Lot's two virgin daughters thrown to the mob

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Angel song
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Lot's two virgin daughters thrown to the mob

Post #1

Post by Angel song »

In Genesis 19:1-11 we read that Lot threw his two virgin daughters to the mob of Sodom to do with as they pleased rather than have his two male guests violated.

I'm at a loss as to how to explain his actions (not to mention the ethics of his act) given that virginity was highly prized at that time and not being a virgin virtually made a previously unmarried female unmarriageable.

Okay, I'm aware that the societal culture was highly patriarchal at that time in history but I still can't really understand his actions or how we should interpret this particular piece of scripture today.

Can anyone offer some insights?

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Re: Lot's two virgin daughters thrown to the mob

Post #2

Post by mitty »

Angel song wrote: In Genesis 19:1-11 we read that Lot threw his two virgin daughters to the mob of Sodom to do with as they pleased rather than have his two male guests violated.

I'm at a loss as to how to explain his actions (not to mention the ethics of his act) given that virginity was highly prized at that time and not being a virgin virtually made a previously unmarried female unmarriageable.

Okay, I'm aware that the societal culture was highly patriarchal at that time in history but I still can't really understand his actions or how we should interpret this particular piece of scripture today.

Can anyone offer some insights?
Maybe Lot was running a brothel, given his later form when he took some booze to a secluded cave, along with his daughters and sexually assaulted them despite what the male biblical writers later wrote. The S & G story is about inhospitality and not about a group of old men and boys lining up to have their turn with a couple of strangers. If so, why didn't they have their lusty way with Lot first? And where does the story mention anything about homosexuality anyway.

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Re: Lot's two virgin daughters thrown to the mob

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Post by connermt »

Angel song wrote: In Genesis 19:1-11 we read that Lot threw his two virgin daughters to the mob of Sodom to do with as they pleased rather than have his two male guests violated.

I'm at a loss as to how to explain his actions (not to mention the ethics of his act) given that virginity was highly prized at that time and not being a virgin virtually made a previously unmarried female unmarriageable.

Okay, I'm aware that the societal culture was highly patriarchal at that time in history but I still can't really understand his actions or how we should interpret this particular piece of scripture today.

Can anyone offer some insights?
It's nothing more than a story of how much someone must obey god without questioning, logic, common sense or love for anyone other than a jealous deity, in order to be protected from the "vengeance" of said deity.
It teaches obedience out of fear.
Very christian thing to do.

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Re: Lot's two virgin daughters thrown to the mob

Post #4

Post by Darias »

Angel song wrote: In Genesis 19:1-11 we read that Lot threw his two virgin daughters to the mob of Sodom to do with as they pleased rather than have his two male guests violated.

I'm at a loss as to how to explain his actions (not to mention the ethics of his act) given that virginity was highly prized at that time and not being a virgin virtually made a previously unmarried female unmarriageable.

Okay, I'm aware that the societal culture was highly patriarchal at that time in history but I still can't really understand his actions or how we should interpret this particular piece of scripture today.

Can anyone offer some insights?
Women were seen as property, and male rape was a tactic used during wartime to dehumanize. In a society that viewed women and slaves as objects, much like animals, it would have been immoral to be responsible for the dehumanization of your guests. Lot reasoned his daughters were expendable, like any of his other possessions; they weren't human. He didn't see them as his baby girls. He reportedly had no guilt of conscious, and he was not condemned morally for his actions.

This passage of scripture is so alien to our present culture that it really has no value or moral for us. It has nothing to do with gay marriage or sexual sin or any of that really.

Now the interesting thing is that there is another story like this in Judges 19, where unfortunately the woman isn't so lucky. It should illustrate that men were viewed as human beings but not women. The Old Testament was primarily interested in the morality of hospitality, not the personhood of women:
Judges 19: 22-30 wrote:22 As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him.� 23 And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not do this vile thing. 24 Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out now. Violate them and do with them what seems good to you, but against this man do not do this outrageous thing.� 25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go. 26 And as morning appeared, the woman came and fell down at the door of the man's house where her master was, until it was light.

27 And her master rose up in the morning, and when he opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, behold, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 28 He said to her, “Get up, let us be going.� But there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey, and the man rose up and went away to his home. 29 And when he entered his house, he took a knife, and taking hold of his concubine he divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel. 30 And all who saw it said, “Such a thing has never happened or been seen from the day that the people of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt until this day; consider it, take counsel, and speak.�

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Post by bluethread »

Maybe the Scriptures are interested in being true to the nature of humanity. Could this not show how the culture of Sodom had effected Lot and justification for the judgment. Remember the earning given to Lot was at the behest of Avram. If these details were not included, would people not be protesting the judgment of Sodom?

Regarding the passage in Judges, it is to be remembered this was a time when people did what was right in their own eyes and not necessarily what Adonai wished them to do.

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Post by 10CC »

bluethread wrote: Maybe the Scriptures are interested in being true to the nature of humanity. Could this not show how the culture of Sodom had effected Lot and justification for the judgment. Remember the earning given to Lot was at the behest of Avram. If these details were not included, would people not be protesting the judgment of Sodom?

Regarding the passage in Judges, it is to be remembered this was a time when people did what was right in their own eyes and not necessarily what Adonai wished them to do.
Yes it really is impossible to present any worthwhile and or believable defense for these obscene passages in the bible of god's actions.

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Post #7

Post by bluethread »

10CC wrote:
bluethread wrote: Maybe the Scriptures are interested in being true to the nature of humanity. Could this not show how the culture of Sodom had effected Lot and justification for the judgment. Remember the earning given to Lot was at the behest of Avram. If these details were not included, would people not be protesting the judgment of Sodom?

Regarding the passage in Judges, it is to be remembered this was a time when people did what was right in their own eyes and not necessarily what Adonai wished them to do.
Yes it really is impossible to present any worthwhile and or believable defense for these obscene passages in the bible of god's actions.
I made no such assertion. What is it you are protesting. That Adonai destroyed Sodom or that He did not destroy Lot?

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Post #8

Post by 10CC »

bluethread wrote:
10CC wrote:
bluethread wrote: Maybe the Scriptures are interested in being true to the nature of humanity. Could this not show how the culture of Sodom had effected Lot and justification for the judgment. Remember the earning given to Lot was at the behest of Avram. If these details were not included, would people not be protesting the judgment of Sodom?

Regarding the passage in Judges, it is to be remembered this was a time when people did what was right in their own eyes and not necessarily what Adonai wished them to do.
Yes it really is impossible to present any worthwhile and or believable defense for these obscene passages in the bible of god's actions.
I made no such assertion. What is it you are protesting. That Adonai destroyed Sodom or that He did not destroy Lot?
How about the treatment of women as the property of men. With your gods approval.

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Post #9

Post by bluethread »

10CC wrote:
bluethread wrote:
I made no such assertion. What is it you are protesting. That Adonai destroyed Sodom or that He did not destroy Lot?
How about the treatment of women as the property of men. With your gods approval.


Where does it say that Adonai approved of what Lot did?

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Post #10

Post by 10CC »

bluethread wrote:
10CC wrote:
bluethread wrote:
I made no such assertion. What is it you are protesting. That Adonai destroyed Sodom or that He did not destroy Lot?
How about the treatment of women as the property of men. With your gods approval.


Where does it say that Adonai approved of what Lot did?
Your god allegedly wrote the book that designates women as possessions, what does that have to do with what you think of lot. Oh I know he is a biblical superman, but to those of us who are human he is the lowest form of life to ever crawl on this earth. Importantly your god found him righteous. I think that says a lot about your god!
Mankind is a far better judge.

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