Sodom and Gomorrah

Sodom and Gomorrah were two biblical cities destroyed by the Abrahamic God for their wickedness. Their story parallels the Genesis flood narrative in its theme of God's anger provoked by man's sin (see Genesis 19:1–28). They are mentioned frequently in the prophets and the New Testament as symbols of human wickedness and divine retribution, and the Quran also contains a version of the story about the two cities. The narrative of their destruction may have a relation to the remains of third-millennium BC Bronze Age cities in the region, and subsequent Late Bronze Age collapse. Etymology The etymology of the names Sodom and Gomorrah is uncertain, and scholars disagree about them. They are known in Hebrew as and. In the Septuagint, these became and; the Hebrew ghayn was absorbed by ayin sometime after the Septuagint was transcribed. According to Burton MacDonald, the Hebrew term for Gomorrah was based on the Semitic root , which means "be deep", "copious (water)". Biblical narrative Lot and Chedorlaomer Sodom and Gomorrah are two of the five "cities of the plain" referred in and that rebel against Chedorlaomer of Elam, to whom they were subject. At the Battle of Siddim, Chedorlaomer defeats them and takes many captives, including Lot, the nephew of the Hebrew patriarch Abraham. Abraham gathers his men, rescues Lot, and frees the cities.