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| “ | 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 have intercourse with them'. |
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| ~ The Sodomites requesting that Lot hand over to them the Angels of the Lord to be raped. |
The Sodomites, also called the Kingdom of Sodom, are minor antagonists in The Bible, Judaism, and Islam.
They were the inhabitants of the city of Sodom, and did evil in the eyes of God, notoriously practicing acts of sexual depravity upon one another, and organizing the mass rapes of visitors to their city. They were allied with the Gomorrahites, the inhabitants of the city of Gomorrah, who behaved in a similar manner.
In later years, the word "sodomite" would become associated with homosexuality due to the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah performing homosexual acts upon one another during their orgies. This infamous fact has lead to the misconception that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed simply because their inhabitants practiced homosexuality which, while suggested in Islamic scripture, is explicitly untrue in Christian and Jewish theology, as the two cities were in fact destroyed after the inhabitants of Sodom banded together in an attempt to rape the Angels of the Lord. Other passages also claim that Sodom was destroyed because the Sodomites were prideful and refused to help the poor.
The verb "sodomize" also comes from the story of the Sodomites, as does the slang word "sod".
History[]
The Battle of Siddim[]
During Lot's journey through the land of Israel, he camped within the borders of Sodom at a time when "the men of Sodom were wicked and sinned before the Lord exceedingly", finding that Sodom, Gomorrah and the surrounding lands had been subjacated by Chedorlaomer, the King of Elam. In the thirteenth year, the kings of the surrounding kingdoms, lead by Bera and Birsha, the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, plotted to overthrow Elam and establish their own kingdoms. However, they lost and Bera and Birsha were killed trying to flee. Afterwards, Sodom and Gomorrah were sacked and plundered by Chedorlaomer, who took several captives, including Lot. As a result, Lot's uncle Abraham launched an assault on Chedorlaomer's company in what was known as the Battle of Siddim and killed him, liberating Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot then settled in Sodom.
Judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah[]
After Lot settled in Sodom, he found that common practices in Sodom and Gomorrah were to hold mass orgies during which inhabitants of the cities would rape each other and perform acts of depravity and sexual deviancy (including homosexual acts). God sent two angels to judge Sodom and Gomorrah. Visiting Sodom, the Angels of the Lord stayed with Lot and his family, and the house was surrounded by the Sodomites, who demanded that Lot send the Angels of the Lord out so that they could rape them. Lot refused, and offered to send out his daughters instead, but they refused, threatening to sodomize Lot if he did not give the Angels up. Fortunately, just when the Sodomites were about to attack the house and rape all inside, the angels revealed their nature and struck all the men of Sodom blind, allowing them to escape after informing Lot of God's intention to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.
After this news, Lot and his family left Sodom, having been warned by God that if they looked back as they left they would be turned into a pillar of salt, a fate which befell Lot's wife. God then rained down heavenly fire which destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, including the lustful yet blinded Sodomites.
Trivia[]
- It can be said that it's thanks to the actions of the Sodomites in the Abrahamic scripture that most people believe that homosexuality is a sin, given the abovementioned speculation that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because their inhabitants practiced homosexual acts, even though it's more than clear that those two cities were destroyed because its citizens were deviants who didn't respect anyone, hence the story's moral is that the act of raping someone is wrong, regardless of the perpetrator's sexual orientation.
- The word "sodomy" used to describe anal sex (especially during the times the act was considered illegal) is derived from the name of the city and its inhabitants.
- Due to growing changes in social norms and more willingness to look into alternative translations there is a growing movement among some religious groups to emphasize that Sodom and Gomorrah were actually destroyed more for reasons to do with their barbaric treatment of their citizenry and utter lack of respect for God than any homosexuality (of course as with all theological topics this can be a source of considerable controversy): in this movement the condemnation of the Sodomites is due to their wickedness, not their sexuality.
