The narrative of Lot and his two daughters, whose unions in a cave just after the destruction of Sodom birthed two nations, is perhaps one of the most perplexing and hotly debated stories in all of the Pentateuch.

Over the centuries, the incest between Lot and his daughters has raised many questions, debates, and theories among scholars and laymen alike, while the story itself gained much traction in Renaissance biblical art.

The Story

The tale of Lot and his daughters takes place after G‑d completely destroyed the city of Sodom and its entire metropolis, where they lived. As the sole remaining survivors of their family, Lot and his two daughters take up living in the cave of a nearby deserted mountain. It is here where things take an unexpected turn:

The older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man in the world to marry us in the usual manner. Come, let us give our father wine to drink, and lie carnally with him, and thus produce offspring from our father.”

That night, they gave their father wine to drink. The older daughter went and lay carnally with her father, but he was so drunk that he was not aware that it was her when she lay next to him. But when she arose, he was sober enough to realize that it was her.

The next day, the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night it was I who lay carnally with our father. Tonight, too, let us give him wine to drink, and you go and lie carnally with him, and we will produce offspring through our father.”

That night, they again gave their father wine to drink. This time, the younger daughter got up and lay carnally with him, but again, he was so drunk that he was not aware that she had lain down or arisen.1

The narrative in the Torah continues, revealing that the two women conceived from their father:

The older daughter gave birth to a son and named him Moab [“from father”]; he is the ancestor of the people of Moab until the present day.

The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ami [“son of my kindred”]; he is the ancestor of the people of Ammon until the present day.2

Lot as the Sinner

A plain reading of the account seems to imply that Lot’s daughters, fearful that they would never be able to reproduce, engaged in immoral and incestuous activity to satisfy their desires and confront their fears and doubts—a grave sin.

According to one midrashic interpretation, Lot's daughters most definitely intended to transgress, yet G‑d granted them pregnancies and a legacy of two great nations.3

The bulk of rabbinic commentators, however, view Lot’s daughters as women of fine and even noble intentions, while their father is cast as a sinner:

We do not know whether Lot lusted after his daughters or his daughters lusted after him … From what is written: ‘The isolated one seeks lust’4 - we see that Lot lusted after his daughters, but his daughters did not lust after him.5

In fact, the reason Lot originally sought to live in the morally depraved city of Sodom was precisely because its society was deeply steeped in immorality.6 This is further evident from the fact that although the next morning Lot recognized what had occurred the night before, he did not refrain from drinking again the following night.7

According to one source, this shameful incident was punishment for an earlier incident in which he offered his daughters to appease the mob outside his home, a shameful and cowardly act. As such, he was further punished for his unseemly behavior, and the episode in the cave became widely known.8

Indeed, the Torah goes on to relate that in the immediate aftermath, Abraham journeyed and relocated, which, as explained by Rashi,9 was a move intended to distance himself from Lot, who had fallen into disrepute for having had relations with his daughters:10

Lot and his two daughters—they who intended for the sake of a mitzvah—[it is written], “the righteous will walk in them.”11 But he who intended for the sake of sin, [it is written], “the transgressors will stumble in them.”12

To Save the World

Unlike their father, Lot’s daughters are viewed in a favorable and even virtuous light, and are portrayed as visionaries on a mission.

The two daughters, having just escaped the utter destruction that had befallen Sodom, were certain that the global populace had suffered a similar fate. They believed that G‑d had rained fire and brimstone across the earth, and, as with the Flood, they were now the sole survivors.13

Their mother, too, had died during the flight from Sodom, and they recognized that their father was left without a mate and, therefore, with no other means of perpetuating the human race.14

Accordingly, these daughters are given credit for having wanted to ensure the propagation of humanity and the world that G‑d created.

Indeed, we find a similar parallel with Cain, the firstborn son of Adam, who married his sister. Although the Torah designates such a union as immoral and a grave transgression, the Talmud notes that it was nonetheless permitted, as a kindness from G‑d, “so that His world could be built up from him.”15

Although their actions were indeed abhorrent, G‑d knew their intentions and rewarded them for their actions with the emergence of two great nations.

Later, when the Torah enjoins us that “no Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted into the congregation of the L-rd,”16 the prohibition against (post-conversion) intermarriage is limited only to the men, and not to the women, in recognition of the noble intentions of the mothers who birthed these nations.17

Sparks of Moshiach

The deeds of Lot’s two daughters would ultimately bring forth King David, and eventually Moshiach himself.

The elder daughter birthed Moav, from whom came Ruth the Moabite, great-grandmother of King David. The younger daughter birthed Ben Ami, from whom came Naamah the Ammonite, predestined to marry King Solomon and bear his son Rehoboam. Moshiach is destined to descend from King David and King Solomon through Rehoboam. Thus, both daughters contributed to the dynasty of Moshiach, the ultimate redeemer.18

Moreover, the offspring of the elder daughter joined the Jewish people four generations prior to that of the younger daughter. Why? Because she acted sooner.19

How Did They Get the Wine?

The Midrash notes the presence of wine in an obscure mountain cave, which the daughters used to intoxicate their father, and concurs that it had arrived there miraculously to enable the union that would ultimately produce the Moshiach.20 This miracle was a purview of Messianic times, when “the mountains will drip with juice.”21

It is possible that the daughters themselves recognized the miraculous appearance of the wine as providential, intended to aid in their mission of the propagation of humanity.

On the verse in Psalms, “I have found my servant David,”22 alluding to Moshiach, the Midrash comments, “Where did He find him? In Sodom!”23 —a reference to the union that ultimately produced King David and, eventually, Moshiach.

Clearly, the daughters of Lot not only acted altruistically, but their deed was essential for the advent of Moshiach and the Ultimate Redemption.

To Deceive Satan

The mystics elaborate on the need for the dynasty of the Final Redeemer to be born through an illegitimate union, and an incestuous one at that.

When it is time for a great and holy soul to descend into this world, the forces of evil rise with all their might to prevent it from entering. The dubious nature of the union was therefore intended to “deceive Satan,” who assumes that Moshiach can only emerge through lineage and holiness.24

The Chassidic master, Rabbi Meir of Premishlan, illustrated this with a parable: Just as merchants who wish to smuggle valuable goods into a country first soil them with dirt, so that customs officers believe the goods are not new and thus avoid paying taxes, so did G‑d arrange for the souls of King David and Moshiach to descend through unions that appear illegitimate, so that it would not occur to anyone that such a great soul could emerge from them.

Alternatively, G‑d wished to bring an entirely new existence into this world—a true novelty—and therefore needed to create a new combination. The further removed a nation was from Israel, as in the case of the Ammonites and Moabites who were prohibited from joining the congregation of Israel, the more unprecedented and fundamentally new the product born from them would be. Thus, it was the union of these two nations that bore fruit to the great and lofty soul of Moshiach.25

The Third Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, known as the Tzemach Tzedek, explains that the royal dynasty of King David is rooted in the highest of unions, a relationship whose source is so lofty that it cannot be attained in this world through holiness. Yet its counterpart in the physical world manifests as a forbidden relationship and a sin. The lofty soul of Moshiach had descended into such depths of impurity that it could only be retrieved and revealed through the union of Lot and his daughters.26

By any account, it is clear that from the depths of darkness, impurity, and depravity, G‑d chose for the greatest good, light, and holiness to emerge. This may serve as a lesson for the struggling man or woman who feels trapped by the challenges and tribulations of life: these may well mark the onset of your ultimate destiny and greatest blessings.

A Dream of Two Woman

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (1895-1986), born in Uzdan near Minsk, Belarus, became the foremost halachic authority of his generation after immigrating to the United States, with his rulings accepted worldwide.

In 1921, while serving as chief rabbi of the town of Luban in Belarus, a local Torah scholar fell gravely ill with a strange disease whose most striking symptom was an abnormally swollen and elongated tongue. Physicians were unable to diagnose the illness, and before long the man lay on his deathbed.

When Rabbi Moshe came to visit, the sick man asked that everyone leave the room so he could speak to Rav Moshe in private. Once alone, he explained what he believed to be the cause of his affliction.

The previous week, he said, he had delivered a sermon in which he harshly criticized the daughters of Lot, condemning them as brazen and immoral. He questioned how such women could merit that Moshiach descend from them, especially since they openly publicized their incestuous act by naming their sons accordingly.

“Last night,” the man continued in a trembling voice, “two extremely old women appeared to me in a dream. They wore long robes that covered them entirely and identified themselves as the daughters of Lot.”

“They told me they were deeply upset by the way I had spoken about them and had been granted permission to come to this world to respond. They said I should never have accused them of depravity or of shameful conduct, and that I was being punished through my tongue for my harsh words.”

The women explained that after the destruction of Sodom, they believed they were the last human beings left alive. They felt compelled to ensure the continuity of humankind, and with no alternative, believed they were required to act as they did.

They further explained that they felt obligated to publicize what had occurred. Had they concealed it, future generations might have believed it possible for a child to be born without a father. After all, no other men were present, and it would have been inconceivable that they would cohabit with their own father.

This, they said, could have led to the dangerous belief in a virgin birth, with people falsely declaring a child a deity or proclaiming a false messiah. To prevent this, they endured the immense shame of publicizing their actions, ensuring that no future generation could ever believe a child could be born without a father.

For this reason, they concluded, they merited that the true Moshiach would descend from them.

The man finished recounting the dream to Rav Moshe, turned his face to the wall, and passed away.27