וַיִּבְחַר־ל֣וֹ ל֗וֹט אֵ֚ת כָּל־כִּכַּ֣ר הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ן וַיִּסַּ֥ע ל֖וֹט מִקֶּ֑דֶם וַיִּפָּ֣רְד֔וּ אִ֖ישׁ מֵעַ֥ל אָחִֽיו׃
그러므로 롯이 요단 온 들을 택하고 동으로 옮기니 그들이 서로 떠난지라
Midrash Tanchuma
But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, came … and they called unto Lot and said: “Where are the men?” (Gen. 19:4–5). From this incident you learn that when he departed from Abraham, Lot chose him all the plain of the Jordan (Gen. 13:11), which was Sodom. Although he saw that the men of Sodom behaved dissolutely, he nevertheless chose Sodom so that he might behave as they did. How do we know this? He said to the men of Sodom: I have two daughters, who have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out to you (ibid. 19:7). Normally, a man would prefer to undergo death for the sake of his daughter or his wife; indeed he would willingly kill or be killed for their sake, but this man was willing to allow his daughters to be abused by men. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: By thy life, keep them (your daughters) for yourself! Schoolchildren will laugh derisively when they read: Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father (ibid., v. 36).
Midrash Tanchuma Buber
(Gen. 31:3:) THEN THE LORD SAID UNTO JACOB: RETURN UNTO THE LAND OF YOUR ANCESTORS WHERE YOU WERE BORN, AND I WILL BE WITH YOU. Let our master instruct us: In the case of an Israelite courtyard with star-worshiping foreigners dwelling within it, is it right that its eruv is a < legitimate > eruv? Thus have our masters taught:67Cf. Eruv. 6:1; Eruv. 61b-62a. In the case of an Israelite courtyard with star-worshipping foreigners dwelling within it, it is forbidden for an Israelite to use anything within it until he has acquired a right < to the property > from the star-worshipping foreigner.68According to Rashi on Eruv. 6:1 (61b), one must rent the idolater’s property for the eruv to be valid. Why? Because it is written (in Exod. 20:21 [24]): IN EVERY PLACE WHERE I CAUSE MY NAME TO BE MENTIONED < I WILL COME UNTO YOU AND BLESS YOU >. The Holy One will not assign his name in the midst of those who serve idols. Rather (according to Lev. 20:32): THAT I MAY BE SANCTIFIED IN THE MIDST OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. Thus, you are not to associate with the wicked ones because the Holy One will not assign his name in their midst. You know yourself that it is so.69Tanh., Gen. 7:10. R. Eleazar ben Padat said in the name of R. Jose ben {Qisma} [Zimra]: During the whole time that Lot was attached to Abraham, you never find a divine oracle being conferred upon Abraham. As soon as Lot was separated from him (in Gen. 13:11-13), the divine word was conferred upon him, as stated (in Gen. 13:14). THEN THE LORD SAID UNTO ABRAHAM AFTER LOT HAD DEPARTED FROM HIM. And so you find that, when Jacob went away to Mesopotamia to go to Laban, he spent twenty years at his place; but all the time that Jacob was in Laban's house, the Holy One did not speak with him. Then Jacob did some pondering and said: So the Holy One has forsaken me! Not so. The Holy One said to me (in Gen. 28:15): AND SEE, I AM WITH YOU. The Holy One knew what he pondered in his heart. The Holy One said to him: Do you want me to be with you? Separate yourself from Laban the Wicked, and I will be with you. Where is it shown? Where they read on the matter (in Gen. 31:3): THEN THE LORD SAID UNTO JACOB: < RETURN UNTO THE LAND OF YOUR ANCESTORS WHERE YOU WERE BORN, AND I WILL BE WITH YOU >.
Bereshit Rabbah
“Lot raised his eyes and saw the entire plain of the Jordan, that it was all watered, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as you come to Tzoar” (Genesis 13:10).
“Lot raised his eyes and saw the entire plain of the Jordan” – Rabbi Naḥman bar Ḥanin said: Anyone who has a voracious appetite for sexual immorality will ultimately be fed from his own flesh and blood.37He will end up committing incest. See Genesis 19:32. Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: This entire verse is comprised of expressions of sexual immorality. [“Lot raised his eyes”] – just as it says: “His master's wife raised her eyes [toward Joseph and she said: Lie with me]” (Genesis 39:7). “And saw the entire plain [kikar] of the Jordan, that it was all watered” – just as it says: “For due to a licentious woman, one is brought to a loaf [kikar] of bread” (Proverbs 6:26). “That it was all watered [mashke]” – just as it says: “He shall give the woman to drink [hishka] the bitter water that causes a curse” (Numbers 5:24). “Before the Lord destroyed [shaḥet]” – just as it says: “It was when he consorted with his brother's wife, he would spill [veshiḥet] on to the ground” (Genesis 38:9).
“Like the garden of the Lord” – for trees; “like the land of Egypt” – for seeds.
“Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed from the east, and each parted from his brother” (Genesis 13:11).
“Abram lived in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent as far as Sodom” (Genesis 13:12).
“And the men of Sodom were extremely wicked and sinful to the Lord” (Genesis 13:13).
“Lot chose for himself” – Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra said: Like a person selecting his mother’s marriage contract.38When a man marries several women, each of the women brings property into the marriage as part of the marriage contract. When the husband dies after the wives, each of the sons inherits the property that his mother had introduced into the marriage. Lot chose Sodom as if it were his ordained legacy.
“Lot journeyed from the east [mikedem]” – he moved himself away from the One who preceded [kadmono] the world. He said: ‘I desire neither Abram nor his God.’
“Each parted from his brother. Abram lived [in the land of Canaan]” – Rabbi Meir says: You do not have among the cities any as evil as Sodom, as when a person is wicked, they refer to him as a person of Sodom.39And yet Lot chose that place to live in. You do not have any among the peoples as tough as the Emorites, as when a person is tough, they refer to him as an Emorite. Rabbi Yosei said: You do not have among the cities any as beautiful as Sodom, as Lot circulated among all the cities of the plain and did not find a place as fine as Sodom, and these [the people of Sodom] were the most distinguished among them40According to Rabbi Yosei, the people of Sodom were better than those of the other cities in the area, and that is why Lot chose it to live in. Yet, despite their relative eminence, the Torah testifies that they “were extremely wicked.” – “and the men of Sodom were extremely wicked and sinful to the Lord” (Genesis 13:13). “Wicked” – towards one another; “sinful” – through sexual immorality; “to the Lord” – through idolatry; “extremely” – through bloodshed.
“Lot raised his eyes and saw the entire plain of the Jordan” – Rabbi Naḥman bar Ḥanin said: Anyone who has a voracious appetite for sexual immorality will ultimately be fed from his own flesh and blood.37He will end up committing incest. See Genesis 19:32. Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: This entire verse is comprised of expressions of sexual immorality. [“Lot raised his eyes”] – just as it says: “His master's wife raised her eyes [toward Joseph and she said: Lie with me]” (Genesis 39:7). “And saw the entire plain [kikar] of the Jordan, that it was all watered” – just as it says: “For due to a licentious woman, one is brought to a loaf [kikar] of bread” (Proverbs 6:26). “That it was all watered [mashke]” – just as it says: “He shall give the woman to drink [hishka] the bitter water that causes a curse” (Numbers 5:24). “Before the Lord destroyed [shaḥet]” – just as it says: “It was when he consorted with his brother's wife, he would spill [veshiḥet] on to the ground” (Genesis 38:9).
“Like the garden of the Lord” – for trees; “like the land of Egypt” – for seeds.
“Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed from the east, and each parted from his brother” (Genesis 13:11).
“Abram lived in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent as far as Sodom” (Genesis 13:12).
“And the men of Sodom were extremely wicked and sinful to the Lord” (Genesis 13:13).
“Lot chose for himself” – Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra said: Like a person selecting his mother’s marriage contract.38When a man marries several women, each of the women brings property into the marriage as part of the marriage contract. When the husband dies after the wives, each of the sons inherits the property that his mother had introduced into the marriage. Lot chose Sodom as if it were his ordained legacy.
“Lot journeyed from the east [mikedem]” – he moved himself away from the One who preceded [kadmono] the world. He said: ‘I desire neither Abram nor his God.’
“Each parted from his brother. Abram lived [in the land of Canaan]” – Rabbi Meir says: You do not have among the cities any as evil as Sodom, as when a person is wicked, they refer to him as a person of Sodom.39And yet Lot chose that place to live in. You do not have any among the peoples as tough as the Emorites, as when a person is tough, they refer to him as an Emorite. Rabbi Yosei said: You do not have among the cities any as beautiful as Sodom, as Lot circulated among all the cities of the plain and did not find a place as fine as Sodom, and these [the people of Sodom] were the most distinguished among them40According to Rabbi Yosei, the people of Sodom were better than those of the other cities in the area, and that is why Lot chose it to live in. Yet, despite their relative eminence, the Torah testifies that they “were extremely wicked.” – “and the men of Sodom were extremely wicked and sinful to the Lord” (Genesis 13:13). “Wicked” – towards one another; “sinful” – through sexual immorality; “to the Lord” – through idolatry; “extremely” – through bloodshed.