Less-known Women of the Bible

Lot’s Daughters

Two daughters of Lot were offered by their father to the men of the town in place of the visiting angels. With Lot, they escaped the destruction of Sodom and ended up in a cave, having sexual relations with their father after getting him drunk. The older daughter had a son, Moab, who became the father of the Moabites; the younger daughter had a son, Ben-Ammi, who became the father of the Ammonites (Gen. 19:1-38). This story reveals women who live on the edges of life, being unprotected by a father, feeling the hand grasp of the angel leading them from Sodom, and offering their bodies in incest to their father. This story explores moments in a woman’s life that are traumatic, lifesaving, and/or regrettable—good and bad intertwined like the threads of a cloth. It is important for women to seek healing and make the decisions that will reverberate well through time. The repercussions are not theirs alone, but can sometimes change the course of generations.