And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.

GENESIS 19:34KJV
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Genesis 19:34 (KJV)

What does Genesis 19:34 mean?

Genesis 19:34 describes how, on the day after the first daughter of Lot slept with their father, she suggested to her younger sister that they repeat the act by making Lot drink wine again so the younger could also sleep with him, with the goal of preserving their father’s family line. The verse shows the older sister taking the lead in a plan to have children by their father after the destruction of their city.

In this verse, the firstborn daughter is speaking to her younger sister after they have fled the destruction of Sodom and are living in a cave with their father, Lot. The older daughter refers to what happened the previous night and proposes that they use wine again to make their father unaware, so the younger can also sleep with him. Their stated reason is to "preserve seed"—to ensure their father’s descendants continue, since they believe there are no other men left.

The Hebrew behind Genesis 19:34

  • "Preserve" (חָיָה, chayah): This word means "to live" or "to keep alive." Here, it emphasizes the daughters’ focus on survival and continuation of their family line, not just having children but ensuring the family’s existence.
  • "Seed" (זֶרַע, zera‘): This word means "offspring" or "descendants." The daughters’ concern is specifically about their father’s lineage, showing their motivation is tied to family continuity.
  • "Wine" (יַיִן, yayin): The use of this word highlights that the daughters intentionally used alcohol to make Lot unaware of their actions, which is crucial to understanding the circumstances and Lot’s lack of consent.

Why Genesis 19:34 matters

  • Genesis 19:34 clarifies that the daughters acted with intention and planning, not by accident or impulse, and that the older daughter was the driving force behind the plan.
  • The verse highlights the desperate and isolated situation the family believed themselves to be in, which shaped their extreme actions.
  • This verse sets up the birth of Moab and Ammon, ancestors of two significant groups later in the Bible, showing the origins of these peoples and the complicated family dynamics involved.

Where else these words appear

“yesternight” Hebrew H570 · used in 5 verses

  • Genesis 31:29 It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
  • Genesis 31:42 Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.
  • 2 Kings 9:26 Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the LORD; and I will requite thee in this plat, saith the LORD. Now therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground, according to the word of the LORD.

“firstborn” Hebrew H1067 · used in 6 verses

  • Genesis 19:31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:
  • Genesis 19:33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
  • Genesis 29:26 And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.

“younger” Hebrew H6810 · used in 22 verses

  • Genesis 19:31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:
  • Joshua 6:26 And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.
  • Psalms 119:141 I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts.

“morrow” Hebrew H4283 · used in 32 verses

  • Exodus 9:6 And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.
  • Numbers 16:41 But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD.
  • 1 Samuel 11:11 And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.