Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 19

And there came two angels. —Hebrew, And the two angels came. It is a continuation of the preceding narrative and takes up the history from Genesis 18:22.

Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. —He had therefore become a citizen of Sodom, probably after the deliverance from the Elamite invasion, when, as a relative of Abraham, he would be treated with great honour. This personal respect had made him close his eyes to the sinfulness of the people, and he had consented to live inside the town, and even to let its citizens marry his daughters. Meanwhile, all association between him and Abraham apparently had ceased, and he had lost all share in the covenant of circumcision.

In the street. —That is, the broad open space of the city. (Judges 19:20) In a warm climate there is little hardship in passing the night in the open air; and as at this early date there were no caravanserais, travellers had to lodge in this way unless they found some hospitable host.

He pressed upon them greatly. — This he did, knowing the licentiousness of the people; but the angels do not readily accept his hospitality, as they had done with Abraham, because his character had deteriorated.

Unleavened bread. — Hebrew, thin cakes, like those now eaten by the Jews at the Passover. They took little time in preparation, for this reason we find them also used by the witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28:24).

From every quarter. — Hebrew, from the end. This may mean either “to the last man” or “from the very end of the town.” In either case, it shows that there were not in Sodom the ten righteous men who would have availed to save it (Genesis 18:32).

I have two daughters. —It is clear from Judges 19:24 that this proposal was not viewed in ancient times with the horror which it seems to deserve. Granting with St. Ambrose that it was the substitution of a smaller for a greater sin, and with St. Chrysostom that Lot was bound by the laws of hospitality to do his utmost to protect his guests, yet he was also bound as a father equally to protect his daughters to the utmost: and if people might substitute smaller for greater sins, they would have an excuse for practicing every form of wickedness.

The difficulty arises from the high character attributed to Lot by St. Peter (2 Peter 2:7–8): but Lot was righteous only relatively; and though his soul was daily vexed by what he saw, it was not vexed enough to make him quit such evil surroundings and return to the healthy and virtuous life of the mountains. And, when finally he sought refuge in them, as it was not of his own free will but on compulsion (Genesis 19:30), he found there no peace, but shared, even if unknowingly, in deeds of horrible lust.

The warning of his fall is that those who give up religious privileges for the sake of worldly advantage are in danger of sinking into moral degradation, and of losing, with their faith and hope, not only their self-respect and happiness, but even that earthly profit for the sake of which they sacrificed their religion.

Unto these men. —The form of the pronoun is archaic and occurs again in Genesis 19:25. It is found in a few other places in the Pentateuch, but never elsewhere.

For therefore, etc. —Compare Genesis 18:5.