Who were Sodom and Gomorrah?

Answer 1

What did God do to the Sodomites?

I'm not sure, but it couldn't have been any worse than what they did to each other.

Answer 2

According to the Book of Genesis, Sodom (Hebrew: סְדוֹם, Standard Sədom Tiberian Səḏôm, Greek Σόδομα) and Gomorrah (Hebrew: עֲמוֹרָה, Standard ʿAmora Tiberian Ġəmôrāh, ʿĂmôrāh, Greek Γόμορρα) were two cities destroyed by God for their sins.

For the sins of their inhabitants Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim were destroyed by "brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven" (Genesis 19:24-25). Since then, their names are synonymous with impenitent sin, and their fall with a proverbial manifestation of God's wrath (Jude 1:7).

The story of Sodom has given rise to words in several languages, including English: the word "sodomy", meaning acts (stigmatized as "unnatural vice") such as homosexuality and anal sex, and the word "sodomite", meaning one who practices such acts. However, the name Sodom is derived from a Hebrew word meaning "burnt", and Gomorrah from a word meaning "buried", which are references to their destruction.

The historical existence of Sodom and Gomorrah is still in dispute by archaeologists, with some believing they never existed, some believing they are now under the Dead Sea, and others claiming that they have been found (under other names) in the region to the southeast of the Dead Sea. Their exact location is unknown, however the Bible indicates they were located near the Dead Sea (Genesis 14:1-3, Genesis 14:8-10, Deuteronomy 34:3). Strabo states that locals living near Moasada (probably referring to Masada) say that "there were once thirteen inhabited cities in that region of which Sodom was the metropolis". There is a small "mountain", mainly composed of salt, next to the Dead Sea, called in Arabic Jabal (Mount) Usdum, which is similar to the Arabic for Sodom, Sadūm.

Archibald Sayce translated an Akkadian poem describing cities that were destroyed in a rain of fire, written from the view of a person who escaped the destruction, however the names of the cities are not given. This rain of fire may have been a combination of meteorites and earth quakes along the fault line running into the dead sea. This could explain the current salty state of the sea, which prohibits plant growth in what was supposedly a once fertile region.

Some modern biblical scholars argue that a sin was attached to the story of Sodom to justify the destruction of the cities, which may be based on an authentic account of a natural cataclysm. Geologists have confirmed that no volcanic activity occurred within the last 4000 years, but it is possible that the towns were destroyed by an earthquake in the region, especially if the towns lie along a major fault, the Jordan Rift Valley, the northernmost extension of the Great Rift Valley of the Red Sea and East Africa. It is also possible that the sin of the inhabitants appearing in the original text was edited out and lost.

Answer 3

Sodom and Gomorrah were twin cities of great sin. Read Genesis 19: 24-25. It explains that they were cities that had to be destroyed.

Answer 4

Sodom and Gomorrah were cities destroyed by fire and brimstone in the old testament as punishment for the people in them living quite sinfully. Lot and his family were allowed to escape the horror, but Lot's wife looked back upon the city and she turned into a pillar of salt.

Answer 5

I started reading the bible and it is really interesting get a good english version the king James is hard to just read.
Then start in Genesis. I was amazed to find in those few pages you can read in one night all the stuff people took for grannet you knew. Genesis the first book of the bible is divided into chapters and 18th chapter starts the story about angels meeting with Abraham and how concerned the angels was with what people are doing. Those cities and some others which lot saved by being so stupid. anyway, it was a great story read it. got a lot of sex and violence in there but most books do that are history.

Answer 6

They way I interpret the scriptures S&G weren't wiped out simply because they practiced homosexuality. Wouldn't you think that being raving rapists might have had something to do with it? I mean, they wanted to "know" (check the translation on this word) the men who came to visit. Lot offered to have his virgin daughters (later impregnated by Lot himself) raped instead. If that whole idea is completely glossed over in the scriptures then why would homosexuality be seen as the reason for the city's destruction?

I would think that the "sins" of Sodom were pride and inhospitality, not necessarily homosexual activity.

Read more about it in the link.

Answer 7

They were towns, not people. They were infamous for being so steeped in debauchery and sexual sin that God even told Lot that He'd spare the cities if he could find a small number of faithful believers living there. Since Lot couldn't find any, God told him to pack his family up, get out and not look back.

Answer 8

Two Biblical cities one being home to Lot nephew of Abraham. When the inhabitants found that Lot was housing strangers, who were Angels sent by the Lord to warn Lot of the impending doom, they wanted to have sexual relations with them. Lot offered his daughters who were virgins, but they still demanded the strangers. The Lord cast the entire town with a plague of blindness and they escaped before God could destroy them.

Answer 9

Cities near the Jordan Valley.

See Genesis 19.

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www.biblegateway.com

Answer 10

They were towns that god destroyed. This was in the Old Testament.

The Cliffs Notes Version goes like this: Two evil towns where no good men lived. God sent two angels to warn the one godly family that was there (Lot's family). The evil townsmen surrounded Lots house and demanded he send the angels out so they could rape them. Lot said "No, but you can have my daughters for raping." The townsmen passed on that. Lot then left town, and then god wiped out the two towns. But his wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.

Answer 11

They aren't people, there places. The were to ancient cities reported to be located near the dead sea. Supposedly they and there residents we destroyed by god for the peoples depraved behavior.