Part of the reason why God destroyed Sodom is that its male residents were inhospitable.
Homosexuality Is Not a Sin
Another story very similar to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah exists in the Bible. A man, his servant, and his concubine were traveling throughout the hill country of Ephraim (Judg. 19:1, 9"In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite was sojourning in the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, who took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. . . . And when the man and his concubine and his servant rose up to depart, his father-in-law, the girl's father, said to him, 'Behold, now the day has waned toward evening. Please, spend the night. Behold, the day draws to its close. Lodge here and let your heart be merry, and tomorrow you shall arise early in the morning for your journey, and go home'" Judg. 19:1, 9 ESV.). On their travels, they decided to stay at a city named Gibeah which belonged to the Benjamin tribe (Judg. 19:14-15"So they passed on and went their way. And the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, and they turned aside there, to go in and spend the night at Gibeah. And he went in and sat down in the open square of the city, for no one took them into his house to spend the night" Judg. 19:14-15 ESV.). A man offered room and board to the travelers so that they may have a place to eat and stay for the night. However, during the night, the wicked men of Gibeah surrounded the house and demanded that the host send the male guest out of the house so that they could "know him" (Judg. 19:22"As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, 'Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him'" Judg. 19:22 ESV.). The host pleaded with the men of Gibeah to leave the male guest alone, and the host offered his virgin daughter and the man's concubine to take the guest's place, which is analogous to Lot's offer of his two virgin daughters to the Sodomites (Judg. 19:24"'Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out now. Violate them and do with them what seems good to you, but against this man do not do this outrageous thing'" Judg. 19:24 ESV.). The wicked men would not listen to the host, and so the guest threw his concubine out of the house and the men "knew her and abuse(d) her" (Judg. 19:25"But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go" Judg. 19:25 ESV.). When the morning came, they let her go, and she died from her injuries (Judg. 19:27-28"And her master rose up in the morning, and when he opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, behold, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold. He said to her, 'Get up, let us be going.' But there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey, and the man rose up and went away to his home" Judg. 19:27-28 ESV. & Judg. 20:4"And the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, 'I came to Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to spend the night'" Judg. 20:4 ESV.). War between Israel and the Benjaminites (the Benjaminites ruled Gibeah) resulted because the Gibeah men had raped the concubine, and God destroyed Gibeah through the Israelites (Judg. 20:35-38"And the LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel, and the people of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day. All these were men who drew the sword. So the people of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. The men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin, because they trusted the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah. Then the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush moved out and struck all the city with the edge of the sword" Judg. 20:35-38 ESV.).
Several points can be taken from this story. First, homosexuals, by their very nature, are not sexually satisfied by women. Thus, if the men from Gibeah had been homosexuals, they would not have raped the concubine. Likewise, in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot's daughters would not have been able to sexually satisfy the wicked men of Sodom if the men had been homosexual, in which case it would have been ludicrous for Lot to have even bothered to offer his daughters in place of the two angels. Instead, Lot offered his daughters to the men out of desperation to protect his guest (Boswell, 1980, p. 95"No doubt the surrender of his daughters was simply the most tempting bribe Lot could offer on the spur of the moment to appease the hostile crowd" (Boswell, 1980, p. 95).).1
Second, the men from Gibeah wished to rape the male guest (and actually raped the concubine instead), just as the men from Sodom wished to rape the two angels, but the angels stopped them from doing so. The grave sin in both of these stories is the Sodom men's and Gibeah men's inhospitable treatment of guests within their cities by the attempted rape and actual rape of the guests.
Third, even though God did not personally destroy the city of Gibeah like he destroyed the city of Sodom, He enabled the Israelites to destroy it (Judg. 20:35-38"And the LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel, and the people of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day. All these were men who drew the sword. So the people of Benjamin saw that they were defeated.
The men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin, because they trusted the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah. Then the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush moved out and struck all the city with the edge of the sword.
Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in the main ambush was that when they made a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city . . ." Judg. 20:35-38 ESV.). Declaring that God destroyed Sodom because the men were homosexual is the same as declaring that God allowed the Israelites to destroy Gibeah because the men were heterosexual, and this conclusion simply doesn't make sense. Thus, God must have destroyed Sodom for several reasons: the people of Sodom were wicked, the Sodomites attempted to rape the angels, and the Sodomites were inhospitable to the guests.
Did God destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because the residents were inhospitable? It is true that inhospitality was frowned upon in the Old Testament; however, it wasn't seen as a greater vice than the "sin of homosexuality," as set forth in Lev. 20:13"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them" Lev. 20:13 ESV. which mandates the death penalty for men involved in homosexual acts. There is no biblical verse which mandates the death penalty for Jews and Christians who are inhospitable.
A man, his servant, and his concubine were traveling throughout the hill country of Ephraim (Judg. 19:1, 9"In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite was sojourning in the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, who took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. . . . And when the man and his concubine and his servant rose up to depart, his father-in-law, the girl's father, said to him, 'Behold, now the day has waned toward evening. Please, spend the night. Behold, the day draws to its close. Lodge here and let your heart be merry, and tomorrow you shall arise early in the morning for your journey, and go home'" Judg. 19:1, 9 ESV.). On their travels, they decided to stay at a city named Gibeah which belonged to the Benjamin tribe (Judg. 19:14-15"So they passed on and went their way. And the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, and they turned aside there, to go in and spend the night at Gibeah. And he went in and sat down in the open square of the city, for no one took them into his house to spend the night" Judg. 19:14-15 ESV.). A man offered room and board to the travelers so that they may have a place to eat and stay for the night. However, during the night, the Gibeah men surrounded the house and demanded that the host send the male guest out of the house so that they could "know him" (Judg. 19:22"As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, 'Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him'" Judg. 19:22 ESV.). The host pleaded with the men of Gibeah to leave the guest alone, and the host offered his virgin daughter and the man's concubine to take the guest's place (Judg. 19:24"'Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out now. Violate them and do with them what seems good to you, but against this man do not do this outrageous thing'" Judg. 19:24 ESV.). The wicked men persisted, and so the guest threw his concubine out of the house and the men "knew her and abuse(d) her" (Judg. 19:25"But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go" Judg. 19:25 ESV.). When the morning came, they let her go, and she died from her injuries (Judg. 19:27-28"And her master rose up in the morning, and when he opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, behold, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold. He said to her, 'Get up, let us be going.' But there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey, and the man rose up and went away to his home" Judg. 19:27-28 ESV. & Judg. 20:4"And the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, 'I came to Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to spend the night'" Judg. 20:4 ESV.).
The rape of the Gibeah's concubine caused a rift between the Israelites and Benjaminites, eventually leading to war. The Israelites were losing against the Benjaminites, and it wasn't until the Israelites prayed to God to help them win against the Benjaminites that God aided them (see Judg. 20:20-38). Moreover, in the story of Jericho, God allows the Israelites to destroy the city of Jericho (Josh. 6:20-21"So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. Then they devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword" Josh. 6:20-21 ESV.).
It must be noted that God didn't destroy the city of Gibeah or Jericho; the Israelites did so with God's grace (see Judg. 20:35"And the LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel, and the people of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day. All these were men who drew the sword" Judg. 20:35 ESV.). Obviously, God did not see the inhospitality exhibited in the stories of Gibeah and Jericho as a serious sin. However, unlike the cities of Gibeah and Jericho, God destroyed the city of Sodom out of His own Will, which proves how much more God was angered with the Sodom men's homosexuality and wickedness in comparison to their inhospitality (Gen. 19:24-25"Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground" Gen. 19:24-25 ESV.).
Homosexuality Is Not a Sin
A third biblical story emphasizes the importance of hospitality towards guests. Rahab, a prostitute (who some people would judge harshly as a sinner because she was prostitute), was hospitable to two traveling Israelites who were sent to spy on the king of Jericho (Josh. 2:1"And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, 'Go, view the land, especially Jericho.' And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there . . ." Josh. 2:1 ESV.). When the men needed a place to stay for the night, she welcomed them into her father's home and hid them from the king who wanted to capture them (Josh. 2:2-4"And it was told to the king of Jericho, 'Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.' Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, 'Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.' But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, 'True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from'" Josh. 2:2-4 ESV.). A few chapters later, the Lord allows the Israelites to destroy the entire city of Jericho, but Rahab and her entire family were saved from the destruction because of Rahab's hospitality to the two strangers (Josh. 6:17"And the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent" Josh. 6:17 ESV.). Rahab's kindness to the strangers was actually more important to God than her profession as a prostitute, which further portrays the high importance of hospitality to strangers in the Old Testament.
One may wonder why hospitality was such an important quality for a Jew to possess. During their exodus from Egypt, the Israelites, who had been enslaved by Egyptians for hundreds of years, were considered "foreigners" wherever they went. The Israelites relied on the kindness of strangers many times. Thus, the Israelites were commanded through Moses by God to be hospitable to foreigners. This commandment is part of the Torah and is repeated throughout the Old Testament many times (see Exod. 22:21"You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt" Exod. 22:21 ESV., 23:9"You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt" Exod. 23:9 ESV.; Lev. 19:10"And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God" Lev. 19:10 ESV., 33-34"When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God" Lev. 19:33-34 ESV., 24:22"You shall have the same rule for the sojourner and for the native, for I am the LORD your God" Lev. 24:22 ESV.; Deut. 10:17-19"For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt" Deut. 10:17-19 ESV., 26:12"When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled . . ." Deut. 26:12 ESV., 27:19"'Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen'" Deut. 27:19 ESV.; Prov. 9:1-5"Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars. She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her young women to call from the highest places in the town, 'Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!' To him who lacks sense she says, 'Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed'" Prov. 9:1-5 ESV.; & Mal. 3:5"Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers . . . against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts" Mal. 3:5 ESV.). Thus, to be inhospitable was a sin!
Many historians recognize that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah highlights the sin of inhospitality, not "the sin of homosexuality" (Boswell, 1980, p. 96"Some modern readers may have difficult imagining that a breach of hospitality could be so serious an offense as to warrant the destruction of a city" (Boswell, 1980, p. 96)., Fox, 1995, p. 4"Gen 19:4-10 and Amora (Gomorrah) are at last indicated more openly: abuse of the sacred duty of hospitality, and sexual immorality (v. 5). The latter theme returns at the end of the story, with the incestuous incidents that takes place at the instigation of Lot's daughters" (Fox, 1995, p. 4)., Laymon, 1971, p. 17"The evil of Sodom was not considered by all the OT writers to have been sodomy. Ezekiel defines it: "She . . . Had pride, surfeit of food, and prosperous ease, but . . . did not aid the poor and needy" (Ezek. 16:48-50; cf. Isa. 1:10, 3:9; Jer. 23:14). This fact and the similarity of the attempted assault to the outrage at Gibeah (Judg. 19:22-26) suggest that this episode may originally have been an independent tradition" (Laymon, 1971, p. 17)., Alexander, D. & Alexander, P. (Eds.), 1999, p. 135"Every man in the city is implicated in this terrible attempted gang-rape – not one supports Lot's protest against the infringement of the most sacred laws of hospitality, not to say humanity. God had clear evidence that the outcry against Sodom was justified (18:20-21)" (Alexander, D. & Alexander, P. (Eds.), 1999, p. 135)., Bailey, 1955/1975, p. 5"We are simply told that Sodom and Gomorrah were wicked and grievously evil, but the writer does not specify their iniquity more exactly, and only on a a priori grounds can it be assumed that it was iniquity solely or predominantly sexual in character. The lawless commotion before Lot's door and the boorish display of hospitality (coupled, no doubt, with other signs of wickedness which would not escape their scrutiny) could well have been sufficient to satisfy the angels that report as true – and judgment followed accordingly. The story does not in the least demand the assumption that the sin of Sodom was sexual, let alone homosexual – indeed, there is no evidence to show that vice of the latter kind was prevalent there" (Bailey, 1955/1975, p. 5)., Keck et al. (Eds.), 1994, p. 474"The author makes the depth of Sodom's inhospitality immediately evident. Verse 4 (cf. v. 11) shows that every man (!) in the city was caught up in this threat of violence to homosexual activity (they even threatened Lot himself, v. 9). If the assault had succeeded, the result could have only been described as gang rape, not a private act. The text presents the sins of Sodom more as social than individual, something that characterizes the entire city" (Keck et al. (Eds.), 1994, p. 474)., & Spencer, 1995, p. 62The early Christian fathers did not see the story of Sodom and Gomorrah as having anything to do with homosexuality. Origen, who wrote at length about the powerful battle between the flesh and the spirit, analyze the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and interpreted in terms of hospitality. In Origen's view, not escape the fires destruction because it opened his home to strangers" (Spencer, 1995, p. 62).). Even the Nave's Topical Bible places the story of Sodom and Gomorrah under the category of "Hospitality: Instances Of."2
Finally, Jesus Christ refers to the Sodomites' sin as the sin of inhospitality when He instructs the disciples on the specifics of how they should spread the gospel, as stated in Matt 10:12-15"As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.
Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town" Matt 10:12-15 ESV. and Luke 10:10-12"But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.'
I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town" Luke 10:10-12 ESV.. In both of these verses, Jesus states that homeowners who refuse to accept the disciples as guests will have a judgment that is harsher than Sodom and Gomorrah's judgment (Matt 10:12-15"As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.
Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town" Matt 10:12-15 ESV. & Luke 10:10-12)"But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you.
Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.' I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town" Luke 10:10-12 ESV.. Thus, to state that the purpose of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah was to condemn homosexuality instead of inhospitality is the same as stating that Jesus Christ misunderstood that the Sodomites' major sin was inhospitality!
God had already decided to destroy the city of Sodom prior to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, as stated in Gen. 18:20-33. We also know from Jude 1:7 KJV"Even as Sodom and Gomorrha (sic), and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire" Jude 1:7 ESV. that the men of Sodom chased "strange flesh" and their homosexual desires along with other wickedness that is listed in Ezek. 16:49-50"Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good" Ezek. 16:49-50 ESV.. The "strange flesh" refers to sexual activities outside of marriage, which includes homosexuality. The Sodom men's homosexuality was the catalyst that caused their destruction, since this sin was the last major sin that was committed before God destroyed the city. Thus, even though God had decided to destroy the city of Sodom prior to the Sodomite men's attempted homosexual relations with the angels, we know that the Sodomite men's homosexual urges must have been a factor in God's decision to destroy the city.
It is true that Jesus refers to inhospitality as one of the sins of Sodom in Matt 10:12-15"As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.
Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town" Matt 10:12-15 ESV. and Luke 10:10-12"But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.'
I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town" Luke 10:10-12 ESV.. However, as stated in Ezek. 16:49-50Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it" Ezek. 16:49-50 ESV. and Jud. 1:7"(J)ust as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire . . ." Jud. 1:7 ESV., the Sodomites took part in various sins, not just one major sin. Thus, even though Jesus did not state that homosexuality was a major sin for the Sodomites, it is possible that God considered it a major sin, especially since the Sodomites committed sins of sexual immorality and unnatural desires according to Jud. 1:7"(J)ust as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire . . ." Jud. 1:7 ESV..
1According to Boswell, at the time the Old Testament was written "the honor of women was valued less than the sacred duty of hospitality" (as cited in La Bible de Jérusalem, 2007, p. 6). The Israelite family was paternalistic, and at the time, women were actually considered property of their fathers and husbands ("The Jewish wife was owned by her husband . . ." Spencer, 1995, p. 53; "The biblical family was organized along patrilineal lines; that is, a person was related primarily to his father and to his father's kin" Levin, 1989, p. 117; & "Adultery and rape are seen as offenses against the husband or father of the woman involved" Mays, 1988, p. 175). Thus, a female guest, especially a concubine, would have been valued less during that time in history than a male guest. Return
2Nave, 1979, p. 577 Return
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