View east along the southern wall of the destroyed city of
Sodom (Bab edh-Dhra) southeast of the Dead Sea in modern Jordan.
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The
ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah have been discovered southeast of the Dead
Sea. The modern names are Bab edh-Dhra, thought to be Sodom, and Numeira,
thought to be Gomorrah. Both places were destroyed at the same time by an
enormous conflagration. The destruction debris was about three feet thick.
What brought about this awful calamity? Startling discoveries in the
cemetery at Bab edh-Dhra revealed the cause. Archaeologists found that
buildings used to bury the dead were burned by a fire that started on the
roof.
What would cause every structure in the cemetery to be destroyed in
this way? The answer to the mystery is found in the Bible. "Then the Lord
rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah -- from the Lord out of
the heavens" (Genesis 19:24).
The only conceivable explanation for this unique discovery in the annals
of archaeology is that burning debris fell on the buildings from the air.
But how could such a thing happen?
There is ample evidence of subterranean deposits of a petroleum-based
substance called bitumen,
similar to asphalt, in the region south of the Dead Sea.
Such material normally contains a high percentage of sulfur. It has been
postulated by geologist Frederick Clapp that pressure from an earthquake
could have caused the bitumen
deposits to be forced out of the earth through a fault line. As it gushed
out of the earth it could have been ignited by a spark or surface fire. It
would then fall to earth as a burning, fiery mass.
It was only after Clapp formulated this theory that Sodom and Gomorrah
were found. It turns out that the sites are located exactly on a fault
line along the eastern side of a plain south of the Dead Sea, so Clapp's
theory is entirely plausible. There is some evidence for this scenario
from the Bible itself. Abraham viewed the destruction from a vantage point
west of the Dead Sea. The Bible records what Abraham saw: "He looked down
toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw
dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace" (Genesis 19:28).
Dense smoke suggests smoke from a petroleum-based fire. Smoke rising like
smoke from a furnace indicates a forced draft, such as would be expected
from subterranean deposits being forced out of the ground under pressure.
The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah became an example in the Bible of
how God judges sin. "Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: she and
her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help
the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before Me.
Therefore I did away with them as you have seen" (Ezekiel
16:49-50).
FOR FURTHER READING (available from Associates for Biblical
Research):
"The Discovery of the Sin Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah," by
Bryant G. Wood, Bible and Spade, Summer 1999, pp.
67-80.
ALSO SEE: Sodom (in the
ChristianAnswers WebBible Encyclopedia)
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Author: Bryant
Wood of Associates for Biblical
Research
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