The people of Sodom were not pleased with Lot’s behavior.
Two angels arrived in Sodom one evening. Lot, Abraham’s nephew, offered them a meal and a place to sleep in his home.
4. But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both old and young, all the people from every quarter;
5. And they called to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men who came to you this night? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.
What did the men of Sodom want to accomplish?
Rashi Explains
Rashi writes one very short comment on the verse.
that we may know them – with homosexuality, as in “who have not known a man.”
Rashi quotes what Lot says in verse 8.
8. Behold now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; let me, I beg you, bring them out to you, and do to them as is good in your eyes; only to these men do nothing; seeing that they have come under the shadow of my roof.
In both Genesis 19:5 and 8 the word “know” is written. In Biblical and Modern Hebrew, the word “know” can be used as an euphemism for sexual relations.
Lot thought he understood what the men wanted to do, so he offered them an alternative for their sexual lust.
(Lot can be praised for protecting his guests, but must be condemned for offering the crowd a chance to abuse his daughters.)
Ramban Explains
Ramban also begins his commentary by quoting the words “that we may know them.” Then adds, “their intention was to stop people from visiting them.”
He bases this on the Gemara:
Our Rabbis taught: The men of Sodom waxed haughty only on account of the good which the Holy One, blessed be He, had lavished upon them… why should we suffer wayfarers, who come to us only to deplete our wealth. Come, let us abolish the practice of traveling in our land…
The people of Sodom recognized that their land was “like the garden of the Lord” (Genesis 13:10). They feared people would come there and deplete their wealth. Plus, they despised giving support to the poor.
Rashi vs Ramban
Ramban seems to disagree with Rashi. However, in his commentary on Genesis 19:5 he never mentions what Rashi wrote.
Therefore, it seems to me, that Ramban accepts Rashi’s explanation that the word “know” means, in this context, to sexually abuse.
Ramban’s purpose in his commentary is to dig deeper to explain why the men of Sodom acted they way they did.
Why was Lot Accepted?
Before Ramban explains in more detail the intention of the people of Sodom, he deals with another issue.
If the people of Sodom wanted nothing to do with strangers, then why did they permit a foreigner like Lot to come and live with them?
Abraham and Lot parted company back in Genesis 13:
Then Lot chose for himself the valley of the Jordan; and Lot journeyed east … and Lot lived in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
Lot established his base of operation near the city of Sodom. Then at the beginning of Genesis 19 we read:
1. And there came two angels to Sodom at evening; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom …
Lot is no longer living near Sodom, but within the city.
How did this happen when, if Ramban is correct, the people of Sodom were opposed to all visitors?
Ramban explains that two factors lead to Lot’s acceptance in Sodom.
Factor #1 was that Lot was rich. This is clear from Genesis 13:5-6.
But, Ramban adds, being rich was not enough. Ramban’s factor #2 was either Lot made a special request to be allowed to live in Sodom, or the people of Sodom accepted him because they wanted to honor Abraham.
Proof of Their Intention
Ramban finds support for his statements about the intention of the people of Sodom from the prophet Ezekiel.
49. Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, surfeit of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters; and she did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
50. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away when I saw it.
This idea had already been hinted at in Genesis 13:
13. But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners before the Lord.
Ramban explains these verses mean that they provoked and rebelled against God with their oppression of the poor. God granted them peace, security, and comfort but they refused to share it and went so far as to oppress the poor.
The Real Sodom
Ramban again points to the Gemara (Sanhedrin 109a) where our Sages explain that the people of Sodom were guilty of every possible sin.
Ramban does not go into more detail, but the Gemara gives a compilation of their sins.
The people of Sodom were guilty of sins against God and against people:
- sexual immorality
- lacking in charity
- blasphemy
- murder
But, the sin that sealed their fate was their oppression of the poor and lack of charity. They engaged in this category of sin constantly and it became representative of their lives.
In addition, most people will act charitably with friends and neighbors. But, the people of Sodom were unmatched in their cruelty.
More Support for Ramban?
When I read this section of Ramban’s commentary, I was bothered by a couple of verses.
In the previous chapter, God told Abraham that Sodom may be destroyed.
20. And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave;
21. I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry, which has come to me; and if not, I will know.
A few verses later, the narrative tells about the two angels coming to Sodom close to sunset.
After the confrontation with the men of Sodom, the angels tell Lot what is going to happen.
13. For we will destroy this place, because their cry has grown great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.
The angels had only been in Sodom for a few hours. What could they have seen in such a short time?
I suggest they detected a lack of hospitality. When they arrived at the city gate, only Lot offered them a place to eat and sleep.
Plus they saw the mob at Lot’s house. They understood (unlike Lot) that the mob’s intention wasn’t to fulfill their lusts. Rather, it was to scare away and drive away any visitors.
Sodom and the Land of Israel
Ramban ends his commentary on Genesis 19:5 with a pivot to explain another reason for why God judged Sodom so harshly.
Sodom was located in the Land of Israel which is considered the inheritance of God and, hence, does not tolerate people who commit certain sins.
Because of the exalted nature of the Land of Israel, sins committed there may be judged by God more harshly.
When the Jews left Egypt, 7 nations were living in the Land of Israel. God driving them out before the Jewish people is described as the Land vomiting them out due to the abominations they committed.
24. Defile not you yourselves in any of these things; for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you;
25. And the land is defiled; therefore I do punish its iniquity upon it, and the land itself vomits out her inhabitants.
The men of Sodom committed all manner of sins to the point that they were considered among the most evil in their actions toward Heaven and man.
All was destroyed for them because they despised the goodness that God had bestowed on them.
One reason God did this was so that Sodom would become a sign for the Jewish people. This is expressed in the words Moses spoke shortly before he died:
22. And that the whole land is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor bears, nor any grass grows on it, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath.
Moses was warning the future generations that they could face a punishment similar to Sodom.
Why would God do this? He would do it to those who would forsake God’s covenant. All this is due to the exalted nature of the Land of Israel, which contains, as it were, God’s dwelling place (Jerusalem and the Temple).
In fact there are peoples and evil nations that have committed worse sins. But God has not punished them as much. Why? Because they were not in the Land of Israel.
Further Reading
Click here for a summary of Parshat Vayeira.
Here’s an article about Abraham, Sarah, and laughter.