Two Angels Came to Sodom at Evening and Lot the Chief Judge

"And the two angels came to Sodom at evening" (Genesis 19:1). It is written, "And the living creatures ran and returned" (Ezekiel 1:14). It does not say "ran" [in the ordinary feminine form], but "ratzo" [an unusual form, read as eager running]: they run to perform His mission. They had taken leave of Abraham at the sixth hour, yet they came to Sodom at evening. Rather, they were angels of mercy, and they delayed, thinking perhaps Abraham might find them some merit. Once he found no merit for them, "the two angels came to Sodom at evening." It is taught: no single angel performs two missions, nor do two angels perform one mission. Yet you say two angels [came]? Rather, Michael had delivered his message [of Isaac's birth] and withdrew; Gabriel was sent to overturn Sodom, and Raphael to rescue Lot. "And the two angels came to Sodom" (Genesis 19:1). Here you say "angels," but earlier (Genesis 18:2) it says "men": earlier, when the Divine Presence rested upon them, it called them men; here, when the Presence had departed from them, they took on the form of angels. Rabbi Tanchuma said in the name of Rabbi Levi: to Abraham, whose strength was great, they appeared as men; but to Lot, because his strength was weak, they appeared as angels. Rabbi Chanina said: before they performed their mission it called them men, once they performed their mission, angels. Rabbi Tanchuma said a parable: like one who receives a governorship from the king; before he reaches his office he walks like an ordinary man, but once he reaches his office he walks with dignity. So before they performed their mission they were still "men," once they performed it, "angels." "To Sodom" [Sedomah]: it was taught in the name of Rabbi Nechemiah, any word that requires a lamed at its beginning [meaning "to"], give it a heh at its end: Sedomah [to Sodom], Se'irah [to Seir], Mitzraymah (Genesis 12:10) [to Egypt], Charanah [to Haran]. They objected to him: but is it not written, "The wicked shall return to Sheol" (Psalms 9:18) [She'olah, with a final heh]? Rabbi Abba bar Zavda said: to the lowest chamber of Sheol. "At evening": the evening of Sodom had come, its sun had set, and its sentence was sealed. Rabbi Levi said: the Holy One, blessed be He, judges the nations of the world only at night, when they are asleep from their transgressions, and judges Israel only by day, when they are occupied with the commandments, as it is written, "And He shall judge the world in righteousness" (Psalms 9:9). "And Lot sat in the gate of Sodom" (Genesis 19:1): it is written "sat" [in a form suggesting he had just sat down]: that very day they had appointed him chief of the judges. There were five chief judges in Sodom: Liar, Master-Liar, Master-Scoundrel, Master-of-Perversions, and Bend-the-Law, and Lot was chief judge over them all. When he spoke words pleasing to them, they would say, "Step over here, rise higher"; and when he spoke words not pleasing to them, they would say, "This one came to sojourn [and would set himself up as judge]" (Genesis 19:9). This is what the verse says: "He who walks with the wise grows wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm" (Proverbs 13:20). "He who walks with the wise": to what is he like? To a man who enters a perfumer's shop; even though he neither took nor gave, he carries away a good scent. "The companion of fools": to what is he like? To one who enters a tanner's shop; even though he neither took nor gave, he carries away a foul smell. So Lot, when he walked with Abraham our father, learned from his ways. Abraham our father had made a house outside Haran, and whoever entered or left, he received him, fed him, gave him drink, and said, "The God of Abraham is one in the world." When Lot came to Sodom he did the same; but once they proclaimed that anyone who put bread in the hand of a stranger would be burned, he was afraid to do it by day, so he did it by night. As it is said, "And the two angels came to Sodom at evening." And just as he supported them, they supported him, and said to him, "Do not look behind you, for the Divine Presence has come down," and so on. Idit, Lot's wife, her compassion was stirred for her married daughters in Sodom, and she looked behind her to see whether they were following her or not, and she saw the Divine Presence behind her, and she became a pillar of salt.