Lot had relocated to Sedom in order to enjoy the material benefits and luxuries the prosperous region offered. Little did he realize, however, that reaping the benefits of Sedomite citizenship came at the cost of suffering the consequences – which turned out to be captivity at the hands of foreign conquerors.
The Torah in Parashat Lekh-Lekha tells of the battle fought between the four eastern kingdoms and the five cities of the Jordan River Valley. The four powers routed the cities’ armies, and captured their people and property – including Lot, Avraham’s nephew, who resided in Sedom (one of the five cities). Upon hearing of his nephew’s capture, Avraham immediately mobilized a small army and defeated the four powerful conquerors.
In telling of Lot’s capture, the Torah writes, “They took Lot and his property – Avram’s nephew – and they left; he had been living in Sedom” (14:12). The obvious question arises as to why the Torah found it necessary to identify Lot’s relationship to Avraham. Lot has already played a significant role in the narratives of Avraham’s experiences since resettling in Canaan, and we’ve already been told that he was the son of Avraham’s deceased brother, Haran. Why, then, does the Torah emphasizeLot’s relationship to Avraham in this verse?
Commenting on the phrase, “Avraham’s nephew,” the Midrash Ha-gadol writes, “For they prided themselves and said, ‘We captured Avraham’s nephew!’ The end proves that they came only for him.” The Midrash Ha-gadol finds in this verse evidence of the fact that the offensive waged by the four kingdoms was launched for the specific purpose of luring Avraham to battle. The Torah emphasizes that they captured “Avraham’s nephew” because this was precisely their intent: to create a situation where Avraham would come to war, and they could eliminate him. This premise – that the four kings had intentionally captured Lot for the sake of luring Avraham to war – appears elsewhere, as well, in Bereishit Rabba (42:1).
Netziv, in his Ha’amek Davar, finds further evidence for this theory from the final phrase in the verse cited above – “he had been living in Sedom” (“ve-hu yosheiv bi-Sdom”). This narrative is presented shortly after the story of Lot’s separation from Avraham and his taking residence in Sedom. There thus seems no reason for the Torah to inform us here, in the context of the battle, that Lot was residing in Sedom. Netziv explains that the Torah seeks to emphasize that at the time of the war, Lotwas in the city, not on the battlefield. According to Netziv’s reading, the four kings captured only the soldiers and provisions which they found on the battlefield; they did not seize the property in the cities. Yet, they made a point of entering Sedom for the specific purpose of seizing Lot – “Avraham’s nephew” – and his property. The reason, Netziv explains, is because their primary goal was to lure Avraham to war.
Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch suggests a much different explanation for why the Torah identifies Lot as “Avraham’s nephew” and emphasizes that he lived in Sedom. Rav Hirsch does not follow the Midrash’s understanding that the four kingdoms had come to wage battle against Avraham. He instead accepts the plain reading of the text, which indicates that this war resulted from the five cities’ attempt to free themselves from the control and taxation of the eastern kingdoms (14:4). Lot, who had only recently come to Sedom, was still easily identifiable as “Avraham’s nephew,” an outsider, and could have perhaps expected to be spared from the vengeance of the four kingdoms, who set out to punish the rebellious cities. But this is not what happened, because, as the Torah stresses, “he had been living in Sedom.” Lot had relocated to Sedom in order to enjoy the material benefits and luxuries the prosperous region offered. Little did he realize, however, that reaping the benefits of Sedomite citizenship came at the cost of suffering the consequences – which turned out to be captivity at the hands of foreign conquerors. Although he was “Avraham’s nephew,” he suffered the same fate as the native Sedomites, because, after all, “he had been living in Sedom.”
Rav Hirsch concludes with the historical message conveyed by Lot’s fate:
Herein lies a warning hint for the members of the Abrahamic family which has proved itself during the centuries of Jewish history. If one remains faithful to the Jewish calling one certainly has to do without a good deal, but one also saves oneself from a good deal, one seems to be borne by the kanfei ha-Shekhina[“wings” of the Divine Presence]. The isolating ghettos were not only against the Jews, they existed also for them. Within them they remained protected from many evils which…befell the people outside.