The Etymology of Sodom and Gomorrah’s Names
The names were likely derived from verbs or roots describing the moral character of the people or the geographical nature of the land.
1. Sodom (סְדֹם, Sedom) — The Burning or the Binding
The name Sodom is commonly linked to two possible Hebrew roots, both of which foreshadow the city’s fate:
- Option A: Burning/Scorching: The most common theory links the root to an Arabic or Akkadian verb meaning “to burn” or “to be scorched.”
- Prophetic Meaning: This directly foreshadows the judgment where the city was utterly consumed by fire and sulfur, becoming a land scorched and unusable (Genesis 19:24). The name described the city’s final condition.
- Option B: Binding/Restraint: A less common but theologically significant theory links the root to a verb meaning “to bind,” “to fasten,” or “to restrain.”
- Prophetic Meaning: This suggests a city characterized by the binding or restraint of justice and righteousness. It implies a deliberate lack of moral freedom or compassion, aligning with the prophetic condemnation found in Ezekiel 16:49: “This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and undisturbed ease [spiritual restraint], but did not aid the poor and needy.”
2. Gomorrah (עֲמֹרָה, ‘Ămōrāh) — The Ruined Heap
The name Gomorrah has a more consistent and destructive meaning:
- The Root: The name is derived from a root verb meaning “to sink down,” “to be submerged,” or “to be a heap of ruins.”
- Prophetic Meaning: This name foreshadowed the city’s structural and final condition after judgment. It describes a place that has been turned into a sinking, desolate ruin. This ties directly to the catastrophic destruction that literally caused the land and the cities to collapse into the valley floor (likely beneath the modern Dead Sea).
The Shocking Synthesis: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
The true shock lies in the combination:
- Sodom described the moral quality that demanded judgment (a place spiritually bound to sin).
- Gomorrah described the physical outcome of that judgment (a place destined to be a ruined heap).
Together, the names reveal that the cities were intrinsically identified with the very destruction that ultimately consumed them.
The Return Question
If the names of Sodom and Gomorrah described their intrinsic moral condition and their inevitable judgment, what seemingly small flaw or spiritual neglect in your life today is secretly rooted in a self-destructive principle that will eventually lead to spiritual ‘scorching’ if not corrected?