Why One Angel Said Escape for Your Life to Lot at Sodom

Midrash Aggadah, Genesis 19:17

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"And he said: Escape for your life" (Genesis 19:17). It does not say "and they said," but rather "and he said," for one angel does not perform two missions, nor do two angels [perform] a single mission. For those two angels who came, one [came] to save Lot and the second to overturn Sodom. The one to save Lot — who is he? This is Raphael. "Do not look behind you" — because the Shekhinah descends to Sodom, and one whose heart lusts for fornication does not see the face of the Shekhinah. "Escape to the mountain" — go to Abraham, and you shall be saved.

Themes

Angels And MessengersDivine JudgmentShekhinahRescue And SalvationSodom

Biblical References

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