Lot

Portrait of Lot

Lot is Abraham's nephew who settled in Sodom, was rescued by angels before its destruction, and whose story illustrates both divine mercy toward the righteous and judgment upon the wicked. Within the apocryphal expansions of the patriarchal era, the account of Abraham's nephew illuminates broader themes of divine separation and judgment that echo the cosmic reckonings described in the Book of Enoch. Texts such as Jubilees and Jasher elaborate on the brief Genesis outline by detailing how this figure accompanied Abraham from Ur and Haran, only to part ways after disputes over land and flocks, as recorded in Jubilees 13:17-18 and the parallel narrative in Jasher 16. These separations underscore a recurring motif in Enochic literature, where chosen lineages diverge from those destined for different fates, mirroring the Watchers' own estrangement from the divine order in 1 Enoch 6-16. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah receives particular attention in these works, framing the event as an act of angelic intervention that parallels the flood judgment. Jubilees 16:5-7 describes the arrival of heavenly messengers who warn the righteous while executing fiery punishment on the cities, emphasizing their corruption through violence and unnatural unions-a motif directly resonant with the Enochic portrayal of the Watchers' transgressions in 1 Enoch 7-10. Jasher 19 expands this with extended dialogue and details of the cities' moral decay, positioning the nephew's rescue as a demonstration of providence amid widespread angelic enforcement of divine boundaries. Finally, the aftermath involving his daughters highlights the complexities of lineage preservation in a post-judgment world, recounted in Jubilees 16:8-9 and Jasher 19:50-60. These episodes explore the tensions between human initiative and covenantal fidelity, themes that reverberate through Enochic traditions concerned with the survival of righteous seed amid apocalyptic upheaval. Together, these narratives enrich the Enochian corpus by grounding abstract cosmic conflicts in the lived experiences of the patriarchal family.

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Biography

Occupation
Patriarch
Era
Patriarchal
Patriarch Jasher Jubilees

Key Chapters

The Book of Jubilees 13 Abram in Canaan and Egypt; Separation from Lot 6 min read Strife arises between the herdsmen of Abraham and Lot. Abraham gives Lot the cho... The Book of Jasher 19 The Abominations of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Two Angels sent to Save Lot. The Cities of the Plain and all their Inhabitants Destroyed by Fire... 13 min read Angels warn Lot to flee. He escapes with his wife and two daughters as fire and ... The Book of Jasher 16 Four Kings with Eight Hundred Thousand Men War against Sodom and the Cities of the Plain, and destroy and plunder their people. Abram, Hearing that Lo... 9 min read The Book of Jubilees 16 Birth of Isaac; Institution of the Feast of Tabernacles 7 min read

Key Passages

Lot Separates from Abraham

The Book of Jubilees 13:1-4

Strife arises between the herdsmen of Abraham and Lot. Abraham gives Lot the choice of the land; Lot chooses the well-watered plain of the Jordan and dwells in Sodom.

A1nd Abram journeyed from Haran, and he took Sarai, his wife, and Lot, his brother Haran's son, to the land of Canaan, and he came into Asshur, and proceeded to Shechem, and dwelt near a lofty oak.

2 And he saw, and, behold, the land was very pleasant from the entering of Hamath to the lofty oak. 3 And the Lord said to him: 'To thee and to thy seed will I give this land.' 4 And he built an altar there, and he offered thereon a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Read full chapter: The Book of Jubilees 13 →

Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

The Book of Jasher 19:1-4

Angels warn Lot to flee. He escapes with his wife and two daughters as fire and brimstone destroy the cities. His wife looks back and becomes a pillar of salt.

A1nd the cities of Sodom had four judges to four cities, and these were their names, Serak in the city of Sodom, Sharkad in Gomorrah, Zabnac in Admah, and Menon in Zeboyim.

2 And Eliezer Abraham's servant applied to them different names, and he converted Serak to Shakra, Sharkad to Shakrura, Zebnac to Kezobim, and Menon to Matzlodin. 3 And by desire of their four judges the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had beds erected in the streets of the cities, and if a man came to these places they laid hold of him and brought him to one of their beds, and by force made him to lie in them. 4 And as he lay down, three men would stand at his head and three at his feet, and measure him by the length of the bed, and if the man was less than the bed these six men would stretch him at each end, and when he cried out to them they would not answer him.

Read full chapter: The Book of Jasher 19 →

Lot separates from Abraham

The Book of Jubilees 13:20-29

For all the land which thou seest I will give to thee and to thy seed for ever, and I will make thy seed as the sand of ...

F20or all the land which thou seest I will give to thee and to thy seed for ever, and I will make thy seed as the sand of the sea: though a man may number the dust of the earth, yet thy seed shall not be numbered.

21 Arise, walk (through the land) in the length of it and the breadth of it, and see it all; for to thy seed will I give it.' And Abram went to Hebron, and dwelt there. 22 And in this year came Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Sellasar, and Tergal, king of nations, and slew the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Sodom fled, and many fell through wounds in the vale of Siddim, by the Salt Sea. 23 And they took captive Sodom and Adam and Zeboim, and they took captive Lot also, the son of Abram's brother, and all his possessions, and they went to Dan. 24 And one who had escaped came and told Abram that his brother's son had been taken captive and (Abram) armed his household servants . . . 25 . . . . for Abram, and for his seed, a tenth of the first fruits to the Lord, and the Lord ordained it as an ordinance for ever that they should give it to the priests who served before Him, that they should possess it for ever. 26 And to this law there is no limit of days; for He hath ordained it for the generations for ever that they should give to the Lord the tenth of everything, of the seed and of the wine and of the oil and of the cattle and of the sheep. 27 And He gave (it) unto His priests to eat and to drink with joy before Him. 28 And the king of Sodom came to him and bowed himself before him, and said: 'Our Lord Abram, give unto us the souls which thou hast rescued, but let the booty be thine.' 29 And Abram said unto him: 'I lift up my hands to the Most High God, that from a thread to a shoe-latchet I shall not take aught that is thine lest thou shouldst say, I have made Abram rich; save only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me -Aner, Eschol, and Mamre. These shall take their portion.'

Read full chapter: The Book of Jubilees 13 →

Lot captured in the war

The Book of Jasher 16:5-12

And the valley of Siddim was full of lime pits and the kings of Elam pursued the kings of Sodom, and the kings of Sodom ...

A5nd the valley of Siddim was full of lime pits and the kings of Elam pursued the kings of Sodom, and the kings of Sodom with their camps fled and fell into the lime pits, and all that remained went to the mountain for safety, and the five kings of Elam came after them and pursued them to the gates of Sodom, and they took all that there was in Sodom.

6 And they plundered all the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and they also took Lot, Abram's brother's son, and his property, and they seized all the goods of the cities of Sodom, and they went away; and Unic, Abram's servant, who was in the battle, saw this, and told Abram all that the kings had done to the cities of Sodom, and that Lot was taken captive by them. 7 And Abram heard this, and he rose up with about three hundred and eighteen men that were with him, and he that night pursued these kings and smote them, and they all fell before Abram and his men, and there was none remaining but the four kings who fled, and they went each his own road. 8 And Abram recovered all the property of Sodom, and he also recovered Lot and his property, his wives and little ones and all belonging to him, so that Lot lacked nothing. 9 And when he returned from smiting these kings, he and his men passed the valley of Siddim where the kings had made war together. 10 And Bera king of Sodom, and the rest of his men that were with him, went out from the lime pits into which they had fallen, to meet Abram and his men. 11 And Adonizedek king of Jerusalem, the same was Shem, went out with his men to meet Abram and his people, with bread and wine, and they remained together in the valley of Melech. 12 And Adonizedek blessed Abram, and Abram gave him a tenth from all that he had brought from the spoil of his enemies, for Adonizedek was a priest before God.

Read full chapter: The Book of Jasher 16 →

Destruction of Sodom

The Book of Jubilees 16:5-9

And in this month the Lord executed his judgments on Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Zeboim, and all the region of the Jordan, ...

A5nd in this month the Lord executed his judgments on Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Zeboim, and all the region of the Jordan, and He burned them with fire and brimstone, and destroyed them until this day, even as lo I have declared unto thee all their works, that they are wicked and sinners exceedingly, and that they defile themselves and commit fornication in their flesh, and work uncleanness on the earth.

6 And, in like manner, God will execute judgment on the places where they have done according to the uncleanness of the Sodomites, like unto the judgment of Sodom. 7 But Lot we saved; for God remembered Abraham, and sent him out from the midst of the overthrow. 8 And he and his daughters committed sin upon the earth, such as had not been on the earth since the days of Adam till his time; for the man lay with his daughters. 9 And, behold, it was commanded and engraven concerning all his seed, on the heavenly tablets, to remove them and root them out, and to execute judgment upon them like the judgment of Sodom, and to leave no seed of the man on earth on the day of condemnation.

Read full chapter: The Book of Jubilees 16 →

Related

Characters

Geography

Themes

Did You Know?

1

Lot was Abraham's nephew who chose the plain of Jordan and dwelt in Sodom.

2

He was delivered from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

3

Lot accompanied Abraham from Ur and Haran only to separate after land and flock disputes as noted in Jubilees 13:17-18 and Jasher 16.

4

Heavenly messengers arrived per Jubilees 16:5-7 to warn the righteous and execute fiery punishment on cities corrupted by violence and unnatural unions.

5

Jubilees 16:8-9 and Jasher 19:50-60 recount Lot's daughters role in the aftermath exploring lineage preservation amid post-judgment tensions.