‘The sun was risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar.'
It is tempting to read into these descriptions of time some spiritual significance. The dawn of a new life, and then the arising of the sun. But what follows demonstrates that this is not so (as do similar references with regard to Abraham (Genesis 18:1; Genesis 19:27)). They are commonplace indications of time, vividly remembered in an account which is otherwise full of darkness, which suggest close acquaintance with the events. It does not actually say it is sunrise, only that sufficient time has elapsed for sunrise to have passed and the sun to be clearly visible in the sky.