Sodom and Gomorrah () were two biblical cities destroyed by the Abrahamic God for their wickedness. Their story parallels the Genesis flood narrative in its theme of God's anger provoked by man's sin (see Genesis 19:1–28). They are mentioned frequently in the prophets and the New Testament as symbols of human wickedness and divine retribution, and the Quran also contains a version of the story about the two cities. The narrative of their destruction may have a relation to the remains of third-millennium BC Bronze Age cities in the region, and subsequent Late Bronze Age collapse.
Etymology
The etymology of the names Sodom and Gomorrah is uncertain, and scholars disagree about them. They are known in Hebrew as () and (). In the Septuagint, these became () and (); the Hebrew ghayn was absorbed by ayin sometime after the Septuagint was transcribed. According to Burton MacDonald, the Hebrew term for Gomorrah was based on the Semitic root , which means "be deep", "copious (water)".
Biblical narrative
Lot and Chedorlaomer
Sodom and Gomorrah are two of the five "cities of the plain" referred in and that rebel against Chedorlaomer of Elam, to whom they were subject. At the Battle of Siddim, Chedorlaomer defeats them and takes many captives, including Lot, the nephew of the Hebrew patriarch Abraham. Abraham gathers his men, rescues Lot, and frees the cities.
Destruction of the cities
Later, God gives advance notice to Abraham that Sodom had a reputation for wickedness. Abraham asks God "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?" (). Starting at 50 people, Abraham negotiates with God to spare Sodom if 10 righteous people could be found.
God sends two angels to destroy Sodom. Lot welcomes them into his home, but all the men of the town surround the house and demand that he surrender the visitors that they may "know" them. Lot offers the mob his virgin daughters to "do to them as you please", but they refuse and threaten to do worse to Lot. The angels strike the crowd blind.
The angels tell Lot "...the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it" (). The next morning, because Lot had lingered, the angels take Lot, Lot's wife, and his two daughters by the hand and out of the city, and tell him to flee to the hills and not look back. Lot says that the hills are too far away and asks to go to Zoar instead. Then God rains sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah and all the Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground (). Lot and his two daughters are saved, but his wife disregards the angels' warning, looks back, and is turned into a pillar of salt.
Other biblical references
The Hebrew Bible contains several other references to Sodom and Gomorrah. The New Testament also contains passages of parallels to the destruction and surrounding events that pertained to these cities and those who were involved. Later deuterocanonical texts attempt to glean additional insights about these cities of the Jordan Plain and their residents. Additionally, the sins which triggered the destruction are reminiscent of the Book of Judges' account of the Levite's concubine.
Hebrew Bible
"Sodom and Gomorrah" becomes a byword for destruction and desolation. Deuteronomy 29:21–23 refers to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah:
Isaiah 1:9–10, 3:9 and 13:19–22 address people as from Sodom and Gomorrah, associates Sodom with shameless sinning and tells Babylon that it will end like those two cities.
Jeremiah 23:14, 49:17–18, 50:39–40 and Lamentations 4:6 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.
Ezekiel 16:48–50 compares Jerusalem to Sodom, saying "As I live, saith the Lord , Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, and careless ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before Me; therefore I removed them when I saw it."
In Amos 4:1–11, God tells the Israelites that although he treated them like Sodom and Gomorrah, they still did not repent.
In Zephaniah 2:9, Zephaniah tells Moab and Ammon that they will end up like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Deuterocanon
Wisdom 10:6–8 refers to the Five Cities: