Genesis 19 tells two interrelated stories about Lot and his daughters, both of which are quite scandalous. In the first, Lot, Abraham’s nephew, welcomes two angels who have come to Sodom in human form. He protects them from a violent mob but shockingly offers his daughters to appease them. Later, his daughters get him drunk and commit incest with him, giving birth to two nations that would become future enemies of the children of Israel. However, something astounding awaits us at the end of Lot’s story. We only have to have eyes to see and patience to hear it out.
Lot and the Mob
The story of Lot and his daughters begins with Lot sitting at Sodom’s gate, a place of community leadership, indicating his comfort and status among the city’s people. However, the wicked inhabitants of Sodom later remind him that he is an immigrant and does not truly belong. When two angels arrive, Lot rises, bows, and insists they stay at his house (Genesis 19:1–2). They reluctantly agree.
His insistence reflects the ancient Near Eastern value of hospitality in general and the later Jewish value in particular, where hosting guests was a sacred duty, outweighing personal comfort and pleasure. Lot’s persistence—urging the angels despite their refusal (Gen. 19:3)—shows his commitment to this code.
Lot had been living in, and deeply integrated into, the society of Sodom for about two decades when God judged the city. This length of time makes his status as a city elder (sitting at the city gate in Genesis 19:1) perfectly plausible and adds to the tragedy of his story—he was a righteous man whose long exposure to a wicked culture had compromised his moral judgment. We read:
“And if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard).” (2 Peter 2:7).
Trouble arises when the men of Sodom surround Lot’s house, demanding to have homosexual sex with Lot’s guests. We read:
“Before they lay down, the men of the city—the men of Sodom—surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.” (Gen. 19:4-5)
The Hebrew verb ידע (yada, “to know”) implies sexual intent, a violation of hospitality and community bonds. Lot pleads, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly” (Gen. 19:7), using the Hebrew אחי (achai, “my brothers”) to appeal to shared values, which the mob rejects. Then, shockingly, at least for the modern reader, Lot offers his two virgin daughters, saying,
“Do to them whatever you like; only do not do anything to these men, because they have come under the shelter of my roof” (Gen. 19:8).
The Hebrew phrase צל קרתי (tzail k’ra’ti, “shadow of my roof”) underscores the sacred protection of guests, but Lot’s offer reveals a disturbing fact: he values strangers’s sexual safety over that of his daughters.
The Hebrew phrase בָנוֹת, אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יָדְעוּ אִישׁ (banot asher lo yad’u ish, “daughters, that did not know a man”) emphasizes their purity, making Lot’s offer jarring. It suggests he sees them as property to trade for guest safety. Lot’s action, though courageous and bold in one way, was sadly culturally driven in another. The angels intervene, blinding the mob. This saves Lot and his daughters but undoubtedly leaves their relationship trauma unaddressed.
Lot and His Daughters
Fire and brimstone destroy Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:24-25). After fleeing to Zoar, a fearful Lot moves to a mountain cave (Gen. 19:30). His daughters, likely feeling betrayed by their father, falsely claim, “There are no men around to come into us, as is common on earth” (Gen. 19:31). They get Lot drunk and sleep with him, first the elder, then the younger (Gen. 19:32-35). The Hebrew phrase לא ידע (lo yada, “he did not know”) is used to elegantly connect the two stories involving Lot and his two daughters in this chapter. The word ידע (yada, “to know”) can mean both cognitive and sexual knowledge, echoing Lot’s prior failure to protect his daughters (Gen. 19:4-5). The daughters, once vulnerable to Lot’s willingness to sacrifice them, now use him as a devalued object in their survival plan, reflecting a twisted symmetry of moral compromise.
Both daughters bear sons, Moab and Ben-ammi, ancestors of the Moabites and Ammonites (Gen. 19:36–38). Their flawed reasoning echoes Lot’s earlier choice to put social duty ahead of family, creating a cycle of betrayal that started with Sodom’s trauma.
Even though Lot made serious mistakes in Genesis 19, 2 Peter 2:7-8 calls him “righteous Lot,” whose soul was tormented by the lawless actions of Sodom, setting him apart from his immoral neighbors. His imperfect hospitality toward the angels reflects godly virtue, and his rescue, bolstered by Abraham’s intercession, underscores God’s grace for those compromised yet oriented toward righteousness.
Epic Redemption
In comparison to Lot, Jesus embodies a self-sacrificial love that protects the vulnerable while not sacrificing others. Instead, Jesus sacrifices Himself to save others. Lot offered his daughters to the mob; Christ offered Himself to the cross. Lot’s story reveals a cycle of trauma and sin; Christ’s story initiates a cycle of redemption and healing, offering not judgment but restorative grace to those whom sin has broken.
But when God’s story unfolds further, something extraordinary becomes clear. The shameful incest in Genesis 19 gives rise to the Moabites, a nation that produces Ruth, a woman of extraordinary faith and virtue (Book of Ruth). Her gift blesses Israel and the world, as she becomes King David’s great-grandmother and an ancestor of Jesus Christ. Her story reveals a profound truth: God’s grace transforms even the darkest moments, proving no situation or person is beyond redemption.
Conclusion
Let the tragedy of Lot serve as our urgent warning and the triumph of Christ as our eternal call. We must vigilantly guard our hearts against the slow, compromising decay of the world, for even wholesome intentions can become twisted when filtered through a corrupted conscience. Don’t just guard the gate of power; escape the city of sin before it’s too late. Do not sacrifice the vulnerable on the altar of principle, but lay down your life in the service of Christ.
But always remember that even in the darkest chapters of your story, the thread of God’s redemption shines most brilliantly. This is the ultimate truth: our God specializes in rewriting stories of brokenness into stories of epics of grace and redemption. In Christ, the cycle of sin is shattered. We are offered not only forgiveness for our past but also a part in His glorious future. No person, no past, and no situation is beyond the reach of His redemptive grace.
Not even yours.
Wow! What a great article! It gives me food for much thought! The time is now to rise up and put on the mantle of responsibility towards ourselves, our family and our communities to spread the truth of God’s word and to bring the blessed hope to those in despair, fear and without hope for the future. Let us as believers be the agents of change to those who desperately needs the light of Yeshua in a broken world. Thank you Dr Eli for this eye opening article. Blessings and Shalom!
Sylvia, I am very happy! Thank you and God bless you!
Thank you so much for your blog. This gives me many hints on the evil deeds of Moabites and Ammonites, destructing Israelites on the way to Canaan. What they did to Israel was repeatedly mentioned in Peter’s letter and Revelation as well as many places in the Old Testament. I deeply appreciate your insightful study here.
Thank you, Theomee!
Dr. Eli Lizorkin, your insight in the holy scriptures, is incredible! I have learned so much from reading your blog. Thank you!!! Sometimes I feel like throwing in the towel, but when I read your posts my faith is strengthened!
Jesse B.
Jesse, I will treasure your words in my heart for some time to come. THANK YOU!
Hi, really enjoy your insights! i wrote an article offering the idea that perhaps incest had also become the norm which helps explain why the daughters engaged in that behavior. Any truth to that possibility? Our culture hasn’t fully accepted it, but probably won’t be long.
We have no evidence of that at all.
Amen.
THank you Katherine, for reviewing and feedbackign the article.
I Really like your brilliant sentence “Do not sacrifice the vulnerable on the altar of principle, but lay down your life in the spirit of Christ. “
That c(sh)ould be a slogan on all churches, considering actions/woprds in th epast
Thank you, my brother!
After many changes I reincluded this sentence.
Dr Eli, you have written much to think about. There is a lot of “Lot” in us today. This is a pattern of behavior we have failed to learn. Sin has affected all aspects of our being and even those who have the presence of the Holy Spirit choose compromise or complacency rather than the sacrifice of obedience. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil. The acceptance and even the applause of homosexual sin is a rejection of God and His divine standards for life. (Not sure I like the colloquial phrase “what goes around comes around” but rather thus truth: choices have consequences.) Thank you!
Patricia, thanks, I removed this phrase altogether; it does not play any particular role.
Thank you for this. Dr. Eli… This article speaks deeply. Peace.
Thank you, Sam. I was really moved myself.
This narrative brings greater understanding of my redemption. If I a man who continues to fail in many ways, God in His sovereignty is willing to grant me grace upon grace. Love upon love. Honour when honour is not due.
How then do I not look to my Saviour without love. Love not a feeling, but an understanding of who He. Love that transcends every aspect of my being, which I shall never comprehend in the fullness of who Yeshua my Messiah gave His life for me.
Toda Raba Adonai, Your Shalom I don’t deserve. Yet You bestow Your love upon me with grace and mercy.
Amen and amen!
Yes. This piece has given me fresh light and hope. Thank you Dr Eli. You put it wonderfully.
Thank you, Teri!
Really interesting article. Thanks Dr Eli
I wish to ask a question,did jesus die on a pole or on the cross?
We don’t know for sure. We know that he was crucified. It was most likely the cross.
I’ve been trying to find a colleague of yours. Part of his name is Pinchas. Does he have a newsletter/blog? thank you for your great story/explanations🙂
Ray, I passed your name and email to him just now :-). He should be in touch in the next few days.
Pinchas wrote me and asked me to share his site so that you can contact him there – http://www.pshir.com
It was most likely a cross. The Bible describes the sign as being “above His head” which would have only been possible on a cross. Had it been a pole, his hands would have been nailed above His head and the sign would have been described as being above his hands. The Greek “Stauros” means stake, but either a pole or a cross would have been a stake.
Excellent.
Thanks, Wil!
Do Jews (Israelis) believe in Jesus. I think people like Netanyahu conveniently and blindingly lean towards Christianity to seek support from Trump. Basically they do not recognize Jesus as one part of God. Your comment?
Netanyahu and the rest of the Israeli government do not believe in Jesus, but Israel has many thousands of Jews like myself that do. Remember what Jewish Christ-following Pharisee we call Apostle Paul once wrote about other Jews who opposed him:
“Do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. (Rom 11:18) and “28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” (Rom 11:28-29)
Since the story of Lot leaves so much unexplained and we are left to do a lot of reading between the lines, I think your observations are worth consideration. I will point out three things.
1) The mob at Lot’s door clearly considered him an outsider, not one “deeply integrated.”
2) Also, “There is not a man on earth to have relations with us” seems a questionable rendering. Could you recheck?
3) Lastly, it is worth pointing out that the mountain was the angels’ chosen place of safety, with Zoar apparently originally slated for destruction. Perhaps Lot had good reason to change his mind.
1) An immigrant can live in a neighborhood for 20 years and be fully integrated, but in the moment of negative feelings, some people can resort to reminding him that he was not originally from here. I did, however, add a clarification sentanse about it). Thanks.
2) The translation I originally provided was correct. I replaced it however with more literal translation.
3) No disagreement here, I don’t think.
Tried to grab something while earlier I had very little knowledge of what was happening in Lots life
Thank you for your in depth explanation
Let’s learn and grow together, Sebastian! Thank you for your comment.
This article was profoundly impactful! It couldn’t have come at a more perfect time—exactly when it was needed most! Thank you! God bless you!
May God be praised!
Thank you Dr Eli for this message of hope! No matter what the level of brokenness, God is able to redeem it—and this story is an extreme example. I appreciate the part of “being woven into the His glorious future” as well. What a great truth to consider. Our Lord goes beyond what we can think or imagine!
Well said!
Thank you!!
I needed this today!!!
We are all in the need of God’s grace! Amen!
“As all of this took place, Abraham remained hosting the head of the traveling party that the Holy Scripture refers to as the LORD himself (Gen 18:2, 13).”
The texts do not match the verbiage.
Thanks, Mark. I removed the sentence. It is clearer without it. Actually Gen 18 ends with the Lord leaving Abraham and Abraham returning home; the next chapter already features the two angels arriving to Sodom.
Sometimes, God gives revelation to something I read & struggle with why. One was why Lot was considered “righteous” in scripture despite what he did.
Your piece explains why.
And most of all, reveals our amazing God’s divine Grace & immeasurable mercy & love for His people. He knows our hearts, our weakness & yet does not give up on us – even me.
I think God, who is using you as a channel to bring clarity. God bless you, Dr. Eli
Thank you, Ruby.
Excellent analysis, thank you for sharing.
On a previous subject if Lot cannot be seen as righteous man, as tied by Sodom entrenchment, it is for sure that God found less then ten right men in Sodom.
Well… Peter calls him righteous. It is very important to remember that in the Bible righteous does not equal sinless.
Lot’s righteousness should not base on his own shown in protecting angels but seemingly his earlier act of following uncle’s decision to follow God to enter Canaan. When Abraham believed God and God credited him as righteous in Genesis 15:6, though Lot did not involve but based on the same righteous principle, his earlier belief also credit him righteous. Hallelujah.
This is quite important for me as Lot failed a lot afterwards by choosing the best land after servants’ quarrels, being captives, and tolerating evils for such a long time as well as compromising evil by offering evil and even refusing angels’ salvation etc. Lot is an example of ‘once saved, forever saved’ despite of failures.
Praise the Lord.
Eddie, I believe discussing “eternal security” (once saved, always saved) is unhelpful; instead, the term “perseverance of the saints” is more accurate to Reformed theological thought and aligns better with the Bible. Here is how Westminster confession of Faith puts it https://www.apuritansmind.com/westminster-standards/chapter-17/
Even when we were yet sinners, He saved us (Romans 5:8). The great grand mother of Jesus Christ came from Moab and God forgave and moved on with His redemption plan for mankind.
Thanks Eli!
Indeed. This is true grace.
Wow! I wept from this, God is so wonderful! Thank you.
Rick, hi! I did too….
And so how then shall we live knowing that man looks on the outward appearance but God looks at the heart.
We often judge the most depraved deeds of sinners, but only God really knows the heart. The heart is deceitful of all things and who can know jt?
It’s why its so important for us all to judge ourselves asking God to show us our own heart and motives.
May we seek His face always.
Dr. Eli, Shalom in Messiah Yeshua! Woooow! Great article showing God’s Grace towards us, shown in the lineage of Lot’s daughters. He (God) can Redeem from the most depraved, darkest situations. Scriptures emphasis *That with God *ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. 1. MAT.19:26 2. MK.9:23 3. MK.10.27 4. MK.14:36 5. Lk.1:37 #5=———-Gods Grace What an uplifting article, confirming the *Nothing is too hard for the Lord, a phrase mentioned 3X in Bible scripture. Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah ✝️✝️✝️! Thanks for sharing Gods precious truths. Your brother in Messiah Yeshua. AL
Thank you, Al! Shalom!
Awesome
Do continue to learn and grow!
Thank you for continuing to expound on the Truth. My life has been forever changed since encountering the Israel Bible Centre. As you continue to peel back the layers of Scripture and reveal its hidden gems, I am increasingly grateful to our Father for His grace. Lot’s story—like our own—reveals a cycle of trauma and sin, but Christ’s story initiates a cycle of redemption and healing. Praise God!
Amen! May the Lord continue to lead and guide you!
That’s absolutely beautiful…. God is a complete mystery to me – the more I learn – the more beautiful is the outcome. I never saw anything redeemable in those stories until now. Very humbling.
Hazel, it is very humbling and a new insight for me as well. Like you, I am overwhelmed with God’s wonder.
Wow! This is a refreshing and redemptive insight into the Lot narrative. Thank you, Dr. Eli.
Shalom
You are welcome, Alexander. Shalom!
Amen! I cannot underscore enough the brief comment you make that Lot’s story demonstrates the importance of redemption over perfection. I have long felt this idea has somehow become reversed in the modern western Christian world. Not that perfection should be ignored. But our hope lies in Christ Jesus, in God’s redemptive action and not in perfection.
Thank you, Richard for your comment.
Thank you so much. I would have never seen the story this way. Infact having experienced something similar to this myself, I felt hurt on their behalf. praise God for JESUS! He gave himself to the mob! Amen.
God is good!
Eli Father is so other and so gracious to call us sons and daughters! Here at my kitchen table my heart bows before Him in worship.
Thank you my precious Brother
Always, very grateful for you, David!
I’m catholic. Pope John Paul 2 said the Jews are our Elder brothers. Thanx for the teaching, the Jewish interpretation gives a deeper view of this story. Can’t wait for the next one.
We are truly grateful for all of younger brothers and sisters!
Moabites were not to be admitted to the congregation of Israel. Yet grace prevails and Ruth’s faith is spoken of in identical terms as Abraham’s. (Ruth 2:11). And she becomes an ancestor of David and Jesus.
Indeed.
The incredible amount of sin which led to the downfall of Sodom shows God’s strength from the Heavens. I have never read an essay that compares sin to Jesus’s forgiveness. Toda Raba Dr. Eli for giving us a lesson that demonstrates the beauty of Jesus.
Bleessings!
Love it! Thank you
Thanks for writing, Gary!
Whoa! Greatly blessed here Sir Eli. Thank you for this wonderful revelation of God redemptive power. All I can do now is serve Him who saved me for His love and kindness echoes through all generations. His love never ceases. Bless you Sir Eli!
This is indeed so, George! His love compels us!!!!
This story of Ruth being a Moabite has been repeated over and over in the Church. I’m going to disagree with the assumption that she was a gentile and thus one of the progenitors of the messiah, Jesus. I do not believe God allowed any impure bloodlines outside of the protected Jewish Judean line to be used. Was she a Moabite? Yes. The hint lies in the word “kinsman redeemer” being Boaz. A kin Always means blood relative. Her family was supposedly well off and Ended Up in Moab region. If a Chinaman or woman legally becomes a citizen of the US they are called “American.” She was of Jewish bloodline living legally in Moab. Thank you.
Ruth the Moabite, from the biblical Book of Ruth, is traditionally seen as a native Moabite who converted to Judaism. However, some interpretations posit she could have been an Israelite expatriate (or “expat”) living in Moab, perhaps from the tribe of Reuben.
Arguments for: “Moabite” may refer to geographic residency rather than ethnicity, as Israelite tribes (like Reuben) conquered and settled parts of Moabite territory east of the Jordan. This view resolves Deuteronomy 23:3’s ban on Moabites entering the assembly by making Ruth ethnically Israelite, avoiding conversion issues for David’s lineage.
Arguments against: The text repeatedly labels her “the Moabite,” distinguishing her origins. Her vow—”Your people shall be my people, your God my God” (Ruth 1:16)—implies a shift from Moabite identity and paganism to Israelite faith, indicating true conversion. Jewish tradition holds the ban applies only to male Moabites, allowing female converts like Ruth.
Such a wonderful explanation of Lots story and giving all those who don’t believe The Most High can restore their souls or show Grace in all its imperfections.
Thank you Dr Eli 🙏🏾😊
You are welcome, Monika! Thank you!
Hallelujah to our living God. Amazing.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
It is every day God’s good will which gives us love first of all to Jesu, in him we have peace and joy, never ending grace and all other gifts we need. Thank you too for all you are giving to others.
Thank you and Lord bless you!
Dear Dr. Eli:
Thank you for sending this to me – it was so worthwhile to read.
Often, I get “down” on myself – but your Blog reminded me of how much Our Lord, El Shaddai, has done for me since I invited Yeshua Ha Mashiach into my heart and life. His Grace and Love has been constant as I am being transformed into his likeness. May Ha Shem continue to bless you, Dr. Eli and further your ministry.
Susan, I am so grateful for your prayers, encouragement, and support!
Your analysis of the stories of Lot in Genesis 19 have answered a long-lasting confusion in my mind about the eternal status of my parents. My mother was a lapsed churchgoer who faithfully taught my sister and me the basics of the Christian faith, sent us to Sunday School and took us to church, eventually encouraging us to be confirmed in the Anglican Church. Later in life, she became anti-evangelical and against my ‘new birth’ faith. My father, on his own admission, was agnostic, believing all faiths lead to one God yet giving a nodding acknowledgment to Christian ethics based on the 10 Commandments. It appears to me from your arguments that my mother’s faith was a ‘saving’ faith but my father’s was not. This is comforting and distressing at the same time but settles my concerns. Thank you!
Nigel, may His word continue to give us light! Thank you for writing!
Do you know the story that it was Lot’s wife who told the local people about the two visiting strangers under the pretence that she wanted to borrow salt? It is said this explains her eventual transformation.
This apocryphal Jewish folktale, found in midrashic texts like Genesis Rabbah (c. 400 CE), reinterprets Genesis 19. Lot’s wife, unnamed in the Bible, supposedly greets two angelic strangers (disguised as men) at Sodom’s gate. Curious, she asks to “borrow salt,” a pretext to alert nosy neighbors about the visitors—violating Sodom’s hospitality laws and the angels’ secrecy. As punishment, she turns into a pillar of salt during the city’s destruction, symbolizing betrayal and excessive curiosity. The tale explains her biblical fate beyond mere disobedience (looking back).
Charming midrashic etiology, it humanizes a biblical villainess, linking her doom to everyday gossip. Yet, it’s speculative fiction—no biblical basis—and patriarchal: women as tattletales. Reinforces stereotypes, ignoring Sodom’s sins (injustice, per Ezekiel 16). Fun, but historically unreliable.
Hmmmm – what about Cain?
Kent, hi. Please, explain your question?
Sorry – I enojy your work and publications so much, I suppose I thought the event between Cain and Abel fit with God’s mercy and grace shown to Lot, Noah, Abraham, and many others who had so many opporunities to learn from the lessons of life and still obtain His tolerance for our mortal errors. Jacob’s experience with Tamar and where that led also to a great lineage through repentance … I just thought Cain was not “taken”, but left to learn from his killing his brother Avel. 🙂
I see. Thank you for your comment, Kent.
Your words never fail to bless me. What a brilliant, God-centered mind you have!!
I hope you are right, Valerie! From your lips to God’s ears. (Yedish proverb).
Great study! I was always looking for some explantion of Lot’s disgraceful devaluing of his daughters, but, I might have to just accept the depravity in human nature! The best part of the worst decline in human nature, is that God’s wonderful GRACE is greater! I have found those people who have truly repented from a sinful lifestyle, seem to be more humble and more inclined to help others get out of their troubles!
Yes, Robyn. Thank you for your comment.
Dr. Eli,
Shalom! Thank you for this lesson! It comes at a most unusual time in my life. It speaks to me very clearly and the last paragraph brings new light to “even the darkest of chapter of your story”.
Thank you!
Edward
We have shared experience, my brother. Stay strong and look up.
My question, Lot offer his daughters to the mobs to protect the stranger was this in rhe mind of lot the way he was cultured from his uncle Abraham, to treat messengers with respect. And too in light of his daughter couldn’t he trust in God to protect both the message and his daughter from the mobs, or because he was in the land of Sodom he was afraid to publicly with bravery demonstrated his faith in his one true God. So he cowardly made his decision to offer up her daughters without considering the consequences. And we see the redemption plan of God came in a better offer to Lot.
Best I understood you, Paulette, I think we agree.
This is so rich amd full of info.
Its really deep.
Another interesting story that almost echoes it is in Judges 19, where a man and his concubine are travelling and she is also “sacrificed” in a way. Its quite brutal and difficult to understand. I only think I understand the symbolism in it. But its likely western perspective not hebrew.
Will deal with it some day
Well done
Well said 🙂
This is a blog that truly deserves to be shared with the world. May God continue to bless you with wisdom and understanding. Thank you.
Thank you, Michael! Spred it around!
I want to ThankYou for theses blogs I enjoy reading them very much I sorry I can’t give an offering now as I’m bearly can get by without asking for help for my self
Thank You
May the Lord graciously provide for all that you need, dear Curtis! Thank you so much for your encouragement! I would be very much appriciate your prayers!
Thank you, the Lord knew I needed this today. God bless you!
Many people wrote back with similar feedback! We are all in this together!
I am 65 years old and have never heard this story told so completely and then jump to the New Testament and then in 2 Peter calls Lot “righteous Lot”! It makes me fell that all the bad things I did in my youth and beyond, God can still use me and forgive me! Thank you so much for following through with this tragic incident and turned to a beautiful story! God Bless you and your ministry and please pray for me for my so many unanswered questions. I am in a season of battle with satan but I already know the winner! Jesus Christ is King!
Dear Louise, you got the esseence of the teaching! THANK YOU FOR WRITING!
Another interpretation is: The word: “Yada” also can mean “to show” or “teach”, and is used when Scripture says to: “teach your children”. All the people, not just men, surrounded Lot’s house to inflict violence, to “show” or “teach” him a lesson. When Jude describes this event he says that they “went after” him, the connotation in the Greek meaning: they wanted to harm him.
Correct, YADA could be understood differently. But in this case offering his daughters “to do with them as they please” makes even less (horrible) sense.
Regarding Lot being willing to give his daughters to the unholy mob. If they demanded to ‘know’ the men(angels) in Lot’s house, implying homosexuality. Would Lot have known his daughters would be safe from the sexual advances of the mob?
That’s a possibility, Jon, that Lot knew they would not be interested in the daughters. Perhaps.
As always, very insightful.
Thanks, Wilbur!
you said “Conclusion
Let the tragedy of Lot serve as our urgent warning and the triumph of Christ as our eternal call. We must vigilantly guard our hearts against the slow, compromising decay of the world, for even wholesome intentions can become twisted when filtered through a corrupted conscience.”1 Timothy 5:22. Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.”get a drivers license and serve another master. the path to Heaven IS narrow.
Donald, hi! I did not get the comment. Can you kindly unpack it a little. Thanks in advance.
”1 Timothy 5:22. Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure,” the Bible also says you can only serve 1 master. getting a drivers license is serving man not Yahweh.
You lost me there, Donald.
doing what the government says is serving another master not Yahweh.
Thank you for your comment.
I’m a little disturbed with your broad statement that the mob wanted homosexual sex with the visitors of Sodom. It could be interpreted that the men of Sodom intended to rape the visitors. The problem is, what is that saying about men with “same sex attraction”? And what about “gay” men who have little sex with other men, or choose to be celibate?
I love your blogs and insights of well known bible stories; they are such a revelation. It’s refressing that your blogs always conclude that all people are loved by God and redeemed by God’s grace when we put our faith in Jesus.
Paul, shalom! I do see that what was about to happen in the story is indeed a homosexual gang rape. In my life I have known as coworkers or neighbors about 5-6 gay men and women, and I can say nothing but good things about them as people. I really do think that what is condemned here is not gay sex as such (although I do believe that the Bible condemns it in other places) but attempted rape and lack of hospitality. I am sure that if I were to meet the gay people I once knew I would treat them with the dignity and respect that every human being deserves as an image of the Living God. Our God loves and wants to fill with His grace the lives of gay people just as much as so-called “straight” people. We are all sinners in need of grace.
JESUS EN TI CONFIO!!! HIS MERCY IS HIS GREATEST ATTRIBUTE , GRACIAS GRACIAS GRACIAS DIOS
Thank You dear Eli for this beautiful and inspiring clarification . Deeply appreciated.
Very Best
Thank you, my brother for your encouragement and support!
Genesis 19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire From the LORD out of heaven.
{from the LORD out of heaven} A clear example of more than one Jehovah. Lord here is Yahweh (HSN-), Jehovah. One Jehovah on earth rained fire and brimstone from another Jehovah in heaven. Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
Genesis 19:24 uses a striking repetition: “YHWH rained…from YHWH out of heaven,” which many readers take as distinguishing an earthly YHWH present with Abraham from a heavenly YHWH sending the judgment. This “two‑YHWHs” pattern fits a wider biblical motif where God is simultaneously revealed on earth (e.g., as Messenger/Angel of YHWH) and yet remains transcendent, later feeding into Christian Trinitarian exegesis.
Deuteronomy 6:4, however, insists that “YHWH our God, YHWH is one,” with “echad” stressing YHWH’s uniqueness and exclusivity as Israel’s only God, not introducing numerical polytheism. The tension is therefore resolved not by positing “more than one Jehovah” as separate deities, but by seeing Genesis 19:24 as an early, cryptic instance of complex unity in YHWH’s self‑manifestation that remains fully compatible with the Shema’s uncompromising monotheism.
Perhaps Lot understood that the men of Sodom would not want his daughters? It is true, though the daughters and wives were seen as possessions at that time. What I find most upsetting is that Lot’s wife did not attempt to intercede on her daughter’s behalf which makes her becoming a pillar of salt for looking back longingly at Sodom even more appropriate.
Good point.
Dr. Eli,
Shalom in Messiah Yeshua! Great article my brother in Messiah Yeshua! The story truly shows us that the most depraved person in not beyond God’s Saving Grace !
With all that you pointed out,one does have to wonder where lots mind was at attempting to save immoral being with mortal beings
That said! , that when we as humans seem to make choices that are not good, the Lord still has a way of working things out for the Good for those who love him. See Rom.8:28; Gen.18:14; St. Mat.1:37! Jer.32:17;
Thanks again Dr. Eli
In Messiah Yeshua we Live 🙏✝️🙏✝️🙏✝️ AL
Indeed.
Beautiful teaching Dr Eli,
Blessings
Lilian, thank you! May the Lord guide us all and continue to give us His light.
Love CB it!
Not sure what CB means :-), but I geather it is something good, since you love it :-)!
Woah! Thank you so very much Dr. Eli for sharing these great insights which I do apply in my life and in turn share those things which I have learnt and applied. I so much appreciate your expertise and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in you. Shalom.
Thank you for your encouragement, Michael!
Thank you so much Dr Eli for this brilliant and revelatory article. It has always been easy to look at the incest which was an abomination and the resultant curse to the innocent products of this incest, without relating Christ’s redemption story to this case with the same veto. It is trully an eye openning article. God bless you.
Amen, Charity!
That’s fantastic. Thank you. Improving my biblical knowledge to preach and teach.
Amen and Amen!
What a deepful thought. Thank you Dr. Lizorkin-Eyzenberg.
Greeting from Surabaya-Indonesia
Greetings, Glenn! Love to people of Indonesia and especially Surabaya!
The sentence “Do not sacrifice the vulnerable on the altar of principle, but lay down your life in the service of Christ.” really touched me. Yes. We don’t have morale or right to sacrifice the vulnerable instead we need to save them. If we have real guts to sacrifice we should ourselves as sacrifice.
Thanks for the article.
Someone else wrote me about this sentence a while back too.
Wonderful! Hallelujah! Thank you for the revelation. God’s infinite love.
Amen!
Numbers 11,12,13,14 tell of Israel counting the cost and failing to take possession of God’s promised abundance across Jordan. They heard the Gospel message but rejected it. Life under the harsh, but merciful, application of the Law was coming to its natural conclusion as Moses reached 120 years.
Joshua, whose name has similar meaning to Jesus’ name in Hebrew, offered to lead
Israel into God’s abundance, but it took another 38 years for the rebelliousness to die out and the repentant Israel to now trust God to inherit their promised possession.
This is a parallel to the child of Christian parents growing up in the church under the Godly “law” with parents and bible teachers. There comes a time when the child reaches adulthood and considers repentance and a “Jordan” baptism leading to possession of spiritual abundance, which is their promised inheritance in Christ Jesus.
This insightful parallel between Israel’s wilderness rebellion in Numbers 11–14 and a believer’s spiritual journey resonates deeply. The Israelites heard God’s “Gospel” promise of abundance across Jordan yet recoiled in fear, facing 38 more years under Law’s mercy as rebellion died out. Joshua (Yehoshua), name akin to Yeshua (Jesus), then led repentant Israel into inheritance.
Similarly, children of Christian parents mature under godly “law” from family and teachers. Adulthood brings the “Jordan” moment: personal repentance and baptism, crossing into Christ’s spiritual abundance—their promised possession.
This typology urges patience amid doubt, highlighting trust’s triumph over inherited faith. Beautifully layered, it echoes Hebrews 4: entering God’s rest requires heart-obedience, not mere hearing.
Hello,
I have been reading your articles for a few years now and virtually all of them have been insightful. Thanks for
the excellent work you do.
Scott, many thanks for this wonderful encouragement!
Brilliant Dr. ELI’s. love the way you dissect the word thank you sir/
Let’s keep growing together.