[79], Jon D. Levenson views a rabbinic tradition described in the Mishnah as postulating that the sin of Sodom was a violation of conventional hospitality in addition to homosexual conduct, describing Sodom's lack of generosity with the saying, "What is mine is mine; what is yours is yours" (m. Avot 5.10). Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. This city is always mentioned next after Sodom, both of which were types of impiety and wickedness ( Genesis 18:20 ; Romans 9:29 ). She met her fate in the disaster, and only Lot and his family were saved during the destruction of their city,[117] with the understanding that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are identified in Genesis, but "the location remains unnamed in the Qur'an"[118]. So will I do to those who have not listened to me, says the Lord Almighty.". Brilliantly crafted, beautifully written, these are Samuel Delany's award-winning stories, like no other before or since. 9297, Lv.18:22; 2627,29,30; 20:13; Dt. Sodom and Gomorrah, notoriously sinful cities in the biblical book of Genesis, destroyed by sulfur and fire because of their wickedness (Genesis 19:24). Denominative verb ('amar) means to bind in sheaves. The verses cited by Michaelson include Jeremiah 23:14,[82] where the sins of Jerusalem are compared to Sodom and are listed as adultery, lying, and strengthening the hands of evildoers; Amos 4:111 (oppressing the poor and crushing the needy);[83] and Ezekiel 16:4950,[84] which defines the sins of Sodom as "pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 2 Peter 2:410[40] says that just as God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and saved Lot, he will deliver godly people from temptations and punish the wicked on Judgement Day. Their story parallels the Genesis flood narrative in its theme of God's anger provoked by man's sin (see Genesis 19:1-28). What Does Colossians 2:6-7 Teach Us about Our Faith Walk? 35,000 worksheets, games,and lesson plans, Marketplace for millions ofeducator-created resources, Spanish-English dictionary,translator, and learning. Together with Sodom, the cities became infamous because of the way in which they were destroyed. The geographical position of these cities is discussed under SODOM. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. Sodom and Gomorrah (/sdmmr/) were two legendary biblical cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Many who interpret the stories in a non-sexual context contend that as the word for "strange" is akin to "another", "other", "altered" or even "next", the meaning is unclear, and if the condemnation of Sodom was the result of sexual activities perceived to be perverse, then it is likely that it was because women sought to commit fornication with "other than human" angels,[98] perhaps referring to Genesis 6:14[99] or the apocryphal Book of Enoch. Bibliography Information Orr, James, M.A., D.D. In 3 Maccabees 2:5,[30] the high priest Simon says that God "consumed with fire and sulfur the men of Sodom who acted arrogantly, who were notorious for their vices; and you made them an example to those who should come afterward". ScienceQuantum Mechanics and Chaos TheoryThe Passion of the Christ and the Theory of EverythingStars and fractals: the many hearts of wisdomHow the Bible relates to Homer like Ape to DogHumanitiesScience, religion and data retentionHow circumcision created the modern worldThe Cosmology of ConsciousnessThe Metaverse and the Angel of the AbyssOnline e-books (free, no tricks) Weird Patterns in History and Movies Tolkien, the Bible and Serbia, BibleBiblical namesInterlinear New TestamentLots and lots of topical articlesHebrew dictionaryGreek dictionaryMiscellaneousThe gospel of impurityThe many Hebrew roots of the Greek languageEndosymbiotic eukaryosynthesisWhy you want to study the Bible, HousekeepingCookies, Copyright & ContactPlease consider helping us financially:Through PatreonVia Paypal, Excerpted from: Abarim Publications' Biblical Dictionary, (c) Abarim Publications first published here on 2006-04-19; moved to present location on 2008-05-18; last updated on 2023-04-30, Discover the meanings of thousands of Biblical names in. Related: See what UK historian Andrew Roberts said about Gomorrah on our Buzz Board. [53][54], 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 but the names of the cities are not given. In the Bible's Old Testament, Gomorrah is one of two cities so wicked that God destroyed it with fire. Damian. A number of contemporary scholars dispute this interpretation in light of Ezekiel 16:4950[46] ("This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were located in a fertile valley, south of the Dead Sea, which in modern times is . They did this by providing the foreigners a standard-sized bed and if they saw that the foreigners were too short for the beds, they would forcibly stretch their limbs but if the foreigners were too tall, they would cut off their legs (the Greek myth of Procrustes tells a similar story). Dictionary.com Unabridged [94] Instead, those who hold to this interpretation see the demand to know as demanding the right to interrogate the strangers.[95]. The Book of Genesis contains some of the most dramatic stories ever told. An ancient city of Palestine near Sodom, possibly covered by the waters of the Dead Sea. In 1993 Nancy Lapp, from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, reported that Feifa had no Bronze Age occupation and merely an Early Bronze Age cemetery with Iron Age walls. [77] Her cries went to the heavens. See ARABAH; CITIES OF THE PLAIN; DEAD SEA. 1 May 2023. Gomorrah definition: one of two ancient cities near the Dead Sea, the other being Sodom , that were destroyed. [48][49][50] Some Islamic societies incorporate punishments associated with Sodom and Gomorrah into sharia. Accessed 1 May. [62][63][64], In 1976, Giovanni Pettinato claimed that a cuneiform tablet that had been found in the newly discovered library at Ebla contained the names of all five of the cities of the plain (Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Bela), listed in the same order as in Genesis. Of iniquity (figuratively). Pharisee, member of a Jewish religious party that flourished in Palestine during the latter part of the Second Temple period (515 bce-70 ce). STANDS4 LLC, 2023. Nearby is Mount Sodom ( in Hebrew and in Arabic) which consists mainly of salt. This is the first book ever to bring archaeologists, scientists, and theologians together to look at the same evidence, and the most fascinating surprise in the end is how closely they all agree with one another. Her cries then went up into the heavens, the turning point that was revealed to have provoked God to enact judgement upon Sodom and Gomorrah in the first place in Genesis 18:20. Definition: Amorah, a place in Palestine. Revelation 11:78,[42] regarding the two witnesses, reads: When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that is prophetically called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.". "Homosexual rape is the way in which they violate hospitalitynot the essence of their transgression. [43][44][45] This is based upon exegesis of the biblical text interpreting divine judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah as punishment for the sin of homosexual sex. They were haughty, and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them when I saw it. He explains that the sin of Sodom was that "thy sister, Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. It cites the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the Deluge as examples of the world's end. [50], The Quran contains twelve references to "the people of Lut", the biblical Lot, the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah presumably, and their destruction by God which is associated primarily with their homosexual practices, which the Quran states they were the first creatures to commit such a deed. Reading the story of Sodom as being about homosexuality is like reading the story of an ax murderer as being about an ax. No, you will be brought down to Hades. The cities are destroyed by stones raining down. His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project. For a meaning of the name Gomorrah, Alfred Jones reads People Of Fear. Jude 1:7[41] records that both Sodom and Gomorrah "indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.". It is always the hope and wish and the wish of my fellow patriotic (ThyBlackMan.com) If God doesn't soon bring judgment upon America, He'll have to go back and apologize to Sodom and. William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 HarperCollins Luke 10:1112)[34] Jesus says: And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. [57] Strabo identifies a limestone and salt hill at the southwestern tip of the Dead Sea, and Kharbet Usdum (Hebrew: , Har Sedom or Arabic: , Jabal(u) 'ssudm) ruins nearby as the site of biblical Sodom. Post the Definition of Gomorrah to Facebook, Share the Definition of Gomorrah on Twitter, ancient city thought to be in the area now covered by the southwestern part of the Dead Sea. Alfred Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names, however, says that the name Gomorrah consists of two elements, the first one being ('am), meaning people, from the assumed root : The verb ('mm) probably expressed to be inclusive or comprehensive. Sodom and Gomorrah. Whether it was homosexuality 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, This page was last edited on 21 April 2023, at 16:49. gain access to 50+ premium resources to enhance your study of Scripture. Web. BEST VALUE in digital Bible study. According to the Bible, the city was destroyed by fire because of its wickedness. [13] Lot and his two daughters are saved, but his wife disregards the angels' warning, looks back, and is turned into a pillar of salt. The traditional view also uses the same verse claiming the term "abominable" here as a reference to Leviticus 18:22[47] which refers to homosexuality as an "abomination" before God. In Amos 4:111,[25] God tells the Israelites that although he treated them like Sodom and Gomorrah, they still did not repent. ( Genesis 19:23-29 ) One of them only, Zoar (or Bela; which was its original name), was spared at the request of Lot, in order that he might take refuge there. Occasionally particular bishops attempted to reform the situation in their own Isaiah referred to its sin and its consequent destruction twice in his first ch. Bible Meaning: Burning, scorch, burnt, volcanic (Sodom) Heap, submersion (Gomorrah) Strong's #H5467, #G4670, #H6017. [72] Another woman was similarly executed in Admah for giving a traveler, who intended to leave the town the next day, water. Sodom and Gomorrah along with the cities of Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar (Bela) constituted the five cities of the plain, and they are referenced throughout both the Old and New Testament and the Qurn. Lot offers the mob his daughters instead, but this only further enrages the mob, who are then struck blind by the angelic guests (19:111). Whether or not the violent mob surrounding Lot's house were demanding to engage in sexual violence against Lot's guests. Eliezer was reported to be a victim of such legally unjust conduct, after Sarah sent him to Sodom to report on Lot's welfare. The nonsexual view focuses on the cultural importance of hospitality, which this biblical story shares with other ancient civilizations, such as Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, where hospitality was of singular importance and strangers were under the protection of the gods. 4250; Boswell, Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality, pp. On Monday, alongside the mayor of Naples, Luigi de Magistris, Le Vele campaigners unveiled a red banner which read: "The fight has been won, goodbye.". His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project. Jeremiah 23:14,[20] 49:1718,[21] 50:3940[22] and Lamentations 4:6[23] associate Sodom and Gomorrah with adultery and lies, prophesy the fate of Edom (south of the Dead Sea), predict the fate of Babylon and use Sodom as a comparison. Gomorrah is a city in the Jordan valley and was destroyed by fire in Genesis 19 due to extreme sin. [70] Rabbinic writings affirm that the Sodomites also committed economic crimes, blasphemy, and bloodshed. When the scandal was revealed, the woman was stripped naked and covered with honey. Because of this, the judges of the two cities were referred to as Shakrai ("Liar"), Shakurai ("Awful Liar"), Zayyafi ("Forger") and Mazle Dina ("Perverter of Justice"). Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web. Chapter 12 of 1 Meqabyan, a book considered canonical in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, references "Gemorra an Sedom". https://www.definitions.net/definition/Gomorrah. In the HBO Max series of the same name, Gomorrah is not a place, but an idea. Genesis 19:24, 25. [92] For this reason, many of the most popular of the 20th century translations, including the New International Version, the New King James Version, and the New Living Translation, translate yada as "have sex with" or "know carnally" in Genesis 9:5. She stayed behind and was destroyed with whoever else was left. Reprint. "[81] Michaelson places the story of Sodom in context with other Genesis stories regarding Abraham's hospitality to strangers, and argues that when other texts in the Hebrew Bible mention Sodom, they do so without commentary on homosexuality. (eds. The first contention focuses primarily upon the meaning of the Hebrew verb Hebrew: (yada), translated as know in the King James Version: And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night?