But
his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Genesis 19:26
Genesis 19 [21.] He said to him, “Behold, I have granted your request concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. Hurry, escape there, for I can’t do anything until you get there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
Genesis 19 [23.] The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from Yahweh out of the sky. He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew on the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Genesis 19 [27.] Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before Yahweh. He looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and looked, and saw that the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.
Meaning:
This single verse records one of the most sobering moments in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. God had heard the great outcry against the wickedness of these cities. Abraham had pleaded with God to spare them if even ten righteous people could be found there (Genesis 18:23-26). Not even ten were found, but God in mercy sent two angels to rescue Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family before the judgement fell.
- The rescue from Sodom
The angels told Lot to gather his family and leave. His sons-in-law thought he was joking. At dawn the angels urged Lot to take his wife and his two daughters and go. “But he lingered; and the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and his two daughters’ hands, Yahweh being merciful to him.” They brought the family out of the city and gave a clear command: “Escape for your life! Don’t look behind you, and don’t stay anywhere in the plain.”
The rescue was entirely an act of God’s mercy. Lot and his family did not escape by their own strength or goodness. They were dragged out by the hand.
- “But his wife looked back from behind him”
As fire and sulfur fell from heaven, Lot’s wife was walking behind her husband. She turned and looked back toward the city. The words “from behind him” suggest that she lagged behind, reluctant to leave. Her look was not a passing glance of curiosity but a sign of where her heart remained. Sodom had been her home, with its wealth, comfort, friends and perhaps family members who stayed behind. She had been brought out of the city, but the city had not been brought out of her.
Her action was also plain disobedience. The angels had given one simple instruction, and she ignored it at the critical moment.
- “and she became a pillar of salt”
The region around the Dead Sea is full of salt and minerals, and the judgement that fell on the plain overtook her where she stood. The Bible does not describe exactly how this happened, but the meaning is clear. She shared the fate of the city she could not let go. Close to safety, she was lost.
- Jesus’ warning: “Remember Lot’s wife!”
Jesus used this verse when he taught about the day of his coming. That day will come suddenly, as it did on Sodom, and on it no one should turn back for possessions. “Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever seeks to save his life loses it, but whoever loses his life preserves it” (Luke 17:32-33). Lot’s wife wanted to keep her old life and lost everything.
The Significance of Genesis 19:26
- Leaving the old life completely
Following God means turning away from sin and the world’s hold on the heart. John writes, “Don’t love the world or the things that are in the world” (1 John 2:15).
- Not turning back
Many begin to follow God but drift back. The writer of Hebrews encourages believers: “But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:39).
Cross-References:
Luke 17:32: "Remember Lot’s wife!" Jesus’ warning based on this verse.
Genesis 18:23-26: Abraham pleads with God for the righteous in Sodom.
1 John 2:15: "Don’t love the world or the things that are in the world." Where the heart belongs.
Hebrews 10:39: "But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction," Pressing on in faith.
Conclusion: Lot’s wife was brought out of Sodom by God’s mercy, yet she looked back in disobedience and longing, and became a pillar of salt. Her story warns everyone who has begun to leave a life of sin: a divided heart is dangerous. Jesus told his followers to remember her and to hold nothing in this world more dearly than him.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible