Torah and Jewish Idea > Torah and Jewish Idea
Sodom and Gomorrah and the Dead Sea
Brianroy:
I was wondering if anyone else believes as I do, that the Dead Sea did not exist until after the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah by HASHEM.
I am looking, for example at Genesis 13 verse 10 at Shin-Chet-Tav (SHaCHaT).
I read it after the interpretation that Y*** (whom we shall defer to as HASHEM)
"destroyed with a sinking and bowing down into a pit Sodom and Gomorrah...."
I am also comparing the use with land masses bowed down and crushed into oceans under the weight of the Great Flood
in Genesis 9:11,15 and the related Hebrew of Psalm 7:16 (7:15 in English) and Psalm 35:7.
Also, in just the folios of the Babylonian Talmud in Shabbat 108 b and 109a, there are at least 5 references to the Dead Sea as "the Lake of Sodom"
by the sages, with an intent that Sodom is under the Dead Sea or was sunk and bowed down.
And in order to fulfill prophecy in Jeremiah 49:18 and 50:40 that no man shall ever more abide again "in it", I assume that this does not mean "over it",
as one can on a boat or upon dry land, but cannot if it is under such briny water that it repels people to float.
Would this be an acceptable Torah Study thread to start and discuss? Thanks.
Tag-MehirTzedek:
"Would this be an acceptable Torah Study thread to start and discuss? Thanks"
Yes. Perhaps I will look into it later. Also perhaps you can bring the texts of those pages and post them here.
muman613:
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/246615/jewish/The-Destruction-of-Sodom.htm
--- Quote ---The Dead Sea
Abraham, remembering G-d’s gracious promise, hastened early in the morning to the spot where he had prayed to G-d on the previous day. The blooming valley was hidden by smoke; giant furnaces rose from earth to heaven where the proud cities of the Jordan stood; and the wild flames were rapidly consuming the land. When the devastation was complete, a vast lake of salt and asphalt, or bitumen, “The Dead Sea,” lay to the east of the desert of Judah.
The Dead Sea remained, and is now one of the marvels of the earth. The destruction of Sodom brought fear into many hearts. Wayfarers and caravans began to shun that part of the land, and soon the roads leading to the once fertile regions of Sodom became all but deserted.
--- End quote ---
muman613:
I do not believe that the quote from Genesis indicates anything except that Jordan used to have plentiful water.
--- Quote ---
י. וַיִּשָּׂא לוֹט אֶת עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא אֶת כָּל כִּכַּר הַיַּרְדֵּן כִּי כֻלָּהּ מַשְׁקֶה לִפְנֵי | שַׁחֵת יְהֹוָה אֶת סְדֹם וְאֶת עֲמֹרָה כְּגַן יְהֹוָה כְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם בֹּאֲכָה צֹעַר:
10. And Lot raised his eyes, and he saw the entire plain of the Jordan, that it was entirely watered; before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as you come to Zoar.
--- End quote ---
muman613:
http://www.parsha.net/pdf/Bamidbar/BamidbarShavuos58.pdf
While Elimelekh and Naomi connect us to the family of Yehuda, the royal tribe of Israel, Ruth links us to the family of Moav, descended from Lot. Lot's story is similar to that of Elimelekh - during years of famine, when there was not enough food for Lot's and Avraham's livestock together, Lot left the land and traveled to Sodom, which was apparently located east of the Jordan River. If this be the case, he traveled out of Israel. The location of Sodom is not fully known, but the city of Tzo'ar, one of Sodom's neighboring cities where Lot lived after the upheaval, appears in Yirmiyahu (48:34) in a prophecy on Moav. According to this interpretation, Lot left Avraham's house for a land that became known as part of Moav. Lot's departure constituted not only a geographic exit from Israel but also a cultural and religious exit, from the Godly nation of Avraham to a foreign nation, from Abraham's way of life (which followed the path of God, a way of charity and justice) to its opposite, the Sodomite way
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version