15. The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

1.The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, John Martin, 1852.

2. The Sodom and Gomorrah motif from the Nuremberg Chronicle by Hartmann Schedel, 1493. Note
Lot's wife, already transformed into a salt pillar, in the center. When He departed from Abraham,
God revealed to him that He was going to destroy the neighboring cities of Sodom and
Gomorrah because they were the most wicked cities on the earth. The cousin of Abraham, the
righteous Lot, was living in Sodom. Abraham began to plead with the Lord that He be
merciful to these cities if there were fifty righteous men in them. The Lord said, "If I find
fifty righteous men in Sodom, then I shall spare the whole city for their sake." Abraham again
asked, "Perhaps of the fifty righteous men five shall be lacking?"The Lord said, "If I find
there forty and five, I will not destroy it." Then Abraham continued to speak with the Lord
and beseech Him, continually lowering the number of righteous men, until he came to the
number ten. He said, "Do not be angry, Master, but I will say once more: Perhaps ten
(righteous men) shall be found there." God said, "I shall not destroy it for ten’s sake." In these
wretched cities the inhabitants were so evil and corrupt that there were not even ten righteous
men to be found. These evil men even wanted to abuse the two angels that came to save the
righteous Lot. They were prepared to break down the door, but the angels struck them with
blindness and led Lot and his family, with his wife and two daughters, out of the city. They
commanded them to run and not to look back, so as not to perish. Then the Lord poured upon
Sodom and Gomorrah a rain, of sulphur and fire and destroyed these cities and all the people
in them. The place was entirely laid waste, so that in the valley where they stood a salt lake
was formed, which is now known by the name Dead Sea, in which no creature can live. The
wife of Lot, when she ran from the city, looked back at Sodom, and immediately was turned
into a pillar of salt. By looking back at Sodom, the wife of Lot showed that she regretted
leaving the sinful city that was left behind. She looked back, hesitated, and immediately was
turned into a pillar of salt. This is a strict lesson for us. When the Lord saves us from a sin,
we must flee from it, not looking back at it, not hesitate nor regret giving it up.

For other uses, see Sodom and Gomorrah (disambiguation).

Sodom (Hebrew: ‫סְדֹום‬, Modern Sədom Tiberian Səḏôm, Greek Σόδομα) and Gomorrah (Hebrew:
‫ֲמֹורה‬
ָ ‫ע‬, Modern ʿAmora Tiberian Ġəmôrāh/ʿĂmôrāh, Greek Γόμορρα) were, according to the Bible,
two cities which were destroyed by God. For the sins of their inhabitants Sodom, Gomorrah,
Admah and Zeboim were destroyed by "brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven."[Gen 19:24-
25]
In Christianity and Islam, their names have become synonymous with impenitent sin, and their
fall with a proverbial manifestation of God's wrath. Cf.Jude 1:7, Qur'an(S15)Al-Hijr:72-73.
Sodom and Gomorrah have been used as metaphors for vice and homosexual deviation. The story
has therefore given rise to words in several languages, including the English word "sodomy," a
term used today predominantly in law (derived from traditional Christian usage) to describe non-
vaginal intercourse, as well as bestiality, and homosexuality.