i don't understand the moral reasoning behind lot's wife being turned to salt?

Question

first of all, how could looking backwards at amazing destruction behind you warrant death from god and secondly, god didn't tell lot's wife herself not to look. god told lot and told him to tell his family as well. if someone told you to look backwards because god said so, wouldn't it be understandable, not being told from god himself, but from an imperfect human, that you could be slightly skeptical of a command from a husband, thinking perhaps it could be hear-say?

Answer 1

I agree with you. if god had to her him self it would have been a whole diffident story.

a lot of the bible does not make sense, some parts can be taken different ways, Others just don't seem right. You kinda have to look past the story into the message that was trying to come out.

Answer 2

I don't really care for these stupid anti-religion questions, and am basically trying to collect points by being sarcastic and nasty to people who's logic strikes me as reatarded.

Yours is okay but shaky. First, if you actually read the bible you'd notice the Creator messes people up really bad for disobeying him all over the place. Most of these people recieve his will through a Prophet, and not on their own.

Pluss, the only morality in the bible is obedience is good, disobedience bad. Stab a baby when commanded, good. Don't, bad. Do it when not commanded, bad. Refrain, good.

Lastly, I just want to say as a Palestinian who grew up hearing Hebrew all over the place,and can understand it; and grew up speaking Arabic, Laura J above has no idea how semitic languages work and her thing about the pillar is stupid. Salt arguement makes more sence, but is stupid in context. An officer of vanish. What the hell does that mean?

Answer 3

You have to take in consideration that Adam in the garden was established as the head and the women the woman Eve as the follower, subject to him. Knowing this, you can thus see that God would give Lot a command for him and his household.
She being subject to her husband would obey her husband as her leader in the matter of God just as in all matters.
As for her turning back and changing into a pillar of salt, there seems to be two things she did resulting in the consequences.
First as she looked back, it was an indication that she was looking back for what she was losing. Her heart was not with God in obedience to Him but for those things she was being taken away from. She had soul ties with her home and the things and people there. She had a spirit of rebellion that was made apparent as she disobeyed her husband thus disobeying God.

Answer 4

When I read the pillar of salt passage in the Hebrew an interesting fact was observed. To see this discovery we must look at the key words found in the passage. There are ten Hebrew words which are translated as pillar in the English Bible. And one more in the Greek. The word which is describing the pillar cloud in the Exodus (which led the nation of Israel from Egypt) is the same word used to describe the pillars of the tabernacle and later the temple. This is the word "ammud". It's Greek equivalent is "stulos".

However, the word seen in Genesis 19:26 referring to Lot's wife is the Hebrew word "netsib". This word is defined as a pillar, perfect, garrison, or post. The New American Standard translates this word as five different English words. It is seen once as deputy, four times as garrison, five times as garrisons, once as officers, and only once as pillar. The word "netsib" is derived from the root word "natsab", which means to take one's stand or just a stand.

What we see from the word "netsib" is that Lot's wife was falling behind Lot, then she stopped and refused to proceed. There were probably angry words being exchanged. Lot and his daughters proceeded by faith, she refused to accept the warning of the angels (she probably said that they were just men and not angels sent from God, as most of us would do). We know that this word is used to speak of a garrison (other words could have been used for just standing or for pillar). The connotation is a military stand. Lot's wife literally quit walking and refused to move, even if force were used to move her. She did not believe. She refused to continue on. Lot and his daughters proceeded without her, for their own safety, because they had faith and the righteous live by faith.

Now let us look at the word used for salt, it is a very interesting word. The Hebrew word used in this passage (and often elsewhere in the Old Testament) is the word "melach". If you look in your Young's, Strong's, or New American Exhaustive Concordance, you will observe eight listings for various forms of this word. For example, "melechah" is derived from the word "melach" and means saltiness or bareness. Another word is "mallach" (also a derivation of "melach"), it means mariner (sailor). Then there is the verb form which means salt, plus noun and verb listing for the Aramaic words for salt. There are two more words listed in the concordance, a noun and verb form of the word "malach". The noun means "a rag". The verb means "to tear away" or "to vanish". Has a light gone on in your head yet? Well I will continue and make it clearer. An example of the verb "malach" is found in a passage in the book of Isaiah, chapter 51, verse 6. This passage states, "Lift up your eyes to the sky, then look to the earth beneath; for the sky will vanish like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment ...." This passage is a prophecy of the end of the world. Would it make sense if it were translated such as to say that the sky will turn to salt? In the original Hebrew both "melach" (salt) and "malach" (vanish) would be mlch. Only the vowel "a" or "e" determines which word is to be used. The reason that these two words are so close in form is because salt vanishes when dissolved in water.

As stated above, the ancient Hebrew language up until about the sixth century was written using only consonants. The vowel and word breaks were supplied from the memory of the reader. Therefore, when Aaron read through the hand written scrolls produced by Moses, from memory he had to decide which vowels to add to the words. In most cases this wasn't a problem, since the context of the passage made it obvious which would be used. Also, priests were intensely trained as to the meaning of each passage. But, there were a number of periods between the time of Moses and the time when vowel points were added to the text by scribes (around two thousand years later) in which the nation of Israel fell into idolatry. During these periods Bible reading fell off and departure in passage meaning or the substitution of an "e" for an "a" could have easily happened.

Answer 5

Well, she was told not to and she did it anyways.

Genesis 19:15-26

15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished." 16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!" 18 But Lot said to them, "No, my lords, please! 19 Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can't flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I'll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it--it is very small, isn't it? Then my life will be spared." 21 He said to him, "Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. 22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it." (That is why the town was called Zoar.) 23 By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land.

24 Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah--from the Lord out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities--and also the vegetation in the land.

26 But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Jesus refers to it too:

Luke 17:32-33
32 "Remember Lot's wife. 33 "Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

life here meaning way of life.

From this we see that she looked back longingly, wanting that life. Not looked back out of curiosity of the destruction, looked back because she desired it.

Moral here is keep your eyes on God and not the world.

Answer 6

It is my understanding from this symbolic passage in the Bible, that if Lots wife looked back, and therefore turned into a pillar of salt, this:

Salt was a valuable commodity in those days. The soldiers were paid with salt equal to their weight (the determination stemming from the belief that someone who weighed more had a better chance in combat), and also from this comes the saying-"You aren't worth your weight in salt".

From this symbology, I personally understand looking back to be, becoming a part of such, and therefore turned into the "pillar", or by any measure of attention in idolatry by the activities told to look away from, and then therefore to its fodder by circumstance, which usually calls for payment of such activities told to look away from.

In short:

In my opinion it means, if Lots wife were to become a part of any such activities which find her being in any pillar of action to be idolized therefrom, she would be paid in salt for such activity, and Lot did not want this of her.

Answer 7

it was punishment for dissobedience
genesis 19:7. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!"
26. But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Answer 8

She committed possibly the greatest "sin" a woman can commit - she disobeyed her husband. There are several of these lessons in the bible, Lot's wife is just the obvious. She was supposed to follow his directions without questions, without complaint, and precisely as he gave them. She didn't and so she got what all uppity women who think they know better than their husbands should get! [/sarcasm]

Answer 9

A women was to always listen to her husband .It was her last chance to do what God told her husband every one else did A leap of faith .

Answer 10

She was a bad girl. She looked when she was told not to. Instead of a spanking, she got salted.