But Lot’s wife behind him looked back: the account of the destruction of Lot’s wife follows that of the destruction of the cities and valley. In verse 17 the angel had warned Lot and his family not to look back as they fled. But, used in many English versions, shows in this context the contrast between the expected destruction of the cities and the unexpected destruction of Lot’s wife. Translators should make sure of the connecting word, if any, that is used in this situation. The Hebrew text has “His wife behind him looked.” The verb meaning “looked” does not indicate direction. However, the instructions in verse 17 and the context of verse 26 make the sense of “looked back” or “looked behind her” most probable.

And she became a pillar of salt: she became means “she turned into.” In languages in which an agent of the action must be named, it may be necessary to say, for example, “The LORD turned her into…” or “The LORD made her become a….” Pillar translates a word related to the verb to stand; that is, something that stands upright, a column. The idea in this context is an upright rock formation in the shape of a human figure. Readers may have difficulty imagining a column of table salt. The picture is that of a formation of crystallized rock salt. Many translations use the expression “salt statue,” or “a stone of salt.” Other ways of expressing what happened are “she turned into salt and stood like a post,” “salt covered her and her body became hard like stone,” “[God] made her die and turned her body into salt.” In some languages a simile may have to be used: “She became like a statue made of rock salt.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .