The Meaning of Genesis 19:22 Explained

Genesis 19:22

KJV: Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

YLT: haste, escape thither, for I am not able to do anything till thine entering thither;' therefore hath he calleth the name of the city Zoar.

Darby: Haste, escape thither; for I cannot do anything until thou art come there. Therefore the name of the city is called Zoar.

ASV: Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Haste  thee, escape  thither; for I cannot  do  any thing  till thou be come  thither. Therefore the name  of the city  was called  Zoar. 

What does Genesis 19:22 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 19:12-23 - Sodom And Gomorrah Destroyed
It was a very weak nature that heaven was so eager to rescue. Though described as a righteous man, Lot was a very weak one. He had pitched his tent toward Sodom, but apparently had been unable to resist its attractions, and had gone to live within its precincts. It would almost appear that he had become one of its leading citizens. Therefore, his testimony for God was invalidated and worthless. He seemed as one that mocked, even to his own family. How the angels must have loved this work. There were four people to be saved, and between them, in the human forms they had assumed, there were four hands-one for each. Is not this work in which we all should share? Let us hasten the lingerers! It is fatal to look behind. All our past is strewn with the memories of our sins and failures. There is but one hope. Escape to the Cross of the Divine Redeemer! Shelter in the cleft Rock of Ages! Hasten to the open arms of the Father! [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 19

1  Lot entertains two angels
4  The vicious Sodomites are smitten with blindness
12  Lot is warned, and in vain warns his sons-in-law
15  He is directed to flee to the mountains, but obtains leave to go into Zoar
24  Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed
26  Lot's wife looks back and becomes a pillar of salt
29  Lot dwells in a cave
31  The incestuous origin of Moab and Ammon

What do the individual words in Genesis 19:22 mean?

Hurry escape there for cannot I do anything until you arrive there Upon thus was called the name of the city Zoar
מַהֵר֙ הִמָּלֵ֣ט שָׁ֔מָּה כִּ֣י לֹ֤א אוּכַל֙ לַעֲשׂ֣וֹת דָּבָ֔ר עַד־ בֹּאֲךָ֖ שָׁ֑מָּה עַל־ כֵּ֛ן קָרָ֥א שֵׁם־ הָעִ֖יר צֽוֹעַר

מַהֵר֙  Hurry 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: מָהַר  
Sense: (Qal) to hasten.
הִמָּלֵ֣ט  escape 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: מָלַט 
Sense: to slip away, escape, deliver, save, be delivered.
לֹ֤א  cannot 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
דָּבָ֔ר  anything 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
עַד־  until 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
בֹּאֲךָ֖  you  arrive 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, second person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
עַל־  Upon 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
כֵּ֛ן  thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֵּן 
Sense: so, therefore, thus.
קָרָ֥א  was  called 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
שֵׁם־  the  name 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: שֵׁם  
Sense: name.
הָעִ֖יר  of  the  city 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
צֽוֹעַר  Zoar 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: צָעֹור 
Sense: a city at the southeast end of the Dead Sea grouped with Sodom and Gomorrah as being one of the 5 cities slated for destruction by God; spared at Lot’s plea as his place of refuge.