Lot - Roto (English spelling) lô Hebrew

Nephew of Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites. According to Genesis in the Old Testament, Lot traveled with his uncle Abraham around the ancient Orient (chapters 12-13). When traced on an ancient map, they were located in the area around the Fertile Crescent. Genesis also tells us that the uncle and nephew eventually became nomads (chapter 13, verse 5 and following). This was the wisdom of nomads to prevent the increase in their flocks (especially livestock) from damaging the regenerative power of the pastures. After moving his tent to Sodom, two angels warned him that God's wrath would befall the city and it would be destroyed, so he fled to the mountains east of Jordan. There he had incestuous relations with two daughters and had two children, who became the ancestors of the Moabites and the Ammonites (chapter 19). It is believed that Lot was the first resident of the land where the two peoples settled.

[Fixed Form Hisao]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イスラエル民族の族長アブラハム（アブラム）の甥(おい)。『旧約聖書』「創世記」によれば、ロトは伯父アブラハムとともに古代オリエント世界を転々とする（12～13章）。古代地図上でそれをたどると、いわゆる「肥沃(ひよく)な三日月地帯」の周辺地に位置づけられる。さらに「創世記」によれば、この伯父と甥はやがて別々に遊牧する（13章5節以下）。群れ（とくに家畜）の増加が牧草地の再生力を損わないための、遊牧民の知恵である。ソドムに天幕を移したロトは、2人の天使から、神の怒りに触れて町が滅ぼされると警告され、ヨルダン東方の山地に難を逃れる。そこで彼は2人の娘と近親相姦(そうかん)によって2人の子供をもうけ、モアブ人とアンモン人の先祖となる（19章）。ロトは、両民族が定住した土地の最初の居住者と推定される。

［定形日佐雄］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例