Difference between revisions of "Lot's Wife and Her Fate/1/he"
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<figcaption>(<a href="Lot Flees Sedom in Art" data-aht="page">הקליקו לנושא זה באמנות</a>)</figcaption> | <figcaption>(<a href="Lot Flees Sedom in Art" data-aht="page">הקליקו לנושא זה באמנות</a>)</figcaption> | ||
</figure> | </figure> | ||
| − | <h2>A Cameo Appearance</h2> | + | <h2>הופעת אורח<br/>A Cameo Appearance</h2> |
| + | <p>רוב קוראי התנ"ך מכירים את דמותה של אשת לוט, אך אין זה בגלל שהתנ"ך מרבה בפרטים עליה. בניגוד לשרה אשר מצטיירת כשותפה לאברהם באירוח שלושת האורחים, אשת לוט לא מופיעה בכלל בסיפור המקביל של אירוח המלאכים על ידי לוט. היא מוזכרת רק פעמיים בתורה, בפסוק שמפרט את ההנחיות להימלטות לוט מסדום, ובפסוק שבו היא מפרה את ציווי המלאכים לא להביט אחורה בשעת בריחתם. לאחר מכן, היא נעלמת לחלוטין מהטקסט, ובאופן בולט במיוחד מסיפור גילוי העריות של לוט ובנותיו. מה קרה לאשת לוט? מה מסביר את הופעתה הקצרה ואת היעלמותה המיידית?  </p> | ||
<p>Most readers of Tanakh are familiar with the character of Lot's wife, but not because Tanakh shares many details about her. In contrast to Sarah who appears as Avraham's partner in hosting the three guests, Mrs. Lot does not appear at all in the parallel story of Lot's hospitality. She is mentioned only twice in Torah, in the verses that detail the instructions to Lot to flee and in her violation of the messengers' command not to look back. Afterwards she vanishes completely from the text and is strikingly absent from the story of Lot's daughters incestuous relations with their father. What happened to Lot's wife? What accounts for her fleeting appearance in the story and her subsequent disappearance?<fn>לדיון מקיף בשאלות שהועלו כאן ובגישות האפשריות, עיינו יהודה סרנה, "The Salt Saga: Lot's Wife or Sodom Itself", Nachalah 1 (1999): 75-84.</fn></p> | <p>Most readers of Tanakh are familiar with the character of Lot's wife, but not because Tanakh shares many details about her. In contrast to Sarah who appears as Avraham's partner in hosting the three guests, Mrs. Lot does not appear at all in the parallel story of Lot's hospitality. She is mentioned only twice in Torah, in the verses that detail the instructions to Lot to flee and in her violation of the messengers' command not to look back. Afterwards she vanishes completely from the text and is strikingly absent from the story of Lot's daughters incestuous relations with their father. What happened to Lot's wife? What accounts for her fleeting appearance in the story and her subsequent disappearance?<fn>לדיון מקיף בשאלות שהועלו כאן ובגישות האפשריות, עיינו יהודה סרנה, "The Salt Saga: Lot's Wife or Sodom Itself", Nachalah 1 (1999): 75-84.</fn></p> | ||
| − | <h2>Crime and Punishment</h2> | + | <h2>החטא ועונשו<br/>Crime and Punishment</h2> |
| + | <p>בשל היותו הפסוק היחיד שמתאר מעשה אקטיבי של אשת לוט, <a href="Bereshit19-23" data-aht="source">בראשית י״ט:כ״ו</a> הוא קריטי להבנת מקומה בסיפור:</p> | ||
<p>As <a href="Bereshit19-23" data-aht="source">בראשית י״ט:כ״ו</a> is the only verse that describes an action of Mrs. Lot, it is crucial for understanding her role in the story:</p> | <p>As <a href="Bereshit19-23" data-aht="source">בראשית י״ט:כ״ו</a> is the only verse that describes an action of Mrs. Lot, it is crucial for understanding her role in the story:</p> | ||
| − | <q class="" | + | <q class="" lang="he" dir="rtl"> |
<p>וַתַּבֵּט אִשְׁתּוֹ מֵאַחֲרָיו וַתְּהִי נְצִיב מֶלַח.</p> | <p>וַתַּבֵּט אִשְׁתּוֹ מֵאַחֲרָיו וַתְּהִי נְצִיב מֶלַח.</p> | ||
</q> | </q> | ||
| + | <p>פסוק זה הוא </p> | ||
<p>The verse is difficult to translate as it contains several textual ambiguities, including both the referent of the verb "וַתְּהִי" and the subject of the word "מֵאַחֲרָיו". Nonetheless, most commentators understand it to mean that after transgressing the prohibition of the Divine messengers and looking back at Sedom, Lot's wife was transformed into a pillar of salt.</p> | <p>The verse is difficult to translate as it contains several textual ambiguities, including both the referent of the verb "וַתְּהִי" and the subject of the word "מֵאַחֲרָיו". Nonetheless, most commentators understand it to mean that after transgressing the prohibition of the Divine messengers and looking back at Sedom, Lot's wife was transformed into a pillar of salt.</p> | ||
<p>Though this interpretation readily explains Mrs. Lot's fading from the story, it raises several questions. On the moral level, capital punishment seems somewhat excessive for the petty crime of turning around. What was so terrible about viewing the burning city that it should result in death? After all, is it not natural that Mrs. Lot be concerned about the fate of her daughters who remained in the city? Similarly, what was the reason for the original prohibition?</p> | <p>Though this interpretation readily explains Mrs. Lot's fading from the story, it raises several questions. On the moral level, capital punishment seems somewhat excessive for the petty crime of turning around. What was so terrible about viewing the burning city that it should result in death? After all, is it not natural that Mrs. Lot be concerned about the fate of her daughters who remained in the city? Similarly, what was the reason for the original prohibition?</p> | ||
Version as of 23:50, 11 July 2019
אשת לוט וגורלה
הקדמה
הופעת אורח
A Cameo Appearance
רוב קוראי התנ"ך מכירים את דמותה של אשת לוט, אך אין זה בגלל שהתנ"ך מרבה בפרטים עליה. בניגוד לשרה אשר מצטיירת כשותפה לאברהם באירוח שלושת האורחים, אשת לוט לא מופיעה בכלל בסיפור המקביל של אירוח המלאכים על ידי לוט. היא מוזכרת רק פעמיים בתורה, בפסוק שמפרט את ההנחיות להימלטות לוט מסדום, ובפסוק שבו היא מפרה את ציווי המלאכים לא להביט אחורה בשעת בריחתם. לאחר מכן, היא נעלמת לחלוטין מהטקסט, ובאופן בולט במיוחד מסיפור גילוי העריות של לוט ובנותיו. מה קרה לאשת לוט? מה מסביר את הופעתה הקצרה ואת היעלמותה המיידית?
Most readers of Tanakh are familiar with the character of Lot's wife, but not because Tanakh shares many details about her. In contrast to Sarah who appears as Avraham's partner in hosting the three guests, Mrs. Lot does not appear at all in the parallel story of Lot's hospitality. She is mentioned only twice in Torah, in the verses that detail the instructions to Lot to flee and in her violation of the messengers' command not to look back. Afterwards she vanishes completely from the text and is strikingly absent from the story of Lot's daughters incestuous relations with their father. What happened to Lot's wife? What accounts for her fleeting appearance in the story and her subsequent disappearance?1
החטא ועונשו
Crime and Punishment
בשל היותו הפסוק היחיד שמתאר מעשה אקטיבי של אשת לוט, בראשית י״ט:כ״ו הוא קריטי להבנת מקומה בסיפור:
As בראשית י״ט:כ״ו is the only verse that describes an action of Mrs. Lot, it is crucial for understanding her role in the story:
וַתַּבֵּט אִשְׁתּוֹ מֵאַחֲרָיו וַתְּהִי נְצִיב מֶלַח.
פסוק זה הוא
The verse is difficult to translate as it contains several textual ambiguities, including both the referent of the verb "וַתְּהִי" and the subject of the word "מֵאַחֲרָיו". Nonetheless, most commentators understand it to mean that after transgressing the prohibition of the Divine messengers and looking back at Sedom, Lot's wife was transformed into a pillar of salt.
Though this interpretation readily explains Mrs. Lot's fading from the story, it raises several questions. On the moral level, capital punishment seems somewhat excessive for the petty crime of turning around. What was so terrible about viewing the burning city that it should result in death? After all, is it not natural that Mrs. Lot be concerned about the fate of her daughters who remained in the city? Similarly, what was the reason for the original prohibition?
Miracles and Messages
The mode of punishment is surprising as well. Until this verse, salt has not been mentioned in the narrative at all. Why did Hashem decide to kill Lot's wife specifically with salt? Equally perplexing is the philosophical question which emerges from how this transformation took place. Was this a natural phenomenon or a miraculous metamorphosis of a human into a salt figurine? If the latter, why would Hashem go out of His way to make such a miracle just to punish Mrs. Lot? In general, such supernatural deaths are somewhat rare in Tanakh. As Hashem could have opted to have Mrs. Lot die a much simpler death, the reader wonders what message one is supposed to take away from the bizarre punishment and the story as a whole.
