Lot's Behaviour in Sodom

The narrative of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 has traditionally involved a translation whereby the inhabitants gather to gang-rape the angelic visitors (v.5). I've long had problems with this interpretation, particularly because the subsequent offer by Lot of his daughters as substitutes is extremely hard to square with Peter's description of Lot as a righteous man in 2 Peter 2:7, but also because it does not seem to fit with the immediate and extended context. One suspects that the traditional interpretation may have become entrenched because a record of another nation behaving atrociously helped lessen the horror of the Israelite gang-rape recorded in Judges 19.

The issue hinges on the translation of the Hebrew yd‘ in Gen 19:5. The base meaning of this verb is 'to know', for example Gen 29:5 "Do you know Laban?". The knowledge may be intimate, as at Gen 18:19 "For I know him [Abraham] so that he will command his sons...": awkward to express in English, the NIV opts for "I have chosen him". However the verb is also widely used in the sense of 'to know sexually', as for example Gen 4:1 "Adam knew his wife and she became pregnant...".

I suggest that yd‘ is being used in Gen 19:5 primarily with its (intensive) non-sexual meaning "so that we can interrogate them" (and quite probably with the secondary sexual meaning implicit as a threat of homosexual rape to help them talk). This has already been proposed in a much more scholarly fashion by Morschauer (2003: JSOT 27:461-85) and is outlined in 'Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament' ed. Beale and Carson (2007: Baker, Grand Rapids).

What I want to do below is to show how this makes much better sense of the extended context. However, first I need to respond to the usual objection raised to this interpretation, namely that yd‘ is used just three verses later with the sexual sense (Lot's reference to his daughters being virgins). I contend that this in fact is typical Hebrew wordplay. Just considering Genesis, there are many examples. In Gen 3:12 ntn 'to give' is used twice in quick succession, the different prepositions used with each occurrence forcing different semantic senses: "The woman who you set with me, she gave [it] to me. In Gen 31:19,20 gnb is juxtaposed in its basic sense 'to steal' and as an idiom 'to steal the heart', i.e. 'to deceive'. There is also a contrast in the use of the noun ml’k at Gen 32:2,4 between God's (angelic) messenger and the human messengers Jacob sends to Esau. A particularly striking contrast in verbal semantics occurs at Gen 40:13,19, where the same verb nś’ is used for lifting the cupbearer's head (i.e. restoring him) and lifting the baker's head (i.e. hanging or possibly beheading him). But perhaps the strongest support for my contention is found in Genesis 19 itself. The author uses pṣr 'to press' with two different senses: in v.3 Lot presses the angels to stay (presumably by polite persuasion), whereas in v.9 the men of Sodom are pressing Lot to bring out his visitors (with, at the least, considerable physical intimidation). These contrasting uses are clearly deliberate as the verb is uncommon (just seven occurrences in the Old Testament), and there are plenty of alternative verbs available.

So let's return to the wider context of Lot's stay in Sodom. It begins in Genesis 13, when Lot separates from Abraham and heads down to the Canaanite-dominated valley south of the Dead Sea (13:8-12). A poor choice, and asking for trouble, as he would inevitably be closely associated with the inhabitants. Among their other failings, they broke their treaty with their Mesopotamian overlords leading to the inevitable punitive campaign against them (14:8-12).

Now the problems begin. Abraham rescues Lot (14:16) and apparently all the people of Sodom and their possessions (14:21). The 'king' or leader of Sodom knows he will be blamed by his unruly people for their losses and makes a desperate pitch for Abraham's protection at the cost of his people's possessions (14:21).

Bad move (there is no mention of a king in Genesis 19, he was probably lynched). Abraham rebuffs him, but agrees that his allies, Aner, Eshcol and Mamre should get their share. Time for some maths. Abram has already given 10% to Melchizedek. His allies probably get at least 50% of what's left, but taking this from the Sodomites' possessions not Lot's. If the original raid seized 80% of their possessions, destroyed 10% and left 10% untouched, Lot probably ends up with 80% of what he had originally, a bad year, but not a disaster. But the people of Sodom may well end up with only 30% of what they had before, and Lot has now become 250% richer relative to them.

Everyone goes home, but any gratitude of the people of Sodom for Abraham's rescue is overwhelmed by jealousy for Lot. Rumours begin to fly. Abraham was in cahoots with Kedorlaomer and the other kings, that's why he rescued Lot so easily.

Fast forward to Genesis 19. The angels (i.e. messengers) arrive in Sodom. They are clearly foreigners and they hang out with that other foreigner, Lot. Many years after Kedorlaomer's raid and its aftermath, the memory of Lot's apparent enrichment at their expense still rankles greatly, and the people of Sodom remain deeply suspicious of foreigners and immediately suspect the visitors of being spies. They demand Lot bring his visitors out for a mob interrogation involving torture which may include sexual violence. In modern parlance (v.5) "bring them out so we can see the colour of their insides". (This has nothing to do with sexual pleasure - the group is far too large and the lighting far too poor for those present to expect a slice of the action - it is essentially a lynch mob).

Lot is appalled at their behaviour, particularly since the angels have come under the protection of his roof. He offers his daughters as hostages, stressing they are unmarried and therefore his moral responsibility, guaranteeing that he won't let his visitors slope off into the night. Come morning he hopes reason will have prevailed, and if they still don't trust the two men, that then they will just escort them out of the city.

Lot once again shows complete moral naivety, in trusting an angry mob with his daughters, but that's all it is, naivety. He continues in this vein not realising the seriousness of God's coming judgement on Sodom and has to be cajoled by the angels to flee. Pride prevents him from rejoining Abraham, and he is probably too naive to realise what his daughters are plotting. The story of Lot is the story of God's grace to a walking disaster. While none of the decisions Lot makes are wise ones, they are not morally reprehensible.

With this interpretation of Gen 19:5, the whole story of Lot makes a cohesive whole. Sandwiched within is the story of Abraham's first attempt to gain an heir, and then God's promise of Isaac. It is perhaps noteworthy that Abraham never appears to consider the possibility of adopting Lot as his heir, having obviously already taken his measure!