“spare.” The Hebrew is nasa (#05375 נָשָׂא, or נָסָא nacah ), and it means to lift, to bear or bear up, to carry or carry away and thus also to take, support, sustain, forgive, and in this case, to “spare.” This is to be seen in light of the fact that the sin of Sodom was “heavy” (see commentary on Genesis 18:20), so it has to be lifted and carried away. This is a common way of depicting sin: it is a weight that must be carried, and eventually “forgiven,” (carried away).