Genesis 19:26

19:26 But Lot’s ¹  wife looked back longingly ²  and was turned into a pillar of salt.

Genesis 15:5

15:5 The Lord ³  took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”

Genesis 19:17

19:17 When they had brought them outside, they ⁴  said, “Run ⁵  for your lives! Don’t look ⁶  behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! ⁷  Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”

[19:26]  ¹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:26]  ² tn The Hebrew verb means “to look intently; to gaze” (see 15:5).

[15:5]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:17]  ⁵ tn Or “one of them”; Heb “he.” Several ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read the plural “they.” See also the note on “your” in v. 19.

[19:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “escape.”

[19:17]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew verb translated “look” signifies an intense gaze, not a passing glance. This same verb is used later in v. 26 to describe Lot’s wife’s self-destructive look back at the city.

[19:17]  ⁸ tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.