Lot
“Covering or veil”
Summary
The nephew of Abraham who accompanied him from Ur to Canaan but ultimately chose to dwell in wicked Sodom, from which he was providentially rescued before its destruction.
☩Family and Migration
Lot was the son of Haran, Abraham's brother, and was born in Ur of the Chaldees before his father's death. When Terah's family migrated from Ur, Lot accompanied them to Haran, and subsequently traveled with Abraham to Canaan and Egypt. His sisters were Milcah, who married their uncle Nahor, and Iscah. After Haran's death, Lot represented his father's branch of the family, and Abraham appears to have regarded him almost as an heir, given Sarah's childlessness. The promise of innumerable descendants was first given to Abraham immediately after Lot's separation from him.
☩Separation from Abraham
As both Abraham and Lot prospered in livestock, strife arose between their herdsmen over limited grazing land. With characteristic magnanimity, Abraham offered Lot first choice of the land, though as senior he could have claimed precedence. Lot chose by sight rather than faith, selecting the well-watered plain of Jordan near Sodom, despite the notorious wickedness of its inhabitants. He initially pitched his tent toward Sodom but eventually dwelt within the city itself, illustrating the progressive nature of worldly entanglement. This contrast between the two patriarchs—Abraham remaining a tent-dwelling pilgrim while Lot settled in a city—became a recurring theme in biblical interpretation.
☩Rescue and Destruction of Sodom
Lot was captured when four eastern kings raided Sodom and carried off its inhabitants and goods. Abraham mounted a rescue expedition with 318 trained men, pursuing the invaders and recovering Lot along with all the captives and possessions. This warning should have prompted Lot's departure from Sodom, but he returned to dwell there. When angels came to investigate Sodom's wickedness, Lot demonstrated hospitality by urging them to lodge in his house, but his offer to sacrifice his daughters to protect his guests revealed his moral compromise. The angels rescued Lot's family from the city's destruction, though his sons-in-law mocked his warning and perished. Lot himself 'lingered' and had to be forcibly led out by the angels.
☩Lot's Wife and Aftermath
Lot's wife disobeyed the angels' command not to look back and was transformed into a pillar of salt, becoming a memorial of judgment on those who linger after forbidden things. Jesus referenced her fate as a warning about attachment to worldly goods when facing coming judgment. Lot fled first to Zoar, then to a mountain cave where, through his daughters' deception, he became father of Moab and Ben-ammi, ancestors of the Moabites and Ammonites. Despite these failures, 2 Peter 2:7-8 calls him 'righteous Lot' who was daily tormented by the lawless conduct he witnessed, affirming that God knows how to rescue the godly from trials.
Related Verses24 mentions
References
- 1.James Orr (ed.), "Lot (1)," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 2.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Lot," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Lot (1)," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 4.James Hastings (ed.), "Lot," in Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. II (T. & T. Clark, 1906–1908).