Some material on Sodom and Gomorrah, a propos the debunked comet impact theory mentioned in a previous blog post. From Paul D´s interesting blog "Is That in the Bible?".
The short story is that the "classical" Genesis narrative of Sodom and Gomorrah isn´t the original version, but rather the end point of a long development. Paul D believes that the author of the Genesis story combined a Greek tale of gods in disguise being showed inhospitality with a narrative from the Biblical Book of Judges. The names "Sodom and Gomorrah" were already established metaphors for sinful living, social injustice and hedonistic excess.
For all we know, Sodom and its sister town (actually five towns in total!) never really existed at all. Nor was "the sin of Sodom" homosexuality. While the text could be interpreted as the Sodomites wanting to rape the male visitors, the underlying problem is inhospitality to strangers. It wasn´t until the 4th century AD that the Church Fathers explicitly connected the story to homosexuality. (Of course, homosexuality is still condemned in other Bible verses.)
Fun fact: Ezekiel actually promises the restoration of Sodom?! But then, he seems to have been something of a gadfly prophet...
Crime and punishment in Sodom and Gomorrah
The metamorphosis of Lot´s wife
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