The son of Haran and nephew of Abraham (Abram) (Gen 11:27). Terah took Abraham and Lot from Ur of the Chaldees to Haran, where they resided for a time (Gen 11:31). When Abraham was commanded by God to leave his country and to go to Canaan, Lot accompanied him (Gen 12:4-5), as he did again on the journey to and from Egypt in time of famine (Gen 12:10; 13:1).
Abraham and lot were so rich in cattle that "the land was not able to support them" (Gen 13:2-6), and after strife between their herdsmen, Abraham decided to separate, allowing Lot first choice of territory (Gen 13:8-9). Lot took the best part: the Jordan Valley as far as Sodom. The region, made fertile by its abundance of water (Gen 13:10) resembled "the garden of the Lord". Lot took up his abode in Sodom (Gen 14:12).
During the war between Chedorlaomer and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, the latter fled and Lot was taken captive, but Abraham liberated him (Gen 14:1-16). The Bible relates that Sodom was a depraved city. Two angels visited Lot, who received them in his home as his guests (Gen 19:1-3). When the men of Sodom demanded that the guests be handed over to them, Lot refused, preferring to surrender his daughters rather than offend against the rules of hospitality (Gen 19:4-10). The angels then took action, smiting their would-be assailants with blindness, and urging Lot to leave Sodom immediately, because God intended to devastate it (Gen 19:11-13). Lot was let out of the city together with his wife and two daughters; they were forbidden to look back as they escaped to the mountains (Gen 19:16-17). But during the ensuing destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot's wife did look back and was turned into a pillar of salt (Gen 19:24-26).
Lot and his daughters were the progenitors of the Moabites and the Ammonites (Gen 19:30-38). The Children of Israel were subsequently forbidden to conquer these people's lands, which had been promised to the descendants of Lot (Deut 2:9, 19).
The moral decay of Sodom and its final destruction by God was mentioned by Jesus when he taught about the unforeseen advent of the Kingdom.
The Second Epistle of Peter terms Lot a righteous man and describes him as vexing his righteous soul with the unlawful deeds of the men of Sodom (II Peter 2:6-8).
The Byzantine monastery of St Lot has been excavated at Deir Ain Abata to the southeast of the Dead Sea.
Concordance
Gen 11:27, 31; 12:4-5; 13:1,5, 7-8, 10-12,14; 14:12, 16; 19:1, 5-6, 9-10, 12, 14-15,18, 23, 29-30,36. Deut 2:9,19. Ps 83:8. Luke 17:28-29,32. II Pet 2:7
