Genesis 18:4 - Exposition

Let a little water, I pray yon, be fetched, and wash your feet. Feet washing was a necessary part of Oriental hospitality (cf. Genesis 19:2 ; Genesis 24:32 ; Genesis 43:24 ). "Among the ancient Egyptians the basins kept in the houses of the rich for this purpose were sometimes of gold". " In India it is considered a necessary part of hospitality to wash the feet and ankles of the weary traveler, and even in Palestine this interesting custom is not extinct. Dr. Robinson and party on arriving at Ramleh repaired to the abode of a wealthy Arab, where the ceremony was performed in the genuine style of ancient Oriental hospitality. And rest yourselves (literally, recline by resting on the elbow) under the tree.