Genesis 19:2 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Genesis 19:2
And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s 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.
to walk (in a great variety of applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine plural
ways
לְדַרְכְּכֶ֑םle.dar.ke.Khem
H1870
a road (as trodden) · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
said
וַיֹּאמְר֣וּvai.yo.me.Ru
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
abide
נָלִֽיןna.Lin
H3885
to stop (usually over night) · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common plural
street
בָרְח֖וֹבva.re.Chov
H7339
a width · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
night
לוּןlûwn
H3885
to stop (usually over night)
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 18:4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
Luke 24:28-29 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
Acts 16:15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house,…
Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Judges 19:17-21 And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence c…
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…
turn in, I pray you . . . tarry all night--offer of the same generous hospitalities as described in Gen 18:2-8, and which are still spontaneously practised in the small towns.
And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night--Where there are no inns and no acquaintance, it is not uncommon for travellers to sleep in the street wrapped up in their cloaks.
Adam Clarke on Genesis 19:2
Nay; but we will abide in the street - Instead of לא lo, nay, some MSS. have לו lo, to him; "And they said unto him, for we lodge in the street." where, nevertheless, the negation is understood. Knowing the disposition of the inhabitants, and appearing in the mere character of travelers, they preferred the open street to any house; but as Lot pressed them vehemently, and they knew him to be a righteous man, not yet willing to make themselves known, they consented to take shelter under his hospitable roof. Our Lord, willing for the time being to conceal his person from the knowledge of the disciples going to Emmaus, made as though he would go farther, Luk 24:13; but at last, like the angels h…
And he said, behold now, my lords,.... Taking them to be, and bespeaking them as persons of quality, who appeared with majesty in their countenances, and looked as if they had been well brought up, and were upon their travels; not knowing them to be angels, whom he received and entertained unawares, as the apostle, referring to Lot and Abraham, observes, Hebrews 13:2,
turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house; meaning himself, who was their humble servant, and entreats them to turn in to his house, which perhaps was hard by, and take up their lodging with him: the ancient Jews (k) give the sense of the phrase thus, go a roundabout, winding, crooked way to my house, that the men of Sodo…
The Church Fathers
"They replied," the text goes on, "No, instead, we shall rest in the street." Seeing that despite his entreaty they declined, he did not lose heart, he did not give up what he was intent on, he did not have the kinds of feelings we often do. If at any time we want to win someone over and then we see them somewhat reluctant, we immediately desist; this is due to our doing it without ardor and longing and especially to our thinking that we have excuse enough to be able to say that at any rate we did our best. What do you mean, you have done your best? You have let slip the prey, you have missed the treasure—is this doing your best? Then you would have done your best if you hadn't let the treasure slip through your fingers, if you hadn't bypassed the prey, if your display of hospitality was not limited to a perfunctory remark.
"On seeing them," the text says, note, "he rose to meet them and prostrated himself on the ground." He gave thanks to God for being found worthy to welcome the visitors. Notice his virtue of soul: he considered it a great kindness on God's part to encounter these men and by welcoming them to fulfill his private longing. Now don't tell me they were angels; remember, rather, that this good man did not realize that yet but behaved as though receiving unknown travelers. "He said, 'Lo, sirs, break off your journey at your servant's house. Rest and bathe your feet; then rise early and resume your journey.' " These words are sufficient to reveal the virtue residing in the good man's soul. How could you help being amazed at his exceeding humility and the fervor with which he displayed his hospitality? "Lo, sirs," he said, "break off your journey at your servant's house." He addresses them as "sirs" and calls himself their servant. Let us listen precisely, dearly beloved, to these words and learn how we too can do likewise. This man of good name and reputation, enjoying great prosperity, a householder, addresses as master these travelers, these strangers, unknown, unprepossessing wayfarers, no connections of his, and says, "Break off your journey at your servant's house and rest." You see, evening has fallen, he says; accede to my wish and assuage the day's hardship by resting in the home of your servant. I mean, surely I'm not offering you anything wonderful? "Bathe your feet" wearied with traveling, "and rise early and resume your journey." So do me this favor, and don't refuse my entreaty.
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.…
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…
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…
Washing The Hands And Feet — As knives and forks were not used in the East, in Scripture times, in eating, it was necessary that the hand, which was thrust into the common dish, should be scrupulously clean; and again, as…
Ablution · Of the feet — Of the feet
Feet, The · Of strangers and travellers washed — Of strangers and travellers washed
Hospitality · .Lot to the angel — .Lot to the angel
Houses · In cities, built in streets — In cities, built in streets
Salutations · By bowing — By bowing
Sodom · General references — General references
Travellers · Generally treated with great hospitality
Nay, but we will abide in the street. The angels do not immediately assent, in order that they may the more fully investigate the disposition of the holy man. For he was about to bring them to his own house, not merely for the sake of supplying them with a supper, but for the purpose of defending them from the force and injury of the citizens. Therefore the angels act, as if it were safe to sleep on the highway; and thus conceal their knowledge of the abandoned wickedness of the whole people. For if the gates of cities are shut, to prevent the incursions of wild beasts and of enemies; how wrong and absurd it is that they who are within should be exposed to still more grievous dangers? Theref…
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…
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).
