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 the name (see on 17$17$), although the sequel in this document has not been preserved.—waxed old] lit. 'worn away,' a strong word used, e.g., of worn out garments (Dt. 8$4$ 29$4$ etc.).— (only here), 'sensuous enjoyment' (Liebeswonne).—13. This leads to a still more remarkable proof of divine insight: the speaker knows that Sarah has laughed, though he has neither seen nor heard her (, v.$12$). The insertion of Yahwe here was probably caused by the occurrence of the name in the next v.—14. Is anything too strange for Yahwe?] As the narrative stands, the sentence does not imply identity between the speaker and Yahwe, but rather a distinction analogous to that frequently drawn between Yahwe and the angel of Yahwe (see on 16$7$).—15. Sarah denied it] startled by the unexpected exposure of her secret thoughts into fear of the mysterious guests.

From the religious-historical point of view, the passage just considered, with its sequel in ch. 19, is one of the most obscure in Genesis. According to Gu. (174 ff.), whose genial exposition has thrown a flood of light on the deeper aspects of the problem, the narrative is based on a widely diffused Oriental myth, which had been localised in Hebron in the pre-Yahwistic period, and was afterwards incorporated in the Abrahamic tradition. On this view, the three strangers were originally three deities, disguised as men, engaged in the function described in the lines of Homer (Od. xvii. 485 ff.):

Dr. Rendel Harris goes a step further, and identifies the gods with the Dioscuri or Kabiri, finding in the prominence given to hospitality, and the renewal of sexual functions, characteristic features of a Dioscuric visitation (Cult of the Heavenly Twins, 37 ff.)· Of the numerous parallels that are adduced, by far the most striking is the account of the birth of Orion in Ovid, Fasti, v. 495 ff.: Hyrieus, an aged peasant of Tanagra, is visited by Zeus, Poseidon, and Hermes, and shows hospitality to them; after the repast the gods invite him to

Mechilta on Ex. 12$40$ (see p. 14 above; Geiger, Urschr. 439, 442).—] Aq. ; Σ. (less accurately) .—14. ] Jer. 32$17. 27$, Dt. 17$8$ 30$11$.