Bible Dictionaries
Sodom and Gomorrah

Holman Bible Dictionary

(ssah' dahm, gah mohr' rah) Place names of uncertain meaning. Two cities in Palestine at the time of Abraham. Sodom and Gomorrah were among the five “cities of the valley” (Genesis 13:12; Genesis 19:29; KJV, “plain”) of Abraham's time. Exact locations are unknown, but they were probably situated in the Valley of Siddim (Genesis 14:3 ,Genesis 14:3,14:8 ,Genesis 14:8,14:10-11 ) near the Dead Sea, perhaps the area now covered by the Sea's shallow southern end. Lot moved to this area, eventually settling in Sodom (Genesis 13:10-12; Genesis 14:12; Genesis 19:1 ).

Sodom and Gomorrah were renowned for their wickedness (Genesis 18:20 ). Despite Abraham's successful plea (Genesis 18:22-32 ) not even ten righteous men could be found in Sodom, and the cities were judged by the Lord, then destroyed by “brimstone and fire” (Genesis 19:24; NIV, “burning sulfur”).

The unnatural lusts of the men of Sodom (Genesis 19:4-8; Jude 1:7 ) have given us the modern term sodomy, but the city was guilty of a full spectrum of sins including pride, oppression of the poor, haughtiness, and “abominable things” (Ezekiel 16:49-50 ). Together, Sodom and Gomorrah provided a point of comparison for the sinfulness of Israel and other nations (Deuteronomy 32:32; Isaiah 1:10; Jeremiah 23:14 ). The memory of their destruction provided a picture of God's judgment (Isaiah 13:19; Jeremiah 49:18; Matthew 10:14-15; Matthew 11:23-24 ) and made them an example to be avoided (Deuteronomy 29:23-25; 2 Peter 2:6 ).

Daniel C. Browning, Jr.