Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah
Ramban on Genesis 19:3/רמב"ן על בראשית י״ט:ג׳
אוַיִּפְצַר בָּם מְאֹד הָיָה לְלוֹט זְכוּת בְּהַפְצִירוֹ בָּהֶם, וְהָיָה לוֹ חֵפֶץ טוֹב בְּהַכְנָסַת אוֹרְחִים, וְהָיוּ מְמָאֲנִים כְּדֵי לְזַכּוֹתוֹ, וְלָכֵן שָׁמְעוּ לוֹ בַּסּוֹף, כִּי מִתְּחִלָּה לֹא הָיוּ רוֹצִים לָבֹא לְבֵיתוֹ, כִּי אֵינוֹ צַדִּיק תָּמִים. וְרַבּוֹתֵינוּ אָמְרוּ (ב"מ פז), מְסָרְבִין לְקָטָן וְאֵין מְסָרְבִין לְגָדוֹל, וְאִם כֵּן יִהְיֶה כְּדֶרֶךְ מוּסַר בְּנֵי אָדָם:
1AND HE URGED THEM GREATLY. His urging them was meritorious on the part of Lot, and he indeed had a sincere desire to welcome wayfarers. They, however, at first refused in order to increase his merit, and therefore they finally listened to him; but originally they did not want to come into his house as he was not a perfectly righteous man. But our Rabbis have said [in order to explain their original refusal]:172 “One may decline an offer from an inferior person, but not from a superior person.”173, (above, 18:5), but with Lot, they at first declined. If so, their declining his offer at first was merely an act of ethical conduct.