Lot, in the Book of Genesis, was the nephew of the patriarch Abraham. The two led their followers from the city of Ur in Mesopotamia to Canaan. There, they divided their company into groups (Genesis 13). Lot resided in the wicked city of Sodom. He unknowingly entertained two angels sent to destroy Sodom and the nearby city of Gomorrah. Later, Lot fled from Sodom with his wife and two daughters. His wife, defying the command they had been given, turned back to watch the destruction of the cities. She was immediately changed into a pillar of salt as punishment for her curiosity and disobedience (Genesis 19:26).
Lot’s daughters despaired of finding husbands and therefore having children. They thus got their father drunk and had sexual relations with him. Two sons, called Moab and Ben-ammi, were born as a result. They were considered the ancestors of the Moabites and Ammonites in what is now the East Bank of the Jordan River.
