Bereshis 19:33

33 And they made their av drink yayin balailah: and the bechirah went in, and lay with her av; and he had da’as not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

Bereshis 19:33 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 19:33

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, and refresh his spirits under the loss of his wife, and his daughters, if he had any married in Sodom, as some suppose, and his sons-in-law, and of all his goods and substance; though this will not excuse his drinking to excess, nor can ignorance of the strength of wine be pleaded, since he must needs know it as well as his daughters, who, it is plain, did, and therefore plied him with it: and the firstborn went in and lay with her father;
went to his bed, and lay down by him, which she would not have dared to have done, but that she knew he was drunk and insensible: and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose:
never heard her come to bed nor get up, so dead drunk and fast asleep was he; but finding a woman in bed with him, lay with her, taking her to be his wife, forgetting, through the force of liquor, that she was dead. There is an extraordinary prick on the Vau in Kumah, rendered "she arose", which the Jews say F21 is to show that he knew her not when she lay down, but when she arose he knew her; and indeed it may be rendered, but in her rising up.


FOOTNOTES:

F21 T. Bab. Horayot, fol. 10. 2.

Bereshis 19:33 In-Context

31 And the bechirah said unto the younger, Avinu is old, and there is not an ish in ha’aretz to come in unto us after the derech of kol ha’aretz:
32 Come, let us make avinu drink yayin, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve zera by avinu.
33 And they made their av drink yayin balailah: and the bechirah went in, and lay with her av; and he had da’as not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
34 And it came to pass on the next day, that the bechirah said unto the younger, Hinei, I lay yesternight with avi. Let us make him drink yayin halailah also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve zera by avinu.
35 And they made their av drink yayin balailah also; and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he had da’as not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
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