But Lot’s wife looked backThis phrase highlights the disobedience of Lot's wife, who directly defied the angelic command not to look back at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (
Genesis 19:17). Her action symbolizes a longing for her past life and attachments to the sinful city, reflecting a heart not fully committed to God's deliverance. This serves as a warning against the dangers of spiritual complacency and the temptation to cling to worldly desires. In the New Testament, Jesus references this event in
Luke 17:32, urging His followers to remember Lot's wife as a caution against looking back when called to follow Him.
and she became a pillar of salt
The transformation of Lot's wife into a pillar of salt is both literal and symbolic. Geographically, the region around the Dead Sea, where Sodom and Gomorrah were located, is rich in salt deposits, making this transformation plausible within the natural environment. Archaeologically, the area is known for its salt formations, which could have inspired the biblical account. Historically, this event underscores the severity of God's judgment on sin and the consequences of disobedience. Symbolically, salt in the Bible often represents preservation and judgment. Her transformation serves as a lasting monument to the consequences of disobedience and a reminder of the importance of faithfulness to God's commands.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
Lot's WifeThe unnamed wife of Lot, who disobeyed the angelic warning not to look back at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, resulting in her transformation into a pillar of salt.
2.
LotNephew of Abraham, who lived in Sodom. He was warned by angels to flee the city with his family to escape its impending destruction.
3.
Sodom and GomorrahCities known for their wickedness, which were destroyed by God as a judgment for their sins.
4.
AngelsMessengers sent by God to warn Lot and his family to flee Sodom and not look back.
5.
Pillar of SaltThe consequence of Lot's wife's disobedience, symbolizing judgment and the seriousness of God's commands.
Teaching Points
Obedience to God's CommandsLot's wife's fate underscores the importance of obeying God's instructions fully. Partial obedience or hesitation can lead to dire consequences.
The Danger of Looking BackHer account serves as a metaphor for the spiritual peril of longing for a sinful past. Believers are called to move forward in faith, not backward in regret or desire for former ways.
Judgment and MercyWhile God's judgment on Sodom was severe, His mercy was evident in the warning given to Lot's family. This balance is a reminder of God's character.
The Cost of DisobedienceThe transformation of Lot's wife into a pillar of salt is a stark reminder of the cost of disobedience and the seriousness of God's commands.
Focus on the FutureBelievers are encouraged to focus on the future promises of God rather than the past, aligning with the call to live by faith and not by sight.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Genesis 19:26?
2.What does Genesis 19:26 teach about the consequences of disobedience to God?
3.How can Lot's wife's story encourage us to trust God's guidance fully?
4.What other biblical examples show the dangers of looking back or hesitating?
5.How can we avoid "looking back" in our spiritual journey today?
6.What steps can we take to strengthen our faith and obedience to God?
7.Why did Lot's wife turn into a pillar of salt in Genesis 19:26?
8.What is the significance of Lot's wife's transformation in Genesis 19:26?
9.How does Genesis 19:26 reflect God's judgment and mercy?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Genesis 19?
11.Why would Lot’s wife instantly become a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26), and is there any scientific basis for this event?
12.Why did Lot's wife turn into a pillar of salt?
13.Why should we remember Lot's wife?
14.What caused Lot's wife to look back?What Does Genesis 19:26 Mean
But• The little conjunction introduces a sharp contrast with the prior rescue plan. God had just shown mercy, sending angels to hurry Lot’s family out of Sodom (Genesis 19:15-16).
• A “but” signals that someone is about to resist that mercy, echoing earlier passages where rebellion follows divine grace (compareGenesis 3:6-7;2 Peter 2:6-7).
Lot’s wife• She shared in the privileges given to Lot—angelic warning, physical hand-holding out of danger, and the same instructions (Genesis 19:17).
• Yet her story stands alone as a cautionary example, so important that Jesus later said, “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32), bundling her one-verse fate into His teaching on final judgment.
• Her namelessness universalizes the warning: any heart can mirror hers.
looked back• The glance was not a casual curiosity. It was an act of disobedience to the explicit command, “Do not look back or stop” (Genesis 19:17).
• Looking back signified lingering attachment to the very place God was judging—an inward turning toward sin while the feet were outwardly headed to safety (Hebrews 10:38-39;Philippians 3:13-14).
• It reveals how half-hearted obedience can betray a divided love (James 1:8).
and she became• Judgment fell swiftly. There was no gradual process, no second chance—recalling other sudden acts of divine justice (Numbers 16:31-33;Acts 5:5-10).
• Her transformation underscores that God’s warnings are not empty threats (Hebrews 12:25).
a pillar of salt• The outcome was literal, physical, and visible—a standing memorial beside the Dead Sea region (Deuteronomy 29:23).
• Salt in Scripture can speak of barrenness and ruin (Jeremiah 17:6) as well as permanence; thus her form reminds every passerby that sin’s wages are fixed and final (Romans 6:23).
• The pillar’s durability kept her story alive for future generations, reinforcing Jesus’ end-times exhortation (Luke 17:28-33).
summaryLot’s wife had every opportunity to escape, yet a single backward glance exposed a heart still tied to a doomed world. Her instant change into a salt pillar demonstrates God’s literal judgment on deliberate disobedience and serves as a standing call to wholehearted, forward-looking faith.
(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;
στήληἀλός (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 aneverlasting 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 fastin 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] wifeאִשְׁתּ֖וֹ(’iš·tōw)Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 802:Woman, wife, femalelookedוַתַּבֵּ֥ט(wat·tab·bêṭ)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 5027:To scan, look intently at, to regardback,מֵאַחֲרָ֑יו(mê·’a·ḥă·rāw)Preposition-m | third person masculine singular
Strong's 310:The hind or following partand she becameוַתְּהִ֖י(wat·tə·hî)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1961:To fall out, come to pass, become, bea pillarנְצִ֥יב(nə·ṣîḇ)Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 5333:Something stationary, a prefect, a military post, a statueof 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) 
