Sodom & Gomorrah (Israel)

Overview

Sodom and Gomorrah are notoriously sinful cities in the book of Genesis that were  destroyed by God with “sulfur and fire” because of their wickedness (Genesis 18-19). Unsurprisingly, not everyone agrees on the locations of Sodom and Gomorrah, but many believe that ancient Gomorrah lies at the base of Masada and ancient Sodom is south of Masada about 14 miles. God also used the names of Sodom and Gomorrah to collectively refer to all of the cities of the Dead Sea basin destroyed because of their severe sinfulness. The believed locations of these ancient cities fit the location as described in the Bible (Genesis 13:10).

The Jewish historian Josephus said the ruins could still be seen in his day. Archeologists have discovered thousands of bodies in graves around the believed locations of Sodom and Gomorrah. Because the Dead Sea basin used to be like the Garden of Eden, it was an extremely desirable climate that was great for agriculture and life in general. It was, therefore, a very populated area.

There are brimstone (sulfur) balls in these cities that are unique from all other sulfur found in the world. The sulfur is white and is around 90-95% pure. It is so pure you can light it on fire, and it burns a hot blue flame. These sulfur balls are not found between the cities.

There is a lot of ash in these areas that fits the biblical narrative (e.g. 2 Peter 2:6). The material of these city formations is calcium sulfate, which is what limestone and sulfur become when heated. The main building material in Israel is limestone, so these cities also fit the scientific evidence. There are also many charcoal layers found in the strata of these cities. The amount of ash, charcoal, and calcium sulfate reveals overwhelming evidence of extreme heat in these cities. There is also no geothermal activity in these areas to explain the ash, charcoal, and calcium sulfate.

Many unexplained shapes in these areas look like buildings, sphinxes, pyramids, and palaces. These cities existed around 4,000 years ago, so their remains would be difficult to distinguish. The Bible says God reduced these cities to ashes, so we shouldn't expect to find any existing buildings or stones.