Genesis 11:29

11:29 And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, ¹  and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah; ²  she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah.

Genesis 19:11

19:11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest to the oldest, ³  with blindness. The men outside ⁴  wore themselves out trying to find the door.

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¹ sn The name Sarai (a variant spelling of “Sarah”) means “princess” (or “lady”). Sharratu was the name of the wife of the moon god Sin. The original name may reflect the culture out of which the patriarch was called, for the family did worship other gods in Mesopotamia.

² sn The name Milcah means “Queen.” But more to the point here is the fact that Malkatu was a title for Ishtar, the daughter of the moon god. If the women were named after such titles (and there is no evidence that this was the motivation for naming the girls “Princess” or “Queen”), that would not necessarily imply anything about the faith of the two women themselves.

³ tn Heb “from the least to the greatest.”

⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.