‘And Yahweh said, “Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and because their sin is very grievous I will now go down and see whether they have totally done according to its cry (ze‘aqa) which has come to me, and if not I will know”.'
The cry of those who have suffered in Sodom and Gomorrah, like the cry of Abel's blood (Genesis 4:10), has reached God. It is the cry of the land itself as it swallowed up their blood and has witnessed extreme sin beyond the imagination of men (‘its cry'). As the next chapter makes clear no stranger was safe in their streets, no woman could preserve her virtue. They had become utterly bestial. The Hebrew word for this ‘cry' is ze‘aqa which is a semi-technical legal term referring to a strong cry for justice. Compare its use in Habbakuk 1:2; Job 19:7.
We have learned earlier that the iniquity of the Amorite was not yet full (Genesis 15:16). It is clear, however, that the iniquity of the men of Sodom is, such were their evil ways.
This is specific anthropomorphism. God is of course aware of the truth. That is why He has come. But He wants Abraham to be aware of what is about to happen before it happens. Thus will he be able to intercede in such a way as to deliver his nephew and any other righteous men and thus will he and his people learn the lesson that will result from the appalling event to come. It is for Abraham's sake that the delay has taken place.
But God also wants Abraham to know that He gave Sodom and Gomorrah every chance. He is concerned for Abraham to know the full truth about the situation so that he will be satisfied that Yahweh has done what is right.
In a sense this is a microcosm of the great Day of Judgment. Again God will already know everything, but the Day is necessary so as to confirm to all beings that God has dealt justly.
“I will now go down”. This echoes Genesis 11:7. It is His angels who go in person as witnesses to the evil of the cities. But the all-seeing eye of Yahweh will go with them, ‘going down' to see the situation after He has left Abraham and returned above.