This sheet on Genesis 19 was written by Esther Israel for 929 and can also be found here
A story about daughters and their father, and about Israel and two neighbor nations
Are Lot's nameless daughters mad or sane? Getting their father drunk so they can couple with him and steal his sperm?! Leaving aside, momentarily, the question what they thought was happening in the rest of the world, and why they thought this was the only chance for them to procreate, I'll focus on the matter of them raping their father.
On one hand, is this not an act of revenge against their own father who was willing to throw them to the howling mob for the sole purpose of gang rape? But – why would their raping their sorry excuse for a father satisfy that need? Seeing it thus would, at most, present the poetic justice of their acts, "measure for measure", meted out to the "Righteous Man of Sodom", but would not give a victim the lost sense of protection and vindication she needs.
Aside from the obvious fact that this story is clearly told from a male perspective, we must recognize that its purpose is external to itself: Abravanel says: "This story was told to teach the closeness of these two nations, Ammon and Moab, with Israel, and therefore [i.e., lest we get too chummy with them] The Blessed One commanded "No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted into the congregation of the Lord ... " (Deut. 23:4).
We can bring proof for this understanding of the story of Lot and his daughters from the preceding verse in Deuteronomy 23:2 which states that "no one misbegotten shall be admitted into the congregation of the Lord."
If so, the story in Genesis 19 is not about the pursuit of justice revenge by the daughters of Lot, but an etiological story which explains the necessary future estrangement, and frequently, animosity, between Israel and its two cousin – nations.
Are Lot's nameless daughters mad or sane? Getting their father drunk so they can couple with him and steal his sperm?! Leaving aside, momentarily, the question what they thought was happening in the rest of the world, and why they thought this was the only chance for them to procreate, I'll focus on the matter of them raping their father.
On one hand, is this not an act of revenge against their own father who was willing to throw them to the howling mob for the sole purpose of gang rape? But – why would their raping their sorry excuse for a father satisfy that need? Seeing it thus would, at most, present the poetic justice of their acts, "measure for measure", meted out to the "Righteous Man of Sodom", but would not give a victim the lost sense of protection and vindication she needs.
Aside from the obvious fact that this story is clearly told from a male perspective, we must recognize that its purpose is external to itself: Abravanel says: "This story was told to teach the closeness of these two nations, Ammon and Moab, with Israel, and therefore [i.e., lest we get too chummy with them] The Blessed One commanded "No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted into the congregation of the Lord ... " (Deut. 23:4).
We can bring proof for this understanding of the story of Lot and his daughters from the preceding verse in Deuteronomy 23:2 which states that "no one misbegotten shall be admitted into the congregation of the Lord."
If so, the story in Genesis 19 is not about the pursuit of justice revenge by the daughters of Lot, but an etiological story which explains the necessary future estrangement, and frequently, animosity, between Israel and its two cousin – nations.
Esther Israel is a Jerusalem educator
929 is the number of chapters in the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, the formative text of the Jewish heritage. It is also the name of a cutting-edge project dedicated to creating a global Jewish conversation anchored in the Hebrew Bible. 929 English invites Jews everywhere to read and study Tanakh, one chapter a day, Sunday through Thursday together with a website with creative readings and pluralistic interpretations, including audio and video, by a wide range of writers, artists, rabbis, educators, scholars, students and more. As an outgrowth of the web-based platform, 929 English also offers classes, pop-up lectures, events and across North America. We invite you to learn along with us and be part of our dynamic community.
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