Avraham's Prayer for Sedom/2/en

Avraham's Prayer for Sedom

Exegetical Approaches

Overview

In trying to understand Avraham's prayer, commentators struggle with both the theological problems raised by Hashem's modes of justice and how to understand the relationship between Avraham's various requests.  Some commentators are troubled most by the specter of collective punishment.  Thus, according to R"Y Bekhor Shor and others, Avraham is making a two pronged argument, and Hashem acquiesces to both pleas.  Avraham's stronger claim (invoking Divine justice) denounces collective punishment, while his secondary appeal (to God's attribute of mercy) is for collective salvation. 

R. D"Z Hoffmann, links Avraham's two objections, explaining that Avraham recognized that there was no middle option – either all would be saved or all would perish.  Thus, Avraham bargains with Hashem to set a minimum threshold of ten for avoiding collective punishment and opting instead for collective salvation.  R. Hirsch also views Avraham's arguments as a single one, but he claims that, from the outset, Avraham knew that Hashem never intended to punish the righteous.  According to him, all of Avraham's overtures were to request only that Hashem save even the wicked for the benefit of the righteous.

Others find the entire notion that sinners could go unpunished to be even more profoundly disturbing.  Thus, a commentary from Qumran suggests that the entire discussion revolves only around sparing the innocent, and there is never any doubt that the evildoers will be obliterated.  Similarly, the Ma'asei Hashem agrees that Avraham was not praying for the sinners, but he contends that Avraham's prayer was nonetheless a dual one, both on behalf of the righteous and that the land itself should not be destroyed.

Even for Sinners

Avraham asked for all of the people in Sedom to be saved if a quota of righteous was met.  This approach splits, though, regarding for whom Avraham needed to actively pray:

For Both Righteous and Wicked

Avraham was praying for everyone in Sedom to be saved, both the righteous and the wicked.

Sources:PhiloOn the Birth of Abel 37:122Questions and Answers on Genesis, IV:27About Philo, Bereshit Rabbah(Albeck) 49, verse 23(Albeck) 49, verse 2549:13About Bereshit Rabbah, TanchumaVayera 8About the Tanchuma, RashiBereshit 18:23-25About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki according to R. Eliyahu MizrachiBereshit 18:24-25About R. Eliyahu Mizrachi,¹ R. Yosef Bekhor ShorBereshit 18:23, 24,28About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, RambanBereshit 18:23About R. Moshe Nachmanides, RanBereshit 18:23-25About R. Nissim Gerondi, Akeidat Yitzchak1920About R. Yitzchak Arama, AbarbanelBereshit 18, Questions 16-18Bereshit 18:23About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel, ShadalBereshit 18:26About R. Shemuel David Luzzatto, MalbimBereshit 18:23-24About R. Meir Leibush Weiser, R. D"Z HoffmannBereshit 18:23-26Bereshit 19:29About R. David Zvi Hoffmann

"הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע" – All of these sources agree that Avraham is challenging Hashem's collective punishment² of the virtuous,³ but they differ in their interpretations of the word "הַאַף":

• Also – According to R. Yosef Bekhor Shor,⁴ "הַאַף" modifies the word "צַדִּיק" (not "תִּסְפֶּה"), and  Avraham is asking Hashem, "[If the sinners are the ones responsible for the outcry] will also the righteous perish with them?"
• Anger – Most of the other commentators⁵ assert instead that the word "הַאַף‎" refers to Hashem's anger,⁶ and that Avraham is asking that Hashem not allow His anger to cause the worthy to perish with the wicked.⁷

"הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה וְלֹא תִשָּׂא לַמָּקוֹם לְמַעַן חֲמִשִּׁים הַצַּדִּיקִם" – According to most of these commentators, these words constitute an additional request, that Hashem save even the wicked.⁸

Meaning of "לַמָּקוֹם" – This an example of metonymy, and the word refers to all of the people of the city, rather than to merely the physical locale itself.

Relationship between the requests in verses 23-25

• Justice and mercy – According to most of these commentators, the various verses contain two distinct requests, that Hashem not destroy the righteous (vss. 23 and 25) and that he also save the wicked (v. 24).⁹  It is not clear why Avraham goes back and forth between these pleas for justice and mercy. 
• Justice for the upright – According to the Ran and Akeidat Yitzchak, the arguments are interconnected and all stem from one desire, that there be justice for the righteous.  This is explicit in Avraham's plea in v. 23, and his additional request that also the wicked be saved (v. 24), is only for the benefit of ("לְמַעַן")‎¹⁰ the righteous.  If the evildoers were all to be wiped out, the righteous whose livelihood depended on them would perish as well, and this, Avraham contends, would be an unjust equation of the worthy and unworthy (v. 25).
• Collective salvation – Also according to R. D"Z Hoffmann, Avraham is really making only one request.  Avraham thought that Hashem was judging the city as one entity, and that there were only two possible outcomes, it would either be wholly saved or completely destroyed.¹¹  Therefore, he first points out the injustice to the innocent of totally destroying it, proceeds to ask that instead all be saved, and concludes by repeating the reasoning behind this request.

Collective punishment – Most of these commentators would likely explain that Hashem had never intended to apply collective punishment in Sedom,¹² and that Avraham was simply unaware of this.  According to R"Y Bekhor Shor, Hashem would even have saved any individual righteous people from the destruction.¹³  R. D"Z Hoffmann, though, asserts that Avraham did not object to collective punishment per se, and the dialogue was only about the circumstances and numbers under which this would be justified.  According to him, even in the end, Hashem agreed only to save all or nothing.  If there would be ten righteous people, the city would merit collective salvation, but any less than ten would perish together with the wicked.¹⁴

Collective salvation – The commentators differ in how they justify the saving of the wicked:

• Mercy – R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, Ramban, and R. D"Z Hoffmann all assert that this salvation is an expression of Hashem's mercy.
• Justice – Akeidat Yitzchak and Abarbanel, in contrast, maintain that in saving the wicked Hashem is being just to the righteous who would perish without the resources provided by their neighbors. 
• Repentance – According to Shadal, Hashem is willing to save the wicked if enough righteous are present, due to the hope that the latter will succeed in influencing and reforming them.

Why does Avraham stop at ten? These exegetes offer a variety of explanations:

• Lot's family – Bereshit Rabbah and Abarbanel explain that Lot's family numbered ten,¹⁵ and it was them which Avraham's prayer had in mind.¹⁶
• Unfair – According to R"Y Bekhor Shor, if there are so few righteous, it is no longer fair to request that their merits save the wicked. He assumes that, in such a case, Hashem would still save the deserving individuals,¹⁷ and only punish the rest of the city.
• No chance of reform – Shadal suggests that less than a quorum would stand no chance of reforming the evildoers, and thus the entire reason for sparing the wicked would not apply.
• No need for the wicked – Akeidat Yitzchak asserts that Avraham could not ask for either too many or too few to be saved.  If there were a significant portion of righteous in the city, they would no longer be dependent on the wicked, thereby eliminating the justification for saving them.  However, if on the other hand, there were merely a handful of righteous, they could easily flee, and then, too, there would be no need to save the wicked.¹⁸

Final outcome – Although Hashem granted Avraham's request,¹⁹ there were not enough righteous people in Sedom to warrant its implementation.²⁰  However, the Akeidat Yitzchak suggests that Avraham's prayer did succeed in saving the city of Zoar, as Lot's migration there (19:18-23) completed the quorum of ten righteous people needed to save that city.²¹

Why was Lot saved?

• According to R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, Akeidat Yitzchak, and Abarbanel,²² even though Hashem was not willing to save the city if there were fewer than ten righteous people, he was nevertheless willing to save the individuals who were worthy, and thus Lot was saved.²³ 
• R. D"Z Hoffmann, in contrast, asserts that even the righteous were only to be saved if there were ten or more.  Though Lot was not corrupt, to escape collective punishment he would need a special miracle.  This he merited only for Avraham's sake.

Why does Hashem consult with Avraham about Sedom? According to the Tanchuma, Hashem, in his infinite mercy, was actively inviting Avraham to defend the city, hoping that he would provide a reason for its wicked to be saved.²⁴

Specifically for the Wicked

Avraham was praying only for the sinners, being certain that Hashem would save the righteous even without any special supplication.

Sources:R. S"R HirschBereshit 18:23-25Bereshit 18:28-33Bereshit 19:29About R. Samson Raphael Hirsch

"הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע" – R. S"R Hirsch²⁵ explains the word "תִּסְפֶּה" as to punish and suggests that Avraham is pointing out that by killing the sinners, the righteous are also unjustly getting punished. After working hard to reform the wicked,²⁶ it is distressful for them to see the people nonetheless perish.

"הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה וְלֹא תִשָּׂא לַמָּקוֹם לְמַעַן חֲמִשִּׁים הַצַּדִּיקִם" – R. Hirsch distinguishes between the terms "לְמַעַן" and "בגלל", asserting that the former means "for the sake of" rather than "because of".  Thus, Avraham was praying that all of the people in the city be saved as a reward for the righteous,²⁷ but not due to their righteousness.²⁸

Meaning of "לַמָּקוֹם" – This approach maintains that "לַמָּקוֹם" is a general term for all of the people of the city.

"חָלִלָה לְּךָ מֵעֲשֹׂת כַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה לְהָמִית צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע" – This sentence is problematic for R. Hirsch, since it implies that Avraham is bothered by the possibility that the righteous will actually be killed (and not just distressed by the deaths of others).²⁹

Relationship between the requests in verses 23-25 – The three verses all constitute one request and refer only to the injustice that would be done to the righteous through the destruction of the wicked.

Collective punishment – According to R. S"R Hirsch, Avraham is not arguing about the injustice of collective punishment; it was obvious to him all along that Hashem would not kill the righteous.³⁰

Collective salvation – According to R. Hirsch there is also no collective salvation.  Hashem agrees to save the wicked if there are a portion of righteous in the city, not because they are part of the collective,³¹ but because the very presence of righteous people proves that the wicked tolerated them and thus were not totally corrupt.³²

Why does Avraham stop at ten? R. Hirsch asserts that Avraham understood why Hashem was willing to save the wicked,³³ and realized that if there were less than ten righteous, the fact that they were tolerated is no longer such a merit for the wicked, since it is likely that they simply dismissed them as insignificant.³⁴

Final outcome – Though Hashem accepts Avraham's prayer, apparently there were not enough righteous people to be found to enable a saving of the wicked.

Why was Lot saved? R. Hirsch writes that Lot was "only with difficulty worthy of salvation".  It was Hashem's attribute of mercy rather than justice which saved him.

For the Physical Location

Avraham was praying both for the righteous of Sedom and for the land itself to not be destroyed.

Sources:R. Yehuda HeChasidBereshit 18:23About Moshav Zekeinim, RadakBereshit 18:24Bereshit 18:32About R. David Kimchi, Ma'asei HashemMa'asei Avot 17About R. Eliezer Ashkenazi

"הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע" – Radak understands "הַאַף" to mean "הגם" and that Avraham is questioning if killing the righteous with the wicked is also part of the sentence of the wicked.³⁵

"הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה וְלֹא תִשָּׂא לַמָּקוֹם לְמַעַן חֲמִשִּׁים הַצַּדִּיקִם" – According to all these sources, these words represent a second request, that Hashem should not destroy the city itself,³⁶ but the commentators differ in their understanding of Avraham's reasoning. Radak asserts that Avraham was requesting that the city be saved due to the merit of the righteous people while Ma'asei Hashem maintains that Avraham did not think it just that the righteous should lose their land.³⁷

Meaning of "לַמָּקוֹם" – This approach holds that "לַמָּקוֹם" means literally the land itself.³⁸

Relationship between the requests in verses 23-25 – According to these commentators the verses contain two different requests, that the righteous be saved (vss. 23 and 25) and that the land not be destroyed (v. 24).  According to Ma'asei Hashem the common denominator is the demand that justice be done to the worthy people of the city.  However, it is unclear why Avraham goes back and forth between his different requests.

Collective punishment – This approach might maintain that Hashem had never planned to collectively punish Sedom; there were simply no righteous people to save.³⁹ Avraham, however, was unaware of this reality and mistakenly thought that Hashem was going to unjustly destroy them and their land.

Collective salvation – According to this approach there is no discussion of collective salvation by either Avraham or Hashem; both believe that the sinners need to be punished and that it would be unjust for them to be saved.⁴⁰

Why does Avraham stop at ten? R. Yehuda HeChasid and Radak assert if there were less than 10 righteous people, there is no longer any justification to save the land.⁴¹  Regarding the salvation of the righteous, though, it should not matter how many or few there were; each should be saved for his own deeds regardless of the presence of others.  Ma'asei Hashem, in fact, asserts that Avraham had planned on asking Hashem to save even one, but Hashem ended the conversation before he could.

Final outcome – Though Hashem agreed to Avraham's request, the land and people were destroyed since there were no righteous people.

Why was Lot saved? Radak and Ma'asei Hashem both maintain that Lot was not righteous and was saved not due to his goodness, but out of kindness to Avraham.⁴²

Why does Hashem consult with Avraham about Sedom? These commentators could explain like RashbamBereshit 18:17About R. Shemuel b. Meir that Hashem told Avraham about Sedom because Hashem was going to destroy land which belonged to Avraham.⁴³

Only for the Righteous

Avraham was praying only for the righteous, that they should not be punished due to the rest of the people's sins.

Sources:4Q252Qumran Scroll 4Q252 Fragments 1,3-5 Column 3About the Qumran Scrolls,⁴⁴ JosephusAntiquities 1:11:3 (199)About Josephus, SefornoBereshit 18:17Bereshit 18:24,26About R. Ovadyah Seforno, BiurBereshit 18:23,24,26About the Biur, HaRekhasim Levik'ahBereshit 18:23About R. Yehuda Leib Frankfurter, R. Y"S ReggioBereshit 18:18Bereshit 18:23,24,26About R. Yitzchak Shemuel Reggio⁴⁵

"הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע" – All these sources assume that Avraham is questioning the justice of killing the righteous together with the sinners,⁴⁶ but disagree regarding the meaning of the word "הַאַף".

• Also – R. Y"S Reggio understands it to mean "הגם"‎ and that Avraham is saying, "Will you also kill the righteous?"
• Anger – The Biur, instead, relates the word to anger,⁴⁷ and has Avraham question why Hashem needs to act with His attribute of justice, which inevitably leads to collective rather than individual punishment.⁴⁸

"הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה וְלֹא תִשָּׂא לַמָּקוֹם לְמַעַן חֲמִשִּׁים הַצַּדִּיקִם" – These commentators all agree that these words are a continuation of Avraham's original argument, but differ in their specific understanding of the verse:

• In contrast to most commentators, Seforno⁴⁹ reads these words of Avraham as a statement and not a question.⁵⁰  The word "אַף" is understood as "even though" rather than "also" or "anger", as above.  Thus, Avraham is telling Hashem, "Even though you do not plan to save the wicked due to the righteous, it is still unfathomable that you should kill the righteous with the wicked...".⁵¹

• Biur and R. Y"S Reggio instead assert that Avraham realized that Hashem meant to destroy Sedom via a messenger⁵² who would not be able to differentiate between good and evil.⁵³  He, thus, requests that Hashem save the entire immediate vicinity of the righteous so that they not perish with the wicked.⁵⁴

Meaning of "לַמָּקוֹם" – Seforno explains "לַמָּקוֹם" to refer to all of the people in the city whereas the Biur and R. Y"S Reggio explain it to mean the people in the specific area inhabited by the righteous.⁵⁵

Relationship between the requests in verses 23-25 – According to this approach all three verses form one argument, that justice demands that the righteous not be killed with the sinners. 

• According to Seforno, verse 23 is Avraham's opening question and then verses 24-25 together act as a reinforcing statement in which Avraham points out that although he does not expect the sinners to be saved, nonetheless the righteous should not die.
• The Biur and R. Y"S Reggio instead read verse 24 as a suggestion of how to implement the justice requested in verse 23.⁵⁶ In verse 25, Avraham concludes that if his suggestion is not taken, injustice will be done.⁵⁷

Collective punishment – According to the Biur and R. Y"S Reggio,⁵⁸ Avraham erroneously thought that Hashem meant to collectively punish the city.  In reality, Hashem knew all along that there were no righteous to save, and thus had no qualms about sending a messenger who would destroy indiscriminately.

Collective salvation – These sources divide in their understanding of the role of collective salvation in the story:

• According to Seforno, the Biur, and R. Y"S Reggio, even though Avraham only spoke about saving the righteous, Hashem responded that He would be even willing to save the wicked if there were sufficient righteous people⁵⁹ to merit it.⁶⁰ Thus, Hashem was not only willing to avert collective punishment but also to collectively save.⁶¹
• According to the fragment from Qumran and HaRekhasim Levik'ah, in contrast, neither Avraham nor Hashem looked to save the sinners, as they did not deserve it. In fact, it is probably a discomfort with the concept of collective salvation that motivates their entire read of the story.⁶²

Why does Avraham stop at ten? The fact that Avraham stops praying at ten is difficult for this position, since it would be unjust for even one virtuous person to be punished undeservedly.

Final outcome – Seforno asserts that the messengers go to verify if there are any righteous, and conclude that there are not, leading to the city's destruction.

Why was Lot saved? According to the Biur, Lot was not a sinner, but his choice to leave Avraham and join the corrupt of Sedom made him deserving of some level of punishment.  Due to Avraham's merits, though, Hashem decided to save him totally.

Why does Hashem consult with Avraham about Sedom?

• "לַעֲשׂוֹת צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט" – Seforno explains that Hashem wanted to teach Avraham about his attributes of both mercy and justice.  Wherever there is a quorum of righteous who might be able to lead the wicked to repent, Hashem is willing to grant them a stay.  If not, though, justice will be done.⁶³
• "הָיוֹ יִהְיֶה לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל" –  The Biur and R. Y"S Reggio assert that since Avraham was to become a well known nation, Hashem did not want future generations to complain that Avraham had not attempted to avert the disaster.⁶⁴  Hashem, thus, gave him an opening to pray on Sedom's behalf.⁶⁵

¹ See also the Divrei David(Taz) Bereshit 18:25About R. David HaLevi Segal.  Both interpret Rashi as saying that the words "חָלִלָה לְּךָ" refer back to the possibility of Hashem not sparing the wicked.  R. Wolf HeidenheimHavanat HaMikra Bereshit 18:23-25About R. Wolf Heidenheim disagrees and says instead that even according to Rashi the words "חָלִלָה לְּךָ" refer to what follows.  He also reads "הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה וְלֹא תִשָּׂא לַמָּקוֹם" like SefornoBereshit 18:24,26About R. Ovadyah Seforno below.  The result is that even though R. Heidenheim also maintains that (according to Rashi) Avraham supports saving the evildoers, his plea for them is much more muted.
It is noteworthy that in many manuscripts of Rashi the words "חָלִלָה לְּךָ" appear only before "חולין הוא לך", which might support R. Heidenheim's interpretation.  However, in Leipzig 1, Parma 181, and Vatican 94, the דיבור המתחיל of "חָלִלָה לְּךָ" precedes the sentence of "‏ואם תאמר...‏".

² R. Yosef Bekhor Shor asserts that Avraham understood from Hashem's words "הַכְּצַעֲקָתָהּ הַבָּאָה אֵלַי עָשׂוּ כָּלָה" that Hashem intended to collectively destroy the entire city.  See also Malbim that Avraham was concerned because destroying angels do not distinguish between innocent and guilty parties.

³ Abarbanel asserts that Avraham assumed that there were at least some virtuous people in the city, since Lot and his immediate relatives were not sinners.

⁴ Cf. Rashi who similarly renders "הַאַף" as "הגם".

⁵ Shadal and Malbim do not take a stance on the issue.

⁶ See also OnkelosBereshit 18:23-24About Onkelos, Neofiti, and Targum Pseudo-JonathanBereshit 18:22About Targum Pseudo-Jonathan.

⁷ The phrase reads: "will [your] anger destroy the righteous with the wicked?" R. D"Z Hoffmann points out that according to this read the word "אף" is feminine (as it takes the feminine form of the verb). Elsewhere in Tanakh, though, the word is masculine.  See, for instance:  Bereshit 30:2, Shemot 22:23, and 32:10.

⁸ Most of these commentators understand this as a plea for mercy, above and beyond the original demand for justice. Akeidat Yitzchak, Abarbanel, and R. D"Z Hoffmann, though, assert that the second request is intrinsically connected to the plea to save the righteous.  See points below for elaboration.

⁹ See Bereshit Rabbah 49:13 and Rashi that Avraham prepared multiple approaches.

¹⁰ Cf. R. Hirsch and R. Y"S Reggio below who also translate "לְמַעַן" as for the good of, rather than "because of". There are several points of contact between the Ran and Akeidat Yitzchak's variation and the approach of R. Hirsch below.

¹¹ According to R. D"Z Hoffmann, Avraham did not think that it was possible that only righteous individuals would be saved, and thus he does not pray for this scenario.

¹² Thus, even before Avraham began to pray, Hashem had already sent messengers to ascertain whether there were righteous people in Sedom who deserved to be saved (see Shadal).

¹³ See also Collective Punishment and Are Children Punished for Parents' Sins?.

¹⁴ See below, that R. D"Z Hoffmann maintains that Lot was saved only for the sake of Avraham.  Theoretically, though, there could have been other (less than ten) righteous people in Sedom who perished in the destruction.

¹⁵ This included Lot, his wife, his two married daughters and their spouses, and his two unmarried daughters and their prospective husbands.  It was only when Lot's sons-in-law (or prospective sons in law) mocked him and refused to leave with him (19:14), that it became clear that there was no quorum of righteous people.  It should be noted, however, that not all commentators agree that Lot's unmarried daughters were engaged, and some maintain that Lot had a total of only two daughters (both unmarried).

¹⁶ According to Abarbanel, Avraham was not even praying for all of the cities, but only for Sedom alone, since that was the abode of Lot.

¹⁷ See R. D"Z Hoffmann who disagrees.

¹⁸ He points out that in the end, there were only four people who were worthy, and thus they simply departed the city, leaving no reason to save it.

¹⁹ Many of these commentators would maintain that Hashem's acquiescing to save the righteous was an application of strict justice.  However, for R. D"Z Hoffmann who views collective punishment as legitimate, Hashem acceded to Avraham's request only out of mercy.

²⁰ Regarding whether Hashem agreed to save the individual righteous (if there were less than ten), see the saving of Lot below.

²¹ Commentators disagree over whether Zoar was ultimately destroyed after Lot departed from the city.  See Bereshit 19:31 and Devarim 29:22 and 34:3.

²² Abarbanel contradicts himself.  He expresses this idea at the end of chapter 18, but on 19:29, he asserts that Lot did not deserve salvation since he had decided to join the wicked, and that he was saved only due to the merits of Avraham.

²³ See above that according to the Akeidat Yitzchak, the entire city of Zoar was saved because Lot completed their quota of ten righteous people.

²⁴ Cf. the Bavli Berakhot's interpretation of Hashem's words in Shemot 32:11.  Ramban explains similarly, but he adds that Hashem wanted to prevent future generations from complaining that Avraham made no attempt to stop the destruction.
Other commentator offer alternatives.  Rashi and R. Yosef Bekhor Shor posit that Hashem needed to inform Avraham of the destruction because the land had been previously promised to him, and he needed to understand why it was to be destroyed. See also Abarbanel, Shadal, and R. D"Z Hoffmann, who suggest that Hashem's intimate relationship with Avraham led Hashem to reveal His plans.  Interestingly, Hashem cites Avraham's qualities of "צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט" which are exactly the Divine attributes to which Avraham appeals.

²⁵ He does not address the meaning of the word "הַאַף" but seems to understand it as "also".  

²⁶ According to R. Hirsch, Avraham assumed that any righteous person who lived in Sedom must have invested much effort in correcting his neighbors' behavior and tried to turn them towards the right path.

²⁷ See above that the righteous would be pained to watch the destruction of their neighbors whom they had tried so valiantly (though unsuccessfully) to reform.

²⁸ R. Hirsch might be hesitant to suggest that the wicked should simply be saved collectively with the righteous, since they do not really deserve pardon.  Thus, he instead has Avraham justify their salvation by pointing out how their destruction would be an unjust punishment for others.

²⁹ R. Hirsch attempts to explain that their distress at each lost life would be so great that it was almost like being killed, "והיה סובל יסורי – מות באבדן כל נפש".  This, though, is not the simple reading of the verse.

³⁰ Cf. Divrei David(Taz) Bereshit 18:25About R. David HaLevi Segal.

³¹ See above note, that Avraham, too, was not expecting the wicked to be saved only because of the merit of the righteous, but in order to prevent unjust suffering on the part of the righteous.

³² He explains that in his answer to Avraham, Hashem uses the word "בַּעֲבוּרָם" rather than Avraham's "למען" to show that He is saving the wicked not for the good of the righteous, but because of their very existence.

³³ See bullet above.

³⁴ He points out that the opposite is true as well.  If there were many righteous in the city, it is likely that the attitude of the wicked towards them was motivated by fear, not some small modicum of conscience.

³⁵ Radak also brings the opinion of Onkelos and Ramban above, that "הַאַף" relates to anger and Avraham is questioning if Hashem's anger is leading him to kill also the righteous.

³⁶ Throughout the Torah, the sins of people seem to somehow affect the land, incurring a punishment on it as well. In the flood story, for example, the violence of the people led not just to their destruction but to that of the world itself. Here, too, the city and ground are to be destroyed, and according to this position, Avraham tries to prevent this.

³⁷ He adds that Avraham might be further motivated to save the land because it belonged to him as part of Hashem's promise.

³⁸ Ma'asei Hashem rejects the possibility that the verse refers to all of the people of the city, wicked included, since it is unfathomable that Avraham should ask that sinners who had not repented should go unpunished. In addition, he asserts that Avraham is explicitly asking that justice be done and saving the sinners is not an act of justice, but rather of mercy.

³⁹ Radak implies that collective punishment is affected by the level of righteousness of a person.  If worthy, he will be saved despite the surrounding destruction, but if he is less worthy he might perish together with them.  In this case, it is unclear if all were active sinners or simply not righteous enough.

⁴⁰ This issue is one of the motivating factors leading Ma'asei Hashem to understand that the discussion in verse 24 is about the land rather than the wicked of the city.

⁴¹ Radak notes that in Yechezkel 22, Hashem seems willing to save the land for even just one good person.  He suggests that there the person spoken of is a totally righteous person who was willing to reform those around him.  If no such people were to be found, though, there is not enough merit to save a city.  As further proof that sometimes the land will be destroyed despite the presence of even very righteous people, Radak points to Yechezkel 14:16 where Hashem says that though Noach, Daniel and Iyyov might be saved, "the land will lay barren".

⁴² According to Radak, Avraham had not prayed for him at all, not knowing if he deserved it. Ma'asei Hashem, though, maintains that Avraham had intended to pray for him individually but was not given a chance.  Hashem, who knew this desire of Avraham, granted it.

⁴³ Radak, though, says that Hashem had multiple reasons for sharing with Avraham.  As most of the world was to descend from Avraham, it was only right to share His plans for them.  In addition, Hashem hoped that Avraham's children would learn from the fate of Sedom to do what is right.  [Having shared their upcoming doom with Avraham before it happened would preempt any claims that his was simply a coincidental natural disaster.] Finally, Hashem wanted Avraham to question His justice, attempt to find merits, and through the process to better understand His judgments.

⁴⁴ The text of this section of the 4Q252 Commentary on Genesis is very fragmentary.  The text presented here incorporates much of the proposed reconstruction of G. Barzilai, "פירוש קדום מקומראן על עונשם של אנשי סדום", Daf Shevui of Bar Ilan University 210 (5758).

⁴⁵ Reggio made it clear in the introduction to his edition of the Humash that his project was an Italian version of Moses Mendelssohn's Sefer Netivot ha-Shalom. A comparison of Reggio's Italian translation and Hebrew commentary to the work edited by Mendelssohn points to a great if not complete indebtedness.

⁴⁶ R. Y"S Reggio asserts that Avraham understood from Hashem's words "הַכְּצַעֲקָתָהּ הַבָּאָה אֵלַי עָשׂוּ כָּלָה" that he was planning on bringing total destruction on the city. Seforno who, instead, maintains that the word "כָּלָה" means כולם, must find a different verse which led Avraham to assume that Hashem meant to punish all. He thus suggests that Hashem's words "זַעֲקַת סְדֹם וַעֲמֹרָה כִּי רָבָּה" led Avraham to believe that Hashem was judging the city based on the majority of its inhabitants, and not each according to his deeds.

⁴⁷ Cf. Ramban and others above.

⁴⁸ See below that he assumes that Hashem was to destroy Sedom via a messenger who could not differentiate between good and bad, especially if He was sent to quell Hashem's anger.

⁴⁹ See also R. Wolf HeidenheimHavanat HaMikra Bereshit 18:23-25About R. Wolf Heidenheim who interprets Rashi similarly.

⁵⁰ Seforno ignores the initial "ה" in the word "הַאַף" which is normally read as a question marker, or "ה' השאלה".

⁵¹ Seforno is assuming that verses 24-25 are not two distinct statements but one connected one.

⁵² Avraham saw that the angels who had been speaking with him headed towards Sedom, leading him to conclude that they, rather than Hashem Himself, were sent to fulfill the decree of destruction.

⁵³ They compare this to the משחית in Egypt who also could not differentiate on his own between the Israelites and Egyptians. When such messengers bring destruction, there is inevitably collective punishment and it is against this that Avraham is arguing.  Cf. Malbim above who similarly points to the משחית's role in collective punishment.

⁵⁴ As evidence, R. Y"S Reggio points to the word "לְמַעַן" which he understands to mean "for the sake of" rather than "because of".  Avraham is asking Hashem to save the area immediately surrounding the worthy for their benefit. Cf. R. Hirsch above.

⁵⁵ Cf. the Netziv who suggests that Avraham is purposefully ambiguous.  Not knowing if Hashem would really be willing to save all the inhabitants for the sake of the righteous, he simply asks that "the place" be saved rather than "all of the place".  If Hashem wants to, he can understand the word to include all the inhabitants, but if He is unwilling, He will understand it to include just the vicinity of the righteous, and at least save them.

⁵⁶ Hashem can save the righteous by not destroying the whole area in which they live.

⁵⁷ According to both these reads there is no back and forth in Avraham's argument, but one point leads to the next.

⁵⁸ Seforno likely agrees, but does not say so explicitly.

⁵⁹ Seforno defines the righteous as people who are willing to protest the evil of Sedom and stand up against the wicked and attempt to reform them.  Cf. Radak above.

⁶⁰ R. Y"S Reggio supports this change of focus by contrasting Avraham's usage of the word "לְמַעַן" (for the sake of), with Hashem saying that he will save the wicked, "בַּעֲבוּרָם", due to the merits of the righteous. Cf. R. Hirsch 's discussion of the different words above.

⁶¹ According to these commentators, the conversation between Avraham and Hashem switches its focus after Avraham's initial request. Once Avraham realizes Hashem is willing to even save the wicked, he bargains to that end. These commentators, thus, are not bothered by the notion of collective salvation, and this is not what is driving their read of the verses. Perhaps they are simply uncomfortable with the notion of Avraham demanding something which is undeserved.

⁶² Given the strict nature of the Qumran community, it is not surprising that they would be motivated to read the story as one revolving around strict justice, with no room for mercy on the sinners. In fact, they look to this story as the prototype of the עיר הנדחת, the idolatrous city whose inhabitants and their possessions are totally exterminated.

⁶³ The Biur also suggests that in sharing the fate of Sedom, Hashem ensured that Avraham would teach the traits of "צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט" to his descendants, knowing that Sedom's lack thereof led to their destruction.

⁶⁴ In this they follow Ramban, above.

⁶⁵ In addition, Hashem simply did not want to hide anything from Avraham, His chosen and loyal follower.