Genesis 13:13

But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Genesis 13:13. Sinners before the Lord exceedingly — That is, impudent and daring sinners, who despised and openly defied God. Alas for Lot! He has got into bad company, and will find the beauty and fertility of the country but a poor recompense for the daily grief their wickedness and reproaches will cause him!

Genesis 13:14-15. The Lord said unto Abram — To comfort him after “Lot was separated from him,” and he was left alone, and in a less pleasant and fruitful soil than that which Lot had chosen; Lift up thine eyes, all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it. — But, how was this land given to Abram, when it is expressly said by Stephen, Acts 7:5, “He (God) gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on!” The answer is, God gave him the right to it, though not the actual possession, until the time appointed, when the inhabitants of the land should prove themselves to be irreclaimable, and fully ripe for destruction. God explains it, “To thee and thy seed,” that is, to thee “in thy seed.” But how could it be said to be given them “for ever,” when, after a few hundreds of years they were turned out of it? To this it must be replied, that the promise was made to them, and intended to be fulfilled, upon condition of their obedience, as is often expressed in other places. And the expression עד עולם, here rendered for ever, often signifies only long continuance, as is evident from many passages of Scripture, in which the subjects to which it is applied do not, in their nature, admit of an eternal duration. Indeed, when the word is applied to the Jewish rites and ceremonies, as it often is, it signifies no more than during the standing of that dispensation, or till the coming of the Messiah. And thus it may be here understood.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

13:10-13 Abram having offered Lot the choice, he at once accepted it. Passion and selfishness make men rude. Lot looked to the goodness of the land; therefore he doubted not that in such a fruitful soil he should certainly thrive. But what came of it? Those who, in choosing relations, callings, dwellings, or settlements, are guided and governed by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, or the pride of life, cannot expect God's presence or blessing. They are commonly disappointed even in that which they principally aim at. In all our choices this principle should rule, That is best for us, which is best for our souls. Lot little considered the badness of the inhabitants. The men of Sodom were impudent, daring sinners. This was the iniquity of Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness, Eze 16:49. God often gives great plenty to great sinners. It has often been the vexatious lot of good men to live among wicked neighbours; and it must be the more grievous, if, as Lot here, they have brought it upon themselves by a wrong choice.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The men of Sodom were wicked. - The higher blessing of good society, then, was missing in the choice of Lot. It is probable he was a single man when he parted from Abram, and therefore that he married a woman of Sodom. He has in that case fallen into the snare of matching, or, at all events, mingling with the ungodly. This was the damning sin of the antediluvians Genesis 6:1-7. "Sinners before the Lord exceedingly." Their country was as the garden of the Lord. But the beauty of the landscape and the superabundance of the luxuries it afforded, did not abate the sinful disposition of the inhabitants. Their moral corruption only broke forth into greater vileness of lust, and more daring defiance of heaven. They sinned "exceedingly and before the Lord." Lot had fallen into the very vortex of vice and blasphemy.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

11. Then Lot chose him all the plain—a choice excellent from a worldly point of view, but most inexpedient for his best interests. He seems, though a good man, to have been too much under the influence of a selfish and covetous spirit: and how many, alas! imperil the good of their souls for the prospect of worldly advantage.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Eminent, noted, and impudent sinners; see Genesis 18:20 Ezekiel 16:49; which is here added as a secret reproof to Lot, who was either careless in his inquiry into the dispositions and manners of those among whom he intended to fix his abode, which for many reasons he should have searched out; or he was willing to expose himself to all the hazards which he might incur by their neighbourhood and familiarity, for the sweetness and fertility of the soil; an error which is frequently committed by men in the choice of their habitations, and which oft costs them dear, as it did Lot in the following story.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

But the men of Sodom were wicked,.... Which either he knew not, and so ignorantly made this bad choice, to take up his abode among such very wicked men, which occasioned a great deal of grief, trouble, and vexation to him; or if he knew it, the pleasing prospect of convenience for his cattle, and of enriching himself, was a temptation to him, and prevailed upon him to take such a step; and so Jarchi interprets it, "although" they were so, Lot was not restrained from dwelling among them:

and sinners before the Lord exceedingly; exceeding great sinners, guilty of the most notorious crimes, and addicted to the most scandalous and unnatural lusts that can be thought of; and these they committed openly and publicly in the sight of God, in the most daring and impudent manner, and in defiance of him, without any fear or shame. The Targum of Jonathan reckons up many of their sins, as defrauding of one another in their substance, sinning in their bodies, incest, unclean copulation, shedding of innocent blood, worshipping of idols, and rebelling against the name of the Lord; see Isaiah 3:9.

Geneva Study Bible

But the men of Sodom were wicked and {i} sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

(i) Lot thinking to get paradise, found hell.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 13. - But (literally, and) the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners their wickedness is more specifically detailed in Genesis 19, q.v.) - before the Lord - literally, to Jehovah = before the face of Jehovah; ἐναντίον τοῦ θεοῦ (LXX.), vide Genesis 10:9; an aggravation of the wickedness of the Sodomites - exceedingly. Their vileness was restrained neither in quantity nor quality. As it passed all height in arrogance., so it burst all bounds in prevalence.

CHAPTER 13:14-18 Genesis 13:13

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Lot chose what was apparently the best portion of the land, the whole district of the Jordan, or the valley on both sides of the Jordan from the Lake of Gennesareth to what was then the vale of Siddim. For previous to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, this whole country was well watered, "as the garden of Jehovah," the garden planted by Jehovah in paradise, and "as Egypt," the land rendered so fertile by the overflowing of the Nile, "in the direction of Zoar." Abram therefore remained in the land of Canaan, whilst Lot settled in the cities of the plain of the Jordan, and tented (pitched his tents) as far as Sodom. In anticipation of the succeeding history (Genesis 19), it is mentioned here (Genesis 13:13), that the inhabitants of Sodom were very wicked, and sinful before Jehovah.