Sodom and Gomorrha

Sodom, a city of Pentapolis ( Wisdom 10:6 ; Genesis 14:2 ): Sodom, Gomorrha, Adama, Seboim, and Bala -- later called Segor ( Genesis 19:22 ). They were situated in "the country about the Jordan " ( Genesis 13:10 ); their exact location is unknown (cf. Genesis 14:3, 8, 10, 17 ; 19:20-22, 30, 37 ; Deuteronomy 34:3 ). Josephus identifies Segor with "Zoara of Arabia " at the south end of the Dead Sea ("Bel. Jud.", IV, viii, 4; cf. "Ant. Jud.", I, xi, 4; XIII, xv, 4; XIV, i, 4). Conder identifies it with Tell esh-Shaghur, seven miles north of the Dead Sea ; Burkhard, Wetstein, and others with Chirbet es-Safich, three miles south of the Dead Sea ; E. Robinson puts it on Lisan, etc. For the unnatural sins of their inhabitants Sodom, Gomorrha, Adama, and Seboin were destroyed by "brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven " ( Genesis 13:13 ; 18:20 ; 19:24, 29 ; Hosea 11:8 ). Since then, their names are synonymous with impenitent sin, and their fall with a proverbial manifestation of God's just wrath ( Deuteronomy 29:23 ; 32:32 ; Isaiah 1:10 sqq. ; Ezekiel 16:49 ; Matthew 11:23 sq. ; 2 Peter 2:6 ; Jude 7 ). The Septuagint rendering katestrephe ( Genesis 19:25 ) probably led to the erroneous opinion that the destruction of Sodom was accompanied by great upheavals of the earth, and even to the formation of the Dead Sea.