Genesis 19 · Verse 38

Genesis 19:38

And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Ben–ammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

Genesis 19:38, King James Version

Genesis 19:38 in other translations

BSB	The younger daughter also gave birth to a son, and she named him Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites of today.
WEB	The younger also bore a son, and called his name Ben Ammi. He is the father of the children of Ammon to this day.
ASV	And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Ben-ammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.
YLT	as to the younger, she also hath born a son, and calleth his name Ben-Ammi: he is father of the Beni-Ammon unto this day.
DARBY	And the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; the same is the father of the children of Ammon to this day.
BBE	And the younger had a son and gave him the name Ben-ammi: from him come the children of Ammon to this day.
Webster	And the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon to this day.

What does Genesis 19:38 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 38 Ben-ammi - בן עמי Ben-ammi, the son of my people. Both these names seem to justify the view taken of this subject above, viz., that it was merely to preserve the family that the daughters of Lot made use of the above expedient; and hence we do not find that they ever attempted to repeat it, which, had it been done for any other purpose, they certainly would not have failed to do. On this subject Origen, in his fifth homily on Genesis, has these remarkable words: Ubi hic libidinis culpa, ubi incesti criminis arguitur? Quomodo dabitur in Vitlo Quod Non Iteratur In Facto? Vercor proloqui quod sentio, vereor, inquam, ne castior fuerit harum incestus, quam pudicitia multarum. "Where, in all this transaction, can the crime of lust or of incest be proved? How can this be proved to be a vice when the fact was never repeated? I am afraid to speak my whole mind on the subject, lest the incest of these should appear more laudable than the chastity of multitudes." There is a distinction made here by Origen which is worthy of notice; a single bad act, though a sin, does not necessarily argue a vicious heart, as in order to be vicious a man must be habituated to sinful acts. The generation which proceeded from this incestuous connection, whatever may be said in extenuation of the transaction, (its peculiar circumstances being considered), was certainly a bad one. The Moabites soon fell from the faith of God, and became idolaters, the people of Chemosh, and of Baal-peor, Num 21:29; Num 25:1-3; and were enemies to the children of Abraham. See Numbers 22; Jdg 3:14, etc. And the Ammonites, who dwelt near to the Moabites, united with them in idolatry, and were also enemies to Israel. See Jdg 11:4, Jdg 11:24; Deu 23:3, Deu 23:4. As both these people made afterwards a considerable figure in the sacred history, the impartial inspired writer takes care to introduce at this early period an account of their origin. See what has been said on the case of Noah's drunkenness, Gen 9:20, etc. This is an awful history, and the circumstances detailed in it are as distressing to piety as to humanity. It may, however, be profitable to review the particulars. 1. From the commencement of the chapter we find that the example and precepts of Abraham had not been lost on his nephew Lot. He also, like his uncle, watches for opportunities to call in the weary traveler. This Abraham had taught his household, and we see the effect of his blessed teaching. Lot was both hospitable and pious, though living in the midst of a crooked and perverse race. It must be granted that from several circumstances in his history he appears to have been a weak man, but his weakness was such as was not inconsistent with general uprightness and sincerity. He and his family were not forgetful to entertain strangers, and they alone were free from the pollutions of this accursed people. How powerful are the effects of a religious education, enforced by pious example! It is one of God's especial means of grace. Let a man only do justice to his family, by bringing them up in the fear of God, and he will crown it with his blessing. How many excuse the profligacy of their family, which is often entirely owing to their own neglect, by saying, "O, we cannot give them grace!" No, you cannot; but you can afford them the means of grace. This is your work, that is the Lord's. If, through your neglect of precept and example, they perish, what an awful account must you give to the Judge of quick and dead! It was the sentiment of a great man, that should the worst of times arrive, and magistracy and ministry were both to fall, yet, if parents would but be faithful to their trust, pure religion would be handed down to posterity, both in its form and in its power. 2. We have already heard of the wickedness of the inhabitants of the cities of the plain, the cup of their iniquity was full; their sin was of no common magnitude, and what a terrible judgment fell upon them! Brimstone and fire are rained down from heaven upon these traders in iniquity; and what a correspondence between the crime and the punishment? They burned in lust towards each other, and God burned them up with fire and brimstone. Their sin was unnatural, and God punished it by supernatural means. Divine justice not only observes a proportion between the crime and the degree of punishment, but also between the species of crime and the kind of punishment inflicted. 3. Disobedience to the command of God must ever meet with severe reprehension, especially in those who have already partaken of his grace, because these know his salvation, and are justly supposed to possess, by his grace, the power of resisting all solicitations to sin. The servant who knew his lord's will and did it not, was to be beaten with many stripes; see Luk 12:47. Lot's wife stands as an everlasting monument of admonition and caution to all backsliders. She ran well, she permitted Satan to hinder, and she died in her provocation! While we lament her fate, we should profit by her example. To begin in the good way is well; to continue in the path is better; and to persevere unto the end, best of all. The exhortation of our blessed Lord on this subject should awaken our caution, and strongly excite our diligence: Remember Lot's wife! On the conduct of Lot and his daughters, See note on Gen 19:31.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 19:30-38

See the peril of security. Lot, who kept chaste in Sodom, and was a mourner for the wickedness of the place, and a witness against it, when in the mountain, alone, and, as he thought, out of the way of temptation, is shamefully overtaken. Let him that thinks he stands high, and stands firm, take heed lest he fall. See the peril of drunkenness; it is not only a great sin itself, but lets in many sins, which bring a…

Read the full comment on Genesis 19:30-38 →

Genesis 19:38 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְהַצְּעִירָ֤הve.ha.tze.'i.Rahand the youngH6810

גַם\־gam-alsoH1571

הִוא֙hi'sheH1931

יָ֣לְדָהYal.dahshe boreH3205

בֵּ֔ןBena sonH1121

וַתִּקְרָ֥אva.tik.Ra'and she calledH7121

שְׁמ֖וֹshe.Moname hisH8034

בֶּן\־ben-Ben-H1151

עַמִּ֑י'a.MiAmmiH1151

ה֛וּאhu'heH1931

אֲבִ֥י'a.Vi[is] [the] ancestor ofH1

בְנֵֽי\־ve.nei-[the] people ofH1121

עַמּ֖וֹןa.MonAmmonH5983

עַד\־'ad-untilH5704

הַיּֽוֹם\׃\ \סhai.Yomthis dayH3117

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 19:38

Deuteronomy 2:19
And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.
1 Samuel 11:1-15
Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh–gilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel. And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, Give us seven days’ respite, that we may send messengers unto all the coasts of Israel: and then, if there be no man to save us, we will come out to thee. Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears of the people: and all the people lifted up their voices, and wept. …
Judges 10:6-11:40
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the Lord, and served not him. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon. And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed. …
Isaiah 11:14
But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
Zephaniah 2:9
Therefore as I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.
Deuteronomy 2:9
And the Lord said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession.
2 Samuel 10:1-19
And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. Then said David, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon. And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it? Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away. …
Nehemiah 13:23-28
In those days also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab: And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews’ language, but according to the language of each people. And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin. …
Nehemiah 13:1-3
On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever; Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing. Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.
Deuteronomy 23:3
An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever:
Psalms 83:4-8
They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee: The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Ben-ammi.i.e., Son of my people, from {ben,} a son, and {ammi,} my people.
children.
De 2:9,19; 23:3; Jud 10:6-18; 11:1-40; 1Sa 11:1-15; 2Sa 10:1-19
Ne 13:1-3,23-28; Ps 83:4-8; Isa 11:14; Zep 2:9

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Genesis 19:37
And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
Genesis 19:38
And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Ben–ammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

Read all of Genesis 19

Genesis 19:38 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	La menor también parió un hijo, y llamó su nombre Ben-ammí, el cual es padre de los Ammonitas hasta hoy.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et la plus jeune, elle aussi, enfanta un fils, et appela son nom Ben-Ammi: lui, est le père des fils d’Ammon, jusqu’à ce jour.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und die Jüngere, auch sie gebar einen Sohn, und sie gab ihm den Namen Ben Ammi; dieser ist der Vater der Kinder Ammon bis auf diesen Tag.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Minor quoque peperit filium, et vocavit nomen ejus Ammon, id est, Filius populi mei: ipse est pater Ammonitarum usque hodie.