Comentario sobre Génesis 19:8

האל is the same as האלה THESE.

LET ME, I PRAY YOU, BRING THEM OUT UNTO YOU. From the praise of this man Lot we have come to his disgrace: he made every effort on behalf of his guests in order to save them because they came under the shadow of his roof, but he is ready to appease the men of the city by abandoning his daughters to prostitution! This bespeaks nothing but an evil heart for it shows that the matter of prostitution of women was not repugnant to him, and that in his opinion he would not be doing such great injustice to his daughters. It is for this reason that our Rabbis have said,¹⁸⁷Tanchuma Vayeira 12. “It is the custom of the world that a man fights to the death for the honor of his daughters and his wife, to slay or to be slain, but this man hands over his daughters for dishonor. Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to him, ‘It is for yourself that you keep them.’”¹⁸⁸See further, Verses 30-36.
Now Lot was fearful [for the welfare of the angels] as he thought that they were men, but when they smote the men of the city with blindness and they said to him, For we will destroy this place… and the Eternal hath sent us,¹⁸⁹Verse 13 here. then he recognized them and believed in doing whatever they commanded him.
Know and understand that the matter of the concubine of Gibeah,¹⁹⁰Judges, Chapter 19. Ramban digresses here to explain the crime of Gibeah, which bears a certain resemblance to that of Sodom, and consequently explains also the civil war between the tribe of Benjamin and the rest of Israel. Thus Chapters 19 and 20 in the book of Judges are here explained by Ramban. even though it resembles this affair, does not attain the degree of evil of the inhabitants of Sodom. Those wicked ones of Gibeah had no intention of stopping people from coming among them. Rather, they were steeped in immorality and desired sexual relations with the wayfarer, and when he brought his concubine out to them, they were satisfied with her.¹⁹¹Ibid., Verse 25. The old man [who had invited the wayfarer to his house] and who said to the men of Gibeah, Behold, here is my daughter, a virgin, and his concubine; I will bring them out now… and do with them what seemeth good unto you,¹⁹²Ibid., Verse 24. knew that they would not want his daughter and that they would not harm her. This was why they refused to listen to him. And when he finally turned his concubine alone outdoors to them, they ceased molesting him. Now the master of the house, as well as the guest, both wanted to save the man through his concubine, as a concubine does not have the status of a man’s wife. Besides, she had already played the harlot against him.¹⁹³Ibid., Verse 2. In that breach, too, not all of the men of the city were involved as they were in Sodom, concerning which it is said, Both young and old, all the people from every quarter,¹⁹⁴Verse 4 here. while of Gibeah it is said, Behold, the men of the city, certain base fellows¹⁹⁵Judges 19:22. — only some of them, those who were the rulers and strong men of the city, even as the man said in relating the incident, And the masters of Gibeah¹⁹⁶“Masters of Gibeah.” This is obviously the way Ramban understood the verse since the Hebrew had “ba’alei [rather than anshei] Gibeah.” The J.P.S. translation, however, renders it: And the men of Gibeah rose against me. rose against me.¹⁹⁷Judges 20:5. This was why the others did not protest against them. Now the chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel¹⁹⁸Ibid., Verse 2. wanted to erect a great guard in the matter of immorality by slaying them, as it is said, Now therefore deliver up the men, the base fellows that are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death.¹⁹⁹Ibid., Verse 13. It is clear that according to the law of the Torah they were not guilty of the death-penalty as they had done no deed exclusive of the torture of the concubine — harlot. They did not intend her death, nor did she die at their hands for they let her go at the approach of dawn,²⁰⁰Ibid., 19:25. and she walked from them to her master’s house and after that she died,²⁰¹Ibid., Verse 26. weakened perhaps by her numerous violations, and chilled while lying at the door until it was light, and there she died. But because the men of Gibeah had wanted to do a shameful deed just as the men of Sodom, the tribes saw fit “to make a fence unto the Torah” so that this should never again happen or be contemplated in Israel, even as they said, And that we may put away evil from Israel.²⁰²Ibid., 20:13. This judgment has its origin in the principle which our Rabbis have stated:²⁰³Yebamoth 90b. “The Court may administer stripes and the death penalty which are not authorized by the Torah. However, they may not do this [with the intent of instituting a law which] transgresses the words of the Torah but only for the purpose of erecting a fence around the Torah.”²⁰⁴That is, as a temporary measure which the times require, they may act accordingly. See Rashi Sanhedrin 46 a, that this is its meaning. The tribe of Benjamin, however, did not consent to this²⁰⁵That the men of Gibeah, involved in the affair, should be put to death. as they were not guilty of the death-penalty for violating the concubine. Perhaps the Benjamites were also provoked by the fact that the tribes did not communicate with them first and reached a consensus without asking for their opinion.
In my opinion, this [failure to consult Benjamin] caused Israel’s punishment which resulted in their being routed at first since the war was done not in accordance with the law. The obligation of making “the fence”²⁰⁶To punish the men of Gibeah as an extraordinary measure. lay upon the tribe of Benjamin, and not upon them, as it is the tribe itself that is obligated to judge its constituents.²⁰⁷Deuteronomy 16:18. Sanhedrin 16 b: “It is commandatory upon the tribe to judge the people of the tribe.”
Thus both parties were deserving of punishment. Benjamin sinned by not bothering to punish the wicked ones or even rebuke them. Israel sinned by making war not in accordance with the law, and they asked not counsel at the mouth of the Eternal²⁰⁸Joshua 9:14. on this matter. Instead they questioned G-d and said, Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of Benjamin?²⁰⁹Judges 20:18. They themselves had decided to do battle in any case. Similarly, they did not inquire concerning the outcome of the battle, “If Thou wilt give them into my hand,” since they relied on their man-power which was exceedingly great as they were now more than ten times [as numerous as the Benjamites].²¹⁰The Israelites mustered four hundred thousand (ibid., Verse 17) while the Benjamites numbered twenty-six thousand (ibid., Verse 15). All they asked was, Who shall go up for us first,²⁰⁹Judges 20:18. this being like casting lots among them. Perhaps each tribe was saying, “I will not go up first,” or each tribe was saying, “I will be first.”²¹¹A similar case occurred when the Israelites stood before the Red Sea. There is a difference of opinion among the Rabbis as to their attitude. According to one authority each tribe said, “I will not go into the sea first [to escape the Egyptians],” while another authority maintains that each tribe was saying, “I will go first.” And the Holy One, blessed be He, answered in accordance with their question: Judah first,²⁰⁹Judges 20:18. meaning Judah is always first, For He hath chosen Judah to be prince.²¹²I Chronicles 28:4. This was why He did not say, “Judah shall go up,” as in other places,²¹³As in Judges 1:2. for He did not give them permission. However, He did not stop them, and neither did he tell them, Go not up, neither fight,²¹⁴Deuteronomy 1:42. because of the merited punishment of the Benjamites. Thus did G-d walk with both of them by chance, leaving them to natural circumstances. Accordingly, the Benjamites, who were valiant men and whose cities were well fortified, destroyed the Israelites who had “made flesh their arm of strength.”²¹⁵See Jeremiah 17:5. But now the Benjamites compounded their merited punishment. It would have been sufficient for them to drive the Israelites away from Gibeah. Instead, they killed them, seeking to destroy them by a perpetual hatred,²¹⁶Ezekiel 25:15. and they slew the mighty number of twenty-two thousand of their people.²¹⁷Judges 20:21. Now when the Israelites suffered such a great defeat they became aware of their error, namely, that they did battle with their brethren without receiving Divine permission and engaged in a battle which was not in accordance with the law of the Torah. Therefore, on the second day they asked, shall I again draw nigh to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother?²¹⁸Ibid., Verse 23. Now they mentioned the brotherhood among them, asking whether He forbids them to do battle. But now on the second day, G-d permitted them, saying, Go up against him,²¹⁸Ibid., Verse 23. as it was now permissible for them to avenge the spilled blood of their brethren.²¹⁹Spilled needlessly. All the Benjamites had to do on the first day of battle was to drive the Israelites from Gibeah, as explained above. Instead, they killed twenty-two thousand of them. Hence, on the second day, it became “permissible” for the Israelites to attempt to avenge their death. However, they did not ask whether they will be victorious because they were still relying upon their superior numbers to bring victory under all circumstances. But since G-d had explained to them only that the battle was permissible to them, and since their first sin had not yet been atoned for, there fell among them also on the second day eighteen thousand.²²⁰Judges 20:25. On the third day they decreed a fast, and they fasted and they wept… before the Eternal,²²¹Ibid., Verse 26. and they offered burnt-offerings to atone for their sinful thoughts²²²A Burnt-offering is brought only for sinful thought. (Vayikra Rabbah 7:3.) through which they relied upon the strength of their arm. They also offered peace-offerings,²²¹Ibid., Verse 26. which were Thanksgiving peace-offerings, since they considered themselves as if they had all escaped from the sword of Benjamin. This indeed is the law of all who are delivered from danger: they are to bring a thanks-offering, just as it is said, And let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with singing,²²³Psalms 107:22. and it is further written, And now shall my head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me; and I will offer in His tabernacle sacrifices with trumpet-sound; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Eternal.²²⁴Ibid., 27:6.
Now the number of dead among the Israelites during the two days was forty thousand, and in the end twenty-five thousand²²⁵Judges 20:35. of Benjamin’s warriors fell, besides those that were put to the sword from the whole city and all that they found.²²⁶Ibid., Verse 48. It is possible that among the men, women and children they totalled fifteen thousand additional casualties, thus making the punishment of the two groups equal.
And how significant are the words of our Rabbis²²⁷Sanhedrin 103b. who said that the anger of G-d at that time was due to the idol of Micah!²²⁸See Judges, Chapter 17. “Said the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Concerning My honor, which was violated by those guilty of death and those who raised their hand against the principle of religion, namely, the unity of G-d, you did not protest; but for the honor of a mortal you did protest, to an extent which exceeded the limits of justice!”
Therefore He confounded the counsel of the two groups and made their hearts stubborn, and they remembered not the brotherly covenant.²²⁹Amos 1:9. But after the affair they had regrets, just as it is said, And the people came to Beth-eland sat there till evening before G-d, and lifted up their voice, and wept bitterly. And they said: O Eternal, G-d of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be today one tribe missing from Israel?²³⁰Judges 21:2-3. For now they realized their mistakes and punishment.
We have thus incidentally explained a concealed matter which is not clear [with a cursory reading of the text], and we have mentioned the cause thereof.

כי על כן,”seeing that they have already באו, come”.

אוציאה נא אתהן אליכן, he hoped that the fiancés of his daughters would come to their aid. (compare Hoseah 10,14 for the meaning of the author’s expression קאם שאון).

הנה נא, the words mean “now!” Now restrain your urge to kill these people. I will now hand over to you my two daughters and you can satisfy your urges with them. You can rape them, seeing that they are still virgins. Alternatively, you may even kill them. This is what he meant when he added the words כטוב בעיניכם. אל תעשו דבר, “do not do something evil.!” כי על כן באו, seeing they have come to spend the night under my roof, leave them be, in my honour, I would rather have you abuse my daughters or even kill them, than to do any harm to these men.”

הנה לי שתי בנות, “I have two daughters;“ whom I am willing for you to be intimate with.

Since they have come. Otherwise, the verse would mean they came to Lot so no one would harm them. But this cannot be, as the Sedomites were not previously harassing them. (Gur Aryeh)

הנה נא לי שתי בנות, Lot most certainly did not mean to “sacrifice” his daughters. His turn of phrase must be understood in the same sense as when someone says to his good friend: “my house is at your disposal. Help yourself to whatever you desire!” Or, the words may be understood as if someone under the threat of being murdered shouts at his would-be murderers: “go ahead and kill me, (if you dare)” He knew full well that these people were not going to do what he had proposed to them.

צֵל Schatten von צלל. Grundbedeutung: dem äußeren Eindruck unzugänglich machen, daher צֵל: der Schatten, wo dem Lichtstrahl der Zugang gehindert ist, צלל: die Betäubung des Ohres, dass der Schallstrahl nicht eindringt, woher auch צלצלים: betäubende Instrumente. צלל: iin die Tiefe sinken, wohin weder Schall noch Lichtstrahl dringt; endlich auch צללו שערים: das Geschlossenwerden der Tore, wodurch der räumliche Zutritt gesperrt wird. Verwandt mit זלל: durch Hinabdrücken in die Niedrigkeit und סלל: durch Hinaufheben in die Höhe, dem gewöhnlichen Bereiche entziehen. Auch שלל berauben. —

אשר לא ידעו איש, “who have not had carnal relations with any man.” According to proper grammar, Lot should have said: אשר לא ידען איש, “with whom no man had had carnal relations;” seeing that it is usually the male who seduces the female; however the daughters of Lot were not chaste and did not shy away from engaging in seducing men, as we know from later when they initiated carnal relations with their own father. (20,33) Their descendants, the daughters of Midian, kept up the tradition when they seduced the Israelite males in the desert (Numbers 31,17) As a result all the female Midianite prisoners who had lost their virginity were not allowed to live.

כי על כן באו FOR AS MUCH AS THEY HAVE COME — For (כי) this kindness please do out of respect to me because that (על כן) they have come בצל קורתי UNDER THE SHADOW OF MY ROOF. — In the Targum this is given by בטלל שרותי: the Targum (Aramaic) for קורה (a beam) is שרותא.

אשר לא ידעו איש, “who have never yet been intimate with a man.” Actually, he should have phrased it as: ”with whom no man has as yet been intimate.” This was the phrase used in Genesis 24,16 (Rivkah) ואיש לא ידעה, “no man had been intimate with her.” The reason why he chose the phrasing he did was to hint (subconsciously) that eventually they would take the initiative in sleeping with a man, their own father. (Genesis 19,31-36)

גש הלאה, they insulted him. They realised that Lot would not hand over his guests. They ordered him out of the way. When the angels saw how Lot endangered himself on their account they forgave him. (compare Nachmanides).

קרתי, von קרה, itreffen, zufällig begegnen, verwandt mit וקראהו אסון) קרא 1. B. M. 42, 38) את אשר יקרא אתכם (das. 49, 1 und sonst) rufen. Rufen heißt: jemanden veranlassen, sich geistig oder räumlich in die Richtung zu uns zu setzen. Was uns ruft, bringt uns aus der Richtung, der wir, uns selbst überlassen, uns hinzugeben im Begriffe sind, in die Richtung, die von ihm ausgeht. Was uns begegnet und wir Zufall nennen, ist das, was nicht in unserer Richtung, in unserer Berechnung lag, und, indem es sich begibt, uns "ruft", d. h. unsere bis dahin innegehaltene Richtung bestimmend verändert. Was wir Zufall nennen, ist nur uns zufällig, fällt uns nur zu, weil wir es nicht berechnet hatten. Dies schließt aber nicht aus, dass es nicht das Produkt der allerhöchsten Berechnung sei, ja vielleicht umsomehr sei, je weniger es in unserer Berechnung lag. Der jüdische Sprachgedanke hat daher vom Zufall die entgegengesetzte Anschauung, es fällt nicht uns, wir fallen ihm zu, es "ruft" uns: קרא ,קרה. Davon endlich auch konkret: קרה, das Gebälk, das die beiderseits aufrecht stehenden Wände, in die gegenseitige Richtung bringt und hält, sie gleichsam זו לקראת זו ,"ruft", und verhindert, dass sie nicht ihrer natürlichen Richtung folgen und fallen; also die Decke.

כי על כן, “for on account of” (their not wishing to be disturbed, they came to my house for shelter).

אוציאה נא אתהן, “I will bring them outside.” While the Torah credits Lot with the extent to which he went to protect his guests from the local mob, we also hear about his moral depravity, i.e. that a father uses his own daughters as bargaining chips to trade one abomination for another. Clearly, casual sex, without the sanctifying element of marriage, was a minor misdemeanour in his eyes. Lot had been under the impression that his guests were men of flesh and blood. As soon as he became aware of their true identities, and that the reason they had come was to destroy the city on the one hand, and to save him at the same time, he did whatever the angels asked him to do.

כי על כן באו וגו׳, denn ich fordere dies (nicht aus Menschlichkeit von euch), sondern darum, weil ich sie einmal aufgenommen. Tuet es meinetwegen.