40 | Genesis 18:20
cho sen him, so that he will di rect his chil dren and his house hold af ter him to keep the way of the Lord by do ing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abra ham what he has prom ised him.”
20
Then the Lord said,“ The out cry against Sod om and Go mor rah is so great and their sin so griev ous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the out cry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”
22
The men turned away and went to ward Sodom, but Abra ham re mained stand ing be fore the Lord. a 23 Then Abra ham ap proached him and said:“ Will you sweep away the righ teous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fif ty righ teous peo ple in the city? Will you real ly sweep it away and not spare b the place for the sake of the fif ty righ teous peo ple in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing— to kill the righ teous with the wick ed, treat ing the righ teous and the wick ed alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
26
The Lord said,“ If I find fif ty righ teous peo ple in the city of Sod om, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
27
Then Abra ham spoke up again:“ Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am noth ing but dust and ash es, 28 what if the num ber of the righ teous is five less than fif ty? Will you de stroy the whole city for lack of five peo ple?”
“ If I find for ty-five there,” he said,“ I will not de stroy it.”
29
Once again he spoke to him,“ What if only for ty are found there?”
He said,“ For the sake of for ty, I will not do it.”
30
Then he said,“ May the Lord not be an gry, but let me speak. What if only thir ty can be found there?”
He an swered,“ I will not do it if I find thir ty there.” 31
Abra ham said,“ Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twen ty can be found there?”
He said,“ For the sake of twen ty, I will not de stroy it.”
32
Then he said,“ May the Lord not be an gry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”
He an swered,“ For the sake of ten, I will not de stroy it.”
33
When the Lord had fin ished speak ing with Abra ham, he left, and Abra ham re turned home.
Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed
The two an gels ar rived at Sod om in the evening, and Lot was sit ting in the gate way of
19 the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2“ My lords,” he said,“ please turn aside to your ser vant’ s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way ear ly in the morn ing.”
“ No,” they an swered,“ we will spend the night in the square.”
3
But he in sist ed so strong ly that they did go with him and en tered his house. He pre pared a meal for
a
22 Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition but the
Lord remained standing before Abraham b
24 Or forgive; also in verse 26 and his descendants— the people of Israel— to inherit specific promises and to understand the identity of the true God. what is right The Hebrew word used here, tsedaqah, refers to what is right or fair( Lev 19:36). It can convey the legal sense of innocence or vindication( Job 6:29; see Ps 4:1 and note). just The Hebrew word used here, mishpat, can refer to legal decisions that involve both condemning the guilty and acquitting the innocent( 1Ki 8:32; see Ps 146:7 and note). 18:20 outcry The Hebrew word used here, ze’ aqah is used elsewhere to describe oppression and injustice( Ex 3:7; 22:21 – 23). The crimes of Sodom are more than the general evil of inhospitality and homosexual aggression described in Ge 19.
18:23 – 33 Abraham intercedes for Sodom and Gomorrah, pleading with Yahweh to spare the cities if fifty righteous people can be found within them, or even ten. The course of this exchange builds dramatic tension— only ten righ teous people are needed to save the cities. Until now, Abraham has spoken few words to Yahweh. Here, pleading for the doomed cities, he is far more vocal. Abraham speaks far more here than Yahweh.
18:23 sweep away the righ teous with the wicked Abraham shows a concern for righ teous ness and justice. He argues that by destroying Sodom, God might destroy some righ teous people along with the wicked. 18:32 What if only ten can be found It is unclear why
Abraham stops his negotiation at ten. Ultimately there are not even 10 righ teous people within the city, and Yahweh destroys it( 19:25 – 26). However, Yahweh remembers Abraham’ s pleas here and extends his mercy by saving Lot( see 19:29 and note).
19:1 – 22 After recording Abraham’ s intercession for Sodom and Gomorrah, the scene shifts to Lot’ s house in Sodom( see v. 2 and note). When two angels visit Lot, the men of Sodom ask Lot to hand them over so they can violate them( see v. 5 and note). Lot refuses and offers his daughters instead( v. 8). When the men of Sodom refuse this offer, the angels strike them with blindness( vv. 9 – 11). After the men of Sodom leave, the angels inform Lot of Sodom’ s impending judgment and warn him to take his family and leave the city( vv. 12 – 22).
19:1 The two angels Three men had appeared to Abraham. It turned out that one was Yahweh, while the other two were angels( see 18:1 and note; 18:2 and note). The two angels here are the same angels who appeared to Abraham earlier( 18:2). See the table“ Angels in the Bible” on p. 2120. 19:2 your servant’ s house Previously, Lot lived in tents outside the wicked city of Sodom( 13:12). 19:3 baking bread without yeast A meal that could be prepared on short notice since the bread would not have to rise. See note on Ex 12:8.