The SIN of Sodom and Gomorrah was NOT what you think!

What was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19? While it is often assumed to be about homosexuality, such an interpretation misses the ancient context. In this video, I dig into the primary sources from a critical academic perspective and show how the sin of Sodom changed over time.

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This channel is now known as Tablets and Temples, unpacking ancient history and religion. Formerly known as Bible Unboxed.

Keywords:

Sodom and Gomorrah, the sin of sodom, lot and his wife, pillar of salt, sodomy, bible unboxed, the cities of the plain, Genesis 19, jude 6-7, homosexuality and the bible, dr steven collins sodom gomorrah, sin of sodom, dan mcclellan sodom, dan mcclellan sodom and gomorrah, kipp davis sodom and gomorrah, religion for breakfast sodom and gomorrah, mythvision sodom and gomorrah, sodom and gomorrah documentary, sodom city

Sources:

In addition to the primary sources shown on screen there's a lot more additional academic sources than usual for this video so I've broken them down by topic:

Genesis 19 Sources:

- Scott Morschauser (2003). ‘Hospitality’, Hostiles and Hostages: On the Legal Background to Genesis 19.1-9.
- Bolin, T. M. (2004). The role of exchange in ancient Mediterranean religion and its implications for reading Genesis 18-19.
- Hamilton, V. P. (1995). The Book of Genesis, Chapters 18-50 (Vol. 1).
- Hunt, M. (2013). The two daughters of lot (Genesis 19: 1-38)
- Kugel, J. L. (1999). The Bible as it was
- R. Alter (1996). Genesis
- G. Athas (2016). Has Lot Lost the Plot? Detail Omission and a Reconsideration of Genesis 19.
- See also comments on Judges 19 by Cheryl Exum in Fragmented Women: Feminist (Sub)versions of Biblical Narratives (2015, p. 145)

Ezekiel Comments on Toevah:
- Ezekiel 1-20, Moshe Greenburg (Anchor Bible Commentary)
- Ezekiel 1-19, Brownlee (World Bible Commentary)

Male Sexual Violence in the Ancient World:
- Herodotus, Persian Wars 8.105
- Pomponius, "whatever man has been raped by the force of robbers or the enemy in wartime (vi praedonum vel hostium)" ought to bear no stigma" - Digest 3.1.1.6
- Eurymedon vase, depicts a Persian soldier about to penetrate a defeated enemy with his penis
- Balawat Gates, depicts prisoners of war being carried away naked

2 Samuel 10 Commentary:
- Hospitality and Hostility: Reading Genesis 19 in Light of 2 Samuel 10 by Nathan MacDonald

Jude Commentaries:
- 1 Peter, Jude, 2 Peter - Harrington (p. 197)
- William Loader, The NT on sexuality (2012, p. 335)
- R. Bauckham, Jude
- Reese, Jude

Philo's views:
- The Perception of Women in the Writing of Philo of Alexandria, Dorothy Sly (Thesis)

The inferiority of the receptive partner in the ancient Mediterranean:
- Myths and Mysteries of Same-Sex Love By Christine Downing
- Eros: the myth of ancient Greek sexuality, Bruce S. Thornton
- Bible Now, Friedman and Shawlansky

Sodom and Gomorrah in Philo and the early Church:
- The Sin of Sodom in Late Antiquity, Eoghan Ahern
- The Changing Face of Sodom, Part I by David Clark in Between Medieval Men: Male Friendship and Desire in Early Medieval English Literature
Between Medieval Men: Male Friendship and Desire in Early Medieval English Literature

[TabletsAndTemples]

If you found this video helpful, consider supporting the channel so we can make more content like this:

[RoutierNordAmericain]

Pedophilia could be considered an abomination. The early German translation of this passage used a word that translates to "boy", as in a male child, so, the passage should say, "Man should not lie with a child as would with a woman".

[thebibleformula]

Surprise yourself by looking at all the occurrences of the words "sodomites" and "abomination."

[greenleopard]

(1 Corinthians 15:39-40) describes the distinction of different flesh. That is what Jude 6 -7 is referring to. "39 Not all flesh is the same, but there is one flesh of human beings, and another flesh of animals, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish, 40 and heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. But the glory of the heavenly bodies is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly bodies is of another kind."

[paneraemployer]

GOD’s judgements in Isaiah 1.
1. Corrupt
2. Unjust
3. Indifferent to the needy
4. Thieves
5. Murderers
6. Ruthless
7. Hypocrites

GOD’s judgements Jeremiah 23.
1. Leading people astray
2. False prophets
3. Adulterers
4. Liars
5. Facilitating evil
6. Lead sinners away from repentance

GOD’s judgments in Ezekiel 16
1. Unfaithfulness
2. Idol worship
3. Pride
4. Gluttony
5. Corruption

Edit: I might have missed a few, but I literally just read them through and jotted down what I saw.

[lulusanchez]

They wanted to have sexual relationship with the angels. whether you like it or not.

[PrJames]

It’s interesting how well you took the time to misinterpret scripture to support the sin of homosexuality. I will make a respond video to this to point out where you have gone wrong.

[DilutedHSO]

Thank you for this informative video, and leaving sources c:

[DeanoScousekopite]

Genesis 19, 5

and they called to Lot and said to him, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.'

[pappapiccolino]

Great work Lachie. And an Aussie to boot, which is another plus. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that this presentation won't make any difference to people's opinions. Society seems so bifurcated these days, and people's opinions are so entrenched, you'll have folks like me who will back you 100%, and then you'll have others lighting their torches and sharpening their pitchforks, condemning you to burn in hell for all eternity. And never the twain shall meet. At any rate, keep up the good work.

[wpktkyi]

The followers of a mad man are glazing so hard in the comments right now.

[erikjohnson]

I feel like dude gay and wants it to be about something else…people being gay wasn’t the whole reason but it was part of it

[DhonaTimm]

you said what the sin was in the beginning, it was about men wanting to have sex with men.

[michaeltodd]

I mean they got other scripts for homosexuality like Leviticus18:22-23, 1 Corinthians 6 9-13, 1 Timothy 9-10, Romans 1:26-32 and Hebrews 13:4 when they defined marriage only being between a man and woman

[sgm]

Leviticus is clear on it. It’s even called an abomination

[harveywabbit]

There are multiple divisions of the year in the bible. One is Winter (Shem/Nahor), Spring Japheth/Abram), and Summer (Ham/Haran). Typically Winter = Flesh, Spring = Bread, and Summer = Wine. Genesis one divides the year into Winter aka the six nights/signs of Libra thru Pisces (autumn equinox - spring equnox) and six days/signs of Summer aka the six signs of Aries thru Virgo (spring equinox - autumn equinox). This gives us 180 days of "summer" or light/day and 180 days of "winter" or night/darkness.
Some of the myths use a modification where the first night/sign/month (Libra) is moved above the equinoctial line and added to Aries - Virgo to give us 210 days of summer and 150 days of winter. This 150 days of winter is expressed in Rev. 9.5, where Scorpio is the leader of the five months that can harm man aka winter the season of hardship and hunger. The sodomites are nothing more than these evil winter months whose signs are Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. Sagittarius, the first "rainy" month is Gomorrah and Scorpio (cursed throughout the bible) is Sodom. These five "evil" signs/months are also the five sons of Ha Shem who is also Pluto, Hades, and Maha Bhagha (Magog) and of course Vishnu.

[adiraisurrounding]

اِلَّاۤ اٰلَ لُوْطٍ اِنَّا لَمُنَجُّوْهُمْ اَجْمَعِيْنَۙ‏
“லூத்தின் கிளையாரைத் தவிர, அவர்களனைவரையும் நிச்சயமாக நாம் காப்பாற்றுவோம்.
(அல்குர்ஆன் : 15:59)

اِلَّا امْرَاَتَهٗ قَدَّرْنَاۤ ۙ اِنَّهَا لَمِنَ الْغٰبِرِيْنَ‏
ஆனால் அவர் (லூத்) உடைய மனைவியைத் தவிர - நிச்சயமாக அவள் (காஃபிர்களின் கூட்டத்தாரோடு) பின்தங்கியிருப்பாள் என்று நாம் நிர்ணயித்து விட்டோம்” என்று (வானவர்கள்) கூறினார்கள்.  
(அல்குர்ஆன் : 15:60)

فَلَمَّا جَآءَ اٰلَ لُوْطِ ۨالْمُرْسَلُوْنَۙ‏
(இறுதியில்) அத்தூதர்கள் லூத்துடைய கிளையாரிடம் வந்த போது.
(அல்குர்ஆன் : 15:61)

قَالَ اِنَّـكُمْ قَوْمٌ مُّنْكَرُوْنَ‏
(அவர்களை நோக்கி எனக்கு) அறிமுகமில்லாத மக்களாக நீங்கள் இருக்கிறீர்கள்” என்று (லூத்) சொன்னார்,
(அல்குர்ஆன் : 15:62)

وَجَآءَ اَهْلُ الْمَدِيْنَةِ يَسْتَـبْشِرُوْنَ‏
(லூத்தின் விருந்தினர்களாக வாலிபர்கள் வந்திருப்பதையறிந்து) அந் நகரத்து மக்கள் மிக்க மகிழ்ச்சியுடன் வந்து சேர்ந்தார்கள்.
(அல்குர்ஆன் : 15:67)

قَالَ اِنَّ هٰٓؤُلَاۤءِ ضَيْفِىْ فَلَا تَفْضَحُوْنِۙ‏
(லூத் வந்தவர்களை நோக்கி:) “நிச்சயமாக இவர்கள் என்னுடைய விருந்தினர்கள். ஆகவே, (அவர்கள் முன்) என்னை நீங்கள் அவமானப்படுத்தி விடாதீர்கள்;”
(அல்குர்ஆன் : 15:68)

وَنَجَّيْنٰهُ وَلُوْطًا اِلَى الْاَرْضِ الَّتِىْ بٰرَكْنَا فِيْهَا لِلْعٰلَمِيْنَ‏
இன்னும், நாம் அவரையும் (அவருடைய சகோதரர் மகன்) லூத்தையும் அகிலத்தாருக்கெல்லாம் பரக்கத்தான - பாக்கியமுள்ள - பூமியாக நாம் ஆக்கியுள்ள (பைத்துல் முகத்தஸில்) ஈடேற்றம் பெறச் செய்தோம்.
(அல்குர்ஆன் : 21:71)

وَلُوْطًا اٰتَيْنٰهُ حُكْمًا وَّعِلْمًا وَّنَجَّيْنٰهُ مِنَ الْقَرْيَةِ الَّتِىْ كَانَتْ تَّعْمَلُ الْخَبٰٓٮِٕثَ‌ اِنَّهُمْ كَانُوْا قَوْمَ سَوْءٍ فٰسِقِيْنَۙ‏
இன்னும், லூத்தையும் (நபியாக்கி) - நாம் அவருக்கு ஞானத்தையும், கல்வியையும் கொடுத்தோம்; அறுவறுப்பான செயல்களைச் செய்து கொண்டிருந்(தவர்களின்) ஊரை விட்டும் அவரை நாம் காப்பாற்றினோம்; நிச்சயமாக அவர்கள் மிகவும் கெட்ட சமூகத்தினராகவும், பெரும் பாவிகளாகவும் இருந்தனர்.
(அல்குர்ஆன் : 21:74)

وَقَوْمُ اِبْرٰهِيْمَ وَقَوْمُ لُوْطٍ ۙ‏
(இவ்வாறே) இப்ராஹீமுடைய சமூகத்தினரும் லூத்துடைய சமூகத்தினரும் (பொய்ப்பிக்கவே முற்பட்டார்கள்).
(அல்குர்ஆன் : 22:43)

[quesostuff]

Insightful video. I liked how you made it a point to show how Sodom was used as a literary device regarding pure decay/ depravity. People sometimes are too narrow with the sex ethic the Bible holds. I would like to ask while Sodom’s sin may not be what we thought are you suggesting the Bible itself has no say on the matter? Your language sure seems to imply that. I look forward to a response or a new video

[magcase]

The word of God is eternal! It is not affected by tlime, nothing has changed and never will!!

[feaokautai]

The word of God is Truth and changeless against time and academic intepretations.