Sodom Is a City in the Book of Genesis
Sodom is a biblical city destroyed alongside Gomorrah. Its name has been used figuratively in English for centuries.
Sodom is a city described in the Book of Genesis, destroyed together with Gomorrah. What the story says the city did wrong has been read differently across history: the prophet Ezekiel names pride, excess of food and neglect of the poor, while later interpretation focused on the treatment of the visitors in the narrative. Historians of religion treat the shift itself as significant. In English *Sodom* became a byword for a corrupt city, and *sodomite* and *sodomy* derive from the name.
- A biblical city. *Sodom and Gomorrah.*
- A corrupt place. *A modern Sodom.*
- Genesis — where the story appears. *Genesis 19.*
- Ezekiel — an alternative account. *Ezekiel 16.*
- Hebrew — *Sedom*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Proper noun | Sodom | Sodom. |
| Paired with | Gomorrah | Gomorrah. |
| Derived | sodomite | Sodomite. |
| Derived | sodomy | Sodomy. |
| Hebrew | Sedom | Sodom. |
- Sodom and Gomorrah are named together.Bible.
- Ezekiel lists pride and neglect of the poor.Interpretation.
- The name became a byword for corruption.English.
Place names that became English words
- Babylon — a byword for luxury and confusion
- Bedlam — from the Hospital of St Mary of Bethlehem
- Utopia — coined by Thomas More from Greek for no place
- Shangri-La — invented by James Hilton in 1933
- Coventry — sent to Coventry, meaning ostracised
Hebrew *Sedom*, a city named in Genesis, through Greek and Latin into English.
Where is Sodom mentioned?
Chiefly in Genesis, with the destruction narrative in chapter 19. Ezekiel 16 offers a different account of the city's wrongdoing.
Are Sodom and Gomorrah always paired?
Usually. The two cities appear together in the biblical narrative and the phrase has stayed fixed in English.