Genesis 19 Study Notes

19:15-22 Lot and his family apparently disbelieved the angels’ warnings as well, because the next morning they were still in the city. The family was literally saved because of the Lord’s compassion as the angels grabbed the hands of each family member. Like Abraham (18:23-32), Lot negotiated a deal with God to save his life. As with Abraham, God graciously granted the request and spared a wicked village for the sake of the righteous people in it. Prior to this time Zoar (lit “Small”) was named Bela (14:2).

19:23-25 The Lord rained . . . burning sulfur (lit “sulfur and fire”). As in Noah’s day, the fatal instrument of judgment against sinners came out of the sky. No natural explanation (e.g., volcano) is suggested, only a supernatural one: it came from the Lord. Perhaps the asphalt pits (14:10) were ignited, adding to the destruction.

19:26 The disobedience of Lot’s wife brought about one of the most mysterious deaths in the Bible as she became a pillar of salt—perhaps becoming permanently entombed in one of the many halite formations in this region.

19:27-29 The destruction was so complete that thick smoke like that of a furnace was still billowing up twenty-four hours later. Nevertheless, Lot had been saved because God remembered Abraham and acted in consideration of his covenantal relationship with him (18:19).

19:30-38 The cave to which Lot and his daughters moved was probably east of the Dead Sea. Isolation and their knowledge of the detestable ways of the men of the region convinced Lot’s daughters that there was no man in the land to sleep with them (i.e., to make them pregnant). Consequently, they schemed to “give life to seed from our father” (preserve our father’s line).

This passage does not explicitly condemn drunkenness or incest; it does not have to. Every Israelite reader would have known these were sins to be avoided, because two of Israel’s most troublesome enemies were spawned as a result of Lot’s drunken actions.