 18:32

32 And he said, O let not the Lord be angry and I will say only one word more: by chance there may be ten there. And he said, I will have mercy because of the ten.

Genesis 18:32 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 18:32

And he said, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak
yet but this once
This should be the last request he should make on this account, and therefore he desired he might be heard without any marks of his displeasure;

Peradventure ten shall be found there:
how would the place be dealt with then? would it be consumed or not?

and he said, I will not destroy [it] for ten's sake;
though no more righteous persons were found in it. Some of the Jewish writers say ^F7, he ended at ten, because he supposed there were ten righteous persons in Lot's family, Lot and his wife, and their four daughters, and their four husbands; but they forgot that two of Lot's daughters were unmarried, and how many he had married is not known; ten they say make a congregation, and wherever there are ten righteous persons, a place is saved for their sakes.

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 Bereshit Rabba, sect. 49. fol. 44. 3.

Genesis 18:32 In-Context

30 And he said, Let not the Lord be angry with me if I say, What if there are thirty there? And he said, I will not do it if there are thirty.

31 And he said, See now, I have undertaken to put my thoughts before the Lord: what if there are twenty there? And he said, I will have mercy because of the twenty.

32 And he said, O let not the Lord be angry and I will say only one word more: by chance there may be ten there. And he said, I will have mercy because of the ten.

33 And the Lord went on his way when his talk with Abraham was ended, and Abraham went back to his place.