Genesis 19:15-26
15 When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the LORD was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city. 17 When they had brought them outside, one said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away.” 18 But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lords! 19 Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die; 20 now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) that my life may be saved.” 21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar.
23 The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven, 25 and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
My curiosity got the best of me on last week’s Torah portion and I became enthralled with wanting to know what it meant that Lot’s wife turned into a “pillar of salt” in verse 26. Why a “pillar of salt”? I did some quick Google research and found two possible explanations.
One was that there were salt deposits in that region and the Hebrew of the passage suggests that “looked back” could be translated “lagged behind”. So when the destruction came, she could have been caught up in the storm and formed into a super-heated salt formation from the fire because she lagged behind. The other was that she could have been buried in volcanic ash from the destruction and slowly formed into a pillar of salt via petrifaction as happened to the Pompeii inhabitants.
Flavius Josephus, a contemporary Jewish historian writes:
| Lot's wife was turned frequently during the flight along with the city, desire to know, what's going on around her, in spite of the prohibition forbidding God to do it, (and therefore) has become a pillar of salt. I saw it and it exists even today | ||
| - Antiquities of the Jews, A: 203 | ||
Not sure on any of these, I decided to see what the paleo Hebrew tells us about the title “pillar of salt”. If you click on the picture below it will enlarge.
Pillar in ancient Hebrew gives the idea that it is a door that is anchored in place so that those who happen upon it can know the chaos that happened in that place. It is an eye followed by water followed by a tent or peg, and ends with a door.
Salt in ancient Hebrew gives the idea of teaching about the chaos as it divides the line between two events. In this case, destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot's salvation. It is a water followed by a shepherd staff, and ends with a wall.
I am thinking that Lot’s wife became a reminder and a dividing wall between chaos and obedience. She serves as a reminder of the consequences of disobedience or “lagging behind” when the Lord tells us to make haste. She is a teaching about the chaos of Sodom and Gomorrah, the kindsness of the Lord, and the blessing of obedience brought about by faith in YHVH (Lot's salvation).
Salt preserves and seasons and Pillars mark important things, events, or places. So maybe it is as simple as she serves as the preservation of the reminder of what happens when we put our hand to the plow and then look back.
Luke 9:60-62
60 But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” 61 Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
No comments:
Post a Comment