Have you ever sat in a church pew and heard the story of Sodom and Gomorrah? For years, I did. And if you’re like me, you probably walked away with a very specific, narrow idea of what the “sin of Sodom” was. The word itself, “sodomy,” carries so much weight and often points in one direction. But I found myself asking, is that the full picture? Is that what the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, truly emphasizes?
When we ask, what is sodomy in the Bible, we are asking a question that deserves a deep, honest, and scripturally-grounded answer. The truth is, the story is far richer and more challenging than a simple one-issue condemnation. It’s a story about pride, the abuse of power, the neglect of the poor, and a violent rejection of God’s messengers. It’s a story that forces us to look in the mirror today. So, let’s walk through the scriptures together, step by step, and uncover the context and history behind this powerful narrative.
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Key Takeaways
- The primary sins of Sodom, as described by the Old Testament prophets like Ezekiel and Isaiah, were pride, arrogance, apathy towards the poor and needy, and social injustice.
- The original Genesis story centers on a threat of violent gang assault and a severe breach of hospitality, which was a sacred duty in the ancient world. The focus is on oppressive violence, not a consensual act.
- The term “sodomy” as we understand it today does not appear in the original Hebrew or Greek biblical texts. Its meaning was developed centuries later.
- Jesus himself refers to Sodom in the context of inhospitality—punishing cities that reject his disciples even more harshly.
- Understanding the full biblical picture requires looking beyond a single verse and considering how the entire Bible speaks about Sodom, emphasizing themes of justice, mercy, and compassion.
What Actually Happened in Sodom According to Genesis?
To get to the heart of the matter, we have to start at the beginning. The story is found in Genesis, chapter 19. It’s a vivid and disturbing account.
Two angels, appearing as men, arrive in the city of Sodom. Abraham’s nephew, Lot, sees them in the town square and insists they come to his home. He shows them hospitality. He gives them a place to stay, washes their feet, and feeds them. In the ancient Near East, protecting your guests was one of the highest social and moral obligations.
But then, the situation takes a dark turn.
Why Did the Men of the City Surround Lot’s House?
Before the visitors can even lie down to rest, the men of Sodom—described as “both young and old, all the people to the last man”—surround Lot’s house. They are not a small group; it’s the whole city.
They shout to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.”
This is the critical part of the story. The Hebrew verb used here for “to know” is yada. Now, yada is a versatile word. It can mean to know someone intellectually or relationally. And yes, in some contexts, it is used as a euphemism for sexual intercourse. However, its meaning is always driven by the context.
Was the Sin of the Mob Only About Sex?
Let’s look at the context here. A violent mob has surrounded a house and is demanding that guests be handed over to them. This isn’t a request for a consensual encounter. It is a threat of domination, humiliation, and violent assault. The mob’s intention was to brutally overpower and violate these strangers.
This act was a terrifying display of power and a complete rejection of the sacred laws of hospitality. They saw strangers, perceived them as vulnerable, and decided to subjugate them in the most degrading way possible. Lot’s response, while shocking and inexcusable to us (offering his daughters), shows just how desperate he was to protect his guests from the mob’s violent intent. The sin here is dripping with violence, pride, and a cruel desire to dominate the “other.”
What Do Other Old Testament Prophets Say About Sodom?
Thankfully, the Bible doesn’t leave us with just one story. To truly understand the sin of Sodom, we have to see how other inspired writers of Scripture interpreted it. When other prophets wanted to condemn Israel for its wickedness, they often used Sodom as the ultimate example of a sinful society.
But what sins did they point to? It’s fascinating.
Ezekiel’s Clear Indictment of Sodom’s Sins
Hundreds of years later, the prophet Ezekiel delivered God’s message to Jerusalem, and he directly names the guilt of Sodom. This is perhaps the clearest explanation in the entire Old Testament.
In Ezekiel 16:49-50, he says:
“Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.”
Let’s break that down, because it’s incredibly specific. According to Ezekiel, the primary sins of Sodom were:
- Pride and Arrogance: They were “haughty” and full of themselves.
- Gluttony and Apathy: They had an “excess of food” and “prosperous ease.” They were comfortable.
- Social Injustice: They “did not aid the poor and needy.”
This is a powerful indictment of social rot. Their wealth and comfort made them cruel and indifferent to the suffering of others. The “abomination” they committed flowed from this foundation of arrogant selfishness. It wasn’t just one act; it was a corrupt way of life.
What Did Isaiah and Jeremiah Say?
Other prophets echoed this exact sentiment. The prophet Isaiah, addressing the corrupt rulers of Jerusalem, calls them “rulers of Sodom” (Isaiah 1:10). Why? He goes on to list their sins: their religious sacrifices are meaningless because their hands are “full of blood.” He tells them to “seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” Their sin was a failure of justice and mercy.
Jeremiah does the same thing. He accuses Jerusalem’s false prophets of committing adultery, walking in lies, and “strengthening the hands of evildoers,” which he compares directly to the sin of Sodom (Jeremiah 23:14). Again, the focus is on societal corruption and injustice.
How Did Jesus and the Apostles Refer to Sodom?
When we move to the New Testament, the picture becomes even clearer, especially when we look at the words of Jesus Christ himself. If anyone understood the heart of God and the true meaning of sin, it was Jesus.
What Did Jesus Say About Sodom?
Jesus mentions Sodom on a few occasions, and every single time, it is in the context of inhospitality.
In Matthew 10, Jesus sends his disciples out to preach the gospel. He gives them instructions, and then He gives them this warning:
“And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.” (Matthew 10:14-15)
Think about that for a moment. Jesus says that rejecting His messengers—failing to show them hospitality and listen to their words—is a sin so severe that Sodom’s judgment will seem mild in comparison. He frames Sodom’s core sin not as a specific sexual act, but as a violent rejection of God’s representatives. He connects it directly back to the original story of the mob rejecting the angelic messengers who came to the city.
What Does the Book of Jude Say?
The New Testament book that links Sodom most directly to sexual sin is Jude. Jude 1:7 says:
“…just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.”
This verse is important and we must address it honestly. The phrase “unnatural desire” is a translation of the Greek sarkos heteras, which literally means “other flesh” or “strange flesh.”
For centuries, many scholars have interpreted this “strange flesh” as referring to the angels. In this view, the sin was wanting to have relations with non-human beings, a severe violation of God’s created order. This reading aligns with the Genesis story, where the visitors were indeed angels. This interpretation was also common in Jewish writings from the time period between the Old and New Testaments. Ultimately, whether it refers to angels or violent acts, it describes a desire that is contrary to God’s loving and life-giving purposes.
If the Bible Doesn’t Use the Word “Sodomy,” Where Did It Come From?
This is a critical part of the puzzle. The word “sodomy” never actually appears in the original manuscripts of the Bible. So how did the story of Sodom become so narrowly defined by it?
The answer lies in history, not scripture.
The Influence of Later Writers and Philosophers
The shift began around the first century A.D. with writers like the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria. Philo was heavily influenced by Greek philosophy, which often viewed any non-procreative sexual act as unnatural or shameful. He reinterpreted the Genesis story through this lens, focusing heavily on the sexual aspect and downplaying the themes of injustice and inhospitality that were so central to the prophets.
This interpretation slowly gained influence over the centuries. Eventually, the name of the city, Sodom, became attached to specific sexual acts.
The Birth of the Legal Term “Sodomy”
By the medieval period in Europe, “sodomy” had evolved into a legal term. It became a broad, catch-all category for various sexual behaviors that were considered immoral or “against nature.” These laws were often vague and were used to enforce social and religious control.
This legal and cultural definition then got read back into the Bible. People began to assume that their modern understanding of the word “sodomy” was the same thing the Bible meant when it talked about the city of Sodom. But as we’ve seen, the biblical writers themselves defined Sodom’s sin very differently. For more on the legal history of the term, the Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute provides a helpful overview of how these laws developed in a modern context.
So, What Should We Take Away from the Story of Sodom Today?
As followers of Christ, our goal should always be to read Scripture for its timeless truths and apply them to our lives. When we look at the full biblical witness about Sodom, the takeaways are profound and deeply challenging.
A Warning Against Pride and Injustice
The most consistent message about Sodom in the Bible is a warning against the sins that fester in comfortable, proud societies. It forces us to ask hard questions about ourselves and our communities:
- Are we, like Sodom, filled with pride in our own accomplishments and prosperity?
- Do we enjoy “prosperous ease” while turning a blind eye to the poor and needy in our midst?
- Do we fail to welcome the stranger, the refugee, or the outcast?
- Do we participate in systems that use power to oppress and humiliate the vulnerable?
These are the questions Ezekiel would have us ask. They get to the heart of what it means to live a life of justice and righteousness.
Understanding God’s Hatred for Violence and Oppression
At its core, the Genesis account is about a city whose people had become so corrupt that they sought to violently abuse vulnerable strangers for their own cruel pleasure. God’s judgment is a direct response to this brutal lack of love, compassion, and justice.
God stands against the oppressor. He defends the weak. He is a God of justice who sees the plight of the vulnerable and acts on their behalf. The story of Sodom is a terrifying reminder of what happens when a society completely abandons its duty to protect the powerless.
The True Heart of the Matter
So, what is sodomy in the Bible? The biblical answer is that the sin of Sodom was not a single action, but a complete societal collapse into pride, selfishness, and violent injustice. It was the sin of a comfortable people who forgot God and, as a result, forgot how to love their neighbor.
When asked to summarize the entire law, Jesus gave us two commands: love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself. The sins that led to Sodom’s destruction—arrogance, apathy, inhospitality, and violent oppression—are the polar opposite of these commands.
The story of Sodom is not a weapon to be used against others. It is a mirror that forces us to examine our own hearts and our own societies. It calls us away from pride and toward humility, away from apathy and toward compassion, and away from violence and toward the radical, welcoming love of Jesus Christ.
Frequently Asked Questions – What Is Sodomy in the Bible
How does the Bible define what is sodomy?**
The Bible associates sodomy primarily with sexual acts that go against God’s plan, including those involving unnatural desire and sexual violence. It describes acts of sexual immorality and perversion, especially in Jude 1:7 and 2 Peter 2:6-8, which depict the cities’ sins as involving both pride and severe sexual misconduct.
Is the main sin of Sodom just about hospitality, or does it involve sexual sins as well?
While some argue that Sodom’s sin was unkindness or lack of hospitality, biblical texts, especially Ezekiel and Jude, indicate that their sins included pride, injustice, and sexual immorality. The sexual sins, particularly the attempting to abuse the visiting angels, are a significant part of what the Bible describes as their evil.
What was God’s final judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah?
God’s final judgment was to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone, turning the land into a wasteland. He led Lot and his family to safety beforehand, but the cities and their inhabitants were completely destroyed due to their deep-seated sins.
What does ‘know them’ mean in the context of the Bible story of Sodom?
In the Bible, the phrase ‘know them’ can mean to have sex with someone. In Genesis 19, it refers to the men of Sodom demanding to have sex with the visiting angels, which was a cruel and evil act. Lot offers his daughters instead, illustrating the gravity of their demand and the city’s wickedness.
What is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis about?
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah, found in Genesis 18 and 19, is about God’s judgment on a city filled with severe sin. Abraham pleads with God to spare the city if even a small number of good people live there, showing God’s patience and mercy. Angels visit the city and warn Lot, Abraham’s nephew, about its destruction due to its evil, including violent and sexual sins.
