Genesis 19:38 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.

NIV: The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.

NASB: As for the younger, she also gave birth to a son, and named him Ben-ammi; he is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day.

CSB: The younger also gave birth to a son, and she named him Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites of today.

NLT: When the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Ben-ammi. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites.

KJV: And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

NKJV: And the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the people of Ammon to this day.

As Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed, two angels rescued Lot and his grown, virgin daughters. After losing their mother, prospective husbands, and homeland, these women sheltered in a cave with their father. Reflecting a lack of spiritual guidance from their father, Lot's daughters assume they will never be able to find husbands and have children. Echoing the heinous immorality of their home culture, the women scheme to conceive children by their own father, plying him with alcohol until he literally has no idea what is occurring (Genesis 19:33, 36).

Lot's two daughters had sex with their father on consecutive nights. Both become pregnant. The older daughter's son is named Moab, the patriarch of the Moabites, who become enemies of Israel.

The son of the younger daughter was called Ben-ammi, a name meaning "son of my people". He eventually becomes the father of the Ammonite people. Like the Moabites, the Ammonites would later become enemies of Israel.

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.

Accessed 5/6/2024 11:44:12 AM