“He ran to meet them and bowed”
And Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. (Genesis 18:2 BSB)
What it sounds like today
An old man politely greets some passing visitors.
The cultural key
In the ancient Near East, a man of Abraham's rank moved slowly and let others come to him; dignity meant not hurrying. That he 'ran' to strangers and bowed to the ground is a deliberate picture of extravagant hospitality, which was a sacred, near-absolute obligation to travelers in a harsh land. He rushes to wash their feet, slaughters a calf, and serves them himself. The scene is placed just before Sodom, whose defining sin in the next chapter is the violent abuse of guests, the exact opposite of this welcome.
Recovered meaning
Abraham's undignified sprint is the culture's highest courtesy: guests treated as an honor, not a burden. Set against Sodom's coming cruelty to visitors, this welcome becomes a moral snapshot, and the New Testament's reason to 'entertain strangers.'