Lot and his family. Old Testament

One such place is verses 30-38 of chapter 19 of Genesis, which tells of Lot and his daughters. This place is really a challenge for many and, unfortunately, there are people who say, citing these verses as an example: “Here is YOUR Bible: one debauchery!”.

Lot, his wife and daughters are taken out of Sodom, after which Sodom and Gomorrah experience the wrath of the Lord and perish. The wife of Lot also turns into a pillar of salt, who turns to Sodom, despite the fact that it was said: “... save your soul; do not look back, and do not stop anywhere in the vicinity” (Genesis 19:17).

Lot and his daughters are living in a cave (Gen. 19:30) and something is happening. The eldest daughter says to the youngest, “...therefore, let us give our father wine to drink, and sleep with him...” (Genesis 19:32).

It would seem a sin, incest, as they often talk about it completely thoughtlessly. However, if we look at further events, we will see that the children of the daughters of Lot formed the nations of Moab and Ammon, who continually fought against the sons of Israel. At the same time, however, Ruth the Moabite was the great-grandmother of David, that is, the daughters of Lot also participated in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5). Thus, we see that there was some lasting meaning in the actions of the daughters of Lot.

And again, you need to turn to the Holy Scriptures. “And the older one said to the younger one: Our father is old, and there is no man on earth who would come in to us according to the custom of all the earth” (Genesis 19:31). Very short, right? Scripture does not say that the sisters were driven by lust, perversion. Not at all, the sisters are talking about the custom of the whole earth. Obviously, this is understood as the sacred duty of a woman to give birth. At the same time, the sisters come to the conclusion that a) they have an obligation to give birth; b) there is no one to be their husband; c) there is a father who is old. That is, it is conceivable only from the father to give birth to a child, and then only for a short time, since he is old and it is not known whether he will be alive tomorrow. Here is the sister's dilemma. And for them, duty is not an empty word, they saw with their own eyes what the sin of not fulfilling duty is and what it leads to. What did they know? They knew that their father had left Ur of the Chaldees, because there is Babylon, debauchery, horror, they saw that where they lived, there was also depravity and horror. Everywhere death and destruction. Yet the Lord saves them. This means that the Lord favors them, which means that they have this mission to continue life on earth.

Lot's daughters were religious and morality was not an empty phrase for them. And they did what they did, not for themselves, and not to satisfy their desires, and it was bitter to make such a decision, and the elder sister then behaved, as befits the elder, she had boldness, had determination.

Lot, in this case, did not know what had happened, for he was drunk. And chapter 19 talks about it twice. When Scripture repeats twice, it is very important. Twice it is written: did not know, did not know.

One might think that the act of intoxication in itself is not very positive. However, for example, John Chrysostom says: “And that this happened not simply and not without a reason, but the excessive grief of the soul, through the use of wine, brought him to complete insensibility.”

And it is no accident that the same John Chrysostom says: “So, let no one dare to condemn the righteous man, or his daughters. And would it not be extreme recklessness and unreason - those whom the divine Scripture frees from all condemnation, and even offers such an excuse for them, to condemn us, burdened with the immeasurable gravity of sins, not listening to the words of the anist. Paul, who says, "God justify, whoever condemns" (Rom. 8:33-34)?"

Summing up what has been said, it must be remembered that Lot and his daughters found themselves in a situation that is not ordinary, ordinary. Not everyone, probably, will be able to overcome such difficult situations. They nevertheless overcame; it is not for us to say that in a difficult situation they behaved incorrectly, and we would have done better. If there were no daughters of Lot, their children, would there have been David, would there have been Jesus Christ?

Hello, dear Rabbi Ovadia Klimovsky! Peace be upon you and God's guidance!!! I recently read from the Torah the story of the daughters of Lot, and of course, many questions arise. For example, an act that was done with a father is not worthy of encouragement, but of condemnation.

The comment of the sages is amazing: “R. Khiya bar Avin, said r. Yehoshua ben Karha: “Let a person always hasten to fulfill the commandment. So, for example, because of one night, by which the eldest was ahead of the youngest, the offspring of the eldest (i.e. Ruth) - was honored to start the royal family four generations earlier than the youngest (Naama - the wife of Shlomo ”».

Why do the wise men not only do not condemn the act of the daughters of Lot here, but also count it to them as a commandment? And as far as I understand, the wise men sometimes do not agree, there are significant disagreements. But what about non-wise people who should listen to the words of their elders? It's not true. After all, there SHOULD BE a single measure from which to build off!!! Otherwise, people will do what they think is right. How to know which opinion of the sages is correct and which is not? Thank you in advance for your answer.

Answered by Rav Ovadia Klimovsky

Hello dear Eugene! Thank you very much for your kind wishes and an interesting question, which we will divide into two parts for convenience.

1. About the daughters of Lot. First of all, let's decide from what point of view we are going to consider their act. If from the point of view of relativistic "universal" morality, then there is no question at all - have they harmed anyone?

But if you look from the point of view of the Torah, then you should check two aspects: what exactly was done (in this case, any commandment was fulfilled or some prohibition was violated) and - which is always very important, and especially in the light of your question - what action motivation.

So, first. Rabenu Behaya writes that in those days there was no prohibition on the relationship between a daughter and a father. Therefore, formally, the daughters of Lot did not violate anything. And they explained their intentions clearly - both believed that there was no one left in the world except them and their father, and therefore they had the duty to preserve the human race.

However, there are other sayings of the sages about this story, less positive. For example, several collections of midrashim, speaking about the events in the desert at the end of the stay of the people of Israel there, quote the words of the sages about the eldest daughter: “She started this debauchery.” (By this the sages explain more strict attitude Creator to Moab than to Ammon). In addition, according to tradition, the reason that shortly after this incident Abraham left these places, going south, was a desire to get away from the shame that Lot and his daughters brought on the family. From this we can conclude that already in those days the descendants of Noah voluntarily renounced incestuous relationships, and therefore the act of the daughters of Lot did not honor them among the nations.

But here it is necessary to explain why the sages call it depravity, if the girls were guided by altruistic considerations, as mentioned in the gmara you cited. Perhaps in this case there is no dispute between the sages. The fact is that our intentions when committing various actions are far from always unambiguous. We often do not know about some motives. Perhaps something similar is at issue in our history: certainly, the main intention of the daughters of Lot was the salvation of the world. Otherwise, it would be impossible to set their act as an example to anyone. But the wise men also revealed to us the deeper layers of the consciousness of the daughters of Lot - at the same time they were going to enjoy what they had done, and this is already wrong, because in a normal situation such an attitude is unacceptable. That's why eldest daughter, which did not even try to “rebuild” from the forbidden pleasure, deserved such an unflattering review in other midrashim.

2. Now about the disagreements of the sages. This is a very subtle topic, but our approach can be briefly formulated as follows: “The Almighty does not tyrannize his creatures” (Avoda Zara 3a), that is, he does not demand from them the impossible. If we have an obligation to obey the sages, this means that there is a rule in the Torah that determines exactly whom to listen to in case of disagreement.

And we find this rule where the Torah speaks of legal proceedings. In particular, she writes: “… bow down after the majority” (Shemot 23:2). When the Sanhedrin functioned without interference, all questions of the Law were decided in this way - by voting. Of course, after a detailed comprehensive discussion, without politics and pressure, the authority ohm. Until the decision is made, everyone is free to do as his teachers of the Law say, if, of course, they have the right to be called such.

This is in addition to the fact that there are initially various ways service to the Almighty, equally legitimate and recognized by all. After all, we note in the end, and the disagreements of the sages, as a rule, only demonstrate the depth and diversity of the Torah (as the sages said: the Torah has 70 “faces”, faces). Each sage, in accordance with the turn of his soul, can see a special facet in the Torah, and the words of both arguing (even if in practice their opinions are mutually exclusive) can equally reflect the light of the multifaceted crystal of Divine wisdom.

The whole dispute often comes down only to what kind of opinion should serve practical guide here, in material world. This is set using the above rules.

. They had not yet gone to bed, like city dwellers, Sodomites, from young to old, all the people with all ends cities, surrounded the house

The rumor about the arrival of Lot and the stop of two young beautiful young men (in the form of which Angels usually appeared,; cf. and others) managed to spread throughout the city, and now its inhabitants, driven partly by idle curiosity, and even more criminal intentions () , are going from different parts of the city, without distinction of age and position, to the house of Lot.

. And they called Lot and said to him, Where are the people who came to you at night? bring them to us; we will know them.

From these words it is clear that the behavior of the assembled crowd of Sodomites was defiant: it threatened both Lot himself - a violation of his sacred duty of hospitality, and even more his guests - a mockery of their honor. The character of the latter is expressively indicated by the words standing here: “let us know them”, which in the Bible have a very definite, specific meaning (and others), expressing the idea of ​​sexual intercourse. unnatural vices of child molestation and sodomy, which later received the technical name of “Sodom sin.” A number of biblical places testify to the wide practice of all these monstrous crimes between the wicked Canaanites and especially among the depraved Sodomites (; ; ; and others).

Therefore, it is quite natural that the guests of Lot, distinguished by their youth and beauty, could excite the lustful desires of the Sodomites with special force.

. Lot went out to them at the entrance, and locked the door behind him,

With danger to own life, Lot goes out to this brutalized crowd and at first with caress, and then even with a victim, tries to deflect it from its criminal intent.

. and said [to them]: My brethren, do no harm;

Addressing them with such a brotherly greeting, Lot thought to awaken in them the best feelings and act on their prudence; but this was in vain, since, under the reign of unbridled lower instincts, all the highest and noble feelings were already dead among the Sodomites.

. behold, I have two daughters who have not known a husband; I'd rather bring them out to you, do with them what you please, only don't do anything to these people, since they came under the shelter of my house.

Seeing the failure of his exhortation, Lot decides on a last resort; for the sake of saving the honor of his guests, he is ready to sacrifice the honor of his unmarried, although already betrothed (), daughters. Blessed Augustine reproaches Lot for such a proposal, but Saint John Chrysostom and most other interpreters see in him an act of self-sacrifice, or at least the best way out of his extremely difficult situation; “Of two evils (scandal of guests, or deprivation of honor of daughters), he chooses the lesser,” as St. Ambrose of Milan says.

. But they said to [him]: Come here. And they said: here is a stranger, and wants to judge? now we will do worse to you than to them.

The way of life and behavior of the righteous, living in the company of inveterate sinners, is a mute, but nevertheless a very eloquent denunciation of the latter. Lot was in a similar position, living among the Sodomites and daily tormented, looking at their iniquities, as the Apostle Peter () says. Seeing in him a person of a completely different mood, the Sodomites already harbored hostile feelings towards him (). Now, when Lot dared to speak to them with an admonition and prevent their vile intentions, the indignation of the Sodomites against him increases so much that it begins to threaten his life.

And they came very close to this man, to Lot, and came up to break down the door.

Those. have already begun to carry out their threats.

. Then the men stretched out their hands, and brought Lot into their house, and locked the door [of the house];

As a reward for the generous defense of their honor, Lot's heavenly guests are now saving him at a critical moment for him; by this miracle they revealed their true nature to Lot for the first time.

. and the people who were at the entrance to the house were smitten with blindness, from the smallest to the greatest, so that they were exhausted, looking for an entrance.

According to most exegetes, the punishment of the violent Sodomites was not simple physical blindness, or complete deprivation of their sight, but consisted in blindness of the mind and external senses, i.e. in some confusion of sensations and imagination, which prevented them from distinguishing and recognizing objects, like the defeat of the similar blindness of the Syrian troops through the prayers of the prophet Elisha () or the blindness of Saul () and the sorcerer Elima ().

Lot is led out of Sodom by angels and flees to Zegor

. The men said to Lot, Who else do you have here? son-in-law, or your sons, or your daughters, and whoever you have in the city, bring them all out of this place,

As a reward for Lot's high hospitality and in memory of Abraham's intercession (; cf.), the Lord shows special mercy to Lot's house, promising salvation to all its members, no matter who Lot takes with him.

. for we will destroy this place, because the cry against the inhabitants of it to the Lord is great, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.

The cries of the unfortunate, abused and oppressed by the Sodomites, who did not find a fair judgment for themselves here on earth, reached heaven and there they found for themselves the all-righteous Judge and the due Retributor (). And since the inhabitants of Sodom proved their complete impenitence, so that the continuation of their lives would only increase the degree of their guilt, the just God decides to stop such an existence, just as He once did with all antediluvian mankind ().

. And Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were taking his daughters for themselves, and said, Get up, get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy this city. But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

Some bewilderment here is the fact that Lot already had sons-in-law, while it was said above that his two daughters did not yet know husbands (). It is usually resolved in such a way that Lot's daughters were already betrothed and were, so to speak, on the eve of the marriage itself, so that Lot in this sense could call their suitors his sons-in-law in advance. It is obvious that these named sons-in-law of Lot were true Sodomites not only in the flesh, but also in spirit, since they reacted with distrust and laughter to Lot's proposal ().

. When the dawn broke, the angels began to hasten Lot, saying, Get up, take your wife and your two daughters that you have, so that you do not perish for the iniquities of the city.

And as he hesitated, then those men [Angels], by the mercy of the Lord to him, took his hand and his wife, and his two daughters, and brought him out and set him outside the city.

“It seems that the incredulous smile of the sons-in-law had some effect on the weak character of Lot, and he himself began to hesitate to leave the city, probably sparing his property and not quite sure of the prediction of the Angels. Therefore, the Angels “by the grace of the Lord” bring him out by force” (Vlastov). It is also noteworthy that here for the first time two husbands are definitely called Angels ().

. When they brought them out then one of them said:

Based on the entire subsequent context () in this one Angel, imperiously leading the entire further conversation with Lot on his own behalf, most commentators rightly see the very “Angel of Jehovah” who acted as the main actor and in the preceding chapter (18).

save your soul;

"Soul" is taken here as a synonym for "life", as its main essence.

do not look back and do not stop anywhere in this neighborhood; flee to the mountain lest you perish.

The immediate meaning of such a prohibition was to hasten the flight of Lot, since any delay and stop could threaten him with death, and the further, moral meaning was that such a farewell look at the city abandoned by Lot would testify to his sympathy and regret for this city, which, at the sight of the heavenly punishment that broke out over him, would be tantamount to an indirect censure of God himself for the cruelty of His judgment. Finally, any reversal is disapproving also because it testifies to a person’s lack of firmness of character and willpower and to some reprehensible indecision of him to follow the once chosen path (; etc.).

. But Lot said to them: No, Lord!

behold, thy servant has found favor in thy sight, and great is thy mercy which thou hast done unto me, that thou hast saved my life; but I cannot escape to the mountain, so that trouble does not overtake me and I do not die;

The places of salvation for Lot and his family were assigned to the mountains - in all likelihood, the mountains of Moab, surrounding the Jordan Valley from the east. But here, too, he reveals a lack of courage and weakness of will, tempting divine mercy with his cowardly request.

. behold, it is closer to run to this city, it is small; I will run there, - he is small; and my life will be saved [for your sake].

Seized by faint-hearted despair, Lot thinks that he will not have time to reach such a distant point as the Moabite mountains, and prays to the Lord that He will allow him to take refuge halfway to them, in one small town, which received the name Sigor () in memory of this event. Lot twice exposes the special insignificance of this town, on the one hand, in order to more easily bow the Lord to his request, on the other hand, and therefore to show that in it, as in a small city, there was not that terrifying corruption that reigned in big cities, and that because of this, he can be spared from destruction faster than others.

. make haste, save yourself there, for I cannot do the work until you get there. That is why this city is called Sigor.

Condescending to the request, although weak in will, but pure in soul, Lot, the Lord not only spares for his sake small city Segor, but also delays the punishment of the other cities until Lot arrives at Segor. The name of this city is from Hebrew, more accurate - "Tzoar", which means in literal translation: "small, small"; this also indicates the reason for its renaming: namely, Lot's insistence on his insignificance (). Previously, this town was called "Bela" (). Most of the learned geographers of Palestine believe that this town lay at the southernmost point of the Jordan Valley (; ), an hour southeast of Dead Sea, in what is now called Shirbet es-Safia. Traces of its existence are also available from the era of Roman rule Ζόαρα at Stef. Visan., and from time to time crusades(“Sogar” or “Tsogar”, after which the Dead Sea itself is also called the “Tsogar Sea”).

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

. And the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord from heaven,

And he overthrew these cities, and all this region, and all the inhabitants of these cities, and [all] the growth of the earth.

Here, first of all, some unnaturalness of the expression attracts attention: "and the Lord poured out ... from the Lord".

According to the explanation of the fathers and teachers of the Church (Ignatius the God-bearer, John Chrysostom, Justin the Philosopher, Athanasius of Alexandria, Cyprian, Tertullian, etc.), here is a separate indication of the two persons of the Holy Trinity: God the Father and God the Son. The Son of God or the Angel of the Lord (Angel of Jehovah), He is also the Logos, appeared on earth and acted in the name of God the Father, Who, according to the word of the Holy Scripture, does not judge the world himself, but gave all this judgment to the Son (; ; ). We have a similar case in the second epistle of Ap. Paul to Timothy, where the Apostle prays for the servant Onesiphorus, so that "The Lord vouchsafed him to receive mercy from the Lord on his day" ().

As for the nature of the catastrophe itself that broke out over the four cities of Pentopol (Sodom, Gomorrah, Adma and Sevoim) (;), then, based on the data of the text itself ( "rain brimstone and fire ... from the sky"), and also taking into account the biblical parallels related to it (; ; ), the testimony of Josephus Flavius ​​and the research of the latest scientists, it can be assumed that it was of two kinds: it began with a terrible volcanic eruption, accompanied by a fire of tar bogs and springs, in many covering a valley of Siddim (); and ended with the flooding of this entire valley from a neighboring salt lake, which occurred as a result of a strong lowering of the soil formed after a volcanic eruption. Thus, God often uses natural actions and phenomena to reveal His supreme will.

It is remarkable that the sea, which was formed on the site of the once flourishing Jordanian valley of Siddim and is usually known to us under the name of "Dead", in Holy Scripture nowhere bears such an epithet, but is called either the sea of ​​​​the plain (), or by the salty sea(; ); both last names fully justify the above guess about the nature of the heavenly punishment that took place over the impious cities.

Finally, the same assumption is also supported by scientific research the latest geographers of Palestine, according to whose calculations the difference in depth between the northern (ancient) and southern (subsequently formed) parts of the Salt Sea is very striking, since it reaches almost 800 feet, and involuntarily makes one assume their origin at different times. In addition, it must be added that on the southern coast of the sea, from time to time, large blocks of asphalt are found ejected from the seabed, obviously of volcanic origin.

Lot's wife turns into a pillar of salt

. wife Lotova looked behind him, and became a pillar of salt.

That the punishment of Lot's wife for disobeying the command of the Angels (), which served as an expression of her sympathy for the wicked, is not an allegory, as some thought, but real, historical fact, the author of the book testifies to this. The wisdom of Solomon () and our Lord Jesus Christ himself ().

It is supposed that at the very moment when Lot's wife stopped to look at the city, she was seized by a destructive, volcanic whirlwind, which not only instantly killed her in the same position, but also covered her with a kind of asphalt crust; over time, this petrified form took on a whole series of salt deposits from the salt sea formed here and in this way eventually turned into a large salt block, or salt column.

Ios. Flavius ​​cites a tradition according to which one of the salt pillars near the Dead Sea was pointed out as the remains of Lot's wife (Jewish Ancient 1, 11, 4), and modern Arabs still call by this name a salt pillar, about 40 feet. heights, to the east of the place "Usdum", consonant with the biblical "Sodom".

. And Abraham got up early in the morning [and went] to the place where he stood before the Lord,

and he looked towards Sodom and Gomorpe, and into all the expanse of the region, and saw: behold, smoke rises from the earth, like smoke from a furnace.

With this remark by the writer of everyday life, this entire narrative is put in the closest connection with Abraham's previous petition for the salvation of the righteous in these wicked cities (). At the same time, it once again confirms our assumption about a terrible earthquake and fire, the victims of which fell the cities doomed to destruction.

. And it came to pass, when God destroyed [all] the cities of this region, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of destruction, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt.

These words explain a lot both about the persistence of Abraham's intercession for the salvation of the Sodomites, even for the sake of ten righteous people (a figure that may have been approached by the number of members of Lot's family), and about God's special favor and mercy towards Lot, despite his some hesitation and cowardice. Simultaneously given fact is clear evidence of how "the strengthened righteous can do much" ().

Lot lives in a cave

. And the older one said to the younger one: Our father is old, and there is no man on earth who would come in to us according to the custom of all the earth;

so let us make our father drink wine, and sleep with him, and raise up from our father a tribe.

And they made their father drink wine that night; and the eldest went in and slept with her father [that night]; but he did not know when she lay down and when she got up.

The next day the elder said to the younger: behold, yesterday I slept with my father; let us give him wine to drink this night; and you go in, sleep with him, and we will raise up the tribe from our father.

And they made their father drink wine that night; and the youngest came in and slept with him; and he did not know when she lay down and when she got up.

And both daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father,

The final section of the chapter under study contains the sad story of Lot's fall. Lot, who throughout his life was a living denunciation of the Sodomites in the purity of his morals (), at the end of his life, to some extent, became like them, entering into a criminal relationship with his daughters. Such unnatural connections were rarely practiced even among the pagans (), but in the law of Moses, the death penalty was directly prescribed for them (;). It is not surprising that to many exegetes the whole story seems highly seductive and unlikely. But a more thoughtful analysis of the text and taking into account all the secondary circumstances greatly clarify the matter. As for the personality of Lot himself, then most of his guilt, like Noah’s once (), is removed by the fact that the criminal act was committed by him in a state of intoxication and without any consciousness of its significance, as is clearly emphasized twice by the biblical text (ends 33 and 35 st.).

It is much more difficult, of course, to justify the behavior of the daughters of Lot, on the part of which a deliberate intention and an insidious plan are clearly visible. But here, too, a number of circumstances mitigating their guilt can be indicated: firstly, their act, as is clear from the text, was guided not by voluptuousness, but by a laudable intention to restore the fading seed of the father (); secondly, they resorted to this remedy as the only outcome in their situation, since, according to the text, they were convinced that, apart from the father, they no longer had any man from whom they could receive offspring (). They developed such a false belief either because they considered the rest of humanity to be lost, or, more likely, because no one wanted to have fellowship with them, as people from God-cursed cities. Finally, the explanation and, consequently, some excuse for the act of the daughters of Lot are the conditions of the situation of their entire previous life in the society of depraved Sodomites and under the direct influence of their mother, who had not gone far from her fellow citizens.

. and the eldest gave birth to a son, and called his name Moab [saying: he from my father]. He is the father of the Moabites to this day.

And the younger also bore a son, and called his name: Ben-Ammi [saying: ), but, as related in the flesh to the chosen Jewish people, they eventually have to receive forgiveness and salvation ().

2 and said, My lords! go into your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet, and rise in the morning and go on your way. But they said: no, we spend the night on the street.

3 But he entreated them greatly; and they went to him and came to his house. He made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

4 Before they went to bed, like the inhabitants of the city, Sodomites, from young to old, all the people with all ends cities, surrounded the house 5 and called Lot and said to him: where are the people who came to you at night? bring them to us; we know them.

6 Lot went out to them at the entrance, and locked the door behind him, 7 and said [to them], My brethren, do no harm; 8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known a husband; I'd rather bring them out to you, do with them what you please, only don't do anything to these people, since they came under the shelter of my house.

9 But they said to [him], Come hither. And they said: here is a stranger, and wants to judge? now we will deal worse with you than with them. And they came very close to this man, to Lot, and came up to break down the door.

10 Then the men stretched out their hands and brought Lot into their house, and shut the door [of the house]; 11 And the people who were at the entrance to the house were smitten with blindness, from the least to the greatest, so that they were weary as they sought the entrance.

12 The men said to Lot, Who else do you have here? whether it is your son-in-law, whether your sons, whether your daughters, and whoever is in your city, bring them all out of this place, 13 for we will destroy this place, because the cry is great against its inhabitants to the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it .

14 And Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were taking his daughters for themselves, and said, Get up, get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy this city. But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

15 When dawn broke, the angels began to hasten Lot, saying, Get up, take your wife and your two daughters that you have, lest you perish because of the iniquities of the city.

16 And as he tarried, those men [angels], by the mercy of the Lord, took him by the hand, and his wife, and his two daughters, and brought him out and set him outside the city.

17 When they had brought them out, then one from them said: save your soul; do not look back and do not stop anywhere in this neighborhood; flee to the mountain lest you perish.

18 But Lot said to them, No, Lord! 19 Behold, thy servant has found favor in thy sight, and great is thy mercy which thou hast done unto me, that thou hast saved my life; but I cannot escape to the mountain, so that trouble does not overtake me and I do not die; 20 Behold, it is nearer to flee to this city, which is small; I'll run there - he's small; and my life will be saved [for your sake].

21 And he said to him, Behold, I will do this also to please you: I will not overthrow the city of which you speak; 22 make haste, save yourself there, for I cannot do the work until you get there. That is why this city is called Sigor.

23 The sun rose over the earth, and Lot came to Segor.

24 And the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord from heaven, 25 and overthrew these cities, and all this region, and all the inhabitants of these cities, and [all] the growth of the earth.

26 Wife same Lotova looked behind him, and became a pillar of salt.

27 And Abraham got up early in the morning [and went] to the place where he stood before the Lord, 28 and looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah and all the expanse of the region and saw: behold, smoke rises from the earth like smoke from a furnace.

29 And it came to pass, when God was destroying [all] the cities of this region, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of destruction, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt.

30 And Lot went out of Segor and dwelt in the mountain," and his two daughters with him, for he was afraid to dwell in Segor. And he dwelt in the cave, and his two daughters with him.

31 And the older one said to the younger one, Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth who has come in to us, according to the custom of all the earth;