Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as [is] good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
8. forasmuch as ] R.V. marg. for therefore: cf. Gen 18:5. Lot’s proposal, so atrocious in our ears, may have been deemed meritorious in an Eastern country, where no sacrifice was considered too great to maintain inviolate the safety of a stranger who had been received in hospitality. That Lot should have thought of imperilling the honour of his family, and not have rather hazarded his own life, is due not so much to the weakness of the man as to the terribly low estimate of womanhood which prevailed at that time. A parallel is afforded by the story in Jdg 1:19. The three regulations of modern Arab law as to the protection of the stranger are recorded by Robertson Smith in his Kinship, p. 259, “(1) the man whose tent rope has touched thine is thy stranger; (2) so also is he who journeys with thee by day and sleeps by thy side at night; (3) the guest who eats with thee is under thy protection, until he has eaten with another.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 8. Behold now, I have two daughters] Nothing but that sacred light in which the rights of hospitality were regarded among the eastern nations, could either justify or palliate this proposal of Lot. A man who had taken a stranger under his care and protection, was bound to defend him even at the expense of his own life. In this light the rights of hospitality are still regarded in Asiatic countries; and on these high notions only, the influence of which an Asiatic mind alone can properly appreciate, Lot’s conduct on this occasion can be at all excused: but even then, it was not only the language of anxious solicitude, but of unwarrantable haste.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Which have not known man, to wit, carnally. See Gen 24:16; Num 31:18; Jdg 11:39.
Do ye to them as is good in your eyes, whatsoever your purpose or pleasure is. See the same phrase Gen 20:15; 41:37; Num 24:1, &c. A most imprudent and sinful motion, whereby he yielded to one sin to prevent another, contrary to Rom 3:8, and exposed his daughters chastity, which he was obliged to preserve, and which indeed he had no power to expose, especially seeing they were betrothed to other men, Gen 19:14. But it is some extenuation of his sin that it proceeded from his great charity and kindness to strangers, and that he was at this time under a great perturbation and discomposure of mind.
For therefore, that they might be preserved from such outrages. This was the design of the thing, though not of those persons. See Poole on “Gen 18:5”.
Under the shadow of my roof, i.e. under the protection of my house. Shadow is oft put for protection or defence, as Jdg 9:15; Psa 36:7; Jer 48:45.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Behold now, I have two daughters, which have not known man,…. Though some think they were espoused to men, but had not yet cohabited with them, see Ge 19:14:
let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as [is] good in your eyes; this was a very great evil in Lot to make such an offer of his daughters; it was contrary to parental love and affection, an exposing the chastity of his daughters, which should have been his care to preserve; nor had he a power to dispose of them in such a manner: and though fornication is a lesser evil than sodomy, yet all evil is to be avoided, and even it is not to be done that good may come: nothing can be said to excuse this good man, but the hurry of spirit, and confusion of mind that he was in, not knowing what to say or do to prevent the base designs of those men; that he might be pretty certain they would not accept of his offer, their lust burning more after men than women; that this showed his great regard to the laws of hospitality, that he had rather sacrifice his daughters to their brutal lusts, than give up the men that were in his house to them; and that he might hope that this would soften their minds, and put them off of any further attempt; but after all it must be condemned as a dangerous and imprudent action:
only unto these men do nothing; for as yet he knew them not to be angels; had he, it would not have given him the concern it did, since he must have known that they were able to defend themselves, and that the sin these men offered to commit could not be perpetrated on them: but he took them for mere men, and his request is, that no injury might be done to their persons in any respect, and especially in that way which their wicked hearts put them upon, and is so shocking to nature:
for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof; for though it was not their intention in coming, nor the design of Providence in bringing them into Lot’s house, to secure them from the violence of the men of Sodom, but for the preservation of Lot and his family, which as yet he knew nothing of, yet it was what Lot had in view in giving the invitation to them: and the laws of hospitality being reckoned sacred and inviolable, a man’s house was accounted an asylum for strangers when taken into it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
8. I have two daughters. As the constancy of Lot, in risking his own life for the defense of his guests, deserves no common praise; so now Moses relates that a defect was mixed with this great virtue, which sprinkled it with some imperfection. For, being destitute of advice, he devises (as is usual in intricate affairs) an unlawful remedy. He does not hesitate to prostitute his own daughters, that he may restrain the indomitable fury of the people. But he should rather have endured a thousand deaths, than have resorted to such a measure. Yet such are commonly the works of holy men: since nothing proceeds from them so excellent, as not to be in some respect defective. Lot, indeed, is urged by extreme necessity; and it is no wonder that he offers his daughters to be polluted, when he sees that he has to deal with wild beasts; yet he inconsiderately seeks to remedy one evil by means of another. I can easily excuse some for extenuating his fault; yet he is not free from blame, because he would ward off evil with evil. But we are warned by this example, that when the Lord has furnished us with the spirit of invincible fortitude, we must also pray that he may govern us by the spirit of prudence; and that he will never suffer us to be deprived of a sound judgment, and a well-regulated reason. For then only shall we rightly proceed in our course of duty, when, in complicated affairs, we perceive, with a composed mind, what is necessary, what is lawful, and what is expedient to be done; then shall we be prepared promptly to meet any danger whatever. For, that our minds should be carried hither and thither by hastily catching at wicked counsels, is not less perilous than that they should be agitated by fear. But when reduced to the last straits, let us learn to pray, that the Lord would open to us some way of escape. Others would excuse Lot by a different pretext, namely, that he knew his daughters would not be desired. But I have no doubt that, being willing to avail himself of the first subterfuge which occurred to him, he turned aside from the right way. This, however, is indisputable; although the men of Sodom had not yet, in express terms, avowed the base desire with which they were inflamed, yet Lot, from their daily crimes, had formed his judgment respecting it. If any one should raise the objection that such a supposition is absurd; (420) I answer, that, since by custom they had imagined the crime to be lawful, the crowd was easily excited by a few instigators, as it commonly happens, where no distinction is maintained between right and wrong. When Lot says, Therefore came they under the shadow of my roof; his meaning is, that they had been committed to him by the Lord, and that he should be guilty of perfidy, unless he endeavored to protect them. (421)
(420) “ Siquis absurdum esse objiciat, totum populum duos viros ad stuprum captasse,” etc.
(421) It will be thought that Calvin has said enough, and more than enough, in excuse of this strange conduct of Lot. It serves to show the low tone of morals, not only in the world at large, but among those who had enjoyed the advantages of a religious education. At the same time, it affords evidence of the kind of chivalrous regard which was paid to strangers, and of which so much is read in profane writers. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(8) I have two daughters.It is plain from Jdg. 19:24 that this proposal was not viewed in old time with the horror which it seems to deserve. Granting with St. Ambrose that it was the substitution of a smaller for a greater sin, and with St. Chrysostom that Lot was bound by the laws of hospitality to do his utmost to protect his guests, yet he was also bound as a father equally to protect his daughters to the last extremity: and if men might substitute smaller for greater sins, they would have an excuse for practising every form of wickedness. The difficulty arises from the high character given of Lot by St. Peter (2Pe. 2:7-8): but Lot was righteous only relatively; and though his soul was daily vexed by what he saw, it was not vexed enough to make him quit such evil surroundings, and return to the healthy and virtuous life of the mountains. And, when finally he sought refuge in them, as it was not of his own free will, but on compulsion (Gen. 19:30), he found there no peace, but shared, even if unknowingly, in deeds of horrible lust. The warning of his fall is, that men who part with religious privileges for the sake of worldly advantage are in danger of sinking into moral degradation, and of losing, with their faith and hope, not only their self-respect and happiness, but even that earthly profit for the sake of which they sacrificed their religion.
Unto these men.The form of the pronoun is archaic, and occurs again in Gen. 19:25. It is found in a few other places in the Pentateuch, but never elsewhere.
For therefore, &c. . . . Comp. Gen. 18:5.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. Two daughters This proposition of Lot is utterly shocking and outrageous . But see Jdg 19:24, and note there . “We may suppose,” says Murphy, “that it was spoken rashly, in the heat of the moment, and with the expectation that he would not be taken at his word . ” The Oriental idea of hospitality would also lead a man to lay down his own life, or go to almost any extreme, for the safety of his guest . With every possible apology, however, Lot’s proposal in this case reveals how his long residence in the wicked city had lowered his moral tone .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Gen 19:8. Behold now, I have two daughters, &c. See Jdg 19:23-24. Nothing can afford us a stronger proof of the sacredness of hospitality, than this proposal of Lot’s, to which that in Judges is similar. Yet at the same time it must be allowed, that the proposal was highly blameable, as it is an eternal maxim in morals, that we are not to do evil, that good may come. Some justification, however, of the good man’s conduct may fairly be drawn from his zeal, and the peculiar circumstances of the case: while it has been urged, that he made this offer upon a certainty that they durst not accept it, as his daughters were betrothed to two of the citizens, probably two of the leaders; but this is only conjecture at best. We may, I conceive, fairly grant, that Lot’s zeal for his guest led him to speak unadvisedly, in the hurry and perturbation of mind, which such a brutal insult must have occasioned.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Gen 19:8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as [is] good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
Ver. 8. Behold now, I have two daughters. ] This was an inconsiderate motion, such as the best minds easily yield, when once troubled, it was proper to the Lord Christ to be subject to natural passions and perturbations, “yet without sin”; as a crystal glass full of clear water remains still pure, howsoever it be shaken. The Hebrews think that for this sinful offering to prostitute his daughters, he was given up by God to commit incest with his daughters.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
known. Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause).
these. Archaic pronoun showing antiquity of Pentateuch
roof. Figure of speech Metalepsis. App-6. Roof put for house, and house put for protection.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
I have: Exo 32:22
let: Gen 19:31-38, Gen 42:37, Jdg 19:24, Mar 9:6, Rom 3:8
therefore: Gen 18:5, Jdg 9:15, Isa 58:7
Reciprocal: Gen 19:36 – General 2Sa 13:13 – Now therefore Pro 9:7 – General 2Pe 2:7 – vexed
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gen 19:8. I have two daughters This was unadvisedly and unjustifiably offered, probably through the great discomposure and perturbation which his mind was in. It is true, of two evils we must choose the less, but of two sins we must choose neither, nor ever do evil that good may come of it.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
19:8 Behold now, I have two {e} daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as [is] good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; {f} for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
(e) He deserves praise for defending his guests, but he is to be blamed for seeking unlawful means.
(f) That I should preserve them from all injury.