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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So Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the circuit of the Jordan, that the whole of it, was well-watered, - before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the Garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt, as thou enterest into Zoar. And Lot chose for himself all the circuit of the Jordan, so Lot brake up eastwards, - and they separated themselves, each man from his brother: read more. Abram, fixed his dwelling in the land of Canaan, - but, Lot, fixed his dwelling among the cities, of the circuit, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now, the men of Sodom were base and sinful, - against Yahweh, exceedingly.
And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son with his goods, and went their way, - he, being a dweller in Sodom.
So the two messengers went in towards Sodom at eventide, Lot, being seated in the gate of Sodom, - so Lot beheld and rose up to meet them, and bowed himself with his face to the earth. And he said Behold, I pray you my lords turn aside, I pray you, into the house of your servant, - and tarry the night and bathe your feet, so shall ye rise early, and go on your way. And they said, Nay, but, in the broad way, will we tarry the night. read more. But he became exceeding urgent with them, so they turned aside unto him and entered into his house, - and he made for them a banquet, unleavened cakes, also did he bake, and they did eat. Ere yet they lay down, the men of the city - the men of Sodom, had come round against the house, from youth even unto age, - all the people from every quarter, And they called unto Lot and said to him, Where are the men who have come in unto thee tonight? Bring them forth unto us, and let us know them! And Lot went forth unto them to the entrance; but the door, closed he behind him. And he said, - Do not I pray you my brethren act wickedly. Behold, I pray you, I, have two daughters who have not known man, I must needs now bring, them, forth unto you, and do ye to them, as may be good in your eyes, - Only to these men, ye may do nothing; for on this account, have they come under the shade of my roof. And they said, Stand back, And they said, This one, by himself, hath come in to sojourn and must always be acting the judge, Now, will we do more wickedly to thee, than to them. So they pressed sere upon the man - upon Lot - exceedingly, and drew near to break open the door. And the men thrust forth their hand, and brought Lot in unto them into the house - and, the door, they closed: the men also who were at the entrance of the house, smote they with blindness, from small even unto great, so that they wearied themselves to find the entrance. And the men said unto Lot, Whom besides hast thou here? Son-in-law and thy sons and thy daughters, and all that thou hast in the city, bring thou forth out of the place; For we are about to destroy this place, - for, great, is the outcry of them unto the face of Yahweh, so that Yahweh hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went forth and spake unto his sons-in - law who were about to take his two daughters and said Arise come forth out of this place, for Yahweh is about to destroy the city. And it came to pass, that he was as one that laughed, in the eyes of his sons-in-law. But as soon as, the dawn had sprung up, the messengers hastened Lot saying, - Arise! take thy wife and thy two daughters that are at hand, lest thou be swept away in the punishment of the city. And he lingered - so the men laid hold of his hand and of the hand of his wife and of the hand of his two daughters, in the tenderness of Yahweh towards him, - and they brought him out and led him forth outside the city. And it came to pass when they had brought them forth outside, that they said, Escape for thy life, Look not behind thee, neither stand still in all the vale, - To the mountain, escape thou lest thou be swept away. And Lot said unto them, - No, I pray thee, My Lord! Behold, I pray thee thy servant hath found favour in thine eyes, so that thou hast magnified thy lovingkindness which thou hast performed with me in keeping alive my soul. - But, I, cannot escape to the mountain, lest calamity overtake me so shall I die. Behold, I pray thee, this city, is near for fleeing thither And, it, is a little one, let me I pray thee, escape thither - is it not a, little, one? That my soul may live!
brimstone and salt burning up all the land thereof, it shall not be sown neither shall it shoot forth neither shall there come up thereon any herbage, - like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overthrow in his anger and in his wrath:
Moreover also, there were, male devotees, in the land, - they did according to all the abominable practices of the nations, which Yahweh dispossessed from before the sons of Israel.
Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and her neighbours, Saith Yahweh, - There shall not dwell there - a man, Nor sojourn therein - any son of the earth-born.
Like the divine overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and her neighbours, Declareth Yahweh, - There shall not dwell there - a man, Nor sojourn therein - a son of the earth-born.
I have made an overthrew among you, like the divine overthrow of Sodom arid Gomorrah, and ye have become like a brand snatched out of the burning, - Yet hate ye not returned unto me, Declareth Yahweh.
For this cause, God gave them up unto dishonourable passions; for, even their females, exchanged away the natural use into that which is against nature, - In like manner also, even the males, leaving the natural use of the female, flamed out in their eager desire one for another, males with males, the indecency, effecting, - and, the necessary recompence of their error, within themselves, duly receiving; -
And their dead bodies lie upon the broadway of the great city, the which is called, spiritually, Sodom and Egypt, where, their Lord also 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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So Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the circuit of the Jordan, that the whole of it, was well-watered, - before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the Garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt, as thou enterest into 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 Goim, that they made war, with Bera, king of Sodom, and with Birsha, king of Gomorrah, - Shinab, king of Admah, and Shemeber, king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela - the same, is Zoar. read more. All these, joined together in the valley of the open fields, the same, is the Salt Sea. Twelve years, had they served Chedorlaomer, - but in the thirteenth year had they rebelled; and in the fourteenth year, had Chedorlaomer come in and the kings who were with him, so they smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, - and the Emim, in Shaveh-kiriathaim; and the Horites in their Mount Seir, - as far as El-paran, which is by the desert. So they returned and came in unto En-mishpat, the same, is Kadish, and smote all the field of the Amalekites, - and the Amorites also that dwelt in Hazazon-tamar, Thus then went forth the King of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela the same, is Zoar - and set themselves in array against them for battle, in the valley of the open fields: against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goim, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, - four kings against five. Now, the valley of the open fields, had many pits of bitumen, so the king of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there, - while, they who remained, towards a mountain, fled. 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 with his goods, and went their way, - he, being a dweller in Sodom. Then came in a fugitive, and told Abram the Hebrew, - he, having his dwelling among the oaks of Mature the Amorite brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, they, also having a covenant with Abram. So Abram, hearing that his brother had been taken captive, drew 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 as far as Hobah, which was on the left of Damascus. So he brought back all the goods, - yea Lot also his brother with his goods, did he bring back, and the women also, and the people.
And the men rose up from hence, and looked out over the face of Sodom, - Abraham also going with them to set them on their way. Now, Yahweh, had said, - Am I going to hide from Abraham what I do, read more. when, Abraham, shall surely become, a great and mighty nation, - and all the nations of the earth, shall be blessed in him? For I have become his intimate friend, To the end that he may command his sons and his house after him, so shall they keep the way of Yahweh, by doing righteousness and justice. To the end that Yahweh may bring in for Abraham, what he hath spoken concerning him. So Yahweh said, The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah, because it hath become great, - And their sin, because it hath become exceeding grievous, Let me go down, pray, and let me behold, whether according to their outcry which hath come in unto me, they have done altogether, And if not. I must know! And the men turned from thence, and went their way, towards Sodom, - but, Yahweh was yet standing before Abraham. So then Abraham drew near and said, Wilt thou really sweep away, the righteous with the lawless? Peradventure there are fifty righteous, in the midst of the city, Wilt thou really sweep away, and not spare the place, for the sake of the fifty righteous which are therein? Far be it from thee! to do after this manner. to put to death the righteous with the lawless! Then should righteous and lawless be alike, Far be it from thee! Shall, the Judge of all the earth not do justice? And Yahweh said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous in the midst of the city, then will I spare all the place for their sake. And Abraham responded and said, - Behold I pray thee I have ventured to speak unto My Lord, though I am dust and ashes: Peradventure there may lack, of the fifty righteous, five, Wilt thou destroy for five all the city? And he said, I will not destroy, if I find there forty and five. And he added, yet once more, to speak unto him, and said, Peradventure there may be found there - forty. And he said - I will not do it, for the sake of the forty. And he said Let it not, I pray thee, be vexing to My Lord, but let me speak, Peradventure there may be found there - thirty And be said, I will not to it, if I find there - thirty. And he sad Behold, I pray thee, I have ventured to speak unto My Lord, Peradventure there may be found there - twenty. And he said I will not destroy it, for the sake of the twenty. And he said, Let it not, I pray thee, be vexing to My Lord, but let me speak only this once, Peradventure there may be found there - ten. And he said, I will not destroy it , for the sake of the ten! And Yahweh went his way, when he had made an end. of speaking unto Abraham, - Abraham, also returned to his place.
So the two messengers went in towards Sodom at eventide, Lot, being seated in the gate of Sodom, - so Lot beheld and rose up to meet them, and bowed himself with his face to the earth. And he said Behold, I pray you my lords turn aside, I pray you, into the house of your servant, - and tarry the night and bathe your feet, so shall ye rise early, and go on your way. And they said, Nay, but, in the broad way, will we tarry the night. read more. But he became exceeding urgent with them, so they turned aside unto him and entered into his house, - and he made for them a banquet, unleavened cakes, also did he bake, and they did eat. Ere yet they lay down, the men of the city - the men of Sodom, had come round against the house, from youth even unto age, - all the people from every quarter, And they called unto Lot and said to him, Where are the men who have come in unto thee tonight? Bring them forth unto us, and let us know them! And Lot went forth unto them to the entrance; but the door, closed he behind him. And he said, - Do not I pray you my brethren act wickedly. Behold, I pray you, I, have two daughters who have not known man, I must needs now bring, them, forth unto you, and do ye to them, as may be good in your eyes, - Only to these men, ye may do nothing; for on this account, have they come under the shade of my roof. And they said, Stand back, And they said, This one, by himself, hath come in to sojourn and must always be acting the judge, Now, will we do more wickedly to thee, than to them. So they pressed sere upon the man - upon Lot - exceedingly, and drew near to break open the door. And the men thrust forth their hand, and brought Lot in unto them into the house - and, the door, they closed: the men also who were at the entrance of the house, smote they with blindness, from small even unto great, so that they wearied themselves to find the entrance. And the men said unto Lot, Whom besides hast thou here? Son-in-law and thy sons and thy daughters, and all that thou hast in the city, bring thou forth out of the place; For we are about to destroy this place, - for, great, is the outcry of them unto the face of Yahweh, so that Yahweh hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went forth and spake unto his sons-in - law who were about to take his two daughters and said Arise come forth out of this place, for Yahweh is about to destroy the city. And it came to pass, that he was as one that laughed, in the eyes of his sons-in-law. But as soon as, the dawn had sprung up, the messengers hastened Lot saying, - Arise! take thy wife and thy two daughters that are at hand, lest thou be swept away in the punishment of the city. And he lingered - so the men laid hold of his hand and of the hand of his wife and of the hand of his two daughters, in the tenderness of Yahweh towards him, - and they brought him out and led him forth outside the city. And it came to pass when they had brought them forth outside, that they said, Escape for thy life, Look not behind thee, neither stand still in all the vale, - To the mountain, escape thou lest thou be swept away. And Lot said unto them, - No, I pray thee, My Lord! Behold, I pray thee thy servant hath found favour in thine eyes, so that thou hast magnified thy lovingkindness which thou hast performed with me in keeping alive my soul. - But, I, cannot escape to the mountain, lest calamity overtake me so shall I die. Behold, I pray thee, this city, is near for fleeing thither And, it, is a little one, let me I pray thee, escape thither - is it not a, little, one? That my soul may live! And he said unto him, Behold! I have lifted up thy countenance, even as to this thing, - so that I will not overthrow the city, of which thou hast spoken. Haste thee escape thither, for I cannot do anything, until thou have come in thither. For this cause: was the name of the city called Zoar. When, the sun, had come forth on the earth, Lot had entered into Zoar. And, Yahweh, rained, upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah, brimstone and fire, - from Yahweh, out of the heavens: so he overthrew these cities, and all the circuit, - and all the inhabitants of the cities, and the produce of the ground. But his wife looked from behind him, - and became - a pillar of salt. And Abraham gat up early in the morning, unto the place where he had stood before Yahweh; and he looked out over the face of Sodom and Gomorrah, and over all the face of the land of the circuit, and beheld and lo! the smoke of the land went up, like the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass when God destroyed the cities of the circuit, that God remembered Abraham, and sent forth Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities wherein Lot had dwelt.
There shall be no female devotee of the daughters of Israel, - neither shall there be, a male devotee, of the sons of Israel.
brimstone and salt burning up all the land thereof, it shall not be sown neither shall it shoot forth neither shall there come up thereon any herbage, - like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overthrow in his anger and in his wrath:
For of the vine of Sodom, is their vine, And of the vineyards of Gomorrah, - Their grapes, are grapes of gall, Clusters of bitter things, are theirs:
If, Yahweh of hosts, had not left us a very small remnant, Like Sodom, had we become, Gomorrah, had we resembled. Hear the word of Yahweh, ye rulers of Sodom, - Give ear to the instruction of our God, ye people of Gomorrah: -
The show of their face, hath answered against them, And their sin - like Sodom, have they told, they have not concealed it. Alas for their souls! For they have requited to themselves, calamity.
Thus shall Babylon - The most lovely of kingdoms, The majestic beauty of the Chaldees - Become as in the divine overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.
But among the prophets of Jerusalem, have I seen a horrible thing, - Committing adultery, And walking in falsehood, And so strengthening the hands of doers of wickedness, not to return any man from his wickedness: They have all of them become to me as Sodom, And her inhabitants as Gomorrah.
And thine elder sister, was Samaria, she and her daughters, dwelling on thy left hand, - And thy sister younger than thou dwelling on thy right hand was Sodom and her daughters. Yet not in their ways, didst thou walk, nor according to their abominations, didst thou do, - As though that were quite too little, thou didst corrupt thyself beyond them in all thy ways. read more. As I live, Declareth My Lord Yahweh, Very! Sodom thy sister had not done, neither she nor her daughters, - as thou and thy daughters have done. Lo! this became the iniquity of Sodom thy sister, - Pride, fulness of bread, and careless security came to her and to her daughters, And the hand of the oppressed and the needy, she strengthened not. So then they became haughty, and committed abomination before me,- And I took them away. when I saw it , Nor did Samaria commit lone-half thy sins, - But thou didst multiply thine abominations more than they, And didst cause thy sisters to appear righteous I by all the abominations which thou didst commit. Thou also bear thine own reproach, which thou didst adjudge to thy sisters, by thy sins in which thou wast more abominable than they, thou didst make them appear more righteous than thou, - Thou also, therefore turn thou pale and bear thine own reproach, for making thy sisters appear righteous! When therefore I bring back their captivity, The captivity of Sodom and her daughters, And the captivity of Samaria and her daughters Then will I bring back thy captivities in their midst: That thou mayest bear thine own reproach, And take to thyself reproach because of all that thou didst in comforting them. When thy sisters Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former estate, And Samara and her daughters shall return to their former estate Then thou and thy daughters, shall return to your former estate. And Sodom thy sister was never heard in thy mouth, - In the day of thy pride:
Wherefore, as I live, declareth Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, Surely, Moab, like Sodom, shall become, and, the sons of Ammon, like Gomorrah, a possession for the thorn, and a pit of salt, Yea a desolation, unto times age-abiding: The remnant of my people, shall make of them a prey, and, the residue of my nation, shall inherit them.
Verily, I say unto you, - More tolerable, will it be, for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for, that, city!
And, even as Isaiah hath before said, - If, the Lord of hosts, had not left us a seed, as Sodom, had we become, and, as Gomorrha, had we been made like.
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 it came to pass that the boundary of the Canaanite was from Zidon, as thou enterest in towards Gerar unto Gaza, - as thou enterest in towards Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboim, as far as Lasha.
And he went his way, by his removals, from the South even as far as to Bethel, - as far as the place where his tent was at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai:
So Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the circuit of the Jordan, that the whole of it, was well-watered, - before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the Garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt, as thou enterest into Zoar. And Lot chose for himself all the circuit of the Jordan, so Lot brake up eastwards, - and they separated themselves, each man from his brother: read more. Abram, fixed his dwelling in the land of Canaan, - but, Lot, fixed his dwelling among the cities, of the circuit, and moved his tent as far as Sodom.
Abram, fixed his dwelling in the land of Canaan, - but, Lot, fixed his dwelling among the cities, of the circuit, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now, the men of Sodom were base and sinful, - against Yahweh, exceedingly.
So Abram moved his tent and came in and dwelt among the oaks of Mamre, which were in Hebron, - and built there an altar to Yahweh.
All these, joined together in the valley of the open fields, the same, is the Salt Sea.
And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son with his goods, and went their way, - he, being a dweller in Sodom.
And the men rose up from hence, and looked out over the face of Sodom, - Abraham also going with them to set them on their way.
brimstone and salt burning up all the land thereof, it shall not be sown neither shall it shoot forth neither shall there come up thereon any herbage, - like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overthrow in his anger and in his wrath:
And Judah went up, and Yahweh delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, - and they smote them in Bezek, ten thousand men. And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek, and fought with him, - and smote the Canaanites and the Perizzites. read more. But Adoni-bezek fled, and they pursued him, - and took him, and cut off his thumbs, and his great toes. Then said Adoni-bezek - Seventy kings, with their thumbs and great toes cut off, have been picking up crumbs under my table, as I have done, so, hath God requited me. And they brought him into Jerusalem, and he died there.
Verily, I say unto you, - More tolerable, will it be, for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for, that, city!
And, whatsoever place shall not welcome you nor hearken unto you, when ye are going forth from thence, shake off the dust that is under you feet, for a witness against them.
But, on the day Lot came out from Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all: -
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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And it came to pass that the boundary of the Canaanite was from Zidon, as thou enterest in towards Gerar unto Gaza, - as thou enterest in towards Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboim, as far as Lasha.
that they made war, with Bera, king of Sodom, and with Birsha, king of Gomorrah, - Shinab, king of Admah, and Shemeber, king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela - the same, is Zoar. All these, joined together in the valley of the open fields, the same, is the Salt Sea. read more. Twelve years, had they served Chedorlaomer, - but in the thirteenth year had they rebelled; and in the fourteenth year, had Chedorlaomer come in and the kings who were with him, so they smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, - and the Emim, in Shaveh-kiriathaim; and the Horites in their Mount Seir, - as far as El-paran, which is by the desert. So they returned and came in unto En-mishpat, the same, is Kadish, and smote all the field of the Amalekites, - and the Amorites also that dwelt in Hazazon-tamar, Thus then went forth the King of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela the same, is Zoar - and set themselves in array against them for battle, in the valley of the open fields: against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goim, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, - four kings against five. Now, the valley of the open fields, had many pits of bitumen, so the king of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there, - while, they who remained, towards a mountain, fled. 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 with his goods, and went their way, - he, being a dweller in Sodom. Then came in a fugitive, and told Abram the Hebrew, - he, having his dwelling among the oaks of Mature the Amorite brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, they, also having a covenant with Abram. So Abram, hearing that his brother had been taken captive, drew 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 as far as Hobah, which was on the left of Damascus. So he brought back all the goods, - yea Lot also his brother with his goods, did he bring back, and the women also, and the people. Then came forth the king of Sodom to meet him, after his return from the smiting of Chedorlaomer, and the kings who were with him, - into the vale of Shaveh the same, was the vale of the king. flow Melchizedek king of Salem, had brought forth bread and wine, - he, being priest of GOD Most High. So he blessed him and said, - Blessed be Abram of GOD Most High, possessor of the heavens and earth; And blessed be GOD Most High, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. So he gave unto him a tenth of all. Then said the king of Sodom unto Abram, - Give unto me the persons, but the goods, take thou for thyself. And Abram said unto the king of Sodom, - I have lifted up my hand unto Yahweh GOD Most High, possessor of the heavens and earth:
And the men rose up from hence, and looked out over the face of Sodom, - Abraham also going with them to set them on their way. Now, Yahweh, had said, - Am I going to hide from Abraham what I do, read more. when, Abraham, shall surely become, a great and mighty nation, - and all the nations of the earth, shall be blessed in him? For I have become his intimate friend, To the end that he may command his sons and his house after him, so shall they keep the way of Yahweh, by doing righteousness and justice. To the end that Yahweh may bring in for Abraham, what he hath spoken concerning him. So Yahweh said, The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah, because it hath become great, - And their sin, because it hath become exceeding grievous, Let me go down, pray, and let me behold, whether according to their outcry which hath come in unto me, they have done altogether, And if not. I must know! And the men turned from thence, and went their way, towards Sodom, - but, Yahweh was yet standing before Abraham. So then Abraham drew near and said, Wilt thou really sweep away, the righteous with the lawless? Peradventure there are fifty righteous, in the midst of the city, Wilt thou really sweep away, and not spare the place, for the sake of the fifty righteous which are therein? Far be it from thee! to do after this manner. to put to death the righteous with the lawless! Then should righteous and lawless be alike, Far be it from thee! Shall, the Judge of all the earth not do justice? And Yahweh said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous in the midst of the city, then will I spare all the place for their sake. And Abraham responded and said, - Behold I pray thee I have ventured to speak unto My Lord, though I am dust and ashes: Peradventure there may lack, of the fifty righteous, five, Wilt thou destroy for five all the city? And he said, I will not destroy, if I find there forty and five. And he added, yet once more, to speak unto him, and said, Peradventure there may be found there - forty. And he said - I will not do it, for the sake of the forty. And he said Let it not, I pray thee, be vexing to My Lord, but let me speak, Peradventure there may be found there - thirty And be said, I will not to it, if I find there - thirty. And he sad Behold, I pray thee, I have ventured to speak unto My Lord, Peradventure there may be found there - twenty. And he said I will not destroy it, for the sake of the twenty. And he said, Let it not, I pray thee, be vexing to My Lord, but let me speak only this once, Peradventure there may be found there - ten. And he said, I will not destroy it , for the sake of the ten!
So the two messengers went in towards Sodom at eventide, Lot, being seated in the gate of Sodom, - so Lot beheld and rose up to meet them, and bowed himself with his face to the earth. And he said Behold, I pray you my lords turn aside, I pray you, into the house of your servant, - and tarry the night and bathe your feet, so shall ye rise early, and go on your way. And they said, Nay, but, in the broad way, will we tarry the night. read more. But he became exceeding urgent with them, so they turned aside unto him and entered into his house, - and he made for them a banquet, unleavened cakes, also did he bake, and they did eat. Ere yet they lay down, the men of the city - the men of Sodom, had come round against the house, from youth even unto age, - all the people from every quarter, And they called unto Lot and said to him, Where are the men who have come in unto thee tonight? Bring them forth unto us, and let us know them! And Lot went forth unto them to the entrance; but the door, closed he behind him. And he said, - Do not I pray you my brethren act wickedly. Behold, I pray you, I, have two daughters who have not known man, I must needs now bring, them, forth unto you, and do ye to them, as may be good in your eyes, - Only to these men, ye may do nothing; for on this account, have they come under the shade of my roof. And they said, Stand back, And they said, This one, by himself, hath come in to sojourn and must always be acting the judge, Now, will we do more wickedly to thee, than to them. So they pressed sere upon the man - upon Lot - exceedingly, and drew near to break open the door. And the men thrust forth their hand, and brought Lot in unto them into the house - and, the door, they closed: the men also who were at the entrance of the house, smote they with blindness, from small even unto great, so that they wearied themselves to find the entrance. And the men said unto Lot, Whom besides hast thou here? Son-in-law and thy sons and thy daughters, and all that thou hast in the city, bring thou forth out of the place; For we are about to destroy this place, - for, great, is the outcry of them unto the face of Yahweh, so that Yahweh hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went forth and spake unto his sons-in - law who were about to take his two daughters and said Arise come forth out of this place, for Yahweh is about to destroy the city. And it came to pass, that he was as one that laughed, in the eyes of his sons-in-law. But as soon as, the dawn had sprung up, the messengers hastened Lot saying, - Arise! take thy wife and thy two daughters that are at hand, lest thou be swept away in the punishment of the city. And he lingered - so the men laid hold of his hand and of the hand of his wife and of the hand of his two daughters, in the tenderness of Yahweh towards him, - and they brought him out and led him forth outside the city. And it came to pass when they had brought them forth outside, that they said, Escape for thy life, Look not behind thee, neither stand still in all the vale, - To the mountain, escape thou lest thou be swept away. And Lot said unto them, - No, I pray thee, My Lord! Behold, I pray thee thy servant hath found favour in thine eyes, so that thou hast magnified thy lovingkindness which thou hast performed with me in keeping alive my soul. - But, I, cannot escape to the mountain, lest calamity overtake me so shall I die. Behold, I pray thee, this city, is near for fleeing thither And, it, is a little one, let me I pray thee, escape thither - is it not a, little, one? That my soul may live! And he said unto him, Behold! I have lifted up thy countenance, even as to this thing, - so that I will not overthrow the city, of which thou hast spoken. Haste thee escape thither, for I cannot do anything, until thou have come in thither. For this cause: was the name of the city called Zoar. When, the sun, had come forth on the earth, Lot had entered into Zoar. And, Yahweh, rained, upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah, brimstone and fire, - from Yahweh, out of the heavens: so he overthrew these cities, and all the circuit, - and all the inhabitants of the cities, and the produce of the ground. But his wife looked from behind him, - and became - a pillar of salt. And Abraham gat up early in the morning, unto the place where he had stood before Yahweh; and he looked out over the face of Sodom and Gomorrah, and over all the face of the land of the circuit, and beheld and lo! the smoke of the land went up, like the smoke of a furnace.
Hear the word of Yahweh, ye rulers of Sodom, - Give ear to the instruction of our God, ye people of Gomorrah: -
And thine elder sister, was Samaria, she and her daughters, dwelling on thy left hand, - And thy sister younger than thou dwelling on thy right hand was Sodom and her daughters. Yet not in their ways, didst thou walk, nor according to their abominations, didst thou do, - As though that were quite too little, thou didst corrupt thyself beyond them in all thy ways. read more. As I live, Declareth My Lord Yahweh, Very! Sodom thy sister had not done, neither she nor her daughters, - as thou and thy daughters have done. Lo! this became the iniquity of Sodom thy sister, - Pride, fulness of bread, and careless security came to her and to her daughters, And the hand of the oppressed and the needy, she strengthened not. So then they became haughty, and committed abomination before me,- And I took them away. when I saw it , Nor did Samaria commit lone-half thy sins, - But thou didst multiply thine abominations more than they, And didst cause thy sisters to appear righteous I by all the abominations which thou didst commit. Thou also bear thine own reproach, which thou didst adjudge to thy sisters, by thy sins in which thou wast more abominable than they, thou didst make them appear more righteous than thou, - Thou also, therefore turn thou pale and bear thine own reproach, for making thy sisters appear righteous! When therefore I bring back their captivity, The captivity of Sodom and her daughters, And the captivity of Samaria and her daughters Then will I bring back thy captivities in their midst: That thou mayest bear thine own reproach, And take to thyself reproach because of all that thou didst in comforting them. When thy sisters Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former estate, And Samara and her daughters shall return to their former estate Then thou and thy daughters, shall return to your former estate. And Sodom thy sister was never heard in thy mouth, - In the day of thy pride:
I tell you, for them of Sodom, in that day, more tolerable, will it be, than for that city.
But, on the day Lot came out from Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all: -
And, even as Isaiah hath before said, - If, the Lord of hosts, had not left us a seed, as Sodom, had we become, and, as Gomorrha, had we been made like.
As, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them, having in like manner to these given themselves over to fornication, and gone away after other kind of flesh, lie exposed as an example, a penalty of age-abiding fire, undergoing.
And their dead bodies lie upon the broadway of the great city, the which is called, spiritually, Sodom and Egypt, where, their Lord also 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 it came to pass that the boundary of the Canaanite was from Zidon, as thou enterest in towards Gerar unto Gaza, - as thou enterest in towards Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboim, as far as Lasha.
So Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the circuit of the Jordan, that the whole of it, was well-watered, - before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the Garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt, as thou enterest into Zoar. And Lot chose for himself all the circuit of the Jordan, so Lot brake up eastwards, - and they separated themselves, each man from his brother: read more. Abram, fixed his dwelling in the land of Canaan, - but, Lot, fixed his dwelling among the cities, of the circuit, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now, the men of Sodom were base and sinful, - against Yahweh, exceedingly.
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 Goim,
So the two messengers went in towards Sodom at eventide, Lot, being seated in the gate of Sodom, - so Lot beheld and rose up to meet them, and bowed himself with his face to the earth.
So the two messengers went in towards Sodom at eventide, Lot, being seated in the gate of Sodom, - so Lot beheld and rose up to meet them, and bowed himself with his face to the earth.
and forth came the Pharisees, and began discussing with him, seeking of him, a sign from the heaven, testing him.
For there have crept in unobserved certain men, who, from of old, have been publicly notified for this sentence, ungodly, men, the favour of our God, turning into wantonness, and, our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ, denying. I am minded, therefore, to put you in remembrance, - though ye know all things once for all, That the Lord, when a people out of Egypt he had saved, in, the next place, them that believed not, destroyed. read more. Messengers also, even them who had not kept their own principality, but had forsaken their proper dwelling, unto the judgment of the great day in perpetual bonds under thick gloom, hath he reserved. As, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them, having in like manner to these given themselves over to fornication, and gone away after other kind of flesh, lie exposed as an example, a penalty of age-abiding fire, undergoing.
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.