Then I replied, “You are aware, then, that the Scripture says, ‘And the Lord said to Ab-
raham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I truly conceive? for I am old. Is anything im-
possible with God? At the time appointed shall I return to thee according to the time of life,
and Sarah shall have a son.’375 And after a little interval: ‘And the men rose up from thence,
and looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah; and Abraham went with them, to bring them
on the way. And the Lord said, I will not conceal from Abraham, my servant, what I do.’376
And again, after a little, it thus says: ‘The Lord said, The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is
great,377 and their sins are very grievous. I will go down now, and see whether they have
done altogether according to their cry which has come unto me; and if not, that I may know.
And the men turned away thence, and went to Sodom. But Abraham was standing before
the Lord; and Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt Thou destroy the righteous with the
wicked?’ ”378 (and so on,379 for I do not think fit to write over again the same words, having
written them all before, but shall of necessity give those by which I established the proof to
Trypho and his companions. Then I proceeded to what follows, in which these words are
recorded:) “ ‘And the Lord went His way as soon as He had left communing with Abraham;
and [Abraham] went to his place. And there came two angels to Sodom at even. And Lot
sat in the gate of Sodom;’380 and what follows until, ‘But the men put forth their hands, and
pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door of the house;’381 and what follows
till, ‘And the angels laid hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hands of
his daughters, the Lord being merciful to him. And it came to pass, when they had brought
them forth abroad, that they said, Save, save thy life. Look not behind thee, nor stay in all
the neighbourhood; escape to the mountain, lest thou be taken along with [them]. And Lot
said to them, I beseech [Thee], O Lord, since Thy servant hath found grace in Thy sight,
and Thou hast magnified Thy righteousness, which Thou showest towards me in saving my
life; but I cannot escape to the mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I die. Behold, this city
is near to flee unto, and it is small: there I shall be safe, since it is small; and any soul shall
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live. And He said to him, Behold, I have accepted thee382 also in this matter, so as not to
destroy the city for which thou hast spoken. Make haste to save thyself there; for I shall not
do anything till thou be come thither. Therefore he called the name of the city Segor (Zoar).
375 Gen. xviii. 13, 14.
376 Gen. xviii. 16, 17.
377 Literally, “is multiplied.”
378 Gen. xviii. 20–23.
379 Comp. Note 2, p. 223.
380 Gen. xviii. 33, Gen. xix. 1.
381 Gen. xix. 10.
382 Literally, “I have admired thy face.”
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Chapter LVI.—God who appeared to Moses is distinguished from God the Fa…