the sun · definite article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
risen
יָצָ֣אya.Tza'
H3318
to go (causatively · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
earth
הָאָ֑רֶץha.'A.retz
H776
the earth (at large · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
Lot
וְל֖וֹטve.Lot
H3876
Lot · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
entered
בָּ֥אba'
H935
to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Zoar
צֹֽעֲרָהTzo.'a.rah
H6820
Tsoar · proper noun, a place name + 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).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 19:15-23
Here is, I. The rescue of Lot out of Sodom. Thought there were not ten righteous men in Sodom, for whose sakes it might be spared, yet that one righteous man that was among them delivered his own soul, Eze 14:14. Early in the morning his own guests, in kindness to him, turned him out of doors, and his family with him, Gen 19:15. His daughters that were married perished with their unbelieving husbands; but those that continued with him were preserved with him. Observe,
1. With what a gracious violence Lot was brought out of Sodom, Gen 19:16. It seems, though he did not make a jest of the warning given, as his sons-in-law did, yet he lingered, he trifled, he did not make so much haste as the c…
Haste . . . for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither--The ruin of Sodom was suspended till he was secure. What care God does take of His people (Rev 7:3)! What a proof of the love which God bore to a good though weak man!
Adam Clarke on Genesis 19:22
I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither - So these heavenly messengers had the strictest commission to take care of Lot and his family; and even the purposes of Divine justice could not be accomplished on the rebellious, till this righteous man and his family had escaped from the place. A proof of Abraham's assertion, The Judge of all the earth will do right.
The name of the city was called Zoar - צוער Tsoar, Little, its former name being Bela.
John Gill on Genesis 19:23
And the sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Which is observed partly to point at the time of his entrance into the city, and of the burning of Sodom, which began at the same time; and partly to show what a fine morning it was, and what little appearance there was of such a tempest rising as quickly did; so that the inhabitants of Sodom, who were up so early, little thought of so sudden a catastrophe, and those that were in their beds were at once surprised with it: it was a morning of light and joy to Lot, who was so wonderfully delivered, but a dreadful one to the men of Sodom and the rest of the cities of the plain, with whom the scene was soon altered; likewise from h…
The Church Fathers
The sun rose upon the earth, and Lot entered Zoar; then the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities and all the surrounding region. The sunrise upon the earth, at which Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown, marks the manifestation of the final judgment, when, after all the righteous have been rescued, the wicked will be suddenly overwhelmed by destruction. And surely it was rightly done by the judgment of God that those who had tried to snare the blessed Lot in the darkness of night, laboring much and resisting with their crimes, when day suddenly came upon them, saw him rescued while they themselves perished entirely; and they who had burned with vile pleasures of the flesh in darkness, were consumed with sulfur and fire once morning suddenly appeared, because all who serve vices secretly in the blindness of their minds are openly struck in the knowledge of their crime by the stern judge. Also, it should be noted that on one and the same night while Lot was rejoicing with the Lord as his guest and was being defended from enemies, the Sodomites were laboring to accumulate their crimes, even desecrating Lot with his guests; but at sunrise, Lot was liberated for his righteousness, and they were condemned for their impiety, because indeed in the night of this world holy people also rejoice in welcoming Him who said: 'Behold, I will come and dwell in the midst of you' (Zech. x, 11), and in Revelation: 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me' (Rev. iii, 20). And the wicked seek to corrupt either the works of the faithful or the very faith itself with their temptations; but when the morning of the future age appears, they receive the crown of life, and the others incur the punishment of perpetual death. The Sodomites therefore perish with a punishment worthy of their crimes. For since they led an impious life in the filth of luxury and the burning of lust, they are deservedly punished with flames of fire and the stench of sulfur. Nor should it be doubted that by such punishment they were not only condemned to present suffering but are also to be condemned perpetually, as the apostle John says: 'But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers,…
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.…
Bela — A thing swallowed. (1.) A city on the shore of the Dead Sea, not far from Sodom, called also Zoar. It was the only one of the five cities that was spared at Lot’s intercession (Gen. 19:20, 23). It is…
Gomorrah — Submersion, one of the five cities of the plain of Siddim (q.v.) which were destroyed by fire (Gen. 10:19; 13:10; 19:24, 28). These cities probably stood close together, and were near the northern…
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…
Judgments · General references — General references
Rising · .Lot — .Lot
Sodom · General references — General references
Sun, The · The Jews: Commenced their day with the rising of — The Jews: Commenced their day with the rising of
Zoar · Not — Not
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).
I cannot do any thing. Since the angel had not only been sent as an avenger to destroy Sodom, but also had received a command for the preservation of Lot; he therefore declares, that he will not do the former act, unless this latter be joined with it; because it is not at the option of the servant to divide those things which God has joined together. I am not, however, dissatisfied with the explanation of some, who suppose the angel to speak in the person of God. For although in appearance the language is harsh, yet there is no absurdity in saying, that God is unable to destroy the reprobate without saving his elect. Nor must we, therefore, deem his power to be limited, when he lays himself…
"When the sun had risen and Lot had come towards Zoar (i.e., was on the way thither, but had not yet arrived), Jehovah caused it to rain brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven, and overthrew those cities, and the whole plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and the produce of the earth." In the words "Jehovah caused it to rain from Jehovah" there is no distinction implied between the hidden and the manifested God, between the Jehovah present upon earth in His angels who called down the judgment, and the Jehovah enthroned in heaven who sent it down; but the expression "from Jehovah" is emphatica repetitio, quod non usitato naturae ordine tunc Deus pluerit, sed tanquam exerta man…
Cp. Luke 17:29. The eruption of Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii in AD 79, as well as recent natural disasters, show how quickly a thorough catastrophe like this could happen.
Rashi on Genesis 19:5
ונדעה אותם AND WE SHALL KNOW THEM — with homosexuality, as in "who have not known a man" (Genesis Rabbah 50:5).
