Genesis 19:36-37
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This verse highlights the disturbing depths of human sinfulness, revealing how even "righteous Lot," a man chosen by God, could be brought to such a shameful state. It shows that without God's direct intervention and protection, anyone, no matter how righteous, can fall into terrible sin, especially when influenced by extreme circumstances and intoxication.
Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day.
English Standard Version (ESV)
After escaping the destruction of Sodom, Lot and his two daughters found refuge in a cave, where they believed no other people existed. Driven by a desire to preserve their family line and fearing their father's inability to find them new husbands, the daughters devised a plan. They got Lot drunk on consecutive nights, and each daughter lay with him, resulting in their pregnancies.
In the aftermath of unimaginable trauma and destruction, survival instincts can twist into horrifying decisions. What drives people to such extremes?
The daughters of Lot, having survived the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, found themselves in a precarious situation. In their isolated state in a cave with their father, they believed no other men were available to preserve their family line. Driven by fear and a desperate desire for survival, they devised a plan to conceive children with their father.
This act, though deeply disturbing and a clear violation of natural law, stemmed from a place of perceived necessity and extreme duress. They were not acting out of lust but out of a misguided attempt to ensure the continuation of their lineage, believing it to be their only option.
Even the righteous can fall into profound sin. How does God's justice interact with human frailty?
The story of Lot's daughters is a stark reminder that no one is immune to sin, not even those who have experienced God's deliverance. Lot himself, though called righteous, became drunk and was taken advantage of by his own daughters. His daughters, in turn, committed a grave sin.
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This narrative doesn't excuse their actions but illustrates the complexity of human nature and the pervasive nature of sin. While God's judgment fell swiftly and severely on Sodom and Gomorrah, He also allowed the consequences of sin to play out within Lot's own family.
Understand the original words
haroth · Hebrew Adjective/Participle
In a biblical context, this refers to the act of conceiving a child, often used to signify the beginning of lineage or the fulfillment of the divine command to be fruitful, though here it occurs under illicit circumstances. It underscores the physical reality of the ancestral origin of these nations.
bekirah · Hebrew Adjective
A title indicating the eldest daughter in a family. In biblical culture, the firstborn held a position of priority, privilege, and responsibility, making the actions described here particularly significant within the family structure.
Moab · Hebrew Proper Noun
Meaning 'from (my) father,' this name serves as an etiological marker identifying the origin of the Moabite people. In Scripture, names often convey the essence or the history of an individual or people group.
Moabi · Hebrew Proper Noun/Adjective
An ethnic group descended from Moab; throughout the Old Testament, they are often characterized by their complex, frequently adversarial relationship with the nation of Israel, representing a people born out of a history of brokenness and exclusion from the covenant line.
The shocking actions of Lot's daughters stem from a desperate desire for survival and continuity, set against the backdrop of extreme trauma and isolation following the cataclysmic destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
c. 1900 BC
Abraham's Covenant Established
God establishes a covenant with Abraham, promising him descendants and land. This covenant forms a significant backdrop for the events concerning Lot and the cities of the plain.
c. 1800 BC
Lot Settles Near Sodom
Lot chooses to settle in the fertile plain of the Jordan, near the wicked city of Sodom, separating from Abraham. This decision places him in proximity to the impending divine judgment.
c. 1800 BC— this verse
Angels Visit Sodom
Two angels, appearing as men, arrive in Sodom to investigate the city's wickedness. Lot, showing hospitality, invites them to stay in his home, unknowingly hosting divine messengers.
c. 1800 BC
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
God rains down sulfur and fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah, destroying them and the surrounding cities due to their extreme wickedness. Lot and his immediate family are rescued.
c. 1800 BC
Lot's Daughters Impregnated
After the destruction of Sodom, Lot and his two daughters take refuge in a cave. Fearing extinction, the daughters conspire to impregnate themselves by their father, leading to the births of Moab and Ben-Ammi.
This passage describes daughters-in-law bearing children with their deceased husbands' brothers, highlighting the societal importance of lineage and widowhood in ancient Israel, which contrasts sharply with the illicit unions in Genesis 19.
Deuteronomy 27:20This verse pronounces a curse on anyone who lies with his father's wife, underscoring the severe prohibition against incest that would have been understood in the Mosaic Law, and thus illuminating the gravity of Lot's daughters' actions.
1 Corinthians 5:1Paul condemns an egregious case of incest within the Corinthian church, similar to the sin of Lot's daughters, showing that such acts were considered abhorrent and a sign of spiritual decay even in the New Testament era.
Matthew 24:37-38Jesus compares the days of his second coming to the days of Noah and Lot, emphasizing that people were living ordinary lives until the sudden destruction, which includes the context of rampant sin and moral decay like that seen in Sodom and its aftermath.
gillGenesis 19:36: "Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father."
Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. We learn from hence what the best of men are when left to themselves; a good man, a righteous Lot, is guilty of crimes the most shocking; he exposed the chastity of his daughters to the men of Sodom, and now his daughters attacked him, and succeeded, being both with child by him; and this brought about by excessive drinking, a sin which often leads on…
pooleGenesis 19:36: "Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father."
Which they might possibly imagine to be an evidence of Divine approbation of their fact; whereas, indeed, it was a design of God to make a lasting monument of their sin and shame.
This verse highlights the disturbing depths of human sinfulness, revealing how even "righteous Lot," a man chosen by God, could be brought to such a shameful state. It shows that without God's direct intervention and protection, anyone, no matter how righteous, can fall into terrible sin, especially when influenced by extreme circumstances and intoxication.
After escaping the destruction of Sodom, Lot and his two daughters found refuge in a cave, where they believed no other people existed. Driven by a desire to preserve their family line and fearing their father's inability to find them new husbands, the daughters devised a plan. They got Lot drunk on consecutive nights, and each daughter lay with him, resulting in their pregnancies.
After escaping the destruction of Sodom, Lot and his two daughters found refuge in a cave, where they believed no other people existed. Driven by a desire to preserve their family line and fearing their father's inability to find them new husbands, the daughters devised a plan. They got Lot drunk on consecutive nights, and each daughter lay with him, resulting in their pregnancies.
"Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day." — This verse highlights the disturbing depths of human sinfulness, revealing how even "righteous Lot," a man chosen by God, could be brought to such a shameful state. It shows that without God's direct…
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Last reviewed October 2026
