Genesis 19:35 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.

NIV: So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

NASB: So they had their father drink wine that night too, and the younger got up and slept with him; and he did not know when she lay down or got up.

CSB: That night they again got their father to drink wine, and the younger went and slept with him; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

NLT: So that night they got him drunk with wine again, and the younger daughter went in and had intercourse with him. As before, he was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.

KJV: And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

NKJV: Then they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.

After losing everything in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, including the men to whom they were engaged, Lot's two daughters made a plan to attempt to have children of their own. This plot not only reflects a lack of trust in God, it also echoes the deep depravity of their childhood culture. In order to have children, Lot's daughters plan to get Lot so drunk with wine that he would not be aware that they were coming into his bed to have sex with him.

The older daughter went first, and was able to succeed. Lot is so blinded by alcohol that he is not even aware of what's happening, and has intercourse with his own daughter. She then encourages her younger sister to follow the same plan of action. So, on the following night, the younger daughter does the same. Lot appears not to have been aware of what had happened in either case.

Genesis 19:30–38 describes the humiliating, horrific fate of Lot and his daughters. Having lost everything and living in a cave in the hills with their aging father, the two daughters assume no man will ever marry them or give them children. Their plan to remedy the situation is shocking, but not impossible for children raised in a culture like that of Sodom. Lot's daughters get their father drunk on two consecutive nights, each having sex with him and becoming pregnant.

Two angels, disguised as men, visit Abraham's nephew, Lot, in the city of Sodom. After the men of Sodom attempt to rape the angels in Lot's home, the angels rescue Lot and his family, forcibly removing them from the city. Then God sends fire and sulfur from heaven. This destroys all of the land and people in and around the cities. As stated in earlier verses, this is the result of their great and ongoing wickedness. Lot's wife is turned to a pillar of salt when she disobeys the angels by looking back on the destruction. Lot and his daughters flee first to Zoar, then to a cave in the hills. There, Lot's confused and frightened daughters get him drunk, have sex with him, and each become pregnant.

In the previous chapter, Abraham had bargained with God on behalf of his nephew Lot and the people of Sodom. The Lord assured Abraham He would not destroy the cities if He found ten righteous people there. Chapter 19 immediately demonstrates no righteous people are to be found. Every man of Sodom attempts to attack two visitors, who are God's angels in human form. As the angels rescue Lot, God's judgment falls, utterly destroying everything in the area around Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot and his daughters end up in a cave in the hills, where the daughters scheme to conceive children by making their father drunk. This ends Lot's role in the story of Genesis, with future chapters focusing exclusively on the life and descendants of Abraham.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.