Genesis 19:31 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth.

NIV: One day the older daughter said to the younger, 'Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children--as is the custom all over the earth.

NASB: Then the firstborn said to the younger, 'Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to have relations with us according to the custom of all the earth.

CSB: Then the firstborn said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to sleep with us as is the custom of all the land.

NLT: One day the older daughter said to her sister, 'There are no men left anywhere in this entire area, so we can’t get married like everyone else. And our father will soon be too old to have children.

KJV: And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:

NKJV: Now the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth to come in to us as is the custom of all the earth.

Though saved from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his two grown daughters have lost everything else, including Lot's wife, the girls' mother. They've been reduced to living in a cave in the hills, overlooking the annihilation of the entire region.

Prior to these events, Lot's two daughters had been engaged to men in Sodom (Genesis 19:14). Those men were destroyed along with the rest of the city for their wickedness. Now they cannot imagine a life beyond what they have lost. From their perspective, they will find no husbands. They will never have children. Some interpreters speculate that Lot's daughters might have believed they were the only people left on earth. Others think it's more likely these women felt that men from outside their familiar culture were unsuitable as husbands.

The following verses will reveal the actions they choose to take in response to their view of the world, but it is important for us to recognize that their view is false. Though they could not see it then, the world beyond what was lost was still full of eligible husbands. The God who had so dramatically saved their lives would certainly be capable of providing husbands for them in due time. Clearly, Lot also did not lead them to this conclusion, though he apparently had no idea what they had planned for him.

Lot's daughters were not willing or able to trust God in this, however. Given that they were raised in the depraved culture of Sodom, and engaged by their father to men of that city, this is hardly a surprise.

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.