Genesis 19:26
New International Version
But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

New Living Translation
But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.

English Standard Version
But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Berean Standard Bible
But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

King James Bible
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

New King James Version
But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

New American Standard Bible
But Lot’s wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

NASB 1995
But his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

NASB 1977
But his wife, from behind him, looked back; and she became a pillar of salt.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Amplified Bible
But Lot’s wife, from behind him, [foolishly, longingly] looked [back toward Sodom in an act of disobedience], and she became a pillar of salt.

Christian Standard Bible
But Lot’s wife looked back and became a pillar of salt.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
But his wife looked back and became a pillar of salt.

American Standard Version
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Contemporary English Version
On the way, Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a block of salt.

English Revised Version
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Lot's wife looked back and turned into a column of salt.

Good News Translation
But Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.

International Standard Version
But Lot's wife looked back as she lingered behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Majority Standard Bible
But Lot?s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

NET Bible
But Lot's wife looked back longingly and was turned into a pillar of salt.

New Heart English Bible
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Webster's Bible Translation
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

World English Bible
But Lot’s wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And his wife looks from behind him, and she becomes a pillar of salt!

Young's Literal Translation
And his wife looketh expectingly from behind him, and she is -- a pillar of salt!

Smith's Literal Translation
And his wife will look hack from behind him, and will become a pillar of salt.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And his wife looking behind her, was turned into a statue of salt.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And his wife, looking behind herself, was turned into a statue of salt.

New American Bible
But Lot’s wife looked back, and she was turned into a pillar of salt.

New Revised Standard Version
But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
But his wife looked back from behind him and she became a pillar of salt.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And his wife turned from behind him and she became a pillar of salt.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And his wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
25Thus He destroyed these cities and the entire plain, including all the inhabitants of the cities and everything that grew on the ground. 26But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. 27Early the next morning, Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD.…

Cross References
Luke 17:32
Remember Lot’s wife!

Matthew 24:16-18
then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. / Let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve anything from his house. / And let no one in the field return for his cloak.

Hebrews 10:38-39
But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.” / But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Philippians 3:13-14
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, / I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.

2 Peter 2:6-9
if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly; / and if He rescued Lot, a righteous man distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless / (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— ...

Luke 9:62
Then Jesus declared, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Mark 13:15-16
Let no one on the housetop go back inside to retrieve anything from his house. / And let no one in the field return for his cloak.

1 Corinthians 10:11
Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.

Hebrews 11:7
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Isaiah 3:9
The expression on their faces testifies against them, and like Sodom they flaunt their sin; they do not conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought disaster upon themselves.

Ezekiel 18:24
But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness and sin he has committed, he will die.

Jeremiah 7:24
Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but they followed the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.

Numbers 16:26
And he warned the congregation, “Move away now from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”

Deuteronomy 29:23
All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His fierce anger.

Isaiah 13:19
And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.


Treasury of Scripture

But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

looked.

Genesis 19:17
And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

Proverbs 14:14
The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.

Luke 17:31,32
In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back…

and.

Numbers 16:38
The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.

Jump to Previous
Expectingly Lot's Pillar Salt Wife
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Expectingly Lot's Pillar Salt Wife
Genesis 19
1. Lot entertains two angels.
4. The vicious Sodomites are smitten with blindness.
12. Lot is warned, and in vain warns his sons-in-law.
15. He is directed to flee to the mountains, but obtains leave to go into Zoar.
24. Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed.
26. Lot's wife looks back and becomes a pillar of salt.
29. Lot dwells in a cave.
31. The incestuous origin of Moab and Ammon.














But Lot’s wife
The identity of Lot's wife is not explicitly mentioned by name in the Scriptures, which emphasizes her role and actions rather than her personal identity. In the Hebrew context, the mention of "Lot's wife" serves as a reminder of her connection to Lot, who was Abraham's nephew. This familial link underscores the narrative's focus on the consequences of disobedience within the covenant community. Her actions are a cautionary tale for those who are part of God's people, highlighting the importance of obedience and trust in God's commands.

looked back
The Hebrew word used here is "נָבַט" (nabat), which means to look intently or to regard with consideration. This was not a mere glance but an action that indicated longing or attachment to what was left behind. In the historical and scriptural context, this act of looking back symbolizes a heart divided between the past and the future God had planned. It serves as a metaphor for spiritual hesitation and the danger of yearning for a sinful past when God calls us to move forward in faith.

and she became
This phrase marks a sudden and dramatic transformation, indicating the immediacy of the consequence of disobedience. The Hebrew verb "הָיָה" (hayah) is used, which means "to become" or "to come to pass." It signifies a change in state, reflecting the irreversible nature of her decision. This transformation is a powerful reminder of the seriousness of God's commands and the swift justice that can follow disobedience.

a pillar of salt
The term "pillar" in Hebrew is "נְצִיב" (netziv), which can mean a garrison or a stationed object, suggesting permanence and immovability. Salt, in the ancient Near Eastern context, was a symbol of desolation and barrenness, often associated with judgment and destruction. Archaeologically, the region around the Dead Sea, where Sodom and Gomorrah were located, is rich in salt formations, providing a tangible backdrop to this narrative. The transformation of Lot's wife into a pillar of salt serves as a stark, physical representation of the consequences of disobedience and the spiritual barrenness that results from turning away from God's path.

(26) His wife looked back from behind him.--In Oriental countries it is still the rule for the wife to walk behind her husband. As regards the method of her transformation, some think that she was stifled by sulphureous vapours, and her body subsequently encrusted with salt. More probably, the earthquake heaped up a mighty mass of the rock-salt, which lies in solid strata round the Dead Sea, and Lot's wife was entangled in the convulsion and perished, leaving the hill of salt, in which she was enclosed, as her memorial. Salt cones are not uncommon in this neighbourhood, and the American Expedition found one, about forty feet high, near Usdum (Lynch, Report, pp. 183 et seq.). Entombed in this salt pillar, she became a "monument of an unbelieving soul" (Wisdom Of Solomon 10:7).

Verse 26. - But his wife looked back from behind him, - i.e. went behind him and looked back; ἑπέβλεψεν (LXX.), implying wistful regard-; respiciens (Vulgate); an act expressly forbidden by the angel (ver 17) - and she became (literally, she was, conveying an idea of complete and instantaneous judgment) a pillar of salt. נְעִיב מֵלַח; στήλη ἀλός (LXX.); a statue or column of fossil salt, such as exists in the neighborhood of the Dead Sea. That she was literally transformed into a pillar of salt (Josephus, Calvin, Rosenmüller, Kalisch, Wordsworth), though not impossible, is scarcely likely. A more probable interpretation is that she was killed by the fiery and sulphurous vapor with which the atmosphere was impregnated, and afterwards became encrusted with salt (Aben Ezra, Keil, Lange, Murphy, Quarry), though against this it has been urged

(1) that the air was not filled with "salt sulphurous rain," but with fire and brimstone; and

(2) that the heaven-sent tempest did not operate in the way described on the other inhabitants of Sodom (Inglis). A third explanation regards the expression as allegorical, and intimating that the fate of Lot's wife was an everlasting monument of the danger of disregarding the word of the Lord, either as a covenant of salt signifies a perpetual covenant (Clark), or with reference to the salt pillars which, in a similar manner, attest the destruction of the cities (Inglis). The notion that Lot's wife, returning to the city, stuck fast in terra salsuginosa, like a salt pillar (Dathius), and that she perished in the flames, having afterwards erected to her memory a monument of the salt stone of the region (Michaelis), may be disregarded.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
But [Lot’s] wife
אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ (’iš·tōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

looked
וַתַּבֵּ֥ט (wat·tab·bêṭ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 5027: To scan, look intently at, to regard

back,
מֵאַחֲרָ֑יו (mê·’a·ḥă·rāw)
Preposition-m | third person masculine singular
Strong's 310: The hind or following part

and she became
וַתְּהִ֖י (wat·tə·hî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

a pillar
נְצִ֥יב (nə·ṣîḇ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 5333: Something stationary, a prefect, a military post, a statue

of salt.
מֶֽלַח׃ (me·laḥ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4417: Powder, salt


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OT Law: Genesis 19:26 But his wife looked back from behind (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 19:25
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