And the two angels came to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom; and Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them; and he fell down on his face to the earth;
verse value 4299
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 68 letters. The shortest word is "two" (שְׁנֵ֨י, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·angels" (הַמַּלְאָכִ֤ים, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "in·the·gate·of·Sodom" (בְּשַֽׁעַר־סְדֹ֑ם), "and·Lot·saw" (וַיַּרְא־לוֹט֙). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·the·ground" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "and·they·came" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis); "two" (root שנה, 169x in Genesis). First appearance of the root שער ("in·the·gate·of·Sodom") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·the·gate·of·Sodom', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַ֠יָּבֹ֠אוּ [and·they·came] (25) + שְׁנֵ֨י [two] (360) + הַמַּלְאָכִ֤ים [the·angels] (146) + סְדֹ֙מָה֙ [Sodom] (109) + בָּעֶ֔רֶב [evening] (274) + וְל֖וֹט [and·Lot] (51) + יֹשֵׁ֣ב [sitting] (312) + בְּשַֽׁעַר־סְדֹ֑ם [in·the·gate·of·Sodom] (676) + וַיַּרְא־לוֹט֙ [and·Lot·saw] (262) + וַיָּ֣קׇם [and·arose] (156) + לִקְרָאתָ֔ם [to·greet·them] (771) + וַיִּשְׁתַּ֥חוּ [and·bowed·down] (730) + אַפַּ֖יִם [face] (131) + אָֽרְצָה [to·the·ground] (296) = 4299.
Onkelos
And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom. Lot saw them and rose to meet them, and he bowed down with his face to the ground.
Rashi
שני TWO — One to destroy Sodom, the other to rescue Lot — it was he who had come to heal Abraham — whilst the third, who had come to make the announcement to Sarah, had departed as soon as he had carried out his mission (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 8). המלאכים ANGELS — But elsewhere (Genesis 18:2) Scripture calls them men! When the Divine Presence was with them, it speaks of them as men. Another explanation is: in connection with Abraham whose power to receive heavenly visitors was great and whom angels visited as regularly as men, it calls them men, but in connection with Lot it calls them angels (Genesis Rabbah 50:2). בערב AT EVENTIDE — Did it, however, take the angels such a long time to travel from Hebron to Sodom? But they were angels of mercy and so they tarried — perhaps Abraham would succeed in his advocacy for them (Genesis Rabbah 50:1). ולוט ישב בשער סדום AND LOT WAS SITTING IN THE GATE OF SODOM — The word is written without a ו so that it may be read יָשַׁב (he sat) — because that day they had appointed him as their judge (Genesis Rabbah 50:3). 'וירא לוט וגו AND LOT SAW THEM etc. — From the practice in Abraham’s house he had learned to look out for strangers (Genesis Rabbah 50:4).
Ibn Ezra
"In the evening" — this refers to Passover in Egypt. "Faces" [אַפַּיִם] — he bowed until his nose [אַף] touched the ground; the nostrils are what are elevated on the face.
Sforno
ויבאו שני המלאכים סדומה בערב, even though they arrived at that city without “time” having elapsed since they departed from Avraham, (compare Berachot 4 the angel Gavriel needing two steps, and the angel Michael only one step) they remained outside the city gates, invisible, not entering and appearing to Lot until evening. The same is true of 18,22 וילכו סדומה. Avraham had concluded his dialogue with G’d already some time previously. ויקם לקראתם, in order to prevent them from spending the night in the street. This was customary also in cities other than Sodom when no one had offered shelter to unexpected strangers. In such instances there was always the danger that the strangers would be harmed by some of the residents of the city. וישתחו אפים ארצה, they clearly looked sufficiently imposing to warrant being treated deferentially.
Or HaChaim
ויבאו…בערב. They arrived in the evening. The reason for this whole story of the angels being hosted by Lot was to afford Lot the opportunity to justify his being saved. Although Bereshit Rabbah 50,11 attributes Lot's escape to Abraham's merit, we still need to find some redeeming feature in Lot's conduct to understand the efforts made by G'd to save him. Had the angels arrived at Sodom in daylight Lot would have lacked the moral courage to offer them hospitality even by devious means. וירא לוט ויקם לקראתם. Lot saw and rose to meet them. This means that Lot recognised that these people were of the type familiar to him as ministering angels of the Lord when he still travelled with Abraham. Because Lot realised this he was prepared to take risks for their sake against the inhabitants of his town. He told them to wash their feet, a custom he had learned from the way Abraham conducted himself with his guests. The Torah reports the details to show the difference between Abraham and Lot. Abraham commenced with his guests washing their feet, Lot suggested they sleep first. Lot did not mind if people who were idolators entered his home without first removing the traces of idolatry, something that Abraham was very particular about.
Chizkuni
ויבאו שני המלאכים, “the two angels arrived, etc.;” Rashi points out that when these two individuals arrived in Eloney Mamre in front of Avraham’s tent, the Torah had referred to them as אנשים, men, mortal human beings, whereas now they are described as angels. If you were to counter that in the ensuing argument between the townspeople and Lot they are also described as אנשים, (verses 5,8,12) this sentence has to be understood as follows: “the ones whom the men of the city called אנשים, “men of substance, etc;” the whole dialogue must be understood thus: Alternately; Lot is saying to his fellow citizens: “do not do any harm to the guests in my house to whom you refer as אנשים. He realised that whereas he had recognised these individuals as angels, his fellow citizens obviously had not. This explanation is also applicable to verse 16, ויחזיקו האנשים, “the men” took hold of, etc.” ולוט יושב בשער סדום, while Lot was seated (as a judge) in the public square of Sodom;” this was at the time when the quarrel about his guests broke out and he returned home, which was close to the gate of the city. This is why he could be so insistent when inviting the angels (verse 3) as the area was narrow and not exposed to the influence of the evil eye. [No one was familiar with the layout of his house.]
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויבאו שני המלאכים סדומה “When the two angels arrived at Sodom, etc.” At this point the Torah calls the men “angels.” In order to understand why the Torah switches between the terms “men” and the term “angels” according to the plain meaning of the text, we would have to say that whenever these messengers performed a mission involving mundane matters, matters which are the exclusive domain of terrestrial beings, the Torah refers to them as “men.” After they had completed their respective tasks on earth involving earthly creatures, the Torah reverts to calling them “angels.” They then assumed their original lofty stature. As far as a kabbalistic approach is concerned I have already dealt with this on 18,8. וירא לוט ויקם לקראתם, “Lot saw and rose to meet them.” Avraham had beheld these “men” already from afar as it was full daylight, i.e. “during the heat of the day,” and this is why the Torah had underlined “he ran towards them.” Lot, however, did not see them until they were close by as they arrived in the evening. This is why the Torah merely mentions that “he arose (from his seat) to welcome them.”
Tur HaArokh
ולוט יושב בשער סדום, “and Lot was sitting in the public square of Sodom.” He distanced himself somewhat from the residential areas of the born and bred Sodomites. Alternately, the Torah writes these words to forestall your asking how he managed to bring the angels to his home without being afraid of being seen. When the angels arrived they found him a good distance away from the local citizenry [it was evening, after all. Ed.] He was therefore confident that he would escape detection when bringing guests to his house.
and he said: "Behold now, my lords, turn aside, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and you shall rise up early, and go on your way." And they said: "Nay; but we will abide in the broad place all night."
verse value 4358
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 84 letters. The shortest word is "please" (נָ֠א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·rise·early" (וְהִשְׁכַּמְתֶּ֖ם, 7 letters). 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "please·my·lords" (נָּא־אֲדֹנַ֗י), "turn·aside" (ס֣וּרוּ), "your·servant" (עַבְדְּכֶ֤ם). The root אמר appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "that" (root כי, 167x in Genesis); "not" (root לא, 127x in Genesis). First appearance of the root לון ("and·spend·the·night") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'on·your·way', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 5 words.
Onkelos
And he said: Please, my lords, turn aside now to the house of your servant and spend the night, and wash your feet, and you will rise early and go on your way. But they said: No, rather we will spend the night in the square.
Rashi
רנה נא אדני BEHOLD NOW, MY LORDS — Behold now you are my lords since you have passed by me. Another explanation is: Behold now you should be careful with respect to these wicked people that they should not observe you, and, therefore this is the good advice that I give you, viz.: סורו נא—take a circuitous route to my house — a round-about way, that people should not notice you entering it. For this reason he said: סורו turn aside (Genesis Rabbah 50:4). ולינו ורחצו רגליכם AND LODGE OVER NIGHT AND LAVE YOUR FEET — Is it then customary for people first to tarry all night and then to wash? Furthermore, Abraham began by saying to them, “Wash your feet”! —But this is what Lot thought: If when the men of Sodom come they see that they have already washed their feet, they will make a charge against me saying, “Two or three days have already elapsed since these come to your house and you did not report it to us” — consequently he said: it is better that they should stay here with the dust on their feet so that they would seem to have just arrived. On this account he first said to them, “Lodge over night”, and afterwards “Wash [your feet]” (Genesis Rabbah 50:4). ויאמרו לא AND THEY SAID, NAY — But to Abraham they had said, “So do [as thou hast said]”! Hence we may infer that one may readily decline an invitation from an inferior but one should not so readily decline an invitation from a superior (Genesis Rabbah 50:4). כי ברחוב נלין BUT WE WILL ABIDE IN THE STREET — Here כי is used in the sense of but; they said: We will not turn aside into your house but we will abide in the street of the city all night.
Ramban
BEHOLD NOW, MY LORDS. Rashi comments: “Behold now you are my lords since you have passed by me” The correct interpretation is that it is an expression of pleadings: “My lords, behold now your servant’s house; turn aside, I pray you, to me” The word suru (turn aside) is as in the expressions: Turn aside (‘surah’), sit down here; Turn in (‘surah’), my lord, turn in to me; fear not. AND YE SHALL RISE UP EARLY, AND GO ON YOUR WAY. The purport of that was to tell them that they should not tarry in the city after the morning for Lot knew the nature of the men of the city and of their wickedness, but he thought, In the morning light they do it. But at night they would not know of them. (Tur.) It may be that he saw them as transients who would not tarry in the city, and so he said, And ye shall rise up early and go on your way if you desire.
Ibn Ezra
"Please, my lords" [אֲדֹנַי] — my teachers hold this is the secular usage [not the divine name]. When the word סוּר ("turn aside") is followed by מֵ-, it has its plain meaning. But when followed by אֶל with a segol, its meaning is that one moves from his place and goes toward the one calling or toward the place named — as in "Turn aside to me" (Judges 4:18). "And they said, No" — implying: unless you press us. This word [הפצר] connotes a multiplicity of words, like entreaties — as in: "insolence and teraphim, and insisting" (1 Samuel 15:23).
Or HaChaim
והשכמתם והלכתם לדרככם, "and rise early and be on your way." Lot hinted to the angels that they had to hide from the local population because he was afraid that something like what happened might indeed occur, i.e. that his guests would be molested.
Chizkuni
ולינו, “and spend the night (in my house);” he brought them into his house without delay before the people of Sodom could see them, and subsequently could identify them. ורחצו רגליכם, “and wash your feet.” This was an additional precaution, as he reasoned if any of the townspeople will see their dusty feet they will realise that they recently arrived from beyond the city gates. This will cause the townspeople to investigate these men further. ולינו ורחצו, “spend the night and wash;” an unusual request, as most people wash (their feet) before going to bed at night. Besides we have it on the authority of Avraham who had asked the same men to first wash the dust off their feet before having lunch with him. (18,4) We therefore must understand Lot as follows: “if the men enter the house after having washed their feet, and they are seen as having clean feet, the townspeople will be suspicious believing that Lot had harboured guests secretly for several days already without their knowledge. He reasoned that the lesser evil is having these men sleep with dirty feet for one night than to provoke an altercation with the townspeople. Knowing of this danger, Lot added that the men (angels) should rise early and leave before they could be detected as guests of his. כי ברחוב נלין, “for we will spend the night outdoors.” When the angels realised how scared Lot was to give them shelter for even one night, they declined his invitation, suggesting that they would take care of themselves even when remaining in the street, visible to all. They considered it appropriate to be seen by the people whom they had been sent to destroy together with their miserable city. If they would begin to realise this, perhaps they would become penitents.
Tur HaArokh
הנה נא אדו-ני, “Look here, sirs;” a courteously phrased request. In other words, “seeing that my house is nearby, please honour me by visiting with me.” והשכמתם והלכתם לדרככם, “you may rise early and continue on your way.” He was not going to detain them until the sun was shining. He hoped thereby to escape the watchful eyes of the Sodomites also in the morning. He was not worried that they would notice them at night, or, that they would consider these men as passing through without stopping in the town.
And he urged them greatly; and they turned in to him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.
verse value 3183 — אָפָ֖ה = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 55 letters. Notable word values: "baked" (אָפָ֖ה) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "very" (מְאֹ֔ד, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·he·urged·them" (וַיִּפְצַר־בָּ֣ם, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·he·urged·them" (וַיִּפְצַר־בָּ֣ם), "and·they·turned" (וַיָּסֻ֣רוּ), "and·unleavened·bread" (וּמַצּ֥וֹת). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·him" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "and·they·came" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis); "and·made" (root עשה, 152x in Genesis). First appearance of the root פצר ("and·he·urged·them") in Genesis. First appearance of the root משתה ("feast") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·his·house', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַיִּפְצַר־בָּ֣ם [and·he·urged·them] (428) + מְאֹ֔ד [very] (45) + וַיָּסֻ֣רוּ [and·they·turned] (282) + אֵלָ֔יו [to·him] (47) + וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ [and·they·came] (25) + אֶל־בֵּית֑וֹ [to·his·house] (449) + וַיַּ֤עַשׂ [and·made] (386) + לָהֶם֙ [to·them] (75) + מִשְׁתֶּ֔ה [feast] (745) + וּמַצּ֥וֹת [and·unleavened·bread] (542) + אָפָ֖ה [baked] (86) + וַיֹּאכֵֽלוּ [and·ate] (73) = 3183.
Onkelos
And he urged them greatly, and they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread for them, and they ate.
Rashi
ויסרו אליו AND THEY TURNED ASIDE UNTO HIM — They took a circuitous route towards his house (Genesis Rabbah 50:4). ומצות אפה AND HE BAKED UNLEAVENED BREAD —It was Passover (Genesis Rabbah 48:12).
Ramban
AND HE URGED THEM GREATLY. His urging them was meritorious on the part of Lot, and he indeed had a sincere desire to welcome wayfarers. They, however, at first refused in order to increase his merit, and therefore they finally listened to him; but originally they did not want to come into his house as he was not a perfectly righteous man. But our Rabbis have said [in order to explain their original refusal]: “One may decline an offer from an inferior person, but not from a superior person.” If so, their declining his offer at first was merely an act of ethical conduct.
Sforno
A feast. Literally, “a drinking feast.” Lot offered them wine because he was fond of it himself.
Or HaChaim
ויעש להם משתה. He prepared a feast for them. The correct meaning of the verse is that while Lot prepared a meal for them the angels ate only matzot. This was because Lot did not observe the commandments of the Torah as did Abraham. At Abraham's home the angels had no compunction about eating meat. The angels either knew that Lot had tithed the flour he used for baking the matzot, or they reasoned that in the absence of priests to give the tithe (תרומה) to, they assumed that function themselves and ate the part which could be considered terumah whereas they did not eat the regular matzah. According to our sages (Midrash Hagadol), the date was the 16th of Nissan and Lot had baked matzah in anticipation of the eventual Passover holiday some 400 years hence.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ומצות אפה ויאכלו, “and he had baked unleavened bread, and they ate.” The reason the Torah mentions the kind of bread being served was to contrast it with the fact that Avraham never did serve bread to the angels. Here the Torah wanted to alert us to this. Here the angels did eat the bread as opposed to the meat which disappeared when it was served by Avraham to the angels. The “meal” when the angels were at Avraham’s resembled a sacrifice on the altar (compare our comments on 18,8).
Tur HaArokh
ויפצר בם מאד, “he urged them very strongly.” They had first refused, in order to increase his merit if he kept insisting to host them.
But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both young and old, all the people from every quarter.
verse value 3336
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 53 letters. The shortest word is "before" (טֶ֘רֶם֮, 3 letters) and the longest is "against·the·house" (עַל־הַבַּ֔יִת, 6 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "they·lay·down" (יִשְׁכָּ֒בוּ֒), "surrounded" (נָסַ֣בּוּ), "against·the·house" (עַל־הַבַּ֔יִת). The root איש appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·the·men·of" (root איש, 153x in Genesis); "all·the·people" (root כל, 127x in Genesis); "against·the·house" (root בית, 121x in Genesis). First appearance of the root שכב ("they·lay·down") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·to·old', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 2 words. Full calculation: טֶ֘רֶם֮ [before] (249) + יִשְׁכָּ֒בוּ֒ [they·lay·down] (338) + וְאַנְשֵׁ֨י [and·the·men·of] (367) + הָעִ֜יר [the·town] (285) + אַנְשֵׁ֤י [men·of] (361) + סְדֹם֙ [Sodom] (104) + נָסַ֣בּוּ [surrounded] (118) + עַל־הַבַּ֔יִת [against·the·house] (517) + מִנַּ֖עַר [from·young] (360) + וְעַד־זָקֵ֑ן [and·to·old] (237) + כׇּל־הָעָ֖ם [all·the·people] (165) + מִקָּצֶֽה [from·every·quarter] (235) = 3336.
Onkelos
Before they had lain down, the men of the city — the men of Sodom — surrounded the house, from young to old, all the people from every end of it.
Rashi
טרם ישכבו ואנשי העיר אנשי סדום The following explanation is given in Genesis Rabbah 50:5: Before they lay down, the men of the city were a topic of conversation (literally, were in the mouths of the angels), for they asked Lot about their character and doings, and the latter replied that most of them were wicked. They were still speaking about them, 'ואנשי סדום וגו “when the men of Sodom etc.” However the real sense of the text is: The men of the city, wicked men, compassed the house. Because they were wicked he designates them as “men of Sodom”, just as Scripture said, (Genesis 13:13) “And the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners”. כל העם מקצה ALL THE PEOPLE FROM EVERY QUARTER — from one end of the city to the other end, and no-one protested, for there was not even one righteous person amongst them (Genesis Rabbah 50:5).
Ibn Ezra
"Surrounded" [נָסַבּוּ] — from the nif'al conjugation. "All the people from every quarter" — meaning they were not living adjacent to the house.
Or HaChaim
טרם ישכבו, Before they went to sleep. The Torah is careful not to write: "after they had eaten, etc." From this we learn that something transpired between Lot and the angels after the time they completed the meal and before their retiring for the night. Our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 50,5 mention that when questioned about the townspeople by the angels Lot said that whereas all over the world there are both good and wicked people in a town, in Sodom the people were mostly wicked. We have previously explained why the angels did not immediately destroy the town when they heard this. Besides, according to the Midrash, Lot asked them to spare the city and they accepted his plea. It was only after they were about to add further sins (verse 5) to their already full register that the angels told Lot to save himself and his relatives (verse 12) prior to their destroying the city. There was an additional reason why the angels did not immediately destroy the town. They waited till morning, a period when the attribute of Mercy is in the ascendancy; at that time they would succeed in saving Lot. They could not have done this during the night. Our sages add that since the Sodomites worshipped both sun and moon they were smitten at a time when the moon is full (middle of the month) and the sun shone, to show that neither force protected them.
Chizkuni
מנער ועד זקן, “both young and old.” Seeing that all of them were wicked, Avraham had not received an assurance beyond a minimum of ten.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ואנשי העיר אנשי סדום, ”and the men of the town, the men of Sodom, etc.” The Torah wanted to hint that the men of Sodom and the men of “the city and the Tower” (in Genesis 11,4) had a great deal in common. Both were absolutely wicked. The men here described as “the men of the city,” were survivors of that episode [less than 100 years earlier]. (According to another view, these men were re-incarnates of the people who had died at the time of the Tower and they resurfaced a third time as re-incarnates and formed the rebels who joined Korach in his uprising. (Compare our author’s comment on Numbers 27,29)
And they called to Lot, and said to him: "Where are the men that came in to you this night? bring them out to us, that we may know them."
verse value 2596 — ל֔וֹ = 36 (double-Chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 62 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֔וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·him" (ל֔וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·they·shouted" (וַיִּקְרְא֤וּ, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "who·came" (אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֥אוּ), "bring·them·out" (הוֹצִיאֵ֣ם), "that·we·may·know" (וְנֵדְעָ֖ה). The root אל appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "to·you" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "who·came" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'tonight', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיִּקְרְא֤וּ [and·they·shouted] (323) + אֶל־לוֹט֙ [to·Lot] (76) + וַיֹּ֣אמְרוּ [and·they·said] (263) + ל֔וֹ [to·him] (36) + אַיֵּ֧ה [where] (16) + הָאֲנָשִׁ֛ים [the·men] (406) + אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֥אוּ [who·came] (510) + אֵלֶ֖יךָ [to·you] (61) + הַלָּ֑יְלָה [tonight] (80) + הוֹצִיאֵ֣ם [bring·them·out] (152) + אֵלֵ֔ינוּ [to·us] (97) + וְנֵדְעָ֖ה [that·we·may·know] (135) + אֹתָֽם [them] (441) = 2596.
Onkelos
And they called to Lot and said to him: Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, so that we may know them.
Rashi
ונדעה אותם AND WE SHALL KNOW THEM — with homosexuality, as in "who have not known a man" (Genesis Rabbah 50:5).
Ramban
AND WE SHALL KNOW THEM. Their intention was to stop people from coming among them, as our Rabbis have said, for they thought that because of the excellence of their land, which was as the garden of the Eternal, many will come there, and they despised charity. Lot, however, came to them with his riches and wealth [and was given permission to live in Sodom because] he either asked permission of them, or that they accepted him in honor of Abraham. Now Scripture testifies that this was the intent of the people of Sodom, as it is said, Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and careless ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. The verse stating, And the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners against the Eternal exceedingly, This would seem to indicate that they sinned only against G-d but not against their fellow man. really means that they continued provoking and rebelling against Him with their ease and the oppression of the poor. It is this thought which Scripture expresses by saying, And they were haughty, and committed abomination before Me; therefore I removed them when I saw it. In the opinion of our Rabbis, all evil practices (Ibid.) were rampant among them. Yet their fate was sealed because of this sin — i.e., they did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy — since this sin represented their usual behavior more than any other. Besides, since all peoples act righteously towards their friends and their poor, there was none among all the nations who matched Sodom in cruelty. Know that the judgment of Sodom was due to the superiority of the Land of Israel since Sodom is part of the inheritance of the Eternal, and it does not suffer men of abominations. And just as it later vomited out a whole nation on account of their abominations, so it now anticipated and saw that this entire people behaved worse than all nations towards Heaven and mankind. It thus laid waste heaven and earth for them, and the land was destroyed forever, never to be restored, since they became haughty on account of the goodness that was bestowed on them. The Holy One, blessed be He, thus made Sodom a token against the rebellious children, that is, against the children of Israel who were destined to inherit it, even as He warned them: The whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and a burning… like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Eternal overthrew in His anger, and in His wrath. For there have been among nations those who were evil and exceedingly sinful, and yet He did not do to them as He did to Sodom. However it was all on account of the superiority of this land for there is the temple of the Eternal. I plan to explain this in Seder Achrei Moth, if He Who taketh life and giveth life will sustain me in life.
Ibn Ezra
"That we may know them" — a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
Chizkuni
ונדעה אותם, “so that we may engage in homosexual relations with them;” the word ידע is familiar to us from Genesis 4,1 where it described Adam in engaging in carnal relations with Chavah. Besides, it is clear from Lot’s offer of his two virgin daughters as an alternative to satisfy the carnal desires of the men of Sodom (19,8), that these men were planning a criminal activity.
Tur HaArokh
ונדעה אותם, “so that we can become intimate with them.” They meant to indulge in homosexual relations with these strangers. According to the plain meaning of the text, they wanted to examine if these men were spies.
And Lot went out to them to the door, and shut the door after him.
verse value 1659
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "Lot" (ל֖וֹט, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·the·entrance" (הַפֶּ֑תְחָה, 5 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "to·the·entrance" (הַפֶּ֑תְחָה), "and·the·door" (וְהַדֶּ֖לֶת), "shut" (סָגַ֥ר). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·them" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "behind·him" (root אחר, 105x in Genesis); "and·went·out" (root יצא, 77x in Genesis). First appearance of the root דלת ("and·the·door") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·the·entrance', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיֵּצֵ֧א [and·went·out] (107) + אֲלֵהֶ֛ם [to·them] (76) + ל֖וֹט [Lot] (45) + הַפֶּ֑תְחָה [to·the·entrance] (498) + וְהַדֶּ֖לֶת [and·the·door] (445) + סָגַ֥ר [shut] (263) + אַחֲרָֽיו [behind·him] (225) = 1659.
Onkelos
And Lot went out to them, to the entrance, and shut the door behind him.
Ibn Ezra
"To the entrance" [הַפֶּתְחָה] — toward the doorway. The tav of דֶּלֶת ("door") is the marker of the feminine, and here it is elided.
And he said: "I pray you, my brothers, do not so wickedly.
verse value 1034
Insights
Verse structure: 4 words, 16 letters. The shortest word is "my·brothers" (אַחַ֖י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·said" (וַיֹּאמַ֑ר, 5 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "act·wickedly" (תָּרֵֽעוּ). 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "do·not·please" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "my·brothers" (root אח, 164x in Genesis). First appearance of the root רעע ("act·wickedly") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·said', dividing the verse into phrases of 1 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּאמַ֑ר [and·said] (257) + אַל־נָ֥א [do·not·please] (82) + אַחַ֖י [my·brothers] (19) + תָּרֵֽעוּ [act·wickedly] (676) = 1034.
Behold now, I have two daughters that have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out to you, and do you to them as is good in your eyes; only to these men do nothing; forasmuch as they are come under the shadow of my roof."
verse value 6500 — הָאֵל֙ = 36 (double-Chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 23 words, 97 letters. Notable word values: "these" (הָאֵל֙) = 36, double chai. Verse gematria: 6500 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "to·me" (לִ֜י, 2 letters) and the longest is "let·me·bring·out" (אוֹצִֽיאָה־נָּ֤א, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 710: two, my·roof. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "not·known" (לֹֽא־יָדְעוּ֙), "let·me·bring·out" (אוֹצִֽיאָה־נָּ֤א), "them" (אֶתְהֶן֙). The root אל appears 3 times in this verse. 20 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "to·you" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "came" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·your·eyes', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 9 words.
Onkelos
Behold now, I have two daughters who have not known a man — let me bring them out to you, and do to them as is proper in your eyes; only to these men do nothing at all, for they have therefore come under the shelter of my authority.
Rashi
האל is the same as האלה THESE. כי על כן באו FOR AS MUCH AS THEY HAVE COME — For (כי) this kindness please do out of respect to me because that (על כן) they have come בצל קורתי UNDER THE SHADOW OF MY ROOF. — In the Targum this is given by בטלל שרותי: the Targum (Aramaic) for קורה (a beam) is שרותא.
Ramban
LET ME, I PRAY YOU, BRING THEM OUT UNTO YOU. From the praise of this man Lot we have come to his disgrace: he made every effort on behalf of his guests in order to save them because they came under the shadow of his roof, but he is ready to appease the men of the city by abandoning his daughters to prostitution! This bespeaks nothing but an evil heart for it shows that the matter of prostitution of women was not repugnant to him, and that in his opinion he would not be doing such great injustice to his daughters. It is for this reason that our Rabbis have said, “It is the custom of the world that a man fights to the death for the honor of his daughters and his wife, to slay or to be slain, but this man hands over his daughters for dishonor. Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to him, ‘It is for yourself that you keep them.’” Now Lot was fearful [for the welfare of the angels] as he thought that they were men, but when they smote the men of the city with blindness and they said to him, For we will destroy this place… and the Eternal hath sent us, here. then he recognized them and believed in doing whatever they commanded him. Know and understand that the matter of the concubine of Gibeah, Ramban digresses here to explain the crime of Gibeah, which bears a certain resemblance to that of Sodom, and consequently explains also the civil war between the tribe of Benjamin and the rest of Israel. Thus Chapters 19 and 20 in the book of Judges are here explained by Ramban. even though it resembles this affair, does not attain the degree of evil of the inhabitants of Sodom. Those wicked ones of Gibeah had no intention of stopping people from coming among them. Rather, they were steeped in immorality and desired sexual relations with the wayfarer, and when he brought his concubine out to them, they were satisfied with her. The old man [who had invited the wayfarer to his house] and who said to the men of Gibeah, Behold, here is my daughter, a virgin, and his concubine; I will bring them out now… and do with them what seemeth good unto you, knew that they would not want his daughter and that they would not harm her. This was why they refused to listen to him. And when he finally turned his concubine alone outdoors to them, they ceased molesting him. Now the master of the house, as well as the guest, both wanted to save the man through his concubine, as a concubine does not have the status of a man’s wife. Besides, she had already played the harlot against him. In that breach, too, not all of the men of the city were involved as they were in Sodom, concerning which it is said, Both young and old, all the people from every quarter, here. while of Gibeah it is said, Behold, the men of the city, certain base fellows — only some of them, those who were the rulers and strong men of the city, even as the man said in relating the incident, And the masters of Gibeah196“Masters of Gibeah.” This is obviously the way Ramban understood the verse since the Hebrew had “ba’alei [rather than anshei] Gibeah.” The J.P.S. translation, however, renders it: And the men of Gibeah rose against me. rose against me. This was why the others did not protest against them. Now the chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel wanted to erect a great guard in the matter of immorality by slaying them, as it is said, Now therefore deliver up the men, the base fellows that are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death. It is clear that according to the law of the Torah they were not guilty of the death-penalty as they had done no deed exclusive of the torture of the concubine — harlot. They did not intend her death, nor did she die at their hands for they let her go at the approach of dawn, and she walked from them to her master’s house and after that she died, weakened perhaps by her numerous violations, and chilled while lying at the door until it was light, and there she died. But because the men of Gibeah had wanted to do a shameful deed just as the men of Sodom, the tribes saw fit “to make a fence unto the Torah” so that this should never again happen or be contemplated in Israel, even as they said, And that we may put away evil from Israel. This judgment has its origin in the principle which our Rabbis have stated: “The Court may administer stripes and the death penalty which are not authorized by the Torah. However, they may not do this [with the intent of instituting a law which] transgresses the words of the Torah but only for the purpose of erecting a fence around the Torah.” See Rashi Sanhedrin 46 a, that this is its meaning. The tribe of Benjamin, however, did not consent to this as they were not guilty of the death-penalty for violating the concubine. Perhaps the Benjamites were also provoked by the fact that the tribes did not communicate with them first and reached a consensus without asking for their opinion. In my opinion, this [failure to consult Benjamin] caused Israel’s punishment which resulted in their being routed at first since the war was done not in accordance with the law. The obligation of making “the fence” lay upon the tribe of Benjamin, and not upon them, as it is the tribe itself that is obligated to judge its constituents. Sanhedrin 16 b: “It is commandatory upon the tribe to judge the people of the tribe.”Thus both parties were deserving of punishment. Benjamin sinned by not bothering to punish the wicked ones or even rebuke them. Israel sinned by making war not in accordance with the law, and they asked not counsel at the mouth of the Eternal on this matter. Instead they questioned G-d and said, Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of Benjamin? They themselves had decided to do battle in any case. Similarly, they did not inquire concerning the outcome of the battle, “If Thou wilt give them into my hand,” since they relied on their man-power which was exceedingly great as they were now more than ten times [as numerous as the Benjamites]., Verse 17) while the Benjamites numbered twenty-six thousand (ibid., Verse 15). All they asked was, Who shall go up for us first, this being like casting lots among them. Perhaps each tribe was saying, “I will not go up first,” or each tribe was saying, “I will be first.” There is a difference of opinion among the Rabbis as to their attitude. According to one authority each tribe said, “I will not go into the sea first [to escape the Egyptians],” while another authority maintains that each tribe was saying, “I will go first.” And the Holy One, blessed be He, answered in accordance with their question: Judah first, meaning Judah is always first, For He hath chosen Judah to be prince. This was why He did not say, “Judah shall go up,” as in other places, for He did not give them permission. However, He did not stop them, and neither did he tell them, Go not up, neither fight, because of the merited punishment of the Benjamites. Thus did G-d walk with both of them by chance, leaving them to natural circumstances. Accordingly, the Benjamites, who were valiant men and whose cities were well fortified, destroyed the Israelites who had “made flesh their arm of strength.” But now the Benjamites compounded their merited punishment. It would have been sufficient for them to drive the Israelites away from Gibeah. Instead, they killed them, seeking to destroy them by a perpetual hatred, and they slew the mighty number of twenty-two thousand of their people. Now when the Israelites suffered such a great defeat they became aware of their error, namely, that they did battle with their brethren without receiving Divine permission and engaged in a battle which was not in accordance with the law of the Torah. Therefore, on the second day they asked, shall I again draw nigh to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? Now they mentioned the brotherhood among them, asking whether He forbids them to do battle. But now on the second day, G-d permitted them, saying, Go up against him, as it was now permissible for them to avenge the spilled blood of their brethren. All the Benjamites had to do on the first day of battle was to drive the Israelites from Gibeah, as explained above. Instead, they killed twenty-two thousand of them. Hence, on the second day, it became “permissible” for the Israelites to attempt to avenge their death. However, they did not ask whether they will be victorious because they were still relying upon their superior numbers to bring victory under all circumstances. But since G-d had explained to them only that the battle was permissible to them, and since their first sin had not yet been atoned for, there fell among them also on the second day eighteen thousand. On the third day they decreed a fast, and they fasted and they wept… before the Eternal, and they offered burnt-offerings to atone for their sinful thoughts (Vayikra Rabbah 7:3.) through which they relied upon the strength of their arm. They also offered peace-offerings, which were Thanksgiving peace-offerings, since they considered themselves as if they had all escaped from the sword of Benjamin. This indeed is the law of all who are delivered from danger: they are to bring a thanks-offering, just as it is said, And let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with singing, and it is further written, And now shall my head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me; and I will offer in His tabernacle sacrifices with trumpet-sound; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Eternal. Now the number of dead among the Israelites during the two days was forty thousand, and in the end twenty-five thousand of Benjamin’s warriors fell, besides those that were put to the sword from the whole city and all that they found. It is possible that among the men, women and children they totalled fifteen thousand additional casualties, thus making the punishment of the two groups equal. And how significant are the words of our Rabbis who said that the anger of G-d at that time was due to the idol of Micah! “Said the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Concerning My honor, which was violated by those guilty of death and those who raised their hand against the principle of religion, namely, the unity of G-d, you did not protest; but for the honor of a mortal you did protest, to an extent which exceeded the limits of justice!”Therefore He confounded the counsel of the two groups and made their hearts stubborn, and they remembered not the brotherly covenant. But after the affair they had regrets, just as it is said, And the people came to Beth-eland sat there till evening before G-d, and lifted up their voice, and wept bitterly. And they said: O Eternal, G-d of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be today one tribe missing from Israel? For now they realized their mistakes and punishment. We have thus incidentally explained a concealed matter which is not clear [with a cursory reading of the text], and we have mentioned the cause thereof.
Ibn Ezra
"Have known a man" [יָדְעוּ אִישׁ] — the plural masculine and feminine forms of the past tense, without the added open vav, are identical. "The yod" [הָאֵל] — equivalent to הָאֵלֶּה ("these"). The Gaon [Saadia] said that [Lot] spoke in this form because the third angel had not yet come. But this explanation is strained, for both forms [האל and האלה] are found in Aramaic as well.
Sforno
אוציאה נא אתהן אליכן, he hoped that the fiancés of his daughters would come to their aid. (compare Hoseah 10,14 for the meaning of the author’s expression קאם שאון).
Chizkuni
אשר לא ידעו איש, “who have not had carnal relations with any man.” According to proper grammar, Lot should have said: אשר לא ידען איש, “with whom no man had had carnal relations;” seeing that it is usually the male who seduces the female; however the daughters of Lot were not chaste and did not shy away from engaging in seducing men, as we know from later when they initiated carnal relations with their own father. (20,33) Their descendants, the daughters of Midian, kept up the tradition when they seduced the Israelite males in the desert (Numbers 31,17) As a result all the female Midianite prisoners who had lost their virginity were not allowed to live. כי על כן, “for on account of” (their not wishing to be disturbed, they came to my house for shelter).
Rabbeinu Bahya
הנה נא לי שתי בנות וגו'... רק לאנשים האל וגו, “See here, I have two daughters, etc... only to these men, etc.” Lot went to great lengths to protect the people who were his guests from any harm. Nonetheless his attempt to assuage the illegitimate demands of the townspeople to save these men at the expense of the chastity of his daughters revealed that his heart was not in the right place. He could not have performed a greater act of abandoning his own flesh and blood to the perverted lust of his compatriots than by his offer to let them do whatever “was good in their eyes” to his daughters. This is why our sages (Tanchuma Vayera 12) said: “according to standard civilized conduct a father risks his life in order to protect the innocence of his daughters. Lot, by contrast, tried to buy his own safety at the expense of the honor of his daughters.” This is why G’d said to him: “you are only preserving them from the men of Sodom in order to violate them yourself.” [a reference to the end of our chapter where Lot sired two sons who were mothered by his daughters. Ed.] You should know that what happened here was similar to the incident known as Pilegesh be-Givah” (Judges chapter 19), which triggered a civil war. In fact, Lot’s conduct was even worse than that of the aged host in that chapter. In that instance the local inhabitants were satisfied with violating the guests’ concubine, not molesting the host’s daughter who was a virgin. (Judges 19,23-25). In our instance the men of Sodom could not even be appeased when they were offered Lot’s two daughters to make sport with. Furthermore, in the incident at Givah “only” the men in their prime participated in that outrage, whereas here all the men “from young to old” participated in the attempt to commit this foul deed. Thus far the commentary of Nachmanides. Bereshit Rabbah 50,6 understands the words לאנשים האל to mean “these ‘men’ are messengers of G’d.”
Tur HaArokh
הנה לי שתי בנות, “I have two daughters;“ whom I am willing for you to be intimate with. אשר לא ידעו איש, “who have never yet been intimate with a man.” Actually, he should have phrased it as: ”with whom no man has as yet been intimate.” This was the phrase used in Genesis 24,16 (Rivkah) ואיש לא ידעה, “no man had been intimate with her.” The reason why he chose the phrasing he did was to hint (subconsciously) that eventually they would take the initiative in sleeping with a man, their own father. (Genesis 19,31-36) אוציאה נא אתהן, “I will bring them outside.” While the Torah credits Lot with the extent to which he went to protect his guests from the local mob, we also hear about his moral depravity, i.e. that a father uses his own daughters as bargaining chips to trade one abomination for another. Clearly, casual sex, without the sanctifying element of marriage, was a minor misdemeanour in his eyes. Lot had been under the impression that his guests were men of flesh and blood. As soon as he became aware of their true identities, and that the reason they had come was to destroy the city on the one hand, and to save him at the same time, he did whatever the angels asked him to do.
Cross-references: Judges 11:35; II Samuel 12:3; Judges 15:16; I Samuel 8:13; Genesis 34:7; Genesis 31:50; Genesis 19:12
And they said: "Stand back." And they said: "This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs play the judge; now will we deal worse with you, than with them." And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and drew near to break the door.
verse value 4953 — הָאֶחָ֤ד = 18 (chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 78 letters. Notable word values: "one" (הָאֶחָ֤ד) = 18, chai, 'life'. Verse gematria: 4953 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "to·you" (לְךָ֖, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·they·said" (וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 263: and·they·said, and·they·said. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "stand·back" (גֶּשׁ־הָ֗לְאָה), "came·to·sojourn" (בָּֽא־לָגוּר֙), "and·acts·the·judge" (וַיִּשְׁפֹּ֣ט). The root אמר appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "came·to·sojourn" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis); "against·the·man" (root איש, 153x in Genesis). First appearance of the root שבר ("to·break") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 7 words.
Onkelos
And they said: Stand back! And they said: This one came to sojourn, and now he presumes to act as judge. We will deal worse with you than with them. And they pressed against the man, against Lot, very hard, and drew near to break the door.
Rashi
ויאמרו גש הלאה AND THEY SAID, STEP BACK — Get you away over there — as much as to say, Take yourself aside and keep away from us. Similarly wherever the word הלאה occurs in Scripture it has the meaning of further away. For example: (Numbers 17:2) “Scatter (הלאה) yonder”; (1 Samuel 20:22) “Behold the arrows are beyond thee (הלאה)” Thus גש הלאה signifies, withdraw yourself further away (old French Retire-toi de nous). It is an expression of contempt, signifying, “we do not take any notice of you!” Of a similar character are: (Isaiah 65:5) “Stand by thyself (אל תגש בי) come not near unto me”, and (Isaiah 49:20) גשה לי “Give place to me that I may dwell” which means “withdraw aside for my sake (לי) that I may dwell where you are now”. — They really meant to say to Lot: “You intercede for these strangers; how dare you!” In reply to what he had said to them regarding his daughters they answered: “Get out of the way” — a somewhat gentle expression — whilst with regard to his advocacy for the strangers they retorted, האחד בא לגור THIS MAN CAME TO SOJOURN — You are the only strange man amongst us, for you have come to sojourn here, וישפוט שפוט and you make yourself a Reprover of us! הדלת THE DOOR — This term דלת signifies the wooden frame-work which swings round on hinges to close and open the entrance (cf. Verse 11).
Ramban
AND THEY PRESSED HARD (‘VAYIFTZERU’) UPON THE MAN, EVEN LOT. I have found this word vayiftzeru only in connection with words of pleading. If so, we will explain its usage here as follows: the men of Sodom begged him [Lot] exceedingly to open the door for them, and when he refused to do so, they approached in order to break it. It may be that he stood in front of the door, not letting them come near him, and they begged him to turn aside as they did not want to harm him. This is the meaning of their saying, Stand back, meaning “stand in another place.”
Sforno
גש הלאה, “away from the door so that we can break it down;” האחד בא לגור, “is there even a single man who can be audacious enough to get away with this?”
Chizkuni
עתה נרע לך מהם, “You are a guest here like they are, yet you conduct yourself like a native (citizen).”
Kli Yakar
The one who came to sojourn is surely acting as a judge. [The commentator asks:] Behold, on that very day they had appointed him as a judge over them, as Rashi explained, so why did they complain about him? The correct interpretation is as the commentators explain regarding the doubled language of vayishpot shafot [judging he judges] — [they were saying] that you want to judge something that has already been judged [shafot], for a law and judgment had already been established that no wandering guest shall come to anyone’s house. So how do you want to change a law that has already been ruled? For we did not accept you [as a judge] with this understanding that you would make new laws. And the reason they emphasized the one who came to sojourn is because they said that you don’t have the rights of a permanent resident who would have authority to change laws according to the needs of the time. Rather, you are merely a stranger, and we only accepted you to settle among us with the understanding that you would agree to all of our laws.
Tur HaArokh
ויפצרו באיש בלוט מאד, “they coaxed the man Lot urgently;” Nachmanides claims that the word ויפצרו, [i.e. the root פצר, Ed.] only occurs as having a positive meaning, i.e. an attempt to calm someone down, to reconcile one’s differences with a person. When Lot proved impervious to the Sodomites’ attempts to compromise with him, they set about breaking down his door. Alternatively, seeing that Lot stood firm in front of the door and they did not want to harm him personally, they told him to get out of heir way, גש הלאה, i.e. that he should go elsewhere.
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.
verse value 3647
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 53 letters. The shortest word is "they·struck" (הִכּוּ֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·men" (וְֽאֶת־הָאֲנָשִׁ֞ים, 9 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·the·men" (וְֽאֶת־הָאֲנָשִׁ֞ים), "at·the·entrance·of" (אֲשֶׁר־פֶּ֣תַח), "they·struck" (הִכּוּ֙). The root פתח appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·the·men" (root איש, 153x in Genesis); "the·house" (root בית, 121x in Genesis); "to·find" (root מצא, 56x in Genesis). First appearance of the root לאה ("and·wearied·themselves") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·to·great', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְֽאֶת־הָאֲנָשִׁ֞ים [and·the·men] (813) + אֲשֶׁר־פֶּ֣תַח [at·the·entrance·of] (989) + הַבַּ֗יִת [the·house] (417) + הִכּוּ֙ [they·struck] (31) + בַּסַּנְוֵרִ֔ים [with·blindness] (368) + מִקָּטֹ֖ן [from·small] (199) + וְעַד־גָּד֑וֹל [and·to·great] (123) + וַיִּלְא֖וּ [and·wearied·themselves] (53) + לִמְצֹ֥א [to·find] (161) + הַפָּֽתַח [the·entrance] (493) = 3647.
Onkelos
And the men who were at the entrance of the house they struck with blindness, from the smallest to the greatest, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the entrance.
Rashi
פתח THE DOOR (literally, opening) — This means the hollow space (opening) through which people go in and out. בסנורים This is an attack of blindness (cf. Yoma 28b) מקטן ועד גדול FROM SMALL TO GREAT — The small had begun this wrongdoing — as it is said, (Genesis 19:4) “both young and old” — therefore the punishment started with them (Genesis Rabbah 50:8).
Ibn Ezra
"With blindness" [בַּסַּנְוֵרִים] — a quadriliteral word (having a four-letter root). Its companion occurrence is in the episode of Elisha (2 Kings 6:18). Its meaning is a darkening of the eye and mind.
Sforno
וילאו למצוא הפתח, even though they had already been smitten with blindness they did not therefore desist from their wicked intention. This is in line with the psychological insight of our sages in Eyruvin 19 that the wicked will not become penitents even when they stand at the gates of hell. [the Nazis persisting in the “final solution,” even while already defeated by the Russsians are the best example of this insight we know of. Ed.]
Rashbam
בסנורים, a plague of blindness. וילאו, they wearied and were unable למצוא הפתח, they gave up trying to find the doorway. We find the word נלאו describing the inability of the Egyptians to find water after digging for it when Moses had turned the waters of the Nile in to blood. (Exodus 7,18-21) There are numerous instances when the word is used when it expresses a total inability, such as in Jeremiah 20,9 ונלאתי כלכל לא אוכל, “I was totally unable to restrain.” Compare also Isaiah 16,12 כי נלאה מואב על הבמה ובא אל מקדשו להתפלל ולא יוכל, “when it became clear that Moav had gained nothing in the outdoor shrine, he shall come to pray inside his temple, also to no avail.” Job 4,2 also employs the word נלאה in a similar sense.
And the men said to Lot: "Have you here any besides? son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomsoever you have in the city; bring them out of the place;
verse value 3310
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 62 letters. The shortest word is "else" (עֹ֚ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·the·place" (מִן־הַמָּקֽוֹם, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "whom·have·you" (מִֽי־לְךָ֣), "a·son-in-law" (חָתָן֙), "and·your·daughters" (וּבְנֹתֶ֔יךָ). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "whom·you·have" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "and·your·sons" (root בן, 248x in Genesis). First appearance of the root חתן ("a·son-in-law") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·the·city', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּאמְר֨וּ [and·they·said] (263) + הָאֲנָשִׁ֜ים [the·men] (406) + אֶל־ל֗וֹט [to·Lot] (76) + עֹ֚ד [else] (74) + מִֽי־לְךָ֣ [whom·have·you] (100) + פֹ֔ה [here] (85) + חָתָן֙ [a·son-in-law] (458) + וּבָנֶ֣יךָ [and·your·sons] (88) + וּבְנֹתֶ֔יךָ [and·your·daughters] (488) + וְכֹ֥ל [and·all] (56) + אֲשֶׁר־לְךָ֖ [whom·you·have] (551) + בָּעִ֑יר [in·the·city] (282) + הוֹצֵ֖א [bring·out] (102) + מִן־הַמָּקֽוֹם [from·the·place] (281) = 3310.
Onkelos
And the men said to Lot: Who else do you have here? A son-in-law, your sons, your daughters — anyone who belongs to you in the city — bring them out of the place.
Rashi
עד מי לך פה WHOM HAST THOU YET HERE — The evident sense of the verse is: whom else have you in this city besides thy wife and daughters who are at home with you. חתן ובניך ובנותיך SON-IN-LAW, THY SONS AND THY DAUGHTERS — If you have a son-in-law, sons or daughters take them out of this place. ובניך THY SONS means the sons of your married daughters. The Midrashic explanation of עוד YET is: since they have perpetrated so disgraceful an act, can you yet be so bold (more literally, “can you yet open your mouth”) to speak in defence of them? — for the whole night through he had been talking in favor of them. To obtain this explanation you must read: עוד מי לך פֶּה Have you yet a mouth! (instead of פֹּה here) (Genesis Rabbah 50:5).
Ramban
SON-IN-LAW, AND THY SONS, AND THY DAUGHTERS. Rashi comments: “Whom else of your family have you in the city besides your wife and daughters who are at home with you? If you have additionally a son-in-law, or sons and daughters, take them out from this place.” Now if so, they [the angels] spoke in the manner of ordinary people for Lot had no sons, only daughters. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained: “Son-in-law, and thy sons — sons-in-law who are [as dear to you] as your sons.”It is possible that Lot had grown sons who were married, and he spoke with his sons-in-law first as he thought that his own sons would listen to him [and leave the place]. But as his sons-in-law laughed at him and their conversation continued, dawn appeared, and the angels only permitted him to take those who were at hand. Thus the merit of Lot could have saved his sons and daughters and sons-in-law, not as Abraham had thought that He would make the righteous perish with the wicked. It is clear that the angels were acquainted with the knowledge of the Most High on this matter since the city of Zoar was also saved by his prayer. His proof is the fact that the angel here granted the sudden request of Lot to save the city of Zoar, (Verses 20-21). Ramban, however, is of the opinion that the angels were acquainted with the knowledge of the Most High and knew that He granted Lot’s request; they could thus assure Lot that the city of Zoar would be saved. It is possible that [the salvation of Lot’s family was not on account of his merit but] was in honor of his hospitality for it is the ethical way of messengers to save their host and all that belong to him, just as the messengers of Joshua also saved all the families of their hostess. And in Bereshith Rabbah 0:21. it is said, “Because Lot honored the angel by offering him hospitality, he in turn befriended Lot.”
Ibn Ezra
"Who else do you have here?" — meaning: do you have a son-in-law? And sons, or sons-in-law who are as your sons and daughters. This passage refutes those who claim that only one of the angels went to save Lot, for here both of them spoke to him. Furthermore, it says "for we are about to destroy" (Genesis 19:13). And the very one with whom Lot afterward spoke — who said to him "you have shown great kindness" (Genesis 19:19) — is also the one who said "for I cannot do anything" (Genesis 19:22).
Tur HaArokh
עוד מי לך פה, חתן ובניך ובנותך, “who else belonging to your family is here; a son-in-law, your sons or your unmarried daughters?” According to Rashi, the word עוד means “apart from your wife who qualifies for being saved because she is part of you.” Although Lot did not have sons, only daughters, the angels asked in the manner ordinary people ask such a question, mentioning both sons and daughters. Ibn Ezra understands the word בנים as a question if Lot had sons-in-law who were as dear to him as sons would have been. Nachmanides presumes that it was quite likely that he had grown up sons who were married, however Lot spoke to his sons-in-law first as he was not sure they would heed his advice to flee. Concerning his sons, he was pretty sure they would heed him if he asked them to leave town immediately. When his sons-in-law laughed at him and time was being wasted in the meantime, dawn rose and there was no more time left, or he too would have been killed.
for we will destroy this place, because their cry has grown great before Hashem; and Hashem has sent us to destroy it."
verse value 4070 — יְהֹוָ֔ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 59 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֔ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "this" (הַזֶּ֑ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "for·are·about·to·destroy" (כִּֽי־מַשְׁחִתִ֣ים, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 26: Hashem, Hashem. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "for·are·about·to·destroy" (כִּֽי־מַשְׁחִתִ֣ים), "for·great·is" (כִּֽי־גָדְלָ֤ה), "their·outcry" (צַעֲקָתָם֙). The root שחת appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 165x in Genesis); "this" (root זה, 76x in Genesis); "and·sent·us" (root שלח, 72x in Genesis). First appearance of the root פני ("with") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'this', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 7 words. Full calculation: כִּֽי־מַשְׁחִתִ֣ים [for·are·about·to·destroy] (828) + אֲנַ֔חְנוּ [we] (115) + אֶת־הַמָּק֖וֹם [the·place] (592) + הַזֶּ֑ה [this] (17) + כִּֽי־גָדְלָ֤ה [for·great·is] (72) + צַעֲקָתָם֙ [their·outcry] (700) + אֶת־פְּנֵ֣י [with] (541) + יְהֹוָ֔ה [Hashem] (26) + וַיְשַׁלְּחֵ֥נוּ [and·sent·us] (410) + יְהֹוָ֖ה [Hashem] (26) + לְשַׁחֲתָֽהּ [to·destroy·it] (743) = 4070.
Onkelos
For we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has grown great before Hashem, and Hashem has sent us to destroy it.
Or HaChaim
כי משחיתים אנחנו את המקום הזה. "For we are about to destroy this place." Although only one of them had been entrusted with that task, the angels used the plural seeing that they were both together. Otherwise the other angel would have appeared as if he was only an assistant. Possibly, whenever the Torah speaks of the (avenging) angel Gabriel it is understood that the reference is not only to him personally, but includes his army. Alternatively, since Gabriel was not free to act until the angel Raphael had secured Lot's escape their activities were dependent on one another.
Chizkuni
כי משחיתים אנחנו, “for we are about to destroy, etc.” Throughout the mission of the angels they are referred to in the singular mode. (Compare 18,10; 19,17, 19,22) Here the Torah used the plural mode. Why? Seeing that the Torah had used the plural mode (verse 21) it used the same mode here also when the subject is the destruction. וישלחנו, “He has sent us;” this word is in the piel conjugation with a dot in the letter ל, although the word normally is used in the conjugation kal and without the dot, when the mission on which the messenger has been sent is a two way mission, i.e. he has to come back with an answer or something tangible before the mission is considered as complete, in this instance we find that the conjugation piel a “strong” conjugation has been used as the mission was one of destruction. Another such example is found in Deuteronomy 32,24: ושן בהמות אשלח בם, “and fanged beasts will I let loose against them.” Still another such example is Psalms 78,45: ישלח בהם ערוב, He dispatched against them wild beasts.”
Rabbeinu Bahya
כי משחיתים אנחנו, “for we are about to destroy, etc.” They should have said: “G’d is about to destroy this place.” Instead they made it appear as if they had a free hand in the matter. This is why G’d did not allow them to move from the town until they had made an admission that they themselves were unable to do anything by themselves, but that they merely carried out a mission from G’d. This is the meaning of the line (verse 13) “and G’d has dispatched us to destroy it.“ What happened in this instance with the angels lends support to what we read in Job 4,18 הן בעבדיו לא יאמין ובמלאכיו ישים תהלה, “If He cannot trust His own servants, and casts reproach on His angels.” Another verse along similar lines is found in Job 15,15: הן בקדושיו לא יאמין ושמים לא זכו בעיניו, “He puts no trust in His holy ones; the heavens are not guiltless in His sight.” We find that even Moses was guilty of a similar slip of the tongue when — concerning the appointment of the chiefs of tens, fifty, hundred and thousands in Deut. 1,17 — he said: ”any matter which is too difficult for you, bring it to me so that I can hear it;” He was punished for this arrogant-sounding comment by being unable to resolve the problem posed by the daughters of Tzelofchod without first inquiring from G’d about their status as potential heirs. The prophet Samuel also once became guilty of such arrogance when he described himself to King Saul as “I am the Seer” (Samuel I 9,19). G’d showed him that he had been arrogant when he was unable to pick the son of Yishai who was to replace Saul as King. He had picked Eliav (Samuel I 16,6). G’d had to tell him that whereas he, Samuel, was only able to judge exteriors it was reserved for G’d to judge a person’s interior (Samuel I 16,7). David too was once guilty of such arrogance when he said ותורתך בתוך מעי, “and your Torah is in my entrails.” [He meant I can divine Your law as a gut-feeling. Ed.] (Psalms 40,9). David was punished in that he forgot the kind of commandment which even children in elementary school are familiar with. [I presume that the author refers to David having forgotten that the Holy Ark must be carried only on the shoulders of the Levites and not in a carriage. This law is clearly spelled out in Numbers 7,9. Had he not forgotten, Uzzah might not have died. compare Samuel II 6,7. Ed.] The prophetess Devorah who complimented herself even in the song of thanksgiving when she said עד שקמתי אם בישראל “until I arose to function as a mother for Israel,” (Judges 5,7). According to our sages the moment she said these words the Holy Spirit departed from her and she regained it only in verse 12 of the same chapter when she said: עורי עורי דבורה דברי שיר, “awake, awake Deborah utter a song.” As to the verse in Job 4,18 in which we heard that G’d even has occasion to rebuke the angels, this was a reference to the incident here where the angels arrogated to themselves the right to say: “we are going to destroy the place.” According to Bereshit Rabbah 50,9 the angels who were guilty of this statement were not allowed to return to their celestial habitat nor to perform another function on earth for 138 years, i.e. not until “and here angels of the Lord were ascending and descending on it,” (the ladder in Yaakov’s dream in Genesis 28,12). This vision is taken as proof that only at that time were these angels allowed back to earth to perform a function there. From all the above we learn that if someone makes use of G’d’s glory to enhance his own reputation he will face a major punishment.
Tur HaArokh
כי משחיתים אנחנו את המקום הזה, “for we are about to destroy this place.” Nachmanides comments that surely there are many nations whose citizens are evil, wicked, etc., and nothing even remotely as drastic seems to happen to them. What happened to the people of Sodom was linked to their being located in the Holy Land, a land that has less tolerance for wickedness than any other place on earth. In the course of history it has spat out many peoples who have made their home in that land because those peoples never adjusted their lifestyles to the higher standards for human behaviour which are standard requirement for a successful residence in that land over a period of time.
And Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law, who married his daughters, and said: "Up, get you out of this place; for Hashem will destroy the city." But he seemed to his sons-in-law as one that jested.
verse value 4704 — יְהֹוָ֖ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 86 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "Lot" (ל֜וֹט, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·his·sons-in-law" (אֶל־חֲתָנָ֣יו, 7 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "to·his·sons-in-law" (אֶל־חֲתָנָ֣יו), "who·had·married" (לֹקְחֵ֣י), "get·up" (ק֤וּמוּ). The root יצא appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "and·it·was" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 165x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·city', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 4 words.
Onkelos
And Lot went out and spoke with his sons-in-law who had married his daughters, and said: Arise, go out from this place, for Hashem is about to destroy the city. But he seemed to his sons-in-law as one who was joking.
Rashi
חתניו SONS- IN-LAW — he had two married daughters in the city (Genesis Rabbah 50:9). לוקחי בנותיו THOSE WHO WERE MARRYING HIS DAUGHTERS — those to whom his daughters at home were betrothed (Genesis Rabbah 50:9).
Ibn Ezra
"Those who had taken his daughters" — he had two other daughters who died in Sodom. The proof is the phrase "who were present" [הַנִּמְצָאֹת] (Genesis 19:15).
Sforno
ויצא לוט, after they had given up and they had dispersed.
Kli Yakar
And he was like a joker in the eyes of his sons-in-law. Since he [Lot] told them that the Lord is destroying the city, using the Name that represents Divine mercy, he therefore appeared as a joker in their eyes, for they said “How could the Name of mercy destroy and damage?” However, the truth is indeed so, for the wicked transform the attribute of mercy into the attribute of judgment.
And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying: "Arise, take your wife, and your two daughters that are here; lest you be swept away in the iniquity of the city."
verse value 5926
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 74 letters. The shortest word is "take" (קַ֨ח, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·angels" (הַמַּלְאָכִ֖ים, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 146: the·angels, rise. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·as" (וּכְמוֹ֙), "and·urged" (וַיָּאִ֥יצוּ), "who·are·found" (הַנִּמְצָאֹ֔ת). 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saying" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "your·wife" (root אשה, 148x in Genesis); "take" (root לקח, 142x in Genesis). First appearance of the root כמו ("and·as") in Genesis. First appearance of the root שחר ("the·dawn") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'saying', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 9 words.
Onkelos
And as the dawn was rising, the angels urged Lot, saying: Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are found faithful with you, lest you be swept away in the sin of the city.
Rashi
ויאיצו THEY URGED [LOT] — as the Targum takes it, “they pressed” — i.e. they hurried him. הנמצאות WHO ARE HERE (literally, who can be found) — who are ready at hand in the house to be rescued. There is a Midrashic explanation also, but this is the proper way to explain the text. תספה means [LEST] THOU BE MADE AN END OF. The words (Deuteronomy 2:14) עד תום כל הדור “until all the generation were completely ended” are translated by Onkelos: עד דסף כל דרא (the same root סף as in our text).
Ibn Ezra
"And like as" [וּכְמוֹ] — R. Jonah the Spanish grammarian said that it is impossible to say וּכְמוֹ עָלָה הַשַּׁחַר ("and as the dawn arose"). But he forgot "and they shall multiply as they multiply" [וְרָבוּ כְּמוֹ רָבוּ] (Zechariah 10:8). "And they urged" [וַיָּאִיצוּ] — equivalent to וַיָּצִיקוּ, as in "those who press them, saying" (Exodus 5:13).
Sforno
ויאיצו, in order that their destruction should take place at the very moment the sun, their great god, would come forth. (compare Berachot 7)
Chizkuni
וכמו השחר עלה, “and as dawn was about to rise, etc.” this verse was written as if describing an event in the future, as the Torah wished to portray for how long the angels delayed carrying out their mission involving the dual task of destroying Sodom and saving Lot, the latter not having been completed until after sunrise, as is clear from verse 23 where Lot’s arrival in Tzoar is reported. The angels delayed because of their fondness for Avraham. Rabbi Chanina is quoted as having said (Bereshit Rabbah 50,10) that the time between dawn rising and the sun rising is equivalent to the distance a normal person can walk a distance of about 1200 meters. He used verse 23 as the basis for his statement.
But he lingered; and the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; Hashem being merciful to him. And they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
verse value 4289 — יְהֹוָ֖ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 77 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "two" (שְׁתֵּ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·in·the·hand·of·his·wife" (וּבְיַד־אִשְׁתּ֗וֹ, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 22: in·his·hand, and·the·hands·of. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·delayed" (וַֽיִּתְמַהְמָ֓הּ), "and·seized" (וַיַּחֲזִ֨יקוּ), "and·in·the·hand·of·his·wife" (וּבְיַד־אִשְׁתּ֗וֹ). The root יד appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 165x in Genesis); "the·men" (root איש, 153x in Genesis); "and·in·the·hand·of·his·wife" (root אשה, 148x in Genesis). First appearance of the root חזק ("and·seized") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upon·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 4 words.
Onkelos
And he lingered, and the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters — for Hashem had compassion on him — and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
Rashi
ויתמהמה BUT HE LINGERED in order to save his property. ויחזיקו AND THE MEN LAID HOLD [UPON HIS HAND]— One of these was commissioned to rescue him whilst his fellow was to overthrow Sodom; that is why it is stated (v. 17) “And he said, escape”, and it is not stated “And they said” (Genesis Rabbah 50:11).
Ramban
AND THE MEN LAID HOLD UPON HIS HAND. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that the word vayachziku (and they laid hold upon) clearly shows that Lot was afraid and had no strength to flee. The correct interpretation of the word is that it is like the verse, ‘Vatechezak’ (And) the Egyptians (were urgent) upon the people, to send them out of the land in haste. Here likewise they were pulling them with strength to send them out in haste. THE ETERNAL HAVING PITY UPON HIM. Not for Lot’s merit but only because of G-d’s pity and His abundant mercies. It may be that the verse is saying that they seized him to take them out while G-d’s pity was still upon him, lest the wrath go forth from G-d and he perish.
Ibn Ezra
I am astonished at the commentary composed by Ben Efraim, who said that וַיִּתְמַהְמַהּ derives from the word מַה ("what"). He forgot that both heh's carry a mapiq. Rather, it is a word meaning delay; its root is triconsonantal with the first letter doubled. "And they took hold" [וַיַּחֲזִיקוּ] — this explains that he was frightened and had no strength to flee on his own.
Sforno
For Ad-noy had pity. Even though Lot was originally spared in Avraham’s merit, he would have been killed for tarrying if Hashem had not had pity on him.
Or HaChaim
ויחזיקו האנשים בידו. The men took hold of his hand. Although only one of them was charged with saving Lot, the other one could not proceed with his task pending Lot's rescue. Perhaps we should see in Raphael the principal agent of Lot's rescue; in that case the fact that Gabriel assisted (by taking Lot by his hand) is not viewed as his performing an additional task. This is especially so because Gabriel helped Lot only in order to be able to carry out his assignment of destroying the city (seeing he did not have permission to do so while Lot was within its borders).
Chizkuni
ויוציאה, “they took him outside;” there is a letter ו missing before letter ה, to hint that only one angel, i.e. ויוציא, singular, the angel Gavriel, had been charged with the task of saving Lot.
Tur HaArokh
ויחזיקו האנשים בידו, “the men took hold of his hand, etc.” The plural mode of ויחזיקו is puzzling, seeing that only one of the angels had been charged with saving Lot, the other having been assigned the duty to bring about the destruction. Perhaps the involvement of the second angel in saving Lot was inevitable seeing that he was unable to commence with his task until Lot was clear of the city. In other words, saving Lot was part of the process of the destruction of Sodom. Interestingly, the Torah reverts to the use of the singular mode for the angel’s activities as soon as Lot was clear of the city. Compare verse 17 כהוציאם, ”when he had taken them out.” Seeing that Lot himself was not so clear about which angel had which function to perform, [they had said: “we are about to destroy,’ Ed.] he addressed the two angels in the plural mode when asking not to be made to climb the mountain to get himself into safety. Compare אליהם in verse 18, and “adonay” instead of “adoni.” On the other hand, seeing that one angel had proven to be the one who had saved him, he reverted to use of the singular mode when saying ותגדל חסדך, “your (sing.) kindness has been great.” (verse 19). Seeing that originally the angels had used the plural mode about their task, i.e. הנני משחיתים, the angel whose task it was to carry out the destruction, now responds to Lot saying that he could not begin his real task until Lot had reached safety. ויחזיקו האנשים, according to Ibn Ezra these words prove that Lot had become immobilized from fright and that the angels had to help him to get moving. Nachmanides explains the verse as similar to Exodus 12,33 when the Egyptians urging the Israelites to get out of Egypt without delay, are described by the words ותחזק מצרים על העם למהר לשלחם. No doubt, the Egyptians did not literally take the Israelites by their hands and escorted them to the border. בחמלת ה' עליו, “out of G’d’s pity on him.” Not because he had merits that would have entitled him to be saved. Alternately, the use of the word חמלה, “pity,” is to justify the angels grabbing him by the hand before G’d’s pity had expired and he would become a victim together with his townspeople.
And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said: "Escape for your life; look not behind you, neither stay you in all the Plain; escape to the mountain, lest you be swept away."
verse value 4162
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 73 letters. The shortest word is "them" (אֹתָ֜ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "when·they·brought·out" (כְהוֹצִיאָ֨ם, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 84: escape, escape. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "when·they·brought·out" (כְהוֹצִיאָ֨ם), "for·your·life" (עַל־נַפְשֶׁ֔ךָ), "do·not·look" (אַל־תַּבִּ֣יט). The root מלט appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "and·it·was" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "do·not·look" (root אל, 242x in Genesis). First appearance of the root מלט ("escape") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·all·the·plain', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיְהִי֩ [and·it·was] (31) + כְהוֹצִיאָ֨ם [when·they·brought·out] (172) + אֹתָ֜ם [them] (441) + הַח֗וּצָה [outside] (114) + וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ [and·said] (257) + הִמָּלֵ֣ט [escape] (84) + עַל־נַפְשֶׁ֔ךָ [for·your·life] (550) + אַל־תַּבִּ֣יט [do·not·look] (452) + אַחֲרֶ֔יךָ [after·you] (239) + וְאַֽל־תַּעֲמֹ֖ד [and·do·not·stop] (551) + בְּכׇל־הַכִּכָּ֑ר [in·all·the·plain] (297) + הָהָ֥רָה [the·mountain] (215) + הִמָּלֵ֖ט [escape] (84) + פֶּן־תִּסָּפֶֽה [lest·you·be·swept·away] (675) = 4162.
Onkelos
And it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said: Take care of yourself! Do not look behind you, and do not stop anywhere in the plain — flee to the mountain, lest you be swept away.
Rashi
המלט על נפשך ESCAPE FOR THY LIFE — Let it suffice you to save your lives; do not give a thought to your possessions. אל תבט אחריך LOOK NOT BEHIND THEE — You sinned with them but art saved through the merit of Abraham. It is not fitting that you should witness their doom whilst you yourself are escaping (Genesis Rabbah 50:11). בכל הככר IN ALL THE PLAIN — the plain of the Jordan (cf. Genesis 13:11). ההרה המלט ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAIN — Flee to Abraham who is dwelling in the mountain — as it is said, (Genesis 12:8) “And he removed his tent thence unto the mountain”. He was still dwelling there, as it is said, (Genesis 13:3) “[And he went unto] … the place where his tent had been at first”, and although it is stated (Genesis 13:18) “And Abraham moved his tent etc.”, he had many tents and they stretched as far as Hebron. המלט ESCAPE — it means “slipping away” and similarly wherever this root מלט occurs in the Scriptures; in old French émisser. Examples are: (Isaiah 66:7) “she was delivered of (המליטה) a man child” i. e. the embryo slipped out of the womb; (Psalms 124:7) “[Our soul] is escaped (נמלטה) like a bird”; and (Isaiah 46:2) “They could not deliver (מלט) the burden”, i.e. discharge (make slip out) the burden of excrement in their bowel-passages.
Ramban
LOOK NOT BEHIND THEE, NEITHER STAY IN ALL THE PLAIN. The purport of the verse is to state: “Do not stay in all the Plain and do not look behind you after you have been saved.” For as long as Lot had not reached the mountain, disaster would not overtake the inhabitants of Sodom. It is for this reason that Lot said, “And I cannot escape to the mountain, lest the evil overtake me here. when I am in the Plain since you will not extend the time for me more than a little, as you have said, Haste thee, escape thither.” here. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said, “Look not behind thee, i.e., ‘thou and all who belong to thee.’ And similarly is the verse, Thou shalt not eat of it.” This command, given to Adam, must have included Eve as well, for otherwise she would not have been punished. Similarly, the command given to Lot must have included his wife and all who belonged to him. But what need is there for this interpretation? The punishment here was not because they would violate the warning of the angel by looking at them. Instead, the angel merely warned them on his own that punishment would overtake them for such a glance, and he warned Lot because of his merit, and all who listened and took warning saved their lives. Now as to the significance of the prohibition of looking, Rashi said: “You sinned with them but art saved through the merit of Abraham. You are not permitted242“You are not permitted.” In our Rashi the text reads, “It is not fitting that.…” to see their doom.”There is yet another matter. Looking upon the atmosphere of a plague and all contagious diseases is very harmful, and they may cleave to him. Even the thought of them is harmful. Therefore, the leper is isolated and dwells alone. Similarly, those who have been bitten by mad animals such as a mad dog and other animals besides, when they look into the water or any mirror, they behold in them the likeness of the offender, and as a result of this, they did just as the Rabbis have said in Tractate Yoma, See also Ramban, Numbers 21:9. and as the students of nature have mentioned. It was for this reason that Lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt here. for the plague entered her mind when she saw the brimstone and salt Here in the chapter, brimstone and fire are mentioned (Verse 24). Salt however is mentioned in Deuteronomy 29:22, in connection with the overthrow of Sodom. which descended upon them from heaven, and it cleaved to her.I am inclined to say that when G-d destroyed these cities the destroying angel stood between the earth and heaven, appearing in a flame of fire, as did the destroying angel whom David saw. Therefore, he prohibited them from looking. In Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer there is a similar text: “The angels said to them, ‘Do not look behind you since the Divine Presence of the Holy One, blessed be He, has descended to rain brimstone and fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah.’ The compassion of Edis, Lot’s wife, welled up for her married daughters who were in Sodom, See Verse 15. and she looked behind her to see if they were following her. She thereupon saw the back of the Divine Presence, and she became a pillar of salt.”
Ibn Ezra
The word כְּהוֹצִיאָם is a verbal noun [šem ha-po'al], and is not like לְהוֹצִיאָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם (Exodus 12:42); the mem indicates the agents — namely the angels — while "them" [אוֹתָם] are the ones acted upon. "Do not look behind you" — this addresses Lot and all who are with him. Similarly: "you shall not eat of it" (Genesis 2:17), which is addressed to more than one.
Sforno
אל תביט אחריך, the evil would catch up with you as soon as you interrupt your march away from it. This is precisely what happened to his wife when she ignored the instructions and looked behind. (verse 26)
Or HaChaim
אל תביט אחריך, "do not look behind you!" The reason for this is simple. We believe that by looking at a person's face one (a צדיק) can detect whether he is good or evil. If Lot were to turn his face towards the city his sins would be reflected on his face and there would be no way he could have been spared.
Chizkuni
ויהי כהוציאם אותם החוצה, “and it was as he took them outside;” the word אותם appears superfluous, as it is included in the plural suffix ם; the reason it was added was to emphasise that the angel only took Lot, his wife and the two daughters who were still unmarried. They were not allowed to take with them any of their belongings. The spelling of the verse is to teach us that Lot was so “married” to his material possessions that he could not face having to become separated from these. We have a similarly strange sounding grammatical formulation in Numbers 14,32: ופגרכם אתם “and you who are living corpses;”An alternate exegesis for the expression: ויהי כאשר הוציאם; the word is not exclusive but inclusive, i.e. “when the angel took Lot and his family out, etc.;” אל תביט אחריך, “literally: “do not look behind you;” the reference is not to what one sees with one’s eyes, but to what one sees with one’s mind’s eye, i.e. leaving behind other members of one’s family. The angel warned Lot to move forward with all possible speed, not allowing any other consideration to slow him down. The reason was that the cloud containing the lethal particles had already risen and was unstoppable. It would discharge its contents all over the region. אל תביט, “do not look!” Although the command is issued in the singular mode, [presumably Lot’s wife and daughters did not qualify for being addressed by an angel. Ed.] the warning was meant for each of the members of Lot’s family also. We find a parallel example of such a formulation in Genesis 2,17: ומעץ הדעת טוב ורע לא תאכל ממנו, where the prohibition to eat from the tree of knowledge is addressed to Adam in the singular mode, although it was intended both for him and his wife. This is the reason why Adam’s wife was punished for eating from it. אל תביט, the letter ב has the vowel chink, (instead of tzeyre.)
Rabbeinu Bahya
אל תביט אחריך, ”do not look behind you!” Rashi comments on these words: “you have been an accessory to their evil deeds and you have only been saved by the merit of Avraham. Hence you are not entitled to watch them die. Nachmanides claims that the reason the angel forbade Lot and his family to look behind them was that the air behind them was potentially lethal, and when they would turn around to look they would themselves become victims of the poisoned atmosphere. He argues that even looking at any other diseases, i.e. the microbes which bring them about, are in themselves a danger to those who look at them. Nachmanides singles out rabies, claiming that looking at the urine of a person bitten by a rabid animal is liable to infect the person who has looked. He claims that the mere thinking of this is liable to produce such an infection. Apparently, in those days, when someone had been bitten by a rabid dog he was not allowed to drink any liquids at all. Also, if people had been bitten and were desperate to have something to drink they would see a reflection of the dog that bit them in the liquid. A Midrashic interpretation: The reason the angels forbade Lot to look back was that he would see the presence of G’d as it was pouring sulphur and brimstone on the valley. Such a vision would prove fatal for him. Irith, Lot’s wife, had feelings of compassion for her married daughters whom she had left behind, and this is what caused her to turn around. She wanted to see if these daughters now followed them. She beheld the שכינה instead and turned into a pillar of salt.
Kli Yakar
“Do not look behind you.” Since Lot and his wife were distressed about not being able to save all their possessions, therefore it states his wife looked back from behind him and she became a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26). The text should have said she looked “behind her” [rather than “behind him”]. And if according to our Sages’ interpretation that she became a pillar of salt because she sinned regarding salt by not giving it to a poor person, this is difficult — why was she specifically punished at this time? Rather, it was because now she was distressed about losing her wealth and she looked at what would happen after her husband’s death — this is the meaning of from behind him — for she said that her husband would leave nothing behind him and she would have no way to collect her marriage contract from him. Therefore, this looking became a reminder of sin, as the attribute of justice criticized saying: “It is not enough that she didn’t use her wealth for charity, which is compared to salt as in the saying ‘salt for wealth is lacking.’ Her eye was also narrow regarding guests, for regarding the baking [for guests] it says he baked [implying] he and not she. And if so, his wife sinned greatly, for during that great upheaval she was distressed about her wealth, not in order to use it for charity, as this was not her nature. Therefore she was punished and became a pillar of salt, for with ‘salt for wealth is lacking’ she sinned, and with salt she was judged. But to Lot it was said as a moral lesson: It is enough that you saved your life, and do not be concerned about the loss of wealth that you will leave behind for inheritors. For why should you look behind you at what will be after you and worry about a world that is not yours, as ultimately you will leave your wealth to others. And in this way we will explain, God willing, also the verse you shall not go over the boughs behind you (Deuteronomy 24:20). And if you are still distressed about how you will live — from where will you eat, from the granary or from the winery — regarding this it says ”escape to Abraham who dwells on the mountain.“ For your end will be like your beginning — just as initially what caused Lot to have flocks, cattle, and tents was his dwelling with Abraham, so too now escape to him, and draw near to the one anointed with oil and become anointed [i.e., prosper through association with the righteous].
Tur HaArokh
אל תבט אחריך “do not look behind you!” So that you will not lose momentum in your flight and the destruction would catch up with you.
Verse structure: 5 words, 20 letters. The shortest word is "Lot" (ל֖וֹט, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·said" (וַיֹּ֥אמֶר, 5 letters). The root אל appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "to·them" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "my·lord" (root אדון, 68x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֥אמֶר [and·said] (257) + ל֖וֹט [Lot] (45) + אֲלֵהֶ֑ם [to·them] (76) + אַל־נָ֖א [oh·no] (82) + אֲדֹנָֽי [my·lord] (65) = 525.
Onkelos
And Lot said to them: Please, my lord.
Rashi
אל נא אדני OH NOT SO, MY LORD — Our Rabbis said, that this name (Lord) is holy (i. e. refers to God; Shevuot 35b), since it is said regarding him (i.e. regarding the one who was addressed by this name) (v. 19) “[and thou hast magnified thy mercy …] in keeping alive my soul”. Therefore it must refer to Him who has the power to kill or keep alive. Indeed the Targum renders it, “I beg of thee, O Lord)” אל נא OH NOT SO — do not tell me to escape to the mountain. נא — This word is used when a request is being made.
Ibn Ezra
"Please, my lord" [אֲדֹנָי] — secular usage, here vocalized with a qamatz because it falls at the end of a verse. R. Samuel the Spanish Nagid of blessed memory said that אַל נָא derives from the root meaning "to be willing" [הוֹאִיל]. In my view, however, it means "no," for when they said to him "flee to the mountain" (Genesis 19:17), he replied: "Not so, my lords!" — and he addressed one of them as "your servant" (Genesis 19:19), because he regarded that one as the greater, for among the angels there are those of higher rank. The tav of מוֹת is absorbed into the tav of וּמַתִּי (ibid.), since tav followed by yod is the marker of the first-person singular in verbs; the absorption occurred because two tav's came together. Similarly: "destroy it and cut it down" [אוֹתוֹ תַשְׁחִית וְכָרַתָּ] (Deuteronomy 20:20).
Chizkuni
אל נא אדוני, “not so my lord.” The word: adoni here is not sacred (attribute of Divinity). This is why the verse ends with this word. Subsequently, Lot turns to G-d, and prays: “seeing that Your servant has found favour in Your eyes, etc. “ (Talmud, Shavuot, 35) According to our tradition, the word אדני is sacred, according to that version, we vocalise the letter נ with a kametz.
behold now, your servant has found grace in your sight, and you have magnified your mercy, which you have shown to me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest the evil overtake me, and I die.
verse value 5734
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 88 letters. The shortest word is "grace" (חֵן֮, 2 letters) and the longest is "lest·it·cling·to·me" (פֶּן־תִּדְבָּקַ֥נִי, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·you·made·great" (וַתַּגְדֵּ֣ל), "my·life" (אֶת־נַפְשִׁ֑י), "to·escape" (לְהִמָּלֵ֣ט). 20 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "made" (root עשה, 152x in Genesis); "not" (root לא, 127x in Genesis). First appearance of the root חסד ("your·kindness") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'my·life', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 8 words.
Onkelos
Behold, your servant has now found favor before you, and you have shown great kindness to me in preserving my life; but I am not able to flee to the mountain, lest the calamity overtake me and I die.
Rashi
פן תדבקני הרעה [I CANNOT ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAIN,] LEST SOME EVIL CLEAVE UNTO ME — Whilst I was with the people of Sodom the Holy One, blessed be He, compared my deeds with the deeds of the people of my city and I seemed to be righteous and deserving to be saved. When, however, I come to the righteous man (i.e. Abraham whom Rashi v. 17 stated to be dwelling in the mountain) I must be regarded as wicked. Thus, too, did the woman of Zarefath say to Elijah, (1 Kings 17:18) “Art thou come to bring my sin in remembrance?” Before you came to me the Holy One, blessed be He, compared my doings with the doings of my people and I was regarded as a righteous woman amongst them, but now that you have come to me, in comparison with your deeds, I am wicked (Genesis Rabbah 50:11).
Chizkuni
פן תדבקני הרעה, “so that the disaster will not catch up with me.” He was afraid of the brimstone and sulphur that was beginning to spread all around him.
Behold now, this city is near to flee to, and it is a little one; oh, let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my soul shall live."
verse value 3818 — וְהִ֣וא = 18 (chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 60 letters. Notable word values: "and·it" (וְהִ֣וא) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "please" (נָּ֜א, 2 letters) and the longest is "behold·please" (הִנֵּה־נָ֠א, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 400: little, little. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "near" (קְרֹבָ֛ה), "to·flee" (לָנ֥וּס), "let·me·escape" (אִמָּלְטָ֨ה). The root שם appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "there" (root שם, 180x in Genesis); "and·it" (root הוא, 133x in Genesis); "is·it·not" (root לא, 127x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'little', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 8 words.
Onkelos
Behold now, this city is near enough to flee there, and it is small — let me escape there now; is it not small? And my life will be preserved.
Rashi
העיר הזאת קרובה THIS CITY IS NEAR — Its settlement as a city is near in point of time — it has been populated quite recently and therefore its measure is not yet filled (Shabbat 10b). And how recent was its settlement? It dated from the generation of the Dispersal of Nations, when mankind was scattered and men began to settle down each in his own place. This took place in the year when Peleg died, and from that time until now was fifty-two years, because Peleg died when Abraham was 48 years old. How is this? Peleg lived after he begat Reu 209 years (11:19): deduct from this number the 32 years that Reu was old when Serug was born (v. 22) and the 30 from the birth of Serug until the birth of Nahor (v. 22) giving 62, and from the birth of Nahor until Terah was born (v. 24) 29, giving 91, and from then until Abraham’s birth 70, giving a total of 161. Add 48 years of Abraham’s life and you have the 209. That was the year of the Dispersion. When Sodom was destroyed Abraham was 99 years old, so that from the Generation of the Dispersal (in the 48th year of Abraham’s life) until this time was 52 years. The colonisation of Zoar took place one year later than that of Sodom and its sister cities. To this fact reference is made in the words אמלטה נא “let me escape נא” i.e. let me escape to the city which is (נ''א (51 in numerical value. הלא מצער הוא IS IT NOT SMALL?— Are not its sins but few, so that you can let it alone. ותחי נפשי SO THAT MY SOUL MAY LIVE? This is the Midrashic explanation (Shabbat 10b). The real meaning of the verse is: It is a small city with few inhabitants; you therefore need not be particular about leaving it alone, so that my soul may live in it.
Ibn Ezra
"Mitz'ar" — meaning small, derived from the root צָעִיר (Genesis 25:23). It is an adjective modifying the noun, and it appears without the feminine marker, as does "queen" [שֵׁגַל] (Psalm 45:10).
Or HaChaim
הנה העיד הזאת קרובה, "This town is nearby, etc." The verse is difficult. If the inhabitants of that town were guilty, what difference did it make that it was close by? Moreover, how could the angel say: "I have granted your wish?" Since when was it up to him? If the town was innocent, who had given the angel permission to destroy it even if Lot had not pleaded on its behalf? We must view the situation in light of the Talmud Shabbat 10 that Tzoar was only 51 years old, whereas the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were founded 52 years previously. Lot knew this and reasoned that Tzoar's measure of guilt was not full as yet. We also have a principle (Baba Kama 60) that once permission has been granted to the destructive angel to execute G'd's judgment, it does not really matter whether the measure of guilt is full. However, the angel Gabriel was then in a position to exercise some discretion. Lot was aware of this and appealed to Gabriel's discretionary powers. Lot left Tzoar as soon as possible because he was afraid that the time limit for the angel's discretionary power would elapse.
And he said to him: "See, I have accepted you concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.
verse value 3961
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 52 letters. The shortest word is "even" (גַּ֖ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·city" (אֶת־הָעִ֖יר, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "I·have·lifted" (נָשָׂ֣אתִי), "my·overturning" (הׇפְכִּ֥י). The root דבר appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "to·him" (root אל, 242x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'this', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֣אמֶר [and·said] (257) + אֵלָ֔יו [to·him] (47) + הִנֵּה֙ [behold] (60) + נָשָׂ֣אתִי [I·have·lifted] (761) + פָנֶ֔יךָ [your·face] (160) + גַּ֖ם [even] (43) + לַדָּבָ֣ר [concerning·the·thing] (236) + הַזֶּ֑ה [this] (17) + לְבִלְתִּ֛י [so·as·not·to] (472) + הׇפְכִּ֥י [my·overturning] (115) + אֶת־הָעִ֖יר [the·city] (686) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [which] (501) + דִּבַּֽרְתָּ [you·have·spoken] (606) = 3961.
Onkelos
And he said to him: Behold, I have accepted your request regarding this matter as well, so as not to overthrow the city about which you have petitioned.
Rashi
גם לדבר הזה CONCERNING THIS THING ALSO — Not only will you be saved, but I will also save the whole city for Your sake. הפכי means I OVERTHROW, just as (48:5) “until I come (בואי), and (16:13) “after I have seen (רואי)” and (Jeremiah 31:19) “whenever I speak (דברי) of him)”.
Chizkuni
גם לדבר הזה, “also to this request.” This is the angel speaking after Lot reminded him that it was his task to save him. [Lot speaking: “In addition to the mere fact that you have the task to save me, I ask you to delay destruction of Tzoar until I can reach higher ground.”]
Targum Yonatan
And He said, Behold, I have accepted thee in this matter also, that I will not overthrow the city for which thou hast spoken, to destroy it, that thou mayest escape to it.
Hasten you, escape there; for I cannot do any thing till you have come there."—Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.—
verse value 3708
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 51 letters. Verse gematria: 3708 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·name·of·the·city" (שֵׁם־הָעִ֖יר, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 345: there, there. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "until·you·arrive" (עַד־בֹּאֲךָ֖), "Zoar" (צֽוֹעַר). The root שם appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "until·you·arrive" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis); "there" (root שם, 180x in Genesis); "for" (root כי, 167x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'there', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 4 words. Full calculation: מַהֵר֙ [hurry] (245) + הִמָּלֵ֣ט [escape] (84) + שָׁ֔מָּה [there] (345) + כִּ֣י [for] (30) + לֹ֤א [not] (31) + אוּכַל֙ [I·am·able] (57) + לַעֲשׂ֣וֹת [to·do] (806) + דָּבָ֔ר [thing] (206) + עַד־בֹּאֲךָ֖ [until·you·arrive] (97) + שָׁ֑מָּה [there] (345) + עַל־כֵּ֛ן [therefore] (170) + קָרָ֥א [called] (301) + שֵׁם־הָעִ֖יר [the·name·of·the·city] (625) + צֽוֹעַר [Zoar] (366) = 3708.
Onkelos
Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do this thing until you arrive there. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
Rashi
כי לא אוכל לעשות FOR I CANNOT DO [ANY THING]—This admission of their powerlessness was the angels’ punishment for having said, (v. 13) “For we will destroy the city”, attributing the act to themselves; therefore they could not go away from there (i. e., the incident could not close) until they were compelled to admit that the thing was not in their power) (Genesis Rabbah 50:9). כי לא אוכל FOR I CANNOT DO ANY THING — The pronoun is singular number. This proves that one was to overthrow the city and the other to deliver, for two angels are not sent on the same mission. על כן קרא שם העיר צוער THEREFORE THE NAME OF THE CITY WAS CALLED ZOAR, with reference to Lot’s words (v. 20) “And it is (מצער) a little one”.
The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot came to Zoar.
verse value 1561
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 23 letters. The shortest word is "entered" (בָּ֥א, 2 letters) and the longest is "upon·the·earth" (עַל־הָאָ֑רֶץ, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "to·Zoar" (צֹֽעֲרָה). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "upon·the·earth" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "entered" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis); "went·out" (root יצא, 77x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upon·the·earth', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: הַשֶּׁ֖מֶשׁ [the·sun] (645) + יָצָ֣א [went·out] (101) + עַל־הָאָ֑רֶץ [upon·the·earth] (396) + וְל֖וֹט [and·Lot] (51) + בָּ֥א [entered] (3) + צֹֽעֲרָה [to·Zoar] (365) = 1561.
Onkelos
The sun had risen over the land when Lot entered Zoar.
Then Hashem caused to rain upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Hashem out of heaven;
verse value 2873 — יְהֹוָ֖ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 44 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 2873 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "and·fire" (וָאֵ֑שׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·on·Gomorrah" (וְעַל־עֲמֹרָ֖ה, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "upon·Sodom" (עַל־סְדֹ֛ם), "and·on·Gomorrah" (וְעַל־עֲמֹרָ֖ה), "sulfur" (גׇּפְרִ֣ית). The root יהוה appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·Hashem" (root יהוה, 165x in Genesis); "from·heaven" (root שמים, 41x in Genesis); "from" (root מן, 34x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·fire', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַֽיהֹוָ֗ה [and·Hashem] (32) + הִמְטִ֧יר [rained] (264) + עַל־סְדֹ֛ם [upon·Sodom] (204) + וְעַל־עֲמֹרָ֖ה [and·on·Gomorrah] (421) + גׇּפְרִ֣ית [sulfur] (693) + וָאֵ֑שׁ [and·fire] (307) + מֵאֵ֥ת [from] (441) + יְהֹוָ֖ה [Hashem] (26) + מִן־הַשָּׁמָֽיִם [from·heaven] (485) = 2873.
Onkelos
And Hashem rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah sulfur and fire from before Hashem, from the heavens.
Rashi
וה' המטיר AND THE LORD CAUSED TO RAIN — Wherever it is said 'וה “And the Lord”, it means He and His Celestial Court (Genesis Rabbah 51:2). המטיר על סדום HE CAUSED IT TO RAIN ON SODOM — When the morning broke), as it is said, (v. 15) “And when the morning dawned”, i. e. the time when the moon is in the sky together with the sun. As some of them worshipped the sun and others the moon, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “If I punish them by day, the moon-worshippers may say, “If it had taken place at night when the moon rules we would not have been destroyed.” And if I punish them by night the sun-worshippers may say, “If it had taken place at day time when the sun rules we would not have been destroyed.” For this reason it is written, “And when the morning dawned” — He punished them at that time when both moon and sun are ruling (Genesis Rabbah 50:12). המטיר גפרית ואש HE RAINED BRIMSTONE AND FIRE — At first it was rain (מטר) to see whether they would repent and this was then turned into brimstone and fire (Midrash Tanchuma, Beshalach 15). 'מאת ה FROM THE LORD — This is the Scriptural way of speaking (the Lord rained … from the Lord); e. g., (4:23) “Ye wives of Lamech” and he did not say “my wives”. Thus, too, did David say, (1 Kings 1:33) “Take with you the servants of your lord” and he did not say, “my servants” and so, too, did Ahasuerus say, (Ester 8:8) “in the king’s name” and did not say, “in my name”. So, also, here: “From the Lord” and He did not say, “from Him” (Genesis Rabbah 51:2). מן השמים FROM HEAVEN — The text (Job 36:31) refers to this: “For by them (the heavens; see the preceding verses) He judges the peoples etc.” When God is about to punish mankind He brings upon them fire from heaven, just as He did to Sodom (cf. 5:32 of the same chapter); and when he caused the Manna to fall it was also from heaven (cf. the second half of 5:31) as it is said, (Exodus 16:4) “Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you” (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 10).
Ramban
AND THE ETERNAL CAUSED TO RAIN UPON SODOM (AND UPON GOMORRAH BRIMSTONE AND FIRE FROM THE ETERNAL OF HEAVEN). Rashi wrote: “Wherever it is said, And the Eternal it means Him and His Celestial Court. From the Eternal. It is not written ‘from Him,’ [with the pronoun ‘Him’ replacing the noun ‘Eternal’ in the second part of the verse, for] this is the Scriptural way of speaking. For example, Ye wives of Lamech, and he did not say ‘my wives.’ And David also said, Take you the servants of your lord, and he did not say, ‘my servants.’ Ahaseurus also said, Write ye… in the name of the king, and he did not say, ‘in my name.’”Now I wonder about the Rabbi See Seder Bereshith, Note 139. who wrote down conflicting opinions and made them alike for there is a division of opinion on this matter in Bereshith Rabbah 1:50. And there is yet a third opinion: “Aba Chilfi, the son of Rabbi Simki, said in the name of Rabbi Yehudah the son of Rabbi Simon: ‘And the Eternal caused to rain upon Sodom — this refers to the angel Gabriel. From the Eternal out of heaven — this refers to the Holy One, blessed be He.’ Rabbi Eleazar said, ‘Wherever it says, And the Eternal, it means Him and His Celestial Court.’ Rabbi Yitzchak said, ‘We find in the Torah, Prophets, and Writings, that a person mentions his name twice. In the Torah, And Lamech said to his wives, etc.’” Thus there are three conflicting opinions here. Rabbi Yehudah the son of Rabbi Simon ascribes the first Divine Name mentioned in the verse as referring to Gabriel as he was the messenger sent to destroy the city, it being a case of the deputy being referred to by the name of Him Who sent him. And Rabbi Eleazar said that He and His Celestial Court agreed on the judgment, and it was from Him that the brimstone and fire came. And Rabbi Yitzchak said that it is the Scriptural way of speaking. Now if you will understand what I have written above,25511:2, at the end. you will know the intent of the Sages’ expression, “He and His Celestial Court,” and then the plain meaning of the verse will be clear to you. In a similar manner is the verse, That they may keep the way of the Eternal… to the end that the Eternal may bring… He did not say, “that they may keep My way… to the end that I may bring.” Likewise: Because the cry concerning them is great before the face of the Eternal, and the Eternal hath sent us. And similarly: And it came to pass, when G-d destroyed… that G-d remembered.
Ibn Ezra
"From Hashem" [מֵאֵת ה'] — an elegant turn of phrase; the meaning is "from Him." A comparable usage is found where a single verse uses "the children of Israel" five times (Numbers 8:19).
Sforno
מאת ה' מן השמים, this was not a natural event such as a volcanic eruption, the ash, brimstone and lava afterwards descending on the surrounding earth. The source of this destruction did not originate in the bowels of the earth.
Chizkuni
המטיר על סדום, “made it rain on Sodom, etc.” according to Rashi, this occurred at an hour when both the sun and the moon were visible in the sky; according to him the reason was that some of the Sodomites worshipped the sun, others the moon. If both were visible at the time of this disaster, they would all recognise the powerlessness of their deities to protect them against such disasters emanating in the heavenly regions. The basis of this exegesis is that the Torah does not use the immediate past tense, i.e. וימטר, but uses a pluperfect, המטיר, “had made it rain.” The “Passover” had already commenced on the previous evening before the angels had reached Sodom. [Compare 18,12 on the cosmic significance of that night. Ed.] מאת ה, according to Bereshit Rabbah 51,3, this is to be understood as the angel Gavriel and Hashem dividing the labour; the former set these harmful substances in motion, the region it emanated from was provided by the Lord Himself. [The reason why our sages understand more than one celestial force to have been involved is the connective letter ו at the beginning of the word: 'וה. Ed.] According to an early version of Tanchuma on this verse, the first time the name Hashem is used in this verse it refers to the angel Gavriel, whereas the second time it refers to Hashem Himself.
Rabbeinu Bahya
וה' המטיר, “and G’d had made it rain, etc.” We find three divergent opinions amongst our sages as to the meaning of the words in this verse. [The basic difficulty is the repeated mention of the name of G’d, i.e. the attribute of Mercy in this verse.] Rabbi Yehudah bar Seymon in Bereshit Rabbah 51,2 understands the angel Gavriel as being the subject of the words וה' המטיר, “and G’d made it rain.” The second expression: מאת ה' מן השמים, he understands as referring to G’d personally; Rabbi Eliezer said that wherever the name of ה' is introduced with the prefix ו, it refers to “G’d with His celestial court.” Rabbi Yitzchak said we find in both the Torah, the Books of the Prophets, as well as in the Hagiographa that ordinary individuals are apt to repeat their own names. He quotes the following verse as example Genesis 4,23: “Lemech said to his wives: ‘wives of Lemech, etc.’” Thus far the quotation from the above Midrash. So you see that there are three interpretations of this verse. Rabbi Yehudah considers Gavriel as the messenger of destruction and he feels that this angel was so described by the words וה' המטיר על סדום ועמורה גפרית ואש, “G’d (His messenger) had made it rain sulphur and brimstone on the city.” Rabbi Eliezer feels that the verse testifies that both G’d Himself and His celestial court agreed to this form of punishment, but that it emanated from G’d directly. Rabbi Yitzchak sees no need to read between the lines of the text but considers the syntax as perfectly normal. A kabbalistic approach: The opinion of Rabbi Eliezer is the correct one. Shemot Rabbah 12,1 postulates as an important rule that every place we encounter the word וה', this is a reference to “G’d plus His celestial court of advisors.” You need to appreciate that the “so-called celestial court,” is referred to by G’d as אנכי האל בית א-ל, I am the G’d of Bet El” (31,13). Yonathan ben Uziel translates the words קדוש קדוש... קדוש Isaiah 6,3 as קדיש בשמי מרומא עלאה בית שכינתה, “the Holy One in the lofty heavens in the house of His residence.” Yonathan ben Uziel distinguishes there between the expression “house” and “residence.” Concerning such a “house” G’d had said of Moses (Numbers 12,7) “He is at home in My entire ‘house.’” This is the בת which has been emanated from the יסוד העולם as mentioned by Nachmanides in his commentary on Genesis 24,1 וה' ברך את אברהם בכל, “and the Lord had blessed Avraham with “something called בכל.” This is also what the Torah had in mind when it writes in Exodus 13,21 וה' הולך לפניהם יומם “and G’d was walking ahead of them by day,” and this is followed a short while later by ויסע מלאך האלו-הים “and the angel of the Lord traveled, etc.” (Exodus 14,19). According to Nachmanides the words מלאך האלוקים in that verse are not to be understood as a possessive clause, but the meaning is similar to 18,17 where G’d had spoken of “Himself” in the third person, i.e. the words המכסה אני מאברהם “shall I hide from Avraham, etc., followed by: “seeing that they will observe the path of the Lord, etc.” (instead of My path), as you would have expected if G’d personally had said the words “shall I hide from Avraham, etc.” did not really refer to Himself but to an agent, a מלאך, who because he spoke in the name of the Lord is described as if it were the Lord Himself speaking. The verse there goes on to speak about למען הביא ה', “in order that G’d may make come true all that He said to Avraham.” Had G’d’ personally been the speaker in that verse, the Torah would have written אביא, “in order that I may bring upon Avraham all that I said concerning him.” As pointed out previously, every time the prefix ו appears before the name of G’d it is an allusion to the angel who at that particular time acts on behalf of G’d. You are already aware that the angel who runs G’d’s universe on His behalf is called מטטרן so that it is easy to recognise an allusion to him in the very word המטיר. מאת ה' מן השמים, “from G’d from heaven.” This is a reference to the “great” name of G’d. We find something similar in Kings I 8,32 when Solomon offered a prayer to G’d on the occasion of dedicating the Temple he had built. He appealed to the G’d in heaven to listen to his prayer by saying ואתה תשמע השמים, “You, the heaven, will hear,” instead of saying ואתה תשמע בשמים, “You will hear in heaven.” Clearly, Solomon did not pray to “heaven,” he prayed to G’d. The wording of Solomon’s prayer indicates that he expected an agent of G’d whom he referred to as “heaven,” to hear his prayer. The reason the Torah referred to the agent of G’d who carries out G’d’s judgment as G’d is because for the moment he acts in lieu of G’d Himself. We have encountered the expression “I will go down,” or “we will descend,” both in Genesis 18,21 and Genesis 11,4 prior to such judgment being carried out. In each such instance the reference is to the agent of G’d carrying out the punishment.
and He overthrew those cities, and all the Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
verse value 2888 — הָאֵ֔ל = 36 (double-Chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 47 letters. Notable word values: "these" (הָאֵ֔ל) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "these" (הָאֵ֔ל, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·all·the·Plain" (וְאֵ֖ת כׇּל־הַכִּכָּ֑ר, 9 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·overthrew" (וַֽיַּהֲפֹךְ֙), "and·all·the·Plain" (וְאֵ֖ת כׇּל־הַכִּכָּ֑ר), "and·all·the·inhabitants·of" (וְאֵת֙ כׇּל־יֹשְׁבֵ֣י). The root עיר appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "these" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "and·all·the·inhabitants·of" (root ישב, 72x in Genesis); "the·cities" (root עיר, 46x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·all·the·Plain', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַֽיַּהֲפֹךְ֙ [and·overthrew] (121) + אֶת־הֶעָרִ֣ים [the·cities] (726) + הָאֵ֔ל [these] (36) + וְאֵ֖ת כׇּל־הַכִּכָּ֑ר [and·all·the·Plain] (702) + וְאֵת֙ כׇּל־יֹשְׁבֵ֣י [and·all·the·inhabitants·of] (779) + הֶעָרִ֔ים [the·cities] (325) + וְצֶ֖מַח [and·the·growth·of] (144) + הָאֲדָמָֽה [the·ground] (55) = 2888.
Onkelos
And He overturned those cities, and the entire plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and the vegetation of the ground.
Rashi
'ויהפוך את הערים וגו AND HE OVERTHREW [THOSE CITIES] etc. — The four cities were situated on one rock and He turned them upside down, as it is said, (Job 28:9) “He putteth forth His hand upon the flinty rock [and overturneth the mountains by the roots]” (Genesis Rabbah 51:4).
Ibn Ezra
"And the growth of the ground" — the trees were burned.
Sforno
ויהפוך, the earth as well as its inhabitants underwent a total chemical transformation being turned into brimstone and fire, similar to what David means in Psalms 105,29 “He turned their waters into blood.” The dew that rose from the earth prior to sunrise turned into salt. Compare Deut. 29,22 גפרית ומלח שרפה כל ארצה, meaning that the moisture descended back onto earth but this time mixed with solid burned particles.
Chizkuni
ויהפוך את הערים, “He overturned the cities;” it is clear from this verse that the destruction of these cities preceded Sarah’s death, whereas in the Talmud Sanhedrin 109 we read the opposite. The Talmud there relates; Eliezer the servant of Avraham once passed the place where Sodom had been located. He was invited to rest on a bed. He replied that he had made a vow ever since Sarah had died not to ever rest on a bed again. From this it is clear that Sarah had already died. We therefore have to assume that Eliezer was speaking about the town of Tzoar, one of the satellite towns of Sodom which had been spared by the prayer of Lot. וצמח האדמה, “and the vegetation on the ground.” Rabbi Yoshua son of Levi stated that when a person takes soil from a piece of land that once was Sodom and he transplants it, it will never grow anything again.
Rabbeinu Bahya
.ויהפך את הערים האל, “He overturned these towns.” The choice of the word האל to describe “these” instead of the more common ההם, is somewhat puzzling. The reason the Torah chose this expression may be that two of the names of the towns had been named before. By using the prefix ה before the word האל the Torah may hint that actually five towns were being overturned by the angel in charge of this destruction. The reason that Avraham at the time had commenced his plea by mentioning the number fifty was also because he was aware that each of five towns required a minimum quorum of ten good people each in order for the whole town to have any hope to escape immediate judgment.
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
verse value 2040
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 25 letters. The shortest word is "salt" (מֶֽלַח, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·behind·him" (מֵאַחֲרָ֑יו, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·looked·back" (וַתַּבֵּ֥ט), "from·behind·him" (מֵאַחֲרָ֑יו), "a·pillar·of" (נְצִ֥יב). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·was" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "his·wife" (root אשה, 148x in Genesis); "from·behind·him" (root אחר, 105x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·behind·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַתַּבֵּ֥ט [and·looked·back] (417) + אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ [his·wife] (707) + מֵאַחֲרָ֑יו [from·behind·him] (265) + וַתְּהִ֖י [and·was] (421) + נְצִ֥יב [a·pillar·of] (152) + מֶֽלַח [salt] (78) = 2040.
Onkelos
And his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Rashi
ותבט אשתו מאחריו AND HIS WIFE LOOKED BACK FROM BEHIND HIM —behind Lot. ותהי נציב מלח AND SHE BECAME A PILLAR OF SALT — By salt had she sinned and by salt was she punished. He (Lot) said to her once: “Give a little salt to these strangers” and she answered him, “Do you mean to introduce this bad custom, also, into our city?” (Genesis Rabbah 50:4).
Ramban
AND HIS WIFE LOOKED BACK FROM BEHIND HIM. From behind Lot, who was following them, acting as the rearguard for all his household, who were hurrying to be saved.
Ibn Ezra
"Behind him" — behind Lot. "A pillar" [נְצִיב] — like the sense of מַצֵּבָה ("a standing monument"; Genesis 28:18), for her bones were burned by the sulfur and she remained standing with salt, since it is written: "sulfur and salt... like the overthrow of Sodom" (Deuteronomy 29:22). This verse also indicates that Zoar was spared, as the angel had likewise said (Genesis 19:21).
Chizkuni
ותהיא נציב מלח, “she was turned into a pillar of salt;” her punishment fitted her crime, as Rashi has explained. Rashi claims that when her husband asked his wife to give some salt to his guests so that their food would taste better, she absolutely refused by challenging his right to violate the laws of Sodom concerning the entertaining of any guests. (based on B’reshit Rabbah,50,4) *Alternatively, "his wife gazed behind him and it became... - "it" referring to the entire land becoming filled with salt as it says "all its soil devastated by sulfur and salt." (Deuteronomy 29:22)
Rabbeinu Bahya
ותבט אשתו מאחריו ותהי נציב מלח, ”his wife looked behind him and was turned into a pillar of salt.” It is possible to understand the word “behind him” as referring to the angel who overturned these towns, seeing the angel has already been credited with this activity in verse 25 where the Torah mentioned sulfur and fire being rained on the towns. The reason Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt may have had to do with the power of the fire [which dehydrated all fluids and left only solids which endure like salt? Ed.] When we find Moses refer to this event in Deut. 29,22 where he credits “G’d” with having turned that area into uninhabitable sulfur and salt, something completely burned, he refers to the agent of G’d who performed this as אפו וחמתו. The fact that he first mentioned “G’d,” and then “אף and חמה,” indicates that these were the names of the respective angels who had carried out this destruction. ותהי נציב מלח, “she became a pillar of salt.” Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra wrote that the word ותהי in our verse refers to the “earth.” In other words, the earth beneath her turned into a pillar of salt, not she herself. Our sages interpret vatehi that Lot’s wife turned into salt herself. The Midrash relates that a poor person came to her door to borrow salt and she refused to give any, and was therefore punished measure for measure: by salt she has sinned and with a pillar of salt she was punished.
Tur HaArokh
ותבט אשתו מאחריו, “His wife looked behind him.” According to Ibn Ezra, the suffix in the word מאחריו refers to Lot. Rashi claims that the suffix refers to her having ignored the angel’s command. In Pirkey de Rabbi Eliezer it is said that the angels said to both Lot, his wife and daughters, not to look behind, as the Presence of the Lord raining sulphur and fire on the Sodomites was descending on earth immediately behind them. Lot’s wife Iddit, who was concerned about the fate of her married daughters, ignored the instructions, and, as a result, was turned into a pillar of salt. According to this version, the masculine suffix in the word מאחריו would refer to the שכינה, the manifestation of G’d’s presence. ותהי נציב מלח. “she turned into a pillar of salt.” Nachmanides (on verse 17) explains that mere looking at polluted air containing all kinds of harmful ingredients transfers such harmful images to the brain and thence to the rest of the body. The effect is liable to be lethal. [The Talmud claims that if one sees the reflection of a rabid dog in the surface of waters of, say a lake, the effect is also liable to be deadly. Ed.] Nachmanides speculates that the angel causing all this destruction had taken up position between the earth and the sky. An effective medication may be to isolate oneself so that one is no longer exposed to the harmful influences either visually or through inhaling them. This would explain what happened to the wife of Lot by attributing it to natural causes, rather than assuming that G’d performed a miracle in order to kill her. My sainted father, the רא'ש, was troubled about the timing of the death of Lot’s wife. From the plain meaning of the text it appears that the rain of fire and sulphur did not commence until Lot had safely reached the small town of Tzoar. This is also borne out by the description of the events in Pirkey de Rabbi Eliezer chapter 25. If the destruction did not commence until Lot was in Tzoar, why would his wife be punished more severely than the people in Sodom? Rabbi Ysrael answered my father by letter that there is no doubt that the destruction did not commence until Lot had reached Tzoar, and that his wife had lagged behind so that the sulphur and fire struck her. The Torah only revealed to us the reason why she had lagged behind; she was always trailing behind her husband, and the suffix מאחוריו describes that she was at all times behind him. The reason why she kept lagging behind was that she constantly looked backwards hoping that her daughters would join her. This also explains the angel saying: ”do not look behind you.” If correct, this means that he did not forbid her the looking behind per se, but warned her that her lagging behind due to her looking behind was liable to turn her into a victim of the destructive forces overtaking Sodom and that valley. If Nachmanides’ explanation were correct, i.e. that looking at the air behind her were to cause her lethal consequences, the angel should have said: “do not look behind you so that the harmful substances will not cling to you.” The fact that the angel added the words “do not stand still in the entire valley,” proves conclusively that time was of the essence, not what he or she would see when turning around. Lot followed the instructions of the angel, whereas his wife did not, with fatal results to her. The Torah reveals that Lot’s wife died as a result of disregarding the angel’s instructions. If not for this, she would have been saved, just as her unmarried daughters were saved. The whole story may have been related by the Torah to explain what prompted Lot’s daughters to sleep with him, i.e. the death of his wife.
And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before Hashem.
verse value 2672 — יְהֹוָֽה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 38 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָֽה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "there" (שָׁ֖ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·the·place" (אֶ֨ל־הַמָּק֔וֹם, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "where·he·had·stood" (אֲשֶׁר־עָ֥מַד). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "there" (root שם, 180x in Genesis); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 165x in Genesis); "to·the·place" (root מקום, 47x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·the·morning', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֥ם [and·rose·early] (376) + אַבְרָהָ֖ם [Abraham] (248) + בַּבֹּ֑קֶר [in·the·morning] (304) + אֶ֨ל־הַמָּק֔וֹם [to·the·place] (222) + אֲשֶׁר־עָ֥מַד [where·he·had·stood] (615) + שָׁ֖ם [there] (340) + אֶת־פְּנֵ֥י [before] (541) + יְהֹוָֽה [Hashem] (26) = 2672.
Onkelos
And Abraham rose early in the morning to the place where he had ministered in prayer before Hashem.
Sforno
אל המקום אשר עמד שם את פני ה, to the place to which he had accompanied the angels. This is where the punishing hand of G’d had first appeared to him. Since he had not been able to save the inhabitants of Sodom legally, he prepared to intercede for them by asking G’d s mercy for them.
And he looked out toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the Plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.
verse value 3712
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 62 letters. The shortest word is "Sodom" (סְדֹם֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·over·the·whole·face·of" (וְעַֽל־כׇּל־פְּנֵ֖י, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 296: and·over·the·whole·face·of, the·land. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·over·the·whole·face·of" (וְעַֽל־כׇּל־פְּנֵ֖י), "the·smoke·of" (קִיטֹ֣ר), "like·the·smoke·of" (כְּקִיטֹ֖ר). The root פנים appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "land" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "and·saw" (root ראה, 140x in Genesis); "upon·the·face·of" (root פנים, 133x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·Plain', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַיַּשְׁקֵ֗ף [and·looked·down] (496) + עַל־פְּנֵ֤י [upon·the·face·of] (240) + סְדֹם֙ [Sodom] (104) + וַעֲמֹרָ֔ה [and·Gomorrah] (321) + וְעַֽל־כׇּל־פְּנֵ֖י [and·over·the·whole·face·of] (296) + אֶ֣רֶץ [land] (291) + הַכִּכָּ֑ר [the·Plain] (245) + וַיַּ֗רְא [and·saw] (217) + וְהִנֵּ֤ה [and·behold] (66) + עָלָה֙ [rising] (105) + קִיטֹ֣ר [the·smoke·of] (319) + הָאָ֔רֶץ [the·land] (296) + כְּקִיטֹ֖ר [like·the·smoke·of] (339) + הַכִּבְשָֽׁן [the·kiln] (377) = 3712.
Onkelos
And he looked out over the face of Sodom and Gomorrah and over all the face of the land of the plain, and he saw — and behold, the smoke of the land rose up like the smoke of a furnace.
Rashi
קיטר signifies a column of smoke. old French torche; English torch. הכבשן A FURNACE — an excavation in which they burn stone to lime. This is the meaning of כבשן wherever it occurs in the Torah.
Ibn Ezra
"Like smoke" [כְּקִיטוֹר] — like smoke, derived from the same root as קְטֹרֶת (incense). "The kiln" [הַכִּבְשָׁן] — a place where fire burns continually.
Sforno
וישקף, a hostile kind of looking, motivated by their excess wickedness. קיטור הארץ, when he saw the smoke he realised that it was too late to pray on behalf of these people.
Chizkuni
וישקף על פני סדום, “he looked down in the direction of Sodom” to see if 10 just people had been found that were deserving of being saved.
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 which Lot dwelt.
verse value 5860 — אֱלֹהִים֙ = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 81 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִים֙) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "in·them" (בָּהֵ֖ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "Abraham" (אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֑ם, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 86: God, God. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "when·He·destroyed" (בְּשַׁחֵ֤ת), "cities·of" (אֶת־עָרֵ֣י), "from·the·midst·of" (מִתּ֣וֹךְ). The root אלה appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·was" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "God" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "in·them" (root הן, 90x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Abraham', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 9 words.
Onkelos
And it came to pass, when Hashem destroyed the cities of the plain, that Hashem remembered Abraham and sent Lot out from the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.
Rashi
ויזכר אלהים את אברהם GOD REMEMBERED ABRAHAM — What bearing has God’s remembering Abraham upon the rescue of Lot? He remembered that Lot knew that Sarah was Abraham’s wife and that when he heard that Abraham said in Egypt regarding Sarah, “She is my sister”, he did not betray him because he had sympathy with him. For this reason God had mercy upon him (Lot) (Genesis Rabbah 51:6).
Ramban
AND G-D REMEMBERED ABRAHAM, AND SENT LOT OUT FROM THE CATASTROPHE. The purport of this verse is that Lot had shown kindness towards the righteous one by going with him and roaming here and there, following him wherever he went. This is the intent of the verse, And Lot went with him, meaning that he went at Abraham’s command. Therefore he had the merit to be saved on account of Abraham’s meritoriousness as it was on account of him that he lived in Sodom, and were it not for Abraham he would have still been in Haran with his family. Now it is inconceivable that some evil should overtake him [Lot] because of Abraham who had left his country at his Creator’s command. This was also the reason why Abraham endangered himself by pursuing the kings on account of him.
Ibn Ezra
"In which he had dwelt" — in one of them. Similarly: "and he was buried in the cities of Gilead" (Judges 12:7); "the foal of she-donkeys" (Zechariah 9:9); "him and them shall he burn with fire" (Leviticus 20:14).
Sforno
מתוך ההפכה בהפוך את הערים, seeing that he had escaped by the merit of Avraham from the destruction of these cites, a process which had begun even before Lot had been outside the outer perimeters of the valley due to his laziness. (compare verse 16) As a result, he was afraid to settle in Tzoar thinking that its destruction had been delayed only on account of his having taken refuge there.
Chizkuni
אשר ישב בהן לוט, “in which Lot used to live;” he had not lived in all of them but in one of them. We find a similar construction in Judges 12,7, where Yiftach is reported as having been buried “in the cities of Gilead,” and it clearly does not mean that he had been cut up and been buried in different parts of the region of Gilead. [The Book of Judges merely makes the point that any of these cities would have been proud to have provided his grave. Ed.] Compare also Zachariah 9,9: ועל עיר בן אתונות, “and on a male donkey foaled by one of the sheasses.”
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויהי בשחת אלוקים, ”it was when G’d destroyed, etc.” The word אלוקים here refers to the angel of G’d who performed this task. ויזכור אלוקים את אברהם, “G’d remembered Avraham.” Here the word אלוקים refers to G’d Himself. וישלח את לוט, “He sent away Lot, etc.” As soon as the name of Avraham is mentioned G’d saves those who cleave to him. The meaning of the verse is that had it not been for Avraham, Lot would still have been in Charan, his land and his birthplace. He left his birthplace only for the sake of Avraham and in his honour. This is what the Torah testified in Genesis 12,4 “Avraham went as G’d had told him, and Lot went with him.” Having this in mind, the Torah says here that G’d remembered Avraham and that as a consequence He saved Lot. The Torah is careful not to say that Lot was saved because G’d remembered Avraham. This what our sages meant when they said (Tanchuma Vayera 9) “one may save the cover of a book together with the book itself just as one may save the bag containing the phylacteries together with the phylacteries contained therein even if there was also money inside that container at the same time” (in case of a fire on the Sabbath). The reason for this is that the container or cover respectively lend additional distinction to the phylacteries or the sacred text inside the cover. From these words of the Tanchuma we learn “hail to the righteous as well as to those who support them.” We can support this from Genesis 8,1: “G’d remembered Noach and all the creatures that were with him inside the Ark.” בהפוך את הערים אשר ישב בהן לוט, “when He overturned the towns in which Lot used to reside.” The question arises why G’d chose such a drastic means of punishing the people of Sodom. It is likely that other nations or the inhabitants of people in other times throughout history have been guilty of similar or even worse conduct and neither they nor the earth they lived on have been wiped out. Besides, seeing that Avraham the most successful exponent of the efficacy of repentance was alive, why was he not encouraged to try and influence the lifestyle of the Sodomites? If he would have achieved a measure of success this would have prevented this human disaster! The principal reason that the judgment of the Sodomites was so harsh was the fact that they lived in the Holy Land. This land cannot tolerate sinful people for long and has always expelled them as one vomits indigestible food. What happened to the Sodomites was an illustration of how the very earth of ארץ ישראל responds to the perversion of all human and religious values such as practiced by the people who live on it. Sodom’s destruction was to serve as a warning to the Israelites in the future not to become guilty of similar acts. Before the Israelites conquered the land they themselves became witnesses to the manner in which the land vomited the Canaanites. Even the spies had described the land as “consuming its inhabitants,” (Numbers 13,32) but they had misinterpreted the cause for this. For all these reasons Moses recalled what happened to Sodom and the Sodomites in his parting address to the Jewish people in Deut. 29,22. He warned his people of what would happen to them if they failed to adhere to the Torah and would forsake its laws.
Tur HaArokh
בהפוך את הערים אשר ישב בהן לוט, “when He overturned the cities wherein Lot had dwelled.” The meaning is as if the Torah had written: “in one of which Lot had dwelled.”
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.
verse value 5564
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 66 letters. Verse gematria: 5564 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·Zoar" (מִצּ֜וֹעַר, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 716: two, two. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "from·Zoar" (מִצּ֜וֹעַר), "in·Zoar" (בְּצ֑וֹעַר). The root ישב appears 3 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "for" (root כי, 167x in Genesis); "he" (root הוא, 133x in Genesis); "his·daughters" (root בת, 92x in Genesis). First appearance of the root מערה ("in·the·cave") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Zoar', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 5 words.
Onkelos
And Lot went up from Zoar and settled in the mountain, and his two daughters were with him, for he feared to settle in Zoar; and he settled in a cave, he and his two daughters.
Rashi
כי ירא לשבת בצוער FOR HE FEARED TO DWELL IN ZOAR, because it was near to Sodom.
Ramban
FOR HE FEARED TO DWELL IN ZOAR. Rashi wrote, “Because it was near to Sodom.”This is not so. (Mizrachi.) Rather, since it was one of the places upon which destruction had originally been decreed and it was only by Lot’s supplication that the angel exempted it because Lot could not make his escape to the mountain on that day, here. Lot now thought that the angel would no longer extend his request, for he now had sufficient time to make the escape to the mountain. This was why his daughter said, And there is not a man in the earth, here. for she thought that with her father’s departure from Zoar the city was destroyed.
Sforno
וישב בהר, because he thought that the entire valley would be destroyed, excluding the surrounding mountains.
Chizkuni
כי ירא לשבת בצוער, “for he was afraid of taking up residence in Tzoar.” The angel had saved Tzoar only temporarily until Lot would recover sufficiently to escape to the mountain. As soon as he would have done so, he became afraid that the angel would complete the task of destroying it.
Rabbeinu Bahya
וישב בהר ושתי בנותיו עמו, “he settled in the mountains and his two daughters with him.” The action which the daughters of Lot took in order to receive semen from their father was something novel. They were chaste and were too shy to ask their father outright to impregnate them, something which was perfectly permissible in their time. It had never been forbidden for a father to have a child from his daughter (Sanhedrin 58). Our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 51,10 give these daughters credit for having wanted to preserve the human species as they thought they and their father were the sole survivors during that generation. Seeing that their mother had died during the flight from Sodom, their father was left without a mate and had no other chance of perpetuating the human species unless his daughters would give birth to a male child by being impregnated by him. This is why they went on record with the words: “there is no other man on earth to have intercourse with us” (verse 31) in order to justify what would otherwise appear as frivolous conduct. This is why the Torah refrained from using any expression criticising their conduct as incestuous or licentious. Their intentions were absolutely pure. This is also why the older daughter was granted the distinction of becoming the ancestor of Ruth, eventual great-grandmother of King David who accepted the 606 commandments of the Torah which Gentiles are not obligated to observe. The younger daughter’s offspring included Naamah from the kingdom of Ammon who became a daughter-in-law of King Solomon when she married his only son Rechavam (Kings I 14,31). In this manner both of Lot’s daughters acquired a share in the Kingdom of David. This is also why our sages in Baba Kama 38 have said that the reason G’d commanded the Israelites not to harass either the Moabites or the Ammonites when they were traveling through the desert (Deut. 2,19) was the conduct of these peoples’ founding mothers, i.e. Lot’s daughters. Our sages go so far as to quote G’d as saying that it had only been these two פרידות טובות, “good seeds,” which emerged from these two nations which justified Him in keeping these people alive in history. This particular portion of the Torah is one of a small number concerning which the sages said that it may be read both in the original Hebrew and may be translated into the language the readers are familiar with. To the question why this is not obvious, the sages answered that there was a contrary consideration, namely that out of concern for the honor of the family purity of Avraham this passage should not be read in translation for unlearned people. The Talmud decided that such a consideration was not sufficient to withhold the information in our portion from wider audiences.
Tur HaArokh
כי ירא לשבת בצוער, “for he was afraid to dwell permanently in Tzoar. According to Rashi he was afraid to live in a town so close to Sodom. Nachmanides disagrees, writing that his fear was based on the fact that the decree of destruction had included Tzoar, though the timing had been amended. He felt that the angel would not extend the grace period much longer. This is also why the daughters were convinced that there would be no other men left on earth as possible marriage partners for them. (compare 31) Some say that Lot’s daughters definitely did not think that what had happened in Sodom had been worldwide. They only thought that there would not be any men willing to marry them, seeing they had been part of the condemned population of Sodom. They assumed that such men would feel they had been genetically harmed so that they could not bear healthy children, if at all. As a result, they would die without children unless they would be impregnated by their father.
And the first-born said to the younger: "Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth.
verse value 2992
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 57 letters. The shortest word is "is·old" (זָקֵ֑ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·the·younger" (אֶל־הַצְּעִירָ֖ה, 8 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "in·the·way·of" (כְּדֶ֖רֶךְ). The root ארץ appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "in·the·land" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "to·come·in·to" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis). First appearance of the root ירה ("the·first-born") in Genesis. First appearance of the root צעיר ("to·the·younger") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'is·old', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַתֹּ֧אמֶר [and·she·said] (647) + הַבְּכִירָ֛ה [the·first-born] (242) + אֶל־הַצְּעִירָ֖ה [to·the·younger] (411) + אָבִ֣ינוּ [our·father] (69) + זָקֵ֑ן [is·old] (157) + וְאִ֨ישׁ [man] (317) + אֵ֤ין [not] (61) + בָּאָ֙רֶץ֙ [in·the·land] (293) + לָב֣וֹא [to·come·in·to] (39) + עָלֵ֔ינוּ [upon·us] (166) + כְּדֶ֖רֶךְ [in·the·way·of] (244) + כׇּל־הָאָֽרֶץ [all·the·earth] (346) = 2992.
Onkelos
And the firstborn said to the younger: Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to come in to us in the way of all the earth.
Rashi
אבינו זקן OUR FATHER IS OLD — And if not now, when? He may die or may cease to beget children. ואיש אין בארץ AND THERE IS NOT A MAN IN THE EARTH — They thought that the whole world had been destroyed as in the time of the generation of the Flood. (Genesis Rabbah 51:8).
Ramban
AND THE FIRST-BORN SAID. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said, “It is possible that Lot had another wife (See further, 29:26.) If so, how does Scripture call one of the single daughters the first-born? It must therefore be, concluded Ibn Ezra, that the ones mentioned above were from another wife who had died. Ramban, however, differs with this suggestion, as explained below in the text. who died before.”But there is no need for this; the first-born is just in contrast to the younger. In fraternal relations the one who is older is called “first-born,” and all those younger than he are called “the younger ones.”Thus the first fruits of the year are called bikurim; Here also the first fruits are relative to this year’s crop. likewise, the first-born of the poor, meaning the most destitute, the poor of the poor. Likewise, With the loss of his first-born shall he lay the foundation thereof, and with the loss of his younger shall he set up the gates of it. Onkelos also here translated, rabtha.“The older.” And he did not translate, as elsewhere, buchra (the first-born).
Ibn Ezra
"And the firstborn said" — it is possible that Lot had another wife who had died earlier. The daughters thought that the fire and sulfur had covered the entire earth, as the waters of the Flood had.
Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father."
verse value 2014
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 40 letters. The shortest word is "come" (לְכָ֨ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "our·father" (אֶת־אָבִ֛ינוּ, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "let·us·make·drink" (נַשְׁקֶ֧ה), "and·let·us·lie" (וְנִשְׁכְּבָ֣ה). The root אב appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "our·father" (root אב, 196x in Genesis); "come" (root הלך, 113x in Genesis); "with·him" (root עם, 87x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: לְכָ֨ה [come] (55) + נַשְׁקֶ֧ה [let·us·make·drink] (455) + אֶת־אָבִ֛ינוּ [our·father] (470) + יַ֖יִן [wine] (70) + וְנִשְׁכְּבָ֣ה [and·let·us·lie] (383) + עִמּ֑וֹ [with·him] (116) + וּנְחַיֶּ֥ה [and·we·may·maintain·life] (79) + מֵאָבִ֖ינוּ [from·our·father] (109) + זָֽרַע [seed] (277) = 2014.
Onkelos
Come, let us give our father wine to drink, and let us lie with him, so that we may preserve offspring from our father.
Ramban
THAT WE MAY KEEP ALIVE SEED FROM OUR FATHER. The intent is perhaps that they said: “Let us do what we can, so that G-d should have mercy, and we shall give birth to a boy and a girl from whom the world shall be sustained, for the world will be built with kindness, and it is not in vain that G-d has saved us.” Now they were modest and did not want to tell their father to marry them, as a Noachide is permitted to take his daughter. It may be that the matter was extremely repulsive in the eyes of the people of those generations and was never done. Our Rabbis, in Agadic expositions, likewise discredit Lot very much.
Rabbeinu Bahya
לכה נשקה, ”let us give a drink of wine.” The daughter should have said לכי (feminine form) instead of לכה (masculine form), as the older daughter urged her sister to do something which is the prerogative of the male who initiates such an activity. Our sages in Yevamot 65 interpreted the words וכבשוה in Genesis 1,28 as meaning not only that the human species is to subjugate nature and the animals, but as reference to the fact that “conquering” is the prerogative of the male rather than that of the female. This is why the word is spelled defectively, the letter ו being missing. This is a hint that the male also “conquers” the female. The words “for there is no man on earth, etc.” were the older daughter’s way of saying that since it is impossible to proceed in the way civilization and nature had decreed, they, the daughters, had to initiate the act of procreation in this instance. The Torah reflects what had happened by writing לכה instead of לכי when describing the introductory remark by the older daughter to her younger sister. I believe that the letter ה in the word לכה is justified as it is a reference to the attribute of Justice. We find other examples of such usage of the letter ה such as in Exodus 3,10 when G’d sends Moses on his mission to Pharaoh and says to him: לכה ואשלחך אל פרעה, “go on and I will send you to Pharaoh.” This was a hint that the attribute of Justice would be invoked against Pharaoh. When the Torah continued in that instance with the words וזה לך האות, “and this will be the sign for you,” a better translation would be: “this extra letter ה which I, G’d, have added to the word לך, ”go!” is your sign that I will invoke the attribute of Justice against Pharaoh.” The wine which the daughters gave Lot to drink is an allusion to the attribute of Justice (see our commentary on Genesis 9,20). This is why the Kabbalists have said that we are not to recite a benediction over wine unless water had first been added to it. [They meant that undiluted red wine represents an undiluted attribute of Justice, not a symbol we want to raise to our lips. Ed.] Actually, in doing what they did, the daughters of Lot copied what the first woman Chavah had done when she seduced her husband Adam. According to the Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 19,5) she had squeezed the juice from the grapes of the tree of knowledge and thus made Adam drink from the fruit of the forbidden tree. The blood of menstruation which women suffer from was the punishment for that particular sin. The appearance of blood is so similar to the colour of red wine that it serves as a reminder of the sin. This is also the mystical dimension of the verses in which blood and wine are linked linguistically such as in Deut. 32,14 ודם ענב תשתה חמר, “and foaming grape-blood was your drink.” Another verse demonstrating a similar affinity between grapes (wine) and blood is Genesis 49,11 כבס ביין לבושו ובדם ענבים סותה, “he washes his garments in wine, his robe in blood of grapes.” The additional letters ה in this verse are not gratuitous; this is what our sages meant when they said in Niddah 31: “man fertilises the white part of the ovum whereas woman fertilises the red part.” In this instance the sin committed by the mother (Chavah) and the daughters (Lot’s) was identical in that it was committed by means of wine which has brought much tragedy on mankind. Possibly, the additional word אבינו, “our father,” in this verse is even an allusion to the father of mankind, Adam. It reminds us that he too had been given wine to drink by his wife.
Tur HaArokh
לכה נשקה את אבינו יין, “let us give our father wine to drink preparatory to sleeping with him.” Even though, halachically speaking, it was permissible for a father to have sexual relations with his daughter, so that there was no legal impediment to their father marrying them, it had become a universally accepted norm after the deluge that fathers would not touch their daughters, sexually. The matter is discussed in Horiyot, where deviates were described as being guilty of committing an abomination.
And they made their father drink wine that night. And the first-born went in, and lay with her father; and he knew not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
verse value 3901
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 62 letters. The shortest word is "wine" (יַ֖יִן, 3 letters) and the longest is "their·father" (אֶת־אֲבִיהֶ֛ן, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "her·father" (אֶת־אָבִ֔יהָ), "or·when·she·rose" (וּבְקוּׄמָֽהּ). The root אב appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·came" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis); "their·father" (root אב, 196x in Genesis); "he" (root הוא, 133x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'he', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַתַּשְׁקֶ֧יןָ [and·they·made·drink] (866) + אֶת־אֲבִיהֶ֛ן [their·father] (469) + יַ֖יִן [wine] (70) + בַּלַּ֣יְלָה [in·the·night] (77) + ה֑וּא [he] (12) + וַתָּבֹ֤א [and·came] (409) + הַבְּכִירָה֙ [the·first-born] (242) + וַתִּשְׁכַּ֣ב [and·lay·with] (728) + אֶת־אָבִ֔יהָ [her·father] (419) + וְלֹֽא־יָדַ֥ע [and·he·did·not·know] (121) + בְּשִׁכְבָ֖הּ [when·she·lay·down] (329) + וּבְקוּׄמָֽהּ [or·when·she·rose] (159) = 3901.
Onkelos
And they gave their father wine to drink that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
Rashi
'ותשקין וגו AND THEY MADE THEIR FATHER DRINK [WINE] etc. — Wine was at hand for them in the cave out of a set purpose that they might bring forth two nations (Midrash Tanchuma, Beshalach 12). ותשכב את אביה AND SHE LAY WITH HER FATHER — In the case of the younger daughter it is written (Genesis 19:35) “and she lay with him”, and it does not state “she lay with her father”. But because the younger did not originate this unchaste conduct but her sister taught it to her, Scripture glosses over her sin and does not explicitly make mention of her shame; but since the elder originated this unchaste conduct Scripture exposes her fully (Numbers Rabbah 20:23). ובקומה NOR WHEN SHE AROSE — This word where it occurs with reference to the elder sister (Genesis 19:33) has dots above it (as though it is not written at all), implying that when she arose, he (Lot) was aware of it, and yet he did not take care on the second night to abstain from wine. (Horayot 10b.) R. Levi said, Whoever is inflamed by sexual desire will, in the end, be made to eat his own flesh (Genesis Rabbah 51:9).
Ibn Ezra
"In her lying down" [בְּשִׁכְבָהּ] — a verbal noun; even though it is in hiriq [short vowel pattern], it functions as such. Similarly: "in my breaking the staff of your bread" [בְּשִׁבְרִי לָכֶם] (Leviticus 26:26).
Chizkuni
ותשכב את אביה, “she had carnal relations with her father;” according to Rashi, what she did was not proper; if you were to argue that we have a statement in the Talmud Baba Kamma 38, according to which her conduct was to teach us that she was praised for being the first of the two sisters to fulfill this commandment, the meaning is that if something inadmissible (basically) has to be undertaken due to circumstances, the person who is the first to do so is given special credit. Rashi criticises the fact that objectively speaking, she committed incest. [According to the rules about incest, as stipulated in Maimonides, gentile daughters are allowed to have carnal relations with their fathers, based on Sanhedrin 58] According to the mechilta, the fact that they found wine in the cave was a sign for them that what they did had heavenly approval. Ed.] ובקומה, “and when she got up;” there is a dot above this word. [as opposed to the same word when the Torah describes her sister’s breaking off that intimacy with her father. That word is also spelled without the letter ו when describing the completion of the act of the younger sister. Ed.]
Rabbeinu Bahya
ותשקין את אביהן יין בלילה הוא, “they gave their father wine to drink in that night.” Actually, the Torah should have written בלילה ההוא instead of בלילה הוא. The absence of the prefix ה suggests that the word הוא is a reference to G’d, i.e. that it is one of G’d’s names. This is why the sages said that Lot’s daughters enjoyed a divine assist in their undertaking. The wine itself was found in their cave. They had not brought it with them. G’d had provided it to make their undertaking easier. [G’d’s interest was to commence the process which would ultimately result in the birth of King David.]
And it came to pass on the morrow, that the first-born said to the younger: "Behold, I lay yesternight with my father. Let us make him drink wine this night also; and go you in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father."
verse value 5192
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 83 letters. The shortest word is "last·night" (אֶ֖מֶשׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·the·younger" (אֶל־הַצְּעִירָ֔ה, 8 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "the·next·day" (מִֽמׇּחֳרָ֔ת), "see·I·lay" (הֵן־שָׁכַ֥בְתִּי), "let·us·make·him·drink" (נַשְׁקֶ֨נּוּ). The root שכב appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "and·it·was" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "and·come" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis). First appearance of the root אמש ("last·night") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·my·father', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 9 words.
Onkelos
And it came to pass on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger: Behold, I lay last night with my father — let us give him wine to drink tonight as well, and you go in and lie with him, so that we may preserve offspring from our father.
And they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose, and lay with him; and he knew not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
verse value 3915
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 61 letters. The shortest word is "even" (גַּ֣ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "their·father" (אֶת־אֲבִיהֶ֖ן, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "or·when·she·rose" (וּבְקֻמָֽהּ). The root קום appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "their·father" (root אב, 196x in Genesis); "that" (root הוא, 133x in Genesis); "with·him" (root עם, 87x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'wine', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַתַּשְׁקֶ֜יןָ [and·they·made·drink] (866) + גַּ֣ם [even] (43) + בַּלַּ֧יְלָה [in·the·night] (77) + הַה֛וּא [that] (17) + אֶת־אֲבִיהֶ֖ן [their·father] (469) + יָ֑יִן [wine] (70) + וַתָּ֤קׇם [and·arose] (546) + הַצְּעִירָה֙ [the·younger] (380) + וַתִּשְׁכַּ֣ב [and·lay·down] (728) + עִמּ֔וֹ [with·him] (116) + וְלֹֽא־יָדַ֥ע [and·he·did·not·know] (121) + בְּשִׁכְבָ֖הּ [when·she·lay·down] (329) + וּבְקֻמָֽהּ [or·when·she·rose] (153) = 3915.
Onkelos
And they gave their father wine to drink that night as well, and the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.
verse value 1992
Insights
Verse structure: 4 words, 22 letters. The shortest word is "two" (שְׁתֵּ֥י, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·daughters·of·Lot" (בְנֽוֹת־ל֖וֹט, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·became·pregnant" (וַֽתַּהֲרֶ֛יןָ), "the·daughters·of·Lot" (בְנֽוֹת־ל֖וֹט), "by·their·father" (מֵאֲבִיהֶֽן). 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "by·their·father" (root אב, 196x in Genesis); "two" (root שנים, 57x in Genesis); "the·daughters·of·Lot" (root לוט, 25x in Genesis). Full calculation: וַֽתַּהֲרֶ֛יןָ [and·became·pregnant] (671) + שְׁתֵּ֥י [two] (710) + בְנֽוֹת־ל֖וֹט [the·daughters·of·Lot] (503) + מֵאֲבִיהֶֽן [by·their·father] (108) = 1992.
Onkelos
And both daughters of Lot conceived from their father.
Rashi
ותהרין וגו AND THEY BECAME PREGNANT, ETC. — Even though a woman does not become pregnant from the first intercourse, these [women] mastered themselves and took out their hymens; and they became pregnant from the first intercourse (Genesis Rabbah 51:9).
Chizkuni
.ומהרין שתי בנות לוט, “the two daughters of Lot became pregnant;” According to Rashi, although normally virgins do not become pregnant from the first time they have carnal relations, these two girls had first removed their hymens, so as to enable them to conceive from the first intercourse with a male. [The author refers to an obscure Midrash, according to which the word ervah, used as synonym for genitals, is spelled with the letter ד instead of ר, i.e. instead of עדותן it should be ערותן as their “proof,” that they had been virgins prior to this. This is based on Deuteronomy 22,17 where the mother of a daughter whose newly wedded husband had accused her daughter of not entering marriage as a virgin by saying: “here is the proof that my daughter was a virgin when she married you.” Ed.] At any rate, Lot’s daughters, through tricks known to girls, contorted themselves in a manner that could serve them as “proof” that they had been innocent virgins up to that time.
Daat Zkenim
ותהרין, “they became pregnant;” according to Rashi, this point is made by the Torah to show the miraculous intervention by G–d that although it is a natural law that a virgin does not become pregnant as a result of sleeping with a man for the first time, in this instance there was help from heaven. [If this had not been a firm conviction by earlier generations, all the documented stories about priests being the ones to deflower virgins before they were given to their respective husbands, would make no sense at all, as many such virgins would have given birth to children from such priests’ semen. Ed.] According to Bereshit rabbah 51,9 quoting Devarim 22,17, the words: ואלה בתולי בתי, “these are the tokens of my daughter’s virginity,” are proof that Judaism does not accept the so-called principle accepted by the gentiles on this subject.
And the first-born bore a son, and called his name Moab—the same is the father of the Moabites to this day.
verse value 2045
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 40 letters. The shortest word is "son" (בֵּ֔ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "father·of·Moab" (אֲבִֽי־מוֹאָ֖ב, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "father·of·Moab" (אֲבִֽי־מוֹאָ֖ב). The root מואב appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·bore" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "his·name" (root שם, 180x in Genesis); "son" (root בין, 146x in Genesis). First appearance of the root מואב ("Moab") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Moab', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַתֵּ֤לֶד [and·bore] (440) + הַבְּכִירָה֙ [the·older·one] (242) + בֵּ֔ן [son] (52) + וַתִּקְרָ֥א [and·called] (707) + שְׁמ֖וֹ [his·name] (346) + מוֹאָ֑ב [Moab] (49) + ה֥וּא [he] (12) + אֲבִֽי־מוֹאָ֖ב [father·of·Moab] (62) + עַד־הַיּֽוֹם [to·this·day] (135) = 2045.
Onkelos
And the firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab — he is the father of the Moabites to this day.
Rashi
מואב MOAB — This daughter who was immodest openly proclaimed that the son was born of her father (מֵאָב) but the younger named her child in a euphemistic fashion and was rewarded for this at the time of Moses, as it is said regarding the children of Ammon, (Deuteronomy 2:19) “Do not contend with them” — in any manner at all — whereas in reference to Moab it (Scripture) only forbade waging war against them but permitted them (the Israelites) to vex them (Genesis Rabbah 51:11).
Ibn Ezra
"Moab" — as if written מֵאָב, "from father." The phrase "until this day" means either that no foreign nation had intermingled with them, or that this matter was well known until the present day.
Sforno
ותקרא שמו מואב... ותקרא שמו בן עמי. They called the names of their children thus to show the world that the father was not someone who was an unworthy, sinful person. [from the point of view of Jewish law as it pertains to gentiles, a father may sleep with his daughter. Ed.] הוא אבי מואב... הוא אבי בני עמון, the ones who would in a short while inherit large parts of what would eventually be part of the land of Israel on the east bank of the Jordan river. Seeing that the intentions of both daughters in sleeping with their father had been honourable, they were rewarded with founding two nations, both from the same father. (Nazir 23) In a certain sense they had become heirs of Avraham to whom all the Canaanite lands had been promised. This reflects the statement in Proverbs 3,6 בכל דרכיך דעהו, “know (try to emulate) G’d in all your undertakings;” (even when involving an apparent sin. [based on Berachot 63. Ed.]
Rabbeinu Bahya
ותלד הבכירה בן ותקרא שמו מואב, “the older one gave birth to a son whom she called Moav (from the father).” Our sages say: “do not read this name as מואב, but as מאב, “from the father.” The naming of the baby was certainly not a chaste thing to do. The younger daughter, by contrast, displayed more discretion when she named her son בן עמי, “a member of my people.” Our sages in Horiot 10 taught that G’d does not withhold a reward even for such minor things as appropriate conversational expressions. When G’d told Moses not to harass either Moav or Ammon, He used different terms for the type of harassment the Israelites were not allowed to employ. In the case of Moav (Deut. 2,9), G’d said אל תצר את מואב ואל תתגר בם מלחמה “do not harass Moav and do not provoke them into war,” whereas in the case of the בני עמון G’d said: אל תצורם ואל תתגר בם “do not harass them or start a fight with them (Deut. 2,19).” The latter were not to be harassed in any shape or form by the Israelites. This added prohibition was the way G’d rewarded their ancestral mother for employing discreet language when naming her son.
Tur HaArokh
ותקרא שמו מואב, “she named him Moav, (by my father.)” A most inappropriate name for a child, tainting him for the future. She was punished by the Torah for naming her son thus, by the Torah only forbidding the Israelites to oppress the Moabites and Ammonites and to wage war against them, but enslaving them was not forbidden. Even so, the sages say that the older daughter who initiated sleeping with her father a single night before her sister was rewarded by G’d in that from her issue Ruth joined the Jewish people, whereas Naamah from Ammon who became the wife of Rechavam, son of Solomon, did not join the Jewish people until four generations later. Still, this did not exonerate her from the shame of naming her son in such a way. (Bereshit Rabbah 51,10, and Midrash Hagadol on Genesis)
And the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi—the same is the father of the children of Ammon to this day.
verse value 2155 — אֲבִ֥י = 13 (echad/ahavah)
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 50 letters. Notable word values: "father·of" (אֲבִ֥י) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "son" (בֵּ֔ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·the·younger" (וְהַצְּעִירָ֤ה, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·the·younger" (וְהַצְּעִירָ֤ה), "Ben-Ammi" (בֶּן־עַמִּ֑י), "the·Ammonites" (בְנֵֽי־עַמּ֖וֹן). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "father·of" (root אב, 196x in Genesis); "bore" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "his·name" (root שם, 180x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Ben-Ammi', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְהַצְּעִירָ֤ה [and·the·younger] (386) + גַם־הִוא֙ [also·she] (55) + יָ֣לְדָה [bore] (49) + בֵּ֔ן [son] (52) + וַתִּקְרָ֥א [and·called] (707) + שְׁמ֖וֹ [his·name] (346) + בֶּן־עַמִּ֑י [Ben-Ammi] (172) + ה֛וּא [he] (12) + אֲבִ֥י [father·of] (13) + בְנֵֽי־עַמּ֖וֹן [the·Ammonites] (228) + עַד־הַיּֽוֹם [to·this·day] (135) = 2155.
Onkelos
And the younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi — he is the father of the children of Ammon to this day.
Chizkuni
והצעירה גם היא, “and the younger sister did also give birth to a son;” the reason this is reported in a separate verse, is to signal that her son too would be originator of a family destined to produce kings. A distant descendant of her was Naamah who became the mother of Rechavam, son of Solomon (Talmud Baba Kamma, 38).
Targum Yonatan
And the younger also brought forth a son, and she called his name Bar-Ammi, because he was the son of her father. He is the father of the Ammonite people unto this day.
Onkelos
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Sforno
Or HaChaim
Chizkuni
Rabbeinu Bahya
Tur HaArokh