Genesis 19:33
in Genesis 19So that night they got their father drunk with wine, and the firstborn went in and slept with her father; he was not aware when she lay down or when she got up.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they made their father drink wine that night: and the first-born went in, and lay with her father; and he knew not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
KJV
And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
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This verse in Genesis 19
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAfter these things now that well-known story is related in which it is written that Lot's daughters cunningly lay with their father by stealth. In this matter I do not know if anyone can so excuse Lot as to free him from sin. Nor again do I think he should be so accused that he ought to become party to such serious incest. For I do not find him to have plotted against or to have violently snatched away the chastity of his daughters but rather to have been the victim of a plot and cunningly ensnared.
This site's exposition
Our father is old
on Genesis 19:31-33
The older daughter says no man is left in the land for them. They get him drunk with wine, and the firstborn goes in that night. Noah's story after the flood runs the same way, wine, a father shamed by his children, and nations born out of it.
This site's exposition
not aware when she lay down
Lot knew nothing of her coming or going that night. Clarke builds his defence of Lot on this clause, since a father drunk and not aware of the act was not drawn by his desire. The same words return for the younger daughter at verse 35.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
No mountain, on this side the holy hill above, can set us out of the reach of Satan's fiery darts. (2.) The peril of drunkenness. It is not only a great sin itself, but it is the inlet of many sins; it may prove the inlet of the worst and most unnatural sins, which may be a perpetual wound and dishonour.
And they made their father drink wine that night,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And he perceived not when she lay down, nor when, etc. - That is, he did not perceive the time she came to his bed, nor the time she quitted it; consequently did not know who it was that had lain with him. In this transaction Lot appears to me to be in many respects excusable. 1. He had no accurate knowledge of what took place either on the first or second night, therefore he cannot be supposed to have been drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתַּשְׁקֶ֧יןָ | vatashkeina | and they made drink | H8248 → | 61 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲבִיהֶ֛ן | ʾavihen | father their | H1 → | 1212 times |
| יַ֖יִן | yayin | wine | H3196 → | 141 times |
| בַּלַּ֣יְלָה | balaylah | in the night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| ה֑וּא | hu' | that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וַתָּבֹ֤א | vatavo' | and she came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הַבְּכִירָה֙ | habekhirah | the firstborn | H1067 → | 6 times |
| וַתִּשְׁכַּ֣ב | vatishkav | and she lay with | H7901 → | 212 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אָבִ֔יהָ | ʾaviha | father her | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָדַ֥ע | yada' | he knew | H3045 → | 945 times |
| בְּשִׁכְבָ֖הּ | beshikhvah | when lay down she | H7901 → | 212 times |
| וּבְקׄוּמָֽהּ׃ | uvekumah | and when arose she | H6965 → | 628 times |
וַתַּשְׁקֶ֧יןָand they made drink
vatashkeinaH8248 →61 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֲבִיהֶ֛ןfather their
ʾavihenH1 →1212 times
יַ֖יִןwine
yayinH3196 →141 times
בַּלַּ֣יְלָהin the night
balaylahH3915 →233 times
ה֑וּאthat
hu'H1931 →1879 times
וַתָּבֹ֤אand she came
vatavo'H935 →2568 times
הַבְּכִירָה֙the firstborn
habekhirahH1067 →6 times
וַתִּשְׁכַּ֣בand she lay with
vatishkavH7901 →212 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אָבִ֔יהָfather her
ʾavihaH1 →1212 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָדַ֥עhe knew
yada'H3045 →945 times
בְּשִׁכְבָ֖הּwhen lay down she
beshikhvahH7901 →212 times
וּבְקׄוּמָֽהּ׃and when arose she
uvekumahH6965 →628 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Proverbs 20:1Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:18
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
- Hosea 4:11
Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away understanding.
- Isaiah 28:7
These also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priests and prophets reel from strong drink and are befuddled by wine. They stumble because of strong drink, muddled in their visions and stumbling…
- Proverbs 31:4
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink,
- 1 Corinthians 6:10
nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
- Ephesians 5:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 5.3.