Page:A critical and exegetical commentary on Genesis (1910).djvu/411

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The city of Ẓō'ar (G (Symbol missingGreek characters)) was well known, not only in OT times (1310 142. 8, Dt. 343, Is. 155, Jer. 4834), but also in the time of the Crusades, and to the Ar. geographers, who call the Dead Sea the Sea of Zuġar. That this mediæval Zoar was at the S end of the lake is undisputed; and there is no good reason to question its identity with the biblical city (see Jos. BJ, iv. 482; OS1, 26137). Since Wetzstein, it is usually located at Ghōr eṣ-Ṣāfiyeh, about 5 m. SE from the present shore of the Sea (cf. Di. 273; Buhl, GP, 271; Smith, HG, 505 ff.; and esp. Dri. DB, iv. 985b ff.). The situation of the city naturally gave birth to the secondary legend that it had been saved from the fate of the adjacent cities on account of the intercession of Lot; while the name in Heb. readily suggested the etymology of 22b.


23-28. The catastrophe.—Brevity in the description of physical phenomena is in accord with the spirit of the Hebrew legend, whose main interest is the dramatic presentation of human character and action.—23, 24. The clause when Lot entered Zoar, presupposes 17-22, and, if the latter be from a separate source, must be deleted as an interpolation (Gu.). The connexion is improved by the excision: just as the sun rose the catastrophe took place (G-K. § 164 b).—sulphur and fire (Ezk. 3822, Ps. 116)] a feature suggested by permanent physical phenomena of the region (see below).—Yahwe rained . . . from Yahwe] A distinction between Yahwe as present in the angels and Yahwe as seated in heaven (Di.) is improbable. We must either suppose that the original subject was 'the men' (so Gu.: cf. v.13), or that (Symbol missingHebrew characters) is a doublet to (Symbol missingHebrew characters): the latter phrase, however, is generally considered to be a gloss (Ols. KS. Ho. Gu. Kit.).—25. (Symbol missingHebrew characters)] see on 29.—26. Lot's wife transgresses the prohibition of 17, and is turned into a pillar of salt.


The literal interpretation of this notice, though still maintained by Strack, is clearly inadmissible. The pillar is mentioned as still existing in WS 107, Jos. Ant. i. 203; the reference obviously being to some curious resemblance to a female figure, round which the popular


21. (Symbol missingHebrew characters)] 'have accepted thee' (lit. 'lifted up thy face': opp. (Symbol missingHebrew characters))—here in a good sense (as 3221, 2 Ki. 314, Mal. 18f.), more frequent in the bad sense of partiality in judgement (Lv. 1915, Dt. 1017, Mal. 29, Jb. 1310 etc.).

23. (Symbol missingHebrew characters)] [E] (Symbol missingHebrew characters); cf. 1517.—25. (Symbol missingHebrew characters) (v.8)] G + (Symbol missingHebrew characters), as v.29.—26. The v. stands out of its proper position (note the [H] consec., and the suffs.), and belongs to 17-22 rather than to the main narrative (Gu.).—*