Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt. The Hebrew verb used for Lot's wife "looking" back is , "tāḇeṭ". Her looking back at Sodom differs in word usage to Abraham "looking" , "šāqap" toward Sodom in (18:16). The story appears to be based in part on a folk legend explaining a geographic feature. A pillar of salt named "Lot's wife" is located near the Dead Sea at Mount Sodom in Israel. The Mishnah states that a blessing should be said at the place where the pillar of salt is. Other pillars are said to be at the crossing of the Red
Operation Pillar of Defense had ended. According to Human Rights Watch, both sides violated the laws of war during the fighting. Although the official English name of the operation is "Pillar of Defense", the Hebrew name translates as "Pillar of Cloud". Eytan Buchman, head of the IDF's North American media desk, explained that this usage refers to the Pillar of Cloud in the Bible that protected the Israelites during the Exodus and guided them to the Promised Land (). The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament elaborate on the story, specifying that the Pillar of Cloud shielded the Israelites from the Egyptians' arrows and