Dr. Dylan Johnson

And then about 13 kilometers south of that, they found another site, Numaira. So there we have our two, Sodom and Gomorrah. Pick which one you want to be which. And it also is destroyed around this time period. But again... This puts us about 1,500 years between the destruction of those cities and the composition of those texts.

So my inclination then is not that these cities are Sodom and Gomorrah or that the narratives describing their destruction are really connected to these archaeological sites. But what I can imagine is that people...

So my inclination then is not that these cities are Sodom and Gomorrah or that the narratives describing their destruction are really connected to these archaeological sites. But what I can imagine is that people...

So my inclination then is not that these cities are Sodom and Gomorrah or that the narratives describing their destruction are really connected to these archaeological sites. But what I can imagine is that people...

Biblical writers and Israelites and Judahites who living in the region, who would have obviously encountered the strange geological features of the landscape and perhaps see these types of ruins, would have come up with stories explaining how these cities, which nobody could live there at that time, could have existed. Perhaps the landscape was once fertile.

Biblical writers and Israelites and Judahites who living in the region, who would have obviously encountered the strange geological features of the landscape and perhaps see these types of ruins, would have come up with stories explaining how these cities, which nobody could live there at that time, could have existed. Perhaps the landscape was once fertile.

Biblical writers and Israelites and Judahites who living in the region, who would have obviously encountered the strange geological features of the landscape and perhaps see these types of ruins, would have come up with stories explaining how these cities, which nobody could live there at that time, could have existed. Perhaps the landscape was once fertile.

And in fact, we have a biblical description of this area as essentially a Garden of Eden. And it was fertile until they sinned and the region was more or less desolated. So that's kind of what I imagine the history being is ancient encounters with the landscape. You don't need to go any further than the biblical text itself, than the book of Genesis itself. There's two explanations.

And in fact, we have a biblical description of this area as essentially a Garden of Eden. And it was fertile until they sinned and the region was more or less desolated. So that's kind of what I imagine the history being is ancient encounters with the landscape. You don't need to go any further than the biblical text itself, than the book of Genesis itself. There's two explanations.

And in fact, we have a biblical description of this area as essentially a Garden of Eden. And it was fertile until they sinned and the region was more or less desolated. So that's kind of what I imagine the history being is ancient encounters with the landscape. You don't need to go any further than the biblical text itself, than the book of Genesis itself. There's two explanations.

for that possibility, right? One is this group of four kings from the East came and destroyed these cities. And the landscape was always like that, at least in that story. And then Genesis 18 and 19 and some other texts offer an alternative explanation about how that region transformed from what was once a fertile landscape into a desolate place.

for that possibility, right? One is this group of four kings from the East came and destroyed these cities. And the landscape was always like that, at least in that story. And then Genesis 18 and 19 and some other texts offer an alternative explanation about how that region transformed from what was once a fertile landscape into a desolate place.

for that possibility, right? One is this group of four kings from the East came and destroyed these cities. And the landscape was always like that, at least in that story. And then Genesis 18 and 19 and some other texts offer an alternative explanation about how that region transformed from what was once a fertile landscape into a desolate place.

And then this explanation of sin and punishment comes in. So That's kind of where I see the Sodom and Gomorrah tradition. They stand as archetypes of punishment because of the landscape, because the landscape is punishing. And no one can live there in the days of these biblical writers. So why people could have lived there in the past begs some kind of explanation.

And then this explanation of sin and punishment comes in. So That's kind of where I see the Sodom and Gomorrah tradition. They stand as archetypes of punishment because of the landscape, because the landscape is punishing. And no one can live there in the days of these biblical writers. So why people could have lived there in the past begs some kind of explanation.

And then this explanation of sin and punishment comes in. So That's kind of where I see the Sodom and Gomorrah tradition. They stand as archetypes of punishment because of the landscape, because the landscape is punishing. And no one can live there in the days of these biblical writers. So why people could have lived there in the past begs some kind of explanation.

And the biblical writers are human beings who want to explain the world in which they live as well. And they offer two explanations for us.

And the biblical writers are human beings who want to explain the world in which they live as well. And they offer two explanations for us.

And the biblical writers are human beings who want to explain the world in which they live as well. And they offer two explanations for us.

Right, yeah. So the association of Sodom and Gomorrah just generically with sin, it's not exclusively associated to Genesis 18 and 19. There does seem to be other texts that are aware of this association. But what's interesting is the detail and the fixation on very particular types of sin and punishment. really come to the fore in what we call exilic and post-exilic literature.