101 Myths of the Bible: how ancient scribes - Conscious Evolution TV

122 101 Myths of the Bible
ously a close relative who traveled with him over long distances from Mesopotamia to
Egypt and back to Canaan; Lot looked like the heir apparent.
Twenty-five years later, God told Abraham that he would have a son named Isaac
(Abraham was one hundred years old when he got the news) and this son would be
the heir to the covenant. Coincidentally, following this announcement, God determined
that the wickedness of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah required that
he destroy the two cities. When Abraham learned of God’s plan, which would exterminate
even the good and pious Lot, he negotiated: “And Abraham drew near, and
said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” (Gen. 18:23).
Eventually, they made a deal. If God found ten righteous men in Sodom he would
not destroy the city. Two angels were thus sent on a scouting mission. At Sodom they
met Lot, apparently an important town official who sat in judgment by the city gate,
and he offered them the hospitality of his home. While Lot shared his meal with the
angels, several Sodomites came to Lot’s door and demanded that he turn his guests
over to them “that we may know them,” a euphemism for carnal knowledge (Gen.
19:5). Lot begged them to withdraw and offered the crowd his two virgin daughters
as a substitute. This offer did not satisfy the Sodomites and they threatened harm
against both the guests and Lot.
Lest we think this story involves some claim that homosexuality was a sinful act
even greater than rape, we should understand that the crime of the Sodomites was not
homosexuality or rape but lack of hospitality.
Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you,
bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these
men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. (Gen. 19:8)
In much of that region in ancient times, hospitality towards travelers and guests
played an important role bordering on obligation. The biblical narratives portray
many such accounts, as do myths from other cultures in the Mediterranean and Near
Eastern cultures. In one story, for example, Abraham:
lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them,
he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And