SODOM AND GOMORRAH

supposed site of Sodom and Gomorrah, southern shore of
the Dead Sea, courtesy, BibleWalks.com

In modern-day usage, the words “Sodom and Gomorrah” have become bywords of evil and debauchery. But most people forget that Sodom and Gomorrah were actual places, twin city-kingdoms, the location of which is, what the majority of scholars and archaeologists agree, at the southern end of the Dead Sea in Israel, or the approximate area.

When Israel was called “Canaan” during the time of Abraham, the inhabitants of the land were Canaanites of various tribes, including Sodom and Gomorrah. According to the Torah, these two cities, along with the cities of Admah, Zeboim, and Bela (later called Zoar) were known as the "cities of the plain" and this plain was often compared to the garden of Eden as being well-watered and green, suitable for grazing livestock. The Book of Genesis in the Torah is the primary source that mentions Sodom and Gomorrah. The Battle of the Vale of Siddim is described in Genesis 14:1–17. Lot, nephew of Abraham, was encamped within the borders of Sodom at a time when "the men of Sodom [are] wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly". Sodom and Gomorrah were ruled by Bera and Birsha, respectively, although their kingship was not sovereign because the Jordan plain had been under the rule of Chedorlaomer king of Elam for twelve years. In the thirteenth year of their subjugation, the five kings of the plain — those of the two cities, as well as Shinab of Admah, Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the unnamed king of Bela — allied to rebel against Elam. The following year, Chedorlaomer gathered forces from his allies - Shinar, Ellasar and Goyim to suppress the rebellion in the Siddim. The cities of the plain took heavy losses and were defeated. Sodom and Gomorrah were despoiled and captives were taken, among them Lot. The tide turned when Lot's uncle, Abraham, gathered an elite force that slaughtered the hosts of Chedorlaomer in Hobah, north of Damascus, freeing the cities of the plain from the grip of Elam.

The story of the judgment of the two cities is told in Genesis 18–19. Two men (angels?), emissaries of god, came to Abraham in the plains of Mamre. After they received the hospitality of Abraham and Sarah, the Lord revealed to Abraham that he would confirm what he had heard against Sodom and Gomorrah, "and because their sin is very grievous." The two men then proceeded to Sodom, and Abraham inquired if the Lord would spare the city should fifty righteous people be found within it, to which the Lord agreed. He then pleaded for mercy at successively lower numbers — forty-five, then forty, thirty, twenty, and finally ten — and the Lord agreed each time. Upon arrival at Sodom, the men were met by Lot, who convinced them to lodge with him. “But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both young and old, all the people from every quarter. And they called unto Lot, and said unto him: 'Where are the men that came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them.'” Lot refused but instead, offered them his two virgin daughters "which have not known man…do ye to them as [is] good in your eyes". They refused and proceeded to break down his door. Lot's guests rescued him and struck the men with blindness. They informed Lot of their mission to destroy the city, then they commanded him to gather his family and leave. As they made their escape, one angel commanded Lot to "look not behind thee". As Sodom and Gomorrah were being destroyed with brimstone and fire from the Lord, Lot's wife looked back at the city, and she became a pillar of salt. It has been theorized that if the story does have a historical basis, the cities may have been destroyed by a natural disaster. One such idea is that the Dead Sea was devastated by an earthquake between 2100 and 1900 BCE and the resulting upheaval might have unleashed showers of steaming tar. This idea might be a possibility especially if the cities lay along a major fault such as the Jordan Rift Valley, however there are no known contemporary accounts of seismic activity that corroborate this theory.

Since the cities’ destruction, they remained partly in ruins and partly covered over with sand and debris until their exact locations became lost to history. It wasn’t until the advent of local explorations and archaeology, beginning in the 19^th century, that the scientific study, and attempted locations, of Sodom and Gomorrah commenced, notably by an American expedition in 1849 under Naval Commander William Francis Lynch who studied the Jordan River and Dead Sea areas. He based himself on the Biblical text which, according to Genesis 13:10, clearly stated that “…the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)” And in fact, later explorers have discovered a ruined site at the southern end of the Dead Sea coast which some have identified as Sodom and they hypothesized that Gomorrah, as well as the three other cities, were nearby, on the seabed under water. In addition, a salty outcropping near the site was called, by the local Bedouin, Lot’s Wife. Other sites proposed, in various locations on both the northern and southern coasts were, Har Sedom, Bab edh Dhra, Numeira, al Safi, Feifa, Khirbet al Khanazir, and Tel el Hamam. However, no widely accepted or strongly verified sites for the cities have been found.  In 1929 the Palestine Potash Co. (today, the Dead Sea Works) was established at Kalia in the northern Dead Sea area. The opening of the Sedom branch works in the south was built a few years later. The carnallite extracted at Sedom was ferried over the Dead Sea to Kalia, where, during World War II, potash production reached an approximate 100,000 tons annually, thus supplying about half of Great Britain's requirements at the time. The relatively small quantities of bromide also constituted an important contribution to the Allied war effort. The 1947 UN Partition plan provided for the inclusion of Sedom and the Dead Sea shore as far north as En-Gedi in the proposed Jewish state. During the War of Independence, the Sedom Works, accessible only by boat, were completely cut off for many months. Reinforced by the workers and residents from Kalia and Bet ha-Aravah, who were expelled by Arab forces in May 1948 and could only be transferred to Sedom, the core of the laborers held out under severe hunger and thirst until contact with the rest of Israel was renewed in "Operation Lot" (December, 1948). After the war, the Kalia works found itself under Arab occupation and were completely razed by the Arab Legion; thus the renewal of production at Sedom had to be deferred until 1954, after the Beersheba-Sedom road was built. In 1955, the Bromide Company was founded, and it set up its factory near the Sedom Works. Soon after, both enterprises were integrated into the Dead Sea Works. In 1964, a workers’ camp for the Dead Sea Works was founded at Neve Zohar a few miles to the north. Later, two other villages, not necessarily connected to the Dead Sea Works, were founded a few miles to the south: Neot Hakikar in 1970 and Ein Tamar in 1982.