About the biblical story of Sodom & Gomorrah

Introduction

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The story of Sodom:

This story in Genesis 19 is generally thought of in terms of the fate of one or two cities: Sodom, or Sodom & Gomorrah. But according to Deuteronomy 29:22-29, God's anger caused four Canaanite cities to be destroyed. It involved: "...the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath."

Unfortunately, the real names of Sodom and Gomorrah were not preserved. Sodom was derived from the Hebrew word "S'dom," which means "burnt." Gomorrah is derived from the Hebrew word "'Amorah," which means "a ruined heap." These appear to be place names which were assigned after their destruction and were not their original names. ₁

The previous chapter, Genesis 18, describes a meeting between God, two angels, Abraham and Sarah. God had apparently decided to kill all of the men, women, youths, children, infants, and newborns in the four cities of ancient Canaan. Abraham bartered with God, as a Middle-East resident would debate the purchase price of goods in a market place. He persuaded God to cancel the mass murder if ten or more righteous people can be found in all of Sodom.

Genesis 19 describes how the two angels who accompanied God went on to visit the Sodom. The city had just experienced warfare (Genesis 14:1-2) and was probably on high alert to forestall future conflict. Lot welcomed the angels into his house. They had been sent to warn him that God was displeased with the wickedness of the city's residents and might exterminate all human live over a large geographical area, including the city of Sodom. All of the people from the city gathered around the house and demanded that Lot send the strangers out to the mob so that they might "know" the angels. Sensing evil intent by the citizens of Sodom, Lot refused. As an alternative, he offered his two virgin daughters to be gang-raped by the mob, if that would appease them. Since young women were generally married by the age of 15 in that culture, his daughters would probably have been 14 years old or younger! The offer was declined. The angels blinded some of the mob so that they could not force their way into Lot's house. Later, the angels urged Lot and his family to flee and to not look back. Unfortunately, Lot's wife seems to have had an inquisitive mind. She looked the wrong way, so God killed her on the spot and turned her into a pillar of salt.

Interpretation by some typical conservative Christians:

Many feel that the meaning of this chapter in Genesis is obvious, and does not require any detailed analysis. "Knowing" the angels means that the intent of the mob was to engage in an orgy of anal intercourse with the angels. Homosexual activity by the people of Sodom was the reason why God was displeased with the inhabitants of the city and decided to destroy both the city and its people. God hates homosexuality then and now.

Some comments on this passage by Evangelical authorities: ₂

	A Mohler: "The Genesis passage is very clear, that the sin of Sodom that brought on the destruction of the city was indeed linked to homosexuality."
	T. Crater: "It's a sexual gratification offer. Lot obviously understood it that way, and he offers his daughters in place of his male visitors. It's clear the mob intended to have sex with them."

Jack T. Chick, who publishes massive numbers of fundamentalist Christian religious tracts, created a small comic-book style tract for children called "Birds and the Bees." He describes the biblical events at Sodom and Gomorrah as follows:

"God gave us a true picture of the Gay lifestyle in the Bible. Centuries ago, there were four cities under the control of Satan and his devils. The worst city was Sodom. These Sodomites worshipped Satan, were possessed with devils and they hated God. Their stink reached heaven and God was fed up with them. He planned to destroy them to keep their filthy lifestyle from spreading....As soon as they got Lot and his family out of Sodom, God fire-bombed the cities and turned them into ashes. Today, those same kind of people are back, but now they're called Gays!" (Emphasis in the original.) ₃

Interpretation by some typical liberal/progressive Christians:

It is obvious that Lot wanted to protect the angels from the city mob. he people of Sodom, having recently been under attack by foreigners, might have been worried that the angels were really military spies. Alternately, the mob might have wanted to humiliate the strangers with homosexual rape which is as abhorrent as heterosexual rape.

Some comments on this passage by liberal Christian pastors and academics: ₂

	K. Stendahl: "It's a folk story. It even has a little black humor, in the fact that he [Lot] is so anxious to protect his guests that he's willing to sacrifice his daughters. To make a biblical ethics story out of it is not very wise."
	D. Bartlett: "Many of the Bible's stories don't mean what they seem on their face. Many mainstream scholars say it [the Genesis passage] is about hospitality and how to deal with the messengers of God. If it does refer to homosexual behavior, it's homosexual rape. They don't just want to lie down with them voluntarily; they want to rape the angels."
	R Kimelman: "In the Mideast then, once a man has entered into your home, your responsibility to his protection is your primary moral obligation, even if it's at the expense of your own daughters. The Bible is recording a story; it is not mandating behavior."
	J.K. Nelson: "If you read it literally, in its English translation, without considering its context, one could say the Bible condemns homosexual activities. When we look at the Bible and try to draw moral rules for living, but we take it out of the context of the time when they were written, we do them a great injustice."

References:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. Sorry, the citation for this quote has been lost.
2. Fred Tasker, "What does the Bible say about homosexuality?", Philadelphia Inquirer, 1997-JUL-13. The article was based on an earlier survey of religions opinion of 6 theologians and religious leaders covering the range from conservative to liberal thought:

   	David Bartlett, professor at Yale Divinity School
   	Rev. Timothy Crater of the National Association of Evangelicals
   	Reuven Kimelman, professor of near Eastern and Judaic studies at Brandeis University.
   	R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Seminary
   	The Rev. Jill Nelson, pastor of the Sunshine Cathedral Metropolitan Community Church
   	Krister Stendahl, ex-dean of Harvard Divinity School.

3. Jack T. Chick, "Birds and the Bees," (2004), at: http://www.chick.com/

Copyright © 1996 to 2009 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update and review: 2009-JAN-27
Author: B.A. Robinson.

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