You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8
Live Today in Confidence
This isn’t an easy part of the Bible to read. It says some very uncomfortable things about us. Here, the apostle Paul describes us as “ungodly” and “sinners.” Those aren’t pleasant descriptors. But unfortunately, they are accurate. And, because of our ungodly ways and our sinful thoughts, words and actions, our Maker could have let us die in those sins and be separated from him forever. It is what we would have deserved.
But instead, God chose to love us! Yes, in an amazing act of HIS will, he determined that he would come to this earth for you and me and all people, would live for us, would die for us. In an amazing act of his will, he determined to save us. In an amazing act of love, Christ came and died in our place. God has chosen to love us with the most amazing love ever.
So, you can live today in confidence, knowing that God is on your side, knowing that God loves you dearly!
Prayer:
Assure me that you have chosen to love me, dear Savior. Fill me with peace because of it. Amen.
They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” The LORD answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people . . . I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” Exodus 17:3,5-6
Water from a Rock
If you grew up in a home like mine and you complained about your food, you heard your parents say something like this: “There are starving children in Africa who would love to have that food.” Whether the reasoning was sound, the point was that we should be thankful for what we had instead of complaining.
The temptation to be dissatisfied with what we have has plagued humanity for almost as long as this world has existed. But what if it is a basic need that seems to be missing? The nation of Israel was in the wilderness. No running water. No cool springs, pools, or streams to draw water from. We can live without food, but water is essential. Didn’t God care enough to provide?
But God wasn’t ignoring their need. With a miracle, he would show that he was the one who provided for them. He told Moses to strike a rock with his staff, and water flowed out of that rock for them to drink.
How patient God was with them. How patient God is with us. We grumble and complain; yet he patiently continues to provide just what we need every day.
The greatest gift he provides is another Rock. The Bible later comments on this time period and says, “They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:3-4).
Jesus was always with them, and he is always with us, too. In his word of grace, he gives us the essential water for our spiritual lives. Through that living water that flows from Jesus, we are rescued from the wilderness we deserve because of our sins. And we are kept alive to dwell with our God, whose patient love for us always provides everything we need and more! Thanks be to God!
Prayer:
Jesus, forgive my grumbling and lack of trust. Pour out your living and life-giving water to quench my thirsty soul. Amen.
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Psalm 95:6-7
Under His Care
Imagine a shepherd who takes care of sheep. However, he is only concerned about making sure that they have food to eat. As long as the grass is growing in the field, nothing else matters. Or he only thinks about providing shelter. As long as the barn or the sheep pen is in good repair, he thinks he’s done his job.
Such a shepherd won’t be a shepherd for long. The sheep may be well fed but have no protection from wolves that want to attack. They may have shelter but lack the basic food and water they need to survive. No, that would be unthinkable. A shepherd needs to attend to all the needs of his sheep.
Today’s Bible verse invites us to worship the Lord because he is our Maker. Reflecting on all that we are and all that we have from the Lord who made heaven and earth leads us to joyful worship. But then he adds another even greater reason to worship. “He is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.”
The God who made us is the Shepherd who cares for us. Who better to care for us than he? He knows our needs, inside and out. He knows the diseases that threaten our bodies and our souls. He sees the wolves that want to attack and destroy us. He knows the nourishment our hearts need not only to survive but to thrive.
With his innocent life and death, Jesus crushed Satan’s power to accuse and destroy us, no matter what we’ve done. With the nourishing food of his Word, he feeds our faith to receive forgiveness and the life he won at the cross.
No, not a single need escapes his notice. Not a single need is beyond his care. He consistently, lovingly, and perfectly provides for all our needs. And he blesses us every day with one goal in mind—to bring us safely into his eternal pastures, where we will praise him forever.
Prayer:
God, my Maker and my Shepherd, I worship and praise you for your perfect love and care for me. Amen.
WELS chaplains gather for annual meeting Thirty-seven people attended the annual meeting of the Association of WELS Chaplains on Feb. 6 at the WELS Center for Mission and Ministry in Waukesha, Wis. The purpose was for […]
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Conference of Presidents holds its winter meeting The Conference of Presidents (COP) met Jan. 6-9. At that meeting, the COP discussed the following items: The current number of pastoral vacancies. There are 162 total vacancies for pastor-trained […]
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2025–26 school statistics offer opportunity to reflect Enrollment in WELS schools this school year has decreased slightly from the 2024–25 school year, according to the recently released 2025–26 school statistics. Lutheran high school enrollment continued to climb, […]
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New administrator installed On Jan. 9, Charles Vannieuwenhoven was installed as the administrator of the Board for Ministerial Education. Attending the installation and participating in the laying on of hands were the presidents […]
1 Abraham was very old, well into old age. The Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior supervisor of his house, who was in charge of everything that he had, “Please put your hand under my thigh. 3 You must swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living. 4 Instead, you shall go to my country and to my relatives and acquire a wife for my son Isaac.”
5 The servant said to him, “What if the woman is not willing to follow me to this land? In that case, should I take your son back to the land that you came from?”
6 Abraham said to him, “Let me make it very clear to you that you are not to take my son back there again. 7 The Lord, the God of heaven, took me away from my father’s house and from the land of my birth. He spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ [1] The Lord will send his angel ahead of you, so you shall find a wife for my son from there. 8 If the woman is not willing to follow you, you will be released from this oath. But under no circumstances shall you take my son back there.”
9 The servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter. 10 The servant took ten of his master’s camels and set out. He took a variety of goods from his master with him. He set out and went to Mesopotamia [2] to the city of Nahor. 11 He made the camels kneel down by the well outside the city. It was evening, the time when women go out to draw water. 12 He said, “O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Here I am, standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Let this be the test: The young lady to whom I say, ‘Please let down your water jar, so that I may drink,’ will say, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink.’ She will be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. This is how I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”
15 Before he had even finished speaking, out came Rebekah with her water jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 16 The young lady was very beautiful to look at, a virgin, who had never been intimate with any man. She went down to the spring, filled her water jar, and came up. 17 The servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a drink, a little water from your water jar.”
18 She said, “Drink, my lord.” She quickly let down her water jar into her hands and gave him a drink. 19 When she was done giving him a drink, she said, “I will also draw water for your camels, until they have finished drinking.” 20 She hurried and emptied her water jar into the trough, ran to the well again to draw more water, and drew water for all his camels.
21 The man remained silent and watched her carefully to find out whether the Lord had made his journey successful or not. 22 Then, when the camels were finished drinking, the man took a gold nose ring that weighed half a shekel and two gold bracelets that weighed ten shekels [3] for her wrists. 23 Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me. Is there room for us to stay in your father’s house?”
24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 She also said to him, “We have both straw and enough feed and enough room for you to spend the night.”
26 The man bowed his head and worshipped the Lord. 27 He said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his mercy and faithfulness toward my master. Indeed, the Lord has guided me to the house of my master’s relatives.”
28 The young lady ran and told her mother’s household about these things. 29 Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out to the spring to meet the man. 30 When he saw the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and after he heard the words from Rebekah his sister, who said, “This is what the man said to me,” he went to find the man. And there he was, standing next to the camels by the spring. 31 Laban said, “Come with me, you who are blessed by the Lord. Why are you standing outside when I have prepared the house and a place for the camels?”
32 The man came to the house and unloaded the camels. Laban gave him straw and feed for the camels and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 Food was set before him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I have delivered my message.”
Laban said, “Tell us.”
34 He said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35 The Lord has blessed my master greatly. He has become great. The Lord has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys. 36 Sarah, my master’s wife, bore a son for my master when she was old. My master has given him everything that he owns. 37 My master made me take an oath. He said, ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I am living. 38 Instead, you shall go to my father’s house and to my relatives and acquire a wife for my son.’ 39 I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not follow me?’ 40 He said to me, ‘The Lord, in whose presence I walk, will send his angel with you and give your journey success, and you will acquire a wife for my son from my relatives and from my father’s house. 41 But you will be released from my oath, if, when you have come to my relatives, they do not give her to you—then you will be released from my oath.’ 42 Today I came to the spring and said, ‘O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if you now will bless my journey with success, 43 (here I am, standing by this spring of water) let this be the test: If the virgin who comes out to draw water (the one to whom I say, “Please give me a little water to drink from your water jar”) 44 tells me, “Drink, and I will also draw water for your camels,” she will be the woman whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’ 45 Before I had finished saying this to myself, out came Rebekah with her water jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 46 She hurried and lowered her water jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels a drink. 47 I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore for him.’ I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 I bowed my head and worshipped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to find the daughter of my master’s brother as a wife for his son. 49 Now if you will show mercy and faithfulness to my master here, tell me. If not, tell me, so that I may know whether to turn to the right or to the left.”
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered, “This matter has been determined by the Lord. We cannot say anything to you either bad or good. 51 Look, Rebekah is right here in front of you. Take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.”
52 So, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 53 The servant brought out silver and gold jewelry and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and her mother. 54 He and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. They got up in the morning, and he said, “Send me on my way to my master.”
55 Her brother and her mother said, “Let the young lady stay with us a few days, at least ten. After that she can go.”
56 He said to them, “Do not hold me back, since the Lord has granted my journey success. Send me on my way so that I can go to my master.”
57 They said, “We will call the young lady and ask her.” 58 They called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want to go with this man?”
She said, “I do.”
59 So they sent all of them on their way—their sister Rebekah with her nurse, Abraham’s servant, and his men. 60 They blessed Rebekah and said to her, “May you, our sister, be the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and let your offspring take possession of the gates of those who hate them.”
Footnotes
Genesis 24:7 Or offspring
Genesis 24:10 Also called Aram Naharaim, Aram of the Two Rivers. This area is in northern Syria, along the border with Turkey.
1 Sarah lived one hundred twenty-seven years. That was the length of Sarah’s life. 2 Sarah died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
3 Then Abraham got up from beside his deceased wife. He went and spoke to the descendants of Heth. [1] He said, 4 “I am an alien who has settled among you. Let me have a piece of property for a burial place among you where I may bury my dead in their final resting place.” [2]5 The descendants of Heth answered Abraham, 6 “Listen to us, my lord. You are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the best of our tombs. None of us will withhold his tomb from you. Bury your dead.”
7 Abraham stood up and bowed down to the people of the land, that is, to the descendants of Heth. 8 He said to them, “If you have agreed that I may bury my dead in their final resting place, then listen to me, and speak to Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf, 9 so that he gives me the Cave of Machpelah, which is at the end of the field that he owns. Let him give it to me for the full price so that I may own a burial site among you.”
10 Now Ephron was sitting among the descendants of Heth. Ephron the Hittite responded to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who were gathered at the city gate. He said, 11 “No, my lord, listen to me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.”
12 Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. 13 He spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land. He said, “No, but if you are willing, please listen to me. I will give the money [3] for the field. Accept it from me, and I will bury my dead there.”
14 Ephron responded to Abraham, 15 “My lord, listen to me. The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between me and you? Go ahead, bury your dead.”
16 Abraham accepted Ephron’s offer, and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the price that Ephron had quoted to him in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels [4] of silver, according to the current standard of the merchants at that time.
17 So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, near Mamre—the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were within the boundaries of the field were deeded 18 to Abraham as his property. This was done in the presence of all the Hittites, who were assembled at the gate of the city. 19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave in the field at Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron), in the land of Canaan. 20 The field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the descendants of Heth as his property to be used as a burial site.
Footnotes
Genesis 23:3 There is no known connection between these Canaanites (Genesis 10:15) and the later Indo-European Hittites of Anatolia (Turkey). The well-known Hittites of Anatolia did not actually call themselves Hittites but were given this name because of the mistaken belief that they were related to this people in the Bible.
Genesis 23:4 Literally out of my sight, also in verse 8
Genesis 23:13 Literally the silver. There were no coins at this time. Silver or gold were weighed out to serve as money.
Genesis 23:16 A shekel was about a half ounce or a bit less, but its weight varied with time and place, as the parenthetical comment indicates.
22 At that time Abimelek and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham. He said, “God is with you in everything that you do. 23 Now swear to me here by God that you will not deal treacherously with me, or with my son, or with my grandson. But just as I have been kind to you, you shall do the same for me and for the land in which you have lived as an alien.”
24 Abraham said, “I will swear it.”
25 Abraham complained to Abimelek because of a well which Abimelek’s servants had seized violently. 26 Abimelek said, “I do not know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I did not hear about it until today.”
27 Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelek. The two of them made a treaty. [1]28 Abraham set aside seven ewe lambs from the flock.
29 Abimelek said to Abraham, “Why have you set these seven ewe lambs by themselves?”
30 He said, “You shall accept these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal testimony that I have dug this well.” 31 Therefore, he called that place Beersheba, [2] because they both took an oath there. 32 So they made a treaty at Beersheba. Then Abimelek got up with Phicol, the commander of his army, and they returned into the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he proclaimed [3] the name of the Lord, the Eternal God. 34 Abraham lived as an alien in the land of the Philistines for a long time. [4]
Abraham Offers Isaac
Genesis 22
1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He called to him, “Abraham!”
Abraham answered, “I am here.”
2 God said, “Now take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains there, the one to which I direct you.”
3 Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, along with Isaac his son. Abraham split the wood for the burnt offering. Then he set out to go to the place that God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
5 Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go on over there. We will worship, and then we will come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and loaded it on Isaac his son. He took the firepot and the knife in his hand. The two of them went on together.
7 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father?”
He said, “I am here, my son.”
He said, “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
8 Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them went on together. 9 They came to the place that God had told him about. Abraham built the altar there. He arranged the wood, tied up Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
11 The Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!”
Abraham said, “I am here.”
12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”
13 Abraham looked around and saw that behind him there was a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord Will Provide.” [5] So it is said to this day, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
15 The Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will bless you greatly, and I will multiply your descendants greatly, like the stars of the sky and like the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the city gates of their enemies. 18 In your seed [6] all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
19 Then Abraham returned to his young men, and they set out and traveled together to Beersheba. Abraham lived at Beersheba.
20 Some time after these things Abraham was told, “Listen. Milcah also has borne children for your brother Nahor. 21 They are Uz his firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. These eight sons Milcah bore for Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 Nahor’s concubine, whose name was Reumah, also gave birth to Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Ma’akah.
Footnotes
Genesis 21:27 Or covenant
Genesis 21:31 Beersheba can mean well of the oath or well of seven.
Genesis 21:33 Or called on
Genesis 21:34 Literally for many days. In Hebrew this can cover months or even years.
Genesis 22:14 Or Yahweh Jireh or Yahweh Who Sees
Genesis 22:18 The literal rendering seed is retained here to indicate the continuity of the Messianic promise from Eve, through Abraham and David, to Christ, who was the promised Seed of the Woman.
1 Abraham traveled from there toward the Negev, and he lived between Kadesh and Shur. He lived as a resident alien in Gerar. 2 About his wife Sarah Abraham said, “She is my sister.” Abimelek king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream during the night and said to him, “Listen to me! You are a dead man because of the woman you have taken, because she has a husband.”
4 Now Abimelek had not come near her. He said, “Lord, will you kill even a righteous nation? 5 Didn’t he tell me, ‘She is my sister’? Even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a sincere heart and innocent hands.”
6 God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a sincere heart, so I also prevented you from sinning against me. That is why I did not allow you to touch her. 7 Now therefore, return the man’s wife. He is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live. If you do not return her, know for sure that you will die, you along with all who are yours.”
8 Abimelek rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told them all these things. The men were terrified. 9 Then Abimelek summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought this great sin on me and on my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done!” 10 Abimelek said to Abraham, “What did you see in us that made you do this?”
11 Abraham said, “I did it because I said to myself, ‘Surely they do not fear God in this place. They will kill me to get my wife.’ 12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 When God had me migrate from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness that you shall show to me: Everywhere that we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”
14 Abimelek took sheep and cattle, male servants and female servants, and he gave them to Abraham. He also returned Sarah, his wife, to him. 15 Abimelek said, “Look, my land is in front of you. Dwell wherever it pleases you.” 16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given your brother a thousand pieces [1] of silver. You see, it covers any offense in the eyes of everyone who is with you. In front of all of them you are vindicated.”
17 Abraham prayed to God. God healed Abimelek and his wife and his female servants, so that they were able to bear children. 18 For the Lord had closed up tight all the wombs of the household of Abimelek over the matter of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
The Birth of Isaac
Genesis 21
1 The Lord visited [2] Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. 2 Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age, at the set time which God had announced to him. 3 Abraham named the son who was born to him—the son whom Sarah had borne to him— [3] Isaac. [4]4 Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears will laugh with me.” 7 She said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne a son for him in his old age.”
8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham, laughing at Isaac. 10 Therefore, she said to Abraham, “Throw out this slave girl [5] and her son! For the son of this slave will not be heir with my son Isaac.”
11 Abraham was very distressed because of his son. 12 God said to Abraham, “Do not be so distressed because of the boy and because of your maid. [6] Listen to everything that Sarah says to you, because the family line of your descendants [7] will be traced through Isaac. 13 I will also make the son of the maid into a nation because he too is your offspring.”
14 Abraham got up early in the morning. He took bread and a waterskin, which he gave to Hagar, putting it over her shoulder. He sent her away with her child. She set out and wandered in the wilderness near Beersheba. 15 The water in the skin was used up, and she dragged the child under one of the bushes. 16 She went and sat down by herself, across from him, at a distance, about a bow shot away, because she said, “Do not let me see the death of the child.” She sat across from him and wept loudly.
17 God heard the boy’s voice, and the Angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven and said to her, “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the boy’s voice right where he is. 18 Get up. Help the boy up, and take him by the hand, because I will make him into a great nation.”
19 God opened her eyes, and she saw a well with water in it. She went, filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink. 20 God was with the boy, and as he grew up, he lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran. His mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
Footnotes
Genesis 20:16 No unit of measurement is specified. It most likely was shekels.
Genesis 21:1 In the Bible, visit means to bring blessing or judgment. Here it obviously is the former.
Genesis 21:3 Hebrew narrative style is often repetitious. We have tried to preserve that style.
Genesis 21:3 Isaac means he laughs.
Genesis 21:10 The word which is used in this chapter for female slave or servant (amah) is said to be somewhat higher than the one used in connection with Ishmael’s birth in chapter 16 (shiphchah). See the note to verse 12.
Genesis 21:12 The word which is used in this chapter for female slave or servant (amah) is allegedly somewhat higher than the one used in connection with Ishmael’s birth in chapter 16 (shiphchah). In Sarah’s eyes, Hagar is still a slave, but as Sarah’s surrogate, she also has the status of a secondary wife of Abraham. It is not clear, however, whether any distinction is intended by this shift of terms. Critics, of course, see the shift as evidence of two sources.
1 The two angels came to Sodom at evening. Lot, who was sitting in the gatehouse of Sodom, saw them and got up to meet them. He bowed down with his face to the ground, 2 and he said, “See now, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house and spend the night. Wash your feet, and you can get up early and go on your way.”
They said, “No, we will spend the night in the street.”
3 But he kept urging them, so they came with him and entered his house. He made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from all parts of town. 5 They called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may be intimate with them.” [1]
6 Lot went out to them and shut the door behind him. 7 He said, “Please, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 See now, I have two daughters who have not had relations with a man. Please let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them whatever seems good to you. Only do not do anything to these men, because they have come under the protection [2] of my roof.”
9 They said, “Get out of our way!” They also said, “This fellow came to live here as an alien, and now he appoints himself as a judge. Now we will treat you worse than them!” They kept pushing Lot back and were ready to break down the door. 10 But the men inside reached out and grabbed Lot and pulled him into the house with them and shut the door. 11 They struck the men who were pressing against the door of the house, both young and old, with blindness so that they wore themselves out trying to find the door.
12 The men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here? Sons-in-law, your sons, your daughters, whoever you have in the city, get them out of this place, 13 for we are going to destroy this place, because the outcry against it has grown great before the Lord, so the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to his daughters in marriage. He said, “Get up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is going to destroy the city.” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.
15 When the dawn came, the angels urged Lot, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, so that you will not be swept away by the guilt of the city.” 16 But Lot was taking too much time, so the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, because of the Lord’s compassion for him. They led him out and placed him outside of the city. 17 Then when they had taken them out, one of them said, “Run for your life! Don’t look behind you, and don’t stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, so that you are not swept away!”
18 Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lord. [3]19 See now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great mercy by saving my life. I cannot flee to the mountains, or this disaster will stick with me, and I will die. 20 Look, this city is close enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Please let me flee there—isn’t it just a little one?—so that my life will be saved.”
21 The man said to him, “Very well, I have granted your request concerning this thing, so I will not overthrow the city that you have spoken about. 22 Hurry, flee there, because I cannot do anything until you get there.” So the city was named Zoar. [4]
23 The sun had risen over the land when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire out of the sky from the Lord. 25 He overthrew those cities, as well as all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew in the soil.
26 But Lot’s wife, who was behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain. As he looked, he saw that the smoke from the land was going up like the smoke from a kiln.
29 And so when God destroyed the cities of the plain, God remembered Abraham and brought Lot out through the middle of the devastation, when he overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.
Lot and His Daughters
30 Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the mountains, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. His two daughters were with him. He lived in a cave with his two daughters. 31 The firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man in the land to come to us as normally takes place everywhere on earth. 32 Come on, let’s get our father to drink wine, and we will lie down with him, that we may preserve our father’s seed.” [5]33 They got their father to drink wine that night, and the firstborn went and lay down with her father. He did not know it when she lay down or when she got up.
34 Then the next day the firstborn said to the younger, “Look, last night I lay down with my father. Let us get him to drink wine again tonight. You go and lie down with him, so that we may preserve our father’s seed.” 35 They got their father to drink wine that night also. Then the younger went and lay with him. He did not know it when she lay down or when she got up. 36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.
37 The firstborn gave birth to a son and named him Moab. [6] He is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 The younger also gave birth to a son and called his name Ben Ammi. [7] He is the father of the people of Ammon to this day.
Footnotes
Genesis 19:5 Literally that we may know them. Shocking as the crime is, the text places a euphemism into the mouths of the perpetrators. The next verses make their intentions clear.
Genesis 19:8 Literally the shadow
Genesis 19:18 The Hebrew has this written as Adonai, the divine name Lord or an emphatic plural my lords. The Greek Old Testament has the singular my lord.
Genesis 19:22 Zoar means little.
Genesis 19:32 Seed here refers to semen and to the offspring that result from it.
Genesis 19:37 In Hebrew Moab sounds like from the father.
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