Lot
The name Lot means “Lotan, wrapt up; hidden; covered; myrrh; rosin”
Summary
Profile
Lot was Abraham’s nephew and the ancestor of the Moabites and Ammonites. Like Abraham, Lot was born in Ur and traveled with Terah to Haran (Genesis 11:27–32). After Terah died, Lot joined Abraham on the journey to Canaan and Egypt.
When Lot and Abraham returned from Egypt to Canaan, their flocks and herds became too large for them to live together. So, Abraham allowed Lot to choose land for himself. Lot chose the fertile plain of the Jordan, which was like "the garden of the LORD" (Genesis 13:10). Eventually, he settled in Sodom. Lot's growing involvement with the corrupt cities of the plain weakened his moral values.
While Lot lived in Sodom, four Mesopotamian kings defeated the kings of five nearby towns. They stole things from the towns they had defeated and took Lot, his family, and his possessions (Genesis 14:1–12). When Abraham heard about this, he led a an attack against the invaders and rescued the prisoners and property (Genesis 14:13–16).
Due to the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah, God decided to destroy these cities. He sent two angels to Lot in Sodom to urge him to leave the city that was about to be destroyed (Genesis 19:1–15). The city's evil was clear when there was an attempted attack on the visitors. Lot's offer to sacrifice his daughters and his hesitation to leave showed his moral decline. Only his immediate family left with him, and his wife was destroyed when she disobeyed by looking back.
After Sodom's destruction, Lot's daughters, worried about not having husbands, made Lot drunk to have children with him. Their sons, Moab and Ben-ammi, became ancestors of the Moabites and Ammonites (Genesis 19:30–38). These two nations that became constant enemies of Israel (see Deuteronomy 23:3–6). Despite Lot's actions, Peter describes Lot as a “righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard” (see 2 Peter 2:6–9). This view of Lot may come from Jewish tradition, as it is hard to see in the Genesis story.
Passages for Further Study
Genesis 11:27, 31; 12:4–5; 13:1–14; 14:12–16; 19:1–38; Deuteronomy 2:9, 17–19; Psalm 83:4–8; Luke 17:28–33; 2 Peter 2:6–9
Events
- Abraham enters Canaanc. 1921 BC
- Sojourn in Canaan and Egyptc. 1921 BC
- Abraham and Lot Separatec. 1920 BC
- Sodom Destroyedc. 1897 BC
Glossary entries
Family members
- Father
Alternative names
Mentions
Includes 9 verses that refer to Lot without naming them, as “he”, “she”, or the subject of a verb.
- This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.
- And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there.
- So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
- And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,
- So Abram went up out of Egypt into the Negev—he and his wife and all his possessions—and Lot was with him.
- Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.
- Genesis 13:6Referred to, not namedBut the land was unable to support both of them while they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they were unable to coexist.
- And there was discord between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in the land.
- So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no contention between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen. After all, we are kinsmen.
- Genesis 13:9Referred to, not namedIs not the whole land before you? Now separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”
- And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
- So Lot chose the whole plain of the Jordan for himself and set out toward the east. And Abram and Lot parted company.
- Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
- After Lot had departed, the LORD said to Abram, “Now lift up your eyes from the place where you are, and look to the north and south and east and west,
- They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since Lot was living in Sodom.
- He retrieved all the goods, as well as his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the rest of the people.
- Now the two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them, bowed facedown,
- Genesis 19:2Referred to, not named…and said, “My lords, please turn aside into the house of your servant; wash your feet and spend the night. Then you can rise early and go on your way.” “No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”
- Genesis 19:3Referred to, not namedBut Lot insisted so strongly that they followed him into his house. He prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
- They called out to Lot, saying, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have relations with them!”
- Lot went outside to meet them, shutting the door behind him.
- Genesis 19:7Referred to, not named“Please, my brothers,” he pleaded, “don’t do such a wicked thing!
- Genesis 19:8Referred to, not namedLook, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them to you, and you can do to them as you please. But do not do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”
- “Get out of the way!” they replied. And they declared, “This one came here as a foreigner, and he is already acting like a judge! Now we will treat you worse than them.” And they pressed in on Lot and moved in to break down the door.
- But the men inside reached out, pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.
- Then the two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—a son-in-law, your sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here,
- So Lot went out and spoke to the sons-in-law who were pledged in marriage to his daughters. “Get up,” he said. “Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
- At daybreak the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.”
- But Lot replied, “No, my lords, please!
- Genesis 19:21Referred to, not named“Very well,” he answered, “I will grant this request as well, and will not demolish the town you indicate.
- Genesis 19:22Referred to, not namedHurry! Run there quickly, for I cannot do anything until you reach it.” That is why the town was called Zoar.
- And by the time the sun had risen over the land, Lot had reached Zoar.
- Genesis 19:26Referred to, not namedBut Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
- So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, He remembered Abraham, and He brought Lot out of the catastrophe that destroyed the cities where he had lived.
- Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains—for he was afraid to stay in Zoar—where they lived in a cave.
- Thus both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.
- Then the LORD said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”
- But when you get close to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the Ammonites. I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”
- Even Assyria has joined them, lending strength to the sons of Lot. Selah
- It was the same in the days of Lot: People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.
- But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
- Remember Lot’s wife!
- …and if He rescued Lot, a righteous man distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless