translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: GEN

label: NET translator note

text: The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.


text: Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons. sn The expression sitting in the city’s gateway may mean that Lot was exercising some type of judicial function (see the use of the idiom in 2 Sam 19:8 ; Jer 26:10; 38:7; 39:3 ).


text: The imperatives have the force of invitation.


text: These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”


text: The Hebrew verb פָּצַר ( patsar , “to press, to insist”) ironically foreshadows the hostile actions of the men of the city (see v. 9 , where the verb also appears). The repetition of the word serves to contrast Lot to his world.


text: The verb שָׁכַב ( shakhav ) means “to lie down, to recline,” that is, “to go to bed.” Here what appears to be an imperfect is a preterite after the adverb טֶרֶם ( terem ). The nuance of potential (perfect) fits well.


text: Heb “and the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the young to the old, all the people from the end [of the city].” The repetition of the phrase “men of” stresses all kinds of men.


text: The Hebrew text adds “and said to him.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.


text: The Hebrew verb יָדַע ( yada ’, “to know”) is used here in the sense of “to lie with” or “to have sex with” (as in Gen 4:1 ). That this is indeed the meaning is clear from Lot’s warning that they not do so wickedly, and his willingness to give them his daughters instead. sn The sin of the men of Sodom is debated. The fact that the sin involved a sexual act (see note on the phrase “have sex” in 19:5 ) precludes an association of the sin with inhospitality as is sometimes asserted (see W. Roth, “What of Sodom and Gomorrah? Homosexual Acts in the Old Testament,” Explor 1 [1974]: 7-14). The text at a minimum condemns forced sexual intercourse, i.e., rape. Other considerations, though, point to a condemnation of homosexual acts more generally. The narrator emphasizes the fact that the men of Sodom wanted to have sex with men: They demand that Lot release the angelic messengers (seen as men) to them for sex, and when Lot offers his daughters as a substitute they refuse them and attempt to take the angelic messengers by force. In addition the wider context of the Pentateuch condemns homosexual acts as sin (see, e.g., Lev 18:22 ). Thus a reading of this text within its narrative context, both immediate and broad, condemns not only the attempted rape but also the attempted homosexual act.


text: Heb “may my brothers not act wickedly.”


text: Heb “who have not known.” Here this expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.


text: Heb “according to what is good in your eyes.”


text: Heb “shadow.”


text: Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”


text: Heb “to live as a resident alien.”


text: Heb “and he has judged, judging.” The infinitive absolute follows the finite verbal form for emphasis. This emphasis is reflected in the translation by the phrase “dares to judge.”


text: The verb “to do wickedly” is repeated here (see v. 7 ). It appears that whatever “wickedness” the men of Sodom had intended to do to Lot’s visitors – probably nothing short of homosexual rape – they were now ready to inflict on Lot.


text: Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”


text: Heb “and they drew near.”


text: Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “inside” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.


text: The Hebrew text adds “their hand.” These words have not been translated for stylistic reasons.


text: Heb “to them into the house.”


text: Heb “from the least to the greatest.”


text: Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”


text: The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.


text: Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”


text: Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.


text: The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.


text: Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.


text: Heb “the Lord .” The repetition of the divine name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “he” for stylistic reasons.


text: The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.


text: Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.


text: Heb “When dawn came up.”


text: Heb “who are found.” The wording might imply he had other daughters living in the city, but the text does not explicitly state this.


text: Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).


text: Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “in the compassion of the Lord to them.”


text: Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17 ). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).


text: Or “one of them”; Heb “he.” Several ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read the plural “they.” See also the note on “your” in v. 19 .


text: Heb “escape.”


text: The Hebrew verb translated “look” signifies an intense gaze, not a passing glance. This same verb is used later in v. 26 to describe Lot’s wife’s self-destructive look back at the city.


text: Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.


text: Or “my lords.” See the following note on the problem of identifying the addressee here. The Hebrew term is אֲדֹנָי (’ adonay ).


text: The second person pronominal suffixes are singular in this verse (note “your eyes,” “you have made great,” and “you have acted”). Verse 18 a seems to indicate that Lot is addressing the angels, but the use of the singular and the appearance of the divine title “Lord” ( אֲדֹנָי , ’ adonay ) in v. 18 b suggests he is speaking to God.


text: Heb “in your eyes.”


text: Heb “you made great your kindness.”


text: The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.


text: Heb “lest.”


text: The Hebrew verb דָּבַק ( davaq ) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.


text: The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.


text: The Hebrew word עִיר (’ ir ) can refer to either a city or a town, depending on the size of the place. Given that this place was described by Lot later in this verse as a “little place,” the translation uses “town.”


text: Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”


text: Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.


text: Heb “Is it not little?”


text: Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.


text: Heb “And he said, ‘Look, I will grant.’” The order of the clauses has been rearranged for stylistic reasons. The referent of the speaker (“he”) is somewhat ambiguous: It could be taken as the angel to whom Lot has been speaking (so NLT; note the singular references in vv. 18-19 ), or it could be that Lot is speaking directly to the Lord here. Most English translations leave the referent of the pronoun unspecified and maintain the ambiguity.


text: Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”


text: The negated infinitive construct indicates either the consequence of God’s granting the request (“I have granted this request, so that I will not”) or the manner in which he will grant it (“I have granted your request by not destroying”).


text: Heb “Be quick! Escape to there!” The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys, the first becoming adverbial.


text: Heb “Therefore the name of the city is called Zoar.” The name of the place, צוֹעַר ( tso ’ ar ) apparently means “Little Place,” in light of the wordplay with the term “little” ( מִצְעָר , mits ’ ar ) used twice by Lot to describe the town (v. 20 ).


text: The juxtaposition of the two disjunctive clauses indicates synchronic action. The first action (the sun’s rising) occurred as the second (Lot’s entering Zoar) took place. The disjunctive clauses also signal closure for the preceding scene.


text: The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.


text: Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).


text: Heb “from the Lord from the heavens.” The words “It was sent down” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. sn The text explicitly states that the sulfur and fire that fell on Sodom and Gomorrah was sent down from the sky by the Lord . What exactly this was, and how it happened, can only be left to intelligent speculation, but see J. P. Harland, “The Destruction of the Cities of the Plain,” BA 6 (1943): 41-54.


text: Or “and all the plain”; Heb “and all the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.


text: Heb “and the vegetation of the ground.”


text: Heb “his”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: The Hebrew verb means “to look intently; to gaze” (see 15:5 ). sn Longingly . Lot’s wife apparently identified with the doomed city and thereby showed lack of respect for God’s provision of salvation. She, like her daughters later, had allowed her thinking to be influenced by the culture of Sodom.


text: The words “and went” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.


text: Heb “upon the face of.”


text: Or “all the land of the plain”; Heb “and all the face of the land of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.


text: Heb “And he saw, and look, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.” sn It is hard to imagine what was going on in Abraham’s mind, but this brief section in the narrative enables the reader to think about the human response to the judgment. Abraham had family in that area. He had rescued those people from the invasion. That was why he interceded. Yet he surely knew how wicked they were. That was why he got the number down to ten when he negotiated with God to save the city. But now he must have wondered, “What was the point?”


text: The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.


text: Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.


text: Heb “remembered,” but this means more than mental recollection here. Abraham’s request ( Gen 18:23-32 ) was that the Lord not destroy the righteous with the wicked. While the requisite minimum number of righteous people (ten, v. 32 ) needed for God to spare the cities was not found, God nevertheless rescued the righteous before destroying the wicked. sn God showed Abraham special consideration because of the covenantal relationship he had established with the patriarch. Yet the reader knows that God delivered the “righteous” (Lot’s designation in 2 Pet 2:7 ) before destroying their world – which is what he will do again at the end of the age.


text: Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”


text: Heb “and the firstborn said.”


text: Or perhaps “on earth,” in which case the statement would be hyperbolic; presumably there had been some men living in the town of Zoar to which Lot and his daughters had initially fled.


text: Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.


text: Heb “drink wine.”


text: Heb “and we will lie down.” The cohortative with vav ( ו ) conjunctive is subordinated to the preceding cohortative and indicates purpose/result.


text: Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav ( ו ) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.


text: Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.” sn For a discussion of the cultural background of the daughters’ desire to preserve our family line see F. C. Fensham, “The Obliteration of the Family as Motif in the Near Eastern Literature,” AION 10 (1969): 191-99.


text: Heb “the firstborn.”


text: Heb “and the firstborn came and lied down with her father.” The expression “lied down with” here and in the following verses is a euphemism for sexual relations.


text: Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”


text: Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”


text: Heb “lied down with him.”