Bible Question:
In what years were Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed?
Bible Answer:
The estimated dates for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah vary. Ussher estimates that the destruction occurred in the year of 1897 B.C. [1]. Thomas Robinson suggests a date of 1896 B.C.[2] and Merrill Unger gives a date of 2065 B.C. [3]. W. F. Albright states that the dates of pottery in the location where Sodom is believed to have exited ranges from 2300 to 1900 B.C.[4] The latest estimate for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is about 2070 B.C.[5]
It is believed that the two cities were located at the southern end of the Dead Sea in the Jordan Valley (Genesis 13:10). Josephus refers to the Dead Sea as Lake Asphaltites.[6] It is of interest to note that Josephus writes that the Lake Asphaltites was formed as a result of the devastation that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Most biblical archeologists believe the ancient ruins of these cities are buried beneath the water.[7] Recently some have claimed to have found the cities.
God destroyed these two cities and their inhabitants because they were living what is now called an “alternate life style.” The sin was homosexuality between men and between women (also called lesbianism). God judged these cities in part because the homosexuals did not hide their sin.
. . . And they display their sin like Sodom; they do not even conceal it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves. (NASB) Isaiah 3:9
. . . 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 . . . (NASB) 2 Peter 2:6
Conclusion:
God predicted that Sodom and Gomorrah would never be inhabited again.
“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.” (NASB) Jeremiah 49:18
This prophecy has come true and the cities do not exist today. The Bible speaks truth! It is the only book of its kind in the world.
References:
1. James Usher, The Annals of the World. Master Books. 2004. p.26.
2. Thomas Robinson. The Bible Timeline. Barnes and Noble. 2000. Timeline chart.
3. Merrill Unger. Archaeology and the Old Testament. Zondervan Publishing. 1974. pp. 114-115.
4. F. W. Albright. “The Archaeological Results of an Expedition to Moab and the Dead Sea. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. No. 14 (Apr., 1924), pp. 2-12.
5. Bryant G. Wood. The Discovery of the Sin Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Associates For Biblical Research. April 16, 2008.
6. Flavius Josephus. The Antiquities of the Jews, Book I, chapter 9.
7. John J. Davis. Paradise to Prison. Sheffield Publishing Co. 1998. pp. 203-204.