Meaning of the Name Lot
Its meaning is uncertain; the usual explanation links it with the Hebrew root lut, 'to wrap', giving 'covering' or 'veil'. This proposal is widespread but not certain, so the origin of the name remains debated.
Origin
The name Lot is of Hebrew; the origin is debated origin.
Who is Lot in the Bible?
Lot is Abraham's nephew, the son of Haran, who migrates with Abraham to Canaan. When the flocks of the two households grow too large, they part, and Lot chooses the fertile Jordan plain and settles at Sodom. God rescues him before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the New Testament remembers him as a righteous man.
The story of Lot in the Bible
Lot is the son of Haran, Abraham's brother. After his father's early death, he accompanies his uncle on the long journey from Ur to Haran and on into Canaan. In time the flocks of both households grow so large that their herdsmen quarrel. To keep the peace Abraham lets Lot choose, and Lot picks the well-watered Jordan plain, settling near Sodom, a city known for its wickedness. When he is taken captive in a war, Abraham pursues the raiders and rescues him. Then judgment on Sodom draws near: Abraham pleads for the city, and two angels come as guests to Lot's house. When the men of the city surround the house to assault the guests, the angels protect them and hurry Lot's family out. Lot's wife looks back and becomes a pillar of salt. Genesis stresses that God remembered Abraham and so brought Lot out of the catastrophe. Scripture does not hide the dark events of Lot's later life, to which the origins of Moab and Ammon are traced. In the New Testament Jesus recalls the days of Lot and his wife as a warning, and Peter remembers Lot as a righteous man distressed by the wickedness around him.
Is Lot mentioned in the Quran?
The name Lot (Lut) is also mentioned in the Quran; in Islamic tradition he is known as a prophet who called his people to turn from wickedness. In the Bible, Lot is Abraham's nephew in Genesis and is remembered in the New Testament as a righteous man.
Verses where Lot appears
- Genesis 11:27 —
Now this is the history of the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran became the father of Lot.
- Genesis 13:11 —
So Lot chose the Plain of the Jordan for himself. Lot traveled east, and they separated themselves the one from the other.
- Genesis 19:29 —
When God destroyed the cities of the plain, God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the middle of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.