Genesis 19:4

4 Before the guests went to bed, the men of Sodom surrounded the house. All the men of the city, both young and old, were there.

Genesis 19:4 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 19:4

But before they lay down
Upon their beds to sleep; it was between supper time and bedtime that the following affair happened, while the angels were talking to Lot about the men of Sodom, and inquiring what sort of men they were, as the Jewish writers F12 suggest:

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

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

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


FOOTNOTES:

F12 Bereshit Rabba, ut supra. (sect. 50. fol. 44. 4.)

Genesis 19:4 In-Context

2 and said, "Sirs, I am here to serve you. Please come to my house. You can wash your feet and spend the night. In the morning you can get up early and go on your way." But they answered, "No, we will spend the night here in the city square."
3 He kept on urging them, and finally they went with him to his house. Lot ordered his servants to bake some bread and prepare a fine meal for the guests. When it was ready, they ate it.
4 Before the guests went to bed, the men of Sodom surrounded the house. All the men of the city, both young and old, were there.
5 They called out to Lot and asked, "Where are the men who came to stay with you tonight? Bring them out to us!" The men of Sodom wanted to have sex with them.
6 Lot went outside and closed the door behind him.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.