Midrash sobre Jó 20:23

And the Lord said: “Shall I hide from Abraham?” (Gen. 18:17). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: It shall be for the filling of his belly; He shall cast the fierceness of His wrath upon him, and shall cause it to rain upon him into his flesh (Job 20:23). The retribution that befell the Sodomites bloated their bellies because they had filled their bellies previously through their transgressions, violence, and robbery. Hence, the punishment imposed upon them filled their bellies, as it is said: He shall cast the fierceness of His wrath upon him. R. Meir said: Scripture states concerning the rain that fell in Sodom: He shall cause it to rain upon him into his flesh (ibid.) and also: And the Lord caused to rain upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire (Gen. 19:24). Why into his flesh? Because of the wars they waged with the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said: The men of Sodom were very wicked and sinful before the Lord (ibid. 13:13). The word wicked implies toward each other; sinful indicates that they were guilty of lewdness; before the Lord means that they blasphemed and reviled the Lord and practiced idolatry; and very (m’od) signifies that they shed blood (dom).

It is written (in Job 20:23): LET IT BE FOR FILLING HIS BELLY, LET HIM CAST HIS BURNING ANGER AT HIM, AND LET HIM BRING DOWN RAIN UPON {THEM} [HIM] IN HIS FLESH (LEHUM).³⁴Tanh. 4:7. The retribution which came upon the Sodomites was for filling their belly, because they had filled their belly with transgressions, violence, and plunder. Therefore, when retribution came upon them, it filled their belly, as stated (ibid.): LET HIM CAST HIS BURNING ANGER AT {THEM} [HIM]. R. Me'ir said about the destruction of Sodom: The Scripture says (ibid.): AND LET HIM BRING DOWN RAIN UPON {THEM} [HIM] IN HIS LEHUM. (Gen. 19:24:) THEN THE LORD RAINED DOWN UPON SODOM. What is the meaning of IN HIS LEHUM (rt.: LHM)? < That it happened > because of the wars (rt.: LHM) which they had fought with the Holy One. Thus it was stated (in Gen. 13:13): NOW THE PEOPLE OF SODOM WERE EVIL AND SINFUL AGAINST THE LORD, EXCEEDINGLY SO.³⁵Gen. R. 41:7; ARN, A, 36; B, 30. < They were > EVIL to each other AND SINFUL in adultery, AGAINST THE LORD in idolatry, EXCEEDINGLY SO in bloodshed. R. Judah b. R. Shallum the Levite said in the name of R. Johanan bar Nahman: When Amraphel and his associates came to fight with the Sodomites, because they had captured Lot, Abraham went out to fight against them. So he killed the kings, and they fled, just as it is written (in Gen. 14:10): NOW THE VALLEY OF SIDDIM WAS FULL OF BITUMEN PITS; [AND THE KINGS OF SODOM < AND GOMORRAH > FLED] < AND FELL THERE >. Abraham began reflecting: The kings came to fight with the Sodomites. So the kings fell, but those < of Sodom and Gomorrah > fled. Thus it is stated (ibid., cont.): AND THOSE WHO REMAINED FLED TO THE MOUNTAIN.³⁶The following argument is to explain that, while some escaped, such sinners could not evade divine judgment forever. Perhaps you will say: There were worthy ones among them. The Holy One said to him (in Job 20:24-26): SHOULD HE FLEE FROM THE IRON WEAPON, < THE BOW OF BRASS SHALL PASS THROUGH HIM >; HE DRAWS IT OUT, AND IT COMES OUT OF HIS BODY … UTTER DARKNESS IS LAID UP IN RESERVE FOR HIM; < AN UNFANNED FIRE SHALL CONSUME HIM; IT SHALL BE BAD FOR A SURVIVOR IN HIS TENT >. UTTER DARKNESS IS LAID UP concerns Sodom, since it lies to the south³⁷Literally: “to the right.” Parallel texts in Yalqut, Job, 908, and Codex Vaticanus Ebr. 34, ad loc., read, “to the left,” i.e., “to the north.” Although this reading agrees neither with geographical fact nor with what follows, “to the north” does make sense in terms of Job 20:26, where the words IN RESERVE FOR HIM could be vocalized to mean, “for his northern regions.” Note also that the Yalqut consistently reads “north” for SOUTH in Ezek. 16:46, which follows. of the land of Israel. Thus it is stated (in Ezek. 16:46): AND YOUR YOUNGER SISTER [THAT DWELLS SOUTH OF YOU IS SODOM AND HER DAUGHTERS]. What is the meaning of SHALL CONSUME THE SURVIVOR IN HIS TENT? That, even if a single survivor is left {of them} [from there], the evil of evil < SHALL CONSUME THE SURVIVOR > IN HIS TENT. Which < survivor > ? This is Lot's wife, Edith, of whom it is stated (in Gen. 19:26): BUT HIS WIFE LOOKED BACK, AND SHE BECAME A PILLAR OF SALT.³⁸The name Edith suggests the Hebrew ‘ed, which means “witness”; and indeed, as a pillar of salt, Edith did become a witness to all who saw her.