Sodom: Proper noun. According to the Bible, Sodom was a city, located on the shores of the Dead Sea. His adjective is sodomite. The book of Genesis mentions Sodom from chapter 10 and places it within the territory inhabited by the Canaanites.
Gomorrah: Gomorrah (Hebrew עֲמוֹרָה —Modern Hebrew ʿAmora, Tiberian Hebrew Ġəmôrāh/ʿĂmôrāh—, Ancient Greek Γόμοῤῥα/Gómorrha; name possibly based on the root gh m r, ‘to be [water] deep, copious, abundant’) was a city that, according to the Old Testament of the Bible, was destroyed along with Sodom.
two cities usually mentioned together in the Bible, near the Dead Sea. In the time of the patriarch Abraham, these two cities with Admá, Seboyim and Soar, formed the Pentapolis, Gn 14, 2-3. It is said that when Abraham and Lot separated, the former went to Canaan, and the latter settled in the valley of the Jordan and planted his tents as far as the city of S., whose inhabitants were dissolute, Gn 13, 10-13. In Gn 14, 1-14, the defeat of the allied kings, Berá, king of S., Birsá, king of Gomorrah, Sinab, king of Admá, Semeber, king of Seboyim, and the king of Zoar, at the hands of of another coalition of kings formed by Amrafel, king of Senaar, Aryok, king of El.lasar, Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goyim. The kings of S. and Gomorrah fell into the bitumen pits in the region and the rest fled to the mountains. These two cities were sacked by the victors, who also took Lot prisoner. Abraham, then, went out in pursuit, rescued his brother and recovered the booty, which he delivered to the king of S.
In Gn 19 1-29, the destruction of S. and Gomorrah, of the cities of the Pentapolis, except Soar, is narrated by a rain of sulfur and fire commanded by Yahweh, because of the corruption prevailing there, from which Lot and his family, who had been warned by angels, were saved. When leaving, they were warned not to look towards the cities because they could die; Lot’s wife did it and she was turned into a pillar of salt.
Today there is evidence of the existence of these cities and that they were devastated by a natural catastrophe, in which earthquakes, gas explosions, oil, bitumen and fires occurred, phenomena that were in the region of the Dead Sea, under whose waters, Possibly, the remains of these cities should be found.
Why did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah?
The Biblical description of Sodom and Gomorrah is found in Genesis chapters 18 and 19. Genesis 18 tells of the Lord and two angels who came to talk to Abraham. The Lord informed Abraham that “the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah grew louder and louder, and their sin became exceedingly great” (Genesis 18:20). Verses 22-33 record Abraham’s plea to Jehovah for mercy on Sodom and Gomorrah, because Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family lived in Sodom.
Genesis 19 tells how two angels disguised as men visited Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot met the angels in the town square and asked them to stay at his house. The angels accepted. So the Bible tells us: “But before they fell asleep, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, all the people, from the youngest to the oldest. And they called Lot and said to him: Where are you? the men who have come to you tonight? Bring them out so we can find them” (Genesis 19:5). The angels then blinded all the men of Sodom and Gomorrah and told Lot and his family to flee the cities to avoid the wrath that God was about to pour out. Lot and his family fled the city and then “the LORD rained flint and fire from the LORD from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed the cities and all the plain and all the inhabitants of those cities…”. (Genesis 19:2).
In light of this passage, the most common answer to the question “What was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah?” They say it’s homosexuality. Therefore, the term “sodomy” was used to refer to anal sex between two men, either consensual or forced. Clearly, homosexuality was part of the reason God destroyed these two cities. The men of Sodom and Gomorrah wanted to commit multiple homosexual rapes with two angels (who were disguised as men). However, it is unbiblical to claim that homosexuality was the only reason God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were certainly not unique in their sins. Ezekiel 16:9-50 says: “This was the wickedness of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters were proud, they were filled with bread and much idleness, and she did not strengthen the hands of the afflicted and the poor. And they were filled of pride and made an abomination before me…” The Hebrew word translated “abomination” refers to something that is morally repugnant, and the same word used in Leviticus 18:22 refers to homosexuality as a ” abomination”. Similarly, Jude 7 says: “Sodom and Gomorrah, and the neighboring cities, which, like them, committed fornication and committed wickedness against nature.” Therefore, although homosexuality was not the only sin committed by the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, it seems to be the main reason for the destruction of the cities.
Those who try to explain the Biblical condemnation of homosexuality claim that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was hospitality. The men of Sodom and Gomorrah were certainly hospitable. There is probably nothing more brutal than gay gang rape. But to say that God completely destroyed these two cities and all their inhabitants because they were hospitable is obviously false.
Although Sodom and Gomorrah were guilty of many other terrible sins, homosexuality was the reason God poured out burning fire on the cities, completely destroying them and all their inhabitants. To this day, the area where the city of Sodom and Gomorrah was located remains a desert land. Sodom and Gomorrah is a great example of how God views sin in general and homosexuality in particular.
Where are Sodom and Gomorrah today?
“We know very little about the Bronze Age remains in this area of Jordan. Most archaeological maps were completely blank until recently. But basically we discovered a very important city-state that was unknown before our project began. ”
Most of the references to Sodom and Gomorrah appear in Genesis. Both kingdoms are located in the Jordan Plain, north of the Dead Sea, which is the location of the fertile land according to the Bible. Sodom in particular is described as one of the most important cities in eastern Jordan. It is described as part of a common trade route and would have been protected by towers and high thick walls.
How did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah?
“Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah; and he destroyed the cities, and all that plain, with all the inhabitants of those cities, and the fruit of the land. And Abraham went up in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. Genesis 19:24-38