Lot went out of the door to the men: door reminds us that Lot is living in a city house, in contrast to Abraham, who lived in a tent. The two words translated door in this verse are different but refer to the same object. Lot went outside to try to reason with the crowd. To the men means to the males of Sodom, for according to verse 4 not all are old enough to be men.

Shut the door after him: this was to prevent the guests from being exposed to the men outside, or to keep the guests from hearing what was being said.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .