Genesis 13:13

13:13 (Now ¹  the people ²  of Sodom were extremely wicked rebels against the Lord.) ³ 

Genesis 15:16

15:16 In the fourth generation ⁴  your descendants ⁵  will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” ⁶ 

Genesis 18:20

18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against ⁷  Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant ⁸ 

¹ tn Here is another significant parenthetical clause in the story, signaled by the vav (וו) disjunctive (translated “now”) on the noun at the beginning of the clause.

² tn Heb “men.” However, this is generic in sense; it is unlikely that only the male residents of Sodom were sinners.

³ tn Heb “wicked and sinners against the Lord exceedingly.” The description of the sinfulness of the Sodomites is very emphatic. First, two nouns are used to form a hendiadys: “wicked and sinners” means “wicked sinners,” the first word becoming adjectival. The text is saying these were no ordinary sinners; they were wicked sinners, the type that cause pain for others. Then to this phrase is added “against the Lord,” stressing their violation of the laws of heaven and their culpability. Finally, to this is added מְאֹד (mÿ’od, “exceedingly,” translated here as “extremely”).

⁴ sn The term generation is being used here in its widest sense to refer to a full life span. When the chronological factors are considered and the genealogies tabulated, there are four hundred years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to one hundred years.

⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Heb “is not yet complete.”

⁷ tn Heb “the outcry of Sodom,” which apparently refers to the outcry for divine justice from those (unidentified persons) who observe its sinful ways.

⁸ tn Heb “heavy.”