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 thoroughly watered, before Jehovah had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; as the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt, as one goes to Zoar. And Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan; and Lot went toward the east. And they separated the one from the other: read more. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan; and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain, and pitched tents as far as Sodom. And the people of Sodom were wicked, and great sinners before Jehovah.
And they took Lot and his property, Abram's brother's son, and departed. For he dwelt in Sodom.
And the two angels came to Sodom at even. And Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. And Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them; and he bowed down, the face toward the ground, and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and lodge, and wash your feet; and ye shall rise up early, and go on your way. And they said, No; but we will pass the night in the open place. read more. And he urged them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house. And he made them a repast, and baked unleavened cakes; and they ate. Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the youngest to the oldest all the people from every quarter. And they called to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men that have come in to thee to-night? bring them out to us that we may know them. And Lot went out to them to the entrance, and shut the door after him, and said, I pray you, my brethren, do not wickedly! Behold now, I have two daughters who have not known a man: let me now bring them out to you; and do to them as is good in your sight: only, to these men do nothing; for therefore have they come under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Back there! And they said again, This one came to sojourn, and he must be a judge? Now we will deal worse with thee than with them. And they pressed hard on the man on Lot; and drew near to break the door. And the men stretched out their hand, and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut the door. And they smote the men that were at the entrance of the house with blindness, from the smallest to the greatest; and they wearied themselves to find the entrance. And the men said to Lot, Whom hast thou here besides? a son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and all whom thou hast in the city bring them out of the place. For we are going to destroy this place, because the cry of them is great before Jehovah, and Jehovah has sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, Up, go out of this place, for Jehovah will destroy the city. But he was as if he jested, in the sight of his sons-in-law. And as the dawn arose, the angels urged Lot, saying, Up, take thy wife and thy two daughters who are present, lest thou perish in the iniquity of the city. And as he lingered, the men laid hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters, Jehovah being merciful to him; and they led him out, and set him without the city. And it came to pass when they had brought them outside, that he said, Escape for thy life: look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain: escape to the mountain, lest thou perish. And Lot said to them, Not so, I pray thee, Lord; behold now, thy servant has found favour in thine eyes, and thou hast magnified thy goodness, which thou hast shewn to me in preserving my soul alive; but I cannot escape to the mountain, lest calamity lay hold on me, that I die. Behold now, this city is near to flee to, and it is small: I pray thee, let me escape thither is it not small? and my soul shall live.
that the whole ground thereof is brimstone and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, and no grass groweth in it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, which Jehovah overthrew in his anger and in his fury:
and there were also sodomites in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that Jehovah had dispossessed before the children of Israel.
As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, and their neighbour cities, saith Jehovah, no one shall dwell there, neither shall a son of man sojourn therein.
As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and their neighbour cities, saith Jehovah, no one shall dwell there, neither shall a son of man sojourn therein.
I have overthrown among you, like God's overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah.
For this reason God gave them up to vile lusts; for both their females changed the natural use into that contrary to nature; and in like manner the males also, leaving the natural use of the female, were inflamed in their lust towards one another; males with males working shame, and receiving in themselves the recompense of their error which was fit.
and their body shall be on the street of the great city, which is called spiritually 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 thoroughly watered, before Jehovah had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; as the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt, as one goes to Zoar.
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel the king of Shinar, Arioch the king of El-lasar, Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and Tidal the king of nations, that they made war with Bera the king of Sodom, and with Birsha the king of Gomorrah, Shinab the king of Admah, and Shemeber the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. read more. All these were joined in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. Twelve years had they served Chedorlaomer; and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-Kirjathaim, and the Horites on their mount Seir, to El-Paran, which is by the wilderness. And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites that dwelt at Hazazon-Tamar. And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar, went out, and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim, with Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and Tidal the king of nations, and Amraphel the king of Shinar, and Arioch the king of Ellasar four kings with the five. And the vale of Siddim was full of pits of asphalt. And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there: and they that remained fled to the mountain. And they took all the property of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and departed. And they took Lot and his property, Abram's brother's son, and departed. For he dwelt in Sodom. And one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. And he dwelt by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol, and the brother of Aner. And these were Abram's allies. And Abram heard that his brother was taken captive; and he led out his trained servants, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them as far as Dan. And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is to the left of Damascus. And he brought back all the property, and brought again his brother Lot and his property, and the women also, and the people.
And the men rose up thence, and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to conduct them. And Jehovah said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing? read more. Since Abraham shall indeed become a great and mighty nation; and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. For I know him that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of Jehovah, to do righteousness and justice, in order that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham what he hath spoken of him. And Jehovah said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grievous, I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come to me; and if not, I will know it. And the men turned thence, and went towards Sodom; and Abraham remained yet standing before Jehovah. And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also cause the righteous to perish with the wicked? There are perhaps fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not forgive the place for the sake of the fifty righteous that are therein? Far be it from thee to do so, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that the righteous should be as the wicked far be it from thee! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right? And Jehovah said, If I find at Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will forgive all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have ventured to speak unto the Lord; I, who am dust and ashes. Perhaps there may want five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city on account of the five? And he said, If I shall find forty-five there, I will not destroy it. And he continued yet to speak with him, and said, Perhaps there may 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 that I speak! Perhaps there may be thirty found there. And he said, I will not do it if I find thirty there. And he said, Behold now, I have ventured to speak with the Lord. Perhaps there may 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, that I speak yet but this time! Perhaps there may be ten found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the ten's sake. And Jehovah went away when he had ended speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
And the two angels came to Sodom at even. And Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. And Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them; and he bowed down, the face toward the ground, and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and lodge, and wash your feet; and ye shall rise up early, and go on your way. And they said, No; but we will pass the night in the open place. read more. And he urged them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house. And he made them a repast, and baked unleavened cakes; and they ate. Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the youngest to the oldest all the people from every quarter. And they called to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men that have come in to thee to-night? bring them out to us that we may know them. And Lot went out to them to the entrance, and shut the door after him, and said, I pray you, my brethren, do not wickedly! Behold now, I have two daughters who have not known a man: let me now bring them out to you; and do to them as is good in your sight: only, to these men do nothing; for therefore have they come under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Back there! And they said again, This one came to sojourn, and he must be a judge? Now we will deal worse with thee than with them. And they pressed hard on the man on Lot; and drew near to break the door. And the men stretched out their hand, and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut the door. And they smote the men that were at the entrance of the house with blindness, from the smallest to the greatest; and they wearied themselves to find the entrance. And the men said to Lot, Whom hast thou here besides? a son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and all whom thou hast in the city bring them out of the place. For we are going to destroy this place, because the cry of them is great before Jehovah, and Jehovah has sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, Up, go out of this place, for Jehovah will destroy the city. But he was as if he jested, in the sight of his sons-in-law. And as the dawn arose, the angels urged Lot, saying, Up, take thy wife and thy two daughters who are present, lest thou perish in the iniquity of the city. And as he lingered, the men laid hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters, Jehovah being merciful to him; and they led him out, and set him without the city. And it came to pass when they had brought them outside, that he said, Escape for thy life: look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain: escape to the mountain, lest thou perish. And Lot said to them, Not so, I pray thee, Lord; behold now, thy servant has found favour in thine eyes, and thou hast magnified thy goodness, which thou hast shewn to me in preserving my soul alive; but I cannot escape to the mountain, lest calamity lay hold on me, that I die. Behold now, this city is near to flee to, and it is small: I pray thee, let me escape thither is it not small? and my soul shall live. And he said to him, Behold, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow the city of which thou hast spoken. Haste, escape thither; for I cannot do anything until thou art come there. Therefore the name of the city is called Zoar. The sun rose upon the earth when Lot came to Zoar. And Jehovah rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven, and overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew upon the ground. And his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham rose early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before Jehovah; and he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and lo, a smoke went up from the land 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 amongst the daughters of Israel, nor any Sodomite amongst the sons of Israel.
that the whole ground thereof is brimstone and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, and no grass groweth in it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, which Jehovah overthrew in his anger and in his fury:
For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, And of the fields of Gomorrah: Their grapes are grapes of poison, Bitter are their clusters;
Unless Jehovah of hosts had left us a very small residue, we should have been as Sodom, we should have been like unto Gomorrah. Hear the word of Jehovah, rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, people of Gomorrah!
The look of their face doth witness against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom: they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have brought evil upon themselves.
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans' pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
And in the prophets of Jerusalem have I seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in falsehood, and strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that none doth return from his wickedness. They are all become unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
And thine elder sister is Samaria that dwelleth at thy left hand, she and her daughters; and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. And thou hast not walked in their ways, nor done according to their abominations; but as though that were a very little, thou hast been more corrupt than they in all thy ways. read more. As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, 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, but she did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me, and I took them away when I saw it. And Samaria hath not sinned according to the half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters by all thine abominations which thou hast done. Thou also, who hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own confusion, because of thy sins in which thou hast acted more abominably than they: they are more righteous than thou. So be thou ashamed also, and bear thy confusion, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. And I will bring 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 mayest bear thy confusion, and mayest be confounded for all that thou hast done, in that thou comfortest 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; thou also and thy daughters, ye shall return to your former estate. Yea, Sodom thy sister was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,
Therefore, as I live, saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall certainly be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and salt-pits, and a perpetual desolation; the remnant of my people shall spoil them, and the residue of my nation shall possess them.
Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in judgment-day than for that city.
And according as Esaias said before, Unless the Lord of hosts had left us a seed, we had been as Sodom, and made like even as Gomorrha.
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 one goes to Gerar, up to Gazah; as one goes to Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, up to Lesha.
And he went on his journeys from the south as far as Bethel; as far as 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 thoroughly watered, before Jehovah had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; as the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt, as one goes to Zoar. And Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan; and Lot went toward the east. And they separated the one from the other: read more. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan; and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain, and pitched tents as far as Sodom.
Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan; and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain, and pitched tents as far as Sodom. And the people of Sodom were wicked, and great sinners before Jehovah.
Then Abram moved his tents, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron. And he built there an altar to Jehovah.
All these were joined in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.
And they took Lot and his property, Abram's brother's son, and departed. For he dwelt in Sodom.
And the men rose up thence, and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to conduct them.
that the whole ground thereof is brimstone and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, and no grass groweth in it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, which Jehovah overthrew in his anger and in his fury:
Then Judah went up and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Per'izzites into their hand; and they defeated ten thousand of them at Bezek. They came upon Ado'ni-be'zek at Bezek, and fought against him, and defeated the Canaanites and the Per'izzites. read more. Ado'ni-be'zek fled; but they pursued him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. And Ado'ni-be'zek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and their great toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has requited me." And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in judgment-day than for that city.
And whatsoever place shall not receive you nor hear you, departing thence, shake off the dust which is under your feet for a testimony to them.
but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulphur from heaven, and destroyed all of them:
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 one goes to Gerar, up to Gazah; as one goes to Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, up to Lesha.
that they made war with Bera the king of Sodom, and with Birsha the king of Gomorrah, Shinab the king of Admah, and Shemeber the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. All these were joined in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. read more. Twelve years had they served Chedorlaomer; and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-Kirjathaim, and the Horites on their mount Seir, to El-Paran, which is by the wilderness. And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites that dwelt at Hazazon-Tamar. And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar, went out, and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim, with Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and Tidal the king of nations, and Amraphel the king of Shinar, and Arioch the king of Ellasar four kings with the five. And the vale of Siddim was full of pits of asphalt. And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there: and they that remained fled to the mountain. And they took all the property of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and departed. And they took Lot and his property, Abram's brother's son, and departed. For he dwelt in Sodom. And one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. And he dwelt by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol, and the brother of Aner. And these were Abram's allies. And Abram heard that his brother was taken captive; and he led out his trained servants, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them as far as Dan. And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is to the left of Damascus. And he brought back all the property, and brought again his brother Lot and his property, and the women also, and the people. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after he had returned from smiting Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, into the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's valley. And Melchisedec king of Salem brought out bread and wine. And he was priest of the Most High God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of heavens and earth. And blessed be the Most High God, who has delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him the tenth of all. And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the souls, and take the property for thyself. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand to Jehovah, the Most High God, possessor of heavens and earth,
And the men rose up thence, and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to conduct them. And Jehovah said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing? read more. Since Abraham shall indeed become a great and mighty nation; and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. For I know him that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of Jehovah, to do righteousness and justice, in order that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham what he hath spoken of him. And Jehovah said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grievous, I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come to me; and if not, I will know it. And the men turned thence, and went towards Sodom; and Abraham remained yet standing before Jehovah. And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also cause the righteous to perish with the wicked? There are perhaps fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not forgive the place for the sake of the fifty righteous that are therein? Far be it from thee to do so, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that the righteous should be as the wicked far be it from thee! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right? And Jehovah said, If I find at Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will forgive all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have ventured to speak unto the Lord; I, who am dust and ashes. Perhaps there may want five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city on account of the five? And he said, If I shall find forty-five there, I will not destroy it. And he continued yet to speak with him, and said, Perhaps there may 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 that I speak! Perhaps there may be thirty found there. And he said, I will not do it if I find thirty there. And he said, Behold now, I have ventured to speak with the Lord. Perhaps there may 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, that I speak yet but this time! Perhaps there may be ten found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the ten's sake.
And the two angels came to Sodom at even. And Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. And Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them; and he bowed down, the face toward the ground, and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and lodge, and wash your feet; and ye shall rise up early, and go on your way. And they said, No; but we will pass the night in the open place. read more. And he urged them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house. And he made them a repast, and baked unleavened cakes; and they ate. Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the youngest to the oldest all the people from every quarter. And they called to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men that have come in to thee to-night? bring them out to us that we may know them. And Lot went out to them to the entrance, and shut the door after him, and said, I pray you, my brethren, do not wickedly! Behold now, I have two daughters who have not known a man: let me now bring them out to you; and do to them as is good in your sight: only, to these men do nothing; for therefore have they come under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Back there! And they said again, This one came to sojourn, and he must be a judge? Now we will deal worse with thee than with them. And they pressed hard on the man on Lot; and drew near to break the door. And the men stretched out their hand, and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut the door. And they smote the men that were at the entrance of the house with blindness, from the smallest to the greatest; and they wearied themselves to find the entrance. And the men said to Lot, Whom hast thou here besides? a son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and all whom thou hast in the city bring them out of the place. For we are going to destroy this place, because the cry of them is great before Jehovah, and Jehovah has sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, Up, go out of this place, for Jehovah will destroy the city. But he was as if he jested, in the sight of his sons-in-law. And as the dawn arose, the angels urged Lot, saying, Up, take thy wife and thy two daughters who are present, lest thou perish in the iniquity of the city. And as he lingered, the men laid hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters, Jehovah being merciful to him; and they led him out, and set him without the city. And it came to pass when they had brought them outside, that he said, Escape for thy life: look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain: escape to the mountain, lest thou perish. And Lot said to them, Not so, I pray thee, Lord; behold now, thy servant has found favour in thine eyes, and thou hast magnified thy goodness, which thou hast shewn to me in preserving my soul alive; but I cannot escape to the mountain, lest calamity lay hold on me, that I die. Behold now, this city is near to flee to, and it is small: I pray thee, let me escape thither is it not small? and my soul shall live. And he said to him, Behold, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow the city of which thou hast spoken. Haste, escape thither; for I cannot do anything until thou art come there. Therefore the name of the city is called Zoar. The sun rose upon the earth when Lot came to Zoar. And Jehovah rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven, and overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew upon the ground. And his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham rose early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before Jehovah; and he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and lo, a smoke went up from the land as the smoke of a furnace.
Hear the word of Jehovah, rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, people of Gomorrah!
And thine elder sister is Samaria that dwelleth at thy left hand, she and her daughters; and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. And thou hast not walked in their ways, nor done according to their abominations; but as though that were a very little, thou hast been more corrupt than they in all thy ways. read more. As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, 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, but she did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me, and I took them away when I saw it. And Samaria hath not sinned according to the half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters by all thine abominations which thou hast done. Thou also, who hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own confusion, because of thy sins in which thou hast acted more abominably than they: they are more righteous than thou. So be thou ashamed also, and bear thy confusion, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. And I will bring 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 mayest bear thy confusion, and mayest be confounded for all that thou hast done, in that thou comfortest 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; thou also and thy daughters, ye shall return to your former estate. Yea, Sodom thy sister was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,
I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for Sodom in that day than for that city.
but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulphur from heaven, and destroyed all of them:
And according as Esaias said before, Unless the Lord of hosts had left us a seed, we had been as Sodom, and made like even as Gomorrha.
as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities around them, committing greedily fornication, in like manner with them, and going after other flesh, lie there as an example, undergoing the judgment of eternal fire.
and their body shall be on the street of the great city, which is called spiritually 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 one goes to Gerar, up to Gazah; as one goes to Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, up to Lesha.
And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of the Jordan that it was thoroughly watered, before Jehovah had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; as the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt, as one goes to Zoar. And Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan; and Lot went toward the east. And they separated the one from the other: read more. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan; and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain, and pitched tents as far as Sodom. And the people of Sodom were wicked, and great sinners before Jehovah.
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel the king of Shinar, Arioch the king of El-lasar, Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and Tidal the king of nations,
And the two angels came to Sodom at even. And Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. And Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them; and he bowed down, the face toward the ground,
And the two angels came to Sodom at even. And Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. And Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them; and he bowed down, the face toward the ground,
And the Pharisees went out and began to dispute against him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, tempting him.
For certain men have got in unnoticed, they who of old were marked out beforehand to this sentence, ungodly persons, turning the grace of our God into dissoluteness, and denying our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ. But I would put you in remembrance, you who once knew all things, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, in the second place destroyed those who had not believed. read more. And angels who had not kept their own original state, but had abandoned their own dwelling, he keeps in eternal chains under gloomy darkness, to the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities around them, committing greedily fornication, in like manner with them, and going after other flesh, lie there as an example, undergoing the judgment 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.