INTRODUCTION
Why Sodom Still Matters
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah has survived for thousands of years. Few biblical stories have generated as much discussion, disagreement, or reinterpretation.
For some readers, Sodom represents sexual sin. For others, it represents injustice, poverty, violence, pride, or the abuse of strangers. Still others believe that the story has been misunderstood because modern ideas about sexuality are being placed into an ancient text.
The difficulty begins when we assume that the Bible gives us only one description of Sodom.
It does not.
The story appears in different books, written in different periods of Israel's history and addressing different audiences. Genesis tells the original story. Later prophets look backward at Sodom when speaking about their own societies. Israel's laws address sexual behavior within a completely different historical setting. Centuries later, Jesus and the writers of the New Testament interpret Sodom for their own audiences.
To understand the story historically, we therefore need to travel through time.
We need to begin with the ancient world of Abraham and Lot.
Then we need to follow the memory of Sodom through Israel's history.
We need to examine the language of the Hebrew and Greek texts.
We need to understand the ancient customs of hospitality, warfare, sexuality, family, covenant, authority, and social responsibility.
Finally, we need to see how later generations interpreted the story.
THE HISTORICAL QUESTION
This is not simply a question of asking, “What sin destroyed Sodom?”
It is a historical question:
How did the biblical writers understand Sodom, and how did their understanding develop across time?
THE JOURNEY AHEAD
Table of Contents
The Ancient World
Abraham, Lot, cities, customs, geography, and the world behind the story.
Part TwoGenesis
The earliest biblical account of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Part ThreeEzekiel
Pride, prosperity, neglect of the poor, and the prophetic memory of Sodom.
Part FourLeviticus
Israelite law, holiness, sexuality, and the historical setting of the commands.
Part FiveIsaiah
Sodom and Gomorrah as prophetic language for judgment and social corruption.
Part SixJesus
How Jesus and the Gospel tradition use Sodom in their message.
Part SevenDavid and Jonathan
Friendship, covenant, love, and the question of how ancient relationships should be understood.
Part EightHow the Meaning of Sodom Developed
How Sodom became a layered symbol as later biblical writers remembered and interpreted the city.
Part NineWhat the Historical Record Allows Us to Say
The conclusions the evidence supports, the claims it does not support, and the larger historical picture.
ConclusionWhy Sodom Still Matters
The final historical perspective on how the story of Sodom developed and why its meaning continues to matter.