-
†. Gen 19:1a . .The two angels arrived in Sodom
The word for "angels" is from mal'ak (mal-awk') from a root meaning to
dispatch as a deputy; viz: a messenger; specifically of God, i.e. an angel
and/or a prophet, priest or teacher-- someone who speaks for and/or
represents another.
Mal'ak doesn't eo ipso indicate a celestial being; because the word is focused
more on an office or a function rather than a person. According to verse 3,
these angels were capable of consuming food the same as were Abraham's
human guests up in Hebron. According to verse 10, they were gender
specific; viz: males. So from all outward appearances, these particular
mal'aks were normal, fully functioning human beings.
†. Gen 19:1b . . in the evening,
The word for "evening" is 'ereb (eh'-reb) which technically means dusk;
which Webster's defines as: the darker part of twilight after sundown. It's
the same word as the evenings of Gen 1:5-31.
'ereb is a bit ambiguous. In spite of its technical meaning; 'ereb doesn't eo
ipso indicate twilight. It can also indicate any daytime hour between high
noon and sunset e.g. Sam 17:16 where Goliath taunted Israel twice a Day:
once in the morning, and once in the afternoon.
On the surface, the two men appear to be ordinary travelers pulling into
town for the night after a day's journey. That's a sensible choice. Sodom was
walled, and much safer than camping out in the field where they would be
vulnerable to brigands and wild animals. In those days, the Jordan valley
had lions in it and Canaan was still pretty much out on the lawless frontier.
†. Gen 19:1c . . as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom.
In those days the gate vicinity was an important civic location where people
could pick up the latest news and conduct public business like elections,
marriages, notary public, municipal court, rallies, and soap-box speeches. It
was in the gate of Bethlehem where Ruth's husband Boaz defended her
cause and claimed the woman of Moab for his wife. (Ruth 4)
Lot probably wrapped up every one of his days at the gate before going on
home; kind of like an ancient Miller time. Even today, either a newspaper or
a television news program caps the day for many men in America.
†. Gen 19:1d . .When Lot saw them, he rose to greet them
Don't miss this man's courteous manners. Even living amongst the
wickedest people in the whole region, Lot still practiced his uncle's brand of
hospitality. No doubt a result of the years he spent under Abraham's wing.
Actually Lot was a very good man in spite of his town's reputation. He stood
out like a carnation blooming in a landfill.
†. Gen 19:1e-2a . . bowing low with his face to the ground, he said:
Please, my lords, turn aside to your servant's house to spend the
night, and bathe your feet; then you may be on your way early.
Bowing low is both an act of worship and/or deference to one's superiors.
The word is shachah (shaw-khaw') the same word used at Gen 22:5 for
Abraham's worship during the course of offering his son Isaac as a burnt
offering; and during Abraham's bargaining with Heth's kin at Gen 23:7.
The word for "lords" that Genesis' author chose for the messengers is
'adown (aw-done') which is a nondescript title of respect and can apply to
ordinary human beings like as in Rachel's respect for her father Laban in
Gen 32:35.
Coupled with hospitality, was no doubt Lot's fear for these stranger's safety.
Lot knew Sodom, and knew what might happen to those men if they stayed
anywhere else but in his home and behind his walls.
Exactly why Lot took an interest in these men's safety isn't stated. It could
be that they were gentle and unarmed; thus, by all appearances, easy prey
for the town's rather undignified forms of entertainment.
†. Gen 19:2b . . But they said: No, we will spend the night in the
square.
Their response was most likely a customary refusal, with the intention of
accepting Lot's hospitality only after some polite resistance to test the
sincerity of his offer. Their response to Lot is somewhat different than the
response of the men who visited Abraham. Those accepted Abraham's offer
immediately, and without resistance.
†. Gen 19:3 . . But he insisted, so they turned his way and entered
his house. He prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened
bread, and they ate.
This is the very first mention of unleavened bread in the Bible and it won't
show up again until Exodus 12:8 in the Passover meal.
The Hebrew word for "unleavened" is matstsah (mats-tsaw') which means,
specifically: an unfermented cake or loaf; in other words: bread made with
sweet dough rather than sour dough.
It's easy to make sour dough bread without the addition of cultured yeast
simply by putting fresh dough in a warm place and letting nature take its
course because even fresh non-yeasted dough retains a quantity of its own
natural yeast after milling, which will cause fresh dough to go bad all by
itself over time without the addition of cultured yeast. So it's not the yeast
content that categorizes bread as leavened or unleavened; it's simply
whether the bread is made with spoiled dough or fresh dough; viz: aged
dough or new dough.
In the days prior to baking with cultured yeast, cooks kept a supply of
spoiled dough on hand for mixing with fresh dough and thus considerably
reduced the time required for fermentation by taking advantage of the
spoiled dough's yeast content. They probably didn't know all that much
about the properties of fungi in those days but one thing they did know was
that when they mixed some old dough with new and let it set for a bit, the
blended batch tended to make a softer, puffy bread due to minute bubbles in
the mix; which today we know is carbon dioxide.
Leavened bread takes longer to make because time has to be allotted for the
yeasts to do their job. So if you're in a hurry to feed someone, then
unfermented dough is the wiser choice; for example at Ex 12:1-11 the
Passover's instructions dictate the use of unfermented dough no doubt due to
the urgency of the Jews' departure from Egypt.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
†. Gen 19:1a . .The two angels arrived in Sodom
The word for "angels" is from mal'ak (mal-awk') from a root meaning to
dispatch as a deputy; viz: a messenger; specifically of God, i.e. an angel
and/or a prophet, priest or teacher-- someone who speaks for and/or
represents another.
Mal'ak doesn't eo ipso indicate a celestial being; because the word is focused
more on an office or a function rather than a person. According to verse 3,
these angels were capable of consuming food the same as were Abraham's
human guests up in Hebron. According to verse 10, they were gender
specific; viz: males. So from all outward appearances, these particular
mal'aks were normal, fully functioning human beings.
†. Gen 19:1b . . in the evening,
The word for "evening" is 'ereb (eh'-reb) which technically means dusk;
which Webster's defines as: the darker part of twilight after sundown. It's
the same word as the evenings of Gen 1:5-31.
'ereb is a bit ambiguous. In spite of its technical meaning; 'ereb doesn't eo
ipso indicate twilight. It can also indicate any daytime hour between high
noon and sunset e.g. Sam 17:16 where Goliath taunted Israel twice a Day:
once in the morning, and once in the afternoon.
On the surface, the two men appear to be ordinary travelers pulling into
town for the night after a day's journey. That's a sensible choice. Sodom was
walled, and much safer than camping out in the field where they would be
vulnerable to brigands and wild animals. In those days, the Jordan valley
had lions in it and Canaan was still pretty much out on the lawless frontier.
†. Gen 19:1c . . as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom.
In those days the gate vicinity was an important civic location where people
could pick up the latest news and conduct public business like elections,
marriages, notary public, municipal court, rallies, and soap-box speeches. It
was in the gate of Bethlehem where Ruth's husband Boaz defended her
cause and claimed the woman of Moab for his wife. (Ruth 4)
Lot probably wrapped up every one of his days at the gate before going on
home; kind of like an ancient Miller time. Even today, either a newspaper or
a television news program caps the day for many men in America.
†. Gen 19:1d . .When Lot saw them, he rose to greet them
Don't miss this man's courteous manners. Even living amongst the
wickedest people in the whole region, Lot still practiced his uncle's brand of
hospitality. No doubt a result of the years he spent under Abraham's wing.
Actually Lot was a very good man in spite of his town's reputation. He stood
out like a carnation blooming in a landfill.
†. Gen 19:1e-2a . . bowing low with his face to the ground, he said:
Please, my lords, turn aside to your servant's house to spend the
night, and bathe your feet; then you may be on your way early.
Bowing low is both an act of worship and/or deference to one's superiors.
The word is shachah (shaw-khaw') the same word used at Gen 22:5 for
Abraham's worship during the course of offering his son Isaac as a burnt
offering; and during Abraham's bargaining with Heth's kin at Gen 23:7.
The word for "lords" that Genesis' author chose for the messengers is
'adown (aw-done') which is a nondescript title of respect and can apply to
ordinary human beings like as in Rachel's respect for her father Laban in
Gen 32:35.
Coupled with hospitality, was no doubt Lot's fear for these stranger's safety.
Lot knew Sodom, and knew what might happen to those men if they stayed
anywhere else but in his home and behind his walls.
Exactly why Lot took an interest in these men's safety isn't stated. It could
be that they were gentle and unarmed; thus, by all appearances, easy prey
for the town's rather undignified forms of entertainment.
†. Gen 19:2b . . But they said: No, we will spend the night in the
square.
Their response was most likely a customary refusal, with the intention of
accepting Lot's hospitality only after some polite resistance to test the
sincerity of his offer. Their response to Lot is somewhat different than the
response of the men who visited Abraham. Those accepted Abraham's offer
immediately, and without resistance.
†. Gen 19:3 . . But he insisted, so they turned his way and entered
his house. He prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened
bread, and they ate.
This is the very first mention of unleavened bread in the Bible and it won't
show up again until Exodus 12:8 in the Passover meal.
The Hebrew word for "unleavened" is matstsah (mats-tsaw') which means,
specifically: an unfermented cake or loaf; in other words: bread made with
sweet dough rather than sour dough.
It's easy to make sour dough bread without the addition of cultured yeast
simply by putting fresh dough in a warm place and letting nature take its
course because even fresh non-yeasted dough retains a quantity of its own
natural yeast after milling, which will cause fresh dough to go bad all by
itself over time without the addition of cultured yeast. So it's not the yeast
content that categorizes bread as leavened or unleavened; it's simply
whether the bread is made with spoiled dough or fresh dough; viz: aged
dough or new dough.
In the days prior to baking with cultured yeast, cooks kept a supply of
spoiled dough on hand for mixing with fresh dough and thus considerably
reduced the time required for fermentation by taking advantage of the
spoiled dough's yeast content. They probably didn't know all that much
about the properties of fungi in those days but one thing they did know was
that when they mixed some old dough with new and let it set for a bit, the
blended batch tended to make a softer, puffy bread due to minute bubbles in
the mix; which today we know is carbon dioxide.
Leavened bread takes longer to make because time has to be allotted for the
yeasts to do their job. So if you're in a hurry to feed someone, then
unfermented dough is the wiser choice; for example at Ex 12:1-11 the
Passover's instructions dictate the use of unfermented dough no doubt due to
the urgency of the Jews' departure from Egypt.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=