Sodom and Sodomy: How We Got from There to Here
Genesis 19 (paralleled in many ways in Judges 19) tells the story of God’s angels destroying the city of Sodom (prefaced in Genesis 13-14 and 18:16-33). Because of this story, sodomy has come to mean anal intercourse, even though what Genesis reports does not match this cultural assumption. Beyond the Book of Genesis, there are at least 20 references to Sodom and Gomorrah in the Old and New Testaments (see below). Two of these provide explicit scriptural interpretation of the sins for which God destroyed the towns. The first is Ezekiel 16:49 (NAS): "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy.” The second is Jude 1:7 (NAS): “Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example, in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
The Jude passage reads like a mystical trance or science fiction literature, filled as it is with “angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode” and men who “by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties.” The “strange flesh” reference makes sense when you consider that the men of Sodom wanted (perhaps) to gang rape two angels (see Genesis 19:1). There is another precedent, in Genesis 6:4, for this kind of human-angelic coupling. The Jewish Publication Society translation reads: “It was then, and later too, that the Nephilim [giants] appeared on earth – when the divine beings cohabited with the daughters of men, who bore them offspring. They were the heroes of old, the men of renown.” Getting from angelic gang rape to a blanket condemnation of all homosexual relationships is more than a stretch – the Jude interpretation does not support it – and the prophet Ezekiel does not mention sex or homosexuality at all.
Take a closer look at Ezekiel 16 and you begin to wonder why virtually every commentator on Sodom and Gomorrah ignores this explicit statement of the sins of Sodom. And Ezekiel is speaking or writing as God’s mouthpiece (see vs. 36: “Thus says the LORD God…”). Look again at the list God apparently put together: pride, indulgence, laziness, and refusal to help the poor (stranger?). Why doesn’t the word Sodomy mean these offenses, for which God explains through the prophet the city suffered the ultimate punishment?
Why indeed? Did Ezekiel (or God) not get the memo? I suppose it goes without saying that (from a heterosexual perspective) it’s far more fun to make scapegoats out of homosexual persons than to accept responsibility for and repent of our own pride, gluttony, laziness, and rape of the poor (ouch!). A good offense is the best defense.
Jesus Christ implies that the sin of Sodom involved refusing hospitality to the stranger, or at least the itinerant (traveling) healer/missionaries he was sending out in Matthew 10:14-15 (“And whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city” NAS) and its parallel in Mark 6:11 ("…any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake off the dust from the soles of your feet for a testimony against them" NAS). This interpretation is supported in the related story in Judges 19 (especially verses 15-19).
Take a look at the outline below of parallels between Genesis 19 and Judges 19. To read through them is to enter into a different kind or morality, where hospitality to strangers trumps all other concerns (particularly concern for your daughter’s safety and honor). Look again at the rationale each host uses for refusing to give up the stranger(s) to the mob: “they have come under the shelter of my roof” (Genesis 19:8); “this man has come into my house” (Judges 19:23). Conservatives may reject interpretive efforts to take Jesus Christ seriously as “politically correct”, but the Middle Eastern Code of Hospitality was and is real, even if not in Europe or America. Think of the Afghan villagers recently who refused to surrender to the Taliban soldiers several wounded American (alien) special forces commandoes they had taken under their roof, even though the Taliban fighters threatened to destroy their village (the Taliban fighters respected the Code and spared the village).
How we got from God’s condemnation of pride, gluttony, prosperity, and stinginess (according to Ezekiel 16:49) and inhospitality (Matthew 10:14-15) to creating a new English word for anal sex points to a powerful cultural fear at work in this traditional Christian teaching. True Biblical “literalists” would define “sodomy” as selfishness or inhospitality. That it means something else reveals the ways our cultural context colors (and blinds) our interpretation of the Bible. As on the Road to Emmaus on Resurrection Sunday, consulting the Law and the Prophets around a Table where strangers are welcome to share a meal are the keys to opening our blind eyes.
Parallels between Genesis 19 and Judges 19
1. Visitors arrive at the town in the evening
a. Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening (Genesis 19.1)
b. So they passed along and went their way, and the sun set on them near Gibeah (Judges 19.14)
2. They intend to spend the night in the square
a. They said however, "No, but we shall spend the night in the square." (Genesis 19.2)
b. When they entered, they sat down in the open square of the city, for no one took them into his house to spend the night. (Judges 19.15)
3. The man who provides the travelers hospitality is himself an alien (not originally from the town)
a. Furthermore, they said, "This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge (Genesis 19.9)
b. Now the man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was staying in Gibeah, but the men of the place were Benjamites. (Judges 19.16)
4. They share a feast in the man’s home
a. so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. (Genesis 19.3)
b. So he took him into his house and gave the donkeys fodder, and they washed their feet and ate and drank. While they were celebrating, (Judges 19.21-22a)
5. The men of the city surround the house and speak to the host
a. the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; and they called to Lot (Genesis 19.4-5a)
b. the men of the city, certain worthless fellows, surrounded the house, pounding the door; and they spoke to the owner of the house, the old man (Judges 19.22)
6. They demand that the host surrender his male guest(s) so that they may sexually abuse the guest
a. "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them." (Genesis 19.5)
b. "Bring out the man who came into your house that we may have relations with him." (Judges 19.22)
7. The host pleads with the men of the city not to violate his guest (who is under his protection) and offers them the women in the house to sexually abuse instead
a. "Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof." (Genesis 19.7-8)
b. "No, my fellows, please do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not commit this act of folly. 24 "Here is my virgin daughter and his concubine. Please let me bring them out that you may ravish them and do to them whatever you wish. But do not commit such an act of folly against this man." (Judges 19.23-24)
8. The men of the city refuse the offer – but do not harm the (male) visitor(s)
a. So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door. (Genesis 19.9)
b. But the men would not listen to him. (Judges 19.25)
9. The behavior of the men of the city results in the total destruction of the people and the city (by fire)
a. …for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the LORD that the LORD has sent us to destroy it. …Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. (Genesis 19:13, 24-25)
b. So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. When the men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah, the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush also deployed and struck all the city with the edge of the sword. Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city. But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, Benjamin looked behind them; and behold, the whole city was going up in smoke to heaven… The men of Israel then turned back against the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city with the cattle and all that they found; they also set on fire all the cities which they found. (Judges 20.36-38, 40 and 48)
References to “Sodom” in the Bible (beyond the book of Genesis)
1. Deuteronomy 29:23 'All its land is brimstone and salt, a burning waste, unsown and unproductive, and no grass grows in it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger and in His wrath.'
2. Deuteronomy 32:32 "For their vine is from the vine of Sodom, And from the fields of Gomorrah; Their grapes are grapes of poison, Their clusters, bitter.
3. Isaiah 1:9-10 Unless the LORD of hosts Had left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah. Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah.
4. Isaiah 3:9 The expression of their faces bears witness against them. And they display their sin like Sodom; They do not even conceal it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.
5. Isaiah 13:19 And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans' pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
6. Jeremiah 23:14 "Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: The committing of adultery and walking in falsehood; And they strengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one has turned back from his wickedness. All of them have become to Me like Sodom, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.
7. Jeremiah 49:18 "Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah with its neighbors," says the LORD, "no one will live there, nor will a son of man reside in it.
8. Jeremiah 50:40 "As when God overthrew Sodom And Gomorrah with its neighbors," declares the LORD, "No man will live there, Nor will any son of man reside in it.
9. Lamentations 4:6 For the iniquity of the daughter of my people Is greater than the sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown as in a moment, And no hands were turned toward her.
10. Ezekiel 16:46-58 46 "Now your older sister is Samaria, who lives north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lives south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. 47 "Yet you have not merely walked in their ways or done according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you acted more corruptly in all your conduct than they. 48 "As I live," declares the Lord God, "Sodom, your sister, and her daughters, have not done as you and your daughters have done. 49 "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. 50 "Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it. 51 "Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half of your sins, for you have multiplied your abominations more than they. Thus you have made your sisters appear righteous by all your abominations which you have committed. 52 "Also bear your disgrace in that you have made judgment favorable for your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. Yes, be also ashamed and bear your disgrace, in that you made your sisters appear righteous. 53 "Nevertheless, I will restore their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and along with them your own captivity, 54 in order that you may bear your humiliation, and feel ashamed for all that you have done when you become a consolation to them. 55 "And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to their former state, and you with your daughters will also return to your former state. 56 "As the name of your sister Sodom was not heard from your lips in your day of pride, 57 before your wickedness was uncovered, so now you have become the reproach of the daughters of Edom, and of all who are around her, of the daughters of the Philistines-- those surrounding you who despise you. 58 "You have borne the penalty of your lewdness and abominations," the LORD declares.
11. Amos 4:11 "I overthrew you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze; Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the LORD.
12. Zephaniah 2:9 "Therefore, as I live," declares the LORD of hosts, The God of Israel, "Surely Moab will be like Sodom, And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah-- A place possessed by nettles and salt pits, And a perpetual desolation. The remnant of My people will plunder them, And the remainder of My nation will inherit them."
13. Matthew 10:11-16 "11 "And into whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it; and abide there until you go away. 12 "And as you enter the house, give it your greeting. 13 "And if the house is worthy, let your greeting of peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your greeting of peace return to you. 14 "And whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet. 15 "Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city. 16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves.
14. Matthew 11:20, 23-24 “Then He began to reproach the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent… And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You shall descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.
15. Luke 10:3-12 3 "Go your ways; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 "Carry no purse, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. 5 "And whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house. 6 "And if a man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. 7 "And stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. 8 "And whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' 10 "But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11 'Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.' 12 "I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.
16. Luke 17:28-29 "It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
17. Romans 9:29 And just as Isaiah foretold, "Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left to us a posterity, We would have become as Sodom, and would have resembled Gomorrah."
18. 2 Peter 2:4-11 4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly thereafter; 7 and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men 8 (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day with their lawless deeds), 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, 11 whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord.
19. Jude 1:5-9 Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day. 7 Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example, in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. 8 Yet in the same manner these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. 9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you."
20. Revelation 11:8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
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