Reference: Sodom
American
One of the cities of the plain, and for some time the dwelling-place of Lot, Ge 13:10-13; 14:12. Its crimes and vices were so enormous, that God destroyed it by fire from heaven, with three neighboring cities, Gomorrah, Zeboim, and Admah, which were as wicked as itself, Ge 19:1-20. The plain of Siddim in which they stood was pleasant and fruitful, like an earthy paradise; but it was first burned, and afterwards mostly overflowed by the waters of the Dead Sea or Lake of Sodom. See JORDAN, and SEA 3. The prophets, in denouncing woes upon other countries, mention the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and intimate that these places shall be desert and dried up and uninhabited, Jer 49:18; 50:40; that they shall be covered with briers and brambles, a land of salt and sulphur, where can be neither planting nor sowing, De 29:23; Am 4:11. Throughout Scripture the ruin of Sodom and Gomorrah is represented as a most signal effect of God's anger, and as a mirror in which those living at ease in sin and lust may see their own doom. The name is given in Re 11:8, to the great and corrupt city of antichrist. "Sodomites" were men addicted to the beastly lusts alluded in Ge 19; 1Ki 14:24; Ro 1:26-27.
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And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the Plain of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou go to Zoar. So Lot chose for himself all the Plain of the Jordan. And Lot journeyed east, and they separated themselves the one from the other. read more. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan. And Lot dwelt in the cities of the Plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against LORD.
And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
And the two [heavenly] agents came to Sodom at evening, and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. And Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them. And he bowed himself with his face to the earth, and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn aside, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your way. And they said, No, but we will abide in the street all n read more. And he urged them greatly. And they turned in to him, and entered into his house. And he made a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, encompassed the house around, both young and old, all the people from every quarter. And they called to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men who came in to thee this night? Bring them out to us, that we may know them. And Lot went out to them to the door, and shut the door after him. And he said, I pray you, my brothers, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters who have not known a man. Let me, I pray you, bring them out to you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes. Only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back. And they said, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will be a judge. Now we will deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed greatly upon the man, even Lot, and drew near to break the doo But the men put forth their hand, and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men who were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door. And the men said to Lot, Have thou here any besides? Son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whomever thou have in the city, bring them out of the place. For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them has been great before LORD. And LORD has sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law, who married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place, for LORD will destroy the city. But he seemed to his sons-in-law as a man jesting. And when the morning arose, then the [heavenly] agents hurried Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters who are here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. But he lingered. And the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters, LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him forth, and set him outside the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life, do not look behind thee, neither stay thou in all the Plain. Escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said to them, Oh, not so, my lord. Behold now, thy servant has found favor in thy sight, and thou have magnified thy loving kindness, which thou have shown to me in saving my life, and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I die. Behold now, this city is near to flee to, and it is a little one. Oh let me escape there (is it not a little one?), and my soul shall live.
[that] the whole land of it is brimstone, and salt, [and] a burning, [that] it is not sown, nor bears, nor any grass grows in it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which LORD overthrew in his anger, and i
And there were also sodomites in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which LORD drove out before the sons of Israel.
As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof, says LORD, no man shall dwell there, nor shall any son of man sojourn in it.
As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof, says LORD, so shall no man dwell there, nor shall any son of man sojourn in it.
I have overthrown [cities] among you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a brand plucked out of the burning. Yet ye have not returned to me, says LORD.
Because of this God gave them up to shameful passions, for even their females changed the natural use into what is against nature. And likewise also the males, having left the natural use of the female, burned in their lust toward each other, males with males producing shamelessness, and receiving in themselves the recompense of their deviancy that was fitting
And their corpses are in the thoroughfare of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
Easton
burning; the walled, a city in the vale of Siddim (Ge 13:10; 14:1-16). The wickedness of its inhabitants brought down upon it fire from heaven, by which it was destroyed (Ge 18:16-33; 19:1-29; De 23:17). This city and its awful destruction are frequently alluded to in Scripture (De 29:23; 32:32; Isa 1:9-10; 3:9; 13:19; Jer 23:14; Eze 16:46-56; Zep 2:9; Mt 10:15; Ro 9:29; 2Pe 2:6, etc.). No trace of it or of the other cities of the plain has been discovered, so complete was their destruction. Just opposite the site of Zoar, on the south-west coast of the Dead Sea, is a range of low hills, forming a mass of mineral salt called Jebel Usdum, "the hill of Sodom." It has been concluded, from this and from other considerations, that the cities of the plain stood at the southern end of the Dead Sea. Others, however, with much greater probability, contend that they stood at the northern end of the sea. [in 1897].
Illustration: Jebel Usdom and South End of the Dead Sea
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And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the Plain of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou go to Zoar.
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar). read more. All these joined together in the valley of Siddim (the same is the Salt Sea). They served Chedorlaomer twelve years, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. And in the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer came, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites on their mount Seir, to Elparan, which is by the wilderness. And they returned, and came to En-mishpat (the same is Kadesh), and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who dwelt in Hazazon-tamar. And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar), and they set the battle in array against them in the valley of Siddim, against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings against the five. Now the valley of Siddim was full of slime pits. And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell there. And those who remained fled to the mountain. And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their food, and went their way. And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. And some man came who had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner. And these were allies with Abram. And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan. And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them to Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot, and his goods, and also the women, and the people.
And the men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do, read more. since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of LORD, to do righteousness and justice, to the end that LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoke And LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which comes to me. And if not, I will know. And the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham yet stood before LORD. And Abraham drew near, and said, Will thou consume righteous men with wicked men? Perhaps there are fifty righteous men within the city. Will thou consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous men that are in it? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay a righteous man with a wicked man, that so the righteous man should be as the wicked man. Far be it from thee. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous men within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sake. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak to the Lord, who am but dust and ashes. Perhaps there shall lack five of the fifty righteous men. Will thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I find there forty-five. And he spoke to him yet again, and said, Perhaps there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for the forty's sake. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Perhaps there shall be thirty found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak to the Lord. Perhaps there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the twenty's sake. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once. Perhaps ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the ten's sake. And LORD went his way as soon as he had left off conversing with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
And the two [heavenly] agents came to Sodom at evening, and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. And Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them. And he bowed himself with his face to the earth, and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn aside, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your way. And they said, No, but we will abide in the street all n read more. And he urged them greatly. And they turned in to him, and entered into his house. And he made a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, encompassed the house around, both young and old, all the people from every quarter. And they called to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men who came in to thee this night? Bring them out to us, that we may know them. And Lot went out to them to the door, and shut the door after him. And he said, I pray you, my brothers, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters who have not known a man. Let me, I pray you, bring them out to you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes. Only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back. And they said, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will be a judge. Now we will deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed greatly upon the man, even Lot, and drew near to break the doo But the men put forth their hand, and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men who were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door. And the men said to Lot, Have thou here any besides? Son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whomever thou have in the city, bring them out of the place. For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them has been great before LORD. And LORD has sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law, who married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place, for LORD will destroy the city. But he seemed to his sons-in-law as a man jesting. And when the morning arose, then the [heavenly] agents hurried Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters who are here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. But he lingered. And the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters, LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him forth, and set him outside the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life, do not look behind thee, neither stay thou in all the Plain. Escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said to them, Oh, not so, my lord. Behold now, thy servant has found favor in thy sight, and thou have magnified thy loving kindness, which thou have shown to me in saving my life, and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I die. Behold now, this city is near to flee to, and it is a little one. Oh let me escape there (is it not a little one?), and my soul shall live. And he said to him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow the city of which thou have spoken. Hasten thee, escape there, for I cannot do anything till thou have come there. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot came to Zoar. Then LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from LORD out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before LORD. And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the Plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt.
There shall be no prostitute of the daughters of Israel, neither shall there be a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
[that] the whole land of it is brimstone, and salt, [and] a burning, [that] it is not sown, nor bears, nor any grass grows in it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which LORD overthrew in his anger, and i
For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter.
Unless LORD of hosts had left to us a {seed (LXX/NT)}, we should have been as Sodom, we should have been like Gomorrah. Hear the word of LORD, ye rulers of Sodom, give ear to the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
The show of their countenance witnesses against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have done evil to themselves.
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans' pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
In the prophets of Jerusalem also I have seen a horrible thing. They commit adultery, and walk in lies. And they strengthen the hands of evil-doers, so that none returns from his wickedness. They have all of them become to me as So
And thine elder sister is Samaria, who dwells at thy left hand, she and her daughters. And thy younger sister, who dwells at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. Yet thou have not walked in their ways, nor done according to their abominations, but, like [it was] a very little [thing], thou were more corrupt than they in all thy ways. read more. As I live, says lord LORD, Sodom thy sister has not done, she nor her daughters, as thou have done, thou and thy daughters. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters, and she did not strengthen the hand of a poor and needy man. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me. Therefore I took them away as I saw [fit]. Neither has Samaria committed half of thy sins, but thou have multiplied thine abominations more than they, and have justified thy sisters by all thine abominations which thou have done. Thou also, bear thou thine own shame, in that thou have given judgment for thy sisters, through thy sins that thou have committed more abominable than they. They are more righteous than thou. Yea, be thou also confounded, and bear And I will turn back again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them, that thou may bear thine own shame, and may be ashamed because of all that thou have done, in that thou are a comfort to them. And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, and thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate. For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,
Therefore as I live, says LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation. The residue of my people shall make a
Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Fausets
Chief of the group Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Bela or Zoar (Ge 10:19; 13:3,10-13,18; Lu 17:29; 2Pe 2:6; Jg 1:4-7; Mr 6:11; Mt 10:15; De 29:23). (See GOMORRAH.) Palmer and Drake traversing the Negeb in a S.E. direction, as far as Mount Hor, made a detour to jebel ("mount") Madherah. At its summit and base are blocks of stone, of which the Arabs say: "a people once dwelt there, to whom travelers came seeking hospitality; but the people did to them a horrible deed, wherefore the Almighty in anger rained down stones, and destroyed them from off the face of the earth." Sodom is interpreted "burning" or else "vineyard" (Gesenius), "fortification" (Furst).
Abraham could see the smoke of the burning cities from near Hebron. The Lord over night announced to him Sodom's doom, at some spot on the way from Mamre or Hebron toward Sodom, to which he had accompanied the angels (Ge 18:16). Tradition says the spot was Caphar Berucha, from which the Dead Sea is visible through a ravine. Long ranges of hills intervene between Hebron and Sodom, but from the hill over Hebron or Mamre through a gap in the chain the whole district of the Jordan valley is visible. Lot at first pitched only towards Sodom, not until afterward did he go further south to Sodom itself (Ge 13:12; 14:12; and Ge 14:3 says expressly the vale of Siddim is the Salt Sea). This favors the S. of the Dead Sea site for Sodom, etc., which the traditional names confirm.
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And the border of the Canaanite was from Sidon, as thou go toward Gerar, to Gaza, as thou go toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, to Lasha.
And he went on his journeys from the South even to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,
And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the Plain of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou go to Zoar. So Lot chose for himself all the Plain of the Jordan. And Lot journeyed east, and they separated themselves the one from the other. read more. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan. And Lot dwelt in the cities of the Plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom.
Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan. And Lot dwelt in the cities of the Plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against LORD.
And Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to LORD.
All these joined together in the valley of Siddim (the same is the Salt Sea).
And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
And the men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
[that] the whole land of it is brimstone, and salt, [and] a burning, [that] it is not sown, nor bears, nor any grass grows in it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which LORD overthrew in his anger, and i
And Judah went up, and LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they smote of them in Bezek ten thousand men. And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek, and they fought against him, and they smote the Canaanites and the Perizzites. read more. But Adoni-bezek fled, and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. And Adoni-bezek said, Seventy kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered [scraps] under my table. As I have done, so God has requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.
And as many as might not receive you nor hear you, as ye depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony to them. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom or Gomorrah in the day of judgment than
Hastings
Morish
Sod'om Sodoma. Sod'oma
This city is first mentioned as a boundary of the Canaanites. Ge 10:19. Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom, but it is recorded that the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked before the Lord. Afterwards he dwelt therein, and was carried away captive when Sodom was taken by the five kings from the East. It is related that about the time when God fulfilled His promise of a son to Abraham, the cry of Sodom and their grievous sin had come up to Him, and He communicated to Abraham His intention to destroy the city; but, on the pleading of Abraham, He said He would not destroy it if there were ten righteous persons found therein; ten, however, were not found. Lot, his wife, and two daughters were rescued by two angels, and God rained down fire and brimstone on the place, and it was utterly destroyed. Though it was doubtless in the vicinity of the Salt Sea, its site cannot be identified. Ge 14:2-22; 18:16-32; 19:1-28.
Sodom is regarded in scripture as a symbol of wickedness. Isaiah calls the heads of Judah the 'rulers of Sodom.' Isa 1:10; cf. Eze 16:46-56; Re 11:8. The Lord, to show the exceeding wickedness of rejecting Him, after hearing His gracious words and seeing His mighty works, declared that it would be more tolerable in a day of judgement for Sodom than for the cities that rejected Him. Lu 10:12. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha, both as to its suddenness and completeness, is held up as a warning to sinners of coming judgements. Lu 17:29; Jude 1:7. In Ro 9:29 it is called SODOMA.
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And the border of the Canaanite was from Sidon, as thou go toward Gerar, to Gaza, as thou go toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, to Lasha.
that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar). All these joined together in the valley of Siddim (the same is the Salt Sea). read more. They served Chedorlaomer twelve years, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. And in the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer came, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites on their mount Seir, to Elparan, which is by the wilderness. And they returned, and came to En-mishpat (the same is Kadesh), and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who dwelt in Hazazon-tamar. And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar), and they set the battle in array against them in the valley of Siddim, against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings against the five. Now the valley of Siddim was full of slime pits. And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell there. And those who remained fled to the mountain. And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their food, and went their way. And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. And some man came who had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner. And these were allies with Abram. And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan. And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them to Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot, and his goods, and also the women, and the people. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh (the same is the King's Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine. And he was priest of God Most High. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who has delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And [Abram] gave him a tenth of all. And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the men, and take the goods to thyself. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand to LORD, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth,
And the men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do, read more. since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of LORD, to do righteousness and justice, to the end that LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoke And LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which comes to me. And if not, I will know. And the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham yet stood before LORD. And Abraham drew near, and said, Will thou consume righteous men with wicked men? Perhaps there are fifty righteous men within the city. Will thou consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous men that are in it? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay a righteous man with a wicked man, that so the righteous man should be as the wicked man. Far be it from thee. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous men within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sake. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak to the Lord, who am but dust and ashes. Perhaps there shall lack five of the fifty righteous men. Will thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I find there forty-five. And he spoke to him yet again, and said, Perhaps there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for the forty's sake. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Perhaps there shall be thirty found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak to the Lord. Perhaps there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the twenty's sake. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once. Perhaps ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the ten's sake.
And the two [heavenly] agents came to Sodom at evening, and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. And Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them. And he bowed himself with his face to the earth, and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn aside, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your way. And they said, No, but we will abide in the street all n read more. And he urged them greatly. And they turned in to him, and entered into his house. And he made a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, encompassed the house around, both young and old, all the people from every quarter. And they called to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men who came in to thee this night? Bring them out to us, that we may know them. And Lot went out to them to the door, and shut the door after him. And he said, I pray you, my brothers, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters who have not known a man. Let me, I pray you, bring them out to you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes. Only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back. And they said, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will be a judge. Now we will deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed greatly upon the man, even Lot, and drew near to break the doo But the men put forth their hand, and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men who were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door. And the men said to Lot, Have thou here any besides? Son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whomever thou have in the city, bring them out of the place. For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them has been great before LORD. And LORD has sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law, who married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place, for LORD will destroy the city. But he seemed to his sons-in-law as a man jesting. And when the morning arose, then the [heavenly] agents hurried Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters who are here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. But he lingered. And the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters, LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him forth, and set him outside the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life, do not look behind thee, neither stay thou in all the Plain. Escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said to them, Oh, not so, my lord. Behold now, thy servant has found favor in thy sight, and thou have magnified thy loving kindness, which thou have shown to me in saving my life, and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I die. Behold now, this city is near to flee to, and it is a little one. Oh let me escape there (is it not a little one?), and my soul shall live. And he said to him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow the city of which thou have spoken. Hasten thee, escape there, for I cannot do anything till thou have come there. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot came to Zoar. Then LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from LORD out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before LORD. And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the Plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.
Hear the word of LORD, ye rulers of Sodom, give ear to the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
And thine elder sister is Samaria, who dwells at thy left hand, she and her daughters. And thy younger sister, who dwells at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. Yet thou have not walked in their ways, nor done according to their abominations, but, like [it was] a very little [thing], thou were more corrupt than they in all thy ways. read more. As I live, says lord LORD, Sodom thy sister has not done, she nor her daughters, as thou have done, thou and thy daughters. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters, and she did not strengthen the hand of a poor and needy man. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me. Therefore I took them away as I saw [fit]. Neither has Samaria committed half of thy sins, but thou have multiplied thine abominations more than they, and have justified thy sisters by all thine abominations which thou have done. Thou also, bear thou thine own shame, in that thou have given judgment for thy sisters, through thy sins that thou have committed more abominable than they. They are more righteous than thou. Yea, be thou also confounded, and bear And I will turn back again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them, that thou may bear thine own shame, and may be ashamed because of all that thou have done, in that thou are a comfort to them. And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, and thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate. For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,
I say to you, that it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.
But in that day Lot went out from Sodom he rained fire and brimstone from the sky, and destroyed them all.
And just as Isaiah has foretold, Unless Lord of hosts had left us a seed, we would have become as Sodom, and would have been made like Gomorrah.
As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them, the same kind of way with these who indulged in fornication, and who went rear of queer flesh, are set forth an example, undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
And their corpses are in the thoroughfare of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
Smith
Sod'om
(burning), one of the most ancient cities of Syria. It is commonly mentioned in connection with Gomorrah, but also with Admah and Zeboim, and on one occasion --
... --with Bela or Zoar. Sodom was evidently the chief town in the settlement. The four are first named in the ethnological records of
as belonging to the Canaanites. The next mention of the name of Sodom,
gives more certain indication of the position of the city. Abram and Lot are standing together between Bethel and Ai, ver. 3, taking a survey of the land around and below them. Eastward of them, and absolutely at their feet, lay the "circle of Jordan." The whole circle was one great oasis --"a garden of Jehovah." ver. 10. In the midst of the garden the four cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim appear to have been situated. It is necessary to notice how absolutely the cities are identified with the district. In the subsequent account of their destruction,
... the topographical terms are employed with all the precision which is characteristic of such early times. The mention of the Jordan is conclusive as to the situation of the district, for the Jordan ceases where it enters the Dead Sea, and can have no existence south of that point. The catastrophe by which they were destroyed is described in
... as a shower of brimstone and fire from Jehovah. However we may interpret the words of the earliest narrative, one thing is certain --that the lake was not one of the agents in the catastrophe. From all these passages, though much is obscure, two things seem clear:
1. That Sodom and the rest of the cities of the plain of Jordan stood on the north of the Dead Sea;
2. That neither the cities nor the district were submerged by the lake, but that the cities were overthrown and the land spoiled, and that it may still be seen in its desolate condition. When, however, we turn to more modern views, we discover a remarkable variance from these conclusions.
1. The opinion long current that the five cities were submerged in the lake, and that their remains--walls, columns and capitals--might he still discerned below the water, hardly needs refutation after the distinct statement and the constant implication of Scripture. But,
2. A more serious departure from the terms of the ancient history is exhibited in the prevalent opinion that the cities stood at the south end of the lake. This appears to, have been the belief of Josephus and Jerome. It seems to have been universally held by the medieval historians and pilgrims, and it is adopted by modern topographers probably without exception. There are several grounds for this belief; but the main point on which Dr. Robinson rests his argument is the situation of Zoar. (a) "Lot," says he, "fled to Zoar, which was near to Sodom; and Zoar lay almost at the southern end of the present sea, probably in the month of Wady Kerak." (b) Another consideration in favor of placing the cities at the southern end of the lake is the existence of similar names in that direction. (c) A third argument, and perhaps the weightiest of the three, is the existence of the salt mountain at the south of the lake, and its tendency to split off in columnar masses presenting a rude resemblance to the human form. But it is by no means certain that salt does not exist at other spots round the lake. (d) (A fourth and yet stronger argument is drawn from the fact that Abraham saw the smoke of the burning cities from Hebron. (e) A fifth argument is found in the numerous lime-pits found at that southern end of the Dead Sea. Robinson, Schaff, Baedeker, Lieutenant Lynch and others favor this view. --ED.) It thus appears that on the situation of Sodom no satisfactory conclusion can at present be readied: On the one hand, the narrative of Genesis seems to state positively that it lay at the northern end of the Dead Sea. On the other hand, long-continued tradition and the names of the existing spots seem to pronounce with almost equal positiveness that it was at its southern end. Of the catastrophe which destroyed the city and the district of Sodom we can hardly hope ever to form a satisfactory conception. Some catastrophe there undoubtedly was but what secondary agencies, besides fire, were employed in the accomplishment of the punishment cannot be safely determined in the almost total absence of exact scientific description of the natural features of the ground round the lake. We may suppose, however, that the actual agent in the ignition and destruction of the cities had been of the nature of a tremendous thunder-storm accompanied by a discharge of meteoric stones, (and that these set on fire the bitumen with which the soil was saturated, and which was used in building the city. And it may be that this burning out of the soil caused the plain to sink below the level of the Dead Sea, and the waters to flow over it--if indeed Sodom and its sister cities are really under the water.--ED.) The miserable fate of Sodom and Gomorrah is held up as a warning in numerous passages of the Old and New Testaments.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And the border of the Canaanite was from Sidon, as thou go toward Gerar, to Gaza, as thou go toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, to Lasha.
And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the Plain of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou go to Zoar. So Lot chose for himself all the Plain of the Jordan. And Lot journeyed east, and they separated themselves the one from the other. read more. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan. And Lot dwelt in the cities of the Plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against LORD.
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim,
And the two [heavenly] agents came to Sodom at evening, and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. And Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them. And he bowed himself with his face to the earth,
And the two [heavenly] agents came to Sodom at evening, and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. And Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them. And he bowed himself with his face to the earth,
And the Pharisees came forth, and began to dispute with him, seeking from him a sign from the sky, testing him.
For certain men have sneaked in, those written about formerly for this condemnation, irreverent men, perverting the grace of our God into licentiousness, and denying our only Master God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Now I want to remind you, ye having known this once, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. read more. And the heavenly agents who did not keep their own principality, but left their own habitation, he has kept reserved in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day. As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them, the same kind of way with these who indulged in fornication, and who went rear of queer flesh, are set forth an example, undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
Watsons
SODOM, the capital of Pentapolis, which for some time was the residence of Lot, the nephew of Abraham. The history of its destruction is given in the book of Genesis. See ABRAHAM, See LOT, and See DEAD SEA.