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Why did some Jewish commentators criticize Lot's choice to live in Sodom?
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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.
Jewish commentators have offered various critical perspectives regarding Lot’s decision to settle in Sodom. Within the midrashic text Genesis Rabbah, some rabbis interpret Lot’s choice to live among the Sodomites as a reflection of his own moral failings, specifically suggesting it indicated his own sexual depravity.1
Furthermore, other rabbinic traditions view his separation from Abraham as a sign of covenantal distance and moral deficiency. Beyond his initial choice to reside there, some commentators also attribute Lot’s hesitation to flee the city before its destruction to his own immoral greed and inordinate wealth.1