And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.
28. the smoke of the land ] The word is one used especially in connexion with incense and sacrifice. It is not the usual word for smoke, but rather corresponds to our “reek” or, as Driver, “steam.” Travellers relate that, owing to rapid evaporation, there always appears a steamy mist rising up from the Dead Sea. Wis 10:6-7 , “While the ungodly were perishing, wisdom delivered a righteous man, when he fled from the fire that descended out of heaven on Pentapolis. To whose wickedness a smoking waste still witnesseth Yea and a disbelieving soul hath a memorial there, a pillar of salt still standing.”
a furnace ] The word used in Exo 9:8; Exo 9:10; Exo 19:18, “a furnace,” or “kiln,” for burning lime, or making bricks.
29 (P). when God destroyed, &c.] This verse contains P’s brief summary of the whole event. This will explain the repetition of the narrative, and the sudden substitution of “God” ( Elohim) for “the Lord” (Jehovah). The expression “God remembered Abraham” would otherwise seem strange after the narrative in 18; but, as a matter of fact, the sentence probably followed after Gen 13:12, with P’s account of the separation of Abram and Lot. For “destroyed” ( shath), cf. Gen 6:13; Gen 6:17, Gen 9:11; Gen 9:15 (P).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain,…. To see how it fared with them: very probably the Lord had hinted it to him, that the destruction would be that morning, and therefore he rose early, got to the place bearly, and being on an eminence, looked wistly to see if he could observe any sign of it:
and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace; after the fiery shower was over, and the cities burnt down, the smoke ascended toward heaven, as the smoke of mystical Babylon will do, Re 19:3; like the reek of a boiling cauldron; or, as Jarchi, like the smoke of a lime kiln always burning.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(28) Lo, the smoke of the country (really, land) went up as the smoke of a furnace.The substitution of the word country for land is confusing. It was the land of the Ciccar, just mentioned, which was in flames. As Abraham could see the Ciccar, it must have been at the northern end of the Dead Sea (see Note on Gen. 18:16); and as a violent conflagration was raging throughout it, the site of the cities could not have been submerged (see Note on Gen. 14:3). The violence of the fire is indicated by the last word, which is not the ordinary word for a furnace, but means a kiln, such as that used for burning chalk into lime, or for melting ores of metal.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
28. Looked toward Sodom smoke The fearful sight shows him that there were not even ten righteous persons to be found in Sodom . But Abraham’s intercession had an answer in the salvation of Lot . See Gen 19:29.
As the smoke of a furnace The rain of fire and brimstone left behind it a smoking ruin, and the deep depression from which the smoke ascended might well remind one of the mouth of a furnace.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Gen 19:28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.
Ver. 28. And he looked. ] Abraham might look upon the smoke of Sodom; Lot might not; because it would work more on Lot’s heart, than on Abraham’s, who had more grace.
The smoke of the country.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
looked toward. A different word from Gen 19:27. Abraham bent forward and looked with awe and grief.
smoke. It does not say he saw the cities, but only the smoke.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 107:34, 2Pe 2:7, Jud 1:7, Rev 14:10, Rev 14:11, Rev 18:9, Rev 18:18, Rev 19:3, Rev 21:8
Reciprocal: Gen 19:31 – not Exo 19:18 – as the smoke Deu 3:17 – the sea Jos 8:20 – the smoke Jdg 20:40 – a pillar Psa 18:8 – went Psa 21:9 – Thou Psa 37:20 – smoke Isa 34:9 – General Dan 3:6 – a burning Joe 2:30 – pillars Jon 4:5 – till 2Pe 2:6 – turning Rev 9:2 – there