Dr. Dylan Johnson

A certain epigrapher of the expedition, Giovanni Pettinato, he starts trying to work through these texts. He finds a document that seems to be listing various cities, and he notes some of the cities or interprets some of the cities. as nothing else but these cities of the plain, Sodom, Gomorrah, Zeboim, Adma, and Bela, or Zoar. And he makes a very ostentatious claim.

A certain epigrapher of the expedition, Giovanni Pettinato, he starts trying to work through these texts. He finds a document that seems to be listing various cities, and he notes some of the cities or interprets some of the cities. as nothing else but these cities of the plain, Sodom, Gomorrah, Zeboim, Adma, and Bela, or Zoar. And he makes a very ostentatious claim.

A certain epigrapher of the expedition, Giovanni Pettinato, he starts trying to work through these texts. He finds a document that seems to be listing various cities, and he notes some of the cities or interprets some of the cities. as nothing else but these cities of the plain, Sodom, Gomorrah, Zeboim, Adma, and Bela, or Zoar. And he makes a very ostentatious claim.

He goes to a couple conferences and says, hey, look, these are the names of the cities of the plain. These cities that Rast and Shaub are uncovering, they are showing up in roughly contemporary texts from ancient Syria. They're real. Sodom and Gomorrah did exist.

He goes to a couple conferences and says, hey, look, these are the names of the cities of the plain. These cities that Rast and Shaub are uncovering, they are showing up in roughly contemporary texts from ancient Syria. They're real. Sodom and Gomorrah did exist.

He goes to a couple conferences and says, hey, look, these are the names of the cities of the plain. These cities that Rast and Shaub are uncovering, they are showing up in roughly contemporary texts from ancient Syria. They're real. Sodom and Gomorrah did exist.

Now, the problem was we knew so little about Eblite, which is a very obscure Semitic language, and it's written in really archaic Sumerian signs, basically. So what Pettinato was translating then, first off, wasn't published, so no one could really check his work outside of the members of the excavation, and the other member of the excavation disagreed with him vehemently.

Now, the problem was we knew so little about Eblite, which is a very obscure Semitic language, and it's written in really archaic Sumerian signs, basically. So what Pettinato was translating then, first off, wasn't published, so no one could really check his work outside of the members of the excavation, and the other member of the excavation disagreed with him vehemently.

Now, the problem was we knew so little about Eblite, which is a very obscure Semitic language, and it's written in really archaic Sumerian signs, basically. So what Pettinato was translating then, first off, wasn't published, so no one could really check his work outside of the members of the excavation, and the other member of the excavation disagreed with him vehemently.

So what ultimately happens is this claim, it got scaled back one by one, city by city. The reading was wrong until we finally ultimately understood what this text was, which is describing cities in Mesopotamia. It has nothing to do with Jordan. So it fizzled out, but you can imagine the 1970s there. They're finding the remains of cities. We're finding texts that may mention them.

So what ultimately happens is this claim, it got scaled back one by one, city by city. The reading was wrong until we finally ultimately understood what this text was, which is describing cities in Mesopotamia. It has nothing to do with Jordan. So it fizzled out, but you can imagine the 1970s there. They're finding the remains of cities. We're finding texts that may mention them.

So what ultimately happens is this claim, it got scaled back one by one, city by city. The reading was wrong until we finally ultimately understood what this text was, which is describing cities in Mesopotamia. It has nothing to do with Jordan. So it fizzled out, but you can imagine the 1970s there. They're finding the remains of cities. We're finding texts that may mention them.

So there's a great interest. And then basically by 1980, all of this kind of fizzles out. The archaeologists start to just talk about, really, these are, for the most part, cemetery sites. They don't seem to have the major urban centers that are described in the biblical texts. They're interesting early Bronze Age sites for the region, but

So there's a great interest. And then basically by 1980, all of this kind of fizzles out. The archaeologists start to just talk about, really, these are, for the most part, cemetery sites. They don't seem to have the major urban centers that are described in the biblical texts. They're interesting early Bronze Age sites for the region, but

So there's a great interest. And then basically by 1980, all of this kind of fizzles out. The archaeologists start to just talk about, really, these are, for the most part, cemetery sites. They don't seem to have the major urban centers that are described in the biblical texts. They're interesting early Bronze Age sites for the region, but

let's stop trying to interpret them through the lens of the Bible, which more or less brings us to where we're at today.

let's stop trying to interpret them through the lens of the Bible, which more or less brings us to where we're at today.

let's stop trying to interpret them through the lens of the Bible, which more or less brings us to where we're at today.

There are sets of texts which are known as city laments, and they're all composed in Sumerian, and they're not quite directly having gods destroy the cities. They are more or less describing great conflagrations of places like Uruk and Ur by human agents But within the text, its divine agency is completely intermingled.

There are sets of texts which are known as city laments, and they're all composed in Sumerian, and they're not quite directly having gods destroy the cities. They are more or less describing great conflagrations of places like Uruk and Ur by human agents But within the text, its divine agency is completely intermingled.