Hebrew Bible Study
Hebrew Bible Study

Commentary for Genesis 18:21

אֵֽרֲדָה־נָּ֣א וְאֶרְאֶ֔ה הַכְּצַעֲקָתָ֛הּ הַבָּ֥אָה אֵלַ֖י עָשׂ֣וּ ׀ כָּלָ֑ה וְאִם־לֹ֖א אֵדָֽעָה׃

I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto Me; and if not, I will know.’

Rashi on Genesis

ארדה נא I WILL GO DOWN NOW — This teaches the judges that they should not give decisions in cases involving capital punishment, except after having carefully looked into the matter — all as I have explained in the section dealing with the dispersion of the nations (11:5). Another explanation of ארדה נא is: I will go down to the very end of their doings (I will fathom the depths of their wickedness).
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Rashbam on Genesis

עשו כלה, the vertical line after the word עשו is like a comma between these words, i.e. “if they have done as reported, I will put an end to them.”
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Sforno on Genesis

I will descend now. I will plumb the depths of their wickedness to see what will come of it in the end.
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