40 | Genesis 18:20
cho sen him , so that he will di rect his chil dren and his house hold af ter him to keep the way of the Lord by do ing what is right and just , so that the Lord will bring about for Abra ham what he has prom ised him .”
20
Then the Lord said , “ The out cry against Sod om and Go mor rah is so great and their sin so griev ous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the out cry that has reached me . If not , I will know .”
22
The men turned away and went to ward Sodom , but Abra ham re mained stand ing be fore the Lord . a 23 Then Abra ham ap proached him and said : “ Will you sweep away the righ teous with the wicked ? 24 What if there are fif ty righ teous peo ple in the city ? Will you real ly sweep it away and not spare b the place for the sake of the fif ty righ teous peo ple in it ? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing — to kill the righ teous with the wick ed , treat ing the righ teous and the wick ed alike . Far be it from you ! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right ?”
26
The Lord said , “ If I find fif ty righ teous peo ple in the city of Sod om , I will spare the whole place for their sake .”
27
Then Abra ham spoke up again : “ Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord , though I am noth ing but dust and ash es , 28 what if the num ber of the righ teous is five less than fif ty ? Will you de stroy the whole city for lack of five peo ple ?”
“ If I find for ty-five there ,” he said , “ I will not de stroy it .”
29
Once again he spoke to him , “ What if only for ty are found there ?”
He said , “ For the sake of for ty , I will not do it .”
30
Then he said , “ May the Lord not be an gry , but let me speak . What if only thir ty can be found there ?”
He an swered , “ I will not do it if I find thir ty there .” 31
Abra ham said , “ Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord , what if only twen ty can be found there ?”
He said , “ For the sake of twen ty , I will not de stroy it .”
32
Then he said , “ May the Lord not be an gry , but let me speak just once more . What if only ten can be found there ?”
He an swered , “ For the sake of ten , I will not de stroy it .”
33
When the Lord had fin ished speak ing with Abra ham , he left , and Abra ham re turned home .
Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed
The two an gels ar rived at Sod om in the evening , and Lot was sit ting in the gate way of
19 the city . When he saw them , he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground . 2 “ My lords ,” he said , “ please turn aside to your ser vant ’ s house . You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way ear ly in the morn ing .”
“ No ,” they an swered , “ we will spend the night in the square .”
3
But he in sist ed so strong ly that they did go with him and en tered his house . He pre pared a meal for
a
22 Masoretic Text ; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition but the
Lord remained standing before Abraham b
24 Or forgive ; also in verse 26 and his descendants — the people of Israel — to inherit specific promises and to understand the identity of the true God . what is right The Hebrew word used here , tsedaqah , refers to what is right or fair ( Lev 19:36 ). It can convey the legal sense of innocence or vindication ( Job 6:29 ; see Ps 4:1 and note ). just The Hebrew word used here , mishpat , can refer to legal decisions that involve both condemning the guilty and acquitting the innocent ( 1Ki 8:32 ; see Ps 146:7 and note ). 18:20 outcry The Hebrew word used here , ze ’ aqah is used elsewhere to describe oppression and injustice ( Ex 3:7 ; 22:21 – 23 ). The crimes of Sodom are more than the general evil of inhospitality and homosexual aggression described in Ge 19 .
18:23 – 33 Abraham intercedes for Sodom and Gomorrah , pleading with Yahweh to spare the cities if fifty righteous people can be found within them , or even ten . The course of this exchange builds dramatic tension — only ten righ teous people are needed to save the cities . Until now , Abraham has spoken few words to Yahweh . Here , pleading for the doomed cities , he is far more vocal . Abraham speaks far more here than Yahweh .
18:23 sweep away the righ teous with the wicked Abraham shows a concern for righ teous ness and justice . He argues that by destroying Sodom , God might destroy some righ teous people along with the wicked . 18:32 What if only ten can be found It is unclear why
Abraham stops his negotiation at ten . Ultimately there are not even 10 righ teous people within the city , and Yahweh destroys it ( 19:25 – 26 ). However , Yahweh remembers Abraham ’ s pleas here and extends his mercy by saving Lot ( see 19:29 and note ).
19:1 – 22 After recording Abraham ’ s intercession for Sodom and Gomorrah , the scene shifts to Lot ’ s house in Sodom ( see v . 2 and note ). When two angels visit Lot , the men of Sodom ask Lot to hand them over so they can violate them ( see v . 5 and note ). Lot refuses and offers his daughters instead ( v . 8 ). When the men of Sodom refuse this offer , the angels strike them with blindness ( vv . 9 – 11 ). After the men of Sodom leave , the angels inform Lot of Sodom ’ s impending judgment and warn him to take his family and leave the city ( vv . 12 – 22 ).
19:1 The two angels Three men had appeared to Abraham . It turned out that one was Yahweh , while the other two were angels ( see 18:1 and note ; 18:2 and note ). The two angels here are the same angels who appeared to Abraham earlier ( 18:2 ). See the table “ Angels in the Bible ” on p . 2120 . 19:2 your servant ’ s house Previously , Lot lived in tents outside the wicked city of Sodom ( 13:12 ). 19:3 baking bread without yeast A meal that could be prepared on short notice since the bread would not have to rise . See note on Ex 12:8 .