Sodom and Gomorrah in Historical Context
Causes and Motivations for the Destruction of the Five Cities
2,500 years ago, the ancient city of Sodom was destroyed during the Early Bronze Age by a natural catastrophe that it often equated with the Genesis 19 story in the Old Testament referring to “fire and brimstone” falling from the sky. Along with the other chief “Cities of the Plain,” – Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (or Zoar), Sodom and the entire valley was utterly destroyed. The story of Sodom’s destruction has produced multiple interpretations regarding God’s motives, but perhaps more fascinating is the research that may provide clues as to the historicity of the destruction.
The Old Testament Account and the Question of Motive
According to the first century Jewish historian Josephus, the Sodomites “grew proud on account of their riches and great wealth: they became unjust towards men and impious toward God…” Sodom was the home of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. The Old Testament account (Genesis 19) tells of Jehovah’s plan to destroy the city, and presumably all of the five cities in the plain, because of their wickedness. Sending angels to Sodom, God’s estimations were legitimized when several men of Sodom demanded that Lot, their host, turn over the angels so that they “may know them.”
Although scholars like the late John Boswell take pains to dispute the interpretations associated with homosexual practices, opting for the explanation centered on Middle East traditions of hospitality, others favor the approach based on sexual connections. W. Ewing, in the International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, writes that “the sin of sodomy (referring directly to Sodom) was an offense against nature and frequently associated with idolatrous practices.”
Ewing and others highlight the Hebrew term “kadhesh” as referring to male temple prostitutes. This term, and its later derivations, corroborate the notion of temple prostitution and are even equated with terms used by Paul in Romans 1, so often misused to apply to homosexuality in general. Regardless, Josephus concludes that God was displeased “and determined to punish them for their pride.”
Destruction of the Five Cities
Josephus speaks of a “thunderbolt” cast by God onto the cities. After their successful escape, Lot’s two daughters, according to the story, believed that all of mankind had come to an end. The conflagration must have been tremendous. So great was the devastation and so long term that “no civilization of any kind” would reemerge on the plain. According to William Albright, all pottery discovered in the region dates from the “first Semitic period” (Annual of American School of Oriental Research, VI). The valley itself is a “burnout region of oil and asphalt.”
Writing in Saudi Aramco World, Anne Counsell, investigating the Dead Sea, comments on “floating asphalt” that is commonly found only after a storm. She references Genesis 14:2-3 in which soldiers fleeing from a lost battle fell into bitumen pits. Could the destruction of Sodom be connected to the presence of large amounts of asphalt and sulphur? According to the story as well as archaeological evidence, the entire valley was afire.
In the July/August issue 2008 of Archaeology, Mark Hempsell’s discovery of an Assyrian cuneiform tablet that may allude to a comet corresponding to the approximate date of the destruction of Sodom may open doors to further inquiry. Another hypothesis advanced by two geologists in 1996 in the Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology suggests a tidal wave triggered by a large earthquake. This, however, fails to account for the so-called “fire and brimstone” raining from the sky.
The fact that the region is still barren – now for 2500 years, suggests a cataclysm that has been immortalized in myth and legend. What caused the destruction of the five cities may remain as one of the ancient world’s secrets.
Sources:
John Boswell, Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality (The University of Chicago Press, 1980).
Anne Counsell, “The Dead Sea Crystals,” Saudi Aramco World Vol. 32, No. 3, May/June 1986, 14-21.
The Works of Flavius Josephus, William Whiston, Trans. (Grand Rapids: Associated Publishers and Authors, Inc.).
C.E. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. I The Pentateuch, (Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co).
The International Standard Bible Enclyclopaedia, Vol. I & V, James Orr, General Editor (WM. B. Eerdman’s, 1939).
Dead Sea 1989
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