Bible Strands
Genesis 18:27
Then Abraham answered, “Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord—though I am but dust and ashes—
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Abraham addresses the Lord in Genesis 18 immediately after God outlines the condition for sparing Sodom. He pauses his bargaining to acknowledge the audacity of his continued petition.
The words — The verb הוֹאַלְתִּי (ho.'Al.ti) literally means "I have undertaken" or "I have ventured," denoting a deliberate, risky approach. It is paired with "dust and ashes," a concrete description of human mortality and lowly origin.
The thread — This self-description directly recalls Genesis 3:19 where humanity is told they will return to the ground. It parallels the prophetic confession of unworthiness in Isaiah 6:5 and the apostolic acknowledgment of sinfulness in Luke 5:8.
Why it lands — The text requires petitioners to ground bold requests in the reality of their finite, mortal condition. It frames approaching the divine not as a right but as a calculated act by one who recognizes his place.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:
Cross-references
- Isaiah 6:5 Then I said: “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.”
- Genesis 3:19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
- Luke 5:8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees. “Go away from me, Lord,” he said, “for I am a sinful man.”
- Job 30:19 He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes.
- Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.
- 1 Corinthians 15:47 The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.
- Genesis 2:7 Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
- Genesis 18:30 Then Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak further. Suppose thirty are found there?” He replied, “If I find thirty there, I will not do it.”
- Job 4:19 how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who can be crushed like a moth!
- Psalms 8:4 what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?