13:10 Lot looked up and saw 3 the whole region 4 of the Jordan. He noticed 5 that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated 6 Sodom and Gomorrah) 7 like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, 8 all the way to Zoar.
19:29 So when God destroyed 15 the cities of the region, 16 God honored 17 Abraham’s request. He removed Lot 18 from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed 19 the cities Lot had lived in.
15:5 The eastern border was the Salt Sea to the mouth 30 of the Jordan River. 31
The northern border started north of the Salt Sea at the mouth of the Jordan, 32
1 sn The sea of the Arabah refers to the Dead Sea, also known as the Salt Sea in OT times (cf. Deut 3:17).
2 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term אַשְׁדֹּת (’ashdot) is unclear. It is usually translated either “slopes” (ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) or “watershed” (NEB).
3 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.” The expression draws attention to the act of looking, indicating that Lot took a good look. It also calls attention to the importance of what was seen.
4 tn Or “plain”; Heb “circle.”
5 tn The words “he noticed” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
6 sn Obliterated. The use of the term “destroy” (שַׁחֵת, shakhet) is reminiscent of the Noahic flood (Gen 6:13). Both at the flood and in Sodom the place was obliterated by catastrophe and only one family survived (see C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:178).
7 tn This short temporal clause (preposition + Piel infinitive construct + subjective genitive + direct object) is strategically placed in the middle of the lavish descriptions to sound an ominous note. The entire clause is parenthetical in nature. Most English translations place the clause at the end of v. 10 for stylistic reasons.
8 sn The narrative places emphasis on what Lot saw so that the reader can appreciate how it aroused his desire for the best land. It makes allusion to the garden of the
9 tn Heb “all these,” referring only to the last five kings named. The referent has been specified as “these last five kings” in the translation for clarity.
10 tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to join together; to unite; to be allied.” It stresses close associations, especially of friendships, marriages, or treaties.
11 sn The Salt Sea is the older name for the Dead Sea.
12 tn Heb “upon the face of.”
13 tn Or “all the land of the plain”; Heb “and all the face of the land of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
14 tn Heb “And he saw, and look, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.”
15 tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.
16 tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
17 tn Heb “remembered,” but this means more than mental recollection here. Abraham’s request (Gen 18:23-32) was that the
18 sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.
19 tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”
20 tn Or “the Sea of Galilee” (so NLT); NCV, TEV, CEV “Lake Galilee.”
21 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
22 tn Heb “the waters descending from above stood still.”
23 tn Heb “they stood in one pile very far away.”
24 tn Heb “the [waters] descending toward the sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) were completely cut off.”
25 map For the location of Jericho see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
26 tn The words “his kingdom included” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
27 sn The Sea of Kinnereth is another name for the Sea of Galilee. See the note on the word “Kinnereth” in 11:2.
28 sn The Salt Sea is another name for the Dead Sea.
29 tn Heb “Their southern border was from the end of the Salt Sea, from the tongue that faces to the south.”
30 tn Heb “end.”
31 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied for clarity.
32 tn Heb “the border on the northern side was from the tongue of the sea, from the end of the Jordan.”
33 sn The Salt Sea is another name for the Dead Sea.
34 tn Heb “to the tongue of the Salt Sea to the north, to the end of the Jordan to the south.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity (also in the following verse).