Sodom

Sodom is a city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as part of the group known as the “cities of the plain,” alongside Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar. The name’s meaning is uncertain, and there is no consensus on its original linguistic sense. In biblical accounts, Sodom is placed geographically near the Dead Sea in the southern Levant, though the text provides few precise historical details.

The core narrative is found in Genesis 18–19. According to the story, three visitors tell Abraham that the cities will be destroyed because of widespread wickedness. The visitors go to Sodom, where Lot offers hospitality. The men of Sodom demand to have sexual relations with the visitors, prompting God to plan their destruction. Lot and his family are warned to flee; his wife looks back and becomes a pillar of salt, while Lot and his two daughters escape to a nearby town, and the cities are consumed by fire and brimstone. The tale has been interpreted in various ways, including as a condemnation of violence, inhospitality, and sexual immorality, and it has influenced later moral and literary themes.

In later biblical writings, Sodom is cited as an example of divine judgment. Ezekiel 16:49–50 and 2 Peter 2:6–8 reference it within broader discussions of righteousness and judgment, and the narrative is also present in Islamic tradition through retellings of the story of Lot (Lut). From a historical or archaeological perspective, there is no universally agreed identification of Sodom with a specific archaeological site. Some scholars have proposed sites near the Dead Sea, such as Bab edh-Dhra and Numeira, but there is no definitive consensus, and the historicity of the biblical account remains disputed.