I know that the name Irit is not found in the Christian Bible. In that version of the story, the woman is merely referred to as 'Lot's wife'. However, in Rebecca Goldstein's essay Looking Back at Lot's Wife, she states that some Jewish midrashes refer to the woman by name. Most midrashes call her Irit, though a few claim her name is Idit. I'm calling her Irit because even though I'm relating to these texts from a Christian point of view, I don't want to relegate her to the status of "another of the no-name Bad Girls" (Curtis-Higgs, 66) if I can help it. Even if it is more consistent, I don't like referring to the poor woman as just 'Somebody's wife'. The Lord knows she's been through enough indignities, after being "reduced to an element vaguely ridiculous"(Goldstien, 3), and being remembered for years as disobedient. I chose 'Irit' over 'Idit' because I like the former better. Plus, 'Idit' sounds and looks sort of like 'I did it' to me, and that just smacks of guilt. If you don't like it, then just find a happy place and tell yourself that this is just a short little page. ;)

Who was she? Irit was married to Lot, a wealthy Israelite who chose to live in Sodom, even though

"the people of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord" (Genesis 13:14).

Lot's greatest sins were choosing to live among sinners and choosing the best lands for himself when he parted ways with Abram. Of course, there was also the little matter of Lot's offering his two daughters to an angry mob. This happened when a crowd of Sodomites tried to force him to let them accost the two angels who visited him in the guise of strangers. Lot, ever the consumate host, refused to give the visitors to the crowd, but said

"I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. Look, I have two daughters who have not known a man; let me bring them out to you , and do to them as you please; only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof" (Genesis 19:7,8).

This wasn't considerd a sin in biblical times because women were expendable pieces of property, whereas visiting gentlemen were equals who deserved protection. So for the most part, Lot was considered a fairly decent guy. Nothing much was said about Irit's character, but we can assume that she was mostly the same type of person as her husband.

What did she do? She looked back. When God decided to destroy the city of Sodom, he agreed to spare Lot, Irit and their two daughters. A pair of angels was dispatched to save the little family and give them explicit instructions:

"Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills, or else you will be consumed" (Genesis 19:17).

So Lot and his family fled the city as God rained down sulfur and fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah.

"But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt" (Genesis 19:26).

How has this affected our view of women in modern culture? Well, it hasn't, really, but the story of Lot's wife raises an interesting question -- namely, "why look back?" It's not like it should have been a tough command to follow. Liz Curtis-Higgs discusses several theories in her book Bad Girls of the Bible.

Irit could have missed the angel's command in all the confusion, or forgotten it(Curtis-Higgs, 77). There was a lot going on when Lot and family were fleeing the city. It would be easy to get so busy fleeing that she simply spaced out for a second and looked back. We all have stupid moments, we shouldn't have to die for them.

She could have tripped or dropped something (Curtis-Higgs, 77, 78). I speak from experience when I agree with Curtis-Higgs that it's very easy to trip or thoughtlessly drop something while you're in a hurry. Should Irit really have died for clumsiness? If so, then who's next?

Perhaps she missed the people she knew in Sodom who were now meeting a horrific, painful end, or felt the same concern for her material posessions (Curtis-Higgs, 78). I doubt she'd look back and worry about her poor, flame soaked sofa, but she could have cast one last glance back while picturing a friend's demise.

She could have heard someone crying for help and looked back in sympathy (Curtis-Higgs, 78). Few people could ignore the cry of someone in pain, and even fewer mothers could do so.

She could have doubted God's word, or just been curious enough to sneak a peek (Curtis-Higgs 77, 78). I've done that, the few times that I've gone to church. There seems to always be at least one point in the service where everyone is instructed to bow their heads and pray. All of the people around me would bow their heads obediently and most would shut their eyes while they had a chat with God. I would duck my head until everybody around me had their eyes shut and then I'd occupy myself with rubbernecking about the church. It's not like the priests were going to catch me. They had their eyes shut, too. Maybe Irit, too, thought she could get away with just a little peek, just like Eve thought one little bite of forbidden fruit wouldn't hurt.

Curtis-Higgs also argues that "[b]y lingering behing and looking, Lot's wife chose to identify with her neighbors...but unlike them, she...was offered salvation and turned away from it" (Curtis-Higgs 79). I'm not sure I can judge her actions so harshly, though.

For one thing, some scholars think she had two other daughters who were left behind in Sodom. Some translations state that the men referred to as Lot's sons-in-law were not betrothed to the two daughters who escape, but were actually married to two other daughters (Goldstein, 6). If this was the case, it's no wonder to me that Irit looked back. Losing a child is one of the most painful things a human can go through. For her to know that she was escaping while her daughters perished in agony must have been too much for Irit to bear. I would have looked back too. Goldstein discusses this theory and mentions that in a situation like that, a person just wants to be with the child who is suffering, to "be one with her" (Goldstein, 12). Her essay ends with the thought that

"She was turned into salt either because God couldn't forgive her this desire...or because he could" (Goldstein, 12).

I think it was because he could.

How did she redeem herself? She couldn't. Irit was killed in her transformation and died unredeemed. If God damned her for that, though, I'd be rather disgusted. She disobeyed his command, true, but I think she did so for a good reason, and if we weren't supposed to make our own decisions then God shouldn't have given us brains.

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