What Does Genesis 19:29 Mean in the King James?
And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
God’s remembrance does not stop the overturning; it sends Lot out from its midst.
THE MEANING
The verse speaks into your present upheaval: destruction is real, yet it is not the only movement in view. God’s remembering takes the form of release, bringing Lot out from the middle of the collapse.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that being remembered means everything around you will be preserved: Lot comes out, but the cities are still overthrown.
THE ROOT
וַיְשַׁלַּח
wayeshallaḥ
GROWS FROM
שלח
shalach
Send forth; release or let go.
Here, shalach makes rescue an act of release: Lot is sent out from within the overthrow, not merely spared at a distance. The root holds sending forth and letting go together, so deliverance appears as an opening through the danger itself.
ALSO GROWS
shilluaḥ: Sending away; dismissal.
שִׁלּוּחַ
This branch makes the movement in the verse concrete: Lot is released from the place being overturned.
Shiloach: The sent one; sent waters.
שִׁלֹחַ
The name of the pool of Siloam carries the same sending-root, linking release with waters associated with restored sight.
וַיִּזְכֹּר
vayizkor
GROWS FROM
זכר
zakar
Remember; call to mind.
Zakar does not leave remembrance as an inward thought; its branches include memorials that keep remembrance present. Here, Abraham being remembered is followed by Lot’s release, so remembrance takes an outward form.
ALSO GROWS
zikaron: Remembrance; memorial.
זִכָּרוֹן
A memorial makes remembrance visible and enduring, giving shape to the active force of remembering in this verse.
zeker: Remembrance; mention.
זֵכֶר
This branch ties remembering to what is brought into mention, echoing how Abraham’s being remembered precedes Lot’s being sent out.
הַהֲפֵכָה
ha-haphekhah
GROWS FROM
הפך
haphakh
Turn over; overturn.
The noun “overthrow” and the repeated verb “overthrew” carry the same root, making the overturning feel continuous and complete. Against that motion, shalach names a different movement: out from its midst.
ALSO GROWS
haphakh: Turn over; overturn.
הָפַךְ
The verb form appears again in the verse, intensifying the force of the destruction around Lot.
mahpekah: Overthrow; upheaval.
מַהְפֵּכָה
This noun names the upheaval itself, clarifying the danger from which Lot is released.
THE PATTERN
Divine remembrance moves into material release from a place of danger.
And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.THE THREAD
And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;Genesis 8:1 uses the same Hebrew verb translated “remembered,” then the wind passes over the earth and the waters subside. Here, remembering Abraham is followed by Lot being sent out; in both verses, remembrance is the hinge between danger and a changed condition.
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