Genesis Chapter 19 · Matthew Poole

Genesis 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; Two angels come to Sodom,

Genesis 19:1. Lot invites them in; they at first refuse,

Genesis 19:2. They enter; he entertains them, and they eat,

Genesis 19:3. The men of Sodom demand to know them,

Genesis 19:4 ,5. Lot dissuades them,

Genesis 19:6 ,7; offers his daughters; urges reason,

Genesis 19:8. They are obstinate; threaten, and press to break the door,

Genesis 19:9. The angels pull Lot in, and shut to the door,

Genesis 19:10; and smite the men with blindness,

Genesis 19:11. Advise Lot to depart with his kindred,

Genesis 19:12. The reason,

Genesis 19:13. Lot speaks to his sons-in-law; they deride him,

Genesis 19:14. The angels lay hold on Lot, his wife, and two daughters, and carry them out,

Genesis 19:16; command them not to look back,

Genesis 19:17. Lot requests to stay in Zoar; it is granted, with a command to hasten, because till they are gone the Lord can do nothing,

Genesis 19:18-23. God rains brimstone and fire upon Sodom,

Genesis 19:24 ,25. Lot’s wife looking back becomes a pillar of salt,

Genesis 19:26. Abraham looks towards Sodom,

Genesis 19:27 ,28. God kind to Lot for Abraham’s sake,

Genesis 19:29. Lot and his two daughters remove to the mountain,

Genesis 19:30. Lot’s daughters contrive for an issue,

Genesis 19:31 ,32. They make their father drunk, lie with him,

Genesis 19:33-35; and are with child,

Genesis 19:36. Moab and Ben-ammi, the two sons, born thereby,

Genesis 19:37 ,38.

And there came two angels,

even those two which departed from Abraham,

Genesis 18:22, and now were come to Lot, the third yet staying and communing with Abraham. Angels they truly were, though they be called men,

Genesis 18:1-33.

At even

of the same day on which they departed from Abraham.

In the gate of Sodom,

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

Genesis 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. Go on your ways,

and so this will be no hinderance to your occasions.

We will abide in the street all night:

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

Genesis 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. He did bake unleavened bread,

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

Genesis 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: Before they lay down

to sleep, of which this word is used,

Genesis 28:13 Leviticus 14:47 26:6.

All the people from every quarter;

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

Genesis 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. Either know who they are; or rather abuse them, as Lot’s answer explains it, and so that word is used,

Genesis 4:1 Numbers 31:17 Judges 19:22. And for the sin here committed, see

Leviticus 18:22 20:13 Romans 1:26 ,27 1 Corinthians 6:9 Judges 1:7. They openly and impudently profess their wicked intention, for which they are branded,

Isaiah 3:9; and this intention of theirs is the more probable, because of the great beauty which it is likely was in those bodies which the angels assumed, whereby their lust was more inflamed.

Genesis 19:6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 19:7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. They were

brethren

by community of nature and habitation; see

Genesis 9:5 29:4 Leviticus 19:17; and so he calls them, if possibly he might sweeten and restrain them.

Genesis 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. Which have not known man,

to wit, carnally. See

Genesis 24:16 Numbers 31:18 Judges 11:39.

Do ye to them as is good in your eyes,

whatsoever your purpose or pleasure is. See the same phrase

Genesis 20:15 41:37 Numbers 24:1, &c. A most imprudent and sinful motion, whereby he yielded to one sin to prevent another, contrary to

Romans 3:8, and exposed his daughters’ chastity, which he was obliged to preserve, and which indeed he had no power to expose, especially seeing they were betrothed to other men,

Genesis 19:14. But it is some extenuation of his sin that it proceeded from his great charity and kindness to strangers, and that he was at this time under a great perturbation and discomposure of mind.

For therefore,

that they might be preserved from such outrages. This was the design of the thing, though not of those persons.

See Poole on " Genesis 18:5 ".

Under the shadow of my roof,

i.e. under the protection of my house.

Shadow

is oft put for protection or defence, as

Judges 9:15 Psalm 36:7 Jeremiah 48:45.

Genesis 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,

or,

go further off,

i.e. out of our way; stand not between us and the door; or,

come hither,

that so they might seize him, and proceed in the designed wickedness.

This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge:

q.d. One man, and he too but a stranger, presumeth to oppose the whole society of the native citizens. Heb.

In judging he will judge.

This busybody, if not restrained in time, will take authority to himself to censure, reprove, and condemn us from time to time.

Genesis 19:10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 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. They smote the men,

Heb.

with blindness,

i.e. with a blindness both of body and mind. It was not a total blindness, as if they quite lost the use of their eyes, for they saw the house, though not the door, but it was a great dimness and confusion of their sight, and a disturbance in their common sense, by which they were made unable to distinguish between differing persons or places; as it was also with the Syrians,

2 Kings 6:18; as it is in some measure with some drunkards, who, though their eyes be open, cannot distinguish between things that differ. And this was very easy for angels to do by a small alteration either in their sight, or in the air, whereby either the door might appear like the solid wall, or the several parts of the wall like so many doors.

Genesis 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: No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 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. No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 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. Which married his daughters;

Heb.

took,

or were

taking,

or about to take, to wit, either to espouse, or to marry. Compare

Genesis 6:2 24:3 28:6 Deu 7:3. Anciently persons were first espoused, and after some time the marriage was consummated.

Genesis 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. Which are here;

Heb.

which are found;

i.e. which are present with thee, as this word is used,

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

Genesis 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. He lingered,

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

Genesis 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. Either one of the angels said this, or the third person, the Lord himself, who having parted from Abraham, after some time came to Lot, as appears both by the change of the number; for before this he speaks of them in the plural number, but from hence in the singular number, as

Genesis 19:19 ,21,22; and by the variation of the phrase, for the other two speak with submission, and as servants,

Genesis 19:13,

The Lord hath sent us,

& c.; but this speaks with more authority, as is evident from

Genesis 19:21 ,22.

Escape for thy life,

i.e. as thou lovest thy life. See

Deu 4:15 Joshua 23:11 Jeremiah 17:21. Or,

escape with thy life,

for the Hebrew particle

al

is sometimes taken for

with,

as

Exodus 35:23 Leviticus 2:2 14:31 Deu 22:6. So the sense is, Stand not lingering in hopes to save thy goods, them thou shalt lose as a punishment of thy sin and folly in choosing to dwell with so wicked a people; and be thankful that thou hast thy

life given

thee

for a prey,

as it is expressed,

Jeremiah 38:2.

Look not behind thee,

like one that grieves either for the loss of thy pleasant habitation or vast estate, or for those cursed miscreants justly devoted to this destruction. And this command, though given to Lot alone, yet was directed also to his companions, to whom doubtless he imparted it, as is evident both from all the other commands, which equally concern all, and from the following event. See

Matthew 24:18 Luke 9:62.

Genesis 19:18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: i.e. Unto one of them, as is manifest from the following words.

Genesis 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,

because of the infirmity of my age, and the fainting of my spirits. Thus he showeth an unworthy and unreasonable distrust of God’s power and goodness, which he had now experienced and acknowledged.

Genesis 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. And it is a little one;

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

Genesis 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. I have accepted thee;

Heb.

I have lift up thy countenance,

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

Genesis 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 any thing till thou be come thither,

because of God’s decree and promise to save thee from the general destruction.

Genesis 19:23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. This phrase may note, either the time of the day when this was done; or rather the nature and quality of the day, that the sun appeared and shone forth that morning in great lustre and glory; which is well noted as a very considerable circumstance of the history, and a great aggravation of the ruin, which came when they least expected it.

Genesis 19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And the neighbouring cities, Admah and Zeboim, as appears from

Deu 29:23 Jeremiah 49:18 Hosea 11:8.

Brimstone

is added to the

fire,

either to convey and carry down the fire, which in itself is light and apt to ascend; or to increase it,

Isaiah 30:33; or to represent the noisomeness of their lusts.

From the Lord,

i.e. from himself; the noun put for the pronoun, as

Genesis 1:27 2 Chronicles 7:2. But here it is emphatically so expressed, either,

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

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

Genesis 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. All the plain,

to wit, where these cities and their territories lay, called

the plain of Jordan,

Genesis 13:10; all which then became, and to this day continues, to be a filthy lake, called the Dead Sea, because no fish lives in it.

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

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

And she,

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

became a pillar of salt;

either metaphorically, i.e. a perpetual durable pillar, as an everlasting covenant is called a

covenant of salt,

Numbers 18:19; or properly, for there is a kind of metallic salt which resists the rain, and is hard enough for buildings, as Pliny, Solinus, and others witness. And that salt was here mixed with brimstone, may be gathered from

Deu 29:23. Add to this, that Josephus, Antiq. i. 12, affirms that this pillar remained in his time. And the like is witnessed by others after him.

Genesis 19:27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD: No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 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. No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 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;

either,

1. The promise made to Abraham,

Genesis 12:3. Or,

2. The prayer made by Abraham,

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

Genesis 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. He feared to dwell in Zoar,

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

Genesis 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: In the earth;

either,

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

2.

In that land,

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

After the manner of all the earth,

i.e. of all the inhabitants of the earth. Compare

Genesis 18:11.

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

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

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

Genesis 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. They made their father drink wine,

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

He perceived not;

wherein there is nothing strange, it being usual with drunken men to do many things in that condition, which, when they come to themselves, they perfectly forget. And so might Lot, when under the power of wine, forget that his wife was turned into a pillar of salt, and might mistake his daughter for his wife.

Genesis 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. No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 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. No text from Poole on this verse.

Genesis 19:36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. Which they might possibly imagine to be an evidence of Divine approbation of their fact; whereas, indeed, it was a design of God to make a lasting monument of their sin and shame.

Genesis 19:37 And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. 1807

Called his name Moab,

i.e.

of my father,

begotten upon me by my father. So she had learned from her neighbours

to declare her sin as Sodom,

Isaiah 3:9.

The Moabites

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

Genesis 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. Called his name Ben-ammi,

i.e.

the son of my people,

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