What was Lot thinking when he offered his virgin daughters to the Sodomites?

[TonyChanYT]

What was Lot thinking when he said in Genesis 19:

8 "Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament:

Lot went out to them, shut the door behind him to protect his guests, and offered to give his virgin daughters up to them. ... In his anxiety, Lot was willing to sacrifice to the sanctity of hospitality his duty as a father, which ought to have been still more sacred, "and committed the sin of seeking to avert sin by sin." Even if he expected that his daughters would suffer no harm, as they were betrothed to Sodomites (Genesis 19:14), the offer was a grievous violation of his paternal duty.

Matthew Poole's Commentary:

he yielded to one sin to prevent another, contrary to Romans 3:8, and exposed his daughters’ chastity, which he was obliged to preserve, and which indeed he had no power to expose, especially seeing they were betrothed to other men, Genesis 19:14. But it is some extenuation of his sin that it proceeded from his great charity and kindness to strangers, and that he was at this time under a great perturbation and discomposure of mind.

Most commentaries agree that Lot was wrong to offer his daughters, but his act was understandable given the extenuating circumstances.

What was Lot thinking when he offered his virgin daughters to the Sodomites?

He wasn't thinking clearly. He didn't know what else to do.

 

[O'Darby]

He was thinking "This probably isn't a good idea, but if it makes it into the Bible it'll give people on internet forums something to talk about 4,863 years from now." Yeah, I think that was it.

 

[Jim C]

At the time it was considered a most grievous dishonor to allow harm to come to guests under one's roof; and they were sent by God to boot.
Pretty sure he thought he was committing the lesser of two evils.

 

[MA2444]

Lot must have been able to tell somehow that his visitors were divine beings I think.

Why did Abraham agree to sacrice his son, Issac? Because he knew it was God askning for it. Them coming under his roof for the night surely instilled a sense of duty to protect them in Lot's heart.

 

[quietthinker]

Most commentaries agree that Lot was wrong to offer his daughters, but his act was understandable given the extenuating circumstances.

This behaviour is not understandable or was it that females where considered 'exchangeable' and of lesser value? If so we again have and example of the inversion of right and wrong

 

[Cassandra]

Same type of thing happened in Judges. The priest's concubine was given to the Benjaminites to assault. Quite a gruesome story.