Virtuartnet

(Genezis 18:25)
Group two: Justice

The characteristic of Abraham, father of the nation, as a lover of justice is expressed in a most elevated manner in the story depicted in this serigraph: after his hospitable Oriental welcome to the three strangers who had come to his tent, he learned that they were angels who had come to tell him that his wife Sarah was soon to bear a son, and that God was preparing to destroy the sinful towns of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Abraham does not give up easily. He bargains with God: "Will Thou indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?" and extracts from him a promise not to destroy the cities even if there are only ten righteous men (as we know, in the end not even ten righteous men were found and the cities were destroyed).
The picture combines many details from this story. In the distance Sarah is seen eavesdropping on the conversation of the angels from inside the tent and laughing incredulously. The table laden with food and drink that Abraham had served to his guests, and the oak tree in whose shade they sat, are seen at the right side. In the center is Abraham, flanked by the three angels, and he is begging God to have mercy on Sodom and Gomorrah. The angels are colored in red, according to an ancient artistic tradition, and their unreality is expressed in the fact that they are floating slightly above the ground rather than standing on it. The four figures are on a high cliff overlooking the Valley of the Dead Sea and the two cities, which appear as walled, fortified cities. Beyond the walls small distant figures of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are seen, with hints of various sinful, wicked acts. Above the cities hovers the cloud of the threat that Abraham had tried in vain to remove in his argument with God.
Shlomo Katz