Genesis 19:1 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
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;
to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
two
שְׁנֵ֨יshe.Nei
H8147
two · cardinal number, both genders dual construct
angels
הַמַּלְאָכִ֤יםha.mal.'a.Khim
H4397
a messenger · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
Sodom
סְדֹ֙מָה֙se.Do.mah
H5467
Sedom · proper noun, a place name + directional suffix
even
בָּעֶ֔רֶבba.'E.rev
H6153
dusk · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Lot
וְל֖וֹטve.Lot
H3876
Lot · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
sat
יֹשֵׁ֣בyo.Shev
H3427
properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
gate
בְּשַֽׁעַרbe.sha.'ar-
H8179
an opening · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
Sodom
סְדֹ֑םse.Dom
H5467
Sedom · proper noun, a place name
Lot
לוֹט֙lOt
H3876
Lot · proper noun, a man's name
seeing
וַיַּרְאvai.yar'-
H7200
to see · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
up
וַיָּ֣קָםvai.Ya.kom
H6965
to rise (in various applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
meet
קִרְאָהqirʼâh
H7125
an encountering
bowed
וַיִּשְׁתַּ֥חוּvai.yish.Ta.chu
H7812
to depress · conjunction + verb, sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
face
אַפַּ֖יִם'a.Pa.yim
H639
properly · noun, common masculine dual absolute
ground
אָֽרְצָה'A.re.tzah
H776
the earth (at large · noun, common feminine singular absolute + directional suffix
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Genesis 18:1-5 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
Genesis 18:22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Job 31:32 The stranger did not lodge in the street: but I opened my doors to the traveller.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 19:1-3
These angels, it is likely, were two of the three that had just before been with Abraham, the two created angels that were sent to execute God's purpose concerning Sodom. Observe here, 1. There was but one good man in Sodom, and these heavenly messengers soon found him out. Wherever we are, we should enquire out those of the place that live in the fear of God, and should choose to associate ourselves with them. Mat 10:11, Enquire who is worthy, and there abide. Those of the same country, when they are in a foreign country, love to be together. 2. Lot sufficiently distinguished himself from the rest of his neighbours, at this time, which plainly set a mark upon him. He that did not act like t…
Two angels - The two referred to Gen 18:22.
Sat in the gate - Probably, in order to prevent unwary travelers from being entrapped by his wicked townsmen, he waited at the gate of the city to bring the strangers he might meet with to his own house, as well as to transact his own business. Or, as the gate was the place of judgment, he might have been sitting there as magistrate to hear and determine disputes.
Bowed himself - Not through religious reverence, for he did not know the quality of his guests; but through the customary form of civility. See on verses Gen 18:3-5 (note) of the preceding chapter.
John Gill on Genesis 19:1
And there came two angels to Sodom at even,.... Or "the two angels" (h), the two men who were angels in the likeness of men, that had been with Abraham in the heat of the day at Hebron, on the evening of the same day came to Sodom:
and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: not as a civil magistrate to try causes there, being appointed a judge over them, as Jarchi relates; yea, the Jews say (i): that that day five judges were appointed by the men of Sodom, and Lot was the chief of them; but this is not likely, and seems to be contradicted, Genesis 19:9; but he sat there to observe strangers that might pass by, and invite them into his house, and that they might not fall into the hands of the wicked…
And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, while Lot was sitting at the gates of the city. Not without cause, the angels who had come to Abraham at midday are reported to have come to Sodom in the evening, because they came to announce prosperity and joy to the former, but to bring adversity to the latter; he was burning with the fruit of light towards heavenly things, but this one, besieged by the darkness of vices, was approaching eternal perdition.
Lot was not inside Sodom "but at the gate." I might have said, just as Abraham was sitting outside his tent, out of hospitality, even at an inconvenient time (for it was the middle of the day) on the lookout for travelers, so his relative and the imitator of his morality "was sitting at the gate" ready to invite those passing through the land, even though evening had now come. For he surely knew the impiety of the Sodomites and that there was no rest for the stranger in that place.
Scripture seems to have made no mention at all of angels before the flood. Only now [does it mention angels], as though seeing fit to have instructed people abundantly, by the length of the time past, to regard as God and Lord of the universe only that one Being who had made the created universe and supplied human beings, beginning with Adam, with the appropriate knowledge. [This knowledge was supplied] by his providence and through a variety of visions, guiding its transmission from the first people to those who followed in order.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Abraham — Father of a multitude, son of Terah, named (Gen. 11:27) before his older brothers Nahor and Haran, because he was the heir of the promises. Till the age of seventy, Abram sojourned among his kindred…
Angel — A word signifying, both in the Hebrew and Greek, a “messenger,” and hence employed to denote any agent God sends forth to execute his purposes. It is used of an ordinary messenger (Job 1:14: 1 Sam.…
Angel Of The Lord — (Genesis 16:7) etc. (The special form in which God manifested himself to man, and hence Christ’s visible form before the incarnation. Compare (Acts 7:30-38) with the corresponding Old-Testament…
Angels — By the word “angels” (i.e. “messengers” of God) we ordinarily understand a race of spiritual beings of a nature exalted far above that of man, although infinitely removed from that of God—whose…
Cities — The earliest notice in Scripture of city-building is of Enoch by Cain, in the land of his exile. (Genesis 4:17) After the confusion of tongues the descendants of Nimrod founded Babel, Erech, Accad…
Gate — (1.) Of cities, as of Jerusalem (Jer. 37:13; Neh. 1:3; 2:3; 3:3), of Sodom (Gen. 19:1), of Gaza (Judg. 16:3). (2.) Of royal palaces (Neh. 2:8). (3.) Of the temple of Solomon (1 Kings 6:34, 35; 2…
Hospitality — Hospitality was regarded by most nations of the ancient world as one of the chief virtues. The Jewish laws respecting strangers (Leviticus 19:33,34) and the poor, (Leviticus 23:14) seq. Deuteronomy…
Lot — (Heb. goral, a “pebble”), a small stone used in casting lots (Num. 33:54; Jonah 1:7). The lot was always resorted to by the Hebrews with strictest reference to the interposition of God, and as a…
Sodom — Burning; the walled, a city in the vale of Siddim (Gen. 13:10; 14:1-16). The wickedness of its inhabitants brought down upon it fire from heaven, by which it was destroyed (18:16-33; 19:1-29; Deut.…
Zoar — Small, a town on the east or south-east of the Dead Sea, to which Lot and his daughters fled from Sodom (Gen. 19:22, 23). It was originally called Bela (14:2, 8). It is referred to by the prophets…
John Calvin on Genesis 19:1
And there came two angels to Sodom. The question occurs, why one of the three angels has suddenly disappeared, and two only are come to Sodom? The Jews (with their wonted audacity in introducing fables) pretend that one came to destroy Sodom, the other to preserve Lot. But from the discourse of Moses, this appears to be frivolous: because we shall see that they both assisted in the liberation of Lot. What I have before adduced is more simple; namely, that it was granted to Abraham, as a peculiar favor, that God would not only send him two messengers from the angelic host, but that, in a more familiar manner, he would manifest himself to him, in his own Son. For (as we have seen) one of the m…
The Canaanites were an evil, corrupting people. God judged their morally bankrupt civilization and warned others against becoming like them. It was difficult to get Lot and his family out of Sodom; it was more difficult to get Sodom out of Lot and his family. This chapter helped later Israelites to understand the moral and spiritual threat of the peoples living in and around the Promised Land, such as the Canaanites and Lot’s descendants, the Moabites and the Ammonites (see Num 22–25; Deut 23:3-6; Josh 24:9; Judg 10:7-9; 11:4-5; 1 Sam 10:27; 1 Kgs 11:1-3; 2 Kgs 24:2).
19:1-14 The two angels who were with the Lord at Mamre (cp. 18:2, 22) visited Sodom reluctantly, knowing what kind of people…
Gates · The open square of, a place for idlers — The open square of, a place for idlers
Hospitality · .Lot to the angel — .Lot to the angel
Manners · Obe — Obe
Salutations · By bowing — By bowing
Sodom · General references — General references
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
