Topical Encyclopedia
Introduction:Sodom is one of the most infamous cities mentioned in the Bible, known primarily for its destruction due to the wickedness of its inhabitants. It is often cited as a symbol of sin and divine judgment. The account of Sodom is primarily found in the Book of Genesis, but references to the city appear throughout both the Old and New Testaments.
Biblical Account:The city of Sodom is first mentioned in
Genesis 10:19 as part of the territory of the Canaanites. Its most detailed narrative appears in
Genesis 18-19. In
Genesis 18, the LORD appears to Abraham and reveals His plan to investigate the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham intercedes for the city, asking if God would spare it for the sake of fifty righteous people, eventually negotiating down to ten (
Genesis 18:32: "Then he said, 'May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. What if only ten can be found there?' And He answered, 'On account of the ten, I will not destroy it.'").
In
Genesis 19, two angels visit Sodom and are met by Lot, Abraham's nephew, who insists they stay at his house. The men of Sodom, described as wicked, surround Lot's house and demand to have relations with the visitors (
Genesis 19:5: "They called out to Lot and asked, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have relations with them!'"). Lot offers his daughters instead, but the men refuse. The angels then strike the men with blindness and warn Lot to flee the city with his family.
The destruction of Sodom is swift and complete.
Genesis 19:24-25 states, "Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. Thus He destroyed these cities and the entire plain, including all the inhabitants of the cities and everything that grew on the ground." Lot's wife, looking back at the city, becomes a pillar of salt (
Genesis 19:26).
Moral and Theological Themes:Sodom is often associated with extreme moral depravity and is used as a warning against sin throughout the Bible. The city's sins are described in various passages, including
Ezekiel 16:49-50, which highlights pride, gluttony, and neglect of the poor.
Jude 1:7 also references Sodom, stating, "In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire."
The destruction of Sodom serves as a powerful example of divine judgment against sin. It underscores the seriousness with which God views sin and the consequences of turning away from His commandments. The narrative also highlights God's mercy, as seen in His willingness to spare the city for the sake of a few righteous individuals, and His deliverance of Lot and his family.
New Testament References:Sodom is mentioned several times in the New Testament as a symbol of judgment. Jesus refers to Sodom in the context of unrepentant cities, stating that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for those who reject His message (
Matthew 10:15: "Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town."). This comparison emphasizes the gravity of rejecting the Gospel.
Cultural and Historical Context:Sodom was located in the region of the Jordan Valley, near the Dead Sea. Archaeological evidence and historical records have not definitively identified the exact location of Sodom, but several sites have been proposed. The account of Sodom has had a lasting impact on literature, art, and religious thought, often serving as a cautionary tale about the consequences of sin and the importance of righteousness.
Conclusion:The account of Sodom remains a significant narrative within the biblical canon, illustrating themes of sin, judgment, mercy, and redemption. Its legacy continues to influence theological discussions and moral teachings within the Christian tradition.
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
Sodomtheir secret; their cement
Smith's Bible Dictionary
Sodom(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 -- (Genesis 14:1) ... --with Bela or Zoar. Sodom was evidently the chief town in the settlement. The four are first named in the ethnological records of (Genesis 10:19) as belonging to the Canaanites. The next mention of the name of Sodom, (Genesis 13:10-13) 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, (Genesis 19:1) ... 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 (Genesis 19:1) ... 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:
- That Sodom and the rest of the cities of the plain of Jordan stood on the north of the Dead Sea;
- 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.
- 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,
- 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 wasnear to Sodom; and Zoar lay almost at the southern end of the present sea, probably in the month ofWady 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. (Mark 8:11;2 Peter 2:6;Jude 1:4-7)
ATS Bible Dictionary
SodomOne of the cities of the plain, and for some time the dwellingplace of Lot,Genesis 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,Genesis 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. SeeJORDAN, andSEA3
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,Jeremiah 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 inRevelation 11:8, to the great and corrupt city of antichrist. "Sodomites" were men addicted to the beastly lusts alluded inGenesis 19:1-381 Kings 14:24Romans 1:26,27.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Burning; the walled, a city in the vale of Siddim (
Genesis 13:10;
14:1-16). The wickedness of its inhabitants brought down upon it fire from heaven, by which it was destroyed (
18:16-33;
19:1-29;
Deuteronomy 23:17). This city and its awful destruction are frequently alluded to in Scripture (
Deuteronomy 29:23;
32:32;
Isaiah 1:9, 10;
3:9;
13:19;
Jeremiah 23:14;
Ezek. 16:46-56;
Zephaniah 2:9;
Matthew 10:15;
Romans 9:29;
2 Peter 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].
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
APPLES OF SODOMsod'-um: Josephus (BJ, IV, viii, 4) says that "the traces (or shadows) of the five cities (of the plain) are still to be seen, as well as the ashes growing in their fruits, which fruits have a color as if they were fit to be eaten; but if you pluck them with your hands they dissolve into smoke and ashes." What this "Dead Sea fruit" is, is uncertain. The name "Dead Sea apples" is often given to the fruit of the Solanum Sodomaean "a prickly shrub with fruit not unlike a small yellow tomato." Cheyne thinks that the fruits referred to by Josephus (compare Tacitus Hist. v.37) may be either
(1) those of the `osher tree (`usar, Calotropis procera, described by Hasselquist (Travels, 1766)), found in abundance about Jericho and near the Dead Sea, which are filled with dust when they have been attacked by an insect, leaving the skin only entire, and of a beautiful color. Tristram describes the fruit as being "as large as an apple of average size, of a bright yellow color, hanging three or four together close to the stem"; or as suggested by Tristram
(2) those of the wild colocynth; the fruit is fair of aspect with a pulp which dries up into a bitter powder (EB, article "Sodom," col. 4669, note 2). This colocynth is supposed to be the "wild vine" mentioned2 Kings 4:39. The "vine of Sodom" ofDeuteronomy 32:32 has been supposed to bear the "Dead Sea fruit"; but most modern writers regard the passage as figurative.
W. L. Walker
SODOM
sod'-um (cedhom; Sodoma) One of the 5 CITIES OF THE PLAIN (which see), destroyed by fire from heaven in the time of Abraham and Lot (Genesis 19:24). The wickedness of the city became proverbial. The sin of sodomy was an offense against nature frequently connected with idolatrous practices (see Rawlinson, History of Phoenicia). SeeSODOMITE. The fate of Sodom and Gomorrah is used as a warning to those who reject the gospel (Matthew 10:15;Matthew 11:242 Peter 2:6Jude 1:7). The word is used in a typical sense inRevelation 11:8. Sodom was probably located in plain South of the Dead Sea, now covered with water. The name is still preserved in Jebel Usdum (Mt. Sodom).
SeeARABAH;CITIES OF THE PLAIN; DEAD SEA.
LITERATURE.
Dillmann. Genesis, 111 f; Robinson, BR, II, 187;; G. A. Smith, HGHL, 505;; Blanckenhorn, ZDPV, XIX, 1896, 53;; Baedeker-Socin, Palestine, 143; Buhl, GAP, 117, 271, 274.
George Frederick Wright
SODOM, VINE OF
(gephen cedhom):
"For their vine is of the vine of Sodom,
And of the fields of Gomorrah:
Their grapes are grapes of gall,
Their clusters are bitter" (Deuteronomy 32:32).
This must be distinguished from the "Apples of Sodom" (which see), described by Josephus (BJ, IV, viii, 4), which appear to have been an actual species of fruit, probably either the colocynth or the fruit of the Usher tree, Calotropis procera. It would appear, however, from the above, the only passage referring to the Vine of Sodom, that this expression is metaphorical and does not refer to any particular plant.
E. W. G. Masterman
SEA OF SODOM (SODOMITISH sod-om-it'-ish).
SeeDEAD SEA.
Greek
4670. Sodoma --Sodom, an unidentified city in the Jordan Valley...Sodom, an unidentified city in the Jordan Valley. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter
Transliteration: Sodoma Phonetic Spelling: (sod'-om-ah) Short Definition:
Sodom...Strong's Hebrew
1298. Bera -- a king ofSodom... 1297, 1298. Bera. 1299 . a king of
Sodom. Transliteration: Bera Phonetic
Spelling: (beh'-rah) Short Definition: Bera. Word Origin
...6636. Tseboim -- a place nearSodom
... 6635, 6636. Tseboim or Tseboyim. 6637 . a place nearSodom. Transliteration:
Tseboim or Tseboyim Phonetic Spelling: (tseb-o-eem') Short Definition: Zeboiim...
126. Admah -- a city nearSodom and Gomorrah
... 125, 126. Admah. 127 . a city nearSodom and Gomorrah. Transliteration:
Admah Phonetic Spelling: (ad-maw') Short Definition: Admah....
5467. Sedom -- a Canaanite city near the Dead Sea
... 5466, 5467. Sedom. 5468 . a Canaanite city near the Dead Sea. Transliteration:
Sedom Phonetic Spelling: (sed-ome') Short Definition:Sodom....Sodom....
Library
'AsSodom'
... 'ASSODOM'. 'Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign,
and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's...
The Sea ofSodom
... A Chorographical Century. Chapters 1-10 Chapter 5 The Sea ofSodom. The
bounds of Judea, on both sides, are the sea; the western...
Sodom, Capernaum, Manchester
...SODOM, CAPERNAUM, MANCHESTER. 'Then began He... Jesus Christ. But now,
mark;"as Capernaum is toSodom, so is Manchester to Capernaum! I...
Lot's Flight fromSodom.
... LOT'S FLIGHT FROMSODOM. In Palestine, the land in... Sea now cover. These
cities were namedSodom and Gomorrah. Their inhabitants...
Lot inSodom. Gen 13:10
... BOOK I. On select Passages of Scripture. GENESIS Hymn 5 Lot inSodom.
Gen 13:10. John Newton 8,6,8,6. Lot inSodom. Gen 13:10....
Of Lot's Deliverance fromSodom, and Its Consumption by Fire from...
... Book XVI. Chapter 30."Of Lot's Deliverance fromSodom, and Its Consumption by Fire
from Heaven; And of Abimelech, Whose Lust Could Not Harm Sarah's Chastity....
A Strain ofSodom.
... X. Appendix. [Translated by the Rev. S. Thelwall.] 2. A Strain ofSodom.... 15 For ruin,
but to fires: thus did the land. OfSodom earn to be by glowing dews....
Of Abraham's Overcoming the Enemies ofSodom, when He Delivered...
... Book XVI. Chapter 22."Of Abraham's Overcoming the Enemies ofSodom, When He Delivered
Lot from Captivity and Was Blessed by Melchizedek the Priest....
"Hear the Word of the Lord, Ye Rulers ofSodom, Give Ear unto the...
... Sermon VIII. "Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers ofSodom, give ear unto
the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah,". Isaiah i.10...
Demonstration xxi. --Of Persecution.
... 3. Furthermore I questioned him about another saying that is written in Ezekiel;
namely, that he said to Jerusalem:"Sodom and her daughters shall be built up...
Thesaurus
Sodom (49 Occurrences)... 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
...Gomor'rah (23 Occurrences)
... Matthew 10:15 verily I say to you, It shall be more tolerable for the land ofSodom
and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. (See RSV)....
Gomorrah (25 Occurrences)
... This city is always mentioned next afterSodom, both of which were types
of impiety and wickedness (Genesis 18:20; Romans 9:29)....
Admah (6 Occurrences)
... Earth, one of the five cities of the vale of Siddim (Genesis 10:19). It was destroyed
along withSodom and Gomorrah (19:24; Deuteronomy 29:23)....
Zeboiim (7 Occurrences)
... im (tsebhoyim; the Septuagint uniformly Sebo(e)im; the King James Version, Zeboim):
One of the cities in the Vale of Siddim, destroyed withSodom and Gomorrah....
Siddim (3 Occurrences)
... Here Chedorlaomer and the confederate kings overthrew the kings ofSodom and the
cities of the plain.... (seeSODOM.). Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia....
Amraphel (2 Occurrences)
... King of Shinar, southern Chaldea, one of the confederates of Chedorlaomer, king
of Elam, in a war againstSodom and cities of the plain (Genesis 14:1, 4). It...
Ciccar
... See PLAIN; CITIES OF THE PLAIN. CITIES OF THE PLAIN; CICCAR. sit'-iz, plan, (kikkar
ha-yarden): IncludedSodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar....
Zeboim (7 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Gazelles or roes. (1.) One of the "five cities of the
plain" ofSodom, generally coupled with Admah (Genesis 10:19; 14:2; Deuteronomy...
Overthrew (17 Occurrences)
... land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth,
nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow ofSodom, and Gomorrah...
Resources
What was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah? | GotQuestions.orgWhy did Abraham bargain with God in regard to Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18)? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the strange flesh in Jude 1:7? | GotQuestions.orgSodom: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
Bible Dictionary •
Bible Encyclopedia •
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