Vayeira 19:25 · EXTRA

Supplementary classical material; Torah Temimah lists no citation under this passuk.

The Complete Passuk

וַֽיַּהֲפֹךְ֙ אֶת־הֶעָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔ל וְאֵת֙ כָּל־הַכִּכָּ֔ר וְאֵת֙ כָּל־יֹשְׁבֵ֣י הֶעָרִ֔ים וְצֶ֖מַח הָאֲדָמָֽה׃

And He overturned those cities and the entire plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and the vegetation of the ground.

Source Citation

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text

וַיַּהֲפֹךְ אֶת הֶעָרִים. אַרְבַּעְתָּן יוֹשְׁבוֹת בְּסֶלַע אֶחָד וַהֲפָכָן מִלְמַעְלָה לְמַטָּה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בַּחַלָּמִישׁ שָׁלַח יָדוֹ הֲפָכָם מִשֹּׁרֶשׁ (איוב כח).

English: “And He overturned the cities.” The four of them sat upon a single rock, and He turned them upside down, as it is said, “He puts his hand to the flinty rock and overturns mountains by the roots” (Iyov 28).

On the daf / in context: The overturning is physical and total — cities, plain, inhabitants, and vegetation — described as inversion from foundation upward.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Rashi) — not a formal named middah of the 13. The verb “overturn” is read with the image of uprooting from Job.

What Is Learned

Divine judgment on Sedom was absolute and geometric: the very foundations of the cities were inverted, leaving no residual habitation or growth.