Meaning of sodom and gomorrah (what is it, concept and definition)

What is Sodom and Gomorrah:

Sodom and Gomorrah is the name of two neighboring cities from the time of the patriarch Abraham, whose history is related in the book of Genesis. According to the Biblical account, these cities were burned as divine punishment for the gravity of their sins.

Today this is one of the most controversial passages in the Bible. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is often used to warn about the punishments that sin brings and disobedience to God's law. The Genesis passage shows God as a ruthless judge. But other meanings have also been attributed to it.

From the history of Sodom and Gomorrah comes the expression sodomite, which originally refers to the name of the inhabitants of Sodom. However, the term "sodomite" has been popularly used to refer to male homosexuals.

The term has also been used to refer to people who practice acts of "perversion". The use depends on the ideological context and the interpretation. But in either case, it is founded on the passage, the story of which we summarize below.

History of Sodom and Gomorrah

The story tells that Lot and his family lived at the gates of the city of Sodom, since his uncle Abraham rescued him from the city of Dan.

Initially, Lot's mission was to promote the conversion of the city, since both Sodom and Gomorrah were reputed to be cities dominated by sin. According to Genesis, the cries reached the ears of God, who decides to destroy these cities.

Abraham receives the unexpected visit of three men, whom he attends with absolute reverence. These express to him God's decision to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham intercedes for the righteous in the city and asks for mercy on his behalf, since Lot and his family are there. One of them agrees to be pious, provided he finds at least ten righteous men.

Two of the three visitors leave for Sodom and present themselves as heavenly beings to Lot, who is hosting them. As soon as the sodomites find out, they crowd at the doors of the house demanding Lot to hand them over to sexually abuse them. In order to dissuade them, Lot offers his daughters instead of the men, but they do not agree.

The two angels understand that there is no righteous man between them and decide to carry out the planned plan, but not before allowing Lot and his family to flee to a nearby town. Finally, a rain of sulfur falls on Sodom and Gomorrah that burns both cities to the foundations. Along the way, Lot's wife turns back and is transformed into a pillar of salt.

Controversy around Sodom and Gomorrah

The interpretations of this passage are usually quite controversial. Tradition has imposed that this passage condemns male homosexuality by denouncing it as sin.

For other exegetes, the sin of the sodomites is not homosexuality but violence, lack of empathy, disobedience and pride. To support this interpretation, they rely on other allusions to sodomites included in other books of the Bible.

For its part, a feminist reading would be scandalized by any of the previous interpretations, since both leave out the naturalization of the rape of women expressed in Lot's negotiation with the Sodomites, offering her virgin daughters as an exchange to avoid rape of men.

Sodom and Gomorrah in the Koran

In the Muslim holy book, the Koran, there are several references to the history of Sodom and Gomorrah, even though these cities are not identified by those names. However, Lot's name is used and the story is told.

In the Qur'an version, Lot is sent as a prophet to bear witness to Allah in Sodom and warn them that his behavior may arouse the wrath of God. For Lot, sodomites have sinned not only because of homosexuality and other actions, but especially because they are not ashamed and commit their sins both privately and in public.

Unlike the Judeo-Christian version of Genesis, in Islam it is believed that when Lot offers his daughters, he does not literally refer to his descendants, but uses this phrase symbolically to refer to the women of Sodom and formal marriage.

When the multitude of sodomites breaks down the door and surrounds the angels, they openly affirm that they are messengers from Allah, before which they are frightened and withdraw, but at dawn, Allah sends the punishment that destroys the city.