Introduction
10. The destruction of Sodom ch. 19
Chapters 18 and 19 "paint a vivid contrast between the respective patriarchal ancestors, Abraham and Lot, with an obvious moralistic intent (i.e., a demonstration that human initiatives-Lot’s choice-always lead to catastrophe)." [Note: Helyer, p. 84.]
"In the development of the story two of the themes in counterpoint with Abraham and the Promise-the theme of Lot, the righteous man without the pilgrim spirit, and of Sodom, the standing example of worldly promise, insecurity (chapter 14) and decay-are now heard out to their conclusion. By a master-stroke of narrative, Abraham, who will outlive all such time-servers, is shown standing at his place of intercession (27), a silent witness of the catastrophe he has striven to avert. It is a superb study of the two aspects of judgment: the cataclysmic, as the cities disappear in brimstone and fire, and the gradual, as Lot and his family reach the last stages of disintegration, breaking up in the very hands of their rescuers." [Note: Kidner, pp. 133-34.]
"Lot’s move from a tent pitched near Sodom (Genesis 13:12-13) to a permanent residence in the city showed his willingness to exist with unbridled wickedness." [Note: Davis, p. 200.]
The traditional site of Sodom is near the south bay of the Dead Sea. Many scholars still support this location. [Note: E.g., David Howard Jr., "Sodom and Gomorrah Revisited," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 27:4 (December 1984):385-400. On the location of Sodom and Gomorrah, see "Cities of the Dead Sea Plain," Buried History 18:3 (September 1982), pp. 35-48; and R. Thomas Schaub and Walter E. Rast, "Preliminary Report of the 1981 Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain, Jordan," Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 254 (Spring 1984):35-60.]
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