According to the Old Testament, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were in union with the cities of Admah, Sheboim and Bela (Zoar). These five cities, also known as the "cities of the plain", were located on the Jordan Plain in the southern region of the land of Canaan. Some researchers believe that this place was located north of the modern Dead Sea, others believe that it was to the south.
Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by divine judgment, as were neighboring Admah and Shevoim. Zoar (Bela) was the only city that escaped the wrath of God, since Lot hid in it. In Abrahamic religions, the expression Sodom and Gomorrah- synonymous with unrepentant sins, fall and divine retribution for sins.
The etymology of the names Sodom and Gomorrah is unclear. Probably the name Sodom came from early Semitic languages, and is related to the root sadama with the meaning “accelerate”, “strengthen”, “strengthen”. The name Gomorrah may be based on the root ghmr, which means "deep".
The biblical account of the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah is recorded in chapters 18 and 19. The Lord and two angels came to talk with. The Lord told Abraham that
...the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sin is very heavy.
Abraham begged the Lord to spare Sodom and Gomorrah because Abraham's nephew and his family lived in Sodom. The Lord promised to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if there were at least ten righteous people there. However, as it turned out, the only righteous person in Sodom and Gomorrah was Lot.
Chapter 19 of Genesis tells of two angels masquerading as humans visiting Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham's nephew Lot was sitting at the gates of Sodom. He bowed to the travelers to the ground and invited them into the house. Soon the inhabitants of Sodom surrounded Lot's house and demanded that the travelers be given to them. Lot asked them not to do evil and was ready to give his daughters to the crowd to be torn to pieces. The angels struck the crowd with blindness and ordered Lot to take his family and leave the city. The angels took Lot out of the city and told him to escape to the mountain.
And the Lord rained down upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven,
and he overthrew these cities, and all this countryside, and all the inhabitants of these cities, and [all] the growth of the earth.
The Lord punished Sodom and Gomorrah, but for what sins? There are several versions.
Homosexuality. Today, the term "sodomy" is often used to refer to sexual relations between two men, whether voluntary or forced. Obviously, homosexuality was one of the sins for which God destroyed cities. The Epistle of Jude says:
Like Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, like them, they committed fornication and went after other flesh, and were subjected to the punishment of eternal fire...
The men of Sodom and Gomorrah wanted to commit homosexual violence against two angels (who were dressed as men). At the same time, the Bible does not directly indicate that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah precisely because of the sin of homosexuality.
In we find:
This was the iniquity of Sodom, your sister and her daughters: pride, satiety and idleness, and she did not support the hand of the poor and needy.
And they became proud and did abominable things before Me, and when I saw this, I rejected them.
According to these lines of the Bible, homosexuality was not the only sin due to which the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, but it was probably one of the reasons, among others, greed And inhospitality.
The greatest rift on land is called the Great Rift or the Great African Rift. This is a rupture in the earth's crust running from Syria in Asia to the cape at the tip of Africa, stretching over 5,000 kilometers. Tourists travel to the Great Rift Valley to enjoy the amazing scenery - vertical cliffs among huge valleys. Scientists believe that ordinary earthquakes could not provoke the appearance of such a huge split in the earth's crust. The cause was probably a meteorite fall.
The formation of the Great Rift is the probable cause of the death of Sodom and Gomorrah Perhaps it was this event that was reflected in the biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah, when the Lord rained brimstone and fire from heaven. The next morning Abraham looked toward the city on the plain and saw smoke rising from the place where the cities had been, like smoke from a furnace. However, it was this smoke that led researchers to another point of view, to explain which we need to clarify the location of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The only indication of the location of Sodom and Gomorrah is given in the Bible:
They went to war against Berah king of Sodom, against Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemever king of Zeboim, and against the king Bela, which is Zoar.
All these united in the valley of Siddim, where is now the Salt Sea. (Book of Genesis, chapter 14)
Early studies regarding the location of these two cities remained inconclusive. The scientist F. Albright concluded that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were swallowed up by the Dead Sea, which rose much above its natural level. This theory was supported by Ralph E. Barney, who examined fossils in the southern Dead Sea basin.
However, researchers soon discovered near the Dead Sea the ruins of the great fortress Babe dh-Dhra, built of stone and towering over the ravines of Wadi Karak. Seven more buildings were soon found east of the first fortress. From the remains of the buildings it was clear that the place had been destroyed by fire. Researchers claim that the Babe dh-Dhra fortress was located in Sodom. Annual festivals were held here, attended by residents of the five towns of the Sidim Plain.
A place nearby called Numeira considered Gomorrah. Both places were simultaneously destroyed by fire, and, as researchers testify, the fire started from above - from the roofs of the buildings. The only possible explanation for this unique discovery in biblical archeology is that burning debris fell onto the buildings from above. But how could this happen? There is ample evidence of underground deposits of natural bitumen, similar to asphalt, in the region south of the Dead Sea. This material usually contains a high percentage of sulfur. Geologist Frederick Clapp says the earthquake may have caused bitumen deposits to come out of the ground through fault lines. The bitumen could fall to the ground like a burning flaming mass. The cities found south of the Dead Sea are located right on the fault line. The thick smoke that Abraham saw confirms this version, because thick smoke is characteristic of the combustion of petroleum products, which include bitumen.
Ah, the amazing Middle Ages, the era of endless feasts, sighs in the moonlight and the nobility of knights. But was there anyone to admire their nobility at the moment when the plague struck Europe? And what do we know about this period? HistoryTime offers you a glimpse into the Middle Ages through the mask of a plague doctor.
The virus has repeatedly attacked humanity, but it was its advent in the Middle Ages that became the most destructive in history. The plague began its march across Europe in 1347 and for three centuries (!) raged throughout the world, taking with it millions of lives. It is estimated that the Black Death, as it was called because of the invasion of black rats, reduced humanity by 75 million people.
Many scientists believe that the infection began to spread in the warm countries of southern Asia. The hot sun caused meat and vegetables to instantly rot and they were immediately disposed of. Rats and dogs began to rummage through the garbage in search of food. Instant spread was also ensured by the terrible unsanitary conditions that reigned among the lower class and sailors. The latter transported the infection from continent to continent.
The doctors to whom the first cases turned to immediately recorded the following symptoms:
The man's eyes began to shine unnaturally. Breathing became rapid and whistling. Severe pain appeared in the neck and under the armpits. Then the face became very pale, the glands on the neck and under the armpits swelled. They turned into inflamed ulcers. They were cut, and a thick purulent mass with ichor flowed out. Spots appeared on the stomach and legs. The abscesses swelled more and more. People rotted alive and died amid the terrible stench.
In the first six months, the plague wiped out half the population of Italian Florence. The sick died right on the streets, and no one cleaned up their bodies, everyone was afraid of getting infected. The corpses rotted under the scorching southern sun and filled the air with an unbearable stench. Plague healers or, as they were also called, plague doctors, were required to wear a special suit that at least slightly protected them from the deadly infection. It is interesting that it was developed only in 1619; before that, doctors were in the same unenviable position as their patients.
A floor-length leather cloak was necessarily oiled or waxed so that the plague bacillus could not penetrate through the clothing. The “bird” mask with a beak, which is now the main souvenir of any tourist in Venice, then served a completely non-decorative function. The “eyes” of the mask were glassed over, and the beak was filled with strong-smelling herbs to overcome the stench of corpse rot.
By the way, there is a funny fact according to which medieval doctors treated like with like. The plague is no exception. The would-be doctors believed that the “Black Death” was spreading due to the stench, and therefore advised the sick to release their, sorry, natural gases into a jar, as if collecting an unpleasant odor, and inhale the “aroma” to protect themselves from infection.
The Church perceived the invasion of the plague as punishment for the sins of mankind. Every day a crowd of especially strong believers gathered in the main square of the city and prayed en masse to the Lord. Others put on rags and walked barefoot, often engaging in self-flagellation, if only the Almighty would forgive them their sins and protect them from the terrible pestilence. Of course, this didn't help.
But people still continued to look for those to blame. For example, at first there was a rumor that the plague was caused by the weak and wretched. Out of hopelessness, the people seized on this idea and began to expel the sick and homeless from the cities, and sometimes even killed. This did not reduce the rampage of the plague. Then they blamed the Jews. The people began to burn their houses, many Jews were burned alive. When the pogroms stopped, the Black Death epidemic surprisingly began to subside.
“You can’t breathe before you die,” that’s what many people thought. Realizing that there was nowhere to escape death, many indulged in debauchery and drunkenness, like the last time. But why “how”? But these outrages only intensified the spread of the infection.
Someone came up with the idea that you can only get rid of the plague if you pass it on to someone else. Crowds of people began to deliberately paw each other, trying to breathe in their faces as much as possible. Many also saw this as an excellent way to take revenge on the enemy.
However, among the victims of the plague there were not only infected people. Many people simply could not bear so many deaths of their loved ones and lost their minds. In delirium, they committed suicide.
Volodya asksQuestion: “Why did such a devout man like Lot drink for more than one day, so much so that he managed to sleep with his own daughters? After all, in essence of the whole scripture, such a person, already strengthened in faith, could not allow himself to do this!”
Lot's story contains many lessons, but in connection with your question, we will focus on just two.
One of these lessons is that the righteous shall live by faith, and not by the works of his righteousness. A righteous person is not one who does everything absolutely right, but one who believes God and walks with God according to the light revealed to him. God saves a person not for the works of righteousness that he does for the glory of God, but for FAITH in His word.
Among the depraved inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot was the only person who somehow still remembered the True God, and therefore his actions, which became a continuation of his faith, turned out to be correct.
Lot was the only person in the city who invited strangers to his home, thereby inviting salvation to his home.
Lot was the only one of all his relatives who believed the Word of God and therefore was saved.
Do you see? Lot was saved not because he was completely righteous, but because he believed the Word of God, which in his case was: “Who else do you have here? son-in-law, your sons, or your daughters, and whoever you have in the city, bring everyone out of this place, for we will destroy this place, because the cry of its inhabitants to the Lord is great, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” (). It was not because of works of righteousness that Lot was led out of the city that was destined for destruction, but because of his faith in the Word of God.
It is precisely because of his faith that Scripture calls Lot righteous. By the way, pay attention to the fact that after Scripture called Abraham righteous, he fell several times, re-read the story of David, and you will definitely see that this righteous man of God also fell more than once, and not only them... Of course, this does not mean that God approved of their failures, their unrighteous thoughts and wrong behavior, God will never approve of sin. However, God loves man and, knowing his weak, vile nature, saves a person not because of his (her) righteousness, but simply because a person believes His word and desires the fulfillment of His word in his life.
Another lesson we see in the story of Lot is that we should not be deceived: bad communities really corrupt good morals (). When Lot separated from Abram to live in a fertile and beautiful land, he did not pay much attention to the fact that the people among whom he would live were very, very prone to evil.
“Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the surrounding Jordan, that it... all the way to Zoar was watered with water, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt; and Lot chose for himself all the region around the Jordan; and Lot moved towards the east. ...Lot began to live in the cities around and pitched tents as far as Sodom. The inhabitants of Sodom were evil and very sinful before the Lord» ().
Being a man who knew the True God through his uncle Abram, Lot still decided that he could preserve this knowledge while living among uncleanness and depravity. However, he was mistaken, and although in his God-believing soul he was constantly tormented by what was happening in Sodom and Gomorrah, he managed to cleave his heart so closely to the external comfort of that life that he managed to cleave to many of the sins of this “comfort.” Lot was not exactly a “man strong in faith,” as you say about him. He was a man losing his faith... and if not for the strangers who literally took him by the hand () and led them out of their cities, Lot would have died just like the rest of the inhabitants of those cities. Out of His mercy, the Lord came with punishment for the deeply corrupt cities before the last rays of Lot's faith (righteousness) were swallowed up by the darkness of worldly comfort. Had the Lord stayed for some time, Lot would have been completely assimilated into the environment to which he had clung... and there would have been no one to save. This is why the warning to end-time believers sounds so serious:
“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship has righteousness with iniquity? What does light have in common with darkness? What agreement is there between Christ and Belial? Or what is the complicity of the faithful with the infidel? What is the relationship between the temple of God and idols? For you are the temple of the living God, as God said: I will dwell in them and walk [in them]; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. And that's why come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord, and do not touch the unclean; and I will receive you. And I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty” ().
“And I heard another voice from heaven saying: come out from her, My people, so that you do not share in her sins and do not suffer from her plagues; for her sins reached heaven, and God remembered her iniquities” ().
Yes, the consciousness of Lot and his daughters was perverted. Emerging from the physical destruction that befell Sodom and Gomorrah, they emerged with a hideous legacy that did not fail to reveal itself. Lot could not deny himself the joy of alcoholic intoxication, and his daughters could not deny themselves the desire to become mothers at any cost. Living in the midst of depravity and lawlessness never contributes to the growth of righteousness.
Sad story? Yes. It is also sad because the children born from this unnatural union became the fathers of nations who constantly resisted God and His saving will. The Bible is worthy of trust because it does not hide from us the truth about what we all really are, about how terribly our nature is susceptible to evil, how easily it clings to it and how difficult it is for a person who believes in the One True God to detach yourself from evil and begin to walk in the paths of good. Therefore, let us study the lessons from the lives of our forefathers so as not to repeat them in our lives.
Sincerely,
Sasha.
When Lot settled in Sodom, he intended to resolutely protect himself from lawlessness and command this to his house after him. But he was cruelly mistaken. The corrupt environment had a detrimental effect on his own faith, and the association of his children with the people of Sodom led to the emergence of common interests. We know the consequences of all this.Many people still make this mistake. When choosing a place of residence, they take into account temporary advantages rather than the moral and social atmosphere in which they will have to live. They choose a beautiful fertile place or go to some prosperous city in the hope of getting rich; but temptations surround their children, who, as often happens, make acquaintances that have the most unfavorable effect on the development of religious feelings and the formation of character.
The atmosphere of unbridled immorality, unbelief, and indifference to religious issues nullifies the influence of parents. Before the eyes of youth there is always an example of rebellion against parental and Divine authority. Many enter into intimate relations with the wicked and, therefore, cast in their lot with the enemies of God.
God desires that when choosing a place to live, we should first consider the moral and religious influences that will be experienced by our family. We may find ourselves in a critical situation, for many cannot have the environment that they would like, but if duty calls us, God will help us to remain unspotted if we will only watch and pray, relying on the grace of Christ. But we must not expose ourselves unnecessarily to such influences as may adversely affect the development of our Christian character.
If we voluntarily stay in the company of ungodly people, then we grieve God and drive the holy angels out of our homes. Those who provide their children with earthly wealth and worldly honor at the expense of eternal interests, realize later that these gains have turned out to be a terrible loss. Like Lot, many will see their children lost and themselves barely saved. Their whole life's work is lost, their life is a sad failure. If they had acted truly wisely, then although their children would have fewer earthly blessings, they would have confidence in an immortal inheritance.
The inheritance God promised His people does not exist on this earth. Abraham had no wealth in this world: “And he did not give him an inheritance on it, not even one foot” (). He possessed enormous wealth, but he used it for the glory of God and the good of his countrymen. But he did not consider this land his homeland. ( , chapter 14)
Read more on the topic “Interpretation of Scripture”:
| 21 Feb | I don’t understand what the words Deuteronomy 23:2 mean. The son of a harlot cannot enter into the congregation of the Lord? So he has no right to salvation because he cannot be baptized? (Laura) |
“...and he looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah and all the surrounding area and saw: behold, smoke rises from the earth like smoke from a furnace.”
Genesis, ch. 19
http://bibleonline.ru/bible/rus/01/19/
(Engraving by Gustave Doré “Lot’s Flight”. Lot’s wife turns into a pillar of salt).
Sodom and Gomorrah have “speaking” names, the first is translated from Hebrew as “burning”, the second as “sunk”. There is only one source that mentions them, and their ruins have not yet been discovered by archaeologists, so the very fact of the existence of these cities is questioned. But even if the cities actually existed and died, as described in the Bible, this happened before the Israeli tribes arrived on the shores of the Dead Sea. And the legend about Lot was compiled and included in the Book of Books for educational purposes, as an example of what should not be done, so as not to anger God, much later. The story of Lot, who, according to the Bible, was the nephew of Abraham, is a late insertion into the “Abrahamic cycle”, where there is no hint of the “fiery punishment” that befell the cities near the “Salt Sea”.
It should be noted that the ancient cities grew rich and developed thanks to trade - commodity exchange and trade routes on which they stood. And Sodom was a very rich city, as the Old Testament testifies, in the person of the prophet Ezekiel, who speaks of “satiety and idleness.”
A logical question arises here - if immoral sexual practices were common among the inhabitants of Sodom, and they mobbed every traveler who happened to be in their city by chance or on business - how did they accumulate their wealth?
“This was the iniquity of Sodom, your sister and her daughters: pride, satiety and idleness, and she did not support the hand of the poor and needy. And they became proud and did abominable things before Me, and when I saw this, I rejected them.” (Ezek. 16:49-50)
Ezekiel, listing the sins of Sodom, puts pride in the first place, which must be understood from wealth, and further down the list. "Abominations" can be interpreted as polytheism and human sacrifice.
And there is no direct indication of deviant behavior towards guests.
Formally, Lot did not break any laws. On the contrary, according to the law of hospitality, he sheltered travelers in his house. However, this seemingly ordinary event excited the entire city, and “...the city dwellers, the Sodomites, from young to old, all the people from all parts of the city, surrounded the house.”
It should be noted that with the requirement to show the guests, - “Where are the people who came to you for the night? bring them out to us; we will know them", - all residents of the city spoke out, and not just its male population.
For your information, the verb yāda‘ (“to know,” “to know”), which occurs 950 times in the Old Testament, is used in the sexual aspect in less than 10 cases. The most famous example: " Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived..." (Gen. 4:1). The latter also include the words of Lot addressed to the inhabitants of Sodom (Gen. 19:8): “...here I have two daughters who have not known a husband; I’d rather bring them out to you, do with them as you please...” His proposal, from a theological point of view, cannot be understood literally - they say, take it, use it - for, in this way, the righteousness of Lot is emphasized, his willingness to sacrifice his daughters - to sacrifice their innocence (as Abraham was ready to sacrifice an innocent child to God Isaac), for the sake of saving the guests. After all, by inviting travelers into his home, according to the law of hospitality, he automatically guaranteed them protection. And Lot notes this circumstance: “...my brothers, do not do evil... just do not do anything to these people, since they have come under the roof of my house...”
This is a play on words.
Everything falls into place if we look at the story of Lot in the context of the confrontation between the Canaanite cities, which is told in the 14th chapter of Genesis.
“They went to war against Berah king of Sodom, against Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemever king of Zeboim, and against the king Bela, which is Zoar...” (Gen. 14:2)
And so, the war, which lasted a decade and a half, had just ended when some strangers appeared in the city, in the house of Lot, a foreigner in relation to the inhabitants of Sodom. This circumstance could not but interest the townspeople; it got to the point that they tried to break down the door. What if the guests are spies? “We want to know who these people are! Are they enemy spies? This is exactly how we must understand the demand of the Sodomites.
In addition to Sodom, 3 more cities of the biblical Canaanite five-city perished. “...sulfur and salt, a conflagration - the whole earth; it is not sown or brought forth, nor does any grass come up from it, as after the destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and in His wrath” (Deut. 29:23). Only Zoar survived, where Lot took refuge.
In the Old Testament, “Sodom and Gomorrah” are a symbol of all terrible sins, the most serious of which is apostasy. Thus, the prophet Jeremiah says: “But I see something terrible in the prophets of Jerusalem: they commit adultery and walk in lies, supporting the hands of evildoers so that no one turns from their wickedness; They are all before Me as Sodom, and its inhabitants as Gomorrah” (23:24). Isaiah prophesies fiery punishment (1:1-9): “Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth, for the Lord says: I raised and raised up sons, and they rebelled against Me. 3 The ox knows his owner, and the donkey his master's manger; but Israel does not know [Me], My people do not understand... 9 If the Lord of hosts had not left us a small remnant, we would have been like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.”
And not a word about sodomy.
The accusation of sodomy, as the main and only sin, was first brought forward in the Epistle of Jude, more than twelve hundred years after the hypothetical events: “ Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, like them, committed fornication and went after other flesh, were subjected to the punishment of eternal fire...” (1:7)
.
P.S. But Lot’s daughters still fell into sin, but of a different kind - incest. See Gen. 19:30-38
(Hendrik Goltzius, Lot and his daughters, 1616)
For what? Well, then, it was necessary to somehow explain the appearance of the Ammonites and Moabites, enemies of Israel, who worshiped all sorts of “abominations.”
“8 I heard the reproach of Moab and the curses of the children of Ammon, how they mocked My people and magnified themselves in their borders.
9 Therefore I live! says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Moab will be like Sodom, and the children of Ammon will be like Gomorrah, a land of nettles, a salt pit, a wilderness forever; the remnant of my people will take them as a spoil, and the survivors of my people will receive them as an inheritance.
10 This is because of their arrogance, because they mocked and arrogated themselves over the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The Lord will be terrible to them, for He will destroy all the gods of the earth, and He will be worshiped, every one from his place, by all the islands of the nations” (Zeph. 2:9).
We often come across the expression “Sodom and Gomorrah”, but few people know about its meaning and origin. In fact, these are the two cities that the biblical tale tells about. According to history, they burned down because of the sins of the people who lived there. What sins are we talking about? Did these cities really exist? We will try to answer these and many other questions in this article. So, Sodom and Gomorrah: the meaning of legend and history..
Sodom and Gomorrah was first mentioned as the southeastern tip of Canaan, located east of Gaza, while the land here is called the eastern bank. Lot, Abraham's nephew, came here. The Bible even says that Jerusalem borders Sodom on the south and southeast sides. The inhabitants of Sodom were called Philistines or Hanakim in the Jewish manner, and the king of the city was a monarch named Ber.
According to the Bible, the war that took place between the army of Chedorlaomer and the army of Sodom, which was subsequently defeated, also dates back to the life of Abraham, and Abraham’s nephew Lot was captured by enemies. The biblical stories say that Sodom was a rich and developed city, but the Lord God decided to punish the inhabitants because they were extremely sinful and evil, possessing many vices that righteous people would not accept. Tradition tells that God rained brimstone and fire on these cities in order to destroy both the lands themselves and their inhabitants for their misdeeds. In addition, according to the Bible, Adma and Sevoim were also destroyed, although to date there is no evidence that they actually existed. After the fire, the land of Sodom was inhabited by the descendants of Lot, the only ones who managed to escape the fire, and it became known as Moab.
Since Sodom and Gomorrah are widely known even to non-religious people, many attempts have been made to find out more about their location and finally find evidence that they existed. So, not far from the Dead Sea, on its southwestern shore, there are mountains that consist mainly of rock salt and are called Sodomite. It would seem that this should be somehow connected with the biblical city, but in reality there is no reliable data on why this particular name was chosen.
Interest in the biblical tale is so widespread that between 1965 and 1979, five attempts were made to find the city that perished due to the sins of its inhabitants, but they were unsuccessful. The history of Sodom and Gomorrah did not leave Russian scientists indifferent, who, together with Jordanians, tried to discover what remained of the ancient city.
In 2000, British scientist Michael Sanders became the leader of an archaeological expedition aimed at finding destroyed cities. Their work was based on images obtained from the American space shuttle. According to these photographs, the city could be located northeast of the Dead Sea, contrary to all data from the Bible. Scientists believed that they had managed to find the most accurate location of Sodom, the ruins of which, in their opinion, are located at the bottom of the Dead Sea.
Some scholars also believe that the ancient ruins located at Tell el-Hammam in Jordan may be the biblical city of sinners. Therefore, it was decided to undertake research in this area in order to confirm or refute the hypothesis. Excavations led by American scientist Stephen Collins, who relied on data from the book of Genesis, strengthen the assumption that Sodom was located in the southern region of the Jordan Valley, which is surrounded on all sides by depressions.
This expression is interpreted quite widely, but most often it denotes a place of debauchery in which the moral principles of society are neglected. It also happens that this expression is used to describe incredible chaos. From the names of the city of Sodom, the term “sodomy” appeared in the Russian language, most often denoting sexual relations between people of the same sex, that is, sodomy. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are most often remembered by people precisely in connection with this.
The meaning of a phraseological unit can also imply any non-traditional sexual contacts that are considered immoral in modern society. Such acts include oral, anal sex or any perversion. The Lord, according to legend, having destroyed the cities, punished sinners in order to show the whole world what awaits those who resort to unconventional sexual practices and disobey him.
According to the text of the Bible, city residents were punished not only for sexual debauchery, but also for other sins, including selfishness, idleness, pride and others, but homosexuality was still recognized as the main one. Why exactly this sin is recognized as the most terrible is not known for certain, but in the Bible it is called an “abomination” before the Lord, and the legend calls on people “not to lie with a man as with a woman.”
Oddly enough, among such an ancient people as the Philistines, homosexuality was a generally accepted phenomenon, and no one condemned it. This probably happened because their ancestors were pagan tribes and peoples who lived in Canaan, far from According to legend, the Lord, fearing that the Jewish people could also turn to such a sinful way of life, sent them to and therefore commanded them to destroy the cities, so that their inhabitants do not spread around the globe. There are even lines in Genesis that say that corruption had become so widespread in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah that it crossed all boundaries, which is why they had to be destroyed.
Like many other myths and legends, the story of two cities of sinners was embodied in art. This biblical story is also reflected in the work of the great Russian writer Anna Andreevna Akhmatova, who wrote the poem “Lot’s Wife.” In 1962, a film was even made, which, in fact, is a rather loose interpretation of the biblical tale about the city of the fallen. Thus, in his famous cycle “In Search of Lost Time” there is a novel of the same name, which tells about the morally degraded bourgeoisie - “Sodom and Gomorrah”.
Pictures depicting debauchery and other sins also often remind us of the inhabitants of these cities, which the Lord himself decided to burn. There are at least a dozen paintings depicting Abraham's nephew, Lot, and his daughters, with whom, according to legend, he had sexual relations. Oddly enough, according to the legend, the initiators of incest were the daughters themselves, left without husbands who wanted to continue the family line.
The oldest surviving painting is a work by Albrecht Dürer, which is called “Lot’s Flight”. Here is an old man, accompanied by two daughters, and his wife can be seen in the distance, and everything looks pretty decent. However, in later works by masters of various eras and movements one can find a radically different interpretation. For example, the work of Simon Vouet entitled “Lot and His Daughters” shows us an already elderly man playing with his half-naked daughters. Similar paintings are also found in such painters as Hendrik Goltzius, Francesco Furini, Lucas Cranach, Domenico Maroli and a number of others.
According to the Book of Genesis, Sodom and Gomorrah are cities that the Lord punished for disobedience and non-compliance with everyday laws. How is the legend interpreted now? What do scientists think about the reasons for the death of these sinful cities? Now some scientists who are in one way or another connected with religion believe that in reality our modern world is mired in vice and debauchery, but we are so accustomed to it that we no longer notice it. They believe that modern people have become so accustomed to what is disgusting to the Lord that all these perversions and vices have become habitual. They believe that we are actually on the path to destruction, accepting everything that happens around us. For example, one of the Russian scientists, Doctor of Technical Sciences V. Plykin, writes in his book that, not knowing the laws of the Universe, modern people have created their own laws, which, in fact, are artificial and, not being a righteous life, lead society to death .
The same scientist believes that scientific and technological progress also has a negative impact on the moral foundations of humanity, which only aggravates everything and brings people closer to the world of vice. What are Sodom and Gomorrah in the modern world? Some also believe that because people only care about getting the most out of life without caring about the consequences, humanity is producing negative energy. To believe or not in this approach is, of course, everyone’s business. Maybe it’s not worth transferring ancient laws to modern society.
The biblical story of the cities of sinners is known throughout the world. Vices such as sodomy, idleness, pride, and selfishness caused the death of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The legend tells of the Philistine people, who were so mired in sin that they became unworthy to walk on the earth of the Lord God.
Now, so many centuries after the events described, it is impossible to say whether these cities actually existed, and whether they were burned “by a rain of brimstone and fire” for the misdeeds of their inhabitants. A huge number of attempts have been made to find the remains of these settlements, but in reality none of them have been successful.
According to legend, when two angels came to the city to find at least ten righteous people, they saw only vice and debauchery there. And then the Lord, angry, decided to burn the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. That this happened exactly like this is written in the book of Genesis, but the legend remains a legend, and no archaeological evidence has been found that could prove it. However, whether this actually happened or whether this, like many other ancient legends, is an absolute fiction, is not so important. The most important thing here is to be able to learn a lesson from this story so that modern people do not wallow in the same vice and debauchery and are not punished in the same way as the ancient Philistines, who caused the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah - two cities overflowing with sinners.
