Genesis 19

Chap. XIX. Ver. I-11. Two angels visit Sodom.—The ate of the city was the usual seat of judgment; the Jews have, therefore, a tradition, that Lot, in consequence of the weight he acquired from Abraham’s valour a few years previously, (see (Genesis 14:21), &c.) had been promoted to the magistracy, and perhaps had accepted of the office in the hopes to overawe their vices; and with this they seem afterwards to reproach him, (ver. 9.) “This one fellow (say they) came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge.” But, alas! they were incurable, and must be destroyed. Of Lot we may observe, that he showed the same courtesy to strangers as his uncle Abraham; and, indeed, hospitality is considered as the master-virtue, so to speak, of all the East.

Thus Homer tells us— “By Jove the stranger and the poor are sent,
And what to those we give, to Jove is lent:
Then food supply, and bathe his fainting limbs,
Where waving shades obscure the mazy streams.” — Pope. It seems, however, to have carried his hospitality to an extreme utterly unjustifiable, in offering his two maiden daughters to the mob which beset his doors. Chrysostome says, “The rights of hospitality are very sacred, even in the most barbarous parts of the world; and, therefore, Lot would rather his own children should be sacrificed to the lust of these brutes, than the strangers he had taken under his roof.” Augustine, however, properly condemns the idea of committing a lesser sin to avoid a greater; and more reasonably attributes his conduct to “distraction of thought and heat of passion.”

But he ought to have risked his own life in defence both of his guests and It is painful to record the crimes of mankind, and especially when of the horrid nature of that here mentioned; and sometimes it cannot be done without violence to the feelings of virtuous and good men. But it is necessary, and the narrative before us is requisite to prepare us for the very awful judgment which immediately follows. The Lord had come down to see if the sin of Sodom was so “very grievous” as the cry of it imported. This is in allusion to human governments, and suggests to princes and judges the propriety of full inquiry before judgment passes. But the angels have little occasion to —— The sinners glory in their shame, and volunteer in evidence against themselves. Lot’s illustrious visitants, however, soon extricated him from all danger, by pulling him into the house and shutting them out; at the same time smiting them with blindness, probably by a stroke of that lightning, by which they were on the following day destroyed; and which must have operated as a warning to them, and have led them to cry for mercy, had they not been so hardened in their crime. But they, unhappy wretches! persevered in their sin, and wearied themselves in vain to find the Ver. 12—22. Lot rescued from destruction.—The angels now disclose their errand, and Lot had sufficient evidence of their real character in the miracles just wrought: and notwithstanding the very aggravating conduct they had now witnessed, they gave Lot the opportunity of warning any of the inhabitants with whom his family might stand connected.

Lot therefore hastens to his sons-in-law, who were contracted to his daughters, and about to marry them; but they laugh him to scorn, as the inhabitants of the old world did Noah, and he “seemed to them as one that mocked;” or as we should say in familiar language, “as one that was making game of them.” They saw no signs of the event, and therefore paid no attention to his warning. Early in the following morning, while Lot was lingering, probably with the hope of persuading some others to accompany him, the angels laid hold of his hand, and upon those of his wife and daughters, and hurried them out of the city and through the plain, on their way to the opposite mountain, with a strict charge not to stop, nor look behind them, till they gained the mountain.

Lot, however, demurred at this: whether his strength began to fail, and he feared he could not reach the spot; or whether he considered it as the haunt of wild beasts, and was afraid of being devoured, he begged most earnestly that he might rest at a small town called Bela, but whose name he appears not to have recollected, and therefore called it “little one,” or Zoar; probably a very small place, and ever after known by that name. In this request he was indulged, and entered the town (or village rather) in safety with his two daughters soon after sun-rise; and “the sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar.” Before we proceed farther, however, we may indulge in a few practical reflections.

1. Lot must now see the selling [sinning] in his conduct, in fixing his residence among the sinners of the plain. Temporal advantage should not be our only consideration on those occasions. The moral contamination of great and gay cities is often to be dreaded.
2. When we flee for our lives, we should not stop by the way. When a temptation is presented, we are very apt to compromise our duty, and say, “Is it not a little one?” There is, however, no satisfaction while we stop short of the divine command. Lot had soon to move again, as we shall see in the next paragraph. Cyril, of Alexandria, makes this an emblem of the slow progress which some make in the Christian life. They set out, perhaps, with much zeal, but they soon weary, and instead of one they have many stoppages, before they reach the mountain which none of us indeed should do, were it not that “the Lord is merciful unto us.” Ver.

23—30. The destruction of Sodom.—It is here stated, as we have just remarked, that the sun rose with its usual beauty on the day that Sodom was destroyed: and such is said to have been the case at Lisbon on the day of the dreadful earthquake, and on other similar occasions—so little room is there for reliance on the appearances of nature, which are under the absolute control of the Creator. The scene of destruction is thus described:—“Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire from the Lord (himself) out of heaven.” This has been variously explained. Some have taken it for a volcano, which might answer sufficiently to the description: but M. Chateaubriand, who has recently examined it, can find no appearance of a crater.

Dr. Boothroyd says, “sulphur and fire mean burning sulphur, or a dreadful storm of thunder and lightning. ((Psalms 11:5). (Ezekiel 38:22).) Lightning is usually called the fire of God. ((2 Kings 1:12). (Job 1:16).) The plain of Sodom was full of bituminous pits, which being kindled by the lightning, must have produced the most dreadful conflagration. This plain, Josephus informs us, was 72 miles long and 19 broad. It became, in consequence of this destruction, a receptacle of water, now called the Dead Sea, or the Sea of Sodom.” The Jordan enters this sea, or lake, “with a volume of waters from two to three hundred feet in width, with a current so violent, that an expert swimmer found it impracticable to cross it.

The Jordan is turbid, with a yellow current: the lake is the colour and taste of sea water, very buoyant, and of extraordinary density; and on its analyzation, is found to contain more than a fourth of its weight in salts.” It is also probable that this tremendous conflagration was accompanied with an earthquake, which at the same time sunk the city of Sodom, and the other cities, into a mine of bitumen beneath them, and it is strongly suspected that there are still subterraneous fires, which feed the lake with bitumen to this day. But this unhappy woman did more, for she appears to have halted by the way. The 26th verse informs us, “His wife looked back from behind him;” which seems to imply, that when the convoying angels left them, this poor woman either stopped or turned back.

This is also inferred from our Lord’s practical inference from the fact: when speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem, he says, “He that is in the field, let him not return back. Remember Lot’s wife.” The fault of this woman was not, therefore, a look of pity, as some may have pretended, nor a look of anxiety for her kindred left behind; but an actual stopping before she was out of danger, with a design of returning after the storm was over, in which act she was overtaken by it, and encrusted like “a pillar of salt.” Whether her remains might not continue for some ages, as a monument to warn others against disobedience, we pretend not to say; but certainly many of the tales relative to this subject, prove only the alway [fallacy] of travellers and the imposition of their informers.

No remains, however, can be now found. It is a very interesting circumstance here related, that on the following morning Abraham went early to the place where he stood before the Lord, and pleaded for the devoted cities. “He beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.” The next circumstance of which we are informed is, that Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, for he feared to dwell in Zoar.” The cause of this is not named, except in the verse just quoted, where we find “the smoke of the country was like the smoke of a furnace;” which when the wind blew toward Zoar, was probably not only offensive and unhealthy, but carried with it fragments of bitumen and sulphur, that alarmed him with the danger of another storm, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

((Hebrews 10:31).) We also see here the folly of choosing for ourselves: had Lot submitted, and fled to the mountain at once, though he might have suffered a little more fatigue, he would have avoided many disagreeable circumstances, and the necessity of a second removal; and this was not the first instance of conjectures have been formed concerning the motives which induced Lot’s daughters to this most atrocious conduct; and many excuses have been attempted. It is not indeed improbable that the desire of having children, of which they seemed to have no other prospect, was one powerful inducement; but there is little reason to think that they had any expectations of being the ancestors of the promised Seed, for that distinction was expressly limited to the seed of Abraham.

The truth seems to be, that, pag =F Ss pelo from gross crimes, they had been accustomed in Sodom to hear and witness wickedness, till their consciences were become unfeeling, and their sense of shame blunted. No sufficient excuse can be made either for them or for Lot; and, indeed, scarcely any account can be given of the transaction but this, that “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?”—After this we read no more in the history, of Lot, or of his daughters. Peter’s testimony satisfies us, that he lived to repent; yet there is no proof that his daughters did. But he died under a dark cloud; all his substance and part of his family perished in Sodom: his wife, in looking back, lost her life; and it might almost have been wished, that his daughters had been taken away too, that his and their sin and shame might have been prevented: for, though he was not “written childless,”

his posterity were the monuments of his reproach, and their very names perpetuated the memory of their disgraceful origin.

Notes on the verses

Chap. XIX. Ver. 1. Two angels:—[or, rather, “the two angels came,” referring to those mentioned in the preceding chapter, and there called “men.” It seems, (from chapter xviii. verse 22.) that these two angels were sent to Sodom, while the third, who is called the Lord or Jehovah, remained with Abraham.]—Bagster.
Ver. 2. Nay; but we will abide in the street.—[“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 travellers, 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.]—Bagster.
Ver. 6. Out at the door.—[Two words are here used for door; the first pethach, which is the aperture or opening of the door, the door-wat, at which Lot went out; the latter, delech, the leaf of the door, which he shut after him when out.]—Bagster.
Ver. 11. Blindness.—[The word sanverim, rendered “blindness,” and which occurs only here and in (2 Kings 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 nur, light. Dr. Geddes, to the same purpose, thinks it is compounded of the Arabic, sana, which signifies a flash, or light: if so, the blindness was caused by a flash of lightning, and might have been only temporary.

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, ir: radiations.]—Bagster.
Ver. 14. Sons in law, which married his daughters.—It is not known whether Lot had more daughters than the two which escaped with him; if he had they must have perished with their husbands in the city; if not, they could only have been betrothed, for they were still maidens. So Ainsworth renders it, ‘his sons in law, that were taking his daughters; and so it seems generally understood.
Ver. 24. The Lord rained…. from the Lord.—That is, from himself. This is a Hebrew idiom, the noun for the pronoun. See (1 Kings 8:50). xii.

21. Brimstone.—[The word rendered “brimstone,” (7. d. brennestone, or brinnestone, id est burning-stone,) is always rendered by the XX. “sulphur,” and seems to denote a mercurous inflammable matter. “We may safely suppose,” says Dr. A. Clarke, “that a shower of nitrous particles might have been precipitated, which by the action of fire, or the electric fluid, would be immediately ignited, and so consume the cities.”]—Bagster.
    Ver. 26. A pillar of salt.—[Tarrying too long in the plain, she was, most probably, struck dead with lightning, and stiffened in the place where she stood; while the nitro-sulphureous matter which descended, or the asphaltus, which abounds in the plains, encrusted her, and being, as it were embalmed, she became a salso-bituminous mass or pillar.

—Bagster. The particle of comparison may be understood as in Hosea vii. 8. and elsewhere. Dr. Boothroyd supplies it, “like a pillar of salt.” Josephus says he saw it; and some have given a strange description of it. The fact is, that some travellers are easily deceived, and others delight in deceiving them.
Ver. 28. The smoke of a furnace.—Many of the profane historians refer to this event. Tacitus says there were some remains of cities on this spot, (the lake Asphaltus, or Dead Sea) which were formerly destroyed by lightning. Strabo says, “there are many indications that fire has been over this country.” Philo, Pliny, Diodorus Siculus, and others, agree in this tradition; but many circumstances related by them are now found to be fictitious, though it is possible some alteration may have taken place since their time, particularly as to its extent, and the quantity of bitumen it produces, which Ver.

31. And the first-born said, &c.—We have here another instance of the singular impartiality of sacred history, which offers no palliation, no apology, for the sins of its best characters, of which class certainly Lot was, though we can say but little for his daughters. What stratagem they practised to intoxicate their father we are not told. Their father, who had retired with them into some solitary cave, was the only man in the land (so Ainsworth) to whom they could have access; they therefore, probably, mixed some intoxicating and inflammatory drugs in his usual beverage, to gain their wicked ends; and their unhappy success affixed their names to the roll of infamy for ever.
    Ver. 32. Let us make our father drink wine.—But it may be asked, whence did they get their wine?

It is probable that they brought some provisions with them out of Sodom, and more might be procured in Zoar. It is even possible that some of Lot’s flocks and herds might have followed him, which were feeding at a distance from Sodom, and would naturally fly before the storm. This, however, is conjectural; and we hear no more of Lot after this event, which, it may be feared, brought down his gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
Ver. 37. She called his name Moab:—that is, “waters of the father,” —Calmet. The “crooked policy” of these women was not only criminal in itself, but led to the most unhappy circumstances. Moab was a great, but an idolatrous nation, and one of the bitterest enemies to Abraham’s descendants.

Ver. 38. Ben-ammi clearly means “the son of my people.” If the sisters gave these names in concert, the one records their crime, and the other their motive. The children were born in incest, the issue of their mother’s father; yet their motive was not, as far as appears, merely lust; but an inordinate desire, by means however improper, to preserve their father’s family; to raise up sons to perpetuate the race: though, unhappily, the children of Ammon were as idolatrous as those of Moab.