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What did the men of Sodom demand when the visitors stayed with Lot?
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Sodom and Gomorrah
Landscape with the Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, oil on wood by Joachim Patinir, c. 1520; in the collection of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
In the biblical account of Genesis, when the two angels disguised as men stayed with Lot, the men of Sodom surrounded his house and demanded that he bring the visitors out to them, saying, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, so that we may know them" (Genesis 19:5).12
The Hebrew verb used for "know" in this context, yada, carries a secondary euphemistic meaning of sexual intercourse. Consequently, the townsmen's demand is widely understood as an intent to sexually assault the visitors. This act of violence is central to the narrative, as it highlights the profound inhospitality and wickedness of the city's inhabitants, standing in stark contrast to the protection and hospitality Lot extended to his guests.231