2tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.

sn The expression sitting in the city’s gateway may mean that Lot was exercising some type of judicial function (see the use of the idiom in 2 Sam 19:8; Jer 26:10; 38:7; 39:3).

3tn The imperatives have the force of invitation.

4tn These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”

5sn The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.

6tn The Hebrew verb פָּצַר (patsar, “to press, to insist”) ironically foreshadows the hostile actions of the men of the city (see v. 9, where the verb also appears). The repetition of the word serves to contrast Lot to his world.

7tn The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) means “to lie down, to recline,” that is, “to go to bed.” Here what appears to be an imperfect is a preterite after the adverb טֶרֶם (terem). The nuance of potential (perfect) fits well.

8tn Heb “and the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the young to the old, all the people from the end [of the city].” The repetition of the phrase “men of” stresses all kinds of men.

9tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to him.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

10tn The Hebrew verb יָדַע (yada’, “to know”) is used here in the sense of “to lie with” or “to have sex with” (as in Gen 4:1). That this is indeed the meaning is clear from Lot’s warning that they not do so wickedly, and his willingness to give them his daughters instead.

sn The sin of the men of Sodom is debated. The fact that the sin involved a sexual act (see note on the phrase “have sex” in 19:5) precludes an association of the sin with inhospitality as is sometimes asserted (see W. Roth, “What of Sodom and Gomorrah? Homosexual Acts in the Old Testament,” Explor 1 [1974]: 7-14). The text at a minimum condemns forced sexual intercourse, i.e., rape. Other considerations, though, point to a condemnation of homosexual acts more generally. The narrator emphasizes the fact that the men of Sodom wanted to have sex with men: They demand that Lot release the angelic messengers (seen as men) to them for sex, and when Lot offers his daughters as a substitute they refuse them and attempt to take the angelic messengers by force. In addition the wider context of the Pentateuch condemns homosexual acts as sin (see, e.g., Lev 18:22). Thus a reading of this text within its narrative context, both immediate and broad, condemns not only the attempted rape but also the attempted homosexual act.

11tn Heb “may my brothers not act wickedly.”

12tn Heb “who have not known.” Here this expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

13tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes.”

14tn Heb “shadow.”

15sn This chapter portrays Lot as a hypocrite. He is well aware of the way the men live in his city and is apparently comfortable in the midst of it. But when confronted by the angels, he finally draws the line. But he is nevertheless willing to sacrifice his daughters’ virginity to protect his guests. His opposition to the crowds leads to his rejection as a foreigner by those with whom he had chosen to live. The one who attempted to rescue his visitors ends up having to be rescued by them.

16tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”

17tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”

18tn Heb “and he has judged, judging.” The infinitive absolute follows the finite verbal form for emphasis. This emphasis is reflected in the translation by the phrase “dares to judge.”

19tn The verb “to do wickedly” is repeated here (see v. 7). It appears that whatever “wickedness” the men of Sodom had intended to do to Lot’s visitors – probably nothing short of homosexual rape – they were now ready to inflict on Lot.

20tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”

21tn Heb “and they drew near.”

22tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “inside” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

23tn The Hebrew text adds “their hand.” These words have not been translated for stylistic reasons.

24tn Heb “to them into the house.”

25tn Heb “from the least to the greatest.”

26tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

27tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

28tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”

29tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

30tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”

31tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.

32tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.

33tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

34tn Heb “the Lord.” The repetition of the divine name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “he” for stylistic reasons.

35sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.

36tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.

37tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.

38tn Heb “When dawn came up.”

39tn Heb “who are found.” The wording might imply he had other daughters living in the city, but the text does not explicitly state this.

40tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

41tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

42tn Heb “in the compassion of the Lord to them.”

43tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).

44tn Or “one of them”; Heb “he.” Several ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read the plural “they.” See also the note on “your” in v. 19.

45tn Heb “escape.”

46tn The Hebrew verb translated “look” signifies an intense gaze, not a passing glance. This same verb is used later in v. 26 to describe Lot’s wife’s self-destructive look back at the city.

47tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

48tn Or “my lords.” See the following note on the problem of identifying the addressee here. The Hebrew term is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

49tn The second person pronominal suffixes are singular in this verse (note “your eyes,” “you have made great,” and “you have acted”). Verse 18a seems to indicate that Lot is addressing the angels, but the use of the singular and the appearance of the divine title “Lord” (אֲדֹנָי, ’adonay) in v. 18b suggests he is speaking to God.

50tn Heb “in your eyes.”

51tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”

52sn The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) can refer to “faithful love” or to “kindness,” depending on the context. The precise nuance here is uncertain.

53tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.

54tn Heb “lest.”

55tn The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (davaq) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.

56tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.

57tn The Hebrew word עִיר (’ir) can refer to either a city or a town, depending on the size of the place. Given that this place was described by Lot later in this verse as a “little place,” the translation uses “town.”

58tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”

59tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.

60tn Heb “Is it not little?”

61tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.

62tn Heb “And he said, ‘Look, I will grant.’” The order of the clauses has been rearranged for stylistic reasons. The referent of the speaker (“he”) is somewhat ambiguous: It could be taken as the angel to whom Lot has been speaking (so NLT; note the singular references in vv. 18-19), or it could be that Lot is speaking directly to the Lord here. Most English translations leave the referent of the pronoun unspecified and maintain the ambiguity.

63tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”

64tn The negated infinitive construct indicates either the consequence of God’s granting the request (“I have granted this request, so that I will not”) or the manner in which he will grant it (“I have granted your request by not destroying”).

65tn Heb “Be quick! Escape to there!” The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys, the first becoming adverbial.

66tn Heb “Therefore the name of the city is called Zoar.” The name of the place, צוֹעַר (tso’ar) apparently means “Little Place,” in light of the wordplay with the term “little” (מִצְעָר, mits’ar) used twice by Lot to describe the town (v. 20).

67sn The sun had just risen. There was very little time for Lot to escape between dawn (v. 15) and sunrise (here).

68tn The juxtaposition of the two disjunctive clauses indicates synchronic action. The first action (the sun’s rising) occurred as the second (Lot’s entering Zoar) took place. The disjunctive clauses also signal closure for the preceding scene.

69tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.

70tn Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).

71tn Heb “from the Lord from the heavens.” The words “It was sent down” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

sn The text explicitly states that the sulfur and fire that fell on Sodom and Gomorrah was sent down from the sky by the Lord. What exactly this was, and how it happened, can only be left to intelligent speculation, but see J. P. Harland, “The Destruction of the Cities of the Plain,” BA 6 (1943): 41-54.

72tn Or “and all the plain”; Heb “and all the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

73tn Heb “and the vegetation of the ground.”

74tn Heb “his”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

75tn The Hebrew verb means “to look intently; to gaze” (see 15:5).

sn Longingly. Lot’s wife apparently identified with the doomed city and thereby showed lack of respect for God’s provision of salvation. She, like her daughters later, had allowed her thinking to be influenced by the culture of Sodom.

76tn The words “and went” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

77tn Heb “upon the face of.”

78tn Or “all the land of the plain”; Heb “and all the face of the land of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

79tn Heb “And he saw, and look, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.”

sn It is hard to imagine what was going on in Abraham’s mind, but this brief section in the narrative enables the reader to think about the human response to the judgment. Abraham had family in that area. He had rescued those people from the invasion. That was why he interceded. Yet he surely knew how wicked they were. That was why he got the number down to ten when he negotiated with God to save the city. But now he must have wondered, “What was the point?”

80tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.

81tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

82tn Heb “remembered,” but this means more than mental recollection here. Abraham’s request (Gen 18:23-32) was that the Lord not destroy the righteous with the wicked. While the requisite minimum number of righteous people (ten, v. 32) needed for God to spare the cities was not found, God nevertheless rescued the righteous before destroying the wicked.

sn God showed Abraham special consideration because of the covenantal relationship he had established with the patriarch. Yet the reader knows that God delivered the “righteous” (Lot’s designation in 2 Pet 2:7) before destroying their world – which is what he will do again at the end of the age.

83sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.

84tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”

85tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”

86tn Or perhaps “on earth,” in which case the statement would be hyperbolic; presumably there had been some men living in the town of Zoar to which Lot and his daughters had initially fled.

87tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.

88tn Heb “drink wine.”

89tn Heb “and we will lie down.” The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive is subordinated to the preceding cohortative and indicates purpose/result.

90tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.

91tn Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

sn For a discussion of the cultural background of the daughters’ desire to preserve our family line see F. C. Fensham, “The Obliteration of the Family as Motif in the Near Eastern Literature,” AION 10 (1969): 191-99.

92tn Heb “drink wine.”

93tn Heb “the firstborn.”

94tn Heb “and the firstborn came and lied down with her father.” The expression “lied down with” here and in the following verses is a euphemism for sexual relations.

95tn Heb “and he did not know when she lay down and when she arose.”

96tn Heb “the firstborn.”

97tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”

98tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

99tn Heb “drink wine.”

100tn Heb “lied down with him.”

101tn Heb “And he did not know when she lied down and when she arose.”

102tn Heb “the firstborn.”

103sn The meaning of the name Moab is not certain. The name sounds like the Hebrew phrase “from our father” (מֵאָבִינוּ, me’avinu) which the daughters used twice (vv. 32, 34). This account is probably included in the narrative in order to portray the Moabites, who later became enemies of God’s people, in a negative light.

104sn The name Ben-Ammi means “son of my people.” Like the account of Moab’s birth, this story is probably included in the narrative to portray the Ammonites, another perennial enemy of Israel, in a negative light.