Genesis 19:21

21 And he said to him, "Behold, {I will grant this favor as well}; that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.

Genesis 19:21 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 19:21

And he said unto him, see, I have accepted thee concerning
this thing also
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" F5; 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.


FOOTNOTES:

F5 (Kynp ytavn) "suscepi faciem tuam", Pagninus, Moatanus, Vatablus, Drusius, Piscator.

Genesis 19:21 In-Context

19 Behold, your servant has found favor in your eyes and {you have shown me great kindness} in saving my life. But I cannot flee to the mountains, lest the disaster overtake me and I die.
20 Behold, this city [is] near [enough] to flee there, and it [is a] little [one]. Please, let me flee there. Is it not a little [one]? Then my life shall be saved."
21 And he said to him, "Behold, {I will grant this favor as well}; that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.
22 Escape there quickly, for I cannot do [this] thing until you get there." Therefore, there name of the city was called Zoar.
23 [After] the sun {had risen} upon the earth and Lot had entered Zoar,

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Literally "I am lifting up your face also concerning this thing"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.