Isaac and Rebekah

The realization that he has been deceived shocks Isaac, yet he acknowledged that Jacob received the blessings as sworn, by adding, "Indeed, he will be blessed!" (52:8). Then Rebekah, like the servant, was led by the Holy Spirit into the place of decision. She thought she was doing what was right, but God never asks us to sin in order to accomplish His will. Rashi explains that Isaac smelled the heavenly scent of Gan Eden (Paradise) when Jacob entered his room and, in contrast, perceived Gehenna opening beneath Esau when the latter entered the room, showing him that he had been deceived all along by Esau's show of piety. His birth was the highlight of their eventful and exciting walk with God. Though faced with a situation of great uncertainty — that of traveling to a strange and distant land to marry a man she had never seen — she obeyed the voice which spoke to her heart, that voice which was distinct in that it whispered to her of things apart from her own nature, her own desires, knowledge, and discernment. By her deception, Rebekah further alienated her husband from her; she enraged and totally estranged her firstborn son; and while she thought her beloved Jacob would be gone a few days, she never saw him again, When he returned home twenty years later, Isaac was still alive, but Rebekah lay next to Abraham and Sarah in the sepulcher cave of Machpelah.



46 “She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too.’ So I drank, and she watered the camels also.



Enter your email address and we'll send you our weekly magazine by email with fresh, exciting and thoughtful content that will enrich your inbox and your life, week after week. One deception usually does demand another, until the life of the deceiver is a hopeless web of despair.

And she finished giving him to drink, and she said, "I will also draw for your camels, until they will have finished drinking." And she hastened, and she emptied her pitcher into the trough, and she ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels. Submissiveness would seem to be the only way to explain how old Abraham could bind the young man and lay him on the altar of sacrifice. You can almost feel the melodrama as she exclaims, “I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?” (Gen. Supplying water for thirsty camels is a very demanding job.

Jacob had scarcely left the room when Esau returned from the hunt to receive the blessing. Trickery and cunning were valued, because the world was dangerous and unpredictable, and people needed every advantage they could get, to survive. In ancient times, however, this duo of schemers would have been admired. 27:46). In order to enjoy that privileged position, he obviously had to have a son, and we have traced the struggles of faith that finally brought Abraham and Sarah their son. And the man was astonished at her, standing silent, to know whether G-d had caused his way to prosper or not.

In the modern world, we admire honesty and integrity. It was another masterful performance. What happiness Isaac brought to their home! And he was such a good boy—dutiful, obedient, and submissive to his parents. Rebecca may have hated what she had to do - but it was necessary, given Esau's impetuous foolishness and the long term effect it would have on the tribe.

Poor Rebekah. God substituted a ram in that suspense-packed drama of obedience and faith; Isaac was delivered and the three of them were joyfully reunited as a family.

In order to get Isaac to agree to her plan, she had to deceive him again. She chose to walk by that spirit of faith which had been engendered within her. The actions of Rebecca and Jacob seem underhand to us. So Isaac dutifully called Jacob in and instructed him to go to Haran to find a wife. We will not share your email address Subscribe No Thanks

Rebekah, inspired by nothing more than a caring heart, drew water, not only for the servant but also for his carmel's. And being found faithful, she also received her reward.

God promised Abraham he would be the father of a great nation. She recognized the call of God upon her heart and responded. And it's free.

Keturah's sons

After you log in your content will be available in your library. Do we know who these individuals are today? Did they carry on the Jewish traditions?

Many already know quite a bit of the Biblical lineage of the Nasrid dynasty, the line of Joktan and Keturah. After purchase, you will receive an email from them with a redemption code, which will unlock your purchased content at Bible Gateway. The ruler-priest lines of the two first-born sons intermarried, thus preserving the bloodline of those to whom God made the promise that a woman of their people would bring forth the Seed who would crush the serpent's head and restore Paradise.



In Genesis 25:1-6, the Torah recounts that after Sarah's death Abraham married a woman named Keturah,1 and fathered six children. I have the Torah, the Septuagint, and the Vulgate, and no where do I see anything to indicate that Sarah was Abraham's half-sister, nor that Mesak was his cousin. Content Preview This is a content preview. One day the truth will be known.



24 When she reached the end of her pregnancy, she discovered that she had twins. After purchase, you will receive an email from them with a redemption code, which will unlock your purchased content at Bible Gateway.

This genealogy is fascinating, but you don't provide references for certain things. The book of Genesis, however, mentions that Abraham had many sons. The kinship pattern of the rulers listed in the Genesis genealogies shows two lines of descent. Buy this title to see more. For example, the name of Moses' brother Amran seems to be a conflation of Aaron with Imran, their father. Please log in below or if you don't have an account, creating one is easy and only takes a few moments. And the Arabic Zarifa seems to combine elements of Moses' Midianite wife Zipporah and his sister Miriam. According to the account in Genesis, before his death, Abraham sent off the children whom she bore "eastward, to the Land of the East."

Purchases from our store are processed by our partner, Christianbook.com. Example: Namaah, Lamech the Elder's daughter,(Gen. For instance one in this Nasrid line is: Ziphorah Saffureh and she is “the diviner or prophetess She is Tarikha el Himyari for her mother was a woman of the tribe of Himyar. But we must be grateful for the great care with which these traditions have been handed down for over 3,000 years! For, here we can unmistakably identify the Red Sea Crossing, Moses, the Israelites, their Wanderings, their battle with the Amalekites, and their search for the Promised Land.

Among the ancient Horites the pattern was double descent. The other line of descent is traced through the first-born son of the half-sister bride, as Sarah was to Abraham. The Rabbis championing this position emphasize that these offspring do not follow the spiritual way of Abraham; moreover, since they already received their inheritance from him, they are not entitled to make any further demands.

Study Bibles Commentaries Dictionaries Encyclopedias Purchased Back 1 of 1 Buy Now By clicking Buy Now you will be directed to another page. Already redeemed? Refresh the page. I am working on the lineage myself, and am sad how little many dont care. 4) married her patrilineal cousin Methuselah (Gen. 5) and named their first-born son Lamech. From where do you get this?

The average person, like myself, has been taught that Abraham had two sons: Isaac and Ishmael. 25 The first came out red all over, clothed with hair, and she named him Esau. 26 Immediately afterward, his brother came out gripping Esau’s heel, and she named him Jacob. This pattern, which I call the "cousin bride's naming prerogative," is found with the names Joktan, Sheba and Esau, among others. Already have a redemption code? Redeem it here. I hope for this information to become well known someday. One is traced through the cousin/niece bride who named her first-born son after her father. You must be logged in to view your newly purchased content. Why? Purchases from our store are processed by our partner, Christianbook.com. Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.

In opposition to the view that the offspring of Keturah were the realization of the Lord’s promise to Abraham, another approach presents them as perpetually menacing Israel. I know of many others as well in this line.

The Binding of Isaac

5 Abraham said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey. In verse 18, Shechem rushes eagerly to circumcise himself (and later to demand all the men of his city do likewise) because the Israelites have made it a condition for the marriage. This is supported by the style and composition of these verses, as well as by the use of YHWH (יהוה) for the deity.



Our People, originally published in 1946, was the first Jewish history book for the English speaking reader. 14–18), praising his obedience and blessing his offspring, is in fact a later interpolation to E’s original account (v.1-13, 19). And it's free. Using the Bible on Mom or Mom's Heart/It Lives will result in an instant kill. Using the Bible on Satan or Isaac will instantly kill the player, but with The Wafer this is reduced to half a red heart and all soul hearts. Muslims consider that visions experienced by prophets are revelations from God, and as such it was a divine order to Abraham. The flight effect will be granted as usual.



In the earliest Biblical narrative, Yoreh believes, Isaac died that day on Mt. Would his faith be just as strong in the midst of blissfulness? G-d now put Abraham’s sincerity and obedience to the greatest possible test. The festival marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.



Here's a great tip: Enter your email address and we'll send you our weekly magazine by email with fresh, exciting and thoughtful content that will enrich your inbox and your life, week after week. Appearing to Abraham suddenly, G-d said to him, “Please take your son, your only one, whom you love, yea, Isaac, and go away to the land of Moriah and bring him up there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains, of which I will tell you.”

In The Guide for the Perplexed, Maimonides argues that the story of the Binding of Isaac contains two "great notions." First, Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac demonstrates the limit of humanity's capability to both love and fear God. We will not share your email address Subscribe No Thanks

Under stress of tribulation Abraham had proved unshaken in his faith in G-d. On that view, the second angelic appearance to Abraham (v. The entire episode of the sacrifice is regarded as a trial of God for Abraham and his son, and both are seen as having passed the test by submitting to God and showing their awareness that God is the Owner and Giver of all that we have and cherish, including life and offspring. It will not kill the player if used on ???, however. During the festival, those who can afford and the ones in the pilgrimage sacrifice a ram, cow, sheep or a camel. Read today, it still provides a comprehensive outline of Jewish history, and also a view of the telling of history as it evolved over the last century.

Upon activation, the player grows angel wings and gains the ability to fly for that room. Far from setting an example in which God intervenes to end human sacrifice, Abraham, the father of monotheism, is revealed as a man who can walk his own son to the altar and even wield the blade himself.

In the next verse, however, he is deeply in love with her, and speaks tenderly “to her heart.” In verses 11 and 12, Shechem offers Jacob any dowry he might request in exchange for Dinah’s hand in marriage. Second, because Abraham acted on a prophetic vision of what God had asked him to do, the story exemplifies how prophetic revelation has the same truth value as philosophical argument and thus carries equal certainty, notwithstanding the fact that it comes in a dream or vision.

4 On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place at a distance. The boy and I will walk up there, worship, and then come back to you.”

Modern-critical scholars operating under the framework of the documentary hypothesis commonly ascribe the Binding's narrative to the biblical source E, on the grounds that it generally uses God (אלוהים) for the deity, and also parallels characteristic E compositions. Moriah. Part of the sacrifice meat is eaten by the household and remaining is distributed to the neighbors and the needy. The submission of Abraham and his son is celebrated and commemorated by Muslims on the days of Eid al-Adha.

Wife confused for sister 'featuring Abraham, Sarah, and Abimelech'

Her insolent treatment of Sarah was utterly indefensible. First, Sarah died. (Incidentally, the Hebrew word used in verse 12 is the same word describing the “deep sleep” that Adam fell into when the Lord took his rib to make Eve.) This detail about Abraham’s sleep is given to stress the covenant was completely unconditional. It was a completely one-sided covenant.



Jacob separated himself from his flocks and family and remained on the far side of the Jabbok river. In any case, the isolation of Jacob there at Penuel matches his isolation at Bethel at the beginning of his journey. Or he was going to call on God for help again (see 32:9–12), or it may have been both. This whole sordid plan was, after all, her big idea. Should Jacob’s behavior be construed as an act of cowardice, or did he just need time alone to contemplate his future? The narrative does not tell us for sure. In its Priestly form the covenant was termed everlasting. So they came to the land of Canaan” (Gen. Covenant. (That’s close to the head of the Persian Gulf in a region that is part of present-day Iraq.) Abraham’s hometown was a famous urban center known as Ur of the Chaldeans. A succession of covenants progressively builds and defines the relationship of God with his world beginning with Noah, continuing with Abraham, and culminating with Moses at Mount Sinai.



Yet God kept giving her reasons to hope. The covenant was a unilateral promise from God to Abraham about what He, YHWH, would do. 12:5 NKJV).



The Angel of Yhwh called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “I swear by myself (Yhwh’s oracle) that because you did this, you did not withhold your son, your only one, I will richly bless you and greatly increase your offspring, like the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea shore. Yes, as the spiritual head of the household, Abraham should have rejected Sarah’s plan out of hand—but it’s still not quite fair to pin all the guilt on him. It may have been part of his scheme to distance himself from Esau, using his dependents and estate as buffers. No doubt, Hagar knew all too well about Sarah’s extreme grief over her own barrenness. Now she was deliberately putting salt in Sarah’s wound. And your offspring will inherit the gate of their enemies. It is significant that verse 12 says a deep sleep fell on Abraham; then the Lord single-handedly carried out the covenant ceremony. God bound himself by oath to fulfill his promises. Scripture tells us, “Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. Joseph is the son who receives the greatest attention; although he was the firstborn of Rachel, he was not the firstborn overall. Both leaving and returning, Jacob met his God alone.

It is true that Sarah was being unreasonable. Judah was one of the youngest sons of Jacob and Leah, yet he became one

b. Reuben was the firstborn, but he was denied preeminence because he slept with one of Jacob’s wives. In Genesis 15:7–21, YHWH restated and expanded His promise to Abraham, then formally ratified the covenant. Since Hagar was the servant and Sarah the one in charge, this was the most brazen kind of deliberate impudence.

Notice that the biblical account of Abraham’s life likewise doesn’t really begin until he was seventy-five. After the testing of Abraham, the cycle seems to end quickly. It made no demands of Abraham or Sarah whatsoever. On the other hand, this fit of Sarah’s was deliberately provoked by Hagar. Abraham approached Ephron, a Hittite who owned property near Hebron, and bought from him a field that contained a cave, called the Cave of Machpelah, where he buried Sarah (Figure 2.4).

Leaving Haran after burying his father, Abraham still had quite a large caravan. All the nations of the earth will bless themselves through your offspring, because you obeyed my voice.” (22:15–18)

The Joseph cycle continues the theme of birth order and birthrights found in both the Abraham and Jacob cycles. All we are told is that he had been born and raised in Sumeria, lower Mesopotamia, near the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The relationship between God and the ancestors was formalized by covenants.

The cave of Machpelah

But as we chit-chatted, Ron was nonchalantly doing electronic scanning of the site. Now, Hebron is an area of a great deal of tension. He told us he would stay with his other wife that night, who lived in a house just about 20 feet away. The Mamluks forbade Jews from entering the site, allowing them only as close as the fifth step on a staircase at the southeast, but after some time this was increased to the seventh step.

During the 10th century, an entrance was pierced through the north-eastern wall, some way above the external ground level, and steps from the north and from the east were built up to it (one set of steps for entering, the other for leaving). The Mamluks also built the northwestern staircase and the six cenotaphs (for Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, Leah, Abraham, and Sarah, respectively), distributed evenly throughout the enclosure. I had a hard time with that situation- I liked both wives equally and I couldn. Even Lloyd and Ron had to be careful about being seen. Foreign conquerors and invaders used the site for their own purposes, depending on their religious orientation: the Byzantines and Crusaders transformed it into a church and the Muslims rendered it a mosque. It was also filled with dust, but among the dust were bone and remnants of pottery scattered around, some of which were in good condition.



This uniquely impressive building is the only one that stands intact and still fulfills its original function after thousands of years. That night, under the full moon, we all went to the site in the midst of all the homes. Some archaeologists believe that the original entrance to Herod's structure was in the location of the kalah and that the northeastern entrance was created so that the kalah could be built by the former entrance.

We crawled in a very narrow opening into a circular cave, carved in the stone, deep in the earth. After Adam and Eve were buried there, the light was hidden.

In April of 1993, Ron returned to Israel. An American woman would be very conspicuous, so I had to stay out of sight most of the daytime hours. About 700 years ago, the Muslim Mamelukes conquered Hebron, declared the structure a mosque and forbade entry to Jews, who were not allowed past the seventh step on a staircase outside the building.

The Zohar relates, that the Cave of Machpelah is special not by virtue of those who rest there, but because it is the gateway to the Garden of Eden. In the late 14th century, under the Mamluks, two additional entrances were pierced into the western end of the south western side and the kalah was extended upwards to the level of the rest of the enclosure. The brothers told us how they were able to see the scud missiles fall there during the Gulf war. Leaving Lloyd and I in Jerusalem, Ron went alone for the initial visit, then came and told us to get our bags- we were going to stay at the site. We stood up on that high plain and looked out where we could see Tel Aviv off in the distance. It was impossible to stand or sit, only to crawl. We continued inside until it widened, and then, a second cave. He therefore dug the cave as a burial place for himself and his wife. A cenotaph in memory of Joseph was created in the upper level of the kalah so that visitors to the enclosure would not need to leave and travel round the outside just to pay respects. Ron, Lloyd and I all camped in one room- Ron and I on a mattress on the floor and Lloyd on a couch. In the next room was one of the wives and the daughter of a brother who had 2 wives. The cave was filled with dust, to its very edge. We stayed indoors the rest of the day. Adam, the first man, recognized the uniqueness of the location when he saw a ray of light emanating from the area. After about 1 1/2 hours, we went back in the house we were to stay in. I went with him, as did Lloyd Hiler, a surgeon from Memphis, Tennessee. It was a garden area and the brothers had planted fruit trees and all sorts of herbs in the area, so we had to watch carefully where we walked. A building known as the kalah (castle) was also constructed near the middle of the southwestern side. Between 1318 and 1320, the Mamluk, the governor of Gaza, a province that included Hebron, Sanjar al-Jawli ordered the construction of the Amir Jawli Mosque within the Haram enclosure to enlarge the prayer space and accommodate worshipers. This cave was smaller than the first, but here awaited us another surprise. Its purpose is unknown but one historic account claims that it marked the spot where Joseph was buried (see Joseph's tomb), the area having been excavated by a Muslim caliph, under the influence of a local tradition regarding Joseph's tomb.

Lot's drunkenness

Lot was also very greedy for wealth, and at Sodom he practiced usury. His hesitation to leave the city was due to his regret for the wealth he was obliged to abandon. Scarcely any account can be given of the affair but this, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? From the silence of the Scripture concerning Lot henceforward, learn that drunkenness, as it makes men forgetful, so it makes them to be forgotten.



The are several important differences between the story of Lot (Lut) in the Qur'an and that of Lot in the Bible. At the same time I do not believe we have any real indication in the scriptures that Lot had a problem with drinking, and no, Lot is not mentioned again in the Old Testament but neither are many others, righteous or not – but Lot is mentioned as being righteous in 2 Peter. He is also considered to be a prophet and the first person other than Abraham himself to believe in the teaching that came to be known later as Islam.



Harry, I do not disagree that drunkenness has its perils, however we scarcely need Matthew Henry to tell us that. What is in common in both accounts however, is that their lives were shaken up by a great destruction, and at some point soon afterward, they got drunk. No excuse can be made for the daughters, nor for Lot. Lot’s daughters sleeping with him however is really just an anecdote in the whole story of Sodom, and I think it says more about how Lot’s daughters may have been affected by the culture of a place like Sodom than it says about the perils of alcohol. Most important, the Qur'an omits Lot's drunkenness and his incestuous relationship with his daughters. 5r, for the detail of Lot's drunkenness.

See the peril of drunkenness; it is not only a great sin itself, but lets in many sins, which bring a lasting wound and dishonour. Lot’s daughters sleeping with him however is really just an anecdote in the whole story of Sodom, and I think it says more about how Lot’s daughters may have been affected by the culture of a place like Sodom than it says about the perils of alcohol.

March 4, 2012 at 10:08 am jhonse Harry, I do not disagree that drunkenness has its perils, however we scarcely need Matthew Henry to tell us that. If Lot had been more careful, his daughters' attempted act of incest would have failed. What is in common in both accounts however, is that their lives were shaken up by a great destruction, and at some point soon afterward, they got drunk. In his denunciation of drunkenness, the Pardoner says that Lot lay with his two daughters, so drunk he was, PardT 485-487. See also the peril of temptation, even from relations and friends, whom we love and esteem, and expect kindness from. We must dread a snare, wherever we are, and be always upon our guard. Pratt suggests Trevet's Les Cronicles, fol. R.A. If one were to argue from the scriptures about who had a drinking problem, one could argue more for Noah than Lot. Reply

However, Lot himself is generally represented by the rabbis in an unfavorable light. At the same time I do not believe we have any real indication in the scriptures that Lot had a problem with drinking, and no, Lot is not mentioned again in the Old Testament but neither are many others, righteous or not – but Lot is mentioned as being righteous in 2 Peter. Lot was also prone to over-imbibing, and the account Lot and his daughters was once read every Saturday in some synagogues as a warning to the public against drunkenness. The protection that Lot received from God was granted through the merit of Abraham; otherwise he would have perished with the people of Sodom (Genesis Rabbah 41-51). Thus, Lot is thus unambiguously a righteous man. When Lot separated himself from Abraham, he also separated himself from God, saying, "I have no desire either in Abraham or in his God." Lot chose Sodom as his residence because he was lustful. Many a man does that, when he is drunk, which, when he is sober, he could not think of without horror. Lot grazed his flocks in fields that belonged to neighboring peoples, and he quarreled with Abraham over this fact. If one were to argue from the scriptures about who had a drinking problem, one could argue more for Noah than Lot.

Sodom and Gomorrah

In Abrahamic religions, Sodom and Gomorrah have become synonymous with impenitent sin, and their fall with a proverbial manifestation of divine retribution. Both places were destroyed at the same time by an enormous conflagration. The Anglican Communion, on its website, presents the argument that the story is "not even vaguely about homosexual love or relationships", but instead "about dominance and rape, by definition an act of violence, not of sex or love." This argument that the violence and threat of violence to foreign visitors is the true ethical downfall of Sodom (and not homosexuality), also observes the similarity between the Sodom and Gomorrah and the Battle of Gibeah Bible stories. Genesis 18:20 says, "And the Lord said, 'The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.'" Indeed, not even ten righteous people could be found in the city.



In Genesis Chapter 14, Sodom and Gomorrah's political situation is described during the time biblical Lot had encamped in Sodom's territory. What brought about this awful calamity? Startling discoveries in the cemetery at Bab edh-Dhra revealed the cause. Sodom and Gomorrah have been used as metaphors for vice and homosexuality viewed as a deviation. Archaeologists found that buildings used to bury the dead were burned by a fire that started on the roof.



One of those interesting details has surfaced which reminds you that everything is connected.It is now predicted that the Supreme Court will give its ruling on same sex marriage on June 30.The Mass readings for that day are Genesis 19.15-29 – the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.We should be clear. It was an activity in which the inhabitants indulged the flesh in corrupt desires by going after strange flesh, ultimately bringing upon them the most extensive judgment anywhere in the Bible outside of the book of Revelation.



Within the Christian Churches that agree on the possible sexual interpretation of know (yada) in this context, there is still a difference of opinion on whether homosexuality is important. The modern names are Bab edh-Dhra, thought to be Sodom, and Numeira, thought to be Gomorrah. The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was some kind of activity—a grave, ongoing, lawless, sensuous activity—that Lot saw and heard and that tormented him as he witnessed it day after day. Divine judgment by God was then passed upon Sodom and Gomorrah and two neighboring cities, which were completely consumed by fire and brimstone. This Exodus 22:21-24 lesson is viewed as a more historically accurate way to interpret the Sodom and Gomorrah story. The story has therefore given rise to words in several languages, including the English word sodomy, used in sodomy laws to describe a sexual "crime against nature" consisting of anal or oral sex, either homosexual or heterosexual, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal (bestiality). Genesis 13:13 indicates that at that time, "the men of Sodom wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly." Sodom was ruled by King Bera while Gomorrah was ruled by King Birsha. Some Islamic societies incorporate punishments associated with Sodom and Gomorrah into sharia.

First, Sodom and Gomorrah were judged because of grave sin. The destruction debris was about three feet thick. Neighboring Zoar (Bela) was the only city to be spared. Their kingship, however, was not sovereign, because all of the river Jordan plain was under Elamite rule for twelve years. As the mob instead settles for the rape and murder of the foreigner’s female concubine in the Battle of Gibeah story, the homosexual aspect is generally seen as inconsequential, and the ethical downfall is understood to be the violence and threat of violence to foreigners by the mob. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were also warlike and violent.The violent homosexual rapists of Sodom and Gomorrah were an example of the decadence, lust, luxury, greed and violence of the whole civilization.The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was, therefore far deeper than a sexual problem. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was not simply because the city was full of homosexuality.The violent homosexual rapists were a symptom of a deeper ugliness in Sodom and Gomorrah.We know from earlier in Genesis that the cities of the plain were lush, rich and luxuriant. In both stories, an inhospitable mob demands the homosexual rape of a foreigner or foreigners. The sexual problem was the symptom of a deep, fetid and stubborn rebellion against God and everything that was natural and simple, innocent, free and good.St Paul outlines this sick depravity in the first chapter of his epistle to the Romans:The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,  since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. Continue Reading

Piecing together the biblical evidence gives us a picture of Sodom's offense. The kingdom of Elam was ruled by King Chedorlaomer.

The ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah have been discovered southeast of the Dead Sea.