Matthew Poole and continuators on Genesis 19

1. AND there came two Angels to Sodom at even , and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom : and Lot seeing them, rose up to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground.

Even those two which departed from Abraham, Chap. 18. 22. and now were come to Lot, the third yet staying and communing with Abraham.

So they truly were, though they be called Men, chap. 18.

Of the same day on which they departed from Abraham.

Where he sat either to observe the administration or corruption of justice there, for the seats of Judicature were in the gates: Or rather to wait for strangers to whom he might exercise kindness and hospitality.

2 And he said, Behold now my Lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servants house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways . And they said, Nay, but we will abide in the street all night .

And so this will be no hindrance to your occasions.

This was no untruth, but really intended by them in the present state of things, and upon supposition that Lot should press them no further; but they also intended, if Lot was earnest with them, to comply with him. Their first denial was but decent and an act of civility, and in them it was a design to discover Lots Piety and Hospitality, and to manifest the great difference between him and the barbarous Sodomites, and the reason and justice of Lots deliverance and their destruction.

Marginal references: Heb. 13. 2.; Chap. 18. 4.; See Luk. 24. 28.

3 And he pressed upon them greatly, and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house: and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread , and they did eat.

Because that was sooner prepared, that so they might eat it, and after that go to Bed in due time.

4 But before they lay down , the men of the City, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter .

To sleep, of which this word is used Gen. 28. 13. Levit. 14. 47. and. 26. 6.

Some to exercise villany, and some to please themselves with the contemplation of it, and some out of curiosity, &c. This is added to shew how universally corrupt they were, and that there were not ten righteous men there.

5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them .

Either know who they are: Or rather abuse them, as Lots answer explains it, and so that word is used, Gen. 4. 1. N[illegible: 1+ letters]b. 31. 17. Iudg. 19. 22. And for the sin here committed see Levit. 18. 22. and 20. 13. Rom. 1. 26, 27. 1 C[illegible: 1+ letters]r 6. 9. Iud[illegible: 1+ letters] v[illegible: 1+ letters]r. [illegible: 1+ letters]. They openly and impudently profess their wicked intention, for which they are branded, Isa. 3. 9. and this intention of theirs is the more probable, because of the great beauty which it is likely was in those bodies which the Angels assumed, whereby their Lust was more inflamed.

7 And said, I pray you, brethren , do not so wickedly.

So they were by community of nature and habitation, See Gen. 9. 5. and 29. 4. and Levit. 19. 17. and so he calls them, if possibly he might sweeten and restrain them.

8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man ; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes , only unto these men do nothing: for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof .

To wit, carnally. See Gen. 24. 16. Numb. 31. 18. Iudg. 11. 39.

Whatsoever your purpose or pleasure is. See the same phrase Gen. 20. 15. and 41. 37. Numb. 24. 1, &c. A most impudent and sinfulmotion, whereby he yielded to one sin to prevent another contrary to Romans 3. 8. and exposed his daughters chastity which he was obliged to preserve, and which indeed he had no power to expose, especially seeing they were betrothed to other men, ver. 14. But it is some extenuation of his sin that it proceeded from his great charity and kindness to strangers and that he was at this time under a great perturbation and discomposure of mind.

That they might be preserved from such outrages. This was the design of the thing, though not of those persons. See the note on Gen. 18. 5.

(i. e.) Under the protection of my house. Shadow is oft put for protection or defence, as Iudg. 9. 15. Psal. 36. 7. Ier. 48. 45.

Marginal references: See Judg. 19. 24.; See Numb. 31. 17, 18.

9 And they said, stand back . And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn , and he will needs be a judge : now will we deal worse with thee then with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.

Or, Go further off, i. e. out of our way, stand not between us and the door: or come hither: That so they might seize him, and proceed in their designed wickedness.

q. d. One man, and he too but a stranger, presumeth to oppose the whole society of the native Citizens.

Heb. In judging he will judge. This busie-body, if not restrained in time, will take Authority to himself to censure, reprove and condemn us from time to time.

11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness , both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

Heb. With blindness, i. e. with a blindness both of Body and mind. It was not a total blindness, as if they quite lost the use of their Eyes, for they saw the house though not the door, but it was a great dimness and confusion of their sight, and a disturbance in their common sense, by which they were made unable to distinguish between differing persons or places; as it was also with the Syrians, 2 King. 6. 18. and as it is in some measure with some drunkards, who, though their eyes be open, cannot distinguish between things that differ. And this was very easie for Angels to do by a small alteration either in their sight or in the Air, whereby either the door might appear to them like the solid wall, or the several parts of the wall like so many doors.

Marginal references: See Acts 13. 11.

14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sonsin-law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get ye out of this place, for the LORD will destroy this City: but he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law.

Heb. Took or were taking, or about to take, to wit, either to espouse, or to marry. Compare Gen. 6. 2. and 24. 3. and 28. 6. Deut. 7. 3. Antiently persons were first espoused, and after some time, the Marriage was consummated.

15. And when the morning arose, then the Angels hastned Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters which are here , lest thou be consumed, in the iniquity of the City.

Heb. Which are found, i. e. Which are present with thee, as this word is used, 1 Chron. 29. 17. 2 Chron. 5. 11. and 30. 21. and 31. 1. Whence some gather that he had two other Daughters married to two Sodomitish Men, who, by their Husbands perswasion and example, staid, and perished in those flames. But this is not necessary: For this phrase may be applied to the Daughters by way of distinction from their Spouses or Husbands. q. d. Tarry no longer in expectation of thy Sons-inlaw, who are absent, and must be given up for lost, but take thy Daughters which are found and present with thee, and go thy way.

Marginal references: Heb. are found; Or, punishment.

16. And while he lingred , the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the City.

Either through loathness to part with all his estate, or to lose his Sons-in-law: Or, through astonishment and distraction of mind, which made him both listless and impotent.

17 And it came to pass when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life , look not behind thee , neither stay thou in all the plain, escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

Either one of the Angels: Or the third person, the Lord himself, who having parted from Abraham, after some time, came to Lot, as appears both by the change of the number, for before this he speaks of them in the plural number, but from hence in the singular number, as ver. 19, 21, 22. and by the variation of the phrase, for the other two speak with submission, and as servants, ver. 13. The Lord hath sent us, &c. but this speaks with more authority, as is evident from ver. 21, 22.

(i. e.) As thou lovest thy life. See Deut. 4. 15. Ios. 23. 11. Ier. 17. 21. Or, escape with thy Life, for the Hebrew particle al is sometimes taken for with, as Exod. 35. 23. Levit. 2. 2. and 14. 31. Deut. 22. 6. So the sense is, stand not lingring in hopes to save thy goods, them thou shalt lose as a punishment of thy sin and folly in chusing to dwell with so wicked a people, and be thankful that thou hast thy life given thee for a prey, as it is expressed, Ier. 38. 2.

Like one that grieves either for the loss of thy pleasant habitation or vast estate, or for those cursed miscreants justly devoted to this destruction. And this command though given to Lot alone, yet was directed also to his companions, to whom doubtless he imparted it, as is evident both from all the other commands, which equally concern all, and from the following event. See Matth. 24. 18. Lake 9. 62.

18 And Lot said unto them , Oh, not so, my LORD.

i. e. Unto one of them, as is manifest from the following words.

19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life, and I cannot escape to the mountain , lest some evil take me, and I die.

Because of the infirmity of my age, and the fainting of my spirits. Thus he sheweth an unworthy and unreasonable distrust of Gods Power and Goodness which he had now experienced and acknowledged.

20 Behold now, this City is near to flee unto, and it is a little one : O let me escape thither: (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.

Therefore as its inhabitants, so its sins, are fewer, and it will not be an eminent example of thy vengeance, as the other places will be.

21 And he said unto him, see, I have accepted thee concerning this thing, that I will not overthrow this City for the which thou hast spoken.

Heb. I have lift up thy countenance, i. e. granted thy request. The manner of the expression possibly may be taken from the custom of the Eastern parts; where petitioners used not to fall upon their knees, as we do, but to prostrate themselves with their face to the ground, and the person to whom they addressed themselves, in token of his favourable acceptance of their petitions, commanded them to be lifted up.

Marginal references: Heb. thy face.

22 Haste thee, escape thither: for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither : therefore the name of the City was called Zoar.

Because of Gods decree and promise to save thee from the general destruction.

23 The sun was risen upon the Earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

This phrase may note, either the time of the day when this was done; or rather the nature and quality of the day, that the Sun appeared and shone forth that morning in great lustre and glory: Which is well noted as a very considerable circumstance of the History, and a great aggravation of their ruine, which came when they least expected it.

Marginal references: Heb. go[illegible: 1+ letters] forth▪

24. Then the LORD rained upon Sodom, and upon Gomorrha , brimstone and fire , from the LORD out of Heaven.

And the Neighbouring Cities, Admah and Zeboim, as appears from Deut. 29. 23. Ier. 49. 18. Hos. 11. 8.

Brimstone is added to the fire either to conveigh and carry down the fire which in it self is light and apt to ascend, or to increase it. Isa. 30. 33. or to represent the noysomness of their lusts.

(i. e.) From himself: The noun put for the pronoun, as Gen. 1. 27. 2 Chron. 7. 2. But here it is emphatically so expressed, Either 1. To signifie that it proceeded not from natural causes, but from the immediate hand of God. Or, 2. To note the plurality of persons in the Godhead, God the Son, who now appeared upon the Earth rained from God his Father in Heaven, both concurring in this act, as indeed all outward actions are common to all the persons of the Trinity.

Marginal references: Deut. 29. 23. Isa. 13. 19. Jer. 50. 40. Ez. 16. 49. Hos. 11. 8. Amos 4. 11. Luke 17. 29. 2 Pet. 2. 6. Jude 7.; See Jud. 5. 20. 2 Chron. 7. 1. Ezek. 11. 24.

25 And he overthrew those Cities, and all the plain , and all the inhabitants of the Cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

To wit, where these Cities and their Territories lay, called the plain of Iordan, Gen. 13. 10. all which then became, and to this day continues to be a filthy▪Lake, called the Dead-Sea, because no Fish lives in it.

26 But his wife looked back from behind him , and she became a pillar of Salt .

Through curiosity, or unbelief, or desire of what she left, or from all these causes.

(i. e.) From behind her Husband, whom she followed. Which circumstance seems to be mentioned as the reason of this presumption, because she could do it without her Husbands observation or reproof, to which she had a greater regard than to the all-seeing eye of God.

i. e. Her body, by a very common Synecdoche.

Either metaphorically, i. e. a perpetual durable pillar, as an Everlasting Covenant is called a pillar of Salt, Numb. 18. 19. or properly, for there is a kind of Metallick Salt: which resists the Rain, and is hard enough for Buildings, as Pliny, Solinus, and others Witness. And that Salt was here mixed with Brimstone may be gathered from Deut. 29. 23. Adde to this, that Iosephus Antiq. 1. 12. Affirms that this pillar remained in his time. And the like is witnessed by others after him.

Marginal references: Luke 17. 3[illegible: 1+ letters].

29 And it came to pass when God destroyed the Cities of the plain, that God remembred Abraham , and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the Cities in the which Lot dwelt.

Either 1. The promise made to Abraham Gen. 12. 3. Or 2. The prayer made by Abraham Gen. 18. who doubtless in his prayers for Sodom would not forget Lot, though his prayer for him be not there mentioned. And hereby it is insinuated, that Lot though he was a righteous man and should be saved eternally, yet deserved to perish temporally with those wicked people to whom he associated himself meerly for worldly advantages, and should have done so, if Abraham had not hindred it by his prayers.

30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him: for he feared to dwell in Zoar , and he dwelt in a cave, he, and his two daughters.

Lest he should either suffer from them, or with them; perceiving now that though it was a little City, yet there was more wickedness in it, than he imagined.

31 And the first-born said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the Earth .

Either 1. In the whole Earth: For they thought the same deluge of Fire which destroyed the four Cities had by this time extended it self to Zoar, and all other places, knowing that the whole World did lye in wickedness, and having possibly heard from their Father, that the World as it was once destroyed by Water, so it should afterwards be consumed by Fire, which they might think was now executed, and that God had secured Abraham from it by taking him to himself. Or 2. In that Land, as the word may be rendred. And her meaning might not be this, that there was no man at all, but not a man with whom they might or durst Marry: For though they knew they left many Men in Zoar, yet the sad experience of the dreadful ruine wherein their Brethren in law were involved made them abhor the thoughts of any Conjunction with them.

(i. e.) Of all the Inhabitants of the Earth. Compare Gen. 18. 11▪

32 Come, let us make our father drink wine , and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father .

Which they carried with them amongst other necessary provisions either from Sodom or Zoar.

Which though an incestuous and abominable action, yet they thought was made lawful by the supposed necessity, as in the beginning of the World the Marriage of Brethren and Sisters was lawful, because necessary, and when it ceased to be necessary, because of the increase of mankind, it became incestuous.

33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the first-born went in, and lay with her father, and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose .

To wit, in excess, so as to deprive him of the use of his Reason and Grace; which was likely to frustrate their project: This was a great sin, not only in them, but also in Lot himself, not to be excused by ignorance of the vertue of wine, which being known to both the Daughters, certainly their Father could not be ignorant of it. Thus he who kept his integrity in the midst of all the Temptations of Sodom, falls into a grievous sin in a place where he might seem most remote from all Temptations, God permitting this, to teach all following ages, how weak even the best men are, when they are left to themselves, and what absolute need they have of Divine assistance.

Wherein there is nothing strange, it being usual with drunken men to do many things in that condition, which when they come to themselves, they perfectly forget. And so might Lot, when under the power of Wine, forget that his Wife was turned into a pillar of Salt, and might mistake his Daughter for his Wife.

36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.

Which they might possibly imagine to be an evidence of Divine approbation of their fact, whereas indeed it was a design of God to make a lasting Monument of their sin and shame.

37 And the first-born bare a son, and called his name Moab : the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.

(i. e.) Of my Father, begotten upon me by my Father. So she had learned from her Neighbours to declare her si[illegible: 1+ letters] as Sodom, Isa 3. 9.

A mischievous and infamous people, branded, as their brethren also the Ammonites were, with characters of Gods displeasure.

38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Ben-ammi : the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

(i. e.) The Son of my People, or Kindred, not of the cursed race of the Sodomites, where I was to be married. This is something more modest than the other, in the name she gives, but both impudently glorying in their sin and shame, of which they should have bitterly repented.