Genesis 19
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Summary
The three holy men go to Sodom. Lot meets them at the gate and invites them in to feast with him. The men of the city encircle his house and desire to abuse the three men. Lot offers his daughters in exchange for the men's safety. The three men pull Lot inside and smite the men surrounding the house with blindness. The three men reveal to Lot that they have been sent by the Lord to destroy the city, and he and his family should leave Sodom immediately. Lot and his wife and two daughters leave in the morning, and they are commanded not to look back upon the city. Sodom's wife looks back and becomes a pillar of salt. Lot dwells in a cave near Zoar, where his two daughters conspire to make him drunk and lie with him so that they may preserve his seed. The first daughter bears a son and names him Moab, father of the Moabites, and the younger daughter bears a son and names him Ben-ammi, father of the Ammonites.
Commentary
Bible Central Commentary
These free resources were developed for use in the free ScripturePlus app. Many of the contributors are professors of religion and ancient scripture at Brigham Young University.
Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, “Genesis 18–20,” in Genesis, Old Testament Minute Commentary Series, ed. Taylor Halverson (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021).
Avram Shannon, “Hospitality,” in Old Testament Cultural Insights, ed. Taylor Halverson (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2022).
Avram Shannon, “Angels,” in Old Testament Cultural Insights, ed. Taylor Halverson (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2022).
Avram Shannon, “Deferential Speech,” in Old Testament Cultural Insights, ed. Taylor Halverson (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2022).
Historical Commentaries
Many of the commentaries below are in the public domain and were authored over 100 years ago. In many cases, they do not reflect the findings of modern scholarship, but they may be helpful for understanding the history of biblical scholarship.
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Historical Settings
Time
*All Dates Are Approximate, according to the narrative of the Bible. These dates may reflect literary significance as opposed to the precise dates of history.
See Biblical Chronology- 2067 BC
Further Reading
RoseAnn Benson, “Reexamining Lot,” Religious Educator 14, no. 1 (2013): 59–81.
Stephen O. Smoot, “Abraham and the Stranger at Sodom and Gomorrah,” Public Square Magazine, August 5, 2021; originally presented at the 2021 FAIR Conference.
Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible
Matthew Henry (1706)
Commentary on the Bible
Adam Clarke (1831)
Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable
Thomas Constable
Rashi’s Commentary
Rashi (Shlomo Yitzchaki)
Notes on the Bible
Albert Barnes (1834)
Exposition of the Entire Bible
John Gill (1746–63)
Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch (1857–78)
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible
John Wesley (1754–65)