And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of
Mamre
That is, to Abraham; and very likely this appearance of God was
quickly after the affair of the circumcision, to show his
approbation of his ready obedience to his command; and at this
time he was in the plains, or at the oaks of Mamre, the oaken
grove there, as has been observed on ( Genesis
13:18 ) ; and which seems to be the best rendering of the
words, since in ( Genesis 18:4
Genesis
18:8 ) ; mention is made of a tree to sit and stand under;
and Abraham might choose this place for his habitation, because
of the shadiness of it, in those hot countries:
and he sat in the tent door, in the heat of the
day;
partly to cool and refresh himself, and partly to observe if any
passengers passed by, to invite them in; this being a time of day
when such needed refreshment, and it was proper for them to lie
by a while, and not proceed on their journey until it was cooler:
or rather to or "near" the tent door, as Noldius F7, or
before it, without or under the shade of the tree, after
mentioned.