Genesis 18:27

Summary

Abraham responds to the Lord, introducing his speech with a formula of self-deprecating hesitation before continuing to intercede. He acknowledges having taken it upon himself to speak, describing himself as "dust and ashes" in contrast to the one he addresses.

Key words

• va.Ya'an ("he answered", H6030B) — qal narrative verb, continuing the story sequence with "and then he answered."
• ho.'Alti ("I have undertaken", H2974) — hiphil (causative) perfect, first person; expresses a completed action of daring or venturing, often carrying a nuance of "I have taken it upon myself."
• daBer ("to speak", H1696G) — piel infinitive construct, intensive stem, following the preposition le ("to", H9005); together le-daBer means "to speak" in the sense of an ongoing or deliberate act of speech.
• 'adoNai ("[the] Lord", H0136) — a title used as a form of address, marking Abraham's posture toward the one he addresses.
• 'aFar ("[am] dust", H6083) and 'Efer ("ash[es]", H0665) — two masculine singular nouns joined by va ("and", H9002), forming a fixed pair describing human lowliness.

What the text says

The verse opens with two narrative verbs in sequence, va.Ya'an ("he answered", H6030B) and va.yoMar ("he said", H0559), a common Hebrew construction that introduces reported speech by doubling the verbs of response and speech. This structure signals a formal or weighty reply rather than a simple continuation of dialogue.

The core of Abraham's statement centers on ho.'Alti ("I have undertaken", H2974), a hiphil perfect verb. The hiphil stem here conveys a causative or reflexive sense — Abraham did not merely speak but caused himself to begin speaking, implying deliberation or boldness. This is paired with the infinitive le-daBer ("to speak", H1696G + H9005), which specifies the action undertaken: speaking 'el-'adoNai ("to the Lord", H0413 + H0136).

The final clause, introduced by ve- ("and", H9002), sets Abraham's self-description against this act of speaking: 'anoKhi ("I", H0595) 'aFar ("dust", H6083) va-'Efer ("and ashes", H0665). The pairing of 'aFar and 'Efer forms a fixed idiomatic expression in Hebrew describing human insignificance or mortality, built through simple noun juxtaposition rather than a verb — the Hebrew has no explicit "am," so the copula is supplied by context.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders 'aFar ("dust", H6083) as γῆ ("earth/soil") rather than the more literal "dust," while 'Efer ("ashes", H0665) becomes σποδός ("ashes"), preserving the pairing but shifting the first term's semantic range. The Vulgate uses pulvis ("dust") and cinis ("ashes"), closely matching the Hebrew pair. Additionally, where the Hebrew begins with hinneh-na' ("here, please", H2009 + H4994), an interjection pair emphasizing urgency or politeness, the LXX simplifies this to Νῦν ("now"), and the Vulgate renders it as Quia semel ("because once"), showing a divergence in how the opening emphasis is conveyed.