What is the significance of the fact that the angel told Lot that he was unable to overturn Sedom until Lot arrived at his destination?
Rashi: This was a punishment for having previously declared that they were going to destroy Sedom (19:13), instead of attributing it to HaSh-m. 1
Gur Aryeh: But they did say, "And HaSh-m has sent us to destroy it" (ibid.)! That verse could be misunderstood as if they were going of their own volition on HaSh-m's mission to destroy Sedom.
Why did the angel speak in the singular?
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes: "This was a punishment to the angels, who had said, 'We are destroying...' (19:13)." How do we know this?
Gur Aryeh: It would have been much more effective had the angels not told Lot, "I cannot do a thing until you arrive there;" that way Lot would run faster! They had to say this only to attribute Sedom's destruction to HaSh-m. 1
Gur Aryeh: But as recently as the preceding verse, they attributed the deed to themselves, "I shall not overturn" (19:21)? That was a valid statement; the angel himself would be doing the act of overturning the city. But destruction, i.e. the goal of that act, should have been attributed to HaSh-m.
Rashi writes: "'I cannot do a thing' - in singular; from here we learn that one [angel] overturned, and the other rescued." Why didn't Rashi derive this in verse 19:17 above, when one angel told Lot to flee?
Gur Aryeh: We could not have proven this above, for perhaps they both took part in rescuing Lot, and it was sufficient for one angel to say what needed to be said. But here, if both angels would be overturning Sedom, the verse should say (in plural), 'We cannot do a thing.'
