Genesis · Chapter 19

V. 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.

Verse 1. Two angels] The two referred to Genesis 18:22. Sat in the gate] Probably, in order to prevent unwary travellers 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. 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 Genesis 18:3-5 of the preceding chapter.

Verse 1. There came two angels — Probably two of the three that had just before been with Abraham, the two created angels, who were now sent to execute God’s purpose concerning Sodom. Lot sat in the gate of Sodom — Waiting for an opportunity of entertaining strangers, in which he imitated Abraham, and set an example of hospitality in the midst of the reigning and abominable vices of the place. For though he was influenced to go thither by improper motives, and continued there with unjustifiable obstinacy, when every dictate of religion and morality cried aloud, — “Come out from among them;” yet, on the whole, as St. Peter observes, (2 Peter 2:8 2 Peter

Verse 1. Lot sat in the gate of Sodom, as a magistrate, no doubt, for the wicked accuse him of making himself a judge or elder. The main gate of a city was the usual place of hearing causes, and administering justice. There is no intimation that he sat there merely for hospitality.

LOT RESCUED BY THE ANGELS, 1-23.

In this chapter we have another picture of the life and character of Lot. After his rescue from the eastern kings by Abraham, he went back again to his coveted Sodom. His daughters married men of the city, and his family appear to have become damagingly affected by the vices of the place. Lot himself lost not the uprightness of character developed by his long residence with Abraham, and he was often “vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. For that righteous man, dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.” 2 Peter 2:8. But his moral force was altogether insufficient to stem the tide of evil which was against him. He was wont to sit in the gate of Sodom as one of the judges of the city, (comp. Ruth 4:1,) and thus became familiar with the commerce and conversation of the inhabitants. All this would tend to blunt his moral sense, and lower him from the simplicity and purity of the shepherd life he had led among the hills with Abraham.

1. Two angels — Hebrews, the two angels, evidently the two who left Abraham on the heights. Genesis 18:22. Knobel suggests that Jehovah, the most holy, sent his angels, but would not himself enter the wicked city. At even — They dined with Abraham in the heat of the day; they will sup with Lot. Sat in the gate of Sodom — “The gate of the city was, in the ancient towns of the East, the common place of public resort, both for social intercourse and for public business. This gate of the city nearly corresponded with the forum, or market-place of Greece and Rome. Not only was it the place of public sale, but judges and even kings held courts of justice there. The gate itself was probably an arch, with deep recesses, in which were placed the seats of the judges, and benches on either side were arranged for public convenience. Comp. Genesis 34:20; Deuteronomy 21:19, 22, 15; Ruth 4:1.” — Speaker’s Com.

Verse 2. Nay; but we will abide in the street] Instead of al lo, nay, some MSS. have wl 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 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. 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, Luke 24:13; but at last, like the angels here, yielded to the importunity of his disciples, and went into their lodgings.

2:8,) he was a righteous man, and his righteous soul was vexed from day to day with the filthy conversation of that most abandoned place, in seeing and hearing of their unlawful deeds.

Verse 2. They said, Nay, but we will abide in the street all night — So they said, not only to give Lot an opportunity of evincing the sincerity and cordiality of his invitation, but because it was their real intention to abide in the street, where they, no doubt, would have abode, if he had not so much urged them to lodge in his house.

2. My lords, turn in — He shows a hospitality like Abraham, and like him entertains angels unawares. Wash your feet — See on Genesis 18:4. Nay… in the street — They make as though (comp. Luke 24:28) they would not accept his hospitality, thus testing him. By the street we are to understand the broad, open places of the city, which, in that warm climate, would not be an uncomfortable place to lodge.

V. 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 desirous of their converse.

Verse 3. He pressed upon them greatly — Partly because he would by no means have them to expose themselves to the perils and insults which he was aware awaited their lodging in the street of Sodom, and partly because he was desirous of their converse.

3. Made them a feast — htvm, a feast, is the name usually given to a great feast or banquet. Comp. Genesis 21:8; 26:30; 40:20; 1 Samuel 25:36. Unleavened bread — This is the first occurrence of the word twxm, found nearly always in the plural, and translated unleavened bread. It means sweetness, (Gesenius, Lex.,) and denotes bread not made sour by leaven — not allowed time to ferment.

V. 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 themselves aiding and abetting.

Verses 4, 5. No description which could be given of their vile and abominable conduct, however laboured, could possibly have conveyed so striking an idea of their unparalleled wickedness, as this simple narrative of facts. Here were old and young, all from every quarter — Collected for practices too shameful to be mentioned! Either they had no magistrates to protect the peaceable, or their magistrates themselves were aiding and abetting.

Ver. 4. Old and young. The whole inhabitants of Sodom were utterly corrupted, and they wished all the world to know the perfection of their wickedness.

4. All the people from every quarter — Hebrews, from the extremity, that is, of the city. Here we have a picture of the vilest kind of a rabble, debased to the most shameless licentiousness.

Verse 5. Where are the men which came in to thee, &c.] This account justifies the character given of this depraved people in the preceding chapter, Genesis 18:20, and in Genesis 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.

Verses 4, 5. No description which could be given of their vile and abominable conduct, however laboured, could possibly have conveyed so striking an idea of their unparalleled wickedness, as this simple narrative of facts. Here were old and young, all from every quarter — Collected for practices too shameful to be mentioned! Either they had no magistrates to protect the peaceable, or their magistrates themselves were aiding and abetting.

Ver. 5. Know them. This most abominable crime, since called Sodomy, is mentioned in other places, and often with the highest horrors of God and man. Leviticus 18:22. Romans 1:23, 24. Judges 19:22.

5. Bring them out unto us, that we may know them — A euphemism, pointing to the unnatural crime of pederasty, an abomination into which the Canaanitish nations were sunken, and for which they were cast out. Leviticus 18:22-25; comp. Judges 19:22-25; Romans 1:27. From this incident this crime against nature has received the name of Sodomy. Comp. Isaiah 3:9.

LOT RESCUED BY THE ANGELS, 1-23.

In this chapter we have another picture of the life and character of Lot. After his rescue from the eastern kings by Abraham, he went back again to his coveted Sodom. His daughters married men of the city, and his family appear to have become damagingly affected by the vices of the place. Lot himself lost not the uprightness of character developed by his long residence with Abraham, and he was often “vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. For that righteous man, dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.” 2 Peter 2:8. But his moral force was altogether insufficient to stem the tide of evil which was against him. He was wont to sit in the gate of Sodom as one of the judges of the city, (comp. Ruth 4:1,) and thus became familiar with the commerce and conversation of the inhabitants. All this would tend to blunt his moral sense, and lower him from the simplicity and purity of the shepherd life he had led among the hills with Abraham.

1. Two angels — Hebrews, the two angels, evidently the two who left Abraham on the heights. Genesis 18:22. Knobel suggests that Jehovah, the most holy, sent his angels, but would not himself enter the wicked city. At even — They dined with Abraham in the heat of the day; they will sup with Lot. Sat in the gate of Sodom — “The gate of the city was, in the ancient towns of the East, the common place of public resort, both for social intercourse and for public business. This gate of the city nearly corresponded with the forum, or market-place of Greece and Rome. Not only was it the place of public sale, but judges and even kings held courts of justice there. The gate itself was probably an arch, with deep recesses, in which were placed the seats of the judges, and benches on either side were arranged for public convenience. Comp. Genesis 34:20; Deuteronomy 21:19, 22, 15; Ruth 4:1.” — Speaker’s Com.

LOT RESCUED BY THE ANGELS, 1-23.

In this chapter we have another picture of the life and character of Lot. After his rescue from the eastern kings by Abraham, he went back again to his coveted Sodom. His daughters married men of the city, and his family appear to have become damagingly affected by the vices of the place. Lot himself lost not the uprightness of character developed by his long residence with Abraham, and he was often “vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. For that righteous man, dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.” 2 Peter 2:8. But his moral force was altogether insufficient to stem the tide of evil which was against him. He was wont to sit in the gate of Sodom as one of the judges of the city, (comp. Ruth 4:1,) and thus became familiar with the commerce and conversation of the inhabitants. All this would tend to blunt his moral sense, and lower him from the simplicity and purity of the shepherd life he had led among the hills with Abraham.

1. Two angels — Hebrews, the two angels, evidently the two who left Abraham on the heights. Genesis 18:22. Knobel suggests that Jehovah, the most holy, sent his angels, but would not himself enter the wicked city. At even — They dined with Abraham in the heat of the day; they will sup with Lot. Sat in the gate of Sodom — “The gate of the city was, in the ancient towns of the East, the common place of public resort, both for social intercourse and for public business. This gate of the city nearly corresponded with the forum, or market-place of Greece and Rome. Not only was it the place of public sale, but judges and even kings held courts of justice there. The gate itself was probably an arch, with deep recesses, in which were placed the seats of the judges, and benches on either side were arranged for public convenience. Comp. Genesis 34:20; Deuteronomy 21:19, 22, 15; Ruth 4:1.” — Speaker’s Com.

V. 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 evil that good may come of it.

Verse 8. 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.

Verse 8. I have two daughters — This was unadvisedly and unjustifiably offered, probably through the great discomposure and perturbation which his mind was in. It is true, of two evils we must choose the less, but of two sins we must choose neither, nor ever do evil that good may come of it.

8. Two daughters — This proposition of Lot is utterly shocking and outrageous. But see Judges 19:24, and note there. “We may suppose,” says Murphy, “that it was spoken rashly, in the heat of the moment, and with the expectation that he would not be taken at his word.” The Oriental idea of hospitality would also lead a man to lay down his own life, or go to almost any extreme, for the safety of his guest. With every possible apology, however, Lot’s proposal in this case reveals how his long residence in the wicked city had lowered his moral tone.

Verse 9. 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.

9. Stand back — Hebrew, approach far off; or, draw near farther away. The coarse cry of a mob. Kalisch explains: “Approach nearer to us, farther away from the door.” He will needs be a judge — This Lot, who forsooth came in to sojourn merely, will persist in playing the judge.

LOT RESCUED BY THE ANGELS, 1-23.

In this chapter we have another picture of the life and character of Lot. After his rescue from the eastern kings by Abraham, he went back again to his coveted Sodom. His daughters married men of the city, and his family appear to have become damagingly affected by the vices of the place. Lot himself lost not the uprightness of character developed by his long residence with Abraham, and he was often “vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. For that righteous man, dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.” 2 Peter 2:8. But his moral force was altogether insufficient to stem the tide of evil which was against him. He was wont to sit in the gate of Sodom as one of the judges of the city, (comp. Ruth 4:1,) and thus became familiar with the commerce and conversation of the inhabitants. All this would tend to blunt his moral sense, and lower him from the simplicity and purity of the shepherd life he had led among the hills with Abraham.

1. Two angels — Hebrews, the two angels, evidently the two who left Abraham on the heights. Genesis 18:22. Knobel suggests that Jehovah, the most holy, sent his angels, but would not himself enter the wicked city. At even — They dined with Abraham in the heat of the day; they will sup with Lot. Sat in the gate of Sodom — “The gate of the city was, in the ancient towns of the East, the common place of public resort, both for social intercourse and for public business. This gate of the city nearly corresponded with the forum, or market-place of Greece and Rome. Not only was it the place of public sale, but judges and even kings held courts of justice there. The gate itself was probably an arch, with deep recesses, in which were placed the seats of the judges, and benches on either side were arranged for public convenience. Comp. Genesis 34:20; Deuteronomy 21:19, 22, 15; Ruth 4:1.” — Speaker’s Com.

V. 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.

Verse 11. 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 Wisdom was evidently of this latter opinion, for he says they were compassed about with horrible great darkness, Genesis 19:17. See a similar case of Elisha and the Syrians, 2 Kings 6:18, &c.

Verse 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.

Ver. 11. Blindness, or dimness of sight. 2 Kings 6:18. The sin began with their eyes, which had been full of adultery; and with them the punishment began.

11. Smote — By an exercise of supernatural power. Blindness — The word µyrwns is used only here and 2 Kings 6:18, and in both places denotes a miraculous penal stroke. It seems to denote mental aberration as well as inability to see. Hence the Sodomites recognised not the real nature of the stroke, but wearied themselves to find the door. What a wickedness and perversity is here displayed! “That the old and young should come; that they should come from every quarter of the city; that they assault the house, notwithstanding the sacred rights of guests; that they so shamelessly avow their pederastic purpose; that they will not even be appeased by Lot, to whom they once owed their salvation, (chap. 14,) and that they did not cease to grope for the door after they were stricken with blindness; this is the complete portraiture of a people ripe for the fiery judgment.” — Lange.

Verse 12. Hast thou here any besides? son-in-law] Here there appears to be but one meant, as the word חתנ chathan is in the singular number; but in Genesis 19:14 the word is plural, wytj 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, Genesis 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, Genesis 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.

12. Hast thou here any besides — For Lot’s sake, sons, daughters, family, and possessions may be saved. So, on the other hand, in the ministry of vengeance, all these perish with the accursed father. Joshua 7:24, 25.

V. 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 people.

Verse 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 people.

13. We will destroy this place — Now they announce themselves as ministers of wrath to Sodom.

V. 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. 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 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.

Verse 14. Lot spake to his sons-in-law, &c. — It is likely these sons-in-law had married other daughters of Lot, who were now dead, or who afterward perished in the destruction of the city. Up, get you out of this place — The manner of expression is startling. It was not a time to trifle, when the destruction was just at the door. 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 he 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.

Ver. 14. He seemed as one that mocked. Lot’s error in taking refuge with the wicked in Sodom and forming matrimonial connections there, instead of dwelling in tents, cost him all his substance, and an infinitude of grief and trouble. The prohibition from marrying with unbelievers has often been supported and guarded by signal acts of providence. The males of David’s house were eventually all cut off, by marrying Jezebel’s daughter, except Joash, an infant.

14. Which married his daughters — Hebrews, takers of his daughters. The Vulgate renders, who were about to take his daughters; and hence it has been generally supposed that his daughters were only betrothed, not actually married. The Hebrew expression will, however, allow the meaning of actual marriage, and verse 15 distinguishes the two daughters “which are here,” as if to imply other daughters not present with Lot at the time. No mention is made of sons, except incidentally by the angel, in verse 12, and there by way of question as to whether he had any in the city. No other mention of sons being made, and the fact that he went and alarmed his sons-in-law, argues rather that he had no sons. Seemed as one that mocked — This is usually explained as meaning, he seemed to them to be jesting, or trifling. But this verb, in the Piel form, is everywhere used of lascivious sports, or carnal intercourse. His sons-in-law, familiar with the lewd practices so common in the streets of Sodom, supposed Lot was out indulging lascivious passions. See note on Genesis 21:9.

15. When the morning arose — Or, as the dawn went up; as it began to turn towards day, “when the morning star rose.” — Kalisch. It was after sunrise when Lot reached Zoar, (verse 23,) so that he must have left Sodom some time before. Hastened Lot — It was hard for him to tear himself so suddenly away from his home. Which are here — Hebrews, which are found. This implies other daughters which were not found. In the iniquity of the city — The city and its iniquity are to be blotted out together, and those who perish with the city, perish with and in its iniquity, being identified with it.

V. 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 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.

Verse 16. 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.

Verse 16. While he lingered — He did not make so much haste as the case required, and this would 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; and if God had not been merciful to us, our lingering had been our ruin.

16. While he lingered — Still he clings to his home and possessions, and must needs be forced away. Brought him forth — Thus the mercy of Jehovah, working by the hands of these two angels, reaches forth and grasps Lot and his wife and daughters from the impending ruin.

V. 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 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.

1. Return not to sin and Satan, for that’s looking back to Sodom.

2. Rest not in the world, for that’s staying in the plain. And,

3. Reach toward Christ and heaven, for that is escaping to the mountain, short of which we must not take up.

Verse 17. When they had brought them forth, &c.] 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.

Verse 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 appointed him; escape to the mountain — Such are the commands given to those who, through grace, are delivered out of a sinful state. 1st, Return not to sin and Satan, for that is looking back to Sodom. 2d, Rest not in the world, for that is staying in the plain. 3d, Reach toward Christ and heaven, for that is escaping to the mountain, short of which we must not take up.

17. He said — Does Jehovah himself now appear again with the two angels, or is one of the two angels here intended? Either view is possible, but perhaps the more simple and obvious one is, that it is here one of the two angels that speaks. The angel’s words breathe with a quivering energy. Note the four commands: 1) Escape for thy life — It is a race for life. 2) Look not behind thee — One backward look may prove thy ruin. 3) Neither stay thou in all the plain — All this fair circle of the Jordan, (Genesis 13:10,) on which Lot had cast covetous eyes, was now a doomed field, from which he must get himself utterly away. 4) Escape to the mountain — The mountains of Moab, on the east of the Dead Sea, were probably intended. Away to the hills must he now betake himself for safety who once left the hills for this attractive valley. The escape, escape, repeated twice, intensifies the thought of his imminent peril, and now it is added: Lest thou be consumed — Deadly destruction and wrath hover over all the plain.

18. My lord — Or, as translated in verse 2, my lords. The Masorites mark the word here as “holy,” but in verse 2 as “profane.” But this is scarcely a necessary distinction. The address would be an appropriate form of salutation, whether the person addressed be Jehovah or one of the angels. Lot’s petition betrays exceeding weakness. He pleads the mercy already shown, inability to do what is commanded, and fear lest the threatened evil overtake him before he can reach the eastern mountains. He urges, finally, that he may be permitted to flee into a neighbouring city, first, because it was near; second, because it was a little one; and then, because, with such permission, there was hope that he might live. How different this from the faith of Abraham!

Verse 19. 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 fulfil; but the hurry and perturbation of his mind will at once account for and excuse this gross oversight.

LOT RESCUED BY THE ANGELS, 1-23.

In this chapter we have another picture of the life and character of Lot. After his rescue from the eastern kings by Abraham, he went back again to his coveted Sodom. His daughters married men of the city, and his family appear to have become damagingly affected by the vices of the place. Lot himself lost not the uprightness of character developed by his long residence with Abraham, and he was often “vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. For that righteous man, dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.” 2 Peter 2:8. But his moral force was altogether insufficient to stem the tide of evil which was against him. He was wont to sit in the gate of Sodom as one of the judges of the city, (comp. Ruth 4:1,) and thus became familiar with the commerce and conversation of the inhabitants. All this would tend to blunt his moral sense, and lower him from the simplicity and purity of the shepherd life he had led among the hills with Abraham.

1. Two angels — Hebrews, the two angels, evidently the two who left Abraham on the heights. Genesis 18:22. Knobel suggests that Jehovah, the most holy, sent his angels, but would not himself enter the wicked city. At even — They dined with Abraham in the heat of the day; they will sup with Lot. Sat in the gate of Sodom — “The gate of the city was, in the ancient towns of the East, the common place of public resort, both for social intercourse and for public business. This gate of the city nearly corresponded with the forum, or market-place of Greece and Rome. Not only was it the place of public sale, but judges and even kings held courts of justice there. The gate itself was probably an arch, with deep recesses, in which were placed the seats of the judges, and benches on either side were arranged for public convenience. Comp. Genesis 34:20; Deuteronomy 21:19, 22, 15; Ruth 4:1.” — Speaker’s Com.

Verse 20. 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.

20. This city — It appears that this city was near to Sodom, and a small town, and for this reason called Zoar, (verse 22,) which means small. Its previous name was Bela. Genesis 14:2. Nearly all ancient tradition and local names indicate that Zoar and the other cities of the plain were located at the southern end of what is now the Dead Sea. See on Genesis 14:2. Robinson locates Zoar on the southern side of the Wady Kerak, in the eastern part of the Lisan peninsula.

Verse 21. 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.

21. I have accepted thee — Hebrews, I have lifted up thy face. Metaphorically, the supplicant is supposed to have his face bowed down to the earth, and a granting of the prayer thus offered was a lifting up of the face.

V. 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!

Verse 22. 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.

The name of the city was called Zoar.] r[wx Tsoar, LITTLE, its former name being Bela.

Verse 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!

22. I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither — Mark the limitations of judgment by the purposes of grace! The angel of destruction is held back from his deadly work until Lot is rescued.

23. The sun was risen — Hebrews, the sun went forth over the earth. That is, the sun was up before Lot completed his flight. From dawn (verse 15) to sunrise was but a little time to effect such an escape. But the refugees were probably strengthened by the angels.

V. 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 of those that reject the salvation.

Verse 24. 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 hwhyw vaihovah and hwhy tam 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 chap. xviii.,) 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, Genesis 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. Brimstone and fire.-The word tyrpg 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 Deuteronomy 29:23; Job 18:15; Psalm 11:6; Isaiah 34:9; Ezekiel 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 Isaiah 30:33; Revelation 14:10; 19:20; 20:10; 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 Genesis 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.

Verse 24. Then the Lord rained, from the Lord — The Son, who had conversed with Abraham, from the Father, for the Father has committed all judgment to the Son. He that is they Saviour will be the destroyer of those that reject the salvation.

Ver. 24. Jehovah rained—fire and brimstone from Jehovah. Whole councils of christian fathers have cited this text as demonstrative of the Godhead of Christ, and the distinction of persons in the Holy Trinity. So the early fathers by general consent: all admit Jehovah, the Angel, to be the Christ. Why then should any man accounted orthodox start a difficulty?

DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH, 24-28.

This account of the overthrow of the cities of the plain is brief, but graphic. Four things are succinctly told: 1) The means of destruction — fire and brimstone from heaven. 2) The effect — utter ruin of the cities, inhabitants, and vegetation. 3) Lot’s wife perishing. 4) The appearance of the country after the destruction, as seen by Abraham — like “the smoke of a furnace.”

It is scarcely necessary to repeat here the various speculations and controversies touching the sites of the “cities of the plain,” (see on chapter 14:3,) the possible causes of their destruction, and the present configuration of the Dead Sea. On these subjects the reader must consult the special treatises, and the Biblical Dictionaries. See especially McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopaedia, articles Dead Sea, Gomorrah, Sodom, Siddim, and Zoar.

It has been supposed that the Jordan once flowed southwards through the Arabian Ghor, and emptied into the Red Sea through the Gulf of Akabah. But it is now generally conceded that this salt lake, now nearly 1,300 feet lower than the Mediterranean, and over 1,300 feet lower than the Red Sea, never communicated with the latter, but must have existed long before the age of Abraham. But very probably this ancient lake, which received the waters of the Jordan and many other streams, was very much smaller than the present Dead Sea. This latter, doubtless, covers much surface which was anciently a luxuriant plain. According to Major Wilson, of the Palestine Exploration Fund, “the basin of the Dead Sea has been formed without any influence from, or communication with, the ocean; whence it follows that the lake has never been any thing but a reservoir for the rainfall, the saltness of which originally proceeded from the environs of the lake, and has greatly increased under the influence of incessant evaporation. At a later date volcanic eruptions have taken place to the north-east and east of the Dead Sea, and the last phenomena which affected its basin were the hot and mineral springs and bituminous eruptions which often accompany and follow volcanic action.” It is the province of scientific research to bring to light all that can be ascertained as to the geological formation of this mysterious gulf. The destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah was, according to the obvious import of our narrative, miraculous. See the exposition below.

24. The Lord rained… from the Lord — The divine names here used are JEHOVAH. Jehovah sent rain, or caused it to rain, (rycmh,) from Jehovah out of the heavens. Naturally enough have divines discerned in this peculiar statement the idea of some mysterious interaction of Jehovah and his angel. No doubt the truth is, as many put it, that “the Lord rained from himself;” but it is also true that in that mysterious SELFHOOD there are distinguishable powers and forms of self-manifestation, and these are profoundly intimated in such passages as this, and those that speak of the angel of Jehovah. See on Genesis 16:7. Such intimations are not to be pressed as proofs of the divine Trinity, but may be properly regarded as inspired adumbrations of a plurality of persons in the unity of God. Brimstone and fire — These are expressly said to have been rained out of heaven, and the circumstances amply detailed in this and the preceding chapters and the whole context, set forth the manner of the event as miraculous. But we may well believe that in this event, as in the plagues of Egypt, God used natural agencies to accomplish his will. “We know,” says Dr. E. Robinson, “that the country is subject to earthquakes, and exhibits also frequent traces of volcanic action.… Perhaps both causes were at work; for volcanic action and earthquakes go hand in hand; and the accompanying electric discharges usually cause lightnings to play and thunders to roll. In this way we have all the phenomena which the most literal interpretation of the sacred records can demand. Further, if we may suppose that before this catastrophe the bitumen had become accumulated around the sources; and had, perhaps, formed strata spreading for some distance upon the plain; that possibly these strata in some parts extended under the soil, and might thus easily approach the vicinity of the cities; then the kindling of such a mass of combustible materials, through volcanic action or by lightning from heaven, would cause a conflagration sufficient not only to engulf the cities, but also to destroy the surface of the plain, so that ‘the smoke of the country would go up as the smoke of a furnace,’ and the sea, rushing in, would convert it into a tract of waters.” — Biblical Researches, vol. ii, p. 190.

V. 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, 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.

Verse 25. 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 travellers, who, knowing that the common people are delighted with the marvellous, 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 saltness 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 fœtid odour 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 neighbourhood 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 fœtid 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 fœtid odour.

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

Verse 25. And he overthrew those 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. Travellers 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.

25. Overthrew those cities… plain… inhabitants… that which grew — Note the fourfold destruction. This sudden and awful ruin is referred to repeatedly as an example of God’s fearful judgments upon the wicked. Comp. Deuteronomy 29:23; Jeremiah 49:18; 60:40; Zephaniah 2:9; 2 Peter 2:6. It is interesting to notice in this connexion the remarks of the old geographer Strabo, who was born about half a century before Christ. Near Masada, he says, “are to be seen rocks bearing the marks of fire; fissures in many places; a soil like ashes; pitch falling in drops from the rocks; rivers boiling up and emitting a fetid odor to a great distance; dwellings in every direction overthrown; whence we are inclined to believe the common tradition of the natives, that thirteen cities once existed there, the capital of which was Sodom, but that a circuit of about sixty stadia around it escaped uninjured. Shocks of earthquakes, however, eruptions of flames and hot springs, containing asphaltus and sulphur, caused the lake to burst its bounds, and the rocks took fire. Some of the cities were swallowed up; others were abandoned by such of the inhabitants as were able to make their escape.” Book 16:2, 44. Bohn’s Ed. Comp. Tacitus, Hist., 5:7, and Josephus, Ant., 1:11, 4, and Wars, 4:8, 4.

V. 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 to be her sin, Luke 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. 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, 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.

Verse 26. 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, &c. Hence a covenant of salt, Numbers 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, &c., &c., 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, &c., 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 Deuteronomy 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 illic

In fragilem mutata salem, stetit ipsa sepulchrum,

Ipsaque imago sibi, formam sine corpore servans

Durat adhuc etenim nuda statione sub æthra,

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 sexus

Munificos solito dispungere sanguine menses.

TERTULLIANI Opera, vol. ii., p. 731.

Edit. OBERTHUR.

The sentiment in the last lines is supported by Irenæus, 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. James non caro corruptibilis, sed statua salis semper manens, et, per naturalla, ea quœ 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, &c. See Calmet. Josephus says that this pillar was standing in his time, and that himself had seen it: Eiv sthlhn alwn metebalen, iotorhka dJ authn, eti gar kai nun doimenei. Ant. lib. i., c. xi. 3, 4.

St. Clement, in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, chap. ii., 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 travelled 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 favour 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 neighbourhood 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, Luke 17:32: Remember Lot’s wife!

Verse 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 to be her sin, Luke 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 apostacy from our Christian profession. 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, as human bodies exposed to the air are, but metamorphosed into a metallic substance, which would last perpetually.

Ver. 26. Pillar of salt. The analysis of the human body coincides with the qualities of lime, and there were slime or salt pits in the vale of Siddim. Chap. 14. This pillar was a monument of “the wickedness of a foolish people.” Wisdom 10:7.

26. His wife looked back — Prompted by her longing for what she had left behind, and a curiosity to witness the destruction. Her example is given as a warning against desire and effort to take one’s goods when God calls away. Luke 17:32. She became a pillar of salt — Looking backwards and lingering behind, she was probably smitten by the fire and brimstone, and afterwards covered over by a deposit of salt, and became a mound, or pillar, like those which may even now be seen at the southern end of the Dead Sea. The apocryphal Book of Wisdom (x, 7) says that in that waste land to this day “a standing pillar of salt is a monument of an unbelieving soul,” and accordingly many a traveller has sought to identify this pillar. The… following cut represents a column, called by the Arabs Bint Sheik Lot, which was visited by Palmer, and described as “a tall, isolated needle of rock, which really does bear a curious resemblance to an Arab woman with a child upon her shoulder.” But he observes, “the rock discovered by us does not fulfil the requirements of the Scripture story, but there can be no doubt that it is the object which has served to keep alive for so many ages the local tradition of the event.”

V. 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.

Verse 27. 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, Genesis 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!

Verses 27-29. And Abraham gat up early — To see what was become of his prayers, he went to the very place where he had stood before the Lord. 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 Abraham. As before, when Abraham prayed for Ishmael, God heard him for Isaac; so now, when he prayed for Sodom, he heard him for Lot. 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.

27. Early in the morning — Probably the morning of the day of destruction is intended; the next day after his intercession. While Lot is entering Zoar, on the east of the plain, Abraham is gazing from the west upon the smoking gorge between them. They are now separated by a great gulf, and come no more together.

V. 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 Abraham, Genesis 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.

Verses 27-29. And Abraham gat up early — To see what was become of his prayers, he went to the very place where he had stood before the Lord. 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 Abraham. As before, when Abraham prayed for Ishmael, God heard him for Isaac; so now, when he prayed for Sodom, he heard him for Lot. 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.

Ver. 28. The smoke of a furnace. The district forming the dead sea, so called, because it was long before fish were discovered in it, extends about 76 miles by 18 or 20. It contained much bitumen, coally matter, and sulphur, covered with a fertile soil. Hence pride, idleness, and fulness of bread were the sins of Sodom. When their measure was full, God came down to enquire and to judge, teaching monarchs not to execute vengeance in a summary way, but wait for some investigation of character. He collected against them a dark cloud, composed probably of nitre, from which our fiery meteors or shooting stars are chiefly composed, and rained “snares” of fire and brimstone on the wicked. Yea, snares, for when they ran crying into the streets, the fire was there, and when they ran into the fields, the fire was there also. Thus “the heavens revealed their iniquity, and the earth rose up against them.” The fire burned as deep into the earth as the strata or masses of combustible matter extended, and continued burning on the shores of the lake for ages afterward. Deuteronomy 29:23. The lake of Sodom has a saltness superior to that of the sea, which may account for the paucity of fish; and for a sulphureous saline matter, often observed to collect and float on the waves, and which occasionally ignites and explodes. Thus Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, with nine other towns perished in the fire.

28. Looked toward Sodom… smoke — The fearful sight shows him that there were not even ten righteous persons to be found in Sodom. But Abraham’s intercession had an answer in the salvation of Lot. See verse

V. 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.

Verse 29. God remembered Abraham] Though he did not descend lower than ten righteous persons, (see Genesis 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.

Verses 27-29. And Abraham gat up early — To see what was become of his prayers, he went to the very place where he had stood before the Lord. 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 Abraham. As before, when Abraham prayed for Ishmael, God heard him for Isaac; so now, when he prayed for Sodom, he heard him for Lot. 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.

29. As the smoke of a furnace — The rain of fire and brimstone left behind it a smoking ruin, and the deep depression from which the smoke ascended might well remind one of the mouth of a furnace. LOT’S INFAMOUS DAUGHTERS, 29-38.

29. God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out — Thus Lot’s rescue is attributed to Abraham’s prayer. This was Lot’s second rescue by the help of Abraham. See Genesis 14:16.

V. 30. He feared to dwell in Zoar-Here is the great trouble and distress that Lot was brought into after his deliverance, Genesis 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.

Verse 30. 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.

Verse 30. He feared to dwell in Zoar — 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! He has lost all his substance, and the greater part of his family. His wife is made a monument of the divine wrath against those that prefer the world to God, and the principles of his remaining daughters are so corrupted, and their moral feelings so stupified, through their intercourse with the depraved inhabitants of Sodom, that they are prepared for the greatest crimes; they even lay snares to entangle their own father in the dreadful one of committing incest with themselves. He dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters — It seems strange when he was thus reduced, that he did not think of returning to Abraham, from whom he was at no great distance, and who, no doubt, would have kindly received him. But probably he was ashamed to return, being conscious that he had not treated that venerable servant of God with due respect; or, being now stripped of all, and a wretched outcast, he could not brook appearing so degraded among those that had known him in his more prosperous days.

30. In the mountain — One of the mountains on the east of the Dead Sea, afterwards known as the mountains of Moab. He who covetously chose the inviting plain (Genesis 13:11) now gladly seeks the mountain. He feared to dwell in Zoar — The terror of Sodom’s fall entered into his soul, and he feared to dwell so near the scene of ruin as was Zoar. He knew, also, that even that little city was at first among those doomed to destruction. Dwelt in a cave — The rocks and mountains on the east of the Dead Sea abound in caves, many of them, perhaps, the original homes of the Horites. See on Genesis 14:6.

Verse 31. 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.

Ver. 31. There is not a man. The case of Lot’s daughters is perfectly unique. They had recently seen their sisters destroyed in Sodom, by marrying the men of that city. That was a sin they durst not repeat. They had no brother, nor relative, nor hope out of their own family. Moses simply mentions their situation.

31. The firstborn said unto the younger — The infamous measures which this elder daughter proposed, and in which she was readily followed by her younger sister, shows what demoralizing power the city life of Sodom had exerted over them. They became familiar with “the filthy conversation of the wicked,” (2 Peter 2:7;) their sisters had married, and perhaps they themselves had been betrothed to men of Sodom, (see on verses 14, 15,) and possibly their mother was a woman of Sodom, (note on 13, 14;) what could be expected of daughters grown up amid such surroundings! Even though Lot held the faith of Abraham, and reproved his wicked neighbours, his worldly-mindedness was strong, and his parental discipline as feeble, perhaps, as Eli’s. 1 Samuel 2:22-25. Not a man in the earth — That is, in the land, or country around them. We are not to understand by this, as some of the ancient interpreters, that Lot’s daughters believed the whole human race to have been destroyed, but that they had no hope of marriage with any of the men of the country to which they had fled.

Verse 32. 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 favourable 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 endeavoured 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 Clarke’s note on “Genesis 19:38”.

Verse 32. Come, let us make our father drink wine — Although, upon the whole, Lot was a righteous man, and possessed of many amiable qualities, yet it evidently appears that his principles also, as well as those of his daughters, had suffered some degree of contamination by the society of evil-doers, otherwise surely he would have withstood every temptation to excess of drinking. Here the history of Lot ends; after this we hear no more of him or of his daughters. We cannot but be sorry to leave them under so dark a cloud. He, indeed, we have reason to believe, lived to repent of his sin, otherwise St. Peter would not have spoken so honourably of him; but we have no proof that his daughters repented of theirs. And certainly the children thus desired, and in this unlawful way obtained, were monuments of their own and their father’s reproach, and the names they thought fit to give them, which descended to their posterity, perpetuated the memory of their sin and shame to all generations: Moab signifying, of my father, and Ben-Ammi, the son of my people.

Verse 33. And he perceived not when she lay down, nor when, &c.] 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.

33. He perceived not — “These words do not affirm that he was in an unconscious state; they merely mean that in his intoxicated state, though not entirely unconscious, yet he lay with his daughters without clearly knowing what he was doing.… But Lot’s daughters had so little feeling of shame in connexion with their conduct, that they gave names to the sons they bore which have immortalized their paternity.” — Keil.

Verse 37. Called his name Moab] This name is generally interpreted of the father, or, according to Calmet, bawm Moab, the waters of the father.

37. Called his name Moab — Which means, from father. This, we are informed, was the origin of the Moabites, who occupied the country on the east of the southern half of the Dead Sea, formerly occupied by the Emim. Deuteronomy 2:11.

Verse 38. Ben-ammi] ym[ בנ 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 VITIO 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, Numbers 21:29; 25:1-3; and were enemies to the children of Abraham. See Numbers 22:1-6 &c.; Judges 3:14, &c. And the Ammonites, who dwelt near to the Moabites, united with them in idolatry, and were also enemies to Israel. See Judges 11:4, 24; Deuteronomy 23:3, 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, Genesis 9:20, &c.

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 traveller. 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 Luke 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 Clarke’s note on “Genesis 19:31”.

GENESIS

Ver. 38. Ben ammi; that is, son of my people, or of my own race. By this name Lot’s daughter seems to justify the deed on the ground of necessity, there being no other man, ver. 31.

38. Ben-ammi — Which means, son of my people; that is, begotten of my own race. The Ammonites expelled the Zamzummim, and occupied their land, on the north of the territory of Moab. Deuteronomy 2:19-21. “In Lot’s history we may trace the judgment as well as the mercy of God. His selfish choice of the plain of the Jordan led him, perhaps, to present wealth and prosperity, but withal to temptation and danger. In the midst of the abandoned profligacy of Sodom he, indeed, was preserved in comparative purity, and so, when God overthrew the cities of the plain, he yet saved Lot from destruction. Still Lot’s feebleness of faith first caused him to linger, (verse 16,) then to fear escape to the mountains, (verse 19,) and, lastly, to doubt the safety of the place which God had spared for him, verse 30. Now again he is led by his children into intoxication, which betrays him, unconsciously, into far more dreadful wickedness. And then we hear of him no more. He is left by the sacred narrative, saved indeed from the conflagration of Sodom, but an outcast — widowed, homeless, hopeless, without children or grandchildren, save the authors and the heirs of his shame.” — Speaker’s Commentary.