Genesis 18:23

Summary

The verse narrates Abraham approaching (God) and posing a question: whether the righteous will be swept away together with the wicked. It marks the opening of Abraham's intercession concerning Sodom, framed as a direct interrogative address.

Key words

• va-yiggash ("and he drew near", H5066G) — qal narrative verb; the vav-consecutive form ties this action directly to the preceding narrative, presenting Abraham's approach as the next event in sequence.
• ha-af ("also?", H9008 + H0637) — the interrogative particle ha combined with af ("also/indeed") intensifies the question, giving it a tone of incredulity or emphasis, roughly "would you really also...?"
• tispeh ("you will sweep away", H5595) — qal imperfect, second person masculine singular; the imperfect aspect leaves the action open as potential or future, appropriate to a question about what might happen.
• tzaddiq ("righteous", H6662) — singular adjective used substantively ("the righteous one"), not plural, framing the question in terms of an individual case rather than a group.
• rasha' ("wicked", H7563) — singular noun, paired with tzaddiq via the preposition 'im ("with", H5973A), setting up the contrast structure "righteous with wicked."

What the text says

The verse divides into a narrative frame and direct speech. The first half uses two vav-consecutive verbs, va-yiggash and va-yomer, both qal narrative forms marking sequential action: Abraham "drew near" and then "said." This construction is typical of Hebrew narrative prose, chaining events without additional connectors.

The direct speech begins with the interrogative marker ha attached to af, a combination that does not simply ask a neutral question but adds emphasis — closer to "would you actually..." than a plain "will you." The verb tispeh, in the imperfect, keeps the action grammatically unresolved, consistent with a hypothetical or future-oriented question rather than a statement of fact. Both tzaddiq and rasha' appear in the singular, which the Hebrew grammar allows to function generically for the righteous and wicked as categories, even though the individuals referenced are singular in form.

Differences between versions

The LXX (Swete) adds a clause not present in the Hebrew or the Vulgate: "καὶ ἱστᾶι ὁ δίκαιος ὡς ὁ ἀσεβής" ("and will the righteous be as the wicked"). This second question does not correspond to any Hebrew wording in the Masoretic text given here. The Vulgate ("Numquid perdes justum cum impio?") and the Hebrew both contain only the single question about sweeping away the righteous with the wicked, without this additional LXX clause.