Sodom and Gomorrah
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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According to the Book of Genesis, Sodom and Gomorrah were two cities destroyed by God for their sins.
For the sins of their inhabitants Sodom, Gomorrah were destroyed by "brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven". Since then, their names are synonymous with impenitent sin, and their fall with a proverbial manifestation of God's wrath.
The story of Sodom has given rise to words in several languages, including English: the word "sodomy", meaning acts (stigmatized as "unnatural vice") such as homosexuality and anal sex, and the word "sodomite", meaning one who practices such acts. However, the name Sodom is derived from a Hebrew word meaning "burnt", and Gomorrah from a word meaning "buried", which are references to their destruction.[1] [May 2007]
