Genesis 19:4

19:4 Before they could lie down to sleep, ¹  all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. ² 

Genesis 19:32

19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine ³  so we can have sexual relations ⁴  with him and preserve ⁵  our family line through our father.” ⁶ 

Genesis 19:36

19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.

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¹ tn The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) means “to lie down, to recline,” that is, “to go to bed.” Here what appears to be an imperfect is a preterite after the adverb טֶרֶם (terem). The nuance of potential (perfect) fits well.

² tn Heb “and the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the young to the old, all the people from the end [of the city].” The repetition of the phrase “men of” stresses all kinds of men.

³ tn Heb “drink wine.”

⁴ tn Heb “and we will lie down.” The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive is subordinated to the preceding cohortative and indicates purpose/result.

⁵ tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.

⁶ tn Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”

sn For a discussion of the cultural background of the daughters’ desire to preserve our family line see F. C. Fensham, “The Obliteration of the Family as Motif in the Near Eastern Literature,” AION 10 (1969): 191-99.