Conflict erupted between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. Lot surveyed the land and chose the plain of Jordan since he observed it had great access to water. After this separation, the Lord promised Abram and his descendants all the land he could see from east to west and south to north. The economy of both Sodom and Gomorrah suffered as a result. He and his armed servants were able to save Lot and all his goods. He was grateful to Abram for his assistance in delivering his people.
The king of Sodom, however, requested the return of all his possession and people. Abram assured the king that the only spoils he received were fed to the people during their journey. Abraham and Sarah as they were named by this point were growing old, yet the Lord informed him of the growing wickedness and coming judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah.
But Abraham was not able to find even 10 righteous men among those of the land. Two angels met Lot as he sat at the gate of Sodom and offered them lodging for the night. They finally agreed and went with Lot who fed them. That night, however, all the men of Sodom caught wind of the angels and encompassed the house of Lot.
Lot responded by offering his two virgin daughters instead. The men of Sodom persisted, trying to reach the angels, who looked like men. What does this story mean? Is it pure fantasy unless, of course, we choose to interpret the story literally and as a piece of history? We have dealt with the possible origins of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in some real-life catastrophic event — perhaps an earthquake and electrical storms — in a separate post.
In both cases, this is the severe punishment for looking back when one has been expressly told, by a god, not to look back. As with the story of Adam and Eve and the Fall of Man , where Adam is told not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, the point is to obey these rules without question.
This salt mass is some five miles long and three miles wide, and feet high. You can see a smaller example of this structure in the photograph above.
This vast structure is crystallised rock salt covered with chalky limestone and gypsum. Image: Yair Aronshtam via Wikimedia Commons. Enter your email address to subscribe to this site and receive notifications of new posts by email. Email Address. Interesting Literature is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon.
Some other mentions of her are found in the book of Wisdom and the Gospel of Luke But in order to get there, we will have to go a bit further back, to Genesis The story of the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah is told in two chapters in Genesis: chapters 18 and Seminomadic life would often bring people from different families and regions into contact with one another, Canaan being part of a natural land bridge between Asia and Africa and, consequently, a popular trade route.
In the absence of a formal industry of hospitality, which would only develop later, people living in cities, villages, small towns, and even encampments had a social obligation to welcome strangers. Three men, thought by most commentators to have been angels appearing as men, came to Abraham in the plains of Mamre. Christian tradition has read this passage as being a revelation of the mystery of the Holy Trinity, each one of these three angels being a Person of the Trinity.
If not, I will know. Gen But Abraham immediately inquired of the Lord if he would spare the city if 50 righteous people were found in it , and the Lord agreed he would not destroy it for the sake of the righteous living there.
Here, Abraham begins to bargain, asking God for mercy at lower numbers: first 45, then 40, then 30, then 20, and finally at The Lord agreed each time. Like his uncle, Lot received the angels in his house, and they ate with him. Here we find a first interesting arch: Abraham and Lot receive people in their tents. But the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is one of leaving.
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