Genesis 19:1
in Genesis 19Now 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,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the two angels came to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face to the earth;
KJV
And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
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This verse in Genesis 19
Commentary
13 notes on this verseLot was not inside Sodom "but at the gate." I might have said, just as Abraham was sitting outside his tent, out of hospitality, even at an inconvenient time (for it was the middle of the day) on the lookout for travelers, so his relative and the imitator of his morality "was sitting at the gate" ready to invite those passing through the land, even though evening had now come. For he surely knew the impiety of the Sodomites and that there was no rest for the stranger in that place.
This site's exposition
Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city
on Genesis 19:1-2
Three men came to Abraham and two arrived at Sodom. Lot is sitting in the gateway, the place where a city's elders sat and cases were judged. Genesis has moved him in three steps, a tent pitched toward Sodom at 13:12, a house in Sodom at 14:12, and a seat in its gate here. He offers his house, and they answer that they will spend the night in the square.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
It was "three men" who came to Abraham, and "in the heat of the day"; but in the case of Sodom, "two angels, and in the evening."
"Now, the two angels," the text says, "arrived at Sodom in the evening." The time in particular shows us this good man's extraordinary virtue in the fact that even despite the coming of evening he stayed at his post and did not leave it. That is to say, since he realized the advantage accruing to him from that, consequently he was anxious to attain the wealth and brought great vigilance to bear, not even desisting at the end of the day. This, you see, is what a fervent and vigilant soul is like. Far from being impeded by any obstacles from giving evidence of its virtue, it is spurred on to greater heights by the very impediments in particular and burns with a brighter flame of desire.
"Now, on seeing them," the text goes on, "Lot rose to meet them." Let this be heeded by those who are given to repulsing people who call on them with requests to make and causes to plead and who show them great inhumanity. I mean, see how this good man did not wait until the visitors reached him but like the patriarch, without knowing who the visitors were but presuming that they were travelers of some kind, well nigh jumped for joy on seeing them, as though falling upon his prey and not missing the object of his desire.
Scripture seems to have made no mention at all of angels before the flood. Only now [does it mention angels], as though seeing fit to have instructed people abundantly, by the length of the time past, to regard as God and Lord of the universe …
The Medieval Church1 voice
And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, while Lot was sitting at the gates of the city. Not without cause, the angels who had come to Abraham at midday are reported to have come to Sodom in the evening, because they came …
6 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
When he saw them, he rose, and went to meet them; he bowed down with his face to the ground and said: I beg you, my lords, turn aside to your servant's house and stay there, and so on.
The Reformation1 voice
For (as we have seen) one of the messengers held the principal place, as being superior to the others in dignity. Now, although Christ was always the Mediator, yet, because he manifested himself more obscurely to Lot than he did to Abraham, the two angels only came to Sodom.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And there came two angels to Sodom at even,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
there came two angels--most probably two of those that had been with Abraham, commissioned to execute the divine judgment against Sodom. Lot sat in the gate of Sodom--In Eastern cities it is the market, the seat of justice, of social intercourse and amusement, especially a favorite lounge in the evenings, the arched roof affording a pleasant shade.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Two angels - The two referred to Gen 18:22. Sat in the gate - Probably, in order to prevent unwary travelers from being entrapped by his wicked townsmen, he waited at the gate of the city to bring the strangers he might meet with to his own house, as well as to transact his own business. Or, as the gate was the place of judgment, he might have been sitting there as magistrate to hear and determine disputes. Bowed himself - Not through religious reverence, for he did not know the quality of his guests; but through the customary form of civility. See on verses Gen 18:3-5 (note) of the preceding chapter.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
- The Destruction of Sodom and Amorah 9. גשׁ־<הלאה gesh-hāl'âh, “approach to a distant point,” stand back. 11. סנורים sanevērı̂ym, “blindness,” affecting the mental more than the ocular vision. 37. מואב mô'āb, Moab; מאב mē'āb, “from a father.” בן־עמי ben-‛amı̂y, Ben-‘ammi, “son of my people.” עמון ‛amôn, ‘Ammon, “of the people.” This chapter is the continuation and conclusion of the former. It records a part of God’s strange work - strange, because it consists in punishment, and because it is foreign to the covenant of grace.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
[AT EVEN.] The term ba-erev (at even) will be explained in the chapter dealing with the Passover observed by the Israelites in Egypt.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַ֠יָּבֹאוּ | vaiyavou | and they came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| שְׁנֵ֨י | shenei | [the] two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| הַמַּלְאָכִ֤ים | hamalakhim | the angels | H4397 → | 213 times |
| סְדֹ֙מָה֙ | sedomah | Sodom towards | H5467 → | 39 times |
| בָּעֶ֔רֶב | baerev | in the evening | H6153 → | 134 times |
| וְל֖וֹט | velot | and Lot | H3876 → | 33 times |
| יֹשֵׁ֣ב | yoshev | [was] sitting | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בְּשַֽׁעַר־ | beshaar- | in [the] gate of | H8179 → | 374 times |
| סְדֹ֑ם | sedom | Sodom | H5467 → | 39 times |
| וַיַּרְא־ | vaiyar'- | and he saw [them] | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| לוֹט֙ | lot | Lot | H3876 → | 33 times |
| וַיָּ֣קָם | vaiyakom | and he arose | H6965 → | 628 times |
| לִקְרָאתָ֔ם | likratam | to meet them | H7122 → | 139 times |
| וַיִּשְׁתַּ֥חוּ | vaiyishtachu | and he bowed down | H7812 → | 172 times |
| אַפַּ֖יִם | ʾapayim | face | H639 → | 276 times |
| אָֽרְצָה׃ | ʾaretzah | [the] ground towards | H776 → | 2504 times |
וַ֠יָּבֹאוּand they came
vaiyavouH935 →2568 times
שְׁנֵ֨י[the] two
sheneiH8147 →768 times
הַמַּלְאָכִ֤יםthe angels
hamalakhimH4397 →213 times
סְדֹ֙מָה֙Sodom towards
sedomahH5467 →39 times
בָּעֶ֔רֶבin the evening
baerevH6153 →134 times
וְל֖וֹטand Lot
velotH3876 →33 times
יֹשֵׁ֣ב[was] sitting
yoshevH3427 →1079 times
בְּשַֽׁעַר־in [the] gate of
beshaar-H8179 →374 times
סְדֹ֑םSodom
sedomH5467 →39 times
וַיַּרְא־and he saw [them]
vaiyar'-H7200 →1300 times
לוֹט֙Lot
lotH3876 →33 times
וַיָּ֣קָםand he arose
vaiyakomH6965 →628 times
לִקְרָאתָ֔םto meet them
likratamH7122 →139 times
וַיִּשְׁתַּ֥חוּand he bowed down
vaiyishtachuH7812 →172 times
אַפַּ֖יִםface
ʾapayimH639 →276 times
אָֽרְצָה׃[the] ground towards
ʾaretzahH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 13:2Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
it leads to
- Matthew 25:35
For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in,
- Romans 12:13
Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 18:1
Then the LORD appeared to Abraham by the Oaks of Mamre in the heat of the day, while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent.
- 1 Peter 4:9
Show hospitality to one another without complaining.
- Matthew 25:43
I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
- Matthew 25:35
Through
Job 31:32but no stranger had to lodge on the street, for my door has been open to the traveler—
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:2
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
- Genesis 19:2–3
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…
- Hebrews 13:2
Through
Genesis 18:22And the two men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 22:30
I searched for a man among them to repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, so that I should not destroy it. But I found no…
- Ezekiel 22:30
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 43.9; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, SELECTIONS ON GENESIS; Severian of Gabala, CATENA ON GENESIS 3.1112 and Theodore of Mopsuestia, CATENA ON GENESIS 3.1110.