In Bereshis 12,11 it says hinay na yadaty ' and the targum Onklos
translates it Ha ke'an. On the other hand in Bereshis 19,2 Hinay na adonay
suru na, Onklos says Bevau ke'an (Ramban also says that it is lashon
techina (=bakasha).
Rashi has two different explanations for the latter pasuk:
הנה נא אדני - הנה נא אתם אדוניםש לי אחר שעברתם עלי. דבר אחר הנה נא צריכים
אתם לתת לב על הרשעים הללו שלא יכירו בכם. וזו היא עצה נכונה:
Most mefarshe Rashi thought that he is giving two different answers to the
question about the word "na" (which happens to appear twice in this pasuk).
IMHO I believe that the one who really got down lesof daato of Rashi is
the Sefer Hazikaron, who says that Rashi (against Onklos' opinion) believes
that this Hinay has the same meaning like the first one (hinay na yadaty),
where Hinay is used as pointing out that a new situation has appeared.
In hinay na yadaty there is a problem, since Sara had been beautiful all
the time, and Rashi solves it by explaining that only now - arriving in a
country where people were specially ugly - it has become relevant (first
explanation) or (second explanation) only now it became obvious as an
overnatural beauty - as most people loose their beauty when exhausted after
a long journey.
And here when Lot speaks to the malachim, Rashi says (first explanation)
that Hinay explains how comes that these people are called "adonim", while
Lot defines himself as "avdechem" (your servant)? So he says that through
the fact that you have passed by my house, bringing me in a situation of
hachnasat orchim, you have become for me "adonim". Or (second explanation)
he is not referring to the title "adonim" but to the recommendation "suru
na", that has now become an urgent necessity due to the jeopardy of the
reshaim, so Lot felt obligated to give them this eitzah.
*Rabbi Berysz Rosenberg*
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