As dawn was breaking, Lot's visiting angels urged him to get his family and flee, so as to avoid being caught in the impending disaster for the iniquity of the city.

[1]: 467 [6] The term "Lot's wife" for such geographical features subsequently entered common parlance, as one of the outcrops comprising Long Ya Men was also nicknamed thus.

[9] In Judaism, one common view of Lot's wife turning to salt was as punishment for disobeying the angels' warning.

By looking back at the "evil cities," she conceded to her deep-seated longing for that way of life, and as such was deemed unworthy to be saved and thus was turned to a pillar of salt.

[10] Another view in the Jewish exegesis of Genesis 19:26, is that when Lot's wife looked back, she turned to a pillar of salt upon the "sight of God" descending to rain destruction upon Sodom and Gomorrah.

[13] In the Quranic telling, Lut warned his people of their imminent destruction lest they change their wicked ways, but they refused to listen to him.

So much so, that she is mentioned in the Quran alongside Nuh's wife as two impious and disbelieving women who were punished for their wickedness, irrespective of their being married to prophets.

So they patiently obeyed the command of Allah and persevered, and Allah sent upon the people a punishment which struck them all, and rained upon them stones of baked clay, piled up.Lot's wife is mentioned by Jesus at Luke 17:32[16] in the context of warning his disciples about difficult times in the future when the Son of Man would return; he told them to remember Lot's wife as a warning to not waver at that time.

In the first chapter of Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, the author praises Lot's wife for looking back knowing it would destroy her.

The song "2econd 2ight 2eer (that was fun, goodbye)" by Will Wood references this story with the line "take it with a pillar of salt, halt, it's not my fault, the Devil made me do it, but I also kinda wanted to".