The Meaning of Genesis 19:28 Explained

Genesis 19:28

KJV: And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

YLT: and he looketh on the face of Sodom and Gomorrah, and on all the face of the land of the circuit, and seeth, and lo, the smoke of the land went up as smoke of the furnace.

Darby: and he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and lo, a smoke went up from the land as the smoke of a furnace.

ASV: and he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the Plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he looked  toward  Sodom  and Gomorrah,  and toward  all the land  of the plain,  and beheld,  and, lo, the smoke  of the country  went up  as the smoke  of a furnace. 

What does Genesis 19:28 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 19:24-29 - Lot And His Daughters Rescued
God had mercy on Lot for Abraham's sake. A missionary told me that when, on writing home to his mother, he narrated his miraculous deliverance from an infuriated mob, she replied by quoting a special entry in her diary to the effect that, during those exact hours, she was detained before God in a perfect agony of intercession for him. Lot was saved from Sodom, but took Sodom with him. He was saved so as by fire, but his life-work was burned up. See 1 Corinthians 3:15. Even his wife might have been saved, but her heart was inveterately wedded to the city. In modern cities there are traces of the sins that doomed Sodom. Let us bear witness against them, that we may arrest inevitable judgment. Jude tells us that in the fate of these cities we have an example of eternal fire. Have a place where you stand before God. Only from that eminence can you venture to look out on the awful retribution of human rebellion.
For Review Questions on Genesis see the e-Sword Book Comments. [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 19

1  Lot entertains two angels
4  The vicious Sodomites are smitten with blindness
12  Lot is warned, and in vain warns his sons-in-law
15  He is directed to flee to the mountains, but obtains leave to go into Zoar
24  Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed
26  Lot's wife looks back and becomes a pillar of salt
29  Lot dwells in a cave
31  The incestuous origin of Moab and Ammon

What do the individual words in Genesis 19:28 mean?

And he looked toward the face of Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all - the land of the plain and he saw and behold went up smoke from the land like the smoke of a furnace
וַיַּשְׁקֵ֗ף עַל־ פְּנֵ֤י סְדֹם֙ וַעֲמֹרָ֔ה וְעַֽל־ כָּל־ פְּנֵ֖י אֶ֣רֶץ הַכִּכָּ֑ר וַיַּ֗רְא וְהִנֵּ֤ה עָלָה֙ קִיטֹ֣ר הָאָ֔רֶץ כְּקִיטֹ֖ר הַכִּבְשָֽׁן

וַיַּשְׁקֵ֗ף  And  he  looked 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁקַף  
Sense: to overlook, look down or out, overhang, look out and down.
עַל־  toward 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
פְּנֵ֤י  the  face  of 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
סְדֹם֙  Sodom 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: סְדֹם  
Sense: a Canaanite city, usually paired with Gomorrah, located in the area of the Dead Sea and the Jordan river; both cities destroyed by God in judgment.
וַעֲמֹרָ֔ה  and  Gomorrah 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: עֲמֹרָה  
Sense: the twin-city in evil with Sodom, both destroyed in judgment by God with fire from heaven.
וְעַֽל־  and  toward 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
פְּנֵ֖י  - 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
אֶ֣רֶץ  the  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
הַכִּכָּ֑ר  of  the  plain 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: כִּכָּר  
Sense: round.
וַיַּ֗רְא  and  he  saw 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
וְהִנֵּ֤ה  and  behold 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
עָלָה֙  went  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
קִיטֹ֣ר  smoke 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: קִיטֹור  
Sense: thick smoke, smoke.
הָאָ֔רֶץ  from  the  land 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
כְּקִיטֹ֖ר  like  the  smoke 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: קִיטֹור  
Sense: thick smoke, smoke.
הַכִּבְשָֽׁן  of  a  furnace 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: כִּבְשָׁן  
Sense: kiln (pottery or lime), smelting forge, furnace.