Lot (biblical)

Lot (Lut in the Quran) is the nephew of the patriarch, Abraham or Abram. He is the son of Abraham's brother 'Haran', who, according to Jewish midrash, was burned in the gigantic fire which Nimrod, King of Babylon, tried to kill Abraham by having Abraham thrown in.

According to the midrash, God saved Abraham who sanctified His name by refusing to agree to the lies of idolatry.

Lot accompanied Abraham in all his journeys and went down to Egypt with Abraham and his family. The midrash gives Lot much credit because, despite his desire for wealth, he did not inform Pharaoh of the secret of Sarah, Abraham's wife. When Abraham journeyed to the Land of Canaan at the command of God. Lot accompanied him.

Lot and Abraham were both shepherds of evident wealth so that there came a time when the land they used could not contain the flocks of both. At this time Abraham and Lot split, Lot going southeast to plains near the cities of Sodom and Gommoroah, as well as three other cities.

When God decided to overturn and destroy the five cities of the plain, God sent angels to rescue Lot and his family in the merit of Abraham. However it was conditional that they did not look back. However Lot's wife turned back to see the destruction of the city and was hence turned into a pillar of salt. Lot and his two daughters escaped to the hills. Hence the phrase Remember Lot's wife.

On the subsequent two nights, his daughters slept with their father and became impregnated. The first son born was later called 'Moav' -meaning in Hebrew -from the father [meh-Av]. He was the patriarch of the nation known as Moab. The second was called Amon, in Hebrew meaning: 'From our nation' and later became the patriarch of the nation of Amon.