Sodom and Gomorrah

Biblical Account

In Genesis 13:10-13, Lot chooses the well-watered plain of the Jordan and pitches his tent toward Sodom. The text records, "But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly." In chapter 14, Bera king of Sodom and Birsha king of Gomorrah are defeated in battle, and Lot is taken captive. Abraham rescues Lot, and on this occasion Melchizedek blesses Abraham.

In chapter 18, Abraham intercedes for the city, asking in turn whether it would be spared for the sake of fifty righteous people, then for fewer, and finally for ten (Genesis 18:23-32). In chapter 19, two angels come to Sodom, and Lot receives them into his house. The men of the city then gather and demand that the guests be brought out to them. The angels strike them with blindness and lead Lot's family out of the city. The LORD rained brimstone and fire from heaven and destroyed the cities, and Lot's wife, who looked back, became a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:24-26). The text further relates that the ancestors of Moab and Ammon were afterward born to Lot's two daughters.

Background

Genesis 14 lists Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (Zoar) together and explains that the vale of Siddim, where their kings assembled, "is the salt sea" (Genesis 14:3). For this reason, these cities have long been thought to have been located near the Dead Sea. However, one view places them south of the Dead Sea and another in the plain of the Jordan northeast of the Dead Sea, and their exact location has not been established. In the ancient Near East, hospitality—receiving and protecting strangers—was an important obligation, and the scene in which Lot tries to protect his guests is read against the background of this custom.

Significance Throughout Scripture

In the Old Testament, Sodom and Gomorrah serve as an example of total judgment (Deuteronomy 29:23; Isaiah 1:9-10; Amos 4:11). Ezekiel 16:49-50 lists the sins of Sodom as pride, fullness of bread, failure to help the poor and needy, and having "committed abomination."

In the New Testament, Jesus says that a city that does not receive his disciples will fare worse on the day of judgment than Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 10:15). He also compares the day when the Son of man is revealed to the days of Lot and warns, "Remember Lot's wife" (Luke 17:28-32). 2 Peter 2:6-8 presents these cities as an example to the ungodly and calls Lot "just Lot." Jude 1:7 states that these cities, "giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh," suffered "the vengeance of eternal fire."

Interpretation and Debate

Interpreters differ over what the sin of Sodom was.

• Interpretation centered on sexual sin: Traditionally, many churches have understood the demand in chapter 19 as sexual sin, including homosexual acts, citing Jude 1:7 in support.
• Interpretation centered on violence and the rejection of hospitality: Other interpreters see the heart of the scene as an attempted mass sexual assault on strangers and a rejection of hospitality. They also emphasize the sins named in Ezekiel 16:49, namely pride and neglect of the poor.

Some interpreters read the two aspects together. This discussion bears on the question of homosexuality and the church.

The name of Lot's wife and specific stories about the cruelty of the people of Sodom come from later Jewish tradition and are not found in the text of Genesis. A salt rock formation on Mount Sodom, southwest of the Dead Sea, is sometimes called "Lot's Wife," but this is merely a popular name with no basis for connecting it to the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

In Korean preaching, this passage is applied in several ways. Abraham's intercession, in which he pleaded for the city down to ten righteous people, is often presented as a model of intercessory prayer, and Lot's wife, who looked back, as a warning not to cling to one's former life.