Lot's wife (disambiguation)
Lot's wife is a person mentioned in the Book of Genesis who was turned into a pillar of salt for failing to heed the orders of the angels of deliverance from the city of Sodom.
Genesis narrative
This is the account of Lot's wife from Genesis 19:1–29
Lot's wife is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible of Genesis Chapter 19. However, she is not named directly anywhere in the Hebrew Bible and remains unknown. In later works, she is referenced to in the New Testament at Luke 17:32.
Lot's uncle was the Patriarch Abraham. By calculating Abraham's age through his life's journey to Canaan, it can be determined that there was about a 24 year time block from the time Lot's family left the settlement of HaranGen.12:4,5 until the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.Gen.17:1,19:29 When Lot's family was living within the walls of Sodom, their two daughters were already grown and engaged to certain men of the city.Gen.19:14 It is also mentioned that they were virgins.Gen.19:8 This suggests that they were still yet young women. So it is not unreasonable to conclude that Lot had been married since dwelling at the settlement of Haran.
In Genesis 19, the time had come for God to release divine judgment upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is interesting to note that Lot expressed some hesitancy about leaving.v.15,16 The family was probably comfortable where they were and very settled, having their own home. Life was much different for them now, than in the early days of leading a nomadic life. There was at least 40 years of traveling and short stays to various places between Chaldea and Canaan that also included a stay in Egypt.
By the mercy of Abraham's Lord, their angels of deliverance did not waste time with them. They grabbed the hands of Lot, his wife and two daughters, getting them out of the city before dawn.v.16 Then they gave the orders: "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!" - Genesis 19:17
Lot was beside himself with the thought of hiding in the mountains. He earnestly requested to take refuge in a small nearby town just beyond Sodom's city limits.v.18–22 When it was granted to them that they could flee there, they left immediately in the middle of the night. The town was known as Zoar,v.22 and while in route, Lot's wife disregarded the warnings of the angels and looked back. She turned to a pillar of salt. v.26
New Testament
Lot's Wife
In Luke 17:20–32, the Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. This triggered a topic that Jesus addressed his disciples about, concerning "the days of the Son of Man". In his discourse, he brought up Lot and his wife as follows:
It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot's wife!
— Luke 17:28-32, NIV
Parallels
| Scripture | Trans | Luke 9:62 |
|---|---|---|
| Luke 9:62 | NASB | But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." |
Allusions
Geography
- Lot's Wife pillar, a halite pillar on Mount Sodom by the Dead Sea in Israel
- Lot's Wife (crag), or Sofugan, a deserted Japanese island at the southernmost tip of the Izu archipelago
- Lot's Wife, a rock off the north coast of Gough Island, in the South Atlantic
- Lot's Wife and Lot, rock formations that are part of the geography of Saint Helena, in the South Atlantic
- Lot's Wife, a chalk pillar once part of The Needles formation off the Isle of Wight, until its collapse in 1764
- Lot's Wife, nickname of Long Ya Men, a craggy granite outcrop in Keppel Harbour, Singapore, destroyed in 1848
Sculptures
- Lot's Wife, an 1878 sculpture by Hamo Thornycroft
- Lot's Wife, a 1958 sculpture by Moshe Ziffer
Movies
- Lot's Wife, a 2008 short film by Harjant Gill
Music
- "Lot's Wife", a reggae song by Prince Alla
- Lot's Wife, a 1980s musical composition by David Earl
- "Luscious Word (Lot's Wife)", a bonus track on the 1996 album All Under the Leaves, the Leaves of Life by Eyeless in Gaza (band)
- Portland indie rock band The Thermals reference this story on their 2007 A Pillar of Salt single.
Television
- "Would You Believe It?", 1981, first episode of the 4th series of "Tales of the Unexpected" (Episode Guide)
Theatre
- "Lot's Wife", a song from the musical "Caroline, or Change" written by Tony Kushner.