Genesis 19

Genesis 19 recounts the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, focusing on the rescue of Lot and his family.

The chapter begins with two angels arriving in Sodom, where Lot insists they stay at his house. Before they retire, the men of Sodom surround Lot's house, demanding to "know" the visitors. Lot refuses and offers his daughters instead, but the angels strike the men with blindness and warn Lot to flee with his family because God plans to destroy the city for its wickedness.

At dawn, the angels urge Lot to leave immediately. When he hesitates, they take him, his wife, and two daughters by the hand and lead them outside the city, instructing them to flee to the mountains and not look back. Lot negotiates to go to the small town of Zoar instead.

As Lot reaches Zoar, God rains sulfur and fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah, destroying the cities and all inhabitants. Lot's wife looks back — and is turned into a pillar of salt.

The chapter concludes with Lot and his daughters living in a cave. Believing they are the only survivors, the daughters get their father drunk on successive nights and sleep with him to preserve their family line. Each daughter bears a son — Moab (father of the Moabites) and Benammi (father of the Ammonites).