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Revision as of 15:10, 3 August 2005
In the Bible, Lot (לוֹט "Hidden, covered", Standard Hebrew Lot, Tiberian Hebrew Loṭ; Qur’anic Arabic لوط Lūṭ) was the nephew of the patriarch, Abraham or Abram. He was the son of Abraham's brother Haran. According to Jewish midrash, Abraham took care of Lot after Haran was burned in a gigantic fire in which Nimrod, King of Babylon, tried to kill Abraham.
Lot accompanied Abraham in all his journeys and went down to Egypt with Abraham and his family. The midrash gives Lot much credit because, despite his desire for wealth, he did not inform Pharaoh of the secret of Sarah, Abraham's wife. When Abraham journeyed to the Land of Canaan at the command of God, Lot accompanied him.
Lot and Abraham were both wealthy shepherds, and there came a time when the land they used could not contain the flocks of both. At this time Abraham and Lot split, Lot going southeast to plains near the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
When God decided to overturn and destroy the five cities of the plain, He sent angels to rescue Lot and his family, on the condition that they not look back. Lot's wife disregarded the command. She turned back to see the destruction of the city and was changed into a pillar of salt. Lot and his two daughters escaped to the hills.
Lot's daughters incorrectly believed they were the only females to have survived the devastation. Thus, they believed that it was their responsibility to bear children and enable the continuation of the human race. On two subsequent nights, they got their father drunk enough to sleep with them, and they became pregnant. The first son was named Moav (Hebrew, lit., "from the father" ). He was the patriarch of the nation known as Moab. The second son was named Amon (Hebrew, lit., "from our nation"). He became the patriarch of the nation of Amon.
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