NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible | Page 49
Genesis 19:11 | 53
18:24 h Jer 5:1
18:25 i Job 8:3, 20;
Ps 58:11; 94:2;
Isa 3:10-11; Ro 3:6
18:26 j Jer 5:1
18:27 k Ge 2:7; 3:19;
Job 30:19; 42:6
18:32 l Jdg 6:39
m Jer 5:1
19:1 n Ge 18:22
o Ge 18:1
19:2 p Ge 18:4; Lk 7:44
19:3 q Ge 18:6
19:5 r Jdg 19:22;
Isa 3:9; Ro 1:24‑27
19:6 s Jdg 19:23
19:8 t Jdg 19:24
19:9 u Ex 2:14; Ac 7:27
19:11 v Dt 28:28-29;
2Ki 6:18; Ac 13:11
really sweep it away and not spare a the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in
it? h 25 Far be it from you to do such a t hing — to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating
the righteous and the wicked a
like. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth
do right?” i
26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will s pare the
whole place for their sake. j ”
27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord,
though I am nothing but dust and ashes, k 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less
than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”
“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”
29 Once a
gain he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”
He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”
30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me s peak. What if only thirty can
be found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to s peak to the Lord, what if only
twenty can be found there?”
He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”
32 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. l What if
only ten can be found there?”
He answered, “For the sake of ten, m I will not destroy it.”
33 When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned
home.
Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed
19
The two angels arrived at Sodom n in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway
of the city. o When he saw them, he got up to meet them and b
owed down with his
face to the g
round. 2 “My lords,” he said, “please turn a
side to your servant’s h
ouse. You
can wash your feet p and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”
“No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”
3 But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his h
ouse. He pre
pared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. q 4 Before they had gone to
bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom — both young and old — surrounded
the house. 5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them
out to us so that we can have sex with them.” r
6 Lot went outside to meet them s and shut the door behind him 7 and said, “No, my
friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with
a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t
do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.” t
9 “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he
wants to play the j udge! u We’ll t reat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure
on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.
10 But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door.
11 Then they s truck the men who were at the door of the h
ouse, young and old, with blind
ness v so that they could not find the door.
a 24 Or
forgive; also in verse 26
18:27 – 32 Acknowledging the inappropriate-
ness of questioning God on this issue (v. 27),
Abraham boldly ventures to do so, gradually
reducing the number of righteous from fifty
(v. 28) to ten (v. 32). In all likelihood, Abraham
stops at ten because God has established the
principle that the righteous will not be pun-
ished alongside the wicked, and reducing the
number yet further seems petty or unbeliev-
ing. In the light of this, it is noteworthy that
in ch. 19 only Lot and two of his daughter s
escape from the city when the angels warn
them of its destruction.
19:1 – 29 Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed. Al-
though Sodom is destroyed, Lot escapes with
two of his daughters due to the intervention
of the angels. Lot’s desire to protect his “visi-
tors” from being sexually abused by the men
of Sodom sets him apart from the rest of the
population. His hospitality and protection of
the men is an indicator of his righteousness
(2 Pet 2:7 – 8).
19:1 – 3 Lot previously camped “near Sodom”
(13:12), but now he lives within the city. His
hospitable response to the visitors closely
resembles Abraham’s in 18:1 – 5. The simi-
larities indicate that Lot by nature resembles
Abraham. His subsequent protection of the
men further indicates his righteousness
(2 Pet 2:7 – 8). Lot’s wife, unlike Sarah, plays
no obvious role in preparing the meal for the
strangers.
19:4 from every part of the city . . . both
young and old. The assault on Lot’s house
involves all the men of Sodom.
19:5 have sex with them. Their desire to have
homosexual relations with the two visitors
indicates their depravity (Jude 7); the term
“sodomy” derives from this episode. See note
on Rom 1:26.
19:6 – 11 When Lot tries unsuccessfully to
placate the men of Sodom, rather than hand
over his guests, he offers the mob his unmar-
ried daughters. In this ancient context, a host
was obliged to protect his guests from all
harm, a cultural imperative that drove him
to this extreme suggestion. In 2 Pet 2:7 Lot is
called a “righteous man, who was distressed
by the depraved conduct of the lawless”; this
statement is difficult to understand apart
from this ancient code of honor. Lot’s offer
also sheds light on the mob itself: These men
of Sodom were determined to have sexual
relations with Lot’s two guests. Their wicked-
ness was pervasive and persistent.