בראשית, פרק י״ט, פסוק י״ג

The pivotal moment of decision arrives for Sodom as the divine messengers drop their disguise and announce the absolute end of the region. The decree is already sealed and unchangeable. The final seal on their doom stems from their cruelty toward their fellow humans. The great outcry reaching the heavens is not the residents protesting their impending punishment, but rather the agonizing screams of the oppressed and the poor who suffered horrific abuse at their hands [רד״ק, מלבי״ם, ביאור יש״ר, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

This devastation is a severe and heavy mission [רשב״ם, חזקוני, ביאור יש״ר] that goes far beyond a localized penalty, encompassing all the cities of the surrounding plain [ביאור יש״ר]. The Land of Israel possesses a unique spiritual sensitivity that simply cannot tolerate such abominations. The ruins are meant to serve as a permanent warning to the Israelites who will eventually inherit the land, demonstrating how the earth violently rejects those who defile it [הטור הארוך בשם הרמב״ן, רד״ק, שד״ל, ביאור יש״ר]. Ultimately, this miraculous eradication prevents pure evil from infecting the rest of humanity and thwarting its purpose [רלב״ג]. Because the moral decay is so absolute, wiping out the city is actually an expression of God's love and mercy toward mankind as a whole [רש ר הירש].

The messengers declare their mission in the plural, stating that they are destroying the city and that they were sent together. This raises a question, as it is understood that one angel was dispatched to destroy the city, while the other was sent strictly to save Lot. The primary approach among commentators is that the two missions are completely interdependent. The angel of destruction could not strike as long as Lot remained inside. By rescuing Lot and removing the only obstacle to the judgment, the saving angel becomes a full, active partner in the devastation [אור החיים, מלבי״ם, ריב״א, הדר זקנים, ביאור יש״ר]. Alternatively, speaking in the plural protects the honor of the second angel so he does not appear as a mere subordinate, or it might refer to a broader heavenly host [אור החיים]. Others suggest they worked in tandem—one acting as a witness to their deeds and the other executing the strike [הדר זקנים], or that this is simply a common conversational style in the biblical narrative [חזקוני].

However, by declaring that they were the ones destroying the city, the angels committed a subtle but severe sin of pride. They attributed the power to themselves, claiming honor that belongs exclusively to God. Even though they immediately corrected themselves by adding that God had sent them, this momentary arrogance resulted in a harsh penalty. They were banished from God's presence for 138 years, only to reappear much later in the dream of Jacob's ladder. This serves as a profound lesson that no individual, not even a celestial being, may take credit for the glory and actions that belong solely to the Creator [רבנו בחיי, צאינה וראינה].