Genesis 19:20

Behold, now, this city in near to flee unto, and it is. little one.

By "this city" he means Zoar, before called Bela, but now taking the name of Zoar, which means "littleness," from the plea of Lot that it was. "little one," and hence might be exempted from destruction. Though Zoar may have been involved in the wickedness of the other cities of the plain, Lot pleads that it has few inhabitants, and that the sins of such. city must be comparatively small. It was not far away and could be soon reached, and It would furnish shelter among. people who were less savage than the mountaineers. Says Calvin: "And this is verily the nature of men, that they choose to seek their safety in hell rather than in heaven, when they follow their own reason."