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Teks -- Genesis 19:1-38 (NET)

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Konteks
The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground. 19:2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” 19:3 But he urged them persistently, so they turned aside with him and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, including bread baked without yeast, and they ate. 19:4 Before they could lie down to sleep, all the men– both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom– surrounded the house. 19:5 They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!” 19:6 Lot went outside to them, shutting the door behind him. 19:7 He said, “No, my brothers! Don’t act so wickedly! 19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.” 19:9 “Out of our way!” they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, and now he dares to judge us! We’ll do more harm to you than to them!” They kept pressing in on Lot until they were close enough to break down the door. 19:10 So the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house as they shut the door. 19:11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest to the oldest, with blindness. The men outside wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? Do you have any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? Get them out of this place 19:13 because we are about to destroy it. The outcry against this place is so great before the Lord that he has sent us to destroy it.” 19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. 19:15 At dawn the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” 19:16 When Lot hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. They led them away and placed them outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!” 19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! 19:19 Your servant has found favor with you, and you have shown me great kindness by sparing my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because this disaster will overtake me and I’ll die. 19:20 Look, this town over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. Let me go there. It’s just a little place, isn’t it? Then I’ll survive.” 19:21 “Very well,” he replied, “I will grant this request too and will not overthrow the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) 19:23 The sun had just risen over the land as Lot reached Zoar. 19:24 Then the Lord rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. 19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew from the ground. 19:26 But Lot’s wife looked back longingly and was turned into a pillar of salt. 19:27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 19:28 He looked out toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. 19:29 So when God destroyed the cities of the region, God honored Abraham’s request. He removed Lot from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed the cities Lot had lived in. 19:30 Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and settled in the mountains because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 19:31 Later the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby to have sexual relations with us, according to the way of all the world. 19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine so we can have sexual relations with him and preserve our family line through our father.” 19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, and the older daughter came and had sexual relations with her father. But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 19:34 So in the morning the older daughter said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 19:35 So they made their father drunk that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 19:37 The older daughter gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today. 19:38 The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ammi. He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.
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Nama Orang, Nama Tempat, Topik/Tema Kamus

Nama Orang dan Nama Tempat:
 · Abraham a son of Terah; the father of Isaac; ancestor of the Jewish nation.,the son of Terah of Shem
 · Ammonites the tribe/nation of people descended from Ben-Ammi, Lot's son,Territory of the tribe/nation of Ammon
 · Ben-ammi son of Lot; younger brother of Moab; patriarch of the Ammonites
 · Ben-Ammi son of Lot; younger brother of Moab; patriarch of the Ammonites
 · Gomorrah an ancient city known for its sin whose ruins are said to be visible from the Masada,a town destroyed with Sodom by burning sulphur
 · Lot a son of Haran; nephew of Abraham,son of Haran son of Terah; nephew of Abraham
 · Moab resident(s) of the country of Moab
 · Moabite a female descendant of Moab
 · Sodom an ancient town somewhere in the region of the Dead Sea that God destroyed with burning sulphur,a town 25 km south of Gomorrah and Masada
 · Zoar a town at the south end of the Dead Sea


Topik/Tema Kamus: Angel | Lot | Sodom | Abraham | GOD, 2 | GENESIS, 4 | HOSPITALITY; HOST | God | STRANGER AND SOJOURNER (IN THE OLD TESTAMENT) | MOAB; MOABITES | LOT (1) | Miracles | Zoar | CITIES | City | Gomorrah | Sodomites | Children | Adultery | Hospitality | selebihnya
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Catatan Kata/Frasa
Wesley , JFB , Clarke , Calvin , Defender , TSK

Catatan Kata/Frasa
Poole , Haydock , Gill

Catatan Ayat / Catatan Kaki
NET Notes , Geneva Bible

Catatan Rentang Ayat
Maclaren , MHCC , Matthew Henry , Keil-Delitzsch , Constable , Guzik

Lainnya
Bible Query , Evidence

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Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Wesley: Gen 19:1 - And there came two Probably two of the three that had just before been with Abraham, the two created angels who were sent to execute God's purpose concerning Sodom.

Probably two of the three that had just before been with Abraham, the two created angels who were sent to execute God's purpose concerning Sodom.

Wesley: Gen 19:3 - And he pressed upon them greatly Partly because he would by no means have them to expose themselves to the perils of lodging in the streets of Sodom, and partly because he was desirou...

Partly because he would by no means have them to expose themselves to the perils of lodging in the streets of Sodom, and partly because he was desirous of their converse.

Wesley: Gen 19:4 - Here were old and young all from every quarter The old were not past it, and the young were soon come up to it. Either they had no magistrates to protect the peaceable, or their magistrates were th...

The old were not past it, and the young were soon come up to it. Either they had no magistrates to protect the peaceable, or their magistrates were themselves aiding and abetting.

Wesley: Gen 19:8 - I have two daughters This was unadvisedly and unjustifiably offered. It is true, of two evils we must chose the less, but of two sins we must chose neither, nor ever do ev...

This was unadvisedly and unjustifiably offered. It is true, of two evils we must chose the less, but of two sins we must chose neither, nor ever do evil that good may come of it.

Wesley: Gen 19:11 - And they smote the men with blindness This was designed to put an end to their attempt, and to be an earnest of their utter ruin the next day.

This was designed to put an end to their attempt, and to be an earnest of their utter ruin the next day.

Wesley: Gen 19:13 - We will destroy this place The holy angels are ministers of God's wrath for the destruction of sinners, as well as of his mercy for the preservation and deliverance of his peopl...

The holy angels are ministers of God's wrath for the destruction of sinners, as well as of his mercy for the preservation and deliverance of his people.

Wesley: Gen 19:14 - Up, get you out this place The manner of expression is startling. It was not time to trifle, when the destruction was just at the door.

The manner of expression is startling. It was not time to trifle, when the destruction was just at the door.

Wesley: Gen 19:14 - But he seemed to them as one that mocked They thought perhaps that the assault which the Sodomites had just now made upon his house had disturbed his head, and put him into such a fright that...

They thought perhaps that the assault which the Sodomites had just now made upon his house had disturbed his head, and put him into such a fright that be knew not what he said. They that made a jest of every thing, made a jest of that, and so perished in the overthrow. Thus many who are warned of the danger they are in by sin, make a light matter of it; such will perish with their blood upon their heads.

Wesley: Gen 19:16 - Tho' Lot did not make a jest of the warning as his sons in - law, yet he lingered, he did not make so much haste as the case required. And it might have been fatal to him, if the angels had not laid hold on...

in - law, yet he lingered, he did not make so much haste as the case required. And it might have been fatal to him, if the angels had not laid hold on his hand, and brought him forth. Herein the Lord was merciful to him, otherwise he might justly have left him to perish, since he was loath to depart. If God had not been merciful to us, our lingering had been our ruin.

Wesley: Gen 19:17 - Look not behind thee He must not loiter by the way; stay not in all the plain - For it would all be made one dead sea: he must not take up short of the place of refuge app...

He must not loiter by the way; stay not in all the plain - For it would all be made one dead sea: he must not take up short of the place of refuge appointed him; escape to the mountain - Such as these are the commands given to those who through grace are delivered out of a sinful state. Return not to sin and Satan, for that's looking back to Sodom. Rest not in the world, for that's staying in the plain. And, Reach toward Christ and heaven, for that is escaping to the mountain, short of which we must not take up.

Wesley: Gen 19:22 - I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither The very presence of good men in a place helps to keep off judgments. See what care God takes for the preservation of his people!

The very presence of good men in a place helps to keep off judgments. See what care God takes for the preservation of his people!

Wesley: Gen 19:24 - Then the Lord rained from the Lord - God the Son, from God the Father, for the Father has committed all judgment to the Son. He that is the Saviour will be the destroyer o...

from the Lord - God the Son, from God the Father, for the Father has committed all judgment to the Son. He that is the Saviour will be the destroyer of those that reject the salvation.

Wesley: Gen 19:25 - And he overthrew the cities, and all the inhabitants of them, the plain, and all that grew upon the ground It was an utter ruin, and irreparable; that fruitful valley remains to this day a great lake, or dead sea. Travelers say it is about thirty miles long...

It was an utter ruin, and irreparable; that fruitful valley remains to this day a great lake, or dead sea. Travelers say it is about thirty miles long, and ten miles broad. It has no living creature in it: it is not moved by the wind: the smell of it is offensive: things do not easily sink in it. The Greeks call it Asphaltis, from a sort of pitch which it casts up. Jordan falls into it, and is lost there. It was a punishment that answered their sin. Burning lusts against nature were justly punished with this preternatural burning.

Wesley: Gen 19:26 - But his wife looked back from behind him Herein she disobeyed an express command. Probably she hankered after her house and goods in Sodom, and was loath to leave them. Christ intimates this ...

Herein she disobeyed an express command. Probably she hankered after her house and goods in Sodom, and was loath to leave them. Christ intimates this to be her sin, Luk 17:31-32, she too much regarded her stuff. And her looking back spoke an inclination to go back; and therefore our Saviour uses it as a warning against apostasy from our Christian profession.

Wesley: Gen 19:26 - And she became a pillar of salt She was struck dead in the place, yet her body did not fall down, but stood fixed and erect like a pillar or monument, not liable to waste or decay, a...

She was struck dead in the place, yet her body did not fall down, but stood fixed and erect like a pillar or monument, not liable to waste or decay, as human bodies exposed to the air are, but metamorphosed into a metallic substance, which would last perpetually. Our communion with God consists in our gracious regard to him, and his gracious regard to us. We have here therefore the communion that was between God and Abraham in the event concerning Sodom, as before in the consultation concerning It; for communion with God is to be kept up in providences as well as in ordinances.

Wesley: Gen 19:27 - And Abraham gat up early And to see what was become of his prayers, he went to the very place were he had stood before the Lord.

And to see what was become of his prayers, he went to the very place were he had stood before the Lord.

Wesley: Gen 19:28 - And he looked toward Sodom Not as Lot's wife did, tacitly reflecting upon the divine severity, but humbly adoring it, and acquiescing in it. Here is God's favourable regard to A...

Not as Lot's wife did, tacitly reflecting upon the divine severity, but humbly adoring it, and acquiescing in it. Here is God's favourable regard to Abraham, Gen 19:29. As before when Abraham prayed for Ishmael, God heard him for Isaac, so now when he prayed for Sodom, he heard for Lot.

Wesley: Gen 19:29 - God remembered Abraham, and for his sake sent Lot out of the overthrow God will certainly give an answer of peace to the prayer of faith in his own way and time.

God will certainly give an answer of peace to the prayer of faith in his own way and time.

Wesley: Gen 19:30 - He feared to dwell in Zoar Here is the great trouble and distress that Lot was brought into after his deliverance, Gen 19:29. He was frightened out of Zoar, durst not dwell ther...

Here is the great trouble and distress that Lot was brought into after his deliverance, Gen 19:29. He was frightened out of Zoar, durst not dwell there, either because he was conscious to himself that it was a refuge of his own chusing, and that therein he had foolishly prescribed to God, and therefore could not but distrust his safety in it. Probably he found it as wicked as Sodom; and therefore concluded it could not long survive it; or perhaps he observed the rise and increase of those waters, which, after the conflagration, began to overflow the plain, and which, mixing with the ruins, by degrees made the dead sea; in those waters he concluded Zoar must needs perish, (though it had escaped the fire) because it stood upon the same flat. He was now glad to go to the mountain, the place which God had appointed for his shelter. See in Lot what those bring themselves to at last, that forsake the communion of saints for secular advantages.

JFB: Gen 19:1 - there came two angels Most probably two of those that had been with Abraham, commissioned to execute the divine judgment against Sodom.

Most probably two of those that had been with Abraham, commissioned to execute the divine judgment against Sodom.

JFB: Gen 19:1 - Lot sat in the gate of Sodom In Eastern cities it is the market, the seat of justice, of social intercourse and amusement, especially a favorite lounge in the evenings, the arched...

In Eastern cities it is the market, the seat of justice, of social intercourse and amusement, especially a favorite lounge in the evenings, the arched roof affording a pleasant shade.

JFB: Gen 19:2 - turn in, I pray you . . . tarry all night Offer of the same generous hospitalities as described in Gen 18:2-8, and which are still spontaneously practised in the small towns.

Offer of the same generous hospitalities as described in Gen 18:2-8, and which are still spontaneously practised in the small towns.

JFB: Gen 19:2 - And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night Where there are no inns and no acquaintance, it is not uncommon for travellers to sleep in the street wrapped up in their cloaks.

Where there are no inns and no acquaintance, it is not uncommon for travellers to sleep in the street wrapped up in their cloaks.

JFB: Gen 19:3 - entered into his house On removing to the plain, Lot intended at first to live in his tent apart from the people [Gen 13:12]. But he was gradually drawn in, dwelt in the cit...

On removing to the plain, Lot intended at first to live in his tent apart from the people [Gen 13:12]. But he was gradually drawn in, dwelt in the city, and he and his family were connected with the citizens by marriage ties.

JFB: Gen 19:4 - men of Sodom, compassed the house Appalling proofs are here given of their wickedness. It is evident that evil communications had corrupted good manners; otherwise Lot would never have...

Appalling proofs are here given of their wickedness. It is evident that evil communications had corrupted good manners; otherwise Lot would never have acted as he did.

JFB: Gen 19:12-13 - Hast thou here any besides? . . . we will destroy this place Apostolic authority has declared Lot was "a righteous man" (2Pe 2:8), at bottom good, though he contented himself with lamenting the sins that he saw,...

Apostolic authority has declared Lot was "a righteous man" (2Pe 2:8), at bottom good, though he contented himself with lamenting the sins that he saw, instead of acting on his own convictions, and withdrawing himself and family from such a sink of corruption. But favor was shown him: and even his bad relatives had, for his sake, an offer of deliverance, which was ridiculed and spurned (2Pe 3:4).

JFB: Gen 19:15-17 - -- The kindly interest the angels took in the preservation of Lot is beautifully displayed. But he "lingered." Was it from sorrow at the prospect of losi...

The kindly interest the angels took in the preservation of Lot is beautifully displayed. But he "lingered." Was it from sorrow at the prospect of losing all his property, the acquisition of many years? Or was it that his benevolent heart was paralyzed by thoughts of the awful crisis? This is the charitable way of accounting for a delay that would have been fatal but for the friendly urgency of the angel.

JFB: Gen 19:18-19 - Lot said . . . Oh, not so, my Lord . . . I cannot escape to the mountain What a strange want of faith and fortitude, as if He who had interfered for his rescue would not have protected Lot in the mountain solitude.

What a strange want of faith and fortitude, as if He who had interfered for his rescue would not have protected Lot in the mountain solitude.

JFB: Gen 19:21 - See, I have accepted thee concerning this . . . also His request was granted him, the prayer of faith availed, and to convince him, from his own experience, that it would have been best and safest at onc...

His request was granted him, the prayer of faith availed, and to convince him, from his own experience, that it would have been best and safest at once to follow implicitly the divine directions.

JFB: Gen 19:22 - Haste . . . for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither The ruin of Sodom was suspended till he was secure. What care God does take of His people (Rev 7:3)! What a proof of the love which God bore to a good...

The ruin of Sodom was suspended till he was secure. What care God does take of His people (Rev 7:3)! What a proof of the love which God bore to a good though weak man!

JFB: Gen 19:24 - Then the Lord rained . . . brimstone and fire from . . . heaven God, in accomplishing His purposes, acts immediately or mediately through the agency of means; and there are strong grounds for believing that it was ...

God, in accomplishing His purposes, acts immediately or mediately through the agency of means; and there are strong grounds for believing that it was in the latter way He effected the overthrow of the cities of the plain--that it was, in fact, by a volcanic eruption. The raining down of fire and brimstone from heaven is perfectly accordant with this idea since those very substances, being raised into the air by the force of the volcano, would fall in a fiery shower on the surrounding region. This view seems countenanced by Job [Job 1:16; Job 18:15]. Whether it was miraculously produced, or the natural operation employed by God, it is not of much consequence to determine: it was a divine judgment, foretold and designed for the punishment of those who were sinners exceedingly.

JFB: Gen 19:26 - -- Lot was accompanied by his wife and two daughters. But whether it was from irresistible curiosity or perturbation of feeling, or that she was about to...

Lot was accompanied by his wife and two daughters. But whether it was from irresistible curiosity or perturbation of feeling, or that she was about to return to save something, his wife lingered, and while thus disobeying the parting counsel, "to look not back, nor stay in all the plain" [Gen 19:17], the torrent of liquid lava enveloped her so that she became the victim of her supine indolence or sinful rashness.

JFB: Gen 19:27 - Abraham gat up early in the morning, &c. Abraham was at this time in Mamre, near Hebron, and a traveller last year verified the truth of this passage. "From the height which overlooks Hebron,...

Abraham was at this time in Mamre, near Hebron, and a traveller last year verified the truth of this passage. "From the height which overlooks Hebron, where the patriarch stood, the observer at the present day has an extensive view spread out before him towards the Dead Sea. A cloud of smoke rising from the plain would be visible to a person at Hebron now, and could have been, therefore, to Abraham as he looked toward Sodom on the morning of its destruction by God" [HACKETT]. It must have been an awful sight, and is frequently alluded to in Scripture (Deu 29:23; Isa 13:19; Jud 1:7). "The plain which is now covered by the Salt or Dead Sea shows in the great difference of level between the bottoms of the northern and southern ends of the lake--the latter being thirteen feet and the former thirteen hundred--that the southern end was of recent formation, and submerged at the time of the fall of the cities" [LYNCH].

JFB: Gen 19:29 - when God destroyed the cities, &c. This is most welcome and instructive after so painful a narrative. It shows if God is a "consuming fire" to the wicked [Deu 4:24; Heb 12:29], He is th...

This is most welcome and instructive after so painful a narrative. It shows if God is a "consuming fire" to the wicked [Deu 4:24; Heb 12:29], He is the friend of the righteous. He "remembered" the intercessions of Abraham, and what confidence should not this give us that He will remember the intercessions of a greater than Abraham in our behalf.

Clarke: Gen 19:1 - Two angels Two angels - The two referred to Gen 18:22

Two angels - The two referred to Gen 18:22

Clarke: Gen 19:1 - Sat in the gate Sat in the gate - Probably, in order to prevent unwary travelers from being entrapped by his wicked townsmen, he waited at the gate of the city to b...

Sat in the gate - Probably, in order to prevent unwary travelers from being entrapped by his wicked townsmen, he waited at the gate of the city to bring the strangers he might meet with to his own house, as well as to transact his own business. Or, as the gate was the place of judgment, he might have been sitting there as magistrate to hear and determine disputes

Clarke: Gen 19:1 - Bowed himself Bowed himself - Not through religious reverence, for he did not know the quality of his guests; but through the customary form of civility. See on v...

Bowed himself - Not through religious reverence, for he did not know the quality of his guests; but through the customary form of civility. See on verses Gen 18:3-5 (note) of the preceding chapter.

Clarke: Gen 19:2 - Nay; but we will abide in the street Nay; but we will abide in the street - Instead of לא lo , nay, some MSS. have לו lo , to him; "And they said unto him, for we lodge in the str...

Nay; but we will abide in the street - Instead of לא lo , nay, some MSS. have לו lo , to him; "And they said unto him, for we lodge in the street."where, nevertheless, the negation is understood. Knowing the disposition of the inhabitants, and appearing in the mere character of travelers, they preferred the open street to any house; but as Lot pressed them vehemently, and they knew him to be a righteous man, not yet willing to make themselves known, they consented to take shelter under his hospitable roof. Our Lord, willing for the time being to conceal his person from the knowledge of the disciples going to Emmaus, made as though he would go farther, Luk 24:13; but at last, like the angels here, yielded to the importunity of his disciples, and went into their lodgings.

Clarke: Gen 19:5 - Where are the men which came in to thee, etc. Where are the men which came in to thee, etc. - This account justifies the character given of this depraved people in the preceding chapter, Gen 18:...

Where are the men which came in to thee, etc. - This account justifies the character given of this depraved people in the preceding chapter, Gen 18:20, and in Gen 23:13. As their crime was the deepest disgrace to human nature, so it is too bad to be described; in the sacred text it is sufficiently marked; and the iniquity which, from these most abominable wretches, has been called Sodomy, is punished in our country with death.

Clarke: Gen 19:8 - Behold now, I have two daughters Behold now, I have two daughters - Nothing but that sacred light in which the rights of hospitality were regarded among the eastern nations, could e...

Behold now, I have two daughters - Nothing but that sacred light in which the rights of hospitality were regarded among the eastern nations, could either justify or palliate this proposal of Lot. A man who had taken a stranger under his care and protection, was bound to defend him even at the expense of his own life. In this light the rights of hospitality are still regarded in Asiatic countries; and on these high notions only, the influence of which an Asiatic mind alone can properly appreciate, Lot’ s conduct on this occasion can be at all excused: but even then, it was not only the language of anxious solicitude, but of unwarrantable haste.

Clarke: Gen 19:9 - And he will needs be a judge And he will needs be a judge - So his sitting in the gate is perhaps a farther proof of his being there in a magisterial capacity, as some have supp...

And he will needs be a judge - So his sitting in the gate is perhaps a farther proof of his being there in a magisterial capacity, as some have supposed.

Clarke: Gen 19:11 - And they smote the men - with blindness And they smote the men - with blindness - This has been understood two ways 1.    The angels, by the power which God had given them, ...

And they smote the men - with blindness - This has been understood two ways

1.    The angels, by the power which God had given them, deprived these wicked men of a proper and regular use of their sight, so as either totally to deprive them of it, or render it so confused that they could no longer distinguish objects; or

2.    They caused such a deep darkness to take place, that they could not find Lot’ s door. The author of the book of The Wisdom of Solomon was evidently of this latter opinion, for he says they were compassed about with horrible great darkness, Gen 19:17. See a similar case of Elisha and the Syrians, 2Ki 6:18, etc.

Clarke: Gen 19:12 - Hast thou here any besides? son-in-law Hast thou here any besides? son-in-law - Here there appears to be but one meant, as the word חתן chathan is in the singular number; but in Gen...

Hast thou here any besides? son-in-law - Here there appears to be but one meant, as the word חתן chathan is in the singular number; but in Gen 19:14 the word is plural, חתיו chathanaiv , his sons-in-law. There were only two in number; as we do not hear that Lot had more than two daughters: and these seem not to have been actually married to those daughters, but only betrothed, as is evident from what Lot says, Gen 19:8; for they had not known man, but were the spouses elect of those who are here called his sons-in-law. But though these might be reputed as a part of Lot’ s family, and entitled on this account to God’ s protection, yet it is sufficiently plain that they did not escape the perdition of these wicked men; and the reason is given, Gen 19:14, they received the solemn warning as a ridiculous tale, the creature of Lot’ s invention, or the offspring of his fear. Therefore they made no provision for their escape, and doubtless perished, notwithstanding the sincerely offered grace, in the perdition that fell on this ungodly city.

Clarke: Gen 19:16 - While he lingered While he lingered - Probably in affectionate though useless entreaties to prevail on the remaining parts of his family to escape from the destructio...

While he lingered - Probably in affectionate though useless entreaties to prevail on the remaining parts of his family to escape from the destruction that was now descending; laid hold upon his hand - pulled them away by mere force, the Lord being merciful; else they had been left to perish in their lingering, as the others were in their gainsaying.

Clarke: Gen 19:17 - When they had brought them forth, etc. When they had brought them forth, etc. - Every word here is emphatic, Escape for thy Life; thou art in the most imminent danger of perishing; thy li...

When they had brought them forth, etc. - Every word here is emphatic, Escape for thy Life; thou art in the most imminent danger of perishing; thy life and thy soul are both at stake. Look not behind thee - thou hast but barely time enough to escape from the judgment that is now descending; no lingering, or thou art lost! one look back may prove fatal to thee, and God commands thee to avoid it. Neither stay thou in all the plain, because God will destroy that as well as the city. Escape to the mountain, on which these judgments shall not light, and which God has appointed thee for a place of refuge; lest thou be Consumed. It is not an ordinary judgment that is coming; a fire from heaven shall burn up the cities, the plain, and all that remain in the cities and in the plain. Both the beginning and end of this exhortation are addressed to his personal feelings. "Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life;"and self-preservation is the first law of nature, to which every other consideration is minor and unimportant.

Clarke: Gen 19:19 - I cannot escape to the mountain I cannot escape to the mountain - He saw the destruction so near, that he imagined he should not have time sufficient to reach the mountain before i...

I cannot escape to the mountain - He saw the destruction so near, that he imagined he should not have time sufficient to reach the mountain before it arrived. He did not consider that God could give no command to his creatures that it would be impossible for them to fulfill; but the hurry and perturbation of his mind will at once account for and excuse this gross oversight.

Clarke: Gen 19:20 - It is a little one It is a little one - Probably Lot wished to have it for an inheritance, and therefore pleaded its being a little one, that his request might be the ...

It is a little one - Probably Lot wished to have it for an inheritance, and therefore pleaded its being a little one, that his request might be the more readily granted. Or he might suppose, that being a little city, it was less depraved than Sodom and Gomorrah, and therefore not so ripe for punishment; which was probably the case.

Clarke: Gen 19:21 - See, I have accepted thee See, I have accepted thee - How prevalent is prayer with God! Far from refusing to grant a reasonable petition, he shows himself as if under embarra...

See, I have accepted thee - How prevalent is prayer with God! Far from refusing to grant a reasonable petition, he shows himself as if under embarrassment to deny any.

Clarke: Gen 19:22 - I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither - So these heavenly messengers had the strictest commission to take care of Lot and his family; and ...

I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither - So these heavenly messengers had the strictest commission to take care of Lot and his family; and even the purposes of Divine justice could not be accomplished on the rebellious, till this righteous man and his family had escaped from the place. A proof of Abraham’ s assertion, The Judge of all the earth will do right

Clarke: Gen 19:22 - The name of the city was called Zoar The name of the city was called Zoar - צוער Tsoar , Little, its former name being Bela.

The name of the city was called Zoar - צוער Tsoar , Little, its former name being Bela.

Clarke: Gen 19:24 - The Lord rained - brimstone and fire from the Lord The Lord rained - brimstone and fire from the Lord - As all judgment is committed to the Son of God, many of the primitive fathers and several moder...

The Lord rained - brimstone and fire from the Lord - As all judgment is committed to the Son of God, many of the primitive fathers and several modern divines have supposed that the words ויהוה vaihovah and מאת יהוה meeth Yehovah imply, Jehovah the Son raining brimstone and fire from Jehovah the Father; and that this place affords no mean proof of the proper Divinity of our blessed Redeemer. It may be so; but though the point is sufficiently established elsewhere, it does not appear to me to be plainly indicated here. And it is always better on a subject of this kind not to have recourse to proofs which require proofs to confirm them. It must however be granted that two persons mentioned as Jehovah in one verse, is both a strange and curious circumstance; and it will appear more remarkable when we consider that the person called Jehovah, who conversed with Abraham, (see Genesis 18)., and sent those two angels to bring Lot and his family out of this devoted place, and seems himself after he left off talking with Abraham to have ascended to heaven, Gen 19:33, does not any more appear on this occasion till we hear that Jehovah rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven. This certainly gives much countenance to the opinion referred to above, though still it may fall short of positive proof

Clarke: Gen 19:24 - Brimstone and fire Brimstone and fire - The word גפרית gophrith , which we translate brimstone, is of very uncertain derivation. It is evidently used metaphorica...

Brimstone and fire - The word גפרית gophrith , which we translate brimstone, is of very uncertain derivation. It is evidently used metaphorically, to point out the utmost degrees of punishment executed on the most flagitious criminals, in Deu 29:23; Job 18:15; Psa 11:6; Isa 34:9; Eze 38:22. And as hell, or an everlasting separation from God and the glory of his power, is the utmost punishment that can be inflicted on sinners, hence brimstone and fire are used in Scripture to signify the torments in that place of punishment. See Isa 30:33; Rev 14:10; Rev 19:20; Rev 20:10; Rev 21:8. We may safely suppose that it was quite possible that a shower of nitrous particles might have been precipitated from the atmosphere, here, as in many other places, called heaven, which, by the action of fire or the electric fluid, would be immediately ignited, and so consume the cities; and, as we have already seen that the plains about Sodom and Gomorrah abounded with asphaltus or bitumen pits, (see Gen 14:10), that what is particularly meant here in reference to the plain is the setting fire to this vast store of inflammable matter by the agency of lightning or the electric fluid; and this, in the most natural and literal manner, accounts for the whole plain being burnt up, as that plain abounded with this bituminous substance; and thus we find three agents employed in the total ruin of these cities, and all the circumjacent plain

1.    Innumerable nitrous particles precipitated from the atmosphere

2.    The vast quantity of asphaltus or bitumen which abounded in that country: and

3.    Lightning or the electric spark, which ignited the nitre and bitumen, and thus consumed both the cities and the plain or champaign country in which they were situated.

Clarke: Gen 19:25 - And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain - This forms what is called the lake Asphaltites, Dead Sea, or Salt Sea, which, according to the mo...

And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain - This forms what is called the lake Asphaltites, Dead Sea, or Salt Sea, which, according to the most authentic accounts, is about seventy miles in length, and eighteen in breadth

The most strange and incredible tales are told by many of the ancients, and by many of the moderns, concerning the place where these cities stood. Common fame says that the waters of this sea are so thick that a stone will not sink in them, so tough and clammy that the most boisterous wind cannot ruffle them, so deadly that no fish can live in them, and that if a bird happen to fly over the lake, it is killed by the poisonous effluvia proceeding from the waters; that scarcely any verdure can grow near the place, and that in the vicinity where there are any trees they bear a most beautiful fruit, but when you come to open it you find nothing but ashes! and that the place was burning long after the apostles’ times. These and all similar tales may be safely pronounced great exaggerations of facts, or fictions of ignorant, stupid, and superstitious monks, or impositions of unprincipled travelers, who, knowing that the common people are delighted with the marvelous, have stuffed their narratives with such accounts merely to procure a better sale for their books

The truth is, the waters are exceedingly salt, far beyond the usual saltiness of the sea, and hence it is called the Salt Sea. In consequence of this circumstance bodies will float in it that would sink in common salt water, and probably it is on this account that few fish can live in it. But the monks of St. Saba affirmed to Dr. Shaw, that they had seen fish caught in it; and as to the reports of any noxious quality in the air, or in the evaporations from its surface, the simple fact is, lumps of bitumen often rise from the bottom to its surface, and exhale a fetid odor which does not appear to have any thing poisonous in it. Dr. Pococke swam in it for nearly a quarter of an hour, and felt no kind of inconvenience; the water, he says, is very clear, and having brought away a bottle of it, he "had it analyzed, and found it to contain no substances besides salt and a little alum.

As there are frequent eruptions of a bituminous matter from the bottom of this lake, which seem to argue a subterraneous fire, hence the accounts that this place was burning even after the days of the apostles. And this phenomenon still continues, for "masses of bitumen,"says Dr. Shaw, "in large hemispheres, are raised at certain times from the bottom, which, as soon as they touch the surface, and are thereby acted upon by the external air, burst at once, with great smoke and noise, like the pulvis fulminans of the chemists, and disperse themselves in a thousand pieces. But this only happens near the shore, for in greater depths the eruptions are supposed to discover themselves in such columns of smoke as are now and then observed to arise from the lake. And perhaps to such eruptions as these we may attribute that variety of pits and hollows, not unlike the traces of many of our ancient limekilns, which are found in the neighborhood of this lake. The bitumen is in all probability accompanied from the bottom with sulphur, as both of them are found promiscuously upon the shore, and the latter is precisely the same with common native sulphur; the other is friable, yielding upon friction, or by being put into the fire, a fetid smell."The bitumen, after having been some time exposed to the air, becomes indurated like a stone. I have some portions of it before me, brought by a friend of mine from the spot; it is very black, hard, and on friction yields a fetid odor

For several curious particulars on this subject, see Dr. Pococke’ s Travels, vol. ii., part 1, chap. 9, and Dr. Shaw’ s Travels, 4th. edit., p. 346, etc.

Clarke: Gen 19:26 - She became a pillar of salt She became a pillar of salt - The vast variety of opinions, both ancient and modern, on the crime of Lot’ s wife, her change, and the manner in...

She became a pillar of salt - The vast variety of opinions, both ancient and modern, on the crime of Lot’ s wife, her change, and the manner in which that change was effected, are in many cases as unsatisfactory as they are ridiculous. On this point the sacred Scripture says little. God had commanded Lot and his family not to look behind them; the wife of Lot disobeyed this command; she looked back from behind him - Lot, her husband, and she became a pillar of salt. This is all the information the inspired historian has thought proper to give us on this subject; it is true the account is short, but commentators and critics have made it long enough by their laborious glosses. The opinions which are the most probable are the following

1.    "Lot’ s wife, by the miraculous power of God, was changed into a mass of rock salt, probably retaining the human figure.

2.    "Tarrying too long in the plain, she was struck with lightning and enveloped in the bituminous and sulphuric matter which abounded in that country, and which, not being exposed afterwards to the action of the fire, resisted the air and the wet, and was thus rendered permanent.

3.    "She was struck dead and consumed in the burning up of the plain; and this judgment on her disobedience being recorded, is an imperishable memorial of the fact itself, and an everlasting warning to sinners in general, and to backsliders or apostates in particular.

On these opinions it may be only necessary to state that the two first understand the text literally, and that the last considers it metaphorically. That God might in a moment convert this disobedient woman into a pillar or mass of salt, or any other substance, there can be no doubt. Or that, by continuing in the plain till the brimstone and fire descended from heaven, she might be struck dead with lightning, and indurated or petrified on the spot, is as possible. And that the account of her becoming a pillar of salt may be designed to be understood metaphorically, is also highly probable. It is certain that salt is frequently used in the Scriptures as an emblem of incorruption, durability, etc. Hence a covenant of salt, Num 18:19, is a perpetual covenant, one that is ever to be in full force, and never broken; on this ground a pillar of salt may signify no more in this case than an everlasting monument against criminal curiosity, unbelief, and disobedience

Could we depend upon the various accounts given by different persons who pretend to have seen the wife of Lot standing in her complete human form, with all her distinctive marks about her, the difficulty would be at an end. But we cannot depend on these accounts; they are discordant, improbable, ridiculous, and often grossly absurd. Some profess to have seen her as a heap of salt; others, as a rock of salt; others, as a complete human being as to shape, proportion of parts, etc., etc., but only petrified

This human form, according to others, has still resident in it a miraculous continual energy; break off a finger, a toe, an arm, etc., it is immediately reproduced, so that though multitudes of curious persons have gone to see this woman, and every one has brought away a part of her, yet still she is found by the next comer a complete human form! To crown this absurd description, the author of the poem De Sodoma, usually attributed to Tertullian, and annexed to his works, represents her as yet instinct with a portion of animal life, which is unequivocally designated by certain signs which every month produces. I shall transcribe the whole passage and refer to my author; and as I have given above the sense of the whole, my readers must excuse me from giving a more literal translation: -

- et simul illi

In fragilem mutata salem, stetit ipsa sepulchrum

Ipsaque imago sibi, formam sine corpore servan

Durat adhuc etenim nuda statione sub aethra

Nec pluviis dilapsa situ, nec diruta ventis

Quinettam, si quis mutilaverit advena formam

Protinus ex sese suggestu vulnera complet

Dicitur et vivens alio sub corpore sexu

Munificos solito dispungere sanguine menses

Teetulliani Opera, vol. ii., p. 731. Edit. Oberthur

The sentiment in the last lines is supported by Irenaeus, who assures us that, though still remaining as a pillar of salt, the statue, in form and other natural accidents, exhibits decisive proofs of its original. Jam non caro corruptibilis, sed statua salis semper manens, et, per naturalla, ea quoe sunt consuetudinis hominis ostendens , lib. iv., c. 51. To complete this absurdity, this father makes her an emblem of the true Church, which, though she suffers much, and often loses whole members, yet preserves the pillar of salt, that is, the foundation of the true faith, etc. See Calmet

Josephus says that this pillar was standing in his time, and that himself had seen it: Εις στηλην ἁλων μετεβαλεν, ἱοτορηκα δ αυτην· ετι γαρ και νυν διαμενει . Ant. lib. i., c. xi. 3, 4

St. Clement, in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, chap. 2, follows Josephus, and asserts that Lot’ s wife was remaining even at that time as a pillar of salt

Authors of respectability and credit who have since traveled into the Holy Land, and made it their business to inquire into this subject in the most particular and careful manner, have not been able to meet with any remains of this pillar; and all accounts begin now to be confounded in the pretty general concession, both of Jews and Gentiles, that either the statue does not now remain, or that some of the heaps of salt or blocks of salt rock which are to be met with in the vicinity of the Dead Sea, may be the remains of Lot’ s wife! All speculations on this subject are perfectly idle; and if the general prejudice in favor of the continued existence of this monument of God’ s justice had not been very strong, I should not have deemed myself justified in entering so much at length into the subject. Those who profess to have seen it, have in general sufficiently invalidated their own testimony by the monstrous absurdities with which they have encumbered their relations. Had Lot’ s wife been changed in the way that many have supposed, and had she been still preserved somewhere in the neighborhood of the Dead Sea, surely we might expect some account of it in after parts of the Scripture history; but it is never more mentioned in the Bible, and occurs nowhere in the New Testament but in the simple reference of our Lord to the judgment itself, as a warning to the disobedient and backsliding, Luk 17:32 : Remember Lot’ s wife!

Clarke: Gen 19:27 - Abraham gat up early in the morning Abraham gat up early in the morning - Anxious to know what was the effect of the prayers which he had offered to God the preceding day; what must ha...

Abraham gat up early in the morning - Anxious to know what was the effect of the prayers which he had offered to God the preceding day; what must have been his astonishment when he found that all these cities, with the plain which resembled the garden of the Lord, Gen 13:10, burnt up, and the smoke ascending like the smoke of a furnace, and was thereby assured that even God himself could not discover ten righteous persons in four whole cities!

Clarke: Gen 19:29 - God remembered Abraham God remembered Abraham - Though he did not descend lower than ten righteous persons, (see Gen 18:32), yet the Lord had respect to the spirit of his ...

God remembered Abraham - Though he did not descend lower than ten righteous persons, (see Gen 18:32), yet the Lord had respect to the spirit of his petitions, and spared all those who could be called righteous, and for Abraham’ s sake offered salvation to all the family of Lot, though neither his sons-in-law elect nor his own wife ultimately profited by it. The former ridiculed the warning; and the latter, though led out by the hands of the angel, yet by breaking the command of God perished with the other gainsayers.

Clarke: Gen 19:30 - Lot went up out of Zoar Lot went up out of Zoar - From seeing the universal desolation that had fallen upon the land, and that the fire was still continuing its depredation...

Lot went up out of Zoar - From seeing the universal desolation that had fallen upon the land, and that the fire was still continuing its depredations, he feared to dwell in Zoar, lest that also should be consumed, and then went to those very mountains to which God had ordered him at first to make his escape. Foolish man is ever preferring his own wisdom to that of his Maker. It was wrong at first not to betake himself to the mountain; it was wrong in the next place to go to it when God had given him the assurance that Zoar should be spared for his sake. Both these cases argue a strange want of faith, not only in the truth, but also in the providence, of God. Had he still dwelt at Zoar, the shameful transaction afterwards recorded had in all probability not taken place.

Clarke: Gen 19:31 - Our father is old Our father is old - And consequently not likely to re-marry; and there is not a man in the earth - none left, according to their opinion in all the ...

Our father is old - And consequently not likely to re-marry; and there is not a man in the earth - none left, according to their opinion in all the land of Canaan, of their own family and kindred; and they might think it unlawful to match with others, such as the inhabitants of Zoar, who they knew had been devoted to destruction as well as those of Sodom and Gomorrah, and were only saved at the earnest request of their father; and probably while they lived among them they found them ripe enough for punishment, and therefore would have thought it both dangerous and criminal to have formed any matrimonial connections with them.

Clarke: Gen 19:32 - Come, let us make our father drink wine Come, let us make our father drink wine - On their flight from Zoar it is probable they had brought with them certain provisions to serve them for t...

Come, let us make our father drink wine - On their flight from Zoar it is probable they had brought with them certain provisions to serve them for the time being, and the wine here mentioned among the rest

After considering all that has been said to criminate both Lot and his daughters in this business, I cannot help thinking that the transaction itself will bear a more favorable construction than that which has been generally put on it. 1. It does not appear that it was through any base or sensual desires that the daughters of Lot wished to deceive their father. 2. They might have thought that it would have been criminal to have married into any other family, and they knew that their husbands elect, who were probably of the same kindred, had perished in the overthrow of Sodom. 3. They might have supposed that there was no other way left to preserve the family, and consequently that righteousness for which it had been remarkable, but the way which they now took

4. They appear to have supposed that their father would not come into the measure, because he would have considered it as profane; yet, judging the measure to be expedient and necessary, they endeavored to sanctify the improper means used, by the goodness of the end at which they aimed; a doctrine which, though resorted to by many, should be reprobated by all. Acting on this bad principle they caused their father to drink wine. See note on Gen 19:38.

Clarke: Gen 19:33 - And he perceived not when she lay down, nor when, etc. And he perceived not when she lay down, nor when, etc. - That is, he did not perceive the time she came to his bed, nor the time she quitted it; con...

And he perceived not when she lay down, nor when, etc. - That is, he did not perceive the time she came to his bed, nor the time she quitted it; consequently did not know who it was that had lain with him. In this transaction Lot appears to me to be in many respects excusable. 1. He had no accurate knowledge of what took place either on the first or second night, therefore he cannot be supposed to have been drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. That he must have been sensible that some person had been in his bed, it would be ridiculous to deny; but he might have judged it to have been some of his female domestics, which it is reasonable to suppose he might have brought from Zoar. 2. It is very likely that he was deceived in the wine, as well as in the consequences; either he knew not the strength of the wine, or wine of a superior power had been given to him on this occasion. As he had in general followed the simple pastoral life, it is not to be wondered at if he did not know the intoxicating power of wine, and being an old man, and unused to it, a small portion would be sufficient to overcome him; sound sleep would soon, at his time of life, be the effect of taking the liquor to which he was unaccustomed, and cause him to forget the effects of his intoxication. Except in this case, his moral conduct stands unblemished in the sacred writings; and as the whole transaction, especially as it relates to him, is capable of an interpretation not wholly injurious to his piety, both reason and religion conjoin to recommend that explanation. As to his daughters, let their ignorance of the real state of the case plead for them, as far as that can go; and let it be remembered that their sin was of that very peculiar nature as never to be capable of becoming a precedent. For it is scarcely possible that any should ever be able to plead similar circumstances in vindication of a similar line of conduct.

Clarke: Gen 19:37 - Called his name Moab Called his name Moab - This name is generally interpreted of the father, or, according to Calmet, מואב Moab , the waters of the father.

Called his name Moab - This name is generally interpreted of the father, or, according to Calmet, מואב Moab , the waters of the father.

Clarke: Gen 19:38 - Ben-ammi Ben-ammi - בן עמי Ben -ammi , the son of my people. Both these names seem to justify the view taken of this subject above, viz., that it was m...

Ben-ammi - בן עמי Ben -ammi , the son of my people. Both these names seem to justify the view taken of this subject above, viz., that it was merely to preserve the family that the daughters of Lot made use of the above expedient; and hence we do not find that they ever attempted to repeat it, which, had it been done for any other purpose, they certainly would not have failed to do. On this subject Origen, in his fifth homily on Genesis, has these remarkable words: Ubi hic libidinis culpa, ubi incesti criminis arguitur? Quomodo dabitur in Vitlo Quod Non Iteratur In Facto? Vercor proloqui quod sentio, vereor, inquam, ne castior fuerit harum incestus, quam pudicitia multarum . "Where, in all this transaction, can the crime of lust or of incest be proved? How can this be proved to be a vice when the fact was never repeated? I am afraid to speak my whole mind on the subject, lest the incest of these should appear more laudable than the chastity of multitudes."There is a distinction made here by Origen which is worthy of notice; a single bad act, though a sin, does not necessarily argue a vicious heart, as in order to be vicious a man must be habituated to sinful acts

The generation which proceeded from this incestuous connection, whatever may be said in extenuation of the transaction, (its peculiar circumstances being considered), was certainly a bad one. The Moabites soon fell from the faith of God, and became idolaters, the people of Chemosh, and of Baal-peor, Num 21:29; Num 25:1-3; and were enemies to the children of Abraham. See Numbers 22; Jdg 3:14, etc. And the Ammonites, who dwelt near to the Moabites, united with them in idolatry, and were also enemies to Israel. See Jdg 11:4, Jdg 11:24; Deu 23:3, Deu 23:4. As both these people made afterwards a considerable figure in the sacred history, the impartial inspired writer takes care to introduce at this early period an account of their origin. See what has been said on the case of Noah’ s drunkenness, Gen 9:20, etc

This is an awful history, and the circumstances detailed in it are as distressing to piety as to humanity. It may, however, be profitable to review the particulars

1. From the commencement of the chapter we find that the example and precepts of Abraham had not been lost on his nephew Lot. He also, like his uncle, watches for opportunities to call in the weary traveler. This Abraham had taught his household, and we see the effect of his blessed teaching. Lot was both hospitable and pious, though living in the midst of a crooked and perverse race. It must be granted that from several circumstances in his history he appears to have been a weak man, but his weakness was such as was not inconsistent with general uprightness and sincerity. He and his family were not forgetful to entertain strangers, and they alone were free from the pollutions of this accursed people. How powerful are the effects of a religious education, enforced by pious example! It is one of God’ s especial means of grace. Let a man only do justice to his family, by bringing them up in the fear of God, and he will crown it with his blessing. How many excuse the profligacy of their family, which is often entirely owing to their own neglect, by saying, "O, we cannot give them grace!"No, you cannot; but you can afford them the means of grace. This is your work, that is the Lord’ s. If, through your neglect of precept and example, they perish, what an awful account must you give to the Judge of quick and dead! It was the sentiment of a great man, that should the worst of times arrive, and magistracy and ministry were both to fall, yet, if parents would but be faithful to their trust, pure religion would be handed down to posterity, both in its form and in its power

2. We have already heard of the wickedness of the inhabitants of the cities of the plain, the cup of their iniquity was full; their sin was of no common magnitude, and what a terrible judgment fell upon them! Brimstone and fire are rained down from heaven upon these traders in iniquity; and what a correspondence between the crime and the punishment? They burned in lust towards each other, and God burned them up with fire and brimstone. Their sin was unnatural, and God punished it by supernatural means. Divine justice not only observes a proportion between the crime and the degree of punishment, but also between the species of crime and the kind of punishment inflicted

3. Disobedience to the command of God must ever meet with severe reprehension, especially in those who have already partaken of his grace, because these know his salvation, and are justly supposed to possess, by his grace, the power of resisting all solicitations to sin. The servant who knew his lord’ s will and did it not, was to be beaten with many stripes; see Luk 12:47. Lot’ s wife stands as an everlasting monument of admonition and caution to all backsliders. She ran well, she permitted Satan to hinder, and she died in her provocation! While we lament her fate, we should profit by her example. To begin in the good way is well; to continue in the path is better; and to persevere unto the end, best of all. The exhortation of our blessed Lord on this subject should awaken our caution, and strongly excite our diligence: Remember Lot’ s wife! On the conduct of Lot and his daughters, See note on Gen 19:31.

Calvin: Gen 19:1 - And there came two angels to Sodom 1.And there came two angels to Sodom. The question occurs, why one of the three angels has suddenly disappeared, and two only are come to Sodom? The ...

1.And there came two angels to Sodom. The question occurs, why one of the three angels has suddenly disappeared, and two only are come to Sodom? The Jews (with their wonted audacity in introducing fables) pretend that one came to destroy Sodom, the other to preserve Lot. But from the discourse of Moses, this appears to be frivolous: because we shall see that they both assisted in the liberation of Lot. What I have before adduced is more simple; namely, that it was granted to Abraham, as a peculiar favor, that God would not only send him two messengers from the angelic host, but that, in a more familiar manner, he would manifest himself to him, in his own Son. For (as we have seen) one of the messengers held the principal place, as being superior to the others in dignity. Now, although Christ was always the Mediator, yet, because he manifested himself more obscurely to Lot than he did to Abraham, the two angels only came to Sodom. Since Moses relates, that Lot sat in the gate of the city about evening, many contend that he did so, according to daily custom, for the purpose of receiving guests into his house; yet, as Moses is silent respecting the cause, it would be rash to affirm this as certain. I grant, indeed, that he did not sit as idle persons are wont to do; but the conjecture is not less probable, that he had come forth to meet his shepherds, in order to be present when his sheep were folded. That he was hospitable, the courteous invitation which is mentioned by Moses clearly demonstrates; yet, why he then remained in the gate of the city is uncertain; unless it were, that he was unwilling to omit any opportunity of doing an act of kindness, when strangers presented themselves on whom he might bestow his services. What remains, on this point, may be found in the preceding chapter Gen 17:1

Calvin: Gen 19:2 - Nay, but we will abide in the street 2.Nay, but we will abide in the street. The angels do not immediately assent, in order that they may the more fully investigate the disposition of th...

2.Nay, but we will abide in the street. The angels do not immediately assent, in order that they may the more fully investigate the disposition of the holy man. For he was about to bring them to his own house, not merely for the sake of supplying them with a supper, but for the purpose of defending them from the force and injury of the citizens. Therefore the angels act, as if it were safe to sleep on the highway; and thus conceal their knowledge of the abandoned wickedness of the whole people. For if the gates of cities are shut, to prevent the incursions of wild beasts and of enemies; how wrong and absurd it is that they who are within should be exposed to still more grievous dangers? Therefore the angels thus speak, in order to make the wickedness of the people appear the greater. And Lot, in urging the angels to come unto him, for the purpose of protecting them from the common violence of the people, the more clearly shows, how careful he was of his guests, lest they should suffer any dishonor or injury.

Calvin: Gen 19:3 - And he made them a feast 3.And he made them a feast. By these words, and others following, Moses shows that the angels were more sumptuously entertained than was customary: f...

3.And he made them a feast. By these words, and others following, Moses shows that the angels were more sumptuously entertained than was customary: for Lot did not act thus, indiscriminately, with all. But, when he conceived, from the dignity of their mien and dress, that they were not common men, he baked cakes, and prepared a plentiful feast. Again, Moses says that the angels did eat: not that they had any need to do so; but because the time was not yet come, for the manifestation of their celestial nature.

Calvin: Gen 19:4 - Before they lay down // Both old and young 4.Before they lay down. Here, in a single crime, Moses sets before our eyes a lively picture of Sodom. For it is hence obvious, how diabolical was th...

4.Before they lay down. Here, in a single crime, Moses sets before our eyes a lively picture of Sodom. For it is hence obvious, how diabolical was their consent in all wickedness, since they all so readily conspired to perpetrate the most abominable crime. The greatness of their iniquity and wantonness, is apparent from the fact, that, in a collected troop, they approach, as enemies, to lay siege to the house of Lot. How blind and impetuous is their lust; since, without shame, they rush together like brute animals! how great their ferocity and cruelty; since they reproachfully threaten the holy man, and proceed to all extremities! Hence also we infer, that they were not contaminated with one vice only, but were given up to all audacity in crime, so that no sense of shame was left them. And Ezekiel (as we have above related) accurately describes from what beginnings of evil they had proceeded to this extreme turpitude, (Eze 16:49) What Paul says, also refers to the same point: that God punished the impiety of men, when he cast them into such a state of blindness, that they gave themselves up to abominable lusts, and dishonored their own bodies. (Rom 1:18.) But when the sense of shame is overcome, and the reins are given to lust, a vile and outrageous barbarism necessarily succeeds, and many kinds of sin are blended together, so that a most confused chaos is the result. But if this severe vengeance of God so fell upon the men of Sodom, that they became blind with rage, and prostituted themselves to all kinds of crime, certainly we shall scarcely be more mildly treated, whose iniquity is the less excusable, because the truth of God has been more clearly revealed unto us.

Both old and young. Moses passes over many things in silence which may come unsought into the reader’s mind: for instance, he does not mention by whom the multitude had been stirred up. Yet it is probable that there were some who fanned the flame: nevertheless, we hence perceive how freely they were disposed to commit iniquity; since, as at a given signal, they immediately assemble. It also shows how completely destitute they were of all remaining shame; for, neither did any gravity restrain the old, nor any modesty, suitable to their age, restrain the young: finally, he intimates, that all regard to honor was gone, and that the order of nature was perverted, when he says, that young and old flew together from the extreme parts of the city.

Calvin: Gen 19:5 - Where are the men 5.Where are the men ? Although it was their intention shamefully to abuse the strangers to their outrageous appetite, yet, in words, they pretend tha...

5.Where are the men ? Although it was their intention shamefully to abuse the strangers to their outrageous appetite, yet, in words, they pretend that their object is different. For, as if Lot had been guilty of a fault in admitting unknown men into the city, wherein he himself was a stranger, they command these men to be brought out before them. Some expound the word know in a carnal sense; and thus the Greek interpreters have translated it. 418 But I think the word has here a different meaning; as if the men had said, We wish to know whom thou bringest, as guests, into our city. The Scripture truly is accustomed modestly to describe an act of shame by the word know; and therefore we may infer that the men of Sodom would have spoken, in coarser language, of such an act: but, for the sake of concealing their wicked design, they here imperiously expostulate with the holy man, for having dared to receive unknown persons into his house. Here, however, a question arises; for if the men of Sodom were in the habit of vexing strangers, of all kinds, in this manner, how shall we suppose they had acted towards others? For Lot was not now for the first time beginning to be hospitable; and they, too, had always been addicted to lust. Lot was prepared to expose his own daughters to dishonor, in order to save his guests; how often, then, might it have been necessary to prostitute them before, if the fury of men of such character could not be otherwise assuaged? 419 Now truly, if Lot had known that such danger was impending; he ought rather to have exhorted his guests to withdraw in time. In my opinion, however, although Lot knew the manners of the city; he had, nevertheless, no suspicion of what really happened, that they would make an assault upon his house; this, indeed, seems to have been quite a new thing. It was, however, fitting, when the angels were sent to investigate the true state of the people, that they should all break out into this detestable crime. So the wicked, after they have long securely exulted in their iniquity, at length, by furiously rushing onward, accelerate their destruction in a moment. God therefore designed, in calling the men of Sodom to judgment, to exhibit, as it were, the extreme act of their wicked life; and he impelled them, by the spirit of deep infatuation, to a crime, the atrocity of which would not suffer the destruction of the place to be any longer deferred. For as the hospitality of the holy man, Lot, was honored with a signal reward; because he, unawares, received angels instead of men, and had them as guests in his house; so God avenged, with more severe punishment, the shameful lust of the others; who, while endeavoring to do violence to angels, were not only injurious towards men; but, to the utmost of their power, dishonored the celestial glory of God, by their sacrilegious fury.

Calvin: Gen 19:6 - And Lot went out at the door unto them 6.And Lot went out at the door unto them. It appears from the fact that Lot went out and exposed himself to danger, how faithfully he observed the sa...

6.And Lot went out at the door unto them. It appears from the fact that Lot went out and exposed himself to danger, how faithfully he observed the sacred right of hospitality. It was truly a rare virtue, that he preferred the safety and honor of the guests whom he had once undertaken to protect, to his own life: yet this degree of magnanimity is required from the children of God, that where duty and fidelity are concerned, they should not spare themselves. And although he was already grievously injured by the besieging of his house; he yet endeavors, by gentle words, to soothe ferocious minds, while he suppliantly entreats them to lay aside their wickedness, and addresses them by the title of brethren. Now it appears, how savage was their cruelty, and how violent the rage of their lust, when they were in no degree moved by such extraordinary mildness. But the description of a rage so brutal, tends to teach us that punishment was not inflicted upon them, until they had proceeded to the last stage of wickedness. And let us remember, that the reprobate, when they have been blinded by the just judgment of God, rush, as with devoted minds, through every kind of crime, and leave nothing undone, until they render themselves altogether hateful and detestable to God and men.

Calvin: Gen 19:8 - I have two daughters 8.I have two daughters. As the constancy of Lot, in risking his own life for the defense of his guests, deserves no common praise; so now Moses relat...

8.I have two daughters. As the constancy of Lot, in risking his own life for the defense of his guests, deserves no common praise; so now Moses relates that a defect was mixed with this great virtue, which sprinkled it with some imperfection. For, being destitute of advice, he devises (as is usual in intricate affairs) an unlawful remedy. He does not hesitate to prostitute his own daughters, that he may restrain the indomitable fury of the people. But he should rather have endured a thousand deaths, than have resorted to such a measure. Yet such are commonly the works of holy men: since nothing proceeds from them so excellent, as not to be in some respect defective. Lot, indeed, is urged by extreme necessity; and it is no wonder that he offers his daughters to be polluted, when he sees that he has to deal with wild beasts; yet he inconsiderately seeks to remedy one evil by means of another. I can easily excuse some for extenuating his fault; yet he is not free from blame, because he would ward off evil with evil. But we are warned by this example, that when the Lord has furnished us with the spirit of invincible fortitude, we must also pray that he may govern us by the spirit of prudence; and that he will never suffer us to be deprived of a sound judgment, and a well-regulated reason. For then only shall we rightly proceed in our course of duty, when, in complicated affairs, we perceive, with a composed mind, what is necessary, what is lawful, and what is expedient to be done; then shall we be prepared promptly to meet any danger whatever. For, that our minds should be carried hither and thither by hastily catching at wicked counsels, is not less perilous than that they should be agitated by fear. But when reduced to the last straits, let us learn to pray, that the Lord would open to us some way of escape. Others would excuse Lot by a different pretext, namely, that he knew his daughters would not be desired. But I have no doubt that, being willing to avail himself of the first subterfuge which occurred to him, he turned aside from the right way. This, however, is indisputable; although the men of Sodom had not yet, in express terms, avowed the base desire with which they were inflamed, yet Lot, from their daily crimes, had formed his judgment respecting it. If any one should raise the objection that such a supposition is absurd; 420 I answer, that, since by custom they had imagined the crime to be lawful, the crowd was easily excited by a few instigators, as it commonly happens, where no distinction is maintained between right and wrong. When Lot says, Therefore came they under the shadow of my roof; his meaning is, that they had been committed to him by the Lord, and that he should be guilty of perfidy, unless he endeavored to protect them. 421

Calvin: Gen 19:9 - And they said, Stand back 9.And they said, Stand back. That Lot, with all his entreaties, than which nothing could be adduced more likely to soothe their rage, was thus harshl...

9.And they said, Stand back. That Lot, with all his entreaties, than which nothing could be adduced more likely to soothe their rage, was thus harshly repelled, shows the indomitable haughtiness of this people. And, in the first place, they threaten that, if he persists in interceding, they will deal worse with him than with those whom he defends. Then they reproach him with the fact, that he, a foreigner, assumes the province of a judge. Every word proves the pride with which they swell. They place one man in opposition to a multitude, as if they would say, ‘By what right hast thou alone challenge to thyself authority over the whole city?’ They next boast that, while they are natives, he is but a stranger. Such is, at the present time, the boasting of the Papists against the pious ministers of God’s word: they allege against us, as a disgrace, the paucity of our numbers, in contrast with their own great multitude. 422 Then they pride themselves upon their long succession, and contend that it is intolerable for them to be reproved by new men. 423 But however contumaciously the wicked may strive, rather than submit to reason, let us know that they are exalted only to their own ruin.

Calvin: Gen 19:10 - But the men put forth their hand 10.But the men put forth their hand. Moses again gives the name of men to those who were not so, but who had appeared as such; for although they begi...

10.But the men put forth their hand. Moses again gives the name of men to those who were not so, but who had appeared as such; for although they begin to exert their celestial force, they do not yet declare that they are angels divinely sent from heaven. But here Moses teaches, that the Lord, although he may for a time seem regardless, while the faithful are engaged in conflict, yet never deserts his own, but stretches out his hand, (so to speak,) at the critical moment. Thus, in preserving Lot, he defers his aid until the last extremity. Let us, therefore, with tranquil minds, wait on his providence; and let us intrepidly follow what belongs to our calling, and what he commands; for although he may suffer us to be exposed to dangers he will still show, that he has never been unmindful of us. For we see, that as Lot had shut the door of his house for the protection of his guests, so he is repaid, when the angels not only receive him again, through the opened door, but by opposing the barriers of divine power, prevent the impious men from approaching it. For, (as I have before intimated), they afford him not merely human help, but they come to bring him assistance, armed with divine power. Whereas, Moses says, that the men were smitten with blindness, we are not so to understand it, as if they had been deprived of eyesight; but that their vision was rendered so dull, that they could distinguish nothing. This miracle was more illustrious, than if their eyes had been thrust out, or entirely blinded; because with their eyes open, they feel about, just like blind men, and seeing, yet do not see. At the same time, Moses wishes to describe their iron obstinacy: they do not find Lot’s door; it follows then, that they had labored in seeking it; but, in this manner, they furiously wage war with God. This, however, has happened, not once only, and not with the men of Sodom alone; but is daily fulfilled in the reprobate, whom Satan fascinates with such madness, that when stricken by the mighty hand of God, they proceed with stupid obstinacy to advance against him. And we need not seek far, for an instance of such conduct; we see with what tremendous punishments God visits wandering lusts; and yet the world ceases not, with desperate audacity, to rush into the certain destruction which is set before their eyes.

Calvin: Gen 19:12 - Hast thou here any besides? 12.Hast thou here any besides? At length the angels declare for what purpose they came, and what they were about to do. For so great was the indignit...

12.Hast thou here any besides? At length the angels declare for what purpose they came, and what they were about to do. For so great was the indignity of the last act of this people, that Lot must now see how impossible it was for God to bear with them any longer. And, in the first place, they declare, that they are come to destroy the city, because the cry of it was waxen great. By which words they mean, that God was provoked, not by one act of wickedness only, but that, after he had long spared them, he was now, at last, almost compelled, by their immense mass of crimes, to come down to inflict punishment. For we must maintain, that the more sins men heap together, the higher will their wickedness rise, and the nearer will it approach to God, to cry aloud for vengeance. Wherefore, as the angels testify, that God had been hitherto longsuffering, and of great forbearance; so they declare, on the other hand, what issue awaits all those, who, having gathered together mountains of guilt, exalt themselves with daily increasing audacity, as if, like the giants, they were about to assail heaven. They, however, explain the cause of this destruction, not only that Lot may ascribe praise to the divine righteousness and equity, but that he, being impressed with fear, may the more quickly hasten his departure. For, such is the indolence of our flesh, that we slowly and coldly set ourselves to escape the judgment of God, unless we are deeply stirred by the dread of it: thus Noah, alarmed by the terror of the deluge, applied his industry to the framing of the ark. Meanwhile, the angels inspire the mind of the holy man with hope; lest he should tremble, or should be so possessed by fear, and so desponding respecting his deliverance, as to be too slow to depart. For they not only promise that he shall be safe, but also grant, unasked, the life of his family. And truly, he ought not to have doubted respecting his own life, when he saw others freely given him, as by a superabundance of favor. It is however asked, ‘Why was God willing to offer his kindness to ungrateful men, by whom he knew it would be rejected?’ The same question may be put respecting the preaching of the gospel; for God was not ignorant that few would become partakers of that salvation, which nevertheless, he commands to be offered indiscriminately to all. In this way, unbelievers are rendered more inexcusable, when they reject the message of salvation. The chief reason, however, why Lot is commanded to set before his own family the hope of deliverance, is, that he may embrace, with greater confidence, the offered favor of God, and may strenuously and quickly prepare himself to depart, not doubting of his own preservation. It is, with probability, inferred from this place, that he had, then, no sons in that city; for, in consequence of the exhortation of the angels he would immediately have attempted to draw them out of it. We have before seen, that he had an ample and numerous band of servants; but no mention is made of them, since the freemen are here only reckoned. It is, nevertheless, probable, that some servants went forth with him, to carry provisions and some portion of furniture. For, whence did his daughters obtain in the desert mountain, the wine which they gave their father, unless some things, which Moses does not mention, had been conveyed by asses, or camels, or wagons? It was however possible, that, in so great a number, many chose rather to perish with the men of Sodom, than to become associates and companions of their lord, in seeking safety. But it is better to leave as we find them, those things which the Spirit of God has not revealed.

Calvin: Gen 19:13 - The Lord has sent us to destroy it 13.The Lord has sent us to destroy it. This place teaches us, that the angels are the ministers of God’s wrath, as well as of his grace. Nor does i...

13.The Lord has sent us to destroy it. This place teaches us, that the angels are the ministers of God’s wrath, as well as of his grace. Nor does it form any objection to this statement, that elsewhere the latter service is peculiarly ascribed to holy angels: as when the Apostle says, they were appointed for the salvation of those whom God had adopted as sons. (Heb 1:14.) And the Scripture, in various places, testifies, that the guardianship of the pious is committed to them, (Psa 91:11;) while, on the other hand, it declares that God executes his judgments by reprobate angels. (Psa 78:49.) For it must be maintained, that God causes his elect angels to preside over those judgments which he executes by means of the reprobate. For it would be absurd to attribute to devils, the honor of presiding over the judgments of God, since they do not yield him voluntary obedience; but rather, while raging contumaciously against him, are yet reluctantly compelled to become his executioners. Let us therefore know, that it is not foreign to the office of elect angels, to descend armed for the purpose of executing Divine vengeance and of inflicting punishment. As the angel of the Lord destroyed, in one night, the army of Sennacherib which besieged Jerusalem, (2Kg 19:35;) so also the angel of the Lord appeared to David with his drawn sword, when the pestilence was raging against the people. (2Sa 24:16.) But, as I have before said, the angels repeat what they had previously said to Abraham, concerning the cry of Sodomy that they may the more urgently impel Lot, by a detestation of the place, to take his flight, and may induce him by the fear of the wrath of God, to seek for safety.

Calvin: Gen 19:14 - And Lot went out 14.And Lot went out. The faith of the holy man, Lot, appeared first in this, that he was completely awed and humbled at the threatening of God; secon...

14.And Lot went out. The faith of the holy man, Lot, appeared first in this, that he was completely awed and humbled at the threatening of God; secondly, that in the midst of destruction, he yet laid hold of the salvation promised to him. In inviting his sons-in-law to join him, he manifests such diligence as becomes the sons of God; who ought to labor, by all means, to rescue their own families from destruction. But when Moses says, ‘he appeared as one who mocked;’ the meaning is, that the pious old man was despised and derided and that what he said was accounted a fable; because his sons-in-law supposed him to be seized with delirium, and to be vainly framing imaginary dangers. Lot, therefore, did not seem to them to mock purposely or to have come for the sake of trifling with them; but they deemed his language fabulous; because, where there is no religion, and no fear of God, whatever is said concerning the punishment of the wicked, vanishes as a vain and illusory thing. And hence we perceive how fatal an evil security is, which son inebriates, yea, fascinates, the minds of the wicked, that they no longer think God sits as Judge in heaven; and thus they stupidly sleep in sin, till, while they’re saying, Peace and safety, they are overwhelmed in sudden ruin. And especially, the nearer the vengeance of God approaches, the more does their obstinacy increase and become desperate. There is nothing more full of fear, and even of terror, than wicked men are, when the hand of God presses closely on them; but until, constrained by force, they perceive their destruction to be imminent, they either reject all threats with proud scorn, or contemptuously pass them by. But their indolence ought to awaken us to the fear of God, so that we may be always careful; but more especially when some token of the wrath of God presents itself before us.

Calvin: Gen 19:15 - The angels hastened Lot 15.The angels hastened Lot. Having praised the faith and piety of Lot, Moses shows that something human still adhered to him; because the angels hast...

15.The angels hastened Lot. Having praised the faith and piety of Lot, Moses shows that something human still adhered to him; because the angels hastened him, when he was lingering. The cause of his tardiness might be, that he thought he was going into exile: thus a multiplicity of cares and fears disturb his anxious mind. For he doubts what would happen to him, as a fugitives when, having left his house and furniture, naked and in want, he should retake himself to some desert place. In the meantime, he does not consider that he must act like persons shipwrecked, who, in order that they may come safe into port, cast into the sea their cargo, and every thing they have. He does not indeed doubt, that God is speaking the truth; nor does he refuse to remove elsewhere, as he is commanded; but, as if sinking under his own infirmity, and entangled with many cares, he, who ought to have run forth hastily, and without delay, moves with slow and halting pace. In his person, however, the Spirit of God presents to us, as in a mirror, our own tardiness; in order that we, shaking off all sloth, may learn to prepare ourselves for prompt obedience, as soon as the heavenly voice sounds in our ears; otherwise, in addition to that indolence which, by nature, dwells within us, Satan will interpose many delays. The angels, in order the more effectually to urge Lot forward, infuse the fear, lest he should be destroyed in the iniquity, or the punishment of the city. For the word עוון ( ayon) signifies both. Not that the Lord rashly casts the innocent on the same heap with the wicked, but because the man, who will not consult for his own safety, and who, even being warned to beware, yet exposes himself, by his sloth, to ruin, deserves to perish.

Calvin: Gen 19:16 - And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand 16.And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand The angels first urged him by words; now seizing him by the hand, and indeed with apparent ...

16.And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand The angels first urged him by words; now seizing him by the hand, and indeed with apparent violence, they compel him to depart. His tardiness is truly wonderful, since, though he was certainly persuaded that the angels did not threaten in vain, he could yet be moved, by no force of words, until he is dragged by their hands out of the city. Christ says,

‘Though the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak,’
(Mat 26:41)

here a worse fault is pointed out; because the flesh, by its sluggishness, so represses the alacrity of the spirit, that with slow halting, it can scarcely creep along. And, indeed, as every man’s own experience bears him witness of this evil, the faithful ought to endeavor, with the greater earnestness, to prepare themselves to follow God; and to beware lest as with deaf ears, they disregard his threats. And truly, they will never so studiously and forcibly press forward as not still to be retarded more than enough, in the discharge of their duty. For what Moses says is worthy of attention, that the Lord was merciful to his servant, when, having laid hold of his hand by the angels, He hurried him out of the city. For so it is often necessary for us to be forcibly drawn away from scenes which we do not willingly leave. If riches, or honors, or any other things of that kind, prove an obstacle to any one, to render him less free and disengaged for the service of God, when it happens that he is abridged of his fortune, or reduced to a lower rank, let him know that the Lord has laid hold of his hand; because words and exhortations had not sufficiently profited him. We ought not, therefore, to deem it hard, that those diseases, which instruction did not suffice effectually to correct, should be healed by more violent remedies. Moses even seems to point to something greater; namely, that the mercy of God strove with the sluggishness of Lot; for, if left to himself, he would, by lingering, have brought down upon his own head the destruction which was already near. Yet the Lord not only pardons him, but, being resolved to save him, seizes him by the hand, and draws him away, although making resistance.

Calvin: Gen 19:17 - Escape for thy life 17.Escape for thy life. This was added by Moses, to teach use that the Lord not only stretches out his hand to us for a moment, in order to begin our...

17.Escape for thy life. This was added by Moses, to teach use that the Lord not only stretches out his hand to us for a moment, in order to begin our salvation; but that without leaving his work imperfect, he will carry it on even to the end. It certainly was no common act of grace, that the ruin of Sodom was predicted to Lot himself, lest it should crush him unawares; next, that a certain hope of salvation was given him by the angels; and, finally, that he was led by the hand out of the danger. Yet the Lord, not satisfied with having granted him so many favors, informs him of what was afterwards to be done, and thus proves himself to be the Director of his course, till he should arrive at the haven of safety. 424 Lot is forbidden to look behind him, in order that he may know, that he is leaving a pestilential habitation. This was done, first, that he might indulge no desire after it, and then, that he might the better reflect on the singular kindness of God, by which he had escaped hell. Moses had before related, how fertile and rich was that plain; Lot is now commanded to depart thence, that he may perceive himself to have been delivered, as out of the midst of a shipwreck. And although, while dwelling in Sodom, his heart was continually vexed; it was still scarcely possible that he should avoid contracting some defilement from a sink of wickedness so profound: being now, therefore, about to be purified by the Lord, he is deprived of those delights in which he had taken too much pleasure. Let us also hence learn, that God best provides for our salvation, when he cuts off those superfluities, which serve to the pampering of the flesh; and when, for the purpose of correcting excessive self-indulgence, he banishes us from a sweet and pleasant plain, to a desert mountain.

Calvin: Gen 19:18 - And Lot said unto them 18.And Lot said unto them. Here another fault of Lot is censured, because he does not simply obey God, nor suffer himself to be preserved according t...

18.And Lot said unto them. Here another fault of Lot is censured, because he does not simply obey God, nor suffer himself to be preserved according to His will, but contrives some new method of his own. God assigns him a mountain as his future place of refuge, he rather chooses for himself a city. They are therefore under a mistake, who so highly extol his faith, as to deem this a perfect example of suitable prayer; for the design of Moses is rather to teach, that the faith of Lot was not entirely pure, and free from all defects. For it is to be held as an axiom, that our prayers are faulty, so far as they are not founded on the word. Lot, however, not only departs from the word, but preposterously indulges himself in opposition to the word; such importunity has, certainly, no affinity with faith. Afterwards, a sudden change of mind was the punishment of his foolish cupidity. For thus do all necessarily vacillate, who do not submit themselves to God. As soon as they attain one wish, immediately a new disquietude is produced, which compels them to change their opinion. It must then, in short, be maintained, that Lot is by no means free from blame, in wishing for a city as his residence; for he both sets himself in opposition to the command of God, which it was his duty to obey; and desires to remain among those pleasures, from which it was profitable for him to be removed. He, therefore, acts just as a sick person would do, who should decline an operation, or a bitter draught, which his physician had prescribed. Nevertheless, I do not suppose, that the prayer of Lot was altogether destitute of faith; I rather think, that though he declined from the right way, he not only did not depart far from it, but was even fully purposed in his mind to keep it. For he always depended upon the word of God; but in one particular he fell from it, by entreating that a place should be given to him, which had been denied. Thus, with the pious desires of holy men, some defiled and turbid admixture is often found. I am not however ignorant, that sometimes they are constrained, by a remarkable impulse of the Spirit, to depart in appearance from the word, yet without really transgressing its limits. But the immoderate carnal affection of Lot betrays itself, in that he is held entangled by those very delights which he ought to have shunned. Moreover, his inconstancy is a proof of his rashness, because he is soon displeased with himself for what he has done.

Calvin: Gen 19:19 - Behold now, they servant has found grace in thy sight // I cannot escape to the mountain 19.Behold now, they servant has found grace in thy sight. Though Lot saw two persons, he yet directs his discourse to one. Whence we infer, that he d...

19.Behold now, they servant has found grace in thy sight. Though Lot saw two persons, he yet directs his discourse to one. Whence we infer, that he did not rely upon the angels; because he was well convinced that they had no authority of their own, and that his salvation was not placed in their hands. He uses therefore their presence in no other way than as a mirror, in which the face of God may be contemplated. Besides, Lot commemorates the kindness of God, not so much for the sake of testifying his gratitude, as of acquiring thence greater confidence in asking for more. For since the goodness of God is neither exhausted, nor wearied, by bestowing; the more ready we find him to give, the more confident does it become us to be, in hoping for what is good. And this truly is the property of faith, to take encouragement 425 for the future, from the experience of past favor. And Lot does not err on this point; but he acts rashly in going beyond the word for the sake of self-gratification. Therefore I have said, that his prayer, though it flowed from the fountain of faith, yet drew something turbid from the mire of carnal affection. Let us then, relying upon the mercy of God, not hesitate to expect all things from him; especially those which he himself has promised, and which he permits us to choose.

I cannot escape to the mountain. He does not indeed rage against God, with determined malice as the wicked are wont to do; yet, because he rests not upon the word of God, he slides, and almost falls away. For why does he fear destruction in the mountain, where he was to be protected by the hand of God, and yet expect to find a safe abode in that place, which is both near to Sodom, and obnoxious to similar vengeance, on account of its impure and wicked inhabitants? But this verily is the nature of men, that they choose to seek their safety in hell itself, rather than in heaven, whenever they follow their own reason. We see, then, how greatly Lot errs, in seeing from, and entertaining suspicions of, a mountain infected with no contagion of iniquity and choosing a city which, overflowing with crimes, could not but be hateful to God. He pretends that it is a little one, in order that he may the more easily obtain his request. As if he had said, that he only wanted a corner where he might be safely sheltered. This would have been right, if he had not declined the asylum divinely granted to him and rashly contrived another for himself.

Calvin: Gen 19:21 - See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also 21.See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also. Some ignorantly argue from this expression, that Lot’s prayer was pleasing to God, because...

21.See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also. Some ignorantly argue from this expression, that Lot’s prayer was pleasing to God, because he assented to his request, and gave him what he sought. For it is no new thing for the Lord sometimes to grant, as an indulgence, what he, nevertheless, does not approve. And he now indulges Lot, but in such way, that he soon afterwards corrects his folly. Meanwhile, however, since God so kindly and gently bears with the evil wishes of his own people, what will he not do for us if our prayers are regulated according to the pure direction of his Spirit, and are drawn from his word? But after the angel has granted him his wish respecting the place, he again reproves his indolence, by exhorting him to make haste.

Calvin: Gen 19:22 - I cannot do any thing 22.I cannot do any thing. Since the angel had not only been sent as an avenger to destroy Sodom, but also had received a command for the preservation...

22.I cannot do any thing. Since the angel had not only been sent as an avenger to destroy Sodom, but also had received a command for the preservation of Lot; he therefore declares, that he will not do the former act, unless this latter be joined with it; because it is not at the option of the servant to divide those things which God has joined together. I am not, however, dissatisfied with the explanation of some, who suppose the angel to speak in the person of God. For although in appearance the language is harsh, yet there is no absurdity in saying, that God is unable to destroy the reprobate without saving his elect. Nor must we, therefore, deem his power to be limited, when he lays himself under any such necessity; 426 or that anything of his liberty and authority is diminished, when he willingly and freely binds himself. And let us especially remember, that his power is connected by a sacred bond with his grace, and with faith in his promises. Hence it may be truly and properly said, that he can do nothing but what he wills and promises. This is a true and profitable doctrine. There will, however, be less ground of scruple if we refer the passage to the angels; who had a positive commandment, from which it was not lawful for them to abate the smallest portion.

Calvin: Gen 19:24 - Then the Lord rained 24.Then the Lord rained. Moses here succinctly relates in very unostentatious language, the destruction of Sodom and of the other cities. The atrocit...

24.Then the Lord rained. Moses here succinctly relates in very unostentatious language, the destruction of Sodom and of the other cities. The atrocity of the case might well demand a much more copious narration, expressed in tragic terms; but Moses, according to his manner, simply recites the judgment of God, which no words would be sufficiently vehement to describe, and then leaves the subject to the meditation of his readers. It is therefore our duty to concentrate all our thoughts on that terrible vengeance, the bare mention of which, as it did not take place without so mighty concussion of heaven and earth, ought justly to make us tremble; and therefore it is so frequently mentioned in the Scriptures. And it was not the will of God that those cities should be simply swallowed up by an earthquake; but in order to render the example of his judgment the more conspicuous, he hurled fire and brimstone upon them out of heaven. To this point belongs what Moses says, that the Lord rained fire from the Lord. The repetition is emphatical, because the Lord did not then cause it to rain, in the ordinary course of nature; but, as if with a stretched out hand, he openly fulminated in a manner to which he was not accustomed, for the purpose of making it sufficiently plain, that this rain of fire and brimstone was produced by no natural causes. It is indeed true, that the air is never agitated by chance; and that God is to be acknowledged as the Author of even the least shower of rain; and it is impossible to excuse the profane subtlety of Aristotle, who, when he disputes so acutely concerning second causes, in his Book on Meteors, buries God himself in profound silence. Moses, however, here expressly commends to us the extraordinary work of God; in order that we may know that Sodom was not destroyed without a manifest miracle. The proof which the ancients have endeavored to derive, from this testimony, for the Deity of Christ, is by no means conclusive: and they are angry, in my judgment, without cause, who severely censure the Jews, because they do not admit this kind of evidence. I confess, indeed, that God always acts by the hand of his Son, and have no doubt that the Son presided over an example of vengeance so memorable; but I say, they reason inconclusively, who hence elicit a plurality of Persons, whereas the design of Moses was to raise the minds of the readers to a more lively contemplation of the hand of God. And as it is often asked, from this passage, ‘What had infants done, to deserve to be swallowed up in the same destruction with their parents?’ the solution of the question is easy; namely, that the human race is in the hand of God, so that he may devote whom he will to destruction, and may follow whom he will with his mercy. Again, whatever we are not able to comprehend by the limited measure of our understanding, ought to be submitted to his secret judgment. Lastly, the whole of that seed was accursed and execrable so that God could not justly have spared, even the least.

Calvin: Gen 19:26 - But his wife looked back 26.But his wife looked back. Moses here records the wonderful judgment of God, by which the wife of Lot was transformed into a statue of salt. But un...

26.But his wife looked back. Moses here records the wonderful judgment of God, by which the wife of Lot was transformed into a statue of salt. But under the pretext of this narrative, captious and perverse men ridicule Moses; for since this metamorphosis has no more appearance of truth, than those which Ovid has feigned, they boast that it is undeserving of credit. But I rather suppose it to have happened through the artifice of Satan, that Ovid, by fabulously trifling, has indirectly thrown discredit on this most signal proof of Divine vengeance. But whatever heathens might please to fabricate, is no concern of ours. It is only of importance to consider, whether the narrative of Moses contains anything absurd or incredible. And, first, I ask; Since God created men out of nothing, why may he not, if he sees fit, reduce them again to nothing? If this is granted, as it must be; why, if he should please, may he not turn them into stones? Yea, those excellent philosophers, who display their own acuteness, in derogating from the power of God, daily see miracles as great in the course of nature. For how does the crystal acquire its hardness? and — not to refer to rare examples — how is the living animal generated from lifeless seed? how are birds produced from eggs? Why then does a miracle appear ridiculous to them, in this one instance, when they are obliged to acknowledge innumerable examples of a similar kind? and how can they, who deem it inconsistent, that the body of a woman should be changed into a mass of salt, believe that the resurrection will restore to life, a carcass reduced to putrefaction? When, however, it is said, that Lot’s wife was changed into a statue of salt, let us not imagine that her soul passed into the nature of salt; for it is not to be doubted, that she lives to be a partaker of the same resurrection with us, though she was subjected to an unusual kind of death, that she might be made an example to all. However, I do not suppose Moses to mean, that the statue had the taste of salt; but that it had something remarkable, to admonish those who passed by. It was therefore necessary, that some marks should be impressed upon it, whereby all might know it to be a memorable prodigy. Others interpret the statue of salt to have been an incorruptible one, which should endure for ever; but the former exposition is the more genuine. It may now be asked, why the Lord so severely punished the imprudence of the unhappy woman; seeing that she did not look back, from a desire to return to Sodom? Perhaps, being yet doubtful, she wished to have more certain evidence before her eyes; or, it might be, that, in pity to the perishing people, she turned her eyes in that direction. Moses, certainly, does not assert that she purposely struggled against the will of God; but, forasmuch as the deliverance of her, and her husband, was an incomparable instance of Divine compassion, it was right that her ingratitude should be thus punished. Now, if we weigh all the circumstances, it is clear that her fault was not light. First, the desire of looking back proceeded from incredulity; and no greater injury can be done to God, than when credit is denied to his word. Secondly we infer from the words of Christ, that she was moved by some evil desire; (Luk 17:32;) and that she did not cheerfully leave Sodom, to hasten to the place whither God called her; for we know that he commands us to remember Lot’s wife, lest, indeed, the allurements of the world should draw us aside from the meditation of the heavenly life. It is therefore probable, that she, being discontented with the favor God had granted her, glided into unholy desires, of which thing also her tardiness was a sign; for Moses intimates that she was following after her husband, when he says, that she looked back from behind him; for she did not look back towards him; but because by the slowness of her pace, she was less advanced, she, therefore, was behind him. And although it is not lawful to affirm any thing respecting her eternal salvation; it is nevertheless probable that God, having inflicted temporal punishment, spared her soul; inasmuch as he often chastises his own people in the flesh, that their soul may he saved from eternal destruction. Since, however, the knowledge of this is not very profitable, and we may without danger remain in ignorance, let us rather attend to the example which God designs for the common benefit of all ages. If the severity of the punishment terrifies us; let us remember, that they sin, at this days not less grievously, who, being delivered, not from Sodom, but from hell, fix their eyes on some other object than the proposed prize of their high calling.

Calvin: Gen 19:27 - And Abraham got up early in the morning 27.And Abraham got up early in the morning. Moses now reverts to Abraham, and shows that he, by no means, neglected what he had heard from the mouth ...

27.And Abraham got up early in the morning. Moses now reverts to Abraham, and shows that he, by no means, neglected what he had heard from the mouth of the angel; for he relates that Abraham came to a place where he might see the judgment of God. For we must not suspect that (as we have lately said respecting Lot’s wife) he trusted more to his own eyes than to the word of God; and that he came to explore, because he was in doubt. But we rather infers from the text, that he, being already persuaded that the angel had not spoken in vain, sought confirmation, by the actual beholding of the event; which confirmation would be useful both to himself and to posterity. And it is not to be doubted, that during the whole night, he suffered severe anguish respecting the safety of his nephew Lot. Whether he became satisfied on this point or note we do not know; yet I rather incline to the conjecture, that he remained anxious about him. And it is possible that, hesitating between hope and fear, he went forward to meet him, in order that he might see whether he wag delivered or not. And although he beholds nothing but the smoke, which generally remains after a great fire; yet this sign is given him from the Lord, for a testimony to posterity, of a punishment so memorable. God indeed designs, that, in the very appearance of the place, a monument of his wrath should exist for ever: but because, through the readiness of the world to cast a doubt upon the judgments of God, it might be easily believed, that such had been the nature of the place from the beginning; or that the change had occurred accidentally; the Lord was pleased to exhibit his act of vengeance before the eyes of Abraham, in order that he might discharge the office of a herald to posterity.

Calvin: Gen 19:29 - God remembered Abraham 29.God remembered Abraham. Although Moses does not assert that the deliverance of Abraham’s nephew was made known to him; yet since he says, that L...

29.God remembered Abraham. Although Moses does not assert that the deliverance of Abraham’s nephew was made known to him; yet since he says, that Lot was saved from destruction for Abraham’s sake, it is probable that he was not deprived of that consolation which he most needed; and that he was conscious of the benefit, for which it became him to give thanks. If it seems to any one absurd, that the holy man Lot should be granted for the sake of another; as if the Lord had not respect to his own piety: I answer, these two things well agree with each other; that the Lord, since he is wont to aid his own people, cared for Lot, whom he had chosen, and whom he governed by his Spirit; and yet that, at the same time, he would show, in the preservation of his life, how greatly he loved Abraham, to whom he not only granted personal protection, but also the deliverance of others. It is however right to observe, that what the Lord does gratuitously, — induced by no other cause than his own goodness, — is ascribed to the piety or the prayers of men, for this reason; that we may be stirred up to worship God, and to pray to him. We have seen, a little while before, how merciful God proved himself to be, in preserving Lot; and truly, he would not have perished, even if he had not been the nephew of Abraham. Yet Moses says, it was a favor granted to Abraham, that Lot was not consumed in the same destruction with Sodom. But if the Lord extended the favor which he had vouchsafed to his servant, to the nephew also, who now was as a stranger from his family; how much more confidently ought every one of the faithful to expect, that the same grace shall, by no means be wanting to his own household? And, if the Lord, when he favors us, embraces others also who are connected with us, for our sake, how much more will he have respect to ourselves? In saying that Lot dwelt in those cities, the figure synecdoche, which puts the whole for a part, is used, but it is expressly employed to make the miracle more illustrious; because it happened, only by the singular providence of God, that when five cities were destroyed a single person should escape.

Calvin: Gen 19:30 - And Lot went up out of Zoar 30.And Lot went up out of Zoar. This narration proves what I have before alluded to, that those things which men contrive for themselves, by rash cou...

30.And Lot went up out of Zoar. This narration proves what I have before alluded to, that those things which men contrive for themselves, by rash counsels drawn from carnal reason, never prosper: especially when men, deluded by vain hope, or impelled by depraved wishes, depart from the word of God. For although temerity commonly seems to be successful at the beginning; and they who are carried away by their lusts, exult over the joyful issue of affairs; yet the Lord, at length, curses whatever is not undertaken with his approval; and the declaration of Isaiah is fulfilled,

‘Woe to them who begin a work and not by the Spirit of the Lord;
who take counsel, but do not ask at his mouth,’
(Isa 30:1.)

Lot, when commanded to retake himself to the mountain, chose rather to dwell in Zoar. After this habitation was granted to him, according to his own wish, he soon repents and is sorry for he trembles at the thought that destruction is every moment hastening on a place so near to Sodom, in which perhaps the same impiety and wickedness was reigning. But let the readers recall to memory what I have said, that it was only through the wonderful kindness of God, that he did not receive either immediate, or very severe punishment. For the Lord, by pardoning him at the time, caused him finally to become judge of his own sin. For he was neither expelled from Zoar by force nor by the hand of man; but a blind anxiety of mind drove him and hurried him into a cavern, because he had followed the lust of his flesh rather than the command of God. And thus in chastising the faithful, God mitigates their punishments so as to render it their best medicine. For if he were to deal strictly with their folly they would fall down in utter confusion. He therefore gives them space for repentance that they may willingly acknowledge their fault.

Calvin: Gen 19:31 - And the firstborn said // There is not a man in the earth 31.And the firstborn said 427 Here Moses narrates a miracle, which rightly brings the readers to astonishment. For, how could that unchaste intercour...

31.And the firstborn said 427 Here Moses narrates a miracle, which rightly brings the readers to astonishment. For, how could that unchaste intercourse come into the mind of the daughters of Lot, while the terrible punishment of God of the Sodomites stood still before her eyes, and while they knew that the scandalous and sinful lusts were the chief causes thereof? True, they were not so much moved through sensual lusts, as through a foolish desire for the procreation of their family; nevertheless, this urge was too absurd, because it forces the nature to forget all chastity and sense of shame, and, like the beasts, to destroy all difference between scandalous and honorable. To understand the better the whole of the case, I will deal with the separate parts, in order.

In the first place, concerning the plan of Lot’s oldest daughter, whom the younger obeyed, concerning that I take for granted that none of both is urged trough fleshy lust, but that they both have only thought about the propagation of the family. For, what kind of passion would that have been, to desire for intercourse with an already old father?

That the oldest furtively comes in for but one night, and puts her sister in her stead, the next night, and that they, being pregnant, not think to return to the embrace of their father; from that we decide in the second place, that they have had no other goal but to become mother. But I do not approve of what some conjecture, who say that they were mislead by a great error, thinking that the whole world had perished together with Sodom. For, they had just dwelt in Zoar, also there were sweet regions before their eyes, which were surely not without inhabitants, and also they had learned from their father that a special punishment was inflicted upon the Sodomites and the other neighbors. They also were not ignorant of the family whence their father came, and what kind of uncle he had followed out of his fatherland. So, what must we think? That, because they were assured that families are maintained by children, it was hard for them and it was a continual cause of grief, that they were without children. Also the emptiness, when their father would be dead, could seem to be unbearable for them, because they saw that they then would be lonely, and without any help. So, hence their impudent desire, and that absurd urgency to seek this unchaste intercourse, as they were afraid of a lonely life, which was liable to many concerns. Also I doubt not, that Moses not narrates what they have used as a pretext, but what they have said in a sincere feeling of their hearts. So, they wanted to bring forth seed, like the custom of all the nations. They adduce the example of the entire world, because they would deem it unfair when their state would be worse then that of the others. Everywhere, they say, the young women are praised, who conceive children, and thus build their families; why must we then be condemned to be always childless? In the mean time, they well know that they commit a great sin. For, why make they their father drunken? Is it not, because they guess, that he cannot be made willing? When he has had an aversion to unchastity, the daughters must necessarily have had the same notion in their consciences. So, in no wise they are to be excused, that they lend themselves to a scandalous intercourse, which all the nation abhor by nature. While the people, with normal crimes, are forced to admit their crimes; how will they plead themselves free with important crimes, as if no fear for God’s judgement prickled them? Therefore, with suppression of the conscience, Lot’s daughters devote themselves to that crime. The reason to mislead their father was no other then this, that they knew the disgrace, which they themselves necessarily had to condemn, because they knew that it was against the order of the nature. From this appears, whereto the people come when they follow their own will; for nothing can be so absurd or bestial, that we not decay to that, when we give free rein to our flesh. Let this, therefore, be the beginning of al our desires, to examine what the Lord allows, in order that it comes not in our mind to ask something, what according His Word is free to us.

There is not a man in the earth They mean not that all the nations are destroyed, as many explainers drivel, but because they are by fear driven in the cave, leading a lonely life, they complain, that they are cut off from any hope of marriage. And yes, being secluded from the rest of the nations, they lived as if they were sent away to some separated world. Might one object that they could ask husbands of their father, then I answer, that it absolutely not a miracle, that they, beaten down through fear, could not seek another medicine, than what was at hand. For, they thought that they on that solitary mountain, locked up in the den of a rock, had no more the least connection with the human race. It could be (as I have reminded before) that some slaves dwelt with them. This is even probable, for otherwise it was difficult to have wine in the cave, when this was not taken with them on a wagon with the other foods. Yet they say that there were no husbands for them, because they have an aversion to a marriage with slaves.

Further I mean, that the name earth in the first member, is put for region or area, as if they said: This region has no more men left, who could marry us after the custom of the entire world. For there is here a tacit contrast between the whole earth and a certain part thereof. But this is their first crime, that they, in a zeal to propagate the human race, violate the holy law of nature. Next, it is wrong and wicked, that they not flee to the Creator of the world Himself, to cure them from that desolation, about which they were worried. Thirdly, they show their negligence when they aim their hearts only on the earthly life, and not worry about the heavenly life. Though I dare not to give security concerning the time, which has elapsed between the destruction of Sodom, and the unchaste intercourse of Lot with his daughters, yet, it is probable that they, as soon as they had come in the cave, in aversion to the solitude, have made up this scandalous and execrable plan. It could not take a long time, that Lot lived in the cave, or there came lack of food and drink. And like a sudden fear had carried away their father, like a storm, likewise the daughters could not restrain themselves, even for some days. Without calling upon God, or asking their father for advice, they are carried away through a bestial instinct. Herein we see how soon the deliverance and the punishment of the Sodomites has left their memory, although both had always to be kept in their heart. Oh, that this vice also among us were not so great; but we show too clearly in both ways our ingratitude.

Calvin: Gen 19:33 - And he perceived not 33.And he perceived not. Though Lot not sinned knowingly, yet, because his drunkenness was the cause of his sin, his guilt is diminished, but not ann...

33.And he perceived not. Though Lot not sinned knowingly, yet, because his drunkenness was the cause of his sin, his guilt is diminished, but not annulled. Without doubt the Lord has chastised his dissatisfaction in this manner. This is something rare and strange, that his senses are so under influence of the wine, that he, like a dead man pours out his lust. Therefore I assume that he not so much is fuddled through the wine, but that his excessiveness is beat by God through the spirit of ignorance. And when God has not spared the holy Patriarch, how can we then think to be unpunished, when we do the same excessiveness? Let we therefore realize through this example, that the law of modesty is prescribed us, in order that we eat modestly and moderately. Yet, there are some unholy people, who consider Lot as the protector of their wickedness.

Why do we not rather think to which horrible scandal he has decayed, because he excessively used wine? We must, as I already have said, not simply consider what the drunkenness drags along with it, and with which other vices it is connected, but we must consider the punishment of God. Therefore he willed openly spread this tragic crime, in order that the drunkenness will be abhorred. Daily the Lord testifies by heavy punishments, how much this vice displeases Him. When we see that Abraham’s nephew, the host of Angels, a man adored with extraordinary fame of holiness, is defiled by unchaste intercourse, because he has drunk too much, what will then happen to the guzzlers and the whores, who daily drink themselves drunken? But we have at great length spoken about this in the ninth chapter Gen 9:1, what men can reread. Concerning the words, when Moses says, that Lot did not perceive it, that his daughter lay down and arose — some explain it thus that he saw no difference between a stranger and his own daughter. But when he was not totally blinded, he could in the morning, having slept out his intoxication, know that he has had intercourse with his daughter. Some say, to diminish his guilt, that he not so much is fuddled through much drinking, but that he was depressed through sadness. But I retain this, that he, as he was endowed with more splendid gifts, also deserved the more punishment, and that therefore his reason was taken away from him, so that he, like a unreasonable beast, lost himself in sensual lust.

Calvin: Gen 19:35 - And the younger arose, and lay with him 35.And the younger arose, and lay with him. This place teaches us how dangerous it is, to fall in the snares of satan. For, who once is caught therei...

35.And the younger arose, and lay with him. This place teaches us how dangerous it is, to fall in the snares of satan. For, who once is caught therein, involves himself deeper and deeper in it. It is sure that Lot has been a modest man, but either, that the daughters have overtaken him while he was overcome with sadness, or that he allured by any other means to excessive drinking, once being decayed to excessiveness, he is again deceived the next day. We must therefore diligently resist the first beginning, for it is nearly impossible that they, who are once stupefied through its sweetness, totally lose themselves in the vices. Therefore, men ought to be on their guard against stimulus to evil, as deadly evils; and men ought to fear each flattering temptation as something poisonous. And this circumstance deserves attention, that Lot, among the Sodomites by the accumulation of crimes which nearly defiled heaven and earth, was chaste and clean, like an angel.

Whence did he keep such a cleanness in Sodom, else then through the knowledge of the evil, that surrounded him, which made him worried and careful? Presently, being safe on the mountain, satan besieges him with new pitfalls. Through this example, the Spirit admonishes us to watchfulness, that, when we think the least about it, an invisible enemy stretches snared for us. Likewise has Moses told earlier that Adam was deceived in Paradise. When we take care for ourselves, that will that watchfulness make us being on our guard against all guiles of our enemy. For there is nobody who not carries with him thousands of temptation to his own deceit.

Calvin: Gen 19:37 - And the firstborn bare 37.And the firstborn bare. This was a terrible blindness, that the daughters of Lot, shaking off all feeling of shame, raised up a memorial of their ...

37.And the firstborn bare. This was a terrible blindness, that the daughters of Lot, shaking off all feeling of shame, raised up a memorial of their virtue, and through an eternal sign have exhibited their dishonor before their posterity. To their sons, or better, two nation in their persons, they give names, whence everybody can know that it was a family, originating from adultery and unchaste intercourse. The eldest boasts that she had obtained her son from her father, the other that her son was born of close relationship. Thus both unashamedly spread their crime, while they rather, through shame of their crime, had hidden themselves in eternal hideouts. Not content with the infamousness in their time, the propagate their crime into other times. Therefore, there is no doubt that they, enchanted by satan, have forgotten all difference between what is scandalous and honest. Paul says, (Rom 2:5,) that wicked, after a long pleasure in sinning, are at the end deprived of all feel of grief thereof. Such stupidity undoubtedly had caught those girls, because they did not shame themselves to spread their dishonor everywhere. Further, such an example of God’s punishment is revealed us, in order that we not allow any sin, and we will not lose ourselves in licentiousness, but that we, through fear of God, spur ourselves on to penitence.

Defender: Gen 19:4 - all the people The enormity of Sodom's wickedness is indicated by the eagerness with which not a few degenerates, but all the men of the city desired to commit the c...

The enormity of Sodom's wickedness is indicated by the eagerness with which not a few degenerates, but all the men of the city desired to commit the crime of homosexual rape, probably leading to murder, on two unknown visitors to their city. Lot's desire to protect them demonstrates his basically godly character (2Pe 2:8) even though his carnality had led him into this compromising association."

Defender: Gen 19:8 - do ye to them Lot's willingness to sacrifice his daughters (the fact that they still were virgins in such a place indicates that he at least had some influence over...

Lot's willingness to sacrifice his daughters (the fact that they still were virgins in such a place indicates that he at least had some influence over his family) is hard to understand, but it may well be that by this time he knew or suspected the angelic identity of the guests."

Defender: Gen 19:11 - blindness This miracle, which apparently produced a blindness of mental confusion in the mob, rather than of actual physical sight, now clearly identified the t...

This miracle, which apparently produced a blindness of mental confusion in the mob, rather than of actual physical sight, now clearly identified the two "men" as supernatural messengers of God, but even so, Lot's family hesitated, and his sons-in-law refused to follow their urgent instructions."

Defender: Gen 19:22 - escape thither Lot had been instructed to go to the mountain (Gen 19:17), but he prevailed upon the angels to let him live in Zoar. He soon became unwelcome in Zoar,...

Lot had been instructed to go to the mountain (Gen 19:17), but he prevailed upon the angels to let him live in Zoar. He soon became unwelcome in Zoar, however, and went to the mountain after all (Gen 19:30). It is always better to follow God's instructions directly."

Defender: Gen 19:24 - brimstone and fire The precise nature of the physical agents used by God in the destruction of the five cities of the plain is uncertain. "Brimstone" is usually associat...

The precise nature of the physical agents used by God in the destruction of the five cities of the plain is uncertain. "Brimstone" is usually associated with sulfur, but the word may be used for any inflammable substance. The word "fire" is also used here for the first time in the Bible and could be understood either as a divine fire (Jdg 6:21; 1Ki 18:38) or as gases and other combustibles ignited in a volcanic explosion falling to earth after their eruption. The entire region gives abundant evidence of tremendous volcanic activity in the past, although most of this probably antedated Abraham, occurring in the later stages of the Flood and in the early decades following the Flood. The area is still very active tectonically, lying astride the Great Rift Valley, extending all the way from the Jordan River Valley into southern Africa. Unless the judgment was entirely miraculous, in its physical nature as well as its timing, the most likely explanation seems to be the sudden release by an earthquake and volcanic explosion of great quantities of gas, sulfur and bituminous materials that had accumulated from materials trapped beneath the valley floor during the Flood. These were ignited by a simultaneous electrical storm, so that it appeared to Abraham, watching from afar, that "the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace" (Gen 19:28)."

Defender: Gen 19:26 - pillar of salt This remarkable happening is stated matter-of-factly, with no suggestion that it was a special miracle or divine judgment. Lot's wife "looked back" (t...

This remarkable happening is stated matter-of-factly, with no suggestion that it was a special miracle or divine judgment. Lot's wife "looked back" (the phrase might even be rendered "returned back" or "lagged back") seeking to cling to her luxurious life in Sodom (note Christ's reference to this in Luk 17:32, Luk 17:33), and was destroyed in the "overthrow" (Gen 19:25, Gen 19:29) of the city. There are many great deposits of rock salt in the region, probably formed by massive precipitation from thermal brines upwelling from the earth's deep mantle during the great Flood. Possibly the overthrow buried her in a shower of these salt deposits blown skyward by the explosions. There is also the possibility that she was buried in a shower of volcanic ash, with her body gradually being converted into "salt" over the years following through the process of petrifaction, in a manner similar to that experienced by the inhabitants of Pompeii and Herculaneum in the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius."

Defender: Gen 19:30 - dwelt in a cave There have been "cave-dwellers" all through history, not primitive ape-men, but true cultured humans forced by circumstances into such habitations. Th...

There have been "cave-dwellers" all through history, not primitive ape-men, but true cultured humans forced by circumstances into such habitations. This home was quite a comedown for a family accustomed to material luxuries. The caves of the Dead Sea region have been inhabited by many people over the centuries. In fact, the famous Dead Sea Scrolls were found in such caves, left by communities of the Essene sect (Job 30:3-6)."

Defender: Gen 19:36 - child by their father This case of incest is not specifically condemned in Scripture, presumably because the Mosaic laws against incest had not yet been given. Lot's daught...

This case of incest is not specifically condemned in Scripture, presumably because the Mosaic laws against incest had not yet been given. Lot's daughters knew, for example, that their great uncle, Nahor, had married his niece, their own Aunt Milcah (Gen 11:27-29), and that Abraham's wife Sarah was his half-sister (Gen 20:12). Nevertheless, their particular act was unnatural, to say the least, and they knew their father would not consent to it if he were sober. To their credit, they had remained virgins up to this time (Gen 19:8), even in a licentious city like Sodom and were not motivated by physical lust, but by their concern that their family not be left without descendants. They should have merely trusted God concerning this need, however. The people descended from them, the Moabites and Ammonites, were perpetual enemies of the Israelites."

TSK: Gen 19:1 - rose // bowed And there came two angels. Or, rather, ""the two angels came,""referring to those mentioned in the preceding chapter, and there called ""men.""It see...

And there came two angels. Or, rather, ""the two angels came,""referring to those mentioned in the preceding chapter, and there called ""men.""It seems (from Gen 18:22), that these two angels were sent to Sodom, while the third, who was the Lord or Jehovah, remained with Abraham.

Gen 18:1-3, Gen 18:22

rose : Gen 18:1-5; Job 31:32; Heb 13:2

bowed : Gen 18:2

TSK: Gen 19:2 - turn // wash // Nay turn : Heb 13:2 wash : Gen 18:4 Nay : Instead of lo, nay, some manuscripts have lo, to him. ""And they said unto him, for we lodge in the street;""wh...

turn : Heb 13:2

wash : Gen 18:4

Nay : Instead of lo, nay, some manuscripts have lo, to him. ""And they said unto him, for we lodge in the street;""where, nevertheless, the negation is understood. Knowing the disposition of the inhabitants, and appearing in the character of mere travellers, they preferred the open street to any house; but not yet willing to make themselves known, as Lot pressed them vehemently, and as they knew him to be a righteous man, they consented to take shelter under his hospitable roof. Jdg 19:17-21; Luk 24:28, Luk 24:29; Act 16:15

TSK: Gen 19:3 - pressed // a feast // unleavened pressed : 2Ki 4:8; Luk 11:8, Luk 14:23, Luk 24:28, Luk 24:29; 2Co 5:14 a feast : Gen 18:6-8, Gen 21:8; Luk 5:29; Joh 12:2; Heb 13:2 unleavened : Gen 1...

TSK: Gen 19:4 - But // all But : Pro 4:16, Pro 6:18; Mic 7:3; Rom 3:15 all : Gen 13:13, Gen 18:20; Exo 16:2, Exo 23:2; Jer 5:1-6, Jer 5:31; Mat 27:20-25

TSK: Gen 19:5 - -- Lev 18:22, Lev 20:13; Jdg 19:22; Isa 1:9, Isa 3:9; Jer 3:3, Jer 6:15; Eze 16:49, Eze 16:51; Mat 11:23, Mat 11:24; Rom 1:23, Rom 1:24, Rom 1:26, Rom 1:...

TSK: Gen 19:6 - Lot // door Lot : Jdg 19:23 door : Two words are here used for doorcaps1 . tcaps0 he first pethach , which is the door-way, at which Lot went out; the latter, ...

Lot : Jdg 19:23

door : Two words are here used for doorcaps1 . tcaps0 he first pethach , which is the door-way, at which Lot went out; the latter, deleth , the leaf of the door, which he shut after him when out.

TSK: Gen 19:7 - -- Gen 19:4; Lev 18:22, Lev 20:13; Deu 23:17; Jdg 19:23; 1Sa 30:23, 1Sa 30:24; Act 17:26; Rom 1:24; 1Co 6:9-11; Jud 1:7

TSK: Gen 19:8 - I have // let // therefore I have : Exo 32:22 let : Gen 19:31-38, Gen 42:37; Jdg 19:24; Mar 9:6; Rom 3:8 therefore : Gen 18:5; Jdg 9:15; Isa 58:7

TSK: Gen 19:9 - Stand // This // pressed Stand : 1Sa 17:44, 1Sa 25:17; Pro 9:7, Pro 9:8; Isa 65:5; Jer 3:3, Jer 6:15, Jer 8:12; Mat 7:6 This : Gen 13:12; Exo 2:14; Act 7:26-28; 2Pe 2:7, 2Pe 2...

TSK: Gen 19:11 - with blindness // that they with blindness : The word sanverim , rendered ""blindness,""and which occurs only here, and in 2Ki 6:18, is supposed to denote dazzlings, deceptions...

with blindness : The word sanverim , rendered ""blindness,""and which occurs only here, and in 2Ki 6:18, is supposed to denote dazzlings, deceptions, or confusions of sight from excessive light; being derived by Schultens, who is followed by Parkhurst, from the Arabic sana , to pour forth, diffuse, and nor, light. Dr. Geddes, to the same purpose, thinks it is compounded of the Arabic sana , which signifies a flash, and or, light. The Targums, in both places where it occurs, render it by eruptions, or flashes of light, or as Mercer, in Robertson, explains the Chaldee word, irradiations. 2Ki 6:18; Act 13:11

that they : Ecc 10:15; Isa 57:10; Jer 2:36

TSK: Gen 19:12 - Hast // son Hast : Gen 7:1; Num 16:26; Jos 6:22, Jos 6:23; Jer 32:39; 2Pe 2:7, 2Pe 2:9 son : Gen 19:14, Gen 19:17, Gen 19:22; Rev 18:4

TSK: Gen 19:13 - cry // Lord hath cry : Gen 13:13, Gen 18:20; Jam 5:4 Lord hath : 1Ch 21:15, 1Ch 21:16; Psa 11:5, Psa 11:6; Isa 3:11, Isa 36:10, Isa 37:36; Eze 9:5, Eze 9:6; Mat 13:41,...

TSK: Gen 19:14 - which // Up // as one which : Mat 1:18 Up : Gen 19:17, Gen 19:22; Num 16:21, Num 16:26, Num 16:45; Jer 51:6; Luk 9:42; Rev 18:4-8 as one : Exo 9:21, Exo 12:31; 2Ch 30:10, 2...

TSK: Gen 19:15 - hastened // are here // iniquity hastened : Gen 19:17, Gen 19:22; Num 16:24-27; Pro 6:4, Pro 6:5; Luk 13:24, Luk 13:25; 2Co 6:2; Heb 3:7, Heb 3:8; Rev 18:4 are here : Heb. are found i...

hastened : Gen 19:17, Gen 19:22; Num 16:24-27; Pro 6:4, Pro 6:5; Luk 13:24, Luk 13:25; 2Co 6:2; Heb 3:7, Heb 3:8; Rev 18:4

are here : Heb. are found

iniquity : or, punishment

TSK: Gen 19:16 - lingered // the Lord // brought lingered : Psa 119:60; Joh 6:44 the Lord : Exo 34:6; Num 14:18; Deu 4:31; 1Ch 16:34; Psa 34:12, Psa 86:5, Psa 86:15, Psa 103:8-10; Psa 103:13, Psa 106...

TSK: Gen 19:17 - he said // Escape // look he said : Gen 18:22 Escape : Gen 19:14, Gen 19:15, Gen 19:22; 1Sa 19:11; 1Ki 19:3; Psa 121:1; Mat 3:7, Mat 24:16-18; Heb 2:3 look : Gen 19:26; Luk 9:6...

TSK: Gen 19:18 - -- Gen 32:26; 2Ki 5:11, 2Ki 5:12; Isa 45:11; Joh 13:6-8; Act 9:13, Act 10:14

TSK: Gen 19:19 - and thou // lest some and thou : Psa. 18:1-50, 40:1-17, 103:1-22, 106:1-107:43, 116:1-19; 1Ti 1:14-16 lest some : Gen 12:13; Deu 31:17; 1Sa 27:1; 1Ki 9:9; Psa 77:7-11, Psa ...

and thou : Psa. 18:1-50, 40:1-17, 103:1-22, 106:1-107:43, 116:1-19; 1Ti 1:14-16

lest some : Gen 12:13; Deu 31:17; 1Sa 27:1; 1Ki 9:9; Psa 77:7-11, Psa 116:11; Mat 8:25, Mat 8:26; Mar 9:19; Rom 8:31

TSK: Gen 19:20 - this // and my this : Gen 19:30; Pro 3:5-7; Amo 3:6 and my : Gen 12:13; Psa 119:175; Isa 55:3

TSK: Gen 19:21 - I // thee // that I : Gen 4:7; Job 42:8, Job 42:9; Psa 34:15, Psa 102:17, Psa 145:19; Jer 14:10; Mat 12:20; Luk 11:8; Heb 2:17, Heb 4:15, Heb 4:16 thee : Heb. thy face ...

TSK: Gen 19:22 - for // called // Zoar for : Gen 32:25-28; Exo 32:10; Deu 9:14; Psa 91:1-10; Isa 65:8; Mar 6:5; 2Ti 2:13; Tit 1:2 called : Gen 13:10, Gen 14:2; Isa 15:5; Jer 48:34 Zoar : i....

TSK: Gen 19:23 - risen risen : Heb. gone forth, Gen 19:23

risen : Heb. gone forth, Gen 19:23

TSK: Gen 19:24 - the Lord // brimstone the Lord : Deu 29:23; Job 18:15; Psa 11:6; Isa 1:9, Isa 13:19; Jer 20:16, Jer 49:18, Jer 50:40; Lam 4:6; Eze 16:49, Eze 16:50; Hos 11:8; Amo 4:11; Zep...

the Lord : Deu 29:23; Job 18:15; Psa 11:6; Isa 1:9, Isa 13:19; Jer 20:16, Jer 49:18, Jer 50:40; Lam 4:6; Eze 16:49, Eze 16:50; Hos 11:8; Amo 4:11; Zep 2:9; Mat 11:23, Mat 11:24; Luk 17:28, Luk 17:29; 2Pe 2:6; Jud 1:7

brimstone : The word rendered ""brimstone,""( q.d. brennestone, or brinnestone, id est burning-stone), is always rendered by the LXX ""sulphur,""and seems to denote a meteorous inflammable matter.

TSK: Gen 19:25 - -- Gen 13:10, Gen 14:3; Psa 107:34

TSK: Gen 19:26 - looked // and looked : This unhappy woman, says the Rev. T. Scott, ""looked back,""contrary to God’ s express command, perhaps with a hope of returning, which ...

looked : This unhappy woman, says the Rev. T. Scott, ""looked back,""contrary to God’ s express command, perhaps with a hope of returning, which latter supposition is favoured by our Lord’ s words, ""Let him not return backcaps1 . rcaps0 emember Lot’ s wife.""She was, therefore, instantaneously struck dead and petrified, and thus remained to after ages a visible monument of the Divine displeasure. Gen 19:17; Pro 14:14; Luk 17:31, Luk 17:32; Heb 10:38

and : Num 16:38

TSK: Gen 19:27 - early // to the early : Psa 5:3 to the : Gen 18:22-33; Eze 16:49, Eze 16:50; Hab 2:1; Heb 2:1

TSK: Gen 19:28 - -- Psa 107:34; 2Pe 2:7; Jud 1:7; Rev 14:10, Rev 14:11, Rev 18:9, Rev 18:18, Rev 19:3, Rev 21:8

TSK: Gen 19:29 - that God that God : Gen 8:1, Gen 12:2, Gen 18:23-33, Gen 30:22; Deu 9:5; Neh 13:14, Neh 13:22; Psa 25:7, Psa 105:8, Psa 105:42; Psa 106:4, Psa 136:23, Psa 145:...

TSK: Gen 19:30 - Lot // for he // Zoar Lot : Gen 19:17-23 for he : Gen 49:4; Jer 2:36, Jer 2:37; Jam 1:8 Zoar : Gen 13:10, Gen 14:22; Deu 34:3; Isa 15:5; Jer 48:34

TSK: Gen 19:31 - not // to come not : Gen 19:28; Mar 9:6 to come : Gen 4:1, Gen 6:4, Gen 16:2, Gen 16:4, Gen 38:8, Gen 38:9, 14-30; Deu 25:5; Isa 4:1

TSK: Gen 19:32 - Come // drink // seed Come : Gen 11:3 drink : Gen 9:21; Pro 23:31-33; Hab 2:15, Hab 2:16 seed : Lev 18:6, Lev 18:7; Mar 12:19

TSK: Gen 19:33 - drink drink : Lev 18:6, Lev 18:7; Pro 20:1, Pro 23:29-35; Hab 2:15, Hab 2:16

TSK: Gen 19:34 - -- Isa 3:9; Jer 3:3, Jer 5:3, Jer 6:15, Jer 8:12

TSK: Gen 19:35 - -- Psa 8:4; Pro 24:16; Ecc 7:26; Luk 21:34; 1Co 10:11, 1Co 10:12; 1Pe 4:7

TSK: Gen 19:36 - -- Gen 19:8; Lev 18:6, Lev 18:7; Jdg 1:7; 1Sa 15:33; Hab 2:15; Mat 7:2

TSK: Gen 19:37 - Moab // Moabites am 2108, bc 1896 Moab : This name is generally interpreted of the father; from mo , of, and av , a father. Moabites : Num 21:29, 22:1-41, 24:1-25;...

am 2108, bc 1896

Moab : This name is generally interpreted of the father; from mo , of, and av , a father.

Moabites : Num 21:29, 22:1-41, 24:1-25; Deu 2:9, Deu 2:19, Deu 23:3; Judg. 3:1-31; Rth 4:10; 2Sam. 8:1-18; 2Kings 3:1-27

TSK: Gen 19:38 - Benammi // children Benammi : i.e., Son of my people, from ben , a son, and ammi , my people. children : Deu 2:9, Deu 2:19, Deu 23:3; Jdg 10:6-18, 11:1-40; 1Sa 11:1-1...

Benammi : i.e., Son of my people, from ben , a son, and ammi , my people.

children : Deu 2:9, Deu 2:19, Deu 23:3; Jdg 10:6-18, 11:1-40; 1Sa 11:1-15; 2Sam. 10:1-19; Neh 13:1-3, Neh 13:23-28; Psa 83:4-8; Isa 11:14; Zep 2:9

kecilkan semua
Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: Gen 19:1 - And there came two angels // At even // In the gate of Sodom And there came two angels even those two which departed from Abraham, Gen 18:22 , and now were come to Lot, the third yet staying and communing with...

And there came two angels even those two which departed from Abraham, Gen 18:22 , and now were come to Lot, the third yet staying and communing with Abraham. Angels they truly were, though they be called men, Gen 18:1-33 .

At even of the same day on which they departed from Abraham.

In the gate of Sodom where he sat either to observe the administration or corruption of justice there; for the seats of judicature were in the gates: or rather to wait for strangers, to whom he might exercise kindness and hospitality.

Poole: Gen 19:2 - Go on your ways // We will abide in the street all night Go on your ways and so this will be no hinderance to your occasions. We will abide in the street all night: this was no untruth, but really intende...

Go on your ways and so this will be no hinderance to your occasions.

We will abide in the street all night: this was no untruth, but really intended by them in the present state of things, and upon supposition that Lot should press them no further; but they also intended, if Lot was earnest with them, to comply with him. The first denial was but decent, and an act of civility, and in them it was a design to discover Lot’ s piety and hospitality, and to manifest the great difference between him and the barbarous Sodomites, and the reason and justice of Lot’ s deliverance, and their destruction.

Poole: Gen 19:3 - He did bake unleavened bread He did bake unleavened bread because that was sooner prepared, that so they might eat it, and after that go to bed in due time.

He did bake unleavened bread because that was sooner prepared, that so they might eat it, and after that go to bed in due time.

Poole: Gen 19:4 - Before they lay down // All the people from every quarter Before they lay down to sleep, of which this word is used, Gen 28:13 Lev 14:47 26:6 . All the people from every quarter some to exercise villany, a...

Before they lay down to sleep, of which this word is used, Gen 28:13 Lev 14:47 26:6 .

All the people from every quarter some to exercise villany, and some to please themselves with the contemplation of it, and some out of curiosity, &c. This is added to show how universally corrupt they were, and that there were not ten righteous men there.

Poole: Gen 19:5 - -- Either know who they are; or rather abuse them, as Lot’ s answer explains it, and so that word is used, Gen 4:1 Num 31:17 Jud 19:22 . And for t...

Either know who they are; or rather abuse them, as Lot’ s answer explains it, and so that word is used, Gen 4:1 Num 31:17 Jud 19:22 . And for the sin here committed, see Lev 18:22 20:13 Rom 1:26,27 1Co 6:9 Jud 1:7 . They openly and impudently profess their wicked intention, for which they are branded, Isa 3:9 ; and this intention of theirs is the more probable, because of the great beauty which it is likely was in those bodies which the angels assumed, whereby their lust was more inflamed.

Poole: Gen 19:7 - -- They were brethren by community of nature and habitation; see Gen 9:5 29:4 Lev 19:17 ; and so he calls them, if possibly he might sweeten and rest...

They were brethren by community of nature and habitation; see Gen 9:5 29:4 Lev 19:17 ; and so he calls them, if possibly he might sweeten and restrain them.

Poole: Gen 19:8 - Which have not known man // Do ye to them as is good in your eyes // For therefore // Under the shadow of my roof Which have not known man to wit, carnally. See Gen 24:16 Num 31:18 Jud 11:39 . Do ye to them as is good in your eyes whatsoever your purpose or ple...

Which have not known man to wit, carnally. See Gen 24:16 Num 31:18 Jud 11:39 .

Do ye to them as is good in your eyes whatsoever your purpose or pleasure is. See the same phrase Gen 20:15 41:37 Num 24:1 , &c. A most imprudent and sinful motion, whereby he yielded to one sin to prevent another, contrary to Rom 3:8 , and exposed his daughters’ chastity, which he was obliged to preserve, and which indeed he had no power to expose, especially seeing they were betrothed to other men, Gen 19:14 . But it is some extenuation of his sin that it proceeded from his great charity and kindness to strangers, and that he was at this time under a great perturbation and discomposure of mind.

For therefore that they might be preserved from such outrages. This was the design of the thing, though not of those persons. See Poole on "Gen 18:5" .

Under the shadow of my roof i.e. under the protection of my house. Shadow is oft put for protection or defence, as Jud 9:15 Psa 36:7 Jer 48:45 .

Poole: Gen 19:9 - Stand back // This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge Stand back or, go further off, i.e. out of our way; stand not between us and the door; or, come hither, that so they might seize him, and proce...

Stand back or, go further off, i.e. out of our way; stand not between us and the door; or, come hither, that so they might seize him, and proceed in the designed wickedness.

This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: q.d. One man, and he too but a stranger, presumeth to oppose the whole society of the native citizens. Heb. In judging he will judge. This busybody, if not restrained in time, will take authority to himself to censure, reprove, and condemn us from time to time.

Poole: Gen 19:11 - They smote the men They smote the men Heb. with blindness, i.e. with a blindness both of body and mind. It was not a total blindness, as if they quite lost the use o...

They smote the men Heb. with blindness, i.e. with a blindness both of body and mind. It was not a total blindness, as if they quite lost the use of their eyes, for they saw the house, though not the door, but it was a great dimness and confusion of their sight, and a disturbance in their common sense, by which they were made unable to distinguish between differing persons or places; as it was also with the Syrians, 2Ki 6:18 ; as it is in some measure with some drunkards, who, though their eyes be open, cannot distinguish between things that differ. And this was very easy for angels to do by a small alteration either in their sight, or in the air, whereby either the door might appear like the solid wall, or the several parts of the wall like so many doors.

Poole: Gen 19:14 - Which married his daughters Which married his daughters Heb. took, or were taking, or about to take, to wit, either to espouse, or to marry. Compare Gen 6:2 24:3 28:6 Deu ...

Which married his daughters Heb. took, or were taking, or about to take, to wit, either to espouse, or to marry. Compare Gen 6:2 24:3 28:6 Deu 7:3 . Anciently persons were first espoused, and after some time the marriage was consummated.

Poole: Gen 19:15 - Which are here Which are here Heb. which are found; i.e. which are present with thee, as this word is used, 1Ch 29:17 2Ch 5:11 30:21 31:1 . Whence some gather th...

Which are here Heb. which are found; i.e. which are present with thee, as this word is used, 1Ch 29:17 2Ch 5:11 30:21 31:1 . Whence some gather that he had two other daughters married to two Sodomitish men, who by their husbands’ persuasion and example staid and perished in those flames. But this is not necessary; for this phrase may be applied to the daughters by way of distinction from their spouses or husbands: q.d. Tarry no longer in expectation of thy sons-in-law, who are absent, and must be given up for lost, but take thy daughters which are found and present with thee, and go thy way.

Poole: Gen 19:16 - He lingered He lingered either through lothness to part with all his estate, or to lose his sons-in-law; or through astonishment and distraction of mind, which m...

He lingered either through lothness to part with all his estate, or to lose his sons-in-law; or through astonishment and distraction of mind, which made him both listless and impotent.

Poole: Gen 19:17 - The Lord hath sent us // Escape for thy life // Look not behind thee Either one of the angels said this, or the third person, the Lord himself, who having parted from Abraham, after some time came to Lot, as appears b...

Either one of the angels said this, or the third person, the Lord himself, who having parted from Abraham, after some time came to Lot, as appears both by the change of the number; for before this he speaks of them in the plural number, but from hence in the singular number, as Gen 19:19,21,22 ; and by the variation of the phrase, for the other two speak with submission, and as servants, Gen 19:13 ,

The Lord hath sent us & c.; but this speaks with more authority, as is evident from Gen 19:21,22 .

Escape for thy life i.e. as thou lovest thy life. See Deu 4:15 Jos 23:11 Jer 17:21 . Or, escape with thy life, for the Hebrew particle al is sometimes taken for with, as Exo 35:23 Lev 2:2 14:31 Deu 22:6 . So the sense is, Stand not lingering in hopes to save thy goods, them thou shalt lose as a punishment of thy sin and folly in choosing to dwell with so wicked a people; and be thankful that thou hast thy life given thee for a prey, as it is expressed, Jer 38:2 .

Look not behind thee like one that grieves either for the loss of thy pleasant habitation or vast estate, or for those cursed miscreants justly devoted to this destruction. And this command, though given to Lot alone, yet was directed also to his companions, to whom doubtless he imparted it, as is evident both from all the other commands, which equally concern all, and from the following event. See Mat 24:18 Luk 9:62 .

Poole: Gen 19:18 - -- i.e. Unto one of them, as is manifest from the following words.

i.e. Unto one of them, as is manifest from the following words.

Poole: Gen 19:19 - I cannot escape to the mountain I cannot escape to the mountain because of the infirmity of my age, and the fainting of my spirits. Thus he showeth an unworthy and unreasonable dist...

I cannot escape to the mountain because of the infirmity of my age, and the fainting of my spirits. Thus he showeth an unworthy and unreasonable distrust of God’ s power and goodness, which he had now experienced and acknowledged.

Poole: Gen 19:20 - And it is a little one And it is a little one therefore as its inhabitants, so its sins are fewer, and it will not be an eminent example of thy vengeance, as the other plac...

And it is a little one therefore as its inhabitants, so its sins are fewer, and it will not be an eminent example of thy vengeance, as the other places will be.

Poole: Gen 19:21 - I have accepted thee I have accepted thee Heb. I have lift up thy countenance, i.e. granted thy request. The manner of the expression possibly may be taken from the cu...

I have accepted thee Heb. I have lift up thy countenance, i.e. granted thy request. The manner of the expression possibly may be taken from the custom of the eastern parts; where petitioners used not to fall upon their knees as we do, but to prostrate themselves with their face to the ground; and the person to whom they addressed themselves, in token of his favourable acceptance of their petitions, commanded them to be lifted up.

Poole: Gen 19:22 - I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither because of God’ s decree and promise to save thee from the general destruction.

I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither because of God’ s decree and promise to save thee from the general destruction.

Poole: Gen 19:23 - -- This phrase may note, either the time of the day when this was done; or rather the nature and quality of the day, that the sun appeared and shone fo...

This phrase may note, either the time of the day when this was done; or rather the nature and quality of the day, that the sun appeared and shone forth that morning in great lustre and glory; which is well noted as a very considerable circumstance of the history, and a great aggravation of the ruin, which came when they least expected it.

Poole: Gen 19:24 - Brimstone // From the Lord And the neighbouring cities, Admah and Zeboim, as appears from Deu 29:23 Jer 49:18 Hos 11:8 . Brimstone is added to the fire either to convey an...

And the neighbouring cities, Admah and Zeboim, as appears from Deu 29:23 Jer 49:18 Hos 11:8 .

Brimstone is added to the

fire either to convey and carry down the fire, which in itself is light and apt to ascend; or to increase it, Isa 30:33 ; or to represent the noisomeness of their lusts.

From the Lord i.e. from himself; the noun put for the pronoun, as Gen 1:27 2Ch 7:2 . But here it is emphatically so expressed, either,

1. To signify that it proceeded not from natural causes, but from the immediate hand of God. Or,

2. To note the plurality of persons in the Godhead, God the Son, who now appeared upon the earth, rained from God his Father in heaven, both concurring in this act, as indeed all outward actions are common to all the persons of the Trinity.

Poole: Gen 19:25 - All the plain All the plain to wit, where these cities and their territories lay, called the plain of Jordan, Gen 13:10 ; all which then became, and to this day c...

All the plain to wit, where these cities and their territories lay, called the plain of Jordan, Gen 13:10 ; all which then became, and to this day continues, to be a filthy lake, called the Dead Sea, because no fish lives in it.

Poole: Gen 19:26 - His wife looked back // And she // became a pillar of salt His wife looked back through curiosity, or unbelief, or desire of what she left, or from all these causes; from behind her husband, whom she followed...

His wife looked back through curiosity, or unbelief, or desire of what she left, or from all these causes; from behind her husband, whom she followed. Which circumstance seems to be mentioned as the reason of this presumption, because she could do it without her husband’ s observation or reproof, to which she had a greater regard than to the all-seeing eye of God.

And she i.e. her body, by a very common synecdoche,

became a pillar of salt either metaphorically, i.e. a perpetual durable pillar, as an everlasting covenant is called a covenant of salt, Num 18:19 ; or properly, for there is a kind of metallic salt which resists the rain, and is hard enough for buildings, as Pliny, Solinus, and others witness. And that salt was here mixed with brimstone, may be gathered from Deu 29:23 . Add to this, that Josephus, Antiq. i. 12, affirms that this pillar remained in his time. And the like is witnessed by others after him.

Poole: Gen 19:29 - God remembered Abraham God remembered Abraham either, 1. The promise made to Abraham, Gen 12:3 . Or, 2. The prayer made by Abraham, Gen 18:23-32 , who doubtless in his pr...

God remembered Abraham either,

1. The promise made to Abraham, Gen 12:3 . Or,

2. The prayer made by Abraham, Gen 18:23-32 , who doubtless in his prayers for Sodom would not forget Lot, though his prayer for him be not there mentioned. And hereby it is insinuated, that Lot, though he was a righteous man, and should be saved eternally, yet deserved to perish temporarily with those wicked people, to whom he associated himself merely for worldly advantages, and should have done so, if Abraham had not hindered it by his prayers.

Poole: Gen 19:30 - He feared to dwell in Zoar He feared to dwell in Zoar lest he should either suffer from them or with them; perceiving now that though it was a little city, yet there was more w...

He feared to dwell in Zoar lest he should either suffer from them or with them; perceiving now that though it was a little city, yet there was more wickedness in it than he imagined.

Poole: Gen 19:31 - In the earth // After the manner of all the earth In the earth either, 1. In the whole earth; for they thought the same deluge of fire which destroyed the four cities had by this time extended itsel...

In the earth either,

1. In the whole earth; for they thought the same deluge of fire which destroyed the four cities had by this time extended itself to Zoar, and all other places, knowing that the whole world did lie in wickedness, and having possibly heard from their father, that the world, as it was once destroyed by water, so it should afterwards be consumed by fire, which they might think was now executed, and that God had secured Abraham from it by taking him to himself. Or,

2. In that land, as the word may be rendered. And her meaning might not be this, that there was no man at all, but not a man with whom they might or durst marry; for though they knew they left many men in Zoar, yet the sad expericnce of the dreadful ruin wherein their brethren-in-law were involved, made them abhor the thoughts of any conjunction with them.

After the manner of all the earth i.e. of all the inhabitants of the earth. Compare Gen 18:11 .

Poole: Gen 19:32 - Wine Wine they carried with them, amongst other necessary provisions, either from Sodom or Zoar. This, though an incestuous and abominable action, yet th...

Wine they carried with them, amongst other necessary provisions, either from Sodom or Zoar.

This, though an incestuous and abominable action, yet they thought was made lawful by the supposed necessity, as in the beginning of the world the marriage of brethren and sisters was lawful because necessary; and when it ceased to be necessary, because of the increase of mankind, it became incestuous.

Poole: Gen 19:33 - They made their father drink wine // He perceived not They made their father drink wine to wit, in excess, so as to deprive him of the use of his reason and grace, which was likely to frustrate their pro...

They made their father drink wine to wit, in excess, so as to deprive him of the use of his reason and grace, which was likely to frustrate their project: this was a great sin, not only in them, but also in Lot himself, not to be excused by ignorance of the virtue of wine, which being known to both the daughters, certainly their father could not be ignorant of it. Thus he who kept his integrity in the midst of all the temptations of Sodom, falls into a grievous sin in a place where he might seem most remote from all temptations; God permitting this, to teach all following ages how weak even the best men are when they are left to themselves, and what absolute need they have of Divine assistance.

He perceived not wherein there is nothing strange, it being usual with drunken men to do many things in that condition, which, when they come to themselves, they perfectly forget. And so might Lot, when under the power of wine, forget that his wife was turned into a pillar of salt, and might mistake his daughter for his wife.

Poole: Gen 19:36 - -- Which they might possibly imagine to be an evidence of Divine approbation of their fact; whereas, indeed, it was a design of God to make a lasting m...

Which they might possibly imagine to be an evidence of Divine approbation of their fact; whereas, indeed, it was a design of God to make a lasting monument of their sin and shame.

Poole: Gen 19:37 - Called his name Moab // The Moabites 1807 Called his name Moab i.e. of my father, begotten upon me by my father. So she had learned from her neighbours to declare her sin as Sod...

1807

Called his name Moab i.e. of my father, begotten upon me by my father. So she had learned from her neighbours to declare her sin as Sodom, Isa 3:9 .

The Moabites were a mischievous and infamous people, branded, as their brethren also the Ammonites were, with characters of God’ s displeasure.

Poole: Gen 19:38 - Called his name Ben-ammi Called his name Ben-ammi i.e. the son of my people, or kindred, not of the cursed race of the Sodomites, where I was to be married. This is someth...

Called his name Ben-ammi i.e. the son of my people, or kindred, not of the cursed race of the Sodomites, where I was to be married. This is something more modest than the other in the name she gives, but both impudently glorying in their sin and shame, of which they should have bitterly repented.

Haydock: Gen 19:1 - Ground Ground. Thus shewing himself a true relation and imitator of Abraham.

Ground. Thus shewing himself a true relation and imitator of Abraham.

Haydock: Gen 19:2 - My lords // No My lords. He took them to be men. --- No. They refuse at first, that he may have the merit of pressing them to accept the invitation. (Haydock)

My lords. He took them to be men. ---

No. They refuse at first, that he may have the merit of pressing them to accept the invitation. (Haydock)

Haydock: Gen 19:4 - Together Together. The whole city was corrupt; even the children were taught iniquity, as soon as they came to the years of discretion. (Menochius)

Together. The whole city was corrupt; even the children were taught iniquity, as soon as they came to the years of discretion. (Menochius)

Haydock: Gen 19:5 - Know them Know them. They boldly proclaim their infamous design.

Know them. They boldly proclaim their infamous design.

Haydock: Gen 19:7 - This evil This evil, so contrary to the rights of hospitality, and the law of nature.

This evil, so contrary to the rights of hospitality, and the law of nature.

Haydock: Gen 19:8 - Known man // Abuse Known man. They were neglected, while men were inflamed with desires of each other. See Romans i. (Haydock) --- Abuse. Lot tries by every means...

Known man. They were neglected, while men were inflamed with desires of each other. See Romans i. (Haydock) ---

Abuse. Lot tries by every means to divert them from their purpose; being well assured, that they would have nothing to do with his daughters, who were promised to some of the inhabitants. He endeavours to gain time, hoping perhaps that his guests would escape by some back way, while he is talking to the people. (Haydock) ---Some allow that, under so great a perturbation of mind, he consented to an action which could never be allowed, though it was a less evil. (Menochius)

Haydock: Gen 19:9 - Thither Thither; from whence thou camest, or into the house. Dost thou pretend to tell us what is wrong? We will treat thee more shamefully. (Menochius) ...

Thither; from whence thou camest, or into the house. Dost thou pretend to tell us what is wrong? We will treat thee more shamefully. (Menochius) While they are beginning to offer violence.

Haydock: Gen 19:10 - Behold Behold, &c. the angels not only secure Lot, but strike the whole people with blindness, so that they could neither find Lot's door nor their own home...

Behold, &c. the angels not only secure Lot, but strike the whole people with blindness, so that they could neither find Lot's door nor their own homes. Indeed, if they had been able to get back into their own houses, it would have been but a small consolation to them; since in a few minutes, the whole city was buried in sulphur and flame, Wisdom xix. 16.

Haydock: Gen 19:14 - Sons-in-law // In jest Sons-in-law. Perhaps they also were among the crowd, (ver. 4,) and therefore deserved to be abandoned to their incredulity; though, if they would ha...

Sons-in-law. Perhaps they also were among the crowd, (ver. 4,) and therefore deserved to be abandoned to their incredulity; though, if they would have consented to follow Lot, the angels would have saved them for his sake. ---

In jest. So little did they suffer God's judgments to disturb them!

Haydock: Gen 19:16 - He lingered // Spared him He lingered, intreating the Lord to save the city; and loath, perhaps to lose all his property, for the sake of which he had chosen that abode. --- ...

He lingered, intreating the Lord to save the city; and loath, perhaps to lose all his property, for the sake of which he had chosen that abode. ---

Spared him, and his wife and two daughters, for his sake. These four were all that were even tolerably just: for we find them all soon giving signs of their weakness, and of the danger to which even the best are exposed by evil communications. (Haydock)

Haydock: Gen 19:17 - Look not back Look not back. Flee with all expedition; let no marks of pity for the wretched Sodomites, nor of sorrow for the lose of your property, be seen.

Look not back. Flee with all expedition; let no marks of pity for the wretched Sodomites, nor of sorrow for the lose of your property, be seen.

Haydock: Gen 19:18 - My lord My lord, addressing himself to the angel, who led him and his wife. (Menochius)

My lord, addressing himself to the angel, who led him and his wife. (Menochius)

Haydock: Gen 19:19 - The mountain The mountain above Segor. He is faint-hearted, and does not comply with readiness and exactitude; though, when he had obtained leave to remain in Se...

The mountain above Segor. He is faint-hearted, and does not comply with readiness and exactitude; though, when he had obtained leave to remain in Segor, he still fears, and flees to the mountain, ver. 30, (Haydock) on the south-east of the dead sea. (Calmet)

Haydock: Gen 19:22 - Segor Segor. That is, a little one. (Challoner) --- In allusion to Lot's words, ver. 20. As it was small, fewer sinners would of course be contained ...

Segor. That is, a little one. (Challoner) ---

In allusion to Lot's words, ver. 20. As it was small, fewer sinners would of course be contained in it. God had resolved to spare it, and therefore inspired Lot to pray for its preservation. (Menochius) ---

Hence we may learn, how great a treasure and safeguard the just man is. (Haydock)

Haydock: Gen 19:23 - Risen Risen. It was morning when he left Sodom; (ver. 15.) so this city must not have been very distant. It was before called Bala, or swallowed up, an...

Risen. It was morning when he left Sodom; (ver. 15.) so this city must not have been very distant. It was before called Bala, or swallowed up, and afterwards Salissa. Theodoret supposes it was destroyed as soon as Lot had left it; and it seems Lot's daughters thought so, since they concluded all men, except their father, had perished.

Haydock: Gen 19:24 - The Lord rained...from the Lord // And Gomorrha // Brimstone and fire The Lord rained...from the Lord, in a miraculous manner. Sodom and the other cities did not perish by earthquakes and other natural causes only, but...

The Lord rained...from the Lord, in a miraculous manner. Sodom and the other cities did not perish by earthquakes and other natural causes only, but by the divine wrath exerting itself in a visible manner. Here is an insinuation of a plurality of persons in God, as the C.[Council?] of Sirmich declares, c.[canon?] 14. ---

And Gomorrha, and the other towns which were not so large, nor perhaps so infamous. ---

Brimstone and fire; to denote the bad odour and violence of their disorders. (Menochius)

Haydock: Gen 19:25 - All the inhabitants // All things All the inhabitants, both the body and soul, Jude ver. 7: even the infants would probably die in original sin, as their parents were unbelievers, and...

All the inhabitants, both the body and soul, Jude ver. 7: even the infants would probably die in original sin, as their parents were unbelievers, and careless of applying the proper remedies. (Haydock) ---

The women imitated the men in pride and dissolute morals, so that all deserved to perish. (Menochius) ---

All things; so that even now the environs are barren, and the lake dark and smoking. (Tirinus)

Haydock: Gen 19:26 - And his wife // His // Remember Lot's wife // A statue of durable metallic salt And his wife. As a standing memorial to the servants of God to proceed in virtue, and not to look back to vice or its allurements. (Challoner) --- ...

And his wife. As a standing memorial to the servants of God to proceed in virtue, and not to look back to vice or its allurements. (Challoner) ---

His, Lot's wife. The two last verses might be within a parenthesis. ---

Remember Lot's wife, our Saviour admonishes us. Having begun a good work, let us not leave it imperfect, and lose our reward. (Luke xvii; Matthew xxiv.) ---

A statue of durable metallic salt, petrified as it were, to be an eternal monument of an incredulous soul, Wisdom x. 7. Some say it still exists. (Haydock) ---

God may have inflicted this temporal punishment on her, and saved her soul. (Menochius) ---

She looked back, as if she distrusted the words of the angel; but her fault was venial. (Tirinus)

Haydock: Gen 19:29 - Lot Lot. Even he owed his safety to the merits of Abraham.

Lot. Even he owed his safety to the merits of Abraham.

Haydock: Gen 19:31 - No man No man. If this had been true, Lot might have had children by them, without any fault. But they ought to have consulted him. (Haydock)

No man. If this had been true, Lot might have had children by them, without any fault. But they ought to have consulted him. (Haydock)

Haydock: Gen 19:35 - Rose up Rose up; being oppressed with grief and wine, which would not excuse him from sin, particularly this second time. (Menochius)

Rose up; being oppressed with grief and wine, which would not excuse him from sin, particularly this second time. (Menochius)

Haydock: Gen 19:37 - Elder Elder. She first proposes: she is not ashamed to call her child Moab, "from father." The younger is rather more modest, and calls her son Ammon, ...

Elder. She first proposes: she is not ashamed to call her child Moab, "from father." The younger is rather more modest, and calls her son Ammon, "my people," not born of the Sodomites. Many reasons might be alleged to extenuate, or even to excuse the conduct of Lot and his daughters, as many of the fathers have done. But the Scripture barely leaves it upon record, without either commendation or blame. (Haydock)

Gill: Gen 19:1 - And there came two angels to Sodom at even // and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom // and Lot seeing them, rose up to meet them // and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground And there came two angels to Sodom at even,.... Or "the two angels" h, the two men who were angels in the likeness of men, that had been with Abraham ...

And there came two angels to Sodom at even,.... Or "the two angels" h, the two men who were angels in the likeness of men, that had been with Abraham in the heat of the day at Hebron, on the evening of the same day came to Sodom:

and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: not as a civil magistrate to try causes there, being appointed a judge over them, as Jarchi relates; yea, the Jews say i: that that day five judges were appointed by the men of Sodom, and Lot was the chief of them; but this is not likely, and seems to be contradicted, Gen 19:9; but he sat there to observe strangers that might pass by, and invite them into his house, and that they might not fall into the hands of the wicked Sodomites, who might abuse them; this being a time when not only travellers would be glad to put up and take refreshment, but his wicked neighbours lay in wait for them to satisfy their lusts on them: he had learnt this hospitality from Abraham:

and Lot seeing them, rose up to meet them: he arose from his seat and went forward to meet them, which showed his readiness and heartiness to receive them:

and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; not in a religious way, as paying worship to angels, for as yet he did not know them to be such, and if he had, would not have given them divine adoration; but in a civil way, as was the custom of the eastern countries to bow very low in their civil respects to men, especially to great personages; and such Lot took these to be by their goodly looks and by their dress, as appears by his salutation of them in Gen 19:2.

Gill: Gen 19:2 - And he said, behold now, my lords // turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house // and tarry all night, and wash your feet // and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways // and they said, nay, but we will abide in the street all night And he said, behold now, my lords,.... Taking them to be, and bespeaking them as persons of quality, who appeared with majesty in their countenances, ...

And he said, behold now, my lords,.... Taking them to be, and bespeaking them as persons of quality, who appeared with majesty in their countenances, and looked as if they had been well brought up, and were upon their travels; not knowing them to be angels, whom he received and entertained unawares, as the apostle, referring to Lot and Abraham, observes, Heb 13:2,

turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house; meaning himself, who was their humble servant, and entreats them to turn in to his house, which perhaps was hard by, and take up their lodging with him: the ancient Jews k give the sense of the phrase thus, go a roundabout, winding, crooked way to my house, that the men of Sodom may not see you go in there, and know you are there. This is taken from the signification of the word to "turn in", which in a different construction signifies to decline, to go back; and so the Targum of Jonathan,"turn here, and there, and go into the house of your servant:"

and tarry all night, and wash your feet; the meaning is, that they would stay all night, and take up their lodging with him, when they had washed their feet, which was usually done before they laid down, and even before they supped; and indeed was the first thing that was done to a stranger upon his entering into the house, Gen 18:4,

and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways: signifying that he would not detain them longer than they thought fit; they might rise as soon in the morning as they pleased, and pursue their journey, only he entreats they would accept of a night's lodging with him:

and they said, nay, but we will abide in the street all night; which they said partly out of modesty, it not becoming strangers to be too forward in accepting an invitation, and partly to try whether Lot was hearty in the invitation he gave them; and hereby also reigning ignorance of the manners and behaviour of the men of Sodom, as if they might be safe from their insults in the street in the night; and this made Lot the more pressing upon them, that they might not be exposed to his wicked neighbours.

Gill: Gen 19:3 - And he pressed them greatly // and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house // and he made them a feast // and did bake unleavened bread // and they did eat And he pressed them greatly,.... He prayed, he entreated, he persuaded, he made use of a multitude of words, and of all the arguments he could think o...

And he pressed them greatly,.... He prayed, he entreated, he persuaded, he made use of a multitude of words, and of all the arguments he could think of, to prevail upon them; and might not only press them with words, but make use of gestures, as taking them by the hand, or by their clothes, and as it were forcing them into his house, whereby it plainly appeared he was cordial and hearty in his invitation:

and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house: went along with him to it, and instead of proceeding forward, or continuing where they were, or steering their course to a street in the city, they turned in to Lot's house:

and he made them a feast; a large, liberal, and generous entertainment, as Abraham did, consisting of a variety of eatables and drinkables; indeed it has its name only from drinking, wine being a principal part of a banquet:

and did bake unleavened bread; not because it was the time of the passover, as Jarchi suggests, for as yet that was not instituted; but for quicker dispatch, that his guests might have their supper the sooner, and get to bed the earlier, and rest themselves; bread without leaven in it being sooner baked than that which is made with it:

and they did eat; the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem are,"they seemed as if they ate.''See Gill on Gen 18:8;

Gill: Gen 19:4 - But before they lay down // the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round about // both old and young // all the people from every quarter But before they lay down,.... Upon their beds to sleep; it was between supper time and bedtime that the following affair happened, while the angels we...

But before they lay down,.... Upon their beds to sleep; it was between supper time and bedtime that the following affair happened, while the angels were talking to Lot about the men of Sodom, and inquiring what sort of men they were, as the Jewish writers l suggest:

the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round about; the house of Lot, where the angels were:

both old and young: the males of the city of every age; some that were past committing the sin they were so infamous for, as well as those that burned with that unnatural lust; some that could not be actors were willing to be spectators; and all were curious to see the lovely persons, that it was reported all over the city were seen to go into Lot's house:

all the people from every quarter; all from one end of the city to the other, and from every corner in it: which shows the general corruption and depravity of the city, that it was so far from having ten righteous persons in it, that of the proper inhabitants of it, there was not, as Jarchi notes, one righteous person, no, not one.

Gill: Gen 19:5 - And they called unto Lot // and said unto him, where are the men which came in to thee this night // bring them out unto us, that we may know them And they called unto Lot,.... With a loud voice, that he might hear, they being in the street, and he within doors; and perhaps there might be a court...

And they called unto Lot,.... With a loud voice, that he might hear, they being in the street, and he within doors; and perhaps there might be a court before his house, through which there was a passage up to it, as seems from Gen 19:6,

and said unto him, where are the men which came in to thee this night? for though they were angels, they appeared like men, and they seemed to be so to them who saw them go into Lot's house:

bring them out unto us, that we may know them; not who they were, and from whence they came, and what their business was; nor did they pretend anything of this kind to hide and cover their design from Lot, but they were open and impudent, and declared their sin without shame and blushing, which is their character, Isa 3:9; their meaning was, that they might commit that unnatural sin with them, they were addicted to, and in common used, and which from them to this day bears the name of Sodomy. As lawful copulation with a man's wife is modestly expressed by knowing her, Gen 4:1; so this unlawful and shocking copulation of man with man is expressed by this phrase; and that this was their meaning is plain from Lot's answer to them, Gen 19:8.

Gill: Gen 19:6 - And Lot went out at the door unto them // and shut the door after him And Lot went out at the door unto them,.... At the door of his house: and shut the door after him; the door of the passage to his house, the courty...

And Lot went out at the door unto them,.... At the door of his house:

and shut the door after him; the door of the passage to his house, the courtyard door, for another word is here used; unless the one was properly the door, and the other a hatch: however, this precaution of shutting it was used to prevent the men of Sodom rushing in, and taking away the men by violence; and that Lot might have some opportunity of trying what he could do by arguments, to prevail upon them to desist from their attempt.

Gill: Gen 19:7 - And said, I pray you, brethren // do not so wickedly And said, I pray you, brethren,.... Not by family or nation, for the Sodomites were of the race of Ham, in the line of Canaan, and Lot was a descendan...

And said, I pray you, brethren,.... Not by family or nation, for the Sodomites were of the race of Ham, in the line of Canaan, and Lot was a descendant of Shem, in the line of Arphaxad; nor by religion, for the one were idolaters, and the other a worshipper of the true God, but by community of nature; and especially he called them so by reason of their having been neighbours considerable time, and on the score of friendship, see 1Ki 9:13; and with this soft and loving language Lot hoped to win his neighbours, and to persuade them from pursuing their unlawful measures: for which purpose and that alone he used it, saying to them:

do not so wickedly; as to use ill a man's guests, to abuse strangers, to break the laws and rules of hospitality, and especially to commit that unnatural sin they were bent upon.

Gill: Gen 19:8 - Behold now, I have two daughters, which have not known man // let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes // only unto these men do nothing // for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof Behold now, I have two daughters, which have not known man,.... Though some think they were espoused to men, but had not yet cohabited with them, see ...

Behold now, I have two daughters, which have not known man,.... Though some think they were espoused to men, but had not yet cohabited with them, see Gen 19:14,

let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes; this was a very great evil in Lot to make such an offer of his daughters; it was contrary to parental love and affection, an exposing the chastity of his daughters, which should have been his care to preserve; nor had he a power to dispose of them in such a manner: and though fornication is a lesser evil than sodomy, yet all evil is to be avoided, and even it is not to be done that good may come: nothing can be said to excuse this good man, but the hurry of spirit, and confusion of mind that he was in, not knowing what to say or do to prevent the base designs of those men; that he might be pretty certain they would not accept of his offer, their lust burning more after men than women; that this showed his great regard to the laws of hospitality, that he had rather sacrifice his daughters to their brutal lusts, than give up the men that were in his house to them; and that he might hope that this would soften their minds, and put them off of any further attempt; but after all it must be condemned as a dangerous and imprudent action:

only unto these men do nothing; for as yet he knew them not to be angels; had he, it would not have given him the concern it did, since he must have known that they were able to defend themselves, and that the sin these men offered to commit could not be perpetrated on them: but he took them for mere men, and his request is, that no injury might be done to their persons in any respect, and especially in that way which their wicked hearts put them upon, and is so shocking to nature:

for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof; for though it was not their intention in coming, nor the design of Providence in bringing them into Lot's house, to secure them from the violence of the men of Sodom, but for the preservation of Lot and his family, which as yet he knew nothing of, yet it was what Lot had in view in giving the invitation to them: and the laws of hospitality being reckoned sacred and inviolable, a man's house was accounted an asylum for strangers when taken into it.

Gill: Gen 19:9 - And they said, stand back // and they said again // this one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge // now will we deal worse with thee than with them // and they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot // and came near to break the door And they said, stand back,.... Turn on one side, get away from the door, that we may come to it: and they said again: to one another: this one ...

And they said, stand back,.... Turn on one side, get away from the door, that we may come to it:

and they said again: to one another:

this one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge; this one man, and he a stranger and sojourner, no freeman or citizen of this city, sets himself against the whole body of the inhabitants, and takes upon him to judge what is right and wrong to be done; and if he is let alone in "judging he will judge" m, as it may be rendered; he will take upon him this office, and continue to exercise it, and determine and decide all matters among us at his pleasure. This confutes the above notion of the Jews, that Lot was appointed a judge by the men of Sodom, yea, the president of the court for that day; See Gill on Gen 19:1,

now will we deal worse with thee than with them: the men in his house, both by abusing his body in their unnatural way, and by beating and bruising him, and pulling him in pieces, limb from limb; something of this kind they seem to threaten him with, and attempted to effect, as follows:

and they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot; not only with words in a bullying way, with menaces and threats, with oaths, and curses, and imprecations; for it is the same word that is used of Lot, pressing the angels with words and arguments to come into his house, Gen 19:3; but they rushed in upon him in a body, and pushed him away, and pulled him about, and would in all probability have torn him to pieces, had he not been rescued by the angels:

and came near to break the door: that which was shut, the door of the passage that led to the house.

Gill: Gen 19:10 - But the men put forth their hand // and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door But the men put forth their hand,.... They came to the door, and opened it, and put out their hands, one on one side the door, and the other on the ot...

But the men put forth their hand,.... They came to the door, and opened it, and put out their hands, one on one side the door, and the other on the other:

and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door; and thus they rescued Lot from the fury and rage of the men of Sodom, and prevented his daughters being exposed unto them, as he had offered. This action showed them to be more than men, that they should open the door, take in Lot, and shut it so suddenly, that the men of Sodom could take no advantage of it, could neither retain Lot, nor enter the door when opened, and especially what follows.

Gill: Gen 19:11 - And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great // so that they wearied themselves to find the door And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great,.... with "blindnesses" n; with extreme blindness, wit...

And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great,.... with "blindnesses" n; with extreme blindness, with blindness both of eye and heart, as Aben Ezra interprets it; and indeed had they not been given up to a judicial blindness and hardness of heart, such a stroke upon them might have convinced them that their ways were evil, and their works not right, and that by them they had incurred the displeasure of God, and would desisted from their enterprise; but, on the contrary, they went on with it, and sought with all diligence and labour as much as possible to effect it. The word for "blindness" is only used here and in 2Ki 6:18, and denotes a peculiar sort of blindness; not an entire blindness with respect to every object, but only with regard to that they were intent upon; for otherwise they would not have continued about Lot's house, or fatigued themselves with searching for the door of it, but would rather have been glad to have groped to their own houses as well as they could: and thus it was with the Syrians, when they were smitten at the prayer of Elisha, it was not total, for they could follow the prophet in the way he went and led them, but they could not see their way to the place where they intended to go; and so these men of Sodom could see other objects, but not the door of Lot's house, their heads were so confused, and their imaginations so disturbed as in drunken men; or the medium of the visive faculty, the air, so altered, or the form of the object to be seen so changed, that they could not discern it; when they saw the door, it looked like the wall, and that which seemed to them to be the door, proved to be the wall:

so that they wearied themselves to find the door; went backwards and forwards, fancying the door was here, and then it was there, and when they came to it, they perceived it was not; and thus they went to and fro, until they were quite weary of seeking it, and despaired of finding it, and left off.

Gill: Gen 19:12 - And the men said unto Lot // hast thou here any besides // son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters // and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place And the men said unto Lot,.... When they had got him into the house again, they began to make themselves known unto him, and to acquaint him with the ...

And the men said unto Lot,.... When they had got him into the house again, they began to make themselves known unto him, and to acquaint him with the business they came to do:

hast thou here any besides? which they ask not as being ignorant, though angels know not everything relative to men, but to show their great regard to Lot, who had been so kind to them, and so careful of them; that for his sake they would save them all, if they would take the benefit of their protection, and in this they doubtless had the mind of God revealed to them:

son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters; it should be rendered either "son-in-law, or thy sons, or thy daughters" o; if thou hast any son-in-law that has married a daughter of thine, or any sons of thine own that live from thee; or grandsons, the sons of thy married daughters, as Jarchi interprets it; or any other daughters besides those two we here see:

and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place; that is, whatsoever relations he had, whether more near or remote; for as for his goods, whether in his own house, or in any other part of the city, there was no time for saving them.

Gill: Gen 19:13 - For we will destroy this place // because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord // and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it For we will destroy this place,.... Or "we are destroying it" p, are about to do it, and will quickly and immediately do it: because the cry of the...

For we will destroy this place,.... Or "we are destroying it" p, are about to do it, and will quickly and immediately do it:

because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; the cry of the sins of the inhabitants of it, which were many, and openly, and daringly committed, and reached to heaven, and called for immediate vengeance and punishment:

and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it; by which they discovered themselves to be angels, and what their business was, to destroy Sodom; and which confutes the notion of the Jews, that they were sent on different errands; whereas it is clear from hence, these two were sent to do one and the same thing; See Gill on Gen 18:2.

Gill: Gen 19:14 - And Lot went out // and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters // and said, up, get ye out of this place // for the Lord will destroy this city // but he seemed as one that mocked to his sons in law And Lot went out,.... From his house, after the men of Sodom were gone from it, and before the morning, very probably about midnight: and spake unt...

And Lot went out,.... From his house, after the men of Sodom were gone from it, and before the morning, very probably about midnight:

and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters: according to Aben Ezra, he had two other daughters that perished in Sodom, which he gathers from Gen 19:15, "which are here", as if he had some elsewhere; and so Jarchi says, he had two daughters married in the city. And the Jewish writers q speak of one of them, whose name was Pelothith, married to one of the grandees of Sodom: but it seems rather, that these were the daughters Lot had at home with him; who, according to Josephus r were espoused to men in the city, but not yet married; and on account of such espousals, as were usual in the eastern countries, Lot calls them his sons-in-law, as they were intended, and so the words may be rendered, "that were about to take his daughters" s; to take them for wives, and to their own houses, neither of which they had as yet done; for if these had been daughters of his married, and taken home, he would not only have spoke unto their husbands, but to them also; and would have been still more pressing upon them to arise and make their escape; of which nothing is said, nor of any answer of theirs to him, only of his sons-in-law, as they are called on the above account:

and said, up, get ye out of this place; that is, get up from your beds, anne immediately, and make your escape out of the city:

for the Lord will destroy this city; now, directly, immediately; therefore there is no time to be lost, but at once prepare for your safety:

but he seemed as one that mocked to his sons in law; as one that was in jest, and had a mind to have a little sport with them, to get them out of their beds, and put them into a flight, and then laugh at them.

Gill: Gen 19:15 - And when the morning arose // then the angels hastened Lot // saying, arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here // lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city And when the morning arose,.... When it was break of day, for as yet the sun was not risen, nor did it rise until Lot got to Zoar, Gen 19:23. He was n...

And when the morning arose,.... When it was break of day, for as yet the sun was not risen, nor did it rise until Lot got to Zoar, Gen 19:23. He was now returned from his sons-in-law, and by this time it began to be light:

then the angels hastened Lot; urged him to get out of his house as fast as he could:

saying, arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; from whence Aben Ezra, and others, have concluded, as has been observed, that he had other daughters elsewhere, which they suppose were married to men of Sodom; but the phrase, "which are here", or "are found", or "are present" t, relates to his wife, as well as his daughters, and only signifies, that he should take all his relations that were present; and these may be only opposed to and distinguished from his sons-in-law that were absent, and refused to hearken to his advice and exhortations. Onkelos paraphrases the words, "who are found faithful with thee"; who believed what the angels said concerning the destruction of Sodom, as well as he, as did his wife and two daughters:

lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city; in the punishment inflicted on the city for their iniquity. See Rev 18:4.

Gill: Gen 19:16 - And while he lingered // the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters // the Lord being merciful unto him // and they brought him forth, and set him without the city And while he lingered,.... Delayed going out of his house, either loath to leave his goods and substance behind him; or waiting to see whether his son...

And while he lingered,.... Delayed going out of his house, either loath to leave his goods and substance behind him; or waiting to see whether his sons-in-law would come to him; or, as others, praying that God would spare the city: though rather the sense is, that he was so amazed, and filled with horror and trembling at the thought of what judgments were coming on the city, that he was like one stupid, that had no power to stir nor move, which seems best to agree with the sense of the word used u:

the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; one of them took hold of his hand with one of his hands, and on his wife's with the other, and the second took hold of one of his daughters with one hand, and of the other with his other hand, and so led them out:

the Lord being merciful unto him; and so saved them from the ruin and destruction of the city, in which had they stayed a little longer they would have been involved. It was not owing to their merits, but to the mercy of God that they were spared:

and they brought him forth, and set him without the city; not him only, but his wife and two daughters also, and having so done, left them and returned to the city; for so the last clause may be rendered, "and left him without the city" w, to shift for themselves; or rather well knowing that there would be one that would immediately appear and take them under his care and protection, as the event shows.

Gill: Gen 19:17 - And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad // that he said, escape for thy life // look not behind thee // neither stay thou in all the plain // escape to the mountain, lest thou be destroyed, lest thou be consumed And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad,.... Into the fields of Sodom, or the suburbs of it: that he said, escape for thy life...

And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad,.... Into the fields of Sodom, or the suburbs of it:

that he said, escape for thy life; not one of the two men or angels that had been with him all the night past, for they had now left him, and were gone back to the city: but Jehovah the Son of God, who had been communing with Abraham, and now came to Sodom, and appeared to Lot, just at the time the two angels left him, and bid him escape with all haste, if he had any regard for his life, and that of those with him:

look not behind thee; as showing any concern for his goods and substance he had left behind him, or for his sons-in-law, who refused to come with him, and much less for the wicked inhabitants of the city; and this command was not given to Lot only, but to his wife and daughters, as appears by the sequel:

neither stay thou in all the plain: in the plain of Jordan, for the whole plain, and the cities in it, were to be destroyed:

escape to the mountain, lest thou be destroyed, lest thou be consumed; the same mountain the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, and they that were with them after the battle of the kings, fled to, Gen 14:10; here only he and his could be safe from the conflagration of the plain.

Gill: Gen 19:18 - And Lot said unto them // oh, not so, my Lord And Lot said unto them,.... Supposing three present, not observing that the two angels had left him that had brought him thither; though it is but to ...

And Lot said unto them,.... Supposing three present, not observing that the two angels had left him that had brought him thither; though it is but to one of them he addresses himself, even to him who had bid him make the best of his way to the mountain, as appears by what follows:

oh, not so, my Lord; that is, let me not be obliged to go so far as to the mountain; though R. Samuel takes it to be an assent, and interprets the phrase of his being willing: but this does not agree with what follows, and is rejected by Aben Ezra, who relates it; and who also observes, that the word "Lord" is a common name, that is, that belongs to a creature; but Jarchi says their Rabbins take it to be an holy name, that is, a name that belongs to God, and gives a good reason why it is so to be understood here; since the person spoken to had it in his power to kill or make alive, to save or destroy, as the following words show; so Ben Melech and the Targum of Oukelos render it by Jehovah.

Gill: Gen 19:19 - Behold, now thy servant hath found grace in thy sight // and thou hast magnified thy mercy which thou hast showed unto me in saving my life // and I cannot // escape to the mountain // lest some evil take me, and I die Behold, now thy servant hath found grace in thy sight,.... In sending two of his angels to him, to inform him of the approaching destruction of Sodom;...

Behold, now thy servant hath found grace in thy sight,.... In sending two of his angels to him, to inform him of the approaching destruction of Sodom; to pluck him out of it as a brand out of the burning, and to place him without the city, and in directing and encouraging him to escape for his life:

and thou hast magnified thy mercy which thou hast showed unto me in saving my life; he owns it was owing to the mercy of this illustrious Person, whom he knew and acknowledges, by what he says, to be a divine one, that his life was saved; and that this appeared exceeding great in it, that he should spare him and his family, when such multitudes of souls would perish; and he might have perished with the rest, if he had not had timely notice in such a gracious manner:

and I cannot, or, "but now x, I cannot"

escape to the mountain; it is too far for me; he signifies that his strength would not hold out through the fatigues of the night past, and want of sleep and rest; but this was owing more to the infirmity of his mind than of his body, for he could go to this same mountain afterwards:

lest some evil take me, and I die; or "that evil" y, the burning of Sodom, and the cities of the plain, lest that should overtake him before he got to the mountain: thus he began to distrust the power of God to strengthen him to go thither, who had appeared so wonderfully for him in his present deliverance; and he might have assured himself, that he that brought him out of Sodom would never suffer him to perish in the destruction of it.

Gill: Gen 19:20 - Behold now, this city is near to flee unto // and it is a little one // oh, let me escape thither, ( is it not a little one?) // and my soul shall live Behold now, this city is near to flee unto,.... Pointing to Bela, afterwards called Zoar, from what follows: it is said to be two miles distant from ...

Behold now, this city is near to flee unto,.... Pointing to Bela, afterwards called Zoar, from what follows: it is said to be two miles distant from Sodom z. But the Jews a say it was four miles, and some say b five; for they reckon that a man may go five miles from the ascent of the morning (or break of day) till the sun shines out:

and it is a little one: a little city, and the houses and buildings in it few, the inhabitants few; and the sins of it few, as the Targum of Jonathan adds, in comparison of Sodom and Gomorrah; and therefore Lot hoped this favour would be granted him, that this city might be saved, and he be allowed to flee to it, and go no further; but others think this refers not to the city, which some say c was a large and spacious one, but to his request, that it was a small thing he asked, and hoped therefore it would not be denied, and in which he was very importunate:

oh, let me escape thither, ( is it not a little one?); or "is it not a little thing" d? a small request that I make:

and my soul shall live: I shall not only be able to get thither, and so my life will be preserved; but I shall be in good spirits, rejoice and be glad, that I am got safe and out of the reach of danger; my spirits, which are now faint, and therefore can never think of getting so far as to the mountain, but, if this favour is granted me, they will revive, and I shall cheerfully pursue my journey thither, and be comfortable.

Gill: Gen 19:21 - And he said unto him, see, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also // that I will not overthrow this city for the which thou hast spoken And he said unto him, see, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also,.... Accepted thy prayer and granted thy request, as well as in other thing...

And he said unto him, see, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also,.... Accepted thy prayer and granted thy request, as well as in other things; shown grace and mercy to thee: or, "have lifted up thy face" e; alluding to the custom of the eastern countries, where persons, when they come into the presence of their superiors, used to prostrate their faces to the ground; when, as a token of their acceptance of them, and good will to them, they used to order them to be lifted up, or them to lift up their faces, and stand before them:

that I will not overthrow this city for the which thou hast spoken; for, though he had not in express words petitioned that the city might be spared, yet he had tacitly done it, insomuch as he had requested he might flee unto it, where he could not have been safe had it been destroyed.

Gill: Gen 19:22 - Haste thee, escape thither // for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither // therefore the name of the city was called Zoar Haste thee, escape thither,.... Seeing he had granted him his request, he is urgent upon him to be gone, and not to delay upon any account, or make ot...

Haste thee, escape thither,.... Seeing he had granted him his request, he is urgent upon him to be gone, and not to delay upon any account, or make other excuses:

for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither; that is, consistent with the decree of God, that Lot and his family should be delivered and preserved, and with his promise made to him, that he would not overthrow that city; and therefore the catastrophe which would befall all the cities at once could not begin until he was safely arrived there:

therefore the name of the city was called Zoar; in later times, and probably first by Lot, from his use of the word "little", which was his request, which Zoar signifies; it before was called Bela, see Gen 14:2.

Gill: Gen 19:23 - And the sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. And the sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Which is observed partly to point at the time of his entrance into the city, and of t...

And the sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Which is observed partly to point at the time of his entrance into the city, and of the burning of Sodom, which began at the same time; and partly to show what a fine morning it was, and what little appearance there was of such a tempest rising as quickly did; so that the inhabitants of Sodom, who were up so early, little thought of so sudden a catastrophe, and those that were in their beds were at once surprised with it: it was a morning of light and joy to Lot, who was so wonderfully delivered, but a dreadful one to the men of Sodom and the rest of the cities of the plain, with whom the scene was soon altered; likewise from hence it appeared, that the following tempest was extraordinary, and did not proceed from natural causes.

Gill: Gen 19:24 - Then the Lord rained upon Sodom, and upon Gomorrah, brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. Then the Lord rained upon Sodom, and upon Gomorrah, brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And not upon those two cities only, but upon Admah...

Then the Lord rained upon Sodom, and upon Gomorrah, brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And not upon those two cities only, but upon Admah and Zeboiim also, see Deu 29:23; this was not a common storm of thunder and lightning, with which often there is a smell of sulphur or brimstone; but this was a continued shower of sulphurous fire, or of burning flaming brimstone, which at once consumed those cities and the inhabitants of them; and the land adjacent being bituminous, or however some parts of it, full of slimepits, or pits of bitumen, a liquid of a pitchy quality, Gen 14:10; this flaming sulphur falling thereon, must burn in a most fierce and furious manner; and which utterly consumed not only houses, goods, and everything upon the land, but the land itself, and turned it into a bituminous lake, called to this day, from thence, the Lake Asphaltites, the Greek word for bitumen being "asphaltos". Of this conflagration some Heathen writers speak, as particularly Tacitus f who says, some large and famous cities, or, as some copies have it, Jewish ones, not far from Jordan, were struck with thunderbolts, and were fired "igni ceolesti", with fire from heaven, and were consumed; and so Solinus g relates, that,"at some distance from Jerusalem, a sorrowful lake appears, which the black ground testifies was stricken by heaven and turned into ashes; where were two towns, the one called Sodomum, the other Gomorrum.''This was a righteous judgment on those cities, and a just retaliation for their sin; their sin was an unnatural one, and nature is inverted to punish them, fire comes down from heaven, or hell from heaven, as Salvian's words are, to consume them; they burned with lusts one against another, and flaming sheets of sulphurous fire fall upon them, burn and destroy them; and, in allusion to this terrible conflagration, hell is called the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, Jud 1:7 Rev 20:14; and this destruction was brought upon them by Jehovah the Son of God, who had appeared to Abraham in an human form, and gave him notice of it, and heard all he had to plead for those cities, and then departed from him to Sodom, and was the author of this sad catastrophe; this amazing shower of fire and brimstone was rained by him from Jehovah his Father, out of heaven; so the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem both call him, the Word of the Lord.

Gill: Gen 19:25 - And he overthrew those cities // and all the plain // and all the inhabitants of the cities // and that which grew upon the ground And he overthrew those cities,.... Of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim: very probably at the same time that this fiery tempest was in the heavens, ...

And he overthrew those cities,.... Of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim: very probably at the same time that this fiery tempest was in the heavens, there was an earthquake which overthrew the cities; and so Strabo h makes the lake, which is now the place where they stood, to be owing to earthquakes and eruptions of fire, and of hot bituminous and sulphurous waters; and says nothing of fire from heaven, which yet Tacitus and Solinus do, being unacquainted with the sacred history:

and all the plain; the plain of Jordan, and the cities on it, all but Zoar; not all the five cities, as Josephus i: Egesippus k and other authors mistake, only the four above mentioned. Strabo l speaks of thirteen cities being formerly upon this spot, of which Sodom was the metropolis:

and all the inhabitants of the cities; none were spared, all were destroyed, but Lot, his wife, and two daughters:

and that which grew upon the ground; the trees, herbs, and plants; these were all turned up by the earthquake, and burnt with fire from heaven: Tacitus, in his account of this conflagration, says,"the fields, which were formerly fruitful, and inhabited by many cities, were burnt up with lightning; and there are traces (he adds) yet remain; the earth itself looks torrid, and has lost its fruitful virtue; for whatsoever grows up of itself, or is sown and rises up in the plant or flower, or grows up to its usual species, becomes black and empty, and vanishes into ashes.''The place where those cities stood is now a lake, and is sometimes called the salt sea, Gen 14:3; and sometimes the dead sea, because it is said, no creature can live in it; and sometimes called the Lake Asphaltites, from its bituminous and pitchy quality: though Reland o has attempted to confute the notion that the cities of Sodom, &c. stood where this lake now is: and the many things that have been reported of this lake and parts adjacent, by various historians, supposed to be of good credit, are by modern travellers exploded p; as those of no living creature being bred in it; of bodies not sinking in it; and of birds being unable to fly over it; and of the cities appearing under water in a clear day; and of the apples of Sodom, which look beautiful to the eye, but when touched fall into ashes; many of which Josephus q himself relates: indeed, Ludovicus Vartomanus r, a traveller in those parts in the beginning of the sixteenth century, says,"there yet remain the ruins of the destroyed city, as a witness of God's wrath; we may affirm, there are three cities, and each of them situated on the decline of three hills, and the ruins appear about the height of three or four cubits; there is yet seen, I scarce know what, something like blood, or rather like red wax mixed with earth:''and our countryman Mr. Sandys s, though he questions some of the above things before related, especially concerning the apples, yet says,"not far from thence grows a tree whose fruit is like a green walnut, which he saw, and which they say never ripens.''This lake of Sodom, according to Josephus t, is five hundred and eighty furlongs in length unto Zoar, and one hundred fifty broad; but, according to modern accounts, it is twenty four leagues in length, and six or seven in breadth u; the Arabic geographer w says, it is sixty miles in length, and twelve in breadth; it is now called by the Arabs, Bahar Louth, Lot's lake.

Gill: Gen 19:26 - But his wife looked back from behind him // and she became a pillar of salt But his wife looked back from behind him,.... That is, the wife of Lot, whose name the Jewish writers x say was Adith, or as others Irith y; and, acco...

But his wife looked back from behind him,.... That is, the wife of Lot, whose name the Jewish writers x say was Adith, or as others Irith y; and, according to the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem, she was a native of Sodom: now, as they were going from Sodom to Zoar, she was behind Lot, his back was to her, so that he could not see her; this was a temptation to her to look back, since her husband could not see her; and this she did, either, as the above paraphrases suggest, that she might see what would be the end of her father's house and family, or whether her married daughters, if she had any, were following her, after whom her bowels yearned; or being grieved for the goods and substance left behind, and for the people of Sodom in general, for whom she had too much concern; however, be it on what account it may, she was severely punished for it:

and she became a pillar of salt; was struck dead at once, either by the immediate hand of God, or by the shower of fire and brimstone; and her body was at once changed into a metallic substance, a kind of salt, hard and durable, such as Pliny z speaks of, cut out of rocks, with which houses were built, and hardened with the sun, and could scarcely be cut with an iron instrument; so that she did not fall to the ground, but stood up erect as a pillar, retaining very probably the human form, Josephus a says, this pillar continued to his times, and that he saw it; Irenaeus b and Tertullian c speak of it as in their times, a thing incredible; and Benjamin of Tudela says d, it stood in his times two parsas from the sea of Sodom; and though the flocks were continually licking it, yet it grew again to its former size. Rauwolff e relates something of the same kind by information, but not on his own testimony; that the pilgrims who visit it used to beat off some small pieces, and yet was found whole again; nay, which is beyond all credit, that they once knocked off a whole hand and took it away, and when they returned found it whole again: and one f that travelled in those parts in the beginning of the sixteenth century affirms, that almost in the midway to Zoar is seen to this day the pillar of salt into which Lot's wife was turned; he does not say indeed that he saw it, but leaves his reader to think so; and the Jerusalem Targum says, it will remain until the resurrection; but modern travellers of credit and intelligence could never see it; and when they have inquired of the country people about it, they either tell them there is no such thing, or say it stands in the mountains, where it cannot be come at, because of the Arabs, or because of wild beasts g: but no doubt there was such a statue, but how long it continued cannot be said; nor should it be thought incredible, when there are similar facts affirmed by authors of the best credit and reputation: Aventinus h reports, that in Bavaria, in 1348, more than fifty peasants, with the cows they had milked, at the time of an earthquake were struck with a pestilential air, and stiffened into statues of salt, and which he himself saw, and the chancellor of Austria: and Bisselius relates i, that Didacus Almagrus, who was the first person that with his army penetrated through the cold countries from Peru into Chile, lost abundance of his men, through the extremity of the cold and a pestiferous air; and that, returning to the same place five months afterwards, he found his men, horse and foot, standing unmoved, unconsumed, in the same situation, form, and habit, the pestilence had fastened them; one lying on the ground, another standing upright, another holding his bridle in his hand, as if about to shake it; in short, he found them just as he left them, without any ill smell or colour, common to corpses: indeed, the very fables of the Heathens, which seem to be hammered out of this history, serve to confirm the truth of the whole of it: as the fable of Jupiter and Mercury coming to a certain place in Phrygia, where they were hospitably entertained by Baucis and Philemon, when the doors were shut against them by others; wherefore they directed their guests, after being entertained by them, to leave the place and follow them to the mountains, when they turned the town into a standing lake k: and also that of Niobe being changed into a marble stone while weeping for the death of her children: and of Olenus and Lethaea, turned into stones also l. But, leaving these, and passing by other instances that might be observed, we are directed to remember this wonderful case by our Lord himself, Luk 17:32; and it should be an instruction to us not to look back nor turn back from the profession of the true religion we have made, but to follow Christ, and abide by his truths and ordinances.

Gill: Gen 19:27 - And Abraham got up early in the morning // to the place where he stood before the Lord And Abraham got up early in the morning,.... Perhaps he had had but little sleep the whole night, his thoughts being taken up with what was to befall ...

And Abraham got up early in the morning,.... Perhaps he had had but little sleep the whole night, his thoughts being taken up with what was to befall the cities of the plain; and especially being in great concern for Lot and his family:

to the place where he stood before the Lord; Gen 18:22; to the very spot of ground where he had stood the day before in the presence of the Lord, and had conversed with him, and prayed unto him; and so the Targum of Jonathan,"to the place where he ministered in prayer before the Lord;''here he came and stood waiting for an answer to his prayers; and perhaps this place was an eminence, from whence he could have a view of the plain of Jordan and the cities on it; and so it appears from Gen 19:28.

Gill: Gen 19:28 - And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain // and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain,.... To see how it fared with them: very probably the Lord had hinted it...

And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain,.... To see how it fared with them: very probably the Lord had hinted it to him, that the destruction would be that morning, and therefore he rose early, got to the place bearly, and being on an eminence, looked wistly to see if he could observe any sign of it:

and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace; after the fiery shower was over, and the cities burnt down, the smoke ascended toward heaven, as the smoke of mystical Babylon will do, Rev 19:3; like the reek of a boiling cauldron; or, as Jarchi, like the smoke of a lime kiln always burning.

Gill: Gen 19:29 - And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain // that God remembered Abraham // and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow // when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain,.... Not when he had destroyed them, but when he was about to destroy them; for Lot wa...

And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain,.... Not when he had destroyed them, but when he was about to destroy them; for Lot was sent out from them, and delivered out of them, before they were destroyed; and therefore Noldius rightly renders the words, "before God destroyed" m them:

that God remembered Abraham; his promise to him, that he would bless them that blessed him, Gen 12:3; and his prayer to him for Lot in Gen 18:23; for, though he does not mention him by name, he bore him on his heart, and he was always in the number of the righteous ones, on whose account he interceded for the sparing of the cities; and, though God did not hear and answer him with regard to the cities, yet he did with respect to the righteous men in them:

and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow; by two angels, who took him by the hand and brought him out of Sodom, now overthrown:

when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt; that is, in one of which Lot dwelt, namely, Sodom, as Aben Ezra rightly observes, comparing the passage with Jdg 12:7; unless it can be thought that Lot first dwelt in one of those cities and then in another, and first and last in them all, which is not very likely.

Gill: Gen 19:30 - And Lot went up out of Zoar // and dwelt in the mountain // and his two daughters with him // for he feared to dwell in Zoar // and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters And Lot went up out of Zoar,.... Which lay in the plain, and therefore when he went from thence to the mountain, it was by an ascent: and dwelt in ...

And Lot went up out of Zoar,.... Which lay in the plain, and therefore when he went from thence to the mountain, it was by an ascent:

and dwelt in the mountain; which the Lord had directed him to go to before, but was unwilling, and chose Zoar, and desired he might flee thither, and that that might be spared; but now he likes God's advice for him better than his own, and therefore betook himself to the mountain, where he might think himself safest, and where he continued; very probably this was the mountain Engaddi, under which Zoar is said to lie by Adrichomius n:

and his two daughters with him: his wife was turned into a pillar of salt, and these two were all of his family that with him were saved from the destruction; and these are the rather mentioned for the sake of an anecdote hereafter related:

for he feared to dwell in Zoar; it being near to Sodom; and the smoke of that city and the rest might not only be terrible but troublesome to him, and the tremor of the earth might continue and reach as far as Zoar; and perceiving the waters to rise and overflow the plain, which formed the lake where the cities stood, he might fear they would reach to Zoar and swallow up that; and especially his fears were increased, when he found the inhabitants were as wicked as those of the other cities, and were unreformed by the judgment on them; and so he might fear that a like shower of fire would descend on them and destroy them, as it had the rest, though it had been spared for a while at his intercession; and, according to the Jewish writers o, it remained but one year after Sodom:

and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters; which was in the mountain, the mountain of Engedi. Josephus p makes mention of the mountains of Engedi; and here was a cave, where David with six hundred men were, in the sides of it, when Saul went into it, 1Sa 24:1; and perhaps may be the same cave where Lot and his two daughters lived.

Gill: Gen 19:31 - And the firstborn said unto the younger // our father is old // and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth And the firstborn said unto the younger,.... That is, the firstborn of those two, or the elder of them; for, if Lot had other daughters that were marr...

And the firstborn said unto the younger,.... That is, the firstborn of those two, or the elder of them; for, if Lot had other daughters that were married in Sodom, it is probable they were elder than either of these: Aben Ezra intimates, that Lot had another wife, who died first, and these were by his second; the following motion is made by the eldest of them to the youngest, as being bolder, having more authority, and a greater influence to persuade:

our father is old; if he was fifty years of age when he was taken captive by the kings, as says the Jewish chronologer q he must now be sixty five, since the destruction of Sodom, according to Bishop Usher r, was fifteen years after that:

and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth; to marry them, cohabit with them, and procreate children of them, which was the common way of the propagation of mankind in the earth; they thought the whole world was destroyed by fire, as it had been by a flood; they understood it would be no more consumed by water, but they had been told it would be by fire, and they imagined the time was now come, and this was the case; that not only Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire, and that by this time the fire had reached to Zoar, and had consumed that, but that the whole earth was destroyed, and not a man left but their father, and therefore thought it could be excusable in them, and lawful for them to take the following method to repopulate the world; or else they supposed there were none in the land, the land of Canaan, not of any of their kindred and relations, for they might be ignorant of Abraham and his family, or however of any good man that they knew of, that they could be joined to in marriage; for as for the inhabitants of Zoar, they had just left, they were as wicked as any, and therefore could not think of living with them in such a near relation: but all this is not a sufficient excuse for contriving and executing what is after related; for they should have inquired of their father, who could have informed them better.

Gill: Gen 19:32 - Come, let us make our father drink wine // and we will lie with him, that we may preserve the seed of our father Come, let us make our father drink wine,.... Meaning to excess, so as to be inebriated with it, and not know what he did: this wine might be brought w...

Come, let us make our father drink wine,.... Meaning to excess, so as to be inebriated with it, and not know what he did: this wine might be brought with them from Sodom, with other provisions for their refreshment and support; or it may be rather from Zoar, where they furnished themselves with a quantity for their support in the mountain they betook themselves unto:

and we will lie with him, that we may preserve the seed of our father; have children by him, and propagate and preserve the human species; this they might think lawful, such incestuous copulations being usual among their neighbours the Arabs, as appears from Strabo s and other writers, and especially when there seemed to them to be a necessity for it; and it may be this did not arise from a spirit of uncleanness, or a brutish lust prevailing in them, having been religiously educated, and having preserved their chastity among such an impure generation as the men of Sodom: wherefore this might rather arise, as Bishop Patrick and others have thought, from an eager desire after the Messiah, they might hope would spring from them; their father being a descendant of Shem, a son of Abraham's elder brother, and now remarkably saved from Sodom, which they might conclude was for this purpose; and they knew of no way in which it could be brought about but in this they proposed; and the rather this may be thought to be their view, as the above learned commentator observes, when we remark their former chaste life in Sodom; their joining together in this contrivance, which, had it been a lustful business, they would have been ashamed to have communicated their thoughts of it to one another; and their imposition of names on their children to perpetuate the memory of this fact, which they rather gloried in, than were ashamed of: to which may be added, that the ancient Jewish writers t interpret this of the Messiah; and they observe,"it is not said a son, but seed, that seed, which is he that comes from another place: and what is this? this is the King Messiah:''and Ruth, the Moabitess, who was of the race of the eldest daughter of Lot, stands in the genealogy of our Lord, Mat 1:5, however, let the intention be ever so good, it will, not justify an action so monstrously vile.

Gill: Gen 19:33 - And they made their father drink wine that night // and the firstborn went in and lay with her father // and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose And they made their father drink wine that night,.... They persuaded him to drink liberally, urged him to it again, in order to make him drunk, and so...

And they made their father drink wine that night,.... They persuaded him to drink liberally, urged him to it again, in order to make him drunk, and so complete their design; and Lot might be the more prevailed upon to drink freely, in order to remove his sorrow, and refresh his spirits under the loss of his wife, and his daughters, if he had any married in Sodom, as some suppose, and his sons-in-law, and of all his goods and substance; though this will not excuse his drinking to excess, nor can ignorance of the strength of wine be pleaded, since he must needs know it as well as his daughters, who, it is plain, did, and therefore plied him with it:

and the firstborn went in and lay with her father; went to his bed, and lay down by him, which she would not have dared to have done, but that she knew he was drunk and insensible:

and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose: never heard her come to bed nor get up, so dead drunk and fast asleep was he; but finding a woman in bed with him, lay with her, taking her to be his wife, forgetting, through the force of liquor, that she was dead. There is an extraordinary prick on the Vau in Kumah, rendered "she arose", which the Jews say u is to show that he knew her not when she lay down, but when she arose he knew her; and indeed it may be rendered, but in her rising up.

Gill: Gen 19:34 - And it came to pass on the morrow // that the firstborn said to the younger, behold, I lay yesternight with my father // let us make him drink wine this night also, and go thou in and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father And it came to pass on the morrow,.... The day following the night, in which the above was transacted: that the firstborn said to the younger, beho...

And it came to pass on the morrow,.... The day following the night, in which the above was transacted:

that the firstborn said to the younger, behold, I lay yesternight with my father; informed her, that what they had contrived succeeded according to their wish, and therefore, for her encouragement to go on, proposes to take the same method again:

let us make him drink wine this night also, and go thou in and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father; may have children by him, and so our family be kept up, from whence it may be hoped the Messiah will spring; see Gill on Gen 19:32.

Gill: Gen 19:35 - And they made their father drink wine that night also // and the younger arose and lay with him // and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose And they made their father drink wine that night also,.... Until he was drunk; which is an aggravation of his sin, that he should be overtaken a secon...

And they made their father drink wine that night also,.... Until he was drunk; which is an aggravation of his sin, that he should be overtaken a second time, and that so soon as the next night, when he ought to have been upon his guard, knowing how he had fallen into it the night before:

and the younger arose and lay with him; arose from her own bed, and went to her father's, and lay down by him:

and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose; See Gill on Gen 19:33.

Gill: Gen 19:36 - Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. We learn from hence what the best of men are when left to themselves; a good man, a ri...

Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. We learn from hence what the best of men are when left to themselves; a good man, a righteous Lot, is guilty of crimes the most shocking; he exposed the chastity of his daughters to the men of Sodom, and now his daughters attacked him, and succeeded, being both with child by him; and this brought about by excessive drinking, a sin which often leads on to the foulest crimes, and therefore to be carefully avoided; these sins Lot fell into when as it were alone, on a mountain, in a cave, none but his family with him, and these only his two daughters; he that had stood his ground in the midst of Sodom, notwithstanding all the excesses of that place, the impurities in it, and the temptations that every day offered, now falls when seemingly out of the way of all: these sins and failings of good men are recorded for our admonition and caution, that we may shun all appearance of evil, and be careful lest we fall, and neither be presumptuous not self-confident, see 1Co 10:12.

Gill: Gen 19:37 - And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab // the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab,.... As if it was "Meab", from the father, as Aben Ezra, and so Josephus, that is, which she ha...

And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab,.... As if it was "Meab", from the father, as Aben Ezra, and so Josephus, that is, which she had by her father; and she was so far from being ashamed that it might be known in time to come, she gave him this name. Hillerus w makes it to be a compound of אב and מובא, and to signify "going into", or "lying with a father", which still more notoriously points to her own action. Drusius has another derivation of the word, at least proposes it, and renders it "aqua patris"; "mo" in the Egyptian language signifying "water", which is sometimes used for seed, see Isa 48:1,

the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day; a people that lived on the borders of the land of Canaan, often troublesome to the Israelites, and frequently spoken of in the Old Testament.

Gill: Gen 19:38 - And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi // the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi,.... That is, "the son of my people", being the son of her father; which though it d...

And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi,.... That is, "the son of my people", being the son of her father; which though it does not so manifestly appear in this name, as in the other, yet there is some trace of it; and she would have it be known by this, that he was not the son of a stranger, but of a relation of her own: some attribute this to her being more modest than her elder sister; but it looks as if neither of them were sensible of any crime they had been guilty of, but rather thought it a commendable action, at least that it was excusable:

the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day; a people that lived near their brethren the Moabites, and were both enemies to the people of God; they quickly falling into idolatry, and whose names we often meet with in the sacred writings; and of these two sons, Josephus says x, the one begat the Moabites, being still a great nation, and the other the Ammonites, and both inhabit Coelesyria; they are both called the children of Lot, Psa 83:8. After this we hear no more of Lot in this history; and it is remarkable, that there never was, as we know of, any town or city that had in it any, trace of his name; but we are not from hence to conclude that he was a wicked man, whose memory perished with him; for mention is made of him in the New Testament, where he has a very honourable character, and is called "just Lot", 2Pe 2:7.

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Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Ayat / Catatan Kaki

NET Notes: Gen 19:1 The expression sitting in the city’s gateway may mean that Lot was exercising some type of judicial function (see the use of the idiom in 2 Sam ...

NET Notes: Gen 19:2 The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.

NET Notes: Gen 19:3 The Hebrew verb פָּצַר (patsar, “to press, to insist”) ironically foreshadows the hostile actions of t...

NET Notes: Gen 19:4 Heb “and the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the young to the old, all the people from the end [of the city].̶...

NET Notes: Gen 19:5 The sin of the men of Sodom is debated. The fact that the sin involved a sexual act (see note on the phrase “have sex” in 19:5) precludes ...

NET Notes: Gen 19:7 Heb “may my brothers not act wickedly.”

NET Notes: Gen 19:8 This chapter portrays Lot as a hypocrite. He is well aware of the way the men live in his city and is apparently comfortable in the midst of it. But w...

NET Notes: Gen 19:9 Heb “and they drew near.”

NET Notes: Gen 19:10 Heb “to them into the house.”

NET Notes: Gen 19:11 Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: Gen 19:12 Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.

NET Notes: Gen 19:13 Heb “the Lord.” The repetition of the divine name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “he” for stylistic reaso...

NET Notes: Gen 19:14 Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyl...

NET Notes: Gen 19:15 Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

NET Notes: Gen 19:16 Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accom...

NET Notes: Gen 19:17 Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

NET Notes: Gen 19:18 Or “my lords.” See the following note on the problem of identifying the addressee here. The Hebrew term is אֲדֹ...

NET Notes: Gen 19:19 The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.

NET Notes: Gen 19:20 Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.

NET Notes: Gen 19:21 The negated infinitive construct indicates either the consequence of God’s granting the request (“I have granted this request, so that I w...

NET Notes: Gen 19:22 Heb “Therefore the name of the city is called Zoar.” The name of the place, צוֹעַר (tso’ar) appa...

NET Notes: Gen 19:23 The juxtaposition of the two disjunctive clauses indicates synchronic action. The first action (the sun’s rising) occurred as the second (Lot...

NET Notes: Gen 19:24 The text explicitly states that the sulfur and fire that fell on Sodom and Gomorrah was sent down from the sky by the Lord. What exactly this was, and...

NET Notes: Gen 19:25 Heb “and the vegetation of the ground.”

NET Notes: Gen 19:26 Longingly. Lot’s wife apparently identified with the doomed city and thereby showed lack of respect for God’s provision of salvation. She,...

NET Notes: Gen 19:27 The words “and went” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

NET Notes: Gen 19:28 It is hard to imagine what was going on in Abraham’s mind, but this brief section in the narrative enables the reader to think about the human r...

NET Notes: Gen 19:29 Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”

NET Notes: Gen 19:31 Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.

NET Notes: Gen 19:32 For a discussion of the cultural background of the daughters’ desire to preserve our family line see F. C. Fensham, “The Obliteration of t...

NET Notes: Gen 19:33 Heb “and he did not know when she lay down and when she arose.”

NET Notes: Gen 19:34 Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

NET Notes: Gen 19:35 Heb “And he did not know when she lied down and when she arose.”

NET Notes: Gen 19:37 The meaning of the name Moab is not certain. The name sounds like the Hebrew phrase “from our father” (מֵאָב...

NET Notes: Gen 19:38 The name Ben-Ammi means “son of my people.” Like the account of Moab’s birth, this story is probably included in the narrative to po...

Geneva Bible: Gen 19:1 And there came two ( a ) angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing [them] rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself w...

Geneva Bible: Gen 19:3 And ( b ) he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bre...

Geneva Bible: Gen 19:4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, [even] the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, ( d ) all the people from every...

Geneva Bible: Gen 19:8 Behold now, I have two ( e ) daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as [is] good in your e...

Geneva Bible: Gen 19:13 For ( g ) we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it. ( ...

Geneva Bible: Gen 19:16 And while he ( h ) lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being me...

Geneva Bible: Gen 19:17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; ( i ) look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all ...

Geneva Bible: Gen 19:20 Behold now, this city [is] near to flee unto, and it [is] a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, ([is] it not a ( k ) little one?) and my soul shall...

Geneva Bible: Gen 19:22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I ( l ) cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called ( m ) Zoar. ( l ) Be...

Geneva Bible: Gen 19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a ( n ) pillar of salt. ( n ) Concerning the body only: this was a notable monument of God's...

Geneva Bible: Gen 19:30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he ( o ) feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, ...

Geneva Bible: Gen 19:31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father [is] old, and [there is] not a man in the ( p ) earth to come in unto us after the manner of all t...

Geneva Bible: Gen 19:32 Come, let us make our father ( q ) drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. ( q ) For unless he had been drunk,...

Geneva Bible: Gen 19:36 Thus were ( r ) both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. ( r ) Thus God permitted him to fall most horribly in the solitary mountains, w...

Geneva Bible: Gen 19:37 And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same [is] the father of the ( s ) Moabites unto this day. ( s ) Who as they were born in ...

Geneva Bible: Gen 19:38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name ( t ) Benammi: the same [is] the father of the children of Ammon unto this day. ( t ) That ...

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Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Rentang Ayat

Maclaren: Gen 19:15-26 - The Swift Destroyer Genesis 19:15-26 The religious significance of this solemn page of revelation is but little affected by any of the interesting questions which critici...

MHCC: Gen 19:1-29 - --Lot was good, but there was not one more of the same character in the city. All the people of Sodom were very wicked and vile. Care was therefore take...

MHCC: Gen 19:30-38 - --See the peril of security. Lot, who kept chaste in Sodom, and was a mourner for the wickedness of the place, and a witness against it, when in the mou...

Matthew Henry: Gen 19:1-3 - -- These angels, it is likely, were two of the three that had just before been with Abraham, the two created angels that were sent to execute God's pur...

Matthew Henry: Gen 19:4-11 - -- Now it appeared, beyond contradiction, that the cry of Sodom was no louder than there was cause for. This night's work was enough to fill the measur...

Matthew Henry: Gen 19:12-14 - -- We have here the preparation for Lot's deliverance. I. Notice is given him of the approach of Sodom's ruin: We will destroy this place, Gen 19:13....

Matthew Henry: Gen 19:15-23 - -- Here is, I. The rescue of Lot out of Sodom. Thought there were not ten righteous men in Sodom, for whose sakes it might be spared, yet that one righ...

Matthew Henry: Gen 19:24-25 - -- Then, when Lot had got safely into Zoar, then this ruin came; for good men are taken away from the evil to come. Then, when the sun had risen br...

Matthew Henry: Gen 19:26 - -- This also is written for our admonition. Our Saviour refers to it (Luk 17:32), Remember Lot's wife. As by the example of Sodom the wicked are warn...

Matthew Henry: Gen 19:27-29 - -- Our communion with God consists in our gracious regard to him and his gracious regard to us; we have here therefore the communion that was between G...

Matthew Henry: Gen 19:30-38 - -- Here is, I. The great trouble and distress that Lot was brought into after his deliverance, Gen 19:30. 1. He was frightened out of Zoar, durst not d...

Keil-Delitzsch: Gen 19:1-5 - -- The messengers (angels) sent by Jehovah to Sodom, arrived there in the evening, when Lot, who was sitting at the gate, pressed them to pass the nig...

Keil-Delitzsch: Gen 19:6-11 - -- Lot went out to them, shut the door behind him to protect his guests, and offered to give his virgin daughters up to them. " Only to these men ( ה...

Keil-Delitzsch: Gen 19:12-14 - -- The sin of Sodom had now become manifest. The men, Lot's guests, made themselves known to him as the messengers of judgment sent by Jehovah , and o...

Keil-Delitzsch: Gen 19:15-16 - -- As soon as it was dawn, the angels urged Lot to hasten away with his family; and when he still delayed, his heart evidently clinging to the earthly ...

Keil-Delitzsch: Gen 19:17-22 - -- When they left him here ( הנּיח , to let loose, and leave, to leave to one's self), the Lord commanded him, for the sake of his life, not to loo...

Keil-Delitzsch: Gen 19:23-25 - -- " When the sun had risen and Lot had come towards Zoar (i.e., was on the way thither, but had not yet arrived), Jehovah caused it to rain brimstone...

Keil-Delitzsch: Gen 19:26-28 - -- On the way, Lot's wife, notwithstanding the divine command, looked " behind him away, "- i.e., went behind her husband and looked backwards, probab...

Keil-Delitzsch: Gen 19:29-38 - -- For on the destruction of these cities, God had thought of Abraham, and rescued Lot. This rescue is attributed to Elohim , as being the work of the...

Constable: Gen 11:27--Exo 1:1 - --II. PATRIARCHAL NARRATIVES 11:27--50:26 One of the significant changes in the emphasis that occurs at this point...

Constable: Gen 11:27--25:12 - --A. What became of Terah 11:27-25:11 A major theme of the Pentateuch is the partial fulfillment of the pr...

Constable: Gen 19:1-38 - --10. The destruction of Sodom ch. 19 Chapters 18 and 19 "paint a vivid contrast between the respe...

Guzik: Gen 19:1-38 - The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah Genesis 19 - The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah A. The two angels come to Sodom. 1. (1-3) Lot convinces the angelic visitors to stay with him. ...

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Tafsiran/Catatan -- Lainnya

Bible Query: Gen 19:1-38 Q: In Gen 19, was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah really a lack of hospitality as Ezekiel 16:49 says? A: Many homosexuals quote Ezekiel 16:49 but igno...

Bible Query: Gen 19:8 Q: In Gen 19:8, why did Lot offer his virgin daughters to a crowd? (An atheist asked this.) A: Scripture does not tell us of Lot’s motives for this...

Bible Query: Gen 19:24-26 Q: In Gen 19:24-26, exactly how were Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed? A: The Bible simply says the LORD rained down burning sulfur, and that Lot’s wi...

Bible Query: Gen 19:26 Q: In Gen 19:26, doe we know of others since then besides Lot’s wife who have become "a pillar of salt"? A: Physically, people (and dogs) have bee...

Bible Query: Gen 19:30-36 Q: In Gen 19:30-36, why does the Bible teach that Lot had sex with his daughters? I just cannot believe this was right. A: Good. The Bible does not ...

Evidence: Gen 19:24 God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and the three other cities. On the eastern edge of the Dead Sea are the remains of five cities, which, despite thei...

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Pendahuluan / Garis Besar

JFB: Genesis (Pendahuluan Kitab) GENESIS, the book of the origin or production of all things, consists of two parts: the first, comprehended in the first through eleventh chapters, gi...

JFB: Genesis (Garis Besar) THE CREATION OF HEAVEN AND EARTH. (Gen 1:1-2) THE FIRST DAY. (Gen 1:3-5) SECOND DAY. (Gen 1:6-8) THIRD DAY. (Gen 1:9-13) FOURTH DAY. (Gen 1:14-19) FI...

TSK: Genesis (Pendahuluan Kitab) The Book of Genesis is the most ancient record in the world; including the History of two grand and stupendous subjects, Creation and Providence; of e...

TSK: Genesis 19 (Pendahuluan Pasal) Overview Gen 19:1, Lot entertains two angels; Gen 19:4, The vicious Sodomites are smitten with blindness; Gen 19:12, Lot is warned, and in vain wa...

Poole: Genesis 19 (Pendahuluan Pasal) CHAPTER 19 Two angels come to Sodom, Gen 19:1 . Lot invites them in; they at first refuse, Gen 19:2 . They enter; he entertains them, and they eat,...

MHCC: Genesis (Pendahuluan Kitab) Genesis is a name taken from the Greek, and signifies " the book of generation or production;" it is properly so called, as containing an account of ...

MHCC: Genesis 19 (Pendahuluan Pasal) (v. 1-29) The destruction of Sodom, and the deliverance of Lot. (Gen 19:30-38) The sin and disgrace of Lot.

Matthew Henry: Genesis (Pendahuluan Kitab) An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The First Book of Moses, Called Genesis We have now before us the holy Bible, or book, for so bible ...

Matthew Henry: Genesis 19 (Pendahuluan Pasal) The contents of this chapter we have, 2Pe 2:6-8, where we find that " God, turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with...

Constable: Genesis (Pendahuluan Kitab) Introduction Title Each book of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testam...

Constable: Genesis (Garis Besar) Outline The structure of Genesis is very clear. The phrase "the generations of" (toledot in Hebrew, from yalad m...

Constable: Genesis Bibliography Aalders, Gerhard Charles. Genesis. The Bible Student's Commentary series. 2 vols. Translated by William Hey...

Haydock: Genesis (Pendahuluan Kitab) THE BOOK OF GENESIS. INTRODUCTION. The Hebrews now entitle all the Five Books of Moses, from the initial words, which originally were written li...

Gill: Genesis (Pendahuluan Kitab) INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS This book, in the Hebrew copies of the Bible, and by the Jewish writers, is generally called Bereshith, which signifies "in...

Gill: Genesis 19 (Pendahuluan Pasal) INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 19 The contents of this chapter are Lot's entertainment of two angels that came to Sodom, Gen 19:1; the rude behaviour of the...

Advanced Commentary (Kamus, Lagu-Lagu Himne, Gambar, Ilustrasi Khotbah, Pertanyaan-Pertanyaan, dll)


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