Sodom and Gomorrah | Description, Summary, & Controversy (2024)

FAQs

What was the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah? ›

Whether it was hom*osexuality or another transgression, such as the act of inhospitable behavior towards visitors, the act of sexual assault, murder, theft, adultery, idolatry, power abuses, or prideful and mocking behavior, that was the principal reason for God's destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Sodom and Gomorrah, Legendary cities of ancient Palestine. According to the biblical book of Genesis, the notorious cities were destroyed by “brimstone and fire” because of their wickedness. The exact nature of the damning wickedness of the cities has been the subject of debate.

Har Sedom (Arabic: Jabal Usdum), or Mount Sodom, at the southwestern end of the sea, reflects Sodom's name. The present-day industrial site of Sedom, Israel, on the Dead Sea shore, is located near the presumed site of Sodom and Gomorrah.

With this full context in mind, the meaning of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is, after all, summed up by the prophet Ezekiel: they “had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy,” including the angels, who should have been honored guests.

Sodom and Gomorrah are two ancient cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis. Both cities were destroyed by fire from God because of their sexual wickednesses including rape, child sexual abuse,and indecent assault, as well as hom*osexuality.

Definitions of Gomorrah. (Old Testament) an ancient city near the Dead Sea that (along with Sodom) was destroyed by God for the vice and depravity of its inhabitants. synonyms: Gomorrha. example of: city, metropolis, urban center.

The story is certainly dramatic - but is it just fiction? There's no agreement among archaeologists, scientists and Biblical scholars that Sodom, and its sister town Gomorrah, existed at all - let alone that it came to a sudden and apocalyptic end.

In Judaism, one common view of Lot's wife turning to salt was as punishment for disobeying the angels' warning. By looking back at the "evil cities," she betrayed her secret longing for that way of life. She was deemed unworthy to be saved and thus was turned to a pillar of salt.

Almost all serious Bible scholars place it on the east side of the Jordan River, in the modern day Kingdom of Jordan.

Today Lot's Wife stands on the nearly 300-foot-high eastern escarpment of the Mt. Sedom diapir. Long before the roof collapse, the pillar had been part of the wall of the cave. The creation of the cave left this wall on the eastern escarpment of Mt.

Who was the pillar of salt in Sodom and Gomorrah? ›

Lot's wife, biblical character, a disobedient woman who was turned into a pillar of salt for looking back to see the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as she and her family were fleeing. Her story is seen as an example of what happens to those who choose a worldly life over salvation.

Sodom in American English

(ˈsɑdəm) noun. 1. an ancient city destroyed, with Gomorrah, because of its wickedness.

God agrees that he will not destroy the cities if he finds 50 righteous. Abraham then asks for the city to be spared if there are but 45, he humbly states, “Behold I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.” God agrees to spare for 45 righteous.

On February 24, 303, Diocletian's first so-called "Edict against the Christians" was published. Among other persecutions against Christians, Diocletian ordered the destruction of their scriptures and liturgical books across the entire Roman empire.

This verse restates what Abraham learned only later. God saved Lot and Lot's daughters because He remembered Abraham. God even saved Lot's wife, at least temporarily, though she died during the escape due to her own disobedience.

God agrees that he will not destroy the cities if he finds 50 righteous. Abraham then asks for the city to be spared if there are but 45, he humbly states, “Behold I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.” God agrees to spare for 45 righteous. Abraham asks to spare for 40, God agrees.

The Canaanites are roundly condemned in the Old Testament – they were the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities destroyed with fire and brimstone directly by God, according to the Book of Genesis.