Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?

GENESIS 18:24KJV
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Genesis 18:24 (KJV)

What does Genesis 18:24 mean?

Genesis 18:24 records Abraham asking God if He would spare the city of Sodom if there were fifty righteous people living in it, questioning whether God would destroy the city or show mercy for the sake of those righteous individuals. Abraham is appealing to God’s sense of justice and mercy, suggesting that the presence of righteous people should protect the whole city from destruction.

In this scene, Abraham is speaking directly to God, interceding for the city of Sodom, which God has said He will judge for its wickedness. Abraham’s question is bold and respectful, showing his concern for innocent lives and his belief that God is fair. The verse highlights Abraham’s role as an intercessor and sets the stage for a conversation about justice, mercy, and the value of righteousness within a community.

The Hebrew behind Genesis 18:24

  • צַדִּיק (tsaddiq, H6662) means "righteous" or "just." Abraham’s focus on the presence of "righteous" people shows he believes their moral character could influence God’s actions toward the whole city.
  • יִשָּׂא (yissa, H5375) is translated "spare" and literally means "to lift" or "to carry." Here, it carries the sense of God "lifting" judgment or showing forbearance because of the righteous.
  • בְּתוֹךְ (betokh, H8432) means "within" or "in the midst of." Abraham is not asking about righteous people outside the city, but specifically those living among the rest, emphasizing their potential to affect the fate of the entire community.

Why Genesis 18:24 matters

  • This verse clarifies that Abraham is not just concerned for his nephew Lot, but for the whole city, showing a broad compassion and a belief in collective responsibility.
  • The verse highlights the biblical idea that a small number of righteous people can have a protective effect on a larger group, a theme that appears in other parts of the Bible.
  • Genesis 18:24 sets up the pattern for Abraham’s further questions, showing a respectful but persistent dialogue with God about justice, which shapes the rest of the chapter’s narrative.

Where else these words appear

“for” Hebrew H4616 · used in 10 verses

  • Genesis 12:13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
  • Numbers 16:40 To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses.
  • Psalms 125:3 For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.

“destroy” Hebrew H5595 · used in 20 verses

  • Genesis 18:23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
  • Deuteronomy 32:23 I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.
  • Proverbs 13:23 Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.

“be” Hebrew H3426 · used in 129 verses

  • Genesis 23:8 And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,
  • 1 Samuel 23:23 See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah.
  • Psalms 135:17 They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths.

“fifty” Hebrew H2572 · used in 141 verses

  • Genesis 6:15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
  • Numbers 4:35 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation:
  • 1 Chronicles 5:21 And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand, and of men an hundred thousand.