In Numbers 13 and Numbers 14:1-38, it is recorded that Moses sent 12 spies to explore the land Canaan and that the Israelites were punished by God for complaining against God after listening to the 10 spies who brought up an evil report. Lot’s Wife Looks Back – Genesis 19 26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. Summary Plot Overview Summary Plot Overview. Last, Jesus referenced her in Luke 17:32 saying, “Remember Lot’s wife!” Not having any salt, Lot's wife asked her neighbors for salt, which alerted them to the presence of their guests, resulting in the mob action that endangered Lot's family. But God commands them not to look back upon the city, and Lot’s wife disobeys that command and instantly turns into a pillar of salt. “Lot’s Wife” uses conversational language, which, combined with the uneven lines and lack of rhyme, gives a strong impression of everyday communication. Still engaged in the thoughts of Lot’s wife, the reader is able to empathize with how she must have felt leaving behind the home where she “loved [her] husband” and where her “babes were born”. "Peradventure ten shall be found there. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. As the biblical story unfolds, readers are given the facts about what happened, but no insight into the feelings or thoughts of any of the characters are revealed. Jesus told us to remember Lot’s wife. But the speaker of this poem brings Lot’s wife to life by allowing the reader into her thoughts. [6] Its existence is also attested to by the early church fathers Clement of Rome and Irenaeus. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Although no translation can fully communicate the sounds of the original, translators Magnus J. Krynski and Robert A. Maguire captured much of Wisawa Szymborska’s technique. Lots’ wife is an unnamed woman mentioned in the Bible very few times. That is until God tells Abraham that he is about to destroy Sodom, and Abraham begs God to save the righteous from the city. In the Bible, Lot's wife is a figure first mentioned in Genesis 19. Her happy moments of married life turned into a lifelong burden of suffering. In the Philippines, the pandemic and the famine have not passed yet and powerful Typhoon Molave, Goni and Tropical Storm Atsani have landed. This insight reveals the ways in which Akhmatova may have sympathized with Lot’s wife. Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site. Its unnamed title character apparently is speaking to the reader after her death. The speaker is, again, a third-person outside perspective as is the reader. So, We saved him and his family, all. The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah – Genesis 19. Two migrant workers, George and Lennie, have been let off a bus miles away from the California farm where they are due to start work. Lot and his wife seem nearly forgotten after their move to the city of Sodom. The Book of Genesis describes how she became a pillar of salt after she looked back at Sodom. She describes her eyes as being “welded shut by mortal pain” which again, allows the reader to feel the pain she must have felt as she turned and looked at her old home, burning, knowing that was the last sight she would ever see. Please log in again. ‘Lot’s Wife’ by Anna Akhmatova is a retelling of the biblical story about Lot’s wife. She not only fails to state what prompted her to look back but also pictures increasingly severe events, as if repeating a bad dream that keeps getting more threatening, until the story has unraveled in absurd and contradictory claims. What's your thoughts? I recently came across this poem. It seems the poet is actually sensitive about the story in which the poor wife of Lot turned into a … She may have thought, “It’s not too late, you can still look back” and she describes the city she once called home. We respect your privacy and take protecting it seriously. [3], A pillar of salt named "Lot's wife" is located near the Dead Sea at Mount Sodom in Israel. She begins noncommittally, “They say I looked back from curiosity./ But I could have had reasons other than curiosity.” Nowhere does she state exactly what did happen; rather, she presents a variety of possibilities. In the Bible, Lot's wife is a figure first mentioned in Genesis 19. Instead, she chose to stay in Russia out of loyalty for her country. But the poetic persona can hear the voices from the past. Summary of Lot’s Wife. The paradox implied by having her do this is compounded by other unusual circumstances as the poem unfolds. This speaker would continue to think of Lot’s wife with compassion in her heart. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the middle of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelled. This subtle change preserves Szymborska’s original rhythm. “Lot’s Wife” features forty-three unrhymed lines of varied lengths. On the night the two angels visited Lot, he requested that his wife prepare a feast for them. [10], In the Quran, surah (chapter) 26 Ash-Shu'ara (The Poets) –. Though Lut left the city, his wife looked behind and was destroyed. The speaker describes the angel as “hulking and bright”. The Mishnah states that a blessing should be said at the place where the pillar of salt is. She suggests reasons such as longing for a silver bowl she left behind, distraction while adjusting her sandal, and even weariness of looking at the back of her husband’s neck. A one-click subscription to the latest spiritual devotional resources helps you be closer to the Lord! The lines are similar in length and, as far as grammar permits, usually display the same phrasing and word order as the Polish, although minor exceptions occur. The use of the word “hulking” seems almost contradictory to the “bright” descriptions usually used for angels. First in Genesis 19:15-16, her husband is told to take her and her daughters out of the city of Sodom. You'll get access to all of the This is similar to what Allah says about them in Surat Al-A`raf and Surat Hud, and in Surat Al-Hijr, where Allah commanded him to take his family at night, except for his wife, and not to turn around when they heard the Sayhah as it came upon his people. For example, where the original sixth line reads “mòa mojego, Lota,” the translation has “of Lot my husband,” putting Lot’s name before his relationship to the speaker. The speaker continues to engage the reader in empathy for Lot’s wife when she describes her decision to turn and look back as one that resulted in a “bitter view”. Inside the statue, the voice seems to be trapped. Is she not the least of our losses, this unhappy wife?” The speaker is aware that most who have read the biblical account of this story would feel no compassion for Lot’s wife. And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:Â. At yet another point, she claims that the crackling of the flames made her think the Sodomites were laughing at her for running, causing her to look around in anger. Her lonely statue still stands on the “black mountain”. The language itself is carefully chosen. After mentioning these feelings, she suggests glancing back while setting down her bundle, or turning away in revulsion at the vermin she saw on her path. Who will grieve for this woman? In the final stanza, the speaker takes a step back and asks a question. This intriguing poem, ‘Lot’s Wife’, by Anna Akhmatova, translated by Richard Wilbur, takes an age-old story that has been passed down from generation to generation and tells it from a new perspective, that of Lot’s wife. Lot’s wife arose early the morning the family was to escape Sodom. The story of Abraham, Jehovah God said to Abram to get out his country and to go to the land of Canaan. Disasters are happening frequently all over the world, and they are growing in scale, heralding the arrival of the last days. Even this, though, makes for an interesting comparison. [1]:467, Another Jewish legend says that because Lot's wife sinned with salt, she was punished with salt. That was also the last step she ever took. After logging in you can close it and return to this page. She says, “Yet in my heart I never will deny her,/ who suffered because she chose to turn.” The last line does not sound like regret. Lot's Good Intentions But let's come back to the story of Lot's wife and try to understand what Jesus wants us to learn from her example. Angels command Lot to take his family and flee the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, telling them not to look back. She states that she may have felt fatigued, lonely, or frightened at going into the wilderness.

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