Sodom and Gomorrah

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This article is about the biblical cities. For other uses, see Sodom and Gomorrah (disambiguation).
The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, John Martin, 1852

Sodom and Gomorrah (/ˈsɒdəm ... ɡəˈmɒrə/)[1] were two cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis[2] and throughout the Hebrew Bible,[3] the New Testament, and in the deuterocanonical books, as well as in the Quran and the hadith.[4]

According to the Torah, the kingdoms of Sodom and Gomorrah were allied with the cities of Admah, Zeboim, and Bela. These five cities, also known as the "cities of the plain" (from Genesis in the King James Version), were situated on the Jordan River plain in the southern region of the land of Canaan. The plain was compared to the garden of Eden[Gen.13:10] as being well-watered and green, suitable for grazing livestock. Divine judgment was passed upon them and four of them were consumed by fire and brimstone. Neighboring Zoar (Bela) was the only city to be spared. In Abrahamic religions, Sodom and Gomorrah have become synonymous with impenitent sin, and their fall with a proverbial manifestation of divine retribution.[5][6][Jude 1:7]

Sodom and Gomorrah have been used historically and in modern discourse as metaphors for homosexuality, and are the origin of the English words, sodomite, a pejorative term for male homosexuals, and sodomy, which is used in a legal context under the label "crimes against nature" to describe anal or oral sex (particularly homosexual) and bestiality.[7][8][9] This is based upon exegesis of the biblical text interpreting divine judgement upon Sodom and Gomorrah as punishment for the sin of homosexual sex, though some contemporary scholars dispute this interpretation.[10][11][12] Some Islamic societies incorporate punishments associated with Sodom and Gomorrah into sharia.[13]

Etymology[edit]

The etymology of both names is uncertain, and scholars disagree about them.[14]

They are known in Hebrew as סְדֹם (Səḏōm) and עֲמֹרָה (‘Ămōrāh). In the Septuagint these became Σόδομα (Sódoma) and Γόμορρᾰ (Gómorrha; the Hebrew ghayn was absorbed by ayin sometime after the Septuagint was transcribed, it is still pronounced as a voiced uvular fricative in Mizrahi, which is rendered in Greek by a gamma, a voiced velar stop).[15][16]

According to Bob Macdonald, the Hebrew term for Gomorrah was based on the Semitic root ʿ-m-r, which means "be deep", "copious (water)".[17]

Book of Genesis[edit]

The Book of Genesis is the primary source that mentions the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Battle of Siddim[edit]

Main article: Battle of Siddim

The Battle of Siddim is described in Genesis 14:1–17. Lot is encamped within the borders of Sodom at a time when "the men of Sodom [are] wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly". Sodom and Gomorrah are ruled by Bera and Birsha, respectively, although their kingship is not sovereign because the Jordan plain has been under the rule of Chedorlaomer the Elamite for twelve years.

In the thirteenth year of their subjugation, the five kings of the Jordan plain—Bera, Birsha, Shinab of Admah, Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the unnamed king of Bela (later called Zoar)—ally to rebel against Elam. The following year, Chedorlaomer gathers forces from Shinar, Ellasar and Goyim to suppress the rebellion in the Vale of Siddim. The cities of the plain take heavy losses and are defeated. Sodom and Gomorrah are despoiled and captives are taken, among them Lot.

The tide turns when Lot's uncle, Abraham, gathers an elite force that slaughters the hosts of Chedorlaomer in Hobah, north of Damascus, freeing the cities of the plain from the grip of Elam.

Judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah[edit]

See also: Hospitality § Judaism
Sodom and Gomorrah being destroyed in the background of Lucas van Leyden's 1520 painting Lot and his Daughters

The story of the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah is told in Genesis 18–19. Three men come to Abraham in the plains of Mamre. After the angels received the hospitality of Abraham and Sarah, the Lord reveals to Abraham that he would confirm what he had heard against Sodom and Gomorrah, "and because their sin is very grievous."

Abraham inquires if the Lord will spare the city should fifty righteous people be found within it, to which the Lord agrees. Abraham then pleads for mercy at successively lower numbers—first forty-five, then forty, then thirty, then twenty, and finally ten—with the Lord agreeing each time.[18]

Two angels are sent on before them to Sodom and are met by Abraham's nephew Lot, who convinces them to lodge with him, and he serves them a meal.

4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both young and old, all the people from every quarter.
5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him: 'Where are the men that came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them.' (NRSV: know them, NIV: can have sex with them, NJB: can have intercourse with them).

Sodom and Gomorrah from the Nuremberg Chronicle by Hartmann Schedel, 1493. Lot's wife, already transformed into a salt pillar, is in the center.

Lot refused to give his guests to the inhabitants of Sodom and, instead, offered them his two virgin daughters "which have not known man" and to "do ye to them as [is] good in your eyes". They refused this offer, complained about this alien, namely Lot, judging them, and then came near to break down the door. Lot's angelic guests rescued him and struck the men with blindness and they informed Lot of their mission to destroy the city, then they commanded Lot to gather his family and leave. As they made their escape, one angel commanded Lot to "look not behind thee" (singular "thee"). As Sodom and Gomorrah were being destroyed with brimstone and fire from the Lord, Lot's wife looked back at the city, and she became a pillar of salt.[19][20][21][22]

Other biblical references[edit]

The Hebrew Bible contains several other references to Sodom and Gomorrah. The New Testament also contains passages of parallels to the destruction and surrounding events that pertained to these cities and those who were involved. Later deuterocanonical texts attempt to glean[clarification needed] additional insights about these cities of the Jordan Plain and their residents. Additionally, the inhospitality which triggered the destruction is reminiscent of the Book of Judges' account of The Levite's Concubine.[23]

Hebrew Bible[edit]

Moses referred to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Deuteronomy 29:22–23:

So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the Lord hath laid upon it; And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath.—KJV

See also: Deuteronomy 32:32–33

Isaiah 1:9–10, Isaiah 3:9 and Isaiah 13:19–22 addresses people as from Sodom and Gomorrah, associates Sodom with shameless sinning and tells Babylon that it will end like those two cities.

Jeremiah 23:14, Jeremiah 49:17–18, Jeremiah 50:39–40 and Lamentations 4:6 associate Sodom and Gomorrah with adultery and lies, prophesy the fate of Edom (south of the Dead Sea), predict the fate of Babylon and use Sodom as a comparison.

In Ezekiel 16:48–50, God compares Jerusalem to Sodom, saying "Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters." He explains that the sin of Sodom was that "thy sister, Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good."

In Amos 4:1–11, God tells the Israelites that although he treated them like Sodom and Gomorrah, they still did not repent.

In Zephaniah 2:9, Zephaniah tells Moab and Ammon, southeast and northeast of the Dead Sea, that they will end up like Sodom and Gomorrah.

New Testament[edit]

In Matthew 10:1–15, cf. Luke 10:1–12, Jesus declares certain cities more damnable than Sodom and Gomorrah, due to their response to Jesus' disciples, in the light of greater grace (KJV):

"And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgement, than for that city."

In Matthew 11:20–24, Jesus prophesies the fate of some cities where he did some of his works (KJV):

"And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to Hell: for if the mighty works which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgement, than for thee"

In Luke 17:28–30, Jesus compares his Second Coming to the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah (KJV):

"Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded, but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even thus will it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed."

In Romans 9:29, Paul the Apostle quotes Isaiah 1:9 (KJV): "And as Esaias said before, 'Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma [Sodom] and been made like unto Gomorrah.'"

In 2 Peter 2:4–10, Saint Peter says that just as God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and saved Lot, he will deliver godly people from temptations and punish the wicked on Judgement Day.

Jude 1:7 records that both Sodom and Gomorrah were "giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire".

Revelation 11:7–8 makes an allegorical use of Sodom when it describes the places where the two witnesses will descend during the Apocalypse.

Deuterocanon[edit]

Further information: Deuterocanonical books

Wisdom 10:6–8 refers to the Five Cities:

Wisdom rescued a righteous man when the ungodly were perishing; he escaped the fire that descended on the Five Cities. Evidence of their wickedness still remains: a continually smoking wasteland, plants bearing fruit that does not ripen, and a pillar of salt standing as a monument to an unbelieving soul. For because they passed wisdom by, they not only were hindered from recognizing the good, but also left for mankind a reminder of their folly, so that their failures could never go unnoticed.

Wisdom 19:17 says that the Egyptians who enslaved the Israelites were "struck with blindness, like the men of Sodom who came to the door of that righteous man Lot. They found themselves in total darkness, as each one groped around to find his own door."

Sirach 16:8 says "[God] did not spare the neighbors of Lot, whom he loathed on account of their insolence."

In 3 Maccabees 2:5, the high priest Simon says that God "consumed with fire and sulphur the men of Sodom who acted arrogantly, who were notorious for their vices; and you made them an example to those who should come afterward".

2 Esdras 2:8–9 says "Woe to you, Assyria, who conceal the unrighteous in your midst! O wicked nation, remember what I did to Sodom and Gomor′rah, whose land lies in lumps of pitch and heaps of ashes. So will I do to those who have not listened to me, says the Lord Almighty."

2 Esdras 5:1–13 describes signs of the end times, one of which is that "the sea of Sodom shall cast up fish".

In 2 Esdras 7:106, Ezra says that Abraham prayed for the people of Sodom.

Chapter 12 of 1 Meqabyan, a book considered canonical in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, references "Gemorra an Sedom".[24]

Historicity[edit]

Painting from William Francis Lynch book The Narrative of the United States Expedition of the River Jordan and the Dead Sea. Published in 1849

There are other stories and historical names which bear a resemblance to the biblical stories of Sodom and Gomorrah. Some possible natural explanations for the events described have been proposed, but no widely accepted or strongly verified sites for the cities have been found.

Sites[edit]

The stories of Sodom and Gomorrah and their destruction, whether historical or not, were clearly understood to have occurred near the Dead Sea, among the so-called “cities of the plain” mentioned in Genesis 13:12. There have been various proposals and attempts to locate the Canaanite pentapolis situated around the Dead Sea. However, the task has proved daunting. Of the five cities, Sodom, Gomorrah, Zo(g)ar, Admah and Zeboim, only Zoar has been positively identified. The Book of Genesis adds that it was the only of the five cities to be spared the divine punishment, as Lot and his daughters needed refuge.[25] Appropriately enough, it is the only one of the allegedly five cities to survive past not just the apparent cleansing of the Siddim Plain, but far into the common era, the ancient city even held an active diocese until the 21st century.

Many locations have been proposed for the infamous cities, ranging from north-east to south-west of the Dead Sea. No archeological site or ruin has or, thus far, can be reliably determined as either Sodom or Gomorrah, or Admah or Zeboim, for that matter.

The ancient Greek historiographer Strabo states that locals living near Moasada (as opposed to Masada) say that "there were once thirteen inhabited cities in that region of which Sodom was the metropolis”.[26] Strabo identifies a limestone and salt hill at the southwestern tip of the Dead Sea, and Kharbet Usdum (Hebrew: הר סדום‎, Har Sedom or Arabic: جبل السدوم‎, Jabal(u) 'ssudūm) ruins nearby as the site of biblical Sodom.[27] Archibald Sayce translated an Akkadian poem describing cities that were destroyed in a rain of fire, written from the view of a person who escaped the destruction; the names of the cities are not given.[28] Sayce later mentions that the story more closely resembles the doom of Sennacherib's host.[29]

The Jewish historian Josephus identifies the Dead Sea in geographic proximity to the ancient biblical city of Sodom. He refers to the lake by its Greek name, Asphaltites.[30]

Southern Theory[edit]

In 1973, Walter E. Rast and R. Thomas Schaub discovered or visited a number of possible sites of the cities, including Bab edh-Dhra, which was originally excavated in 1965 by archaeologist Paul Lapp, and later finished by Rast and Schaub following his death. Other possibilities include Numeira, al-Safi, Feifa (or Fifa, Feifah), and Khirbet al-Khanazir, which were also visited by Schaub and Rast. However, in 1993 Nancy Lapp, from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, reported that Feifa had no Bronze Age occupation and merely an EB cemetery with Iron Age walls. She reports: "In the final season of the present series of excavations of the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain (1990–1991), the walled site of Feifa was investigated and the EB cemetery that stretched to its east was excavated. The most recent surveys suggested that the visible structures of the walled site belonged to the Iron Age or Roman period." [31] At khirbet al-Khanazir the walls which Rast and Schaub identified in 1973 as houses were in reality rectangular charnel burial houses marking EB IV shaft tombs and not occupational structures.[32] According to Schaub, who dug at Bab edh-Dhra, Numeira was destroyed in 2600 BCE at a different time period than Bab edh-Dhra (2350–2067 BCE).[33]

Northern Theory[edit]

Another candidate for Sodom is the Tall el-Hammam dig site which began in 2006 under the direction of Steven Collins.

Tall el-Hammam overlooking the Jordan Valley 2007

Tall el-Hammam is located in the southern Jordan river valley approximately 14 kilometres (9 mi) northeast of the Dead Sea, and according to Collins fits the biblical descriptions of the lands of Sodom.[34][35] The ongoing dig is a result of joint cooperation between the unaccredited Trinity Southwest University and the Department of Antiquities of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.[36][better source needed] Collins is a professor at Trinity Southwest which is an institution that states that biblical scripture is the "divinely inspired representation of reality given by God to humankind, speaking with absolute authority in all matters upon which it touches".[37] Collins is also the Professor of Archaeology and Biblical History along with Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Veritas International University,[38] accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools which requires all accredited schools to have a statement of faith that affirms "the inerrancy and historicity of the Bible" and "the divine work of non-evolutionary creation including persons in God's image".[39]

Professor Eugene H. Merrill believes that the identification of Tall el-Hammam with Sodom would require an unacceptable restructuring of the biblical chronology.[40][41][42]

Natural disaster[edit]

Certain skeptics of the biblical account have theorized that, provided that the cities existed at all, they might have been destroyed by natural disaster. One such idea is that the Dead Sea was devastated by an earthquake between 2100 and 1900 BCE. This might have unleashed showers of steaming tar.[43] It is possible that the towns were destroyed by an earthquake, especially if they lay along a major fault such as the Jordan Rift Valley. There is a lack of contemporary accounts of seismic activity within the necessary time frame to corroborate this theory.[44]

Other hypotheses[edit]

In 1976, Giovanni Pettinato claimed that a cuneiform tablet that had been found in the newly discovered library at Ebla contained the names of all five of the cities of the plain (Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Bela), listed in the same order as in Genesis. The names si-da-mu [TM.76.G.524] and ì-ma-ar [TM.75.G.1570 and TM.75.G.2233] were identified as representing Sodom and Gomorrah, which gained some acceptance at the time.[45] However, Alfonso Archi states that, judging from the surrounding city names in the cuneiform list, si-da-mu lies in northern Syria and not near the Dead Sea, and ì-ma-ar is a variant of ì-mar, known to represent Emar, an ancient city located near Ebla.[46] Today, the scholarly consensus is that "Ebla has no bearing on ... Sodom and Gomorra."[47]

Religious views[edit]

Jewish[edit]

Rabbi Basil Herring, who served as head of the Rabbinical Council of America from 2003 to 2012, writes that both the Rabbinic tradition and modern orthodox position consider the Torah to condemn homosexuality as an abomination. Moreover, that it "conveys its abhorrence of homosexuality through a variety of narrative settings", God's judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah being a "paradigmatic" instance of such condemnation.[48]

Rictor Norton views classical Jewish texts as stressing the cruelty and lack of hospitality of the inhabitants of Sodom to the "stranger".[49] The people of Sodom were seen as guilty of many other significant sins. Rabbinic writings affirm that the Sodomites also committed economic crimes, blasphemy and bloodshed.[50]

Other extrabiblical crimes committed by Sodom and Gomorrah included extortion on crossing a bridge/or swimming a river; harshly punishing victims for crimes that the perpetrator committed, forcing an assault victim to pay for the perpetrator's "bleeding" [51] and forcing a woman to marry a man who intentionally caused her miscarriage to compensate for the lost child. Because of this, the judges of the two cities were referred to as Shakrai ("Liar"), Shakurai ("Awful Liar"), Zayyafi ("Forger") and Mazle Dina ("Perverter of Justice"). Eliezer was reported to be a victim of such legally unjust conduct, after Sarah sent him to Sodom to report on Lot's welfare. The citizens also regularly tortured foreigners who sought lodging. They did this by providing the foreigners a standard-sized beds and if they saw that the foreigner was too short for the bed, they would forcibly stretch their limbs but if the foreigner was too tall, they would cut off their legs;[52][53] As a result, many people refrained from visiting Sodom and Gomorrah. Beggars who settled into the two cities for refuge were similarly mistreated. The citizens would give them marked coins (presumably used to purchase food) but were nonetheless forbidden, by proclamation, to provide these necessary services. Once the beggar died of starvation, citizens who initially gave the beggar the coins were permitted to retrieve them, provided that they could recognize it. The beggar's clothing was also provided as a reward for any citizen who could successfully overcome their opponent in a street fight.[54][51]

The provision of bread and water to the poor was also a capital offense (Yalḳ., Gen. 83). Two girls, one poor and the other rich, went to a well; and the former gave the latter her jug of water, receiving in return a vessel containing bread. When this became known, both were burned alive (ib.).[55] According to the Book of Jasher, Paltith, one of Lot's daughters, was burnt alive (in some versions, on a pyre) for giving a poor man bread.[56] Her cries went to the heavens[51] Another woman was similarly executed in Admah for giving a traveler, who intended to leave the town the next day, water. When the scandal was revealed, the woman was stripped naked and covered with honey. This attracted bees as the woman was slowly stung to death. Her cries then went up into the heavens, the turning point that was revealed to have provoked God to enact judgement upon Sodom and Gomorrah in the first place in Genesis 18:20.[54]

Jon D. Levenson views a rabbinic tradition described in the Mishnah as postulating that the sin of Sodom was a violation of conventional hospitality in addition to homosexual conduct, describing Sodom's lack of generosity with the saying, "What is mine is mine; what is yours is yours" (m. Avot 5.10).[57]

Jay Michaelson proposes a reading of the story of Sodom that emphasizes the violation of hospitality as well as the violence of the Sodomites. "Homosexual rape is the way in which they violate hospitality—not the essence of their transgression. Reading the story of Sodom as being about homosexuality is like reading the story of an ax murderer as being about an ax."[58] Michaelson places the story of Sodom in context with other Genesis stories regarding Abraham's hospitality to strangers, and argues that when other texts in the Hebrew Bible mention Sodom, they do so without commentary on homosexuality. The verses cited by Michaelson include Jeremiah 23:14,[Jeremiah 23:14] where the sins of Jerusalem are compared to Sodom and are listed as adultery, lying, and strengthening the hands of evildoers; Amos 4:1–11 (oppressing the poor and crushing the needy);[Amos 4:1–11] and Ezekiel 16:49–50,[Ezekiel 16:49–50] which defines the sins of Sodom as "pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and did toevah before me, and I took them away as I saw fit." Michaelson uses toevah in place of abomination to emphasize the original Hebrew, which he explains as being more correctly translated as "taboo".[59]

Christian[edit]

Two areas of contention have arisen in modern Christian scholarship concerning the story of Sodom and Gomorrah:[60][61]

  1. Whether the violent mob surrounding Lot's house were demanding to engage in sexual violence against Lot's guests.
  2. Whether it was homosexuality or another transgression, such as the act of inhospitable behavior towards visitors, the act of sexual assault, the oppression of marginalized groups, murder, theft, adultery, idolatry, power abuses, the oppression of the poor, or prideful and mocking behavior,[62] that was the principal reason for God's destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The first contention focuses primarily upon the meaning of the Hebrew verb Hebrew: ידע (yada), translated as "know" in the King James Version:

And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where [are] the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. —Genesis 19:5

Yada is used to refer to sexual intercourse in various instances, such as in Genesis 4:1 between Adam and Eve:

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.—Genesis 4:1

Some Hebrew scholars believe that yada, unlike the English word "know", requires the existence of a "personal and intimate relationship".[63] For this reason, many of the most popular of the 20th century translations, including the New International Version, the New King James Version, and the New Living Translation, translate yada as "have sex with" or "know ... carnally" in Gen 19:5.[64]

Those who favor the non-sexual interpretation argue against a denotation of sexual behavior in this context, noting that while the Hebrew word for "know" appears over 900 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, only 1% (13–14 times)[49][65] of those references are clearly used as a euphemism for realizing sexual intimacy.[66] Instead, those who hold to this interpretation see the demand to know as demanding the right to interrogate the strangers.[67]

Countering this is the observation that one of the examples of "know" meaning to know sexually occurs when Lot responds to the Gen 19:5 request, by offering his daughters for rape, only three verses later in the same narrative:

Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing.... —Genesis 19:8

The following is a major text in regard to these conflicting opinions:

Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. —Jude 1:7

This reference to "going after strange flesh" is understood in different ways to include something akin to bestiality, having illicit sex with strangers, having sex with angels, but most often God's destruction of the populations of the four cities is interpreted to mean homosexual (same-sex) relations.[citation needed]

Many who interpret the stories in a non-sexual context contend that as the word for "strange" is akin to "another", "other", "altered" or even "next", the meaning is unclear, and if the condemnation of Sodom was the result of sexual activities perceived to be perverse, then it is likely that it was because women sought to commit fornication with "other than human" angels,[68] perhaps referring to Genesis 6 or the apocryphal Book of Enoch. Countering this, it is pointed out that Genesis 6 refers to angels seeking women, not men seeking angels, and that both Sodom and Gomorrah were engaged in the sin Jude describes before the angelic visitation, and that, regardless, it is doubtful that the Sodomites knew they were angels. In addition, it is argued the word used in the King James Version of the Bible for "strange", can mean unlawful or corrupted (Rm. 7:3; Gal. 1:6), and that the apocryphal Second Book of Enoch condemns "sodomitic" sex (2 Enoch 10:3; 34:1),[69] thus indicating that homosexual relations was the prevalent physical sin of Sodom.[70]

Both the non-sexual and the homosexuality view invoke certain classical writings as well as other portions of the Bible.[71][72]

Now this was the sin of Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. —Ezekiel 16:49–50

Here the nonsexual view focuses on the inhospitality aspect, while the other notes the description detestable or abomination, the Hebrew word for which often denotes moral sins, including those of a sexual nature.[73][74]

In the Gospel of Matthew (and corresponding verse) when Jesus warns of a worse judgment for some cities than Sodom, inhospitality is perceived by some as the sin, while others see it fundamentally being impenitence:

If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. —Matthew 10:14–15

The nonsexual view focuses on the cultural importance of hospitality, which this biblical story shares with other ancient civilizations, such as Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, where hospitality was of singular importance and strangers were under the protection of the gods.[75] James L. Kugel, Starr Professor of Hebrew Literature at Harvard University suggests the story encompasses the sexual and non-sexual: the Sodomites were guilty of stinginess, inhospitality and sexual license, homo- and heterosexual in contrast to the generosity of Abraham, and Lot whose behavior in protecting the visitors but offering his daughters suggests he was "scarcely better than his neighbors" according to some ancient commentators, The Bible As It Was, 1997, pp. 179–197.

Within the Christian Churches that agree on the possible sexual interpretation of "know" (yada) in this context, there is still a difference of opinion on whether homosexuality is important. On its website, the Anglican Communion presents the argument that the story is "not even vaguely about homosexual love or relationships", but is instead "about dominance and rape, by definition an act of violence, not of sex or love". This argument that the violence and the threat of violence towards foreign visitors is the true ethical downfall of Sodom (and not homosexuality), also observes the similarity between the Sodom and Gomorrah and the Battle of Gibeah Bible stories. In both stories, an inhospitable mob demands the homosexual rape of a foreigner or foreigners. As the mob instead settles for the rape and murder of the foreigner's female concubine in the Battle of Gibeah story, the homosexual aspect is generally seen as inconsequential, and the ethical downfall is understood to be the violence and the threat of violence towards foreigners by the mob. This Exodus 22:21–24 lesson is viewed by Anglicans as a more historically accurate way to interpret the Sodom and Gomorrah story.[60][76]

Scholar in history and gender studies Lisa McClain has claimed that the association between Sodom and Gomorrah with homosexuality emerged from the writings of 1st century Jewish philosopher Philo, and that no prior exegesis of the text suggested such a linkage.[12]

Islamic[edit]

Main article: Lot in Islam
Lut fleeing the city with his daughters; his wife is killed by a rock.

The Quran contains twelve references to "the people of Lut", the biblical Lot, but meaning the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah, and their destruction by God is associated explicitly with their sexual practices.[77][78] On the other hand some islamic and western scholars assert that the reason for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was a combination of sexual assault, breaking the hospitality law and engaging in robbery.[79][80][81]

The 'people of Lot' transgressed consciously against the bounds of God. Lot only prayed to God to be saved from doing as they did. Then Gabriel met Lot and said that he must leave the city quickly, as God had given this command to Lot for saving his life. In the Quran it was written that Lot's wife stayed behind as she had transgressed. She met her fate in the disaster, and only Lot and his family were saved during the destruction of their city,[82] with the understanding that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are identified in Genesis, but "the location remains unnamed in the Qur'an"[83]

In the Quran, surah (chapter) 26 Ash-Shu`arā' (The Poets) –

So, We saved him and his family, all. Except an old woman among those who remained behind.

— Quran 26:170–171

Commentary: This was his wife, who was a bad old woman. She stayed behind and was destroyed with whoever else was left. This is similar to what Allah says about them in Surat Al-A`raf and Surat Hud, and in Surat Al-Hijr, where Allah commanded him to take his family at night, except for his wife, and not to turn around when they heard the Sayhah as it came upon his people. 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.

— Tafsir ibn Kathir (Commentary by Ibn Kathir)[84]

Modern Sodom[edit]

The site of the present Dead Sea Works, a large operation for the extraction of Dead Sea minerals, is called "Sdom" (סדום) according to its traditional Arab name, Khirbet as-sudūm (خربت السدوم). Nearby is Mount Sodom (הר סדום in Hebrew and جبل السدوم in Arabic) which consists mainly of salt. In the Plain of Sdom (מישור סדום) to the south there are a few springs and two small agricultural villages, Neot HaKikar and Ein Tamar.[citation needed]

Second World War[edit]

Further information: Firestorm

"Operation Gomorrah" was the name given to the Bombing of Hamburg in July 1943,[85] in which 42,600 civilians were killed, and where use of incendiaries caused a vortex and whirling updraft of super-heated air which created a 460 meter high tornado of fire.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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  2. ^ Schwartz, Howard; Loebel-Fried, Caren; Ginsburg, Elliot K. (2007). Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism. Oxford University Press. p. 465. ISBN 978-0-19-535870-4.
  3. ^ Metzger, Bruce Manning; Coogan, Michael D (2004). The Oxford Guide To People And Places Of The Bible. Oxford University Press. p. 294. ISBN 978-0-19-517610-0.
  4. ^ Jackson, Roy (2014). What is Islamic Philosophy?. p. 119.
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  6. ^ Qur'an (S15) Al-Hijr:72–73
  7. ^ Shirelle Phelps (2001). World of Criminal Justice: N-Z. Gale Group. p. 686. ISBN 0787650730. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  8. ^ Scheb, John & John Scheb II (2013). Criminal Law and Procedure. Cengage Learning. p. 185. ISBN 128554613X.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  9. ^ David Newton (2009). Gay and Lesbian Rights: A Reference Handbook, Second Edition. ABC-CLIO. p. 85. ISBN 1598843079. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  10. ^ Jordan, Mark (1999). The Invention of Sodomy in Christian Theology. Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press. pp. 89–95.
  11. ^ Staff (September 20, 2018). "Sodom and Gomorrah: A Story about Sin and Judgment". Zondervan. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  12. ^ a b McClain, Lisa (April 10, 2019). "A thousand years ago, the Catholic Church paid little attention to homosexuality". The Conversation. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  13. ^ Kolig, Erich (2012). Conservative Islam: A Cultural Anthropology. p. 160.
  14. ^ Botterweck, G. Johannes; Ringgren, Helmer; Fabry, Heinz-Josef, eds. (2000). Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, Volume 10. Wm Eeerdmans. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-8028-2334-2.
  15. ^ Prashker, David. "TheBibleNet: Amorah (Gomorrah)".
  16. ^ Goldingay, John (4 September 2018). "The First Testament: A New Translation". InterVarsity Press – via Google Books.
  17. ^ B. Macdonald (2000). "East of the Jordan": Territories and Sites of the Hebrew Scriptures (PDF). American Schools of Oriental Research. p. 52. ISBN 0-89757-031-6.
  18. ^ This is compared with the Sorites paradox in Geocomputation, Stan Openshaw, Robert J. Abrahart, 2000, p. 167.
  19. ^ Fields, Weston W. (1997). Sodom and Gomorrah: History and Motif in Biblical Narrative. A&C Black. ISBN 9780567062611. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  20. ^ Loader, J. A. (1990). A Tale of Two Cities: Sodom and Gomorrah in the Old Testament, Early Jewish and Early Christian Traditions. Peeters Publishers. ISBN 9789024253333. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  21. ^ STRAUSS, Gerhard Friedrich Abraham; SLEE, Jane Mary (1837). On Restitution; Lot and his Wife; The Rich Man; Christian Composure; [sermons] by ... F. S. ... translated from the German, by Miss Slee. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  22. ^ Lot's Wife. A sermon at Paule's Crosse [on Luke xvii. 32. By R. W., i.e. R. Wilkinson.]. 1607. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  23. ^ Michael Carden (1999). "Compulsory Heterosexuality in Biblical Narratives and their Interpretations: Reading Homophobia and Rape in Sodom and Gibeah". Journal for the Academic Study of Religion. 12 (1): 48. discussion of Genesis 19 (and its parallel, Judges 19) is still couched in such terms as 'homosexual rape' and 'homosexuality'. {...}There is a parallel story to Genesis 19 in the Hebrew bible, that of the outrage at Gibeah found in Judges 19-21 which Phyllis Trible (1984) has rightly described as a text of terror for women.{...}Stone acknowledges the relationship of Judges 19 and Genesis 19, describing them as each being one of the few "clear references to homosexuality in the Hebrew Bible" (Stone, 1995:98).{...}In Judges 19, the process is similar but with some interesting differences.
  24. ^ http://torahofyeshuah.blogspot.com/2015/07/book-of-meqabyan-i-iii.html
  25. ^ Genesis 19:22-30
  26. ^ Strabo. Geography. Book XVI, Chapter 2:44.
  27. ^ de Saulcy, Ferdinand (1853). Voyage autour de la mer Morte et dans les terres bibliques. Paris: Gide et J. Baudry.
  28. ^ Sayce, A.H. "The Overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah (Accadian Account)" Records of the Past XI 115.
  29. ^ Archibald Sayce (1887). The Hibbert Lectures, 1887: Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion. p. 309.
  30. ^ Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. Book I. Chapter 9; retrieved October 25, 2015.
  31. ^ Bert de Vries, “Archaeology in Jordan, 1993,” ed. Pierre Bikai, American Journal of Archaeology 97, no. 3 (1993): 482.
  32. ^ Bert de Vries, ed., “Archaeology in Jordan, 1991,” American Journal of Archaeology 95, no. 2 (1991): 253–80. 262; Burton MacDonald, “EB IV Tombs at Khirbet Khanazir: Types, Construction, and Relation to Other EB IV Tombs in Syria-Palestine,” Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan 5 (1995): 129–34; R. Thomas Schaub, “Southeast Dead Sea Plain,” in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East, ed. Eric M. Meyers, vol. 5, 5 vols. (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1997), 62.
  33. ^ Cline, Eric H. From Eden to Exile: Unraveling Mysteries of the Bible (Tampa, FL: National Geographic, 2007), 60.
  34. ^ Collins, Steven & Latayne C. Scott. Discovering the City of Sodom: The Fascinating, True Account of the Discovery of the Old Testament’s Most Infamous City. New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, 2013. ISBN 978-1451684308
  35. ^ Becca Stanek (2015). "Archaeologists discover possible ruins of ancient Sodom in the Holy Land". Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  36. ^ "tallelhammam.com".
  37. ^ Doctrinal Position, Trinity Southwest University website, accessed March 10, 2012
  38. ^ http://viu.ves.edu/graduate-post-graduate/
  39. ^ "Accreditation Standards" (PDF). Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. 2009. Retrieved 2008-12-26. page 80 also see: "Biblical Creation. Special creation of the existing space-time universe and all its basic systems and kinds of organisms in the six literal days of the creation week." on page 81
  40. ^ Merrill, Eugene H. "Texts, Talls, and Old Testament Chronology: Tall Hammam as a Case Study." Artifax 27, no. 4 (2012): 20–21.
  41. ^ Bolen, Todd (2013-02-27). "Arguments Against Locating Sodom at Tall el-Hammam". Biblical Archaeology Society. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
  42. ^ Contra Collins, Steven. Tall el-Hammam Is Still Sodom: Critical Data-Sets Cast Serious Doubt on E. H. Merrill’s Chronological Analysis" (PDF) Archived 2013-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Biblical Research Bulletin 13, no. 1 (2013): 1–31.
  43. ^ Isbouts, Jean-Pierre (2007). The Biblical World: An Illustrated Atlas. National Geographic Books. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-4262-0138-7.
  44. ^ J. Penrose Harland (September 1943). "Sodom and Gomorrah: The Destruction of the Cities of the Plain". Biblical Archaeologist. 6 (3).
  45. ^ Hershel Shanks (September–October 1980). "BAR Interviews Giovanni Pettinato". Biblical Archaeology Review. 6 (5).
  46. ^ Alfonso Archi (November–December 1981). "Are "The Cities of the Plain" Mentioned in the Ebla Tablets?". Biblical Archaeology Review. 7 (6).
  47. ^ Chavalas, Mark W., and K. Lawson Younger, Jr. (eds.) Mesopotamia and the Bible: Comparative Explorations. 2003, p. 41
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    *Cf. Genesis Rabbah 50:5, on Gen. 9:22 ff.
    *More generally see M. Kasher, Torah Shelemah, vol. 3 to Gen 19:5.
  49. ^ a b "The Inhospitable Sodomites". Rictornorton.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
  50. ^ James Alfred Loader (1990). A tale of two cities : Sodom and Gomorrah in the Old Testament, early Jewish and early Christian traditions. Peeters Publishers. p. 28.
  51. ^ a b c Chabad.com
  52. ^ Gale, Thomson (2007). "Sodom (Modern Sedom) And Gomorrah". Encyclopedia.com.
  53. ^ Carden, Michael. "Sodomy: A History of a Christian Biblical Myth".
  54. ^ a b "Book of Jasher. Chapter 19".
  55. ^ Jewish encyclopedia Sodom
  56. ^ Jewish encyclopedia Lot
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  58. ^ Michaelson, Jay (2011). God Vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality. Boston: Beacon Press. pp. 68–69. ISBN 9780807001592.
  59. ^ Michaelson, Jay. God vs. Gay. pp. 69–70.
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  61. ^ Boswell, John (1980). Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 94.
  62. ^ "Sodom and Gomorrah addresses gang rape, not a loving relationship". The Reformation Project. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
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  66. ^ Jack Bartlet, Rogers (2006). Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality: Explode the myths, heal the church. Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press. p. 139.
  67. ^ Howard, Kevin L. "The Old Testament and Homosexuality". Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  68. ^ Bailey, Homosexuality and the Western Christian Tradition, pp. 11–16; Boswell, Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality, p.97
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  72. ^ "A Comprehensive and Critical Review Essay of Homosexuality, Science, and the "Plain Sense" of Scripture, Part 2" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-04-25.
  73. ^ Lv.18:22; 26–27,29,30; 20:13; Dt. 23:18; 24:4 1Ki. 14:24; Ezek. 22:11; 33:26
  74. ^ cf. Straight & Narrow?: Compassion and Clarity in the Homosexuality Debate, Thomas E. Schmidt
  75. ^ Peck, Harry Thurston (1898). Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. New York: Harper and Brothers. Retrieved 2006-03-17.
  76. ^ Mills, Rev. Edward J. "The Bible and Homosexuality—Introduction and Overview" (PDF). Anglican Communion. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  77. ^ Duran (1993) p. 179
  78. ^ Kligerman (2007) pp. 53–54
  79. ^ Kugle, Scott Siraj al-Haqq (2010) Homosexuality in Islam: Critical Reflections on Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Muslims. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 51–53. the story is really about infidelity and how the Tribe of Lot schemed for ways to reject his Prophethood and his public standing in the community [...] They rejected him in a variety of ways, and their sexual assault of his guests was only one expression of their inner intention to deny Lot the dignity of being a Prophet and drive him from their cities.
  80. ^ Noegel, Scott B.; Wheeler, Brannon M. (2010). Lot. The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Incorporated. pp. 118–126. ISBN 978-0810876033.
  81. ^ Wunibald Müller, Homosexualität – eine Herausforderung für Theologie und Seelsorge, Mainz 1986, p. 64-65.
  82. ^ Quran 26:168
  83. ^ Kaltner, John (1999). Ishmael Instructs Isaac: An Introduction to the Qurʼan for Bible Readers. Liturgical Press (via Google Books). p. 97. ISBN 978-0-8146-5882-6.
  84. ^ "Tafsir Ibn Kathir". Quran 26:170–171. qtafsir.com. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  85. ^ "The carpet-bombing of Hamburg killed 40,000 people. It also did good - The Spectator". spectator.co.uk. 9 May 2015.

External links[edit]

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