Genesis 19:30 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Genesis 19:30
And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
to ascend · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Zoar
מִצּ֜וֹעַרmi.Tzo.'ar
H6820
Tsoar · preposition + proper noun, a place name
dwelt
וַיֵּ֣שֶׁבvai.Ye.shev
H3427
properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
mountain
בָּהָ֗רba.Har
H2022
a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
two
וּשְׁתֵּ֤יu.she.Tei
H8147
two · conjunction + cardinal number, feminine dual construct
daughters
בְנֹתָיו֙ve.no.Tav
H1323
a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms… · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
feared
יָרֵ֖אya.Re'
H3372
to fear · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
dwell
לָשֶׁ֣בֶתla.She.vet
H3427
properly · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
Zoar
בְּצ֑וֹעַרbe.Tzo.'ar
H6820
Tsoar · preposition + proper noun, a place name
dwelt
וַיֵּ֙שֶׁב֙vai.Ye.shev
H3427
properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
cave
בַּמְּעָרָ֔הba.me.'a.Rah
H4631
a cavern (as dark) · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
two
וּשְׁתֵּ֥יu.she.Tei
H8147
two · conjunction + cardinal number, feminine dual construct
daughters
בְנֹתָֽיוve.no.Tav
H1323
a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms… · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
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 19:17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in…
Genesis 19:19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life;…
Genesis 13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Go…
Genesis 14:22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
Genesis 49:4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
Deuteronomy 34:3 And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.
Isaiah 15:5 My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with wee…
Jeremiah 2:36-37 Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 19:30–end
Here is, I. The great trouble and distress that Lot was brought into after his deliverance, Gen 19:30. 1. He was frightened out of Zoar, durst not dwell there; probably because he was conscious to himself that it was a refuge of his own choosing and that herein he had foolishly prescribed to God, and therefore he could not but distrust his safety in it; or because he found it as wicked as Sodom, and therefore concluded it could not long survive it; or perhaps he observed the rise and increase of those waters which after the conflagration, perhaps from Jordan, began to overflow the plain, and which, mixing with the ruins, by degrees made the Dead Sea; in those waters he concluded Zoar must ne…
when God destroyed the cities, &c.--This is most welcome and instructive after so painful a narrative. It shows if God is a "consuming fire" to the wicked [Deu 4:24; Heb 12:29], He is the friend of the righteous. He "remembered" the intercessions of Abraham, and what confidence should not this give us that He will remember the intercessions of a greater than Abraham in our behalf.
Next: Genesis Chapter 20
Adam Clarke on Genesis 19:30
Lot went up out of Zoar - From seeing the universal desolation that had fallen upon the land, and that the fire was still continuing its depredations, he feared to dwell in Zoar, lest that also should be consumed, and then went to those very mountains to which God had ordered him at first to make his escape. Foolish man is ever preferring his own wisdom to that of his Maker. It was wrong at first not to betake himself to the mountain; it was wrong in the next place to go to it when God had given him the assurance that Zoar should be spared for his sake. Both these cases argue a strange want of faith, not only in the truth, but also in the providence, of God. Had he still dwelt at Zoar, the s…
FROM THE MOUNTAIN WHERE LOT FLED. — Lot went up from Segor, and stayed in the mountain . It is, of course, the same mountain that he climbed on his own and he did not want to climb when the Lord sent him. Because there is no other mountain, or does not appear to be. [
Lot went up from Zoar and stayed on the mountain with his two daughters. He had feared to stay in Zoar. He hurried to ascend the mountain from Zoar because he recognized that this was more pleasing to the angels through whom he was rescued, fearing that the city which at the moment of his intercession had escaped the danger of death might later, due to the citizens' sins, be consumed with a similar destruction as the neighboring cities; he feared greatly, since he knew that it had been frequently devastated by earthquakes in earlier times, hence it was called Bela, that is, 'submerging' or 'devouring.' But also according to spiritual understanding, because Sodom represents the flames of vices, Zoar a small beginning of good works, and the mountain the height of virtues, it is necessary that when someone has moved from the fire of vices to the beginning of virtue, they should not remain sluggish at the outset, but should always strive and hurry with a lively step toward higher progress in good action.
(Verse 30.) And Lot went up from Segor and settled in the mountain, and his two daughters with him. For he was afraid to stay in Segor. It is asked why, when he first preferred the mountain of Segor for his escape, and wanted to be saved in it as his dwelling, he now flees from Segor back to the mountain? We will answer that the Hebrew conjecture about Segor is true, that it was frequently destroyed by earthquakes, first known as Bale, and later Salisa: and Lot feared, saying, If this place is often destroyed while the other cities still stand, how much more now, in a general destruction, will it not be able to be saved? And because of this occasion of unfaithfulness, they also gave rise to sexual relations with their daughters. For he who had seen other cities being destroyed and this one remaining, and himself being saved by the help of God, should not have doubted what he had heard granted to him. Therefore, the excuse that is given for the daughters, that they believed the human race had perished and therefore slept with their father, does not excuse the father. In fact, the Hebrews, as it follows:
Dictionary and topics
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.…
Cave — There are numerous natural caves among the limestone rocks of Syria, many of which have been artificially enlarged for various purposes. The first notice of a cave occurs in the history of Lot (Gen.…
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…
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…
Cave · .By Lot — .By Lot
Caves · Were used as: Dwelling-places — Were used as: Dwelling-places
Lot · .Commits incest with his daughters — .Commits incest with his daughters
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).
And Lot went up out of Zoar,.... Which lay in the plain, and therefore when he went from thence to the mountain, it was by an ascent:
and dwelt in the mountain; which the Lord had directed him to go to before, but was unwilling, and chose Zoar, and desired he might flee thither, and that that might be spared; but now he likes God's advice for him better than his own, and therefore betook himself to the mountain, where he might think himself safest, and where he continued; very probably this was the mountain Engaddi, under which Zoar is said to lie by Adrichomius (n):
and his two daughters with him: his wife was turned into a pillar of salt, and these two were all of his family that with hi…
And Lot went up out of Zoar. This narration proves what I have before alluded to, that those things which men contrive for themselves, by rash counsels drawn from carnal reason, never prosper: especially when men, deluded by vain hope, or impelled by depraved wishes, depart from the word of God. For although temerity commonly seems to be successful at the beginning; and they who are carried away by their lusts, exult over the joyful issue of affairs; yet the Lord, at length, curses whatever is not undertaken with his approval; and the declaration of Isaiah is fulfilled,
Woe to them who begin a work and not by the Spirit of the Lord; who take counsel, but do not ask at his mouth,'
(Isaiah 30…
For on the destruction of these cities, God had thought of Abraham, and rescued Lot. This rescue is attributed to Elohim, as being the work of the Judge of the whole earth (Gen 18:25), and not to Jehovah the covenant God, because Lot was severed from His guidance and care on his separation from Abraham. The fact, however, is repeated here, for the purpose of connecting with it an event in the life of Lot of great significance to the future history of Abraham's seed.
Gen 19:30-35
From Zoar Lot removed with his two daughters to the (Moabitish) mountains, for fear that Zoar might after all be destroyed, and dwelt in one of the caves (מערה with the generic article), in which the limestone rocks…
The poverty of the cave contrasts with the wealth Lot shared with Abram and the good life he lived in Sodom. Abraham would father a righteous nation (17:1), but Lot and his daughters gave birth to a new Sodom.
19:30-35 The character of Lot’s daughters was formed by Sodom’s culture more than by their father’s heritage, so they had no qualms about having children by their drunk father (cp. 9:21-22). They saw no other way to carry on their line.
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).
