Which two angels arrived in Sedom? What happened to the third angel?
Rashi (to Bereishis 18:33), Moshav Zekenim #1 (to 18:22): Gavriel came to overturn Sedom, and Refa'el came to save Lot. 1 Micha'el, whose mission (to inform Sarah of Yitzchak's impending birth) was accomplished, had returned to his heavenly abode.
Moshav Zekenim #2 (to 18:22): Gavriel came to overturn Sedom, and Micha'el came to save Lot. 2
Why does the Torah refer to them here as angels, and at the beginning of the Parshah as men (18:2)?
Rashi #1: When the Shechinah was with them 1 it refers to them as men; when it was not, it refers to them as angels.
Rashi #2: In the presence of Avraham, who, in his greatness, was accustomed to seeing angels, it refers to them as men. In the presence of Lot, it refers to them as angels. 2
See 18:1.
Riva, citing Chizkuni: Also regarding Lot, sometimes they are called men, i.e. what the people of Sedom called men. Also refer to 19:1:2.2:1.
Why did it take so long for the angels to arrive in Sedom?
Rashi: Because they were angels of mercy 1 , so they waited to see whether Avraham would succeed in obtaining them a reprieve.
Seforno: They did indeed arrive much sooner (as the Gemara says in Berachos 4b) "Gavriel in two steps, Micha'el in one;" only they refrained from entering Sedom until Avraham ,their advocate, had concluded his arguments.
How can Rashi (citing the Midrash) refer to Gavriel (who represents Midas ha'Din, and was coming to overturn Sedom) as an "angel of mercy"?
Lot did not mind living in Sedom, in spite of (perhaps even because of) all its perversions. Moreover, he was not too fussy about idolatry (see Sifsei Chachamim). Why was he Moser Nefesh for guests, whom he did not even know?
Rashi: He had witnessed Hachnasas Orechim performed to perfection so many times by Avraham that it was second nature to him.
Seforno: With nowhere to stay, they would have slept overnight in the street, as was customary in those days - in which case the people of Sedom, Lot knew, would have molested them.
Why did he prostrate himself before the angels (although he clearly did not recognize them as such)?
Seforno: Because, even in their human disguise, they must have been awesome in appearance. 1
Refer to 18:2:4:1; refer to 19:1:2.2:1.
Here it says that Lot sat in the gate of Sedom. Above (Bereishis 14:12), it says that he sat in Sedom!
Rashi: Only today he had been appointed judge over them. 1 [The word] 'Yosheiv' is written [without a Vav; it can be read as if it says] Yashav. 2
Moshav Zekenim: He entered the city itself due to the feud [with Avraham's shepherds, to distance himself from them]. Now he returned to his first place.
Gur Aryeh: What does this teach us? This indicates the perverseness of the Sodomites, who did not hesitate to bring a travesty even upon their own appointed official.
Gur Aryeh: The spelling indicates past tense, while the pronunciation indicates the present. Together, they indicate a state that has just now begun. Also refer to 18:1:3.1:1.
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes: "Angels' - but elsewhere it calls them 'men'?" However, calling them angels here also needs explanation! Lot prepared food for them, and refers to them as men (19:8); they must have appeared to him as such?
Gur Aryeh: Lot may have referred to them as men, but the narrative of the verse is expected to call them angels, for that is what they were.
Rashi writes: "When they are with Avraham, who was very great... it calls them 'men.'" But Lot also later refers to them as men (19:8)?
Gur Aryeh: When the angels are with Avraham, even the Torah's narrative calls them men (18: 2,16,22). Angels would often visit Avraham (Rashi), and he felt no fear whatsoever in their presence. When they visited Lot, although they appeared as men and Lot referred to them as such, Lot was still afraid of them, and therefore the Torah's narrative calls them "angels."
Rashi writes: "'In the evening' - Did the angels tarry so long on their way to Sedom?" But perhaps they only left Chevron shortly before evening?
Gur Aryeh: The angels had arrived at Avraham's tent "at the heat of the day" (18:1) i.e. midday, and a meal usually lasts only an hour. The journey from Chevron to Sedom does not take five hours.
Rashi writes: "He had learned in Avraham's house to seek out guests." How do we know this?
Gur Aryeh: The angels later tell Lot, "You have become wicked along with [the Sodomites]; you are only being saved in Avraham's merit!" (Rashi to 19:17). But habit is a powerful force; even now, Lot must have been continuing the habit of hosting guests, which he had picked up from Avraham.
