Genesis 19

Gen 19:1 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;

The two angels. - These are the two men who left Abraham standing before the Lord Gen_18:22.

Lot sat in the gate - the place of public resort for news and for business. He courteously rises to meet them, does obeisance to them, and invites them to spend the night in his house.

Sat in the gate - Possibly, in order to prevent unwary travelers from being entrapped by his wicked townsmen, he waited at the gate of the city to bring the strangers he might meet with to his own house, as well as to transact his own business. This being a time when not only travelers would be glad to put up and take refreshment, but his wicked neighbors lay in wait for them to satisfy their lusts on them.

Lot sat in the gate of Sodom--In Eastern cities it is the market, the seat of justice, of social intercourse and amusement, especially a favorite lounge in the evenings, the arched roof affording a pleasant shade. The gate, generally an arched entrance with deep recesses and seats on either side, was a place of meeting in the ancient towns of the East, where the inhabitants assembled either for social intercourse or to transact public business.

And he bowed himself - not in a religious way, as paying worship to angels, for as yet he did not know them to be such, and if he had, would not have given them divine adoration; but in a civil way, as was the custom of the eastern countries to bow very low in their civil respects to men, especially to great personages; and such Lot took these to be by their goodly looks and by their dress, as appears by his salutation of them in Gen_19:2. The Sodomites heed not the strangers. Lot’s invitation; at first declined, is at length accepted, because Lot is approved of God as righteous, and excepted from the doom of the city.

Bowed himself - Not through religious reverence, for he did not know the quality of his guests; but through the customary form of civility.

Gen 19:2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.

turn in, I pray you --offer of the same generous hospitalities as described in Gen_18:2-8, and which are still spontaneously practiced in the small towns.

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

Gen 19:3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

And he pressed them greatly - He prayed, he entreated, he persuaded, to prevail upon them;

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

entered into his house--On removing to the plain, Lot intended at first to live in his tent apart from the people Gen_13:12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived in the cities of the circuit and pitched his tent toward Sodom. But he was gradually drawn in, dwelt in the city, and he and his family were connected with the citizens by marriage ties.

Gen 19:4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:

While Lot was entertaining his guests with the greatest hospitality, the people of Sodom gathered round his house, “both old and young, all people from every quarter” (of the town, as in Jer_51:31), and demanded, with the basest violation of the sacred rite of hospitality and the most shameless proclamation of their sin Isa_3:9 The look of their faces witnesses against them; and they declare their sin like Sodom. They do not hide it ! Woe to their soul! For they have rewarded evil to themselves, that the strangers should be brought out, that they might know them. The word, as in Jdg_19:22 They were making their hearts merry. And, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, set upon the house all around and beat at the door and spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring out the man that came to your house so that we may know him, to the carnal sin of paederastia, a crime very prevalent among the Canaanites Lev_20:23 And you shall not walk in the ways of the nation which I cast out before you. For they committed all these things, and therefore I loathed them. Lev_18:22 You shall not lie with mankind as with womankind. It is abomination to God. and according to Rom_1:27, a curse of heathenism generally.

But before they lay down - Upon their beds to sleep; it was between supper time and bedtime that the following affair happened, while the angels were talking to Lot about the men of Sodom.

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

all the people from every quarter - all from one end of the city to the other, and from every corner in it: which shows the general corruption and depravity of the city, that it was so far from having ten righteous persons in it, that of the proper inhabitants of it, there was not one righteous person, not one.

Gen 19:5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

Where are the men which came in to thee - This account justifies the character given of this depraved people in the preceding chapter, Gen_18:20, and in Gen_23:13.

that we may know them – The word “know” here is the same one used when Adam knew Eve and had Cain and Abel. not who they were, and from whence they came, and what their business was; nor did they pretend anything of this kind to hide and cover their design from Lot, but they were open and impudent, and declared their sin without shame and blushing, which is their character, Isa_3:9; their meaning was, that they might commit that unnatural sin with them, they were addicted to, and in common used, and which from them to this day bears the name of Sodomy. As lawful copulation with a man's wife is modestly expressed by knowing her, Gen_4:1; so this unlawful and shocking copulation of man with man is expressed by this phrase; and that this was their meaning is plain from Lot's answer to them, Gen_19:8.

Gen 19:6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,

and shut the door after him - this precaution of shutting it was used to prevent the men of Sodom rushing in, and taking away the men by violence; and that Lot might have some opportunity of trying what he could do by arguments, to prevail upon them to desist from their attempt. Two words are here used for door. the first pethach, which is the door-way, at which Lot went out; the latter, deleth, the leaf of the door, which he shut after him when out.

Gen 19:7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

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

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

Gen 19:8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.

I have two daughters - In his anxiety, Lot was willing to sacrifice to the sanctity of hospitality his duty as a father, which ought to have been still more sacred, “and committed the sin of seeking to avert sin by sin.” Even if he expected that his daughters would suffer no harm, as they were betrothed to Sodomites (Gen_19:14), the offer was a grievous violation of his paternal duty. He deserves praise for defending his guests, but he is to be blamed for seeking unlawful means. But this offer only heightened the brutality of the mob.

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.

Behold now, I have two daughters - Though some think they were espoused to men, but had not yet cohabited with them, see Gen_19:14,

Behold now, I have two daughters - this was a very great evil in Lot to make such an offer of his daughters; it was contrary to parental love and affection, an exposing the chastity of his daughters, which should have been his care to preserve; nor had he a power to dispose of them in such a manner: that this showed his great regard to the laws of hospitality, that he had rather sacrifice his daughters to their brutal lusts, than give up the men that were in his house to them; and that he might hope that this would soften their minds, and put them off of any further attempt; but after all it must be condemned as a dangerous and imprudent action:

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

Gen 19:9 And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.

Stand back - make way, turn on one side, get away from the door, that we may come to it:

This one came in to stay, and must he judge always? - the man, who came as a foreigner, is always wanting to play the judge probably because Lot had frequently reproved them for their licentious conduct, 2Pe_2:7-8 And He delivered righteous Lot, oppressed with the lustful behavior of the lawless.

8 For that righteous one living among them, in seeing and hearing, his righteous soul was tormented from day to day with their unlawful deeds.

and they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot - they rushed in upon him in a body, and pushed him away, and pulled him about, and would in all probability have done him serious injury, had he not been rescued by the angels:

Gen 19:10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

and pulled Lot into the house to them - they rescued Lot from the fury and rage of the men of Sodom, and prevented his daughters being exposed unto them, as he had offered.

Gen 19:11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

And they smote the men with blindness both small and great - with blindness both of eye and heart, as one Jewish scholar interprets it; and indeed had they not been given up to a judicial blindness and hardness of heart, such a stroke upon them might have convinced them that their ways were evil, and their works not right, and that by them they had incurred the displeasure of God, and would desisted from their enterprise; but, on the contrary, they went on with it, and sought with all diligence and labor as much as possible to effect it.

And they smote the men with blindness both small and great - The word for "blindness" is only used here and in 2Ki_6:18 And they came down to it, and Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, I pray You, strike this people with blindness. And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha, and denotes a peculiar sort of blindness; not an entire blindness with respect to every object, but only with regard to that they were intent upon; for otherwise they would not have continued about Lot's house, or fatigued themselves with searching for the door of it, but would rather have been glad to have groped to their own houses as well as they could: and thus it was with the Syrians, when they were smitten at the prayer of Elisha, it was not total, for they could follow the prophet in the way he went and led them, but they could not see their way to the place where they intended to go; and so these men of Sodom could see other objects, but not the door of Lot's house, their heads were so confused, and their imaginations so disturbed as in drunken men; or the air, so altered, or the form of the object to be seen so changed, that they could not discern it; when they saw the door, it looked like the wall, and that which seemed to them to be the door, proved to be the wall:

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

with blindness - The word sanverim, rendered “blindness,” and which occurs only here, and in 2Ki_6:18, is supposed to denote dazzlings, deceptions, or confusions of sight from excessive light; The Targums, in both places where it occurs, render it by eruptions, or flashes of light, Compare to Act_13:11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is on you. And you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a while. And immediately a mist and a darkness fell on him, and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

Gen 19:12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:

Bring your sons-in-law - There were only two in number; as we do not hear that Lot had more than two daughters: and these seem not to have been actually married to those daughters, but only betrothed, as is evident from what Lot says, Gen_19:8; for they had not known man, but were the spouses elect of those who are here called his sons-in-law.

bring them out of this place - Apostolic authority has declared Lot was "a righteous man" (2Pe_2:8), at bottom good, though he contented himself with lamenting the sins that he saw, instead of acting on his own convictions, and withdrawing himself and family from such a sink of corruption. But favor was shown him: and even his bad relatives had, for his sake, an offer of deliverance, which was ridiculed and spurned (2Pe_3:4).

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

the LORD hath sent us to destroy it - This proves that the angels are ministers, both to execute God's wrath and to declare his favor. 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.

Gen 19:14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters - according to Jewish scholars, he had two other daughters that perished in Sodom, from Gen_19:15, "which are here", as if he had some elsewhere; and so he had two daughters married in the city. It seems rather, that these were the daughters Lot had at home with him; who, according to Josephus were espoused to men in the city, but not yet married; and on account of such espousals, as were usual in the eastern countries, Lot calls them his sons-in-law, as they were intended; for if these had been daughters of his married, and taken home, he would not only have spoke unto their husbands, but to them also; and would have been still more pressing upon them to arise and make their escape; of which nothing is said, nor of any answer of theirs to him, only of his sons-in-law, as they are called on the above account:

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

Gen 19:15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

And when the morning arose - When it was break of day, for as yet the sun was not risen, nor did it rise until Lot got to Zoar, Gen_19:23. He was now returned from his sons-in-law, and by this time it began to be light:

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

lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city - in the punishment inflicted on the city for their iniquity. Rev_18:4 And I heard another voice from Heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that you may not be partakers of her sins, and that you may not receive of her plagues.

Gen 19:16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

they brought him forth - the Lord being merciful; else they had been left to perish in their lingering, as the others were in their gainsaying. The Lord being merciful unto him; and so saved them from the ruin and destruction of the city, in which had they stayed a little longer they would have been involved.

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

Gen 19:17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

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

look not behind thee - as showing any concern for his goods and substance he had left behind him, or for his sons-in-law, who refused to come with him, and much less for the wicked inhabitants of the city; In a way, it is like believers today who are to turn our backs on our old way of life, and the world, once we are born again.

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

escape to the mountain - the same mountain the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, and they that were with them after the battle of the kings, fled to, Gen_14:10 And the valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits. And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain; here only he and his could be safe from the conflagration of the plain. Afterwards called the mountains of Moab.

Look not behind thee, nor stay in all the plain. Escape to the mountain - He must not loiter by the way. Such as these are the commands given to those who through grace are delivered out of a sinful state. Return not to sin and Satan, for that's looking back to Sodom. Rest not in the world, for that's staying in the plain. And, Reach toward Christ and heaven, for that is escaping to the mountain, short of which we must not take up.

Lot, instead of cheerfully obeying the commandment of the Lord, appealed to the great mercy shown to him in the preservation of his life, and to the impossibility of his escaping to the mountains, without the evil overtaking him, and entreated therefore that he might be allowed to take refuge in the small and neighboring city, i.e., in Bela, which received the name of Zoar (Gen_14:2) on account of Lot's calling it little.

Gen 19:18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:

oh, not so, my Lord - that is, let me not be obliged to go so far as to the mountain; What a strange want of faith and fortitude, as if He who had interfered for his rescue would not have protected Lot in the mountain solitude.

Gen 19:19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:

I cannot escape to the mountain - He saw the destruction so near, that he imagined he should not have time sufficient to reach the mountain before it arrived. He did not consider that God could give no command to his creatures that it would be impossible for them to fulfill.

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

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

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

It is a little one - Probably supposed that being a little city, it was less depraved than Sodom and Gomorrah, and therefore not so ripe for punishment; Though it is little, yet it is great enough to save his life: in which he errs by choosing another place than the one appointed him.

Behold now, this city is near to flee unto - Pointing to Bela, afterwards called Zoar, from what follows: it is said to be two to five miles distant from Sodom.

is it not a little one? - or is it not a little thing? Some take this to mean it is a small request that he makes rather than the city being small.

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

Gen 19:21 And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.

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

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

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

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

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

therefore the name of the city was called Zoar; in later times, and probably first by Lot, from his use of the word "little", which was his request, which Zoar signifies; it before was called Bela, Gen_14:2 they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

Gen 19:23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

And the sun was risen upon the earth - Which is observed partly to point at the time of his entrance into the city, and of the burning of Sodom, which began at the same time; and partly to show what a fine morning it was, and what little appearance there was of such a tempest rising as quickly did; that the following tempest was extraordinary, and did not proceed from natural causes.

The rain of fire and brimstone was not a mere storm with lightning, which set on fire the soil already overcharged with naphtha and sulphur. The two passages, Psa_11:6 and Eze_38:22, cannot be adduced as proofs that lightning is ever called fire and brimstone in the Scriptures, for in both passages there is an allusion to the event recorded here. The words are to be understood quite literally, as meaning that brimstone and fire, i.e., burning brimstone, fell from the sky. By this rain of fire and brimstone not only were the cities and their inhabitants consumed, but even the soil, which abounded in asphalt, was set on fire, so that the entire valley was burned out and sank, or was overthrown, utterly destroyed.

In addition to Sodom, which was probably the chief city of the valley of Siddim, Gomorrah and the whole valley of Siddim and along with the cities of Admah and Zeboim, which were situated in the valley (Deu_29:23, cf. Hos_11:8), also perished, Zoar alone, which is at the south-eastern end of the valley, being spared for Lot's sake. Even to the present day the Dead Sea, great blocks of asphalt rise to the surface. It is around the Dead Sea that these cities are believed to be located.

Gen 19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

The Lord rained brimstone and fire from the Lord from the skies - Here the Lord is represented as present in the skies, whence the storm of desolation comes, and on the earth where it falls. The dale of Siddim, in which the cities were, appears to have abounded in asphalt and other combustible materials Gen_14:10 And the valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits. And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain. The district was liable to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions from the earliest to the latest times. We read of an earthquake in the days of king Uzziah Amo_1:1. An earthquake in 1759 destroyed many thousands of persons in the valley of Baalbec. Josephus reports that the Salt Sea sends up in many places black masses of asphalt. After an earthquake in 1834, masses of asphalt were thrown up from the bottom, and in 1837 a similar cause was attended with similar effects.

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Note that Jehovah the Son raining brimstone and fire from Jehovah the Father; It must however be granted that two persons mentioned as Jehovah in one verse, is both a strange and curious circumstance; and it will appear more remarkable when we consider that the person called Jehovah, who conversed with Abraham, (see Genesis 18)., and sent those two angels to bring Lot and his family out of this devoted place, and seems himself after he left off talking with Abraham to have ascended to heaven, Gen_19:33, does not any more appear on this occasion till we hear that Jehovah rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven.

Brimstone and fire - The word 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 criminals, in Deu_29:23 the whole land shall be burned with brimstone, and salt; it shall not be sown; nor shall it sprout; nor shall there be any grass in it. It shall be like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger, and in His wrath; Job_18:15 What is not his shall dwell in his tent; brimstone shall be scattered on his home; Psa_11:6 On the wicked He shall rain snares, fire and brimstone; and a horrible tempest shall be the portion of their cup; Isa_34:9 And its streams shall be turned into pitch, and its dust to brimstone, and its land shall become burning pitch; Eze_38:22 And I will judge him with a plague and with blood. And I will rain on him, and on his bands, and on the many peoples with him, an overflowing shower, and great hailstones, fire and brimstone. 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. Isa_30:33 For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared. He has made it deep and large. He makes great with fire and wood. The breath of the LORD kindles it, like a torrent of brimstone; Rev_14:10 he also will drink of the wine of the anger of God, having been mixed undiluted in the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented by fire and brimstone before the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; Rev_19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet doing signs before it, (by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast), and those who had worshiped his image. The two were thrown alive into the Lake of Fire burning with brimstone; Rev_20:10 And the Devil who deceived them was cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet were. And he will be tormented day and night forever and ever; Rev_21:8 But the fearful, and the unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, will have their part in the Lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

Then the Lord rained upon Sodom, and upon Gomorrah, brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And not upon those two cities only, but upon Admah and Zeboiim also, see Deu_29:23 the whole land shall be burned with brimstone, and salt; it shall not be sown; nor shall it sprout; nor shall there be any grass in it. It shall be like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger, and in His wrath; this was not a common storm of thunder and lightning, but a continued shower of sulphurous fire, or of burning flaming brimstone, which at once consumed those cities and the inhabitants of them; and the land adjacent being bituminous, or however some parts of it, full of slimepits, or pits of bitumen, a liquid of a pitchy quality, Gen_14:10; this flaming sulphur falling thereon, must burn in a most fierce and furious manner; and which utterly consumed not only houses, goods, and everything upon the land, but the land itself. Of this conflagration some Heathen writers speak, as particularly Tacitus who says, some large and famous cities, not far from Jordan, were struck with thunderbolts, and were fired with fire from heaven, and were consumed; and so Solinus relates, that,"at some distance from Jerusalem, a sorrowful lake appears, which the black ground testifies was stricken by heaven and turned into ashes; where were two towns, the one called Sodomum, the other Gomorrum.'' This was a righteous judgment on those cities, and a just retaliation for their sin; their sin was an unnatural one, and nature is inverted to punish them, fire comes down from heaven, or hell from heaven, as Salvian's words are, to consume them; they burned with lusts one against another, and flaming sheets of sulphurous fire fall upon them, burn and destroy them; and, in allusion to this terrible conflagration, hell is called the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, Jud_1:7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them, in like manner to these, committing fornication, and going away after other flesh, laid down an example before-times, undergoing vengeance of everlasting fire. Rev_20:14 And death and hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death; and this destruction was brought upon them by Jehovah the Son of God, who had appeared to Abraham in an human form, and gave him notice of it, and heard all he had to plead for those cities, and then departed from him to Sodom, and was the author of this sad catastrophe; this amazing shower of fire and brimstone was rained by him from Jehovah his Father, out of heaven; so the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem both call him, the Word of the Lord.

Brimstone - The word rendered “brimstone,” is always rendered by the Septuagint as sulphur.

Gen 19:25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

and that which grew upon the ground - the trees, herbs, and plants It was an utter ruin, and irreparable; that fruitful valley remains to this day a great lake, or dead sea.; The Greeks called it Asphaltis, from a sort of pitch which it casts up. It is called today the Dead Sea. Some believe the cities lie under that. Others look for the sites of Sodom and Gomorrah on the land surrounding the Dead Sea.

Gen 19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

his wife looked back - She was, therefore, instantaneously struck dead and petrified, and thus remained to after ages a visible monument of the Divine displeasure. Luk_17:31-32 In that day he who shall be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise, he who is in the field, let him not return to the things behind. Remember Lot's wife.

But his wife looked back from behind him - Herein she disobeyed an express command. Perhaps she hankered after her house and goods in Sodom, and was loath to leave them. Christ intimates this to be her sin, Luk_17:31-32, she too much regarded her stuff. And her looking back spoke an inclination to go back; and therefore our Savior 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 substance, which would last.

She became a pillar of salt – There are a vast variety of opinions on the crime of Lot’s wife, her change, and the manner in which that change was effected. 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 and became a pillar of salt.

Gen 19:27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:

to the place where he stood before the Lord – to the place in Gen_18:22; the very spot of ground where he had stood the day before in the presence of the Lord, and had conversed with him, and prayed unto him; Abraham was at this time in Mamre, near Hebron. From the height which overlooks Hebron, where the patriarch stood, the observer at the present day has an extensive view spread out before him towards the Dead Sea.

And Abraham gat up early - to see what was become of his prayers

Gen 19:28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace - after the fiery shower was over, and the cities burnt down, the smoke ascended toward heaven, as the smoke of Babylon will do, Rev_19:3 And secondly they said, Hallelujah! And her smoke rose up forever and ever; like the reek of a boiling cauldron; or like the smoke of a lime kiln always burning.

Gen 19:29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

God remembered Abraham - 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.

And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain - Not when he had destroyed them, but when he was about to destroy them; for Lot was sent out from them, and delivered out of them, before they were destroyed; and therefore the words could be read as "before God destroyed them.”

that God remembered Abraham - His promise to him, that He would bless them that blessed him, Gen_12:3 And I will bless those that bless you and curse the one who curses you. And in you shall all families of the earth be blessed; and his prayer to him for Lot in Gen_18:23; for, though he does not mention him by name, he bore him on his heart, and he was always in the number of the righteous ones, on whose account he interceded for the sparing of the cities; and, though God did not hear and answer him with regard to the cities, yet he did with respect to the righteous men in them:

when God destroyed the cities--This is most welcome and instructive after so painful a narrative. It shows God is a "consuming fire" to the wicked Deu_4:24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God; Heb_12:29 for also, "Our God is a consuming fire.” He is the friend of the righteous. He "remembered" the intercessions of Abraham, and what confidence should not this give us that He will remember the intercessions of a greater than Abraham in our behalf.

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

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.

Gen 19:31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:

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.

Our father is old - if he was fifty years of age when he was taken captive by the kings, as says the Jewish chronologer he must now be sixty five, since the destruction of Sodom was fifteen years after that according to one scholar:

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

Gen 19:32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.

After considering all that has been said to criminate both Lot and his daughters in this business, I cannot help thinking that the transaction itself will bear a more favorable construction than that which has been generally put on it.

1. It does not appear that it was through any base or sensual desires that the daughters of Lot wished to deceive their father.

2. They might have thought that it would have been criminal to have married into any other family, and they knew that their husbands elect, who were probably of the same kindred, had perished in the overthrow of Sodom.

3. They might have supposed that there was no other way left to preserve the family, and consequently that righteousness for which it had been remarkable, but the way which they now took.

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

Come, let us make our father drink wine - For unless he had been drunk, he would never have done that abominable act.

Come, let us make our father drink wine - Lot "pitched toward Sodom" (Gen_13:12) for worldly advantage; then became a great man in Sodom (Gen_19:1) at the cost of his daughter's accepting the morals of Sodom.

Gen 19:33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

And he perceived not when she lay down - 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. 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.

And they made their father drink wine that night - They persuaded him to drink liberally, urged him to it again, in order to make him drunk, and so complete their design; and Lot might be the more prevailed upon to drink freely, in order to remove his sorrow over the loss of his wife, and all that occurred.

Gen 19:34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.

the firstborn said to the younger - that what they had contrived succeeded according to their wish, and therefore, for her encouragement to go on, proposes to take the same method again:

Gen 19:35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

Gen 19:36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.

Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father - We learn from hence what the best of men are when left to themselves; a good man, a righteous Lot, is guilty of crimes the most shocking; he exposed the chastity of his daughters to the men of Sodom, and now his daughters attacked him, and succeeded, being both with child by him; and this brought about by excessive drinking, a sin which often leads on to the foulest crimes, and therefore to be carefully avoided; these sins Lot fell into when as it were alone, on a mountain, in a cave, none but his family with him, and these only his two daughters; he that had stood his ground in the midst of Sodom, notwithstanding all the excesses of that place, the impurities in it, and the temptations that every day offered, now falls when seemingly out of the way of all: these sins and failings of good men are recorded for our admonition and caution, that we may shun all appearance of evil, and be careful lest we fall, and neither be presumptuous not self-confident, see 1Co_10:12 So let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

Gen 19:37 And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.

Called his name Moab - This name is generally interpreted of the father or, according to some scholars, the waters of the father, which is sometimes used to mean seed. Isa_48:1 Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and have come out of the waters of Judah; who swear by the name of the LORD and make mention of the God of Israel ( but not in truth nor in righteousness).

Gen 19:38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

Ben-ammi - the son of my people. Both these names seem to justify the view taken of this subject 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.

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

The generation which proceeded from this incestuous connection was certainly a bad one. The Moabites soon fell from the faith of God, and became idolaters, the people of Chemosh, and of Baal-peor, Num 21:29 Woe to you, Moab! You are undone, O people of Chemosh! He has given his sons to be runaways, and his daughters to go into captivity, to Sihon king of the Amorites. Num_25:1-3 And Israel lived in Shittim, and the people began to fornicate with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods. And the people ate and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself to Baal-peor. And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel; and were enemies to the children of Abraham. See Numbers 22; Jdg 3:14 So the sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. And the Ammonites, who dwelt near to the Moabites, united with them in idolatry, and were also enemies to Israel. Jdg 11:4 And it happened after some time the sons of Ammon made war against Israel. Jdg 11:24 Will you not possess that which Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whomever Jehovah our God shall drive out from before us, we will possess them; Deu_23:3-4 An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of Jehovah. Even to their tenth generation they shall not enter into the congregation of Jehovah forever, because they did not meet you with bread and with water in the way when you came forth out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor, of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. As both these people made afterwards a considerable figure in the sacred history, the impartial inspired writer takes care to introduce at this early period an account of their origin. See what has been said on the case of Noah’s drunkenness, Gen_9:20-27, etc.