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'{{Short description|Cities destroyed by God in the Book of Genesis}} {{About|the biblical cities}} {{redirect|Sdom|the standard deviation of the mean|Standard error}} [[File:Jan Brueghel the Elder and Hans Rottenhammer - Lot and his daughters.jpg|thumb|260px|''Lot and his daughters fleeing burning Sodom'' by [[Jan Brueghel the Elder]] and [[Hans Rottenhammer]], 1597]] In the [[Abrahamic religions]], '''Sodom''' and '''Gomorrah''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɒ|d|ə|m}}; {{IPAc-en|g|ə|ˈ|m|ɒr|ə}}) were two cities destroyed by [[God in Abrahamic religions|God]] for their wickedness.{{sfn|Greene|2004|p=294}} Their story parallels the [[Genesis flood narrative]] in its theme of God's anger provoked by man's [[sin]] (see [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 19:1–28).<ref>{{Bibleverse|Genesis|19:1·28}}</ref>{{sfn|Schwartz|2007|p=465-466}} They are mentioned frequently in the [[Nevi'im|prophets]] and the [[New Testament]] as symbols of human wickedness and divine retribution, and the [[Quran]] also contains a version of the story about the two cities.{{sfn|Jackson|2014|p=119}} ==Etymology== The etymology of the names ''Sodom'' and ''Gomorrah'' is uncertain, and scholars disagree about them.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Botterweck|editor1-first=G. Johannes|editor2-last=Ringgren|editor2-first=Helmer|editor3-last=Fabry|editor3-first=Heinz-Josef|title=Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, Volume 10|date=2000|publisher=Wm Eeerdmans|isbn=978-0-8028-2334-2|page=155|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_eJiX4seBxgC&pg=PA155}}</ref> They are known in Hebrew as {{lang|hbo|סְדֹם}} ({{lang|hbo-Latn|Səḏōm}}) and {{lang|hbo|עֲמֹרָה}} ({{lang|hbo-Latn|'Ămōrā}}). In the [[Septuagint]], these became {{lang|grc|Σόδομα}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|Sódoma}}) and {{lang|grc|Γόμορρᾰ}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|Gómorrha}}); the Hebrew [[ghayn]] was absorbed by [[ayin]] sometime after the Septuagint was transcribed.<ref>{{cite book |last=Goldingay |first=John |title=The First Testament: A New Translation |year=2018 |publisher= InterVarsity Press |isbn= 9780830887965 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xshyDwAAQBAJ&q=amorah+gomorrah&pg=PA649}}</ref> According to [[Burton MacDonald]], the Hebrew term for Gomorrah was based on the [[Semitic root]] {{transliteration|sem|ʿ-m-r}}, which means "be deep", "copious (water)".<ref>{{cite book |author=Macdonald, Bob |title="East of the Jordan": Territories and Sites of the Hebrew Scriptures |page=52 |publisher= American Schools of Oriental Research |year=2000 |isbn=0-89757-031-6 |url=https://www.bu.edu/asor/pubs/books-monographs/macdonald.pdf}}</ref> ==Biblical narrative== ===Lot and Chedorlaomer=== Sodom and Gomorrah are two of the five "cities of the plain" referred to in {{bibleverse|Genesis|13:12}} and {{bibleverse|Genesis|19:29}} that rebel against [[Chedorlaomer]] of [[Elam]], to whom they were subject. At the [[Battle of Siddim]], Chedorlaomer defeats them and takes many captives, including [[Lot (biblical person)|Lot]], the nephew of the Hebrew patriarch [[Abraham]]. Abraham gathers his men, rescues Lot, and frees the cities. ===Destruction of the cities=== [[File:Nuremberg_chronicles_f_21r.png|thumb|[[Lot (biblical person)|Lot]] and his daughters flee Sodom. [[Lot's wife|His wife]] (center) is already a salt pillar. ([[Nuremberg Chronicle]], 1493)]] Later, God gives advance notice to Abraham that Sodom had a reputation for wickedness. Abraham asks God "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?" ({{bibleverse|Genesis|18:23}}). Starting at 50 people, Abraham negotiates with God to spare Sodom if 10 righteous people could be found.<ref>{{Britannica|552322}}</ref> God sends two angels to destroy Sodom. Lot welcomes them into his home, but all the men of the town surround the house and demand that he surrender the visitors that they may "[[wikt:know someone in the biblical sense|know]]" them. Lot offers the mob [[Lot's daughters|his virgin daughters]] to "do to them as you please", but they refuse and threaten to do worse to Lot. The angels strike the crowd blind. The angels tell Lot "...the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it" ({{bibleverse|Genesis|19:13|NRSV}}). The next morning, because Lot had lingered, the angels take Lot, [[Lot's wife]], and his two daughters by the hand and out of the city, and tell him to flee to the hills and [[Looking taboo|not look back]]. Lot says that the hills are too far away and asks to go to [[Zoara|Zoar]] instead. Then God rains sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah and all the Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground ({{bibleverse|Genesis|19:24–25}}). Lot and his two daughters are saved, but his wife disregards the angels' warning, looks back, and is turned into a pillar of salt.{{sfn|Schwartz|2007|p=485-486}} ==Other biblical references== [[File:Matthias Stom - Flight from Sodom.png|thumb|Sodom's destruction in the background of [[Matthias Stom]]'s ''Flight from Sodom'' (1630)]] 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 additional insights about these cities of the Jordan Plain and their residents. Additionally, the sins which triggered the destruction are reminiscent of the [[Book of Judges]]' account of the [[Levite's concubine]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Carden |first1=Michael |title=Compulsory Heterosexuality in Biblical Narratives and their Interpretations: Reading Homophobia and Rape in Sodom and Gibeah |journal=Australian Religion Studies Review |date=1999 |volume=12 |issue=1 |url=https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/index.php/ARSR/article/view/8459 }}</ref> ===Hebrew Bible=== "Sodom and Gomorrah" becomes a byword for destruction and desolation. [[Deuteronomy]] 29:21–23 refers to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah: {{blockquote|And the generation to come, your children that shall rise up after you, and the foreigner that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses wherewith the {{LORD}} hath made it sick; and that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and a burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the {{LORD}} overthrew in His anger, and in His wrath; even all the nations shall say 'Wherefore hath the {{LORD}} done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?'|Deuteronomy 29:21–23<ref>{{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|29:21–23|HE}}</ref>{{efn|See also: {{Bibleverse|Deuteronomy|32:32–33|HE}}}}}} [[Isaiah]] 1:9–10,<ref>{{bibleverse|Isaiah|1:9–10|HE}}</ref> 3:9<ref>{{bibleverse|Isaiah|3:9|HE}}</ref> and 13:19–22<ref>{{bibleverse|Isaiah|13:19–22|HE}}</ref> address 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,<ref>{{bibleverse|Jeremiah|23:14|HE}}</ref> 49:17–18,<ref>{{bibleverse|Jeremiah|49:17–18|HE}}</ref> 50:39–40<ref>{{bibleverse|Jeremiah|50:39–40|HE}}</ref> and Lamentations 4:6<ref>{{bibleverse|Lamentations|4:6|HE}}</ref> 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. [[Ezekiel]] 16:48–50<ref name="Bibleverse|Ezekiel|16:48–50|HE">{{Bibleverse|Ezekiel|16:48–50|HE}}</ref> compares [[Jerusalem]] to Sodom, saying "As I live, saith the Lord {{GOD}}, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, and careless ease 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 removed them when I saw it." In [[Amos (prophet)|Amos]] 4:1–11,<ref>{{bibleverse|Amos|4:1–11|HE}}</ref> God tells the Israelites that although he treated them like Sodom and Gomorrah, they still did not repent. In Zephaniah 2:9,<ref>{{bibleverse|Zephaniah|2:9|HE}}</ref> [[Zephaniah]] tells [[Moab]] and [[Ammon]] that they will end up like Sodom and Gomorrah. ===Deuterocanon=== {{Further|Deuterocanonical books}} Wisdom 10:6–8 refers to the [[Pentapolis#Significant historical cases|Five Cities]]: {{blockquote|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 10:6–8<ref>{{bibleverse|Wisdom|10:6–8|RSV}}</ref>}} Wisdom 19:17<ref>{{bibleverse|Wisdom|19:17|GNT}}</ref> 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<ref>{{bibleref2|Sirach|16:8|RSV}}</ref> says "[God] did not spare the neighbors of Lot, whom he loathed on account of their insolence." In 3 Maccabees 2:5,<ref>{{bibleref2|3 Maccabees|2:5|RSV}}</ref> the high priest Simon says that God "consumed with fire and sulfur 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<ref>{{bibleverse|2 Esdras|2:8–9|RSV}}</ref> 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<ref>{{bibleverse|2 Esdras|5:1–13|RSV}}</ref> describes signs of the [[Eschatology|end times]], one of which is that "the sea of Sodom shall cast up fish". In 2 Esdras 7:106,<ref>{{bibleverse|2 Esdras|7:106|RSV}}</ref> [[Ezra]] says that Abraham prayed for the people of Sodom. Chapter 12 of [[Meqabyan#First Book of Ethiopian Maccabees (1 Meqabyan)|1 Meqabyan]], a book considered [[Orthodox Tewahedo biblical canon|canonical]] in the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]], references "Gemorra an Sedom". ===New Testament=== In Matthew 10:14–15 (cf. Luke 10:11–12)<ref>{{Bibleverse|Luke|10:11–12|NRSV}}</ref> Jesus says: {{blockquote|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.|Matthew 10:14–15<ref>{{Bibleverse|Matthew|10:14–15|NRSV}}</ref>}} In Matthew 11:20–24,<ref>{{Bibleverse|Matthew|11:20–24|NRSV}}</ref> Jesus warns of the fate of some cities where he did some of his works: {{blockquote|And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.}} In Luke 17:28–30,<ref>{{Bibleref2|Luke|17:28–30|NRSV}}</ref> Jesus says: {{blockquote|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.}} Romans 9:29<ref>{{Bibleref2|Romans|9:29|NRSV}}</ref> references Isaiah 1:9:<ref>{{Bibleverse|Isaiah|1:9|HE}}</ref> "And as Isaiah predicted, "If the Lord of hosts had not left survivors to us, we would have fared like Sodom and been made like Gomorrah." 2 Peter 2:4–10<ref>{{Bibleref2|2 Peter|2:4–10|NRSV}}</ref> 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<ref>{{Bibleref2|Jude|1:7|NRSV}}</ref> records that both Sodom and Gomorrah "indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire." Revelation 11:7–8,<ref>{{Bibleref2|Revelation|11:7–8|NRSV}}</ref> regarding the [[two witnesses]], reads: {{blockquote|When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that is prophetically called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.}} ==The sin of Sodom== {{anchor|homosexuality}} Sodom and Gomorrah, or the "cities of the plain", have been used historically and in modern discourse as [[metaphor]]s for [[homosexuality]], and are the origin of the English words ''sodomite'', a [[pejorative]] term for [[male homosexuals]], "sod", a British vulgar slang term for [[male homosexuals]], and ''[[sodomy]]'', which is used in a legal context under the label "[[crime against nature|crimes against nature]]" to describe [[anal sex|anal]] or [[oral sex]] (particularly homosexual) and [[bestiality]].<ref name="Phelps">{{cite book|author=Shirelle Phelps|title=World of Criminal Justice: N-Z|publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale Group]]|year=2001|page=686|isbn =0787650730|access-date=January 13, 2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=izwvAQAAIAAJ}}</ref><ref name="Scheb">{{cite book|last1=Scheb |first1=John |last2=Scheb II |first2=John |title=Criminal Law and Procedure|publisher=[[Cengage Learning]]|year=2013|page=185|isbn=978-1285546131|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VZoWAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA185}}</ref><ref name="Newton">{{cite book|author=David Newton|title=Gay and Lesbian Rights: A Reference Handbook, Second Edition|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|year=2009|page=85|isbn=978-1598843071|access-date=January 13, 2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gjcUFK4RZNcC&pg=PA85}}</ref> This is based upon Christian [[exegesis]] of the biblical text interpreting [[divine judgment]] upon Sodom and Gomorrah as punishment for the sin of homosexual sex.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jordan |first=Mark|date=1999 |title=The Invention of Sodomy in Christian Theology|location= Chicago IL|publisher=University of Chicago Press |pages=89–95 }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/sodom-and-gomorrah/|title=Sodom and Gomorrah: A Story about Sin and Judgment|last=Staff|date=September 20, 2018|website=[[Zondervan]]|access-date=April 19, 2019}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://theconversation.com/a-thousand-years-ago-the-catholic-church-paid-little-attention-to-homosexuality-112830|title=A thousand years ago, the Catholic Church paid little attention to homosexuality|last=McClain|first=Lisa|date=April 10, 2019|website=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]|access-date=April 19, 2019}}</ref> A number of contemporary scholars dispute this interpretation in light of Ezekiel 16:49–50<ref>{{Bibleverse|Ezekiel|16:49–50|NRSV}}</ref> ("This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty, and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them when I saw it."), interpreting the sin as arrogance and the lack of hospitality.<ref>Loader, J.A., A Tale of Two Cities (Contributions to Biblical Exegesis and Theology, 1; Kampen: J.H. Kok, 1990)</ref><ref>Hospitality and Hostility: Reading Genesis 19 in Light of 2 Samuel 10 (And Vice Versa). Universalism and Particularism at Sodom and Gomorrah: Essays in Memory of Ron Pirson. Edited by Diana Lipton. Series: Ancient Israel and Its Literature. 2012. Society of Biblical Literature https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt32bz0d</ref><ref>Kawashima, The Book of Genesis: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation (SVT 152), Brill, 2012. “The entire episode centers on the theme of hospitality, the very foundation of civilization… Lot in effect wins his family’s salvation by protecting the strangers who have come under his roof, even at grave risk to his household—arguably outdoing his uncle’s hospitality in the previous scene (Gen 18). If Lot thus maintains the sanctity of the guest-host relationship, the men of Sodom subvert it instead, seeking to rape the strangers who have entered their city’s gates.”</ref> As with Ezekiel, later prophetic reproaches of Sodom and Gomorrah do not condemn, implicate, or even mention homosexual conduct as the reason for the cities' destruction: instead assigning the blame to other sins, such as [[adultery]], dishonesty,<ref name="auto1">{{Bibleverse|Jeremiah|23:14|HE}}</ref> and uncharitableness.<ref name="auto">{{Bibleverse|Isaiah|1:9–10|HE}}</ref> Some Islamic societies incorporate punishments associated with Sodom and Gomorrah into [[sharia]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Kolig|first=Erich|title=Conservative Islam: A Cultural Anthropology|page=160|year=2012}}</ref> ==Historicity== It has been suggested that if the story does have a historical basis, the cities may have been destroyed by a [[natural disaster]]. One such idea is that the Dead Sea was devastated by an earthquake between 2100 and 1900 BC. This might have unleashed showers of steaming tar.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Isbouts|first1=Jean-Pierre|author-link1=Jean-Pierre Isbouts|title=The Biblical World: An Illustrated Atlas|year=2007|publisher=[[National Geographic Books]]|isbn=978-1-4262-0138-7|page=71|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UTEQRDWYJ0kC&pg=PR57}}</ref> It is possible that the towns were destroyed by an earthquake, especially as they lay along a major fault such as the [[Jordan Rift Valley]]; however, there are no known contemporary accounts of seismic activity that corroborate this theory, and this and the suggestion that they were destroyed by a volcano have been deemed unlikely.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Harland |first=J. Penrose |date=1 September 1943 |title=Sodom and Gomorrah: The Destruction of the Cities of the Plain |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.2307/3209243 |journal=[[The Biblical Archaeologist]] |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=41–54 |doi= 10.2307/3209243|jstor=3209243 |s2cid=134315034 |issn=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ambraseys |first1=Nicholas |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FzXSBgAAQBAJ&dq=Dead+Sea++earthquake+between+2100+and+1900+BCE+Sodom&pg=PT258 |title=Earthquakes in the Mediterranean and Middle East: A Multidisciplinary Study of Seismicity up to 1900 |date=22 October 2009 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn= 9781316347850|language=en |chapter=2100-1700 BC Sodom, Judaea |access-date=}}</ref> ===Possible sites=== [[Archibald Sayce]] translated an [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] poem describing cities that were destroyed in a rain of fire and written from the view of a person who escaped the destruction; unfortunately, the names of the cities are not given in the work.<ref>{{cite book|title='The Overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah (Accadian Account)' Records of the Past XI 115|url=https://archive.org/stream/recordsofpastbei11sociuoft/recordsofpastbei11sociuoft_djvu.txt|author=Sayce, A. H.}}</ref> Sayce later mentions that the story more closely resembles the doom of [[Sennacherib]]'s host.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Hibbert Lectures, 1887: Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion|year=1887|author=Archibald Sayce|page=309}}</ref> 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".<ref>Strabo. ''Geography''. Book XVI, Chapter 2:44.</ref> Strabo identifies [[Mount Sodom|a limestone and salt hill]] at the southwestern tip of the Dead Sea, and [[Mount Sodom|Kharbet Usdum]] ({{Lang-he|הר סדום}}, ''Har Sedom'' or {{Lang-ar|جبل السدوم}}, ''Jabal(u) 'ssudūm'') ruins nearby as the site of biblical Sodom.<ref>{{cite book|first=Ferdinand|last=de Saulcy|title=Voyage autour de la mer Morte et dans les terres bibliques|url=https://archive.org/details/voyageautourdel00saulgoog|publisher=Gide et J. Baudry|year=1853|location=Paris}}</ref> 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.<ref>[[Josephus]]. ''[[Antiquities of the Jews]].'' [http://sacred-texts.com/jud/josephus/ant-1.htm Book I. Chapter 9]; retrieved October 25, 2015.</ref> Some scholars believe that the locations of the two cities are currently flooded beneath the southern basin of the Dead Sea.<ref>{{cite podcast |url=https://onscript.study/sodom-and-gomorrah-and-the-cities-on-the-plain-pt-2-chris-mckinny-and-kyle-keimer/ |title=Sodom and Gomorrah and the Cities on the Plain (pt 2) |website=OnScript: Biblical World Episodes |host=Chris McKinny & Kyle Keimer |date=2022-05-04 |access-date=2024-02-04}}</ref> 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 Lapp's death. Other possibilities include [[Numeira]], al-Safi, Feifa (or Fifa, Feifah), and Khirbet al-Khanazir, which were also visited by Schaub and Rast.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} According to Schaub, Numeira was destroyed in 2600 BC at a different time period than Bab edh-Dhra (2350–2067 BC).<ref>Cline, Eric H. ''From Eden to Exile: Unraveling Mysteries of the Bible'' (Tampa, Florida: National Geographic, 2007), 60.</ref> In 1993 [[Nancy Lapp]], from the [[Pittsburgh Theological Seminary]], reported that Feifa had no [[Bronze Age Levant|Bronze Age]] occupation and merely an Early Bronze Age cemetery with [[Iron Age#Ancient Near East|Iron Age]] walls. She reports: {{blockquote|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 [Early Bronze Age] 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 [[History of Israel#Early Roman period (64 BCE–2nd century AD)|Roman period]].<ref>Bert de Vries, "Archaeology in Jordan", ed. Pierre Bikai, ''American Journal of Archaeology'' 97, no. 3 (1993): 482.</ref>}} At Khirbet al-Khanazir, the walls which Rast and Schaub had identified in 1973 as houses were in reality rectangular [[charnel house]]s marking shaft tombs from near the end of the [[Early Bronze Age]] and not occupational structures.<ref>Bert de Vries, ed., "Archaeology in Jordan", ''American Journal of Archaeology'' 95, no. 2 (1991): 253–280. 262.</ref><ref>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): 129–134</ref><ref>R. Thomas Schaub, "Southeast Dead Sea Plain", in ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East'', ed. Eric M. Meyers, vol. 5 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), 62.</ref> 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 [[Zoara|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.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Hershel Shanks|date=September–October 1980|title=BAR Interviews Giovanni Pettinato|journal=[[Biblical Archaeology Review]]|volume=6|issue=5}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Alfonso Archi|date=November–December 1981|title=Are 'The Cities of the Plain' Mentioned in the Ebla Tablets?|journal=[[Biblical Archaeology Review]]|volume=7|issue=6}}</ref> Today, the scholarly consensus is that "Ebla has no bearing on ... Sodom and Gomorra."<ref name="Y">Chavalas, Mark W., and K. Lawson Younger, Jr. (eds.) ''Mesopotamia and the Bible: Comparative Explorations''. 2003, p. 41<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref> ==Religious views== ===Judaism=== Later Hebrew prophets named the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah as [[adultery]],<ref name="auto1"/> pridefulness,<ref name="Bibleverse|Ezekiel|16:48–50|HE"/> and uncharitableness.<ref name="auto"/> [[Rictor Norton]] views classical Jewish texts as stressing the cruelty and lack of [[hospitality]] of the inhabitants of Sodom to the "stranger".<ref name="The Inhospitable Sodomites">{{cite web|url=http://rictornorton.co.uk/homopho2.htm|title=The Inhospitable Sodomites|publisher=Rictornorton.co.uk|access-date=2013-04-25}}</ref> Rabbinic writings affirm that the Sodomites also committed economic crimes, blasphemy, and bloodshed.<ref>{{cite book|title=A tale of two cities : Sodom and Gomorrah in the Old Testament, early Jewish and early Christian traditions|author=James Alfred Loader|year=1990|publisher=Peeters Publishers|page=28}}</ref> 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"<ref name="Chabad.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/3930344/jewish/Sodom-and-Gomorrah-Cities-Destroyed-by-G-d.htm|title=Sodom and Gomorrah: Cities Destroyed by G-d - Parshah Focus - Parshah}}</ref> 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 [[torture]]d foreigners who sought lodging. They did this by providing the foreigners a standard-sized bed and if they saw that the foreigners were too short for the beds, they would forcibly [[Rack (torture)|stretch their limbs]] but if the foreigners were too tall, they would [[Dismemberment|cut off their legs]] (the Greek myth of [[Procrustes]] tells a similar story).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sodom-modern-sedom-and-gomorrah|title=Sodom (Modern Sedom) And Gomorrah|last=Gale|first=Thomson|date=2007|website=Encyclopedia.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z9bfBQAAQBAJ&q=Shakrai+%28%22liar%22%29%2C+Shakurai+%28%22awful+liar%22%29%2C+Zayyafi+%28%22forger%22%29%2C+and+Mazle+Dina+%28%22perverter+of+justice%22%29&pg=PA92 |title=Sodomy: A History of a Christian Biblical Myth |last=Carden|first=Michael|date=18 December 2014|publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781317488996}}</ref> 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 his opponent in a street fight.<ref name="Book of Jasher. Chapter 19">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ccel.org/a/anonymous/jasher/19.htm|title=Book of Jasher 19|website=www.ccel.org}}</ref><ref name="Chabad.com"/> 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.).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13827-sodom|title=SODOM - JewishEncyclopedia.com|website=jewishencyclopedia.com}}</ref> According to the [[Sefer haYashar (midrash)|Book of Jasher]], Paltith, one of Lot's daughters, was burnt alive (in some versions, on a pyre) for giving a poor man bread.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10122-lot|title=LOT - JewishEncyclopedia.com|website=jewishencyclopedia.com}}</ref> Her cries went to the heavens.<ref name="Chabad.com"/> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://biblehub.com/genesis/18-20.htm|title=Genesis 18:20 – Abraham Begs for Sodom|website=Bible Hub}}</ref><ref name="Book of Jasher. Chapter 19"/> Lot's wife (who came from Sodom) had disapproved of her husband welcoming the strangers into their home; her asking for salt from neighbors had alerted the mob which came to Lot's door. As punishment she was turned into a pillar of salt.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/1686007/jewish/Why-Did-Lots-Wife-Turn-into-Salt.htm|title=Why Did Lot's Wife Turn into Salt? - Parshah Focus - Parshah}}</ref> [[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).<ref>{{cite book|title=The Jewish Study Bible|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195297515|url-access=registration|date=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|editor-last1=Berlin|editor-first1=Adele|editor-last2=Brettler|editor-first2=Marc Zvi|editor-last3=Fishbane|editor-first3=Michael|isbn=978-0195297515|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195297515/page/41 41]}}</ref> [[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."<ref>{{cite book|last=Michaelson|first=Jay|title=God Vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality|year=2011|publisher=Beacon Press|location=Boston|isbn=9780807001592|pages=[https://archive.org/details/godvsgayreligiou00mich/page/68 68–69]|url=https://archive.org/details/godvsgayreligiou00mich/page/68}}</ref> 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,<ref>{{bibleref2|Jeremiah|23:14|KJ21}}</ref> 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);<ref>{{bibleref2|Amos|4:1–11|KJ21}}</ref> and Ezekiel 16:49–50,<ref>{{bibleref2|Ezekiel|16:49–50|KJ21}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite book|last=Michaelson|first=Jay|title=God vs. Gay|pages=69–70}}</ref> Rabbi Basil Herring, who served as head of the [[Rabbinical Council of America]] from 2003 to 2012, writes that both the [[rabbinic literature]] and modern [[Orthodox Judaism|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 "[[paradigm]]atic" instance of such condemnation.<ref>{{cite web |year=2002 |title=Jewish Ethics and Halakhah For Our Time |url=https://www.jonahweb.org/sections.php?secId=183 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090723185911/https://www.jonahweb.org/sections.php?secId=183 |archive-date=2009-07-23 |publisher=JONAH (Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality)}}<br />*Cf. Genesis Rabbah 50:5, on Gen. 9:22 ff.<br /> *More generally see [[Menachem Mendel Kasher]], ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=WVDYAAAAMAAJ&q=two+angels Torah Shelemah]'', vol. 3 to Gen 19:5.</ref> ===Christianity=== Two areas of contention have arisen in modern Christian scholarship concerning the story of Sodom and Gomorrah:<ref name="Wenham">{{cite journal |last1=Wenham |first1=G.J. |title=The Old Testament Attitude to Homosexuality |journal=The Expository Times |date=September 1991 |volume=102 |issue=12 |pages=359–363 |doi=10.1177/001452469110201203 |s2cid=144864329 }}</ref><ref name="Boswell">{{cite book|last=Boswell|first=John|author-link=John Boswell|title=Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality|url=https://archive.org/details/christianitysoci00bosw|url-access=registration|location=Chicago|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=1980|page=[https://archive.org/details/christianitysoci00bosw/page/94 94]}}</ref> * Whether or not the violent mob surrounding Lot's house were demanding to engage in sexual violence against Lot's guests. * Whether it was homosexuality or another transgression, such as the act of inhospitable behavior towards visitors, the act of sexual assault, murder, theft, adultery, idolatry, power abuses, or prideful and mocking behavior,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://reformationproject.org/case/sodom-and-gomorrah/|title=Sodom and Gomorrah addresses gang rape, not a loving relationship.|website=The Reformation Project|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-04}}</ref> 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 {{lang-he|ידע}} (''yada''), translated as ''know'' in the [[King James Version]]: {{blockquote|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<ref>{{Bibleref2|Genesis|19:5|KJV}}</ref>}} ''Yada'' is used to refer to sexual intercourse in various instances, such as in Genesis 4:1 between Adam and Eve: {{blockquote|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<ref>{{Bibleref2|Genesis|4:1|KJV}}</ref>}} Some Hebrew scholars believe that ''yada'', unlike the English word "know", requires the existence of a "personal and intimate relationship".<ref>{{cite web|title=Ancient Hebrew Research Center Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine July, 2006, Issue #029|url=http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/emagazine/029.html|publisher=Ancient Hebrew Research Center|access-date=January 14, 2014|archive-date=February 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225000445/https://www.ancient-hebrew.org/emagazine/029.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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 Genesis 19:5.<ref name=CBA>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbaonline.org/nm/documents/BSLs/Bible_Translations.pdf|title=August 2009 CBA Best Sellers|access-date=2011-02-09|publisher=Christian Business Association|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712211132/http://www.cbaonline.org/nm/documents/bsls/bible_translations.pdf|archive-date=2012-07-12}}</ref> 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 Bible, only 1% (13–14 times)<ref name="The Inhospitable Sodomites" /> of those references are clearly used as a [[euphemism]] for realizing sexual intimacy.<ref>{{cite book|author-last1=Rogers|author-first1=Jack Bartlet|title=Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality: Explode the myths, heal the church|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|year=2006|location=Louisville, Kentucky|page=139|isbn=9780664229399}}</ref> Instead, those who hold to this interpretation see the demand to know as demanding the right to interrogate the strangers.<ref>{{cite web|author=Howard, Kevin L.|url=http://www.neednotfret.com/content/view/124/89/ |title=The Old Testament and Homosexuality |access-date=29 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928154135/http://www.neednotfret.com/content/view/124/89|archive-date=September 28, 2007|url-status=dead }}</ref> Countering this is the observation that one of the examples of "know" meaning to know sexually occurs when Lot responds to the Genesis 19:5 request, by offering his daughters for [[rape]], only three verses later in the same narrative: {{blockquote|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; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.|Genesis 19:8<ref>{{Bibleref2|Genesis|19:8|KJV}}</ref>}} The [[Epistle of Jude]] is a major text in regard to these conflicting opinions: {{blockquote|Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, 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<ref>{{Bibleref2|Jude|1:7|KJV}}</ref>}} 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,<ref>Bailey, ''Homosexuality and the Western Christian Tradition'', pp. 11–16; Boswell, ''Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality'', p.97</ref> perhaps referring to Genesis 6:1–4<ref>{{Bibleref2|Genesis|6:1–4}}</ref> 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 (e.g. in Romans 7:3, Galatians 1:6), and that the apocryphal [[Second Book of Enoch]] condemns "sodomitic" sex (2 Enoch 10:3; 34:1),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/enoch/2enoch01-68|title=The Book of the Secrets of Enoch, Chapters 1–68|access-date=March 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050424200238/http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/enoch/2enoch01-68.htm |archive-date=2005-04-24|url-status=dead}}</ref> thus indicating that homosexual relations was the prevalent ''physical'' sin of Sodom.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robgagnon.net/RevCountryman.htm|title=response to prof. l. William Countryman's review in Anglican theological review; On Careless Exegesis and Jude 7|author=Gagnon, Robert A.J.|publisher=Robgagnon.net|date=1989-10-11|access-date=2013-04-25}}</ref> Both the non-sexual and the [[homosexuality]] view invoke certain classical writings as well as other portions of the Bible.<ref>Bailey, Homosexuality and Western Tradition, pp. 1–28; McNeil, Church and the Homosexual, pp. 42–50; Boswell, Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality, pp. 92–97</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robgagnon.net/articles/homoBalchHBTReview2.pdf|title=A Comprehensive and Critical Review Essay of Homosexuality, Science, and the "Plain Sense" of Scripture, Part 2|access-date=2013-04-25}}</ref> {{blockquote|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<ref>{{Bibleref2|Ezekiel|16:49–50|KJV}}</ref>}} Here the nonsexual view focuses on the inhospitality aspect, while the other notes the description ''detestable'' or ''[[Abomination (Bible)|abomination]]'', the Hebrew word for which often denotes moral sins, including those of a sexual nature.<ref>Lv.18:22; 26–27,29,30; 20:13; Dt. 23:18; 24:4 1Ki. 14:24; Ezek. 22:11; 33:26</ref><ref>cf. Straight & Narrow?: Compassion and Clarity in the Homosexuality Debate, Thomas E. Schmidt</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Peck |first=Harry Thurston |author-link=Harry Thurston Peck |title=Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin//ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0062;query=id%3D%238285;layout=;loc=hospitium-1 |access-date=2006-03-17 |year=1898 |publisher=Harper and Brothers |location= New York}}</ref> 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.&nbsp;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<ref>{{Bibleref2|Exodus|22:21–24}}</ref> is viewed by Anglicans as a more historically accurate way to interpret the Sodom and Gomorrah story.<ref name="Wenham"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Mills|first=Rev. Edward J.|title=The Bible and Homosexuality—Introduction and Overview|url=http://www.anglicancommunion.org/listening/book_resources/docs/Mills_Listening_Process.pdf|publisher=[[Anglican Communion]]|access-date=14 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116104351/https://www.anglicancommunion.org/listening/book_resources/docs/Mills_Listening_Process.pdf|archive-date=16 January 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" /> ===Islam=== {{Main|Lot in Islam}} [[File:Lot BnF Persan 54 fol. 40.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Lot in Islam|Lut]] fleeing the city with his [[Lot's daughters|daughters]]; his [[Lot's wife#Islamic view|wife]] is killed by a rock.]] The Quran contains twelve references to "the people of Lut", the biblical Lot, the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah presumably, and their destruction by [[Allah|God]] which is associated primarily with their [[homosexual]] practices, which the Quran states they were the first creatures to commit such a deed.<ref>{{cite quran|7|80.81|s=ns}}</ref><ref>{{cite quran|29|28|s=ns}}</ref><ref>Duran (1993) p. 179</ref><ref name="MC">Kligerman (2007) pp. 53–54</ref> On the other hand, certain contemporary 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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kugle |first=Scott Siraj al-Haqq |date=2010 |title=Homosexuality in Islam: Critical Reflections on Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Muslims |location=Oxford |publisher=Oneworld Publications |pages=51–53 |quote=The story is really about infidelity and how the Tribe of Lot schemed for ways to reject his [[Prophet of Islam|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}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Noegel |first1=Scott B. |last2=Wheeler |first2=Brannon M. |date=2010 |chapter=Lot |title=The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Incorporated |pages=118–126 |isbn=978-0810876033}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Wunibald |first=Müller |title=Homosexualität – eine Herausforderung für Theologie und Seelsorge |location= Mainz |date=1986 |pages=64–65}}</ref> The "people of Lut" [[Islamic views on sin|transgressed]] consciously against the bounds of God. Lot only prayed to God to be saved from doing as they did. Then [[Gabriel in Islam|Gabriel]] met Lot and said that he must leave the city quickly, as God had given this command to Lot to save 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,<ref>{{cite quran|26|168|169|s=ns}}</ref> with the understanding that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are identified in Genesis, but "the location remains unnamed in the Qur'an"<ref>{{cite book |last=Kaltner |first=John |title=Ishmael Instructs Isaac: An Introduction to the Qurʼan for Bible Readers |year=1999 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=cGqy_OgxNU4C&pg=PA97|page=97|publisher=Liturgical Press |isbn=978-0-8146-5882-6}}</ref> The Quran, [[Al Hejr|chapter 15 (The Stoneland)]]&nbsp;– {{blockquote|So the (mighty) Blast overtook them before morning, And We turned the cities ˹of Sodom and Gomorrah˺ upside down and rained upon them stones of baked clay. Surely in this are signs for those who contemplate. Their ruins still lie along a known route.|[[Al Hejr#Summary|Quran 15:73]]<ref>{{cite quran|15|73|e=76|t=y|s=ns|link=no}}</ref>}} In the Quran, [[Quran 26|chapter 26 (The Poets)]]&nbsp;– {{blockquote|So, We saved him and his family, all. Except an old woman among those who remained behind.|[[Quran 26:170]]<ref>{{cite quran|26|170|e=171|s=ns}}</ref>}} {{blockquote|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]])<ref>{{cite web|title=Tafsir Ibn Kathir|work=Quran 26:170–171|url=http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2260&Itemid=82|publisher=qtafsir.com|access-date=August 1, 2017}}</ref>}} ===Gnosticism=== A different idea is found in the [[Paraphrase of Shem]], a [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] text from the literature of the [[Nag Hammadi library]]. In this narrative, the figure [[Shem]], who is guided by a spiritual savior named Derdekeas, brings his universal teaching of secret knowledge ([[Gnosis#Gnosticism|gnosis]]) to the citizens of Sodom before the city is unjustly destroyed by the base nature of the [[Demiurge#Gnosticism|demon of human form]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=[[Marvin Meyer]]|author2=[[Willis Barnstone]]|title=The Gnostic Bible|publisher=[[Shambhala Publications|Shambhala]]|chapter=The Paraphrase of Shem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1SEFmwEACAAJ|date=June 30, 2009|isbn=9781590306314|access-date=2022-02-14}}</ref> ==See also== '''Cities of the plain''' * [[Admah]] * [[Zeboim (Hebrew Bible)]] * [[Zoara]] * [[Battle of Siddim]] from the vale of Siddim ("the plain") '''Related topics''' * [[Bab edh-Dhra]] and [[Numeira]], two adjacent archeological sites said by some to be the two cities' locations * [[Christianity and homosexuality]] * [[Christianity and sexual orientation]] * [[Hospitium]] * [[Homosexuality and Judaism]] * [[Homosexuality and religion]] * [[Homosexuality in the Hebrew Bible]] * [[LGBT in Islam]] * [[Levite's concubine]] – similar biblical narrative * [[Religion and LGBT people]] * [[The Bible and homosexuality]] * [[Tripura (mythology)|Tripura]], cities likewise destroyed by [[divine providence|divine intervention]] as described in Hindu mythology * [[Vayeira]], the [[parsha|Torah portion]] concerning Sodom and Gomorrah * [[Xenia (Greek)|Xenia]] ==Notes== {{notelist}} ==References== ===Citations=== {{Reflist|20em}} ===Bibliography=== {{refbegin}} * {{cite book |last = Greene |first = Joseph A. |chapter = Sodom and Gomorrah |editor1-last = Metzger |editor1-first = Bruce Manning |editor2-last = Coogan |editor2-first = Michael D. |title = The Oxford Guide To People And Places Of The Bible |publisher = Oxford University Press |year = 2004 |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=amlXOOaSuLMC&pg=PA294 |isbn = 978-0-19-517610-0 }} * {{cite book |last = Jackson |first = Roy |title = What is Islamic Philosophy? |publisher = Routledge |year = 2014 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5XPMAgAAQBAJ&pg=119 |isbn = 9781317814047 }} *{{cite book|chapter=[[s:A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture/XII. Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha|Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha]]|title=A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture|year=1910|publisher=B. Herder|first=Friedrich Justus|last=Knecht}} *{{Cite Catholic Encyclopedia |wstitle=Sodom and Gomorrha |volume=14 |first=Nicholas |last=Reagan}} * {{cite book |last = Schwartz |first = Howard |title = Tree of Souls |publisher = Oxford University Press |year = 2007 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=60iVk1p8Y9IC&pg=PA465 |isbn = 978-0-19-535870-4 }} {{refend}} ==External links== {{EB1911 poster|Sodom and Gomorrah}} * [https://www.nli.org.il/he/maps/NNL_MAPS_JER002368258/NLI#$FL7072787 Map] of the Dead Sea from a book by [[Christian van Adrichem]], 1590, depicting Sodom and Gomorrah going on flames in the sea, called (in Latin) 'Dead Sea, Salt Lake, Sea of Asphalt', Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, The [[National Library of Israel]] {{Commons category|Sodom and Gomorrah}} {{Wikiquote}} {{Book of Genesis}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Sodom And Gomorrah}} [[Category:Sodom and Gomorrah| ]] [[Category:Angelic apparitions in the Bible]] [[Category:Bible-related controversies]] [[Category:Biblical phrases]] [[Category:Book of Genesis]] [[Category:Destroyed populated places]] [[Category:Gang rape]] [[Category:Gang rape in Asia]] [[Category:Lech-Lecha]] [[Category: and Christianity]] [[Category: and Judaism]] [[Categor and Islam]] [[Category:Sexuality in the Bible]] [[Category:Torah cities]] [[Category:Vayeira]] [[Category:Canaanite cities]] [[Category-related controversies in literature]] [[Category sodomy, sodom, gomorrah, sodomites]] [[Category:Male homosexuality]]., Study Helps: www.umich.edu.BibleKJV, simple search: abstain., s/s: fornication., s/s: adultery, s/s: belial., s/s: effeminate., 1Corinthians chapter 6., Genesis chapters 13-19, Romans ch.1, Other Study Tools: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Webster's 1828 Dictionary, Oxford English Dictionaries., 2 Corinthians chapters, 5 and 6, Philippians ch.3, Revelation ch.22.,'