BIBLE DEBURTH

In the Book of Genesis we read about Hagar, who was the concubine of Abraham, who was already married to his paternal sister Sarah; the latter, with the consent of her husband, was given to the pharaoh for selfish purposes; Lot's two daughters gave their father drink and shared his bed with the drunken man; Leah and Rachel gave their maids as concubines to Jacob; Bala, one of Jacob's wives, gave herself to her son, Reuben (Reuben, - Jacob said to his eldest son before his death, - you will not know luck in anything, since you have defiled the honor of my house "(author's note).), Tamara to her father-in-law Judas, etc. The patriarchs, with the primitive simplicity of their morals, first set an example of debauchery and voluptuousness for their descendants.

And, intoxicated by the sky of the east and those currents that came from Asia, prompted by the example of their ancestors, the people of Israel quickly headed towards the temptations of the flesh, towards all the charms of physical joys. The latter became the only goal and meaning of his life. And contrary to the word of the prophets who spoke in the name of Jehovah, contrary to the commandments of the sacred tablet, a mysterious force fatally drew the people chosen by God into a terrible abyss of insatiable passions and perversions, before which the philosopher is powerless, numb, awaiting their explanation from science. Perhaps this explanation should be sought in the phallic cult, which spread here all the more quickly because the Semites did not have any literary or artistic ideal that would absorb their energy. The instinct of procreation dominated all aspects of their soul and led them to the most monstrous perversions. Unbridled deities glorified the madness of the flesh and continuous voluptuousness.

"A Bacchante with her hair flowing, says Besnier, enters back and forth, and drinks and sings in the face of Israel, guarded by the sacred ark and the prophets. But, alas! A gap suddenly opens in the wall, and the orgy breaks into the temple. Ashtoreth gets drunk from the cup of Jehovah , Assera turns the tabernacle into an alcove. Came from India, like Bacchus, sings hymns to the glory of the flesh in the sanctuary. The people of God burn like a torch, the wicked cult breaks in everywhere: niches are hollowed out in the galleries of the sanctuary; beautiful girls, this is lukkoth Benoth. In another place vile emblems are erected. The lust of the goddess Bahhal-Pehhor is satisfied only by a long series of rapes. In the thicket of the forests, inhuman screams of women struggling in convulsions are heard. Stones, a tree, a cave, a mountain - everything serves the most unbridled priapism."

It is not surprising that these people indulged in unnatural instincts: after all, the law did not prohibit this, and the fear of Jehovah was powerless against these inhabitants of the Asian Pantheon, transferred to Judea along with their symbols, the male and female reproductive principles. Read, for example, this passage from Genesis XXIV 2: “I swear by laying my hands on your private parts (lereki),” Abraham said to Eliezer as he left to carry out an important assignment. Here the deity is taken as a witness to a solemn promise, here the patriarch uses him to take an oath. As for the sacrifice of the foreskin, which always had a purely religious character, this is perhaps one of those many sacrifices that were dedicated to the Producing Genius, judging by the following words of Ezekiel, in which the mysteries of Bahhal-Pehhor are revealed:

XVI, 17. You took my dear rings, my gold, my silver, which I gave you; then you made yourself an “artificial penis,” tzelem-zakar, and you committed fornication with it.

This tzelem-zakar is nothing more than the precious phallus of the Roman courtesans. This is the “golden spur” (L"eperon), which the Greek hetaeras dedicated to Venus; this is, finally, the same lingam made of resinous gum, which have been prepared in India for nymphomaniacs for a whole millennium; Indians depicted them with extraordinary cynicism on the bas-reliefs of their ancient temples6. Jeremiah, a witness to these atrocities, regards the people of Israel with deep disgust, attacking them for “committing fornication with wood and stone.”

There is much other evidence that prostitution is not considered a shame. The commander-in-chief of the Israeli troops, Jephte, was the son of a courtesan and he could, without harming his interests, dedicate the virginity of his daughter to the goddess Bahhal.

Historians rightfully claim that the plague of prostitution was a constant disease of the people. Historical facts show what degree of shamelessness prostitution has reached. The prophecies of Ezekiel are full of references to "places of public debauchery, houses of brothel, tents of voluptuousness, scattered in all directions; all you see are courtesans dressed in silk and embroidered fabrics, sparkling with jewels and scented with incense; all you see are scenes of fornication." .. (Duvour). Even when Moses led the people out of Egypt, they were corrupted by communication with the worshipers of Isis and Osiris. During their forty years of wandering in the desert, they were in communication with other peoples, even more corrupted than the Egyptians: all of these were fans of the Asian cults of Bahhal and Mylitta. Then Moses realized how difficult it was to put a stop to Israel's evil instincts. In the name of his dictatorial and religious rights, which he received from God himself, he took every measure to put a limit to this increase in debauchery, which the cult of idols instilled. On Mount Sinai he told them: “Do not commit adultery, do not covet your neighbor’s wife.” But at the same time he was forced to tell them the following:

Leviticus XVIII, 22. “You must not lie with a man, as one lies with a woman, for this is disgraceful. You must not lie with any animal in order to defile yourself with it, and a woman must not commit adultery with an animal, for this thesel (incest), an unnatural act. Do not defile your body with any object, as other nations do (27). The people who occupied this side before you did all these abominations and desecrated the earth with them (28). for this desecration, as she cast out the people who lived here before you."

Leviticus XX, 11. “A man who lies with his father’s wife reveals his father’s nakedness. Both of them must be put to death; their blood will fall on them (12). If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, death to both him and her! They have committed incest; their blood will fall on them (13). If one man has intercourse with another man, death will befall both of them; their blood will fall on them (14). mother, commits a terrible crime; all three of them must be burned so that similar crimes are no longer committed among us (15). and to the beast, death shall fall upon them."

The story of Lot’s guests in the Bible speaks to the same thing:

Genesis XIX, 5. “These people who came to you this night, command them to come out so that we may recognize them.” Then Lot walked towards them to the threshold and locked the door. (7) and said: “I ask you, brothers, do not do them harm (8). Here I have two daughters who have not yet known men, do with them what you please, just do not do harm to these people who are under my roof."

Let us also give the story of Ephraim: “When they sat down at the table, the inhabitants, extremely depraved, surrounded the house, knocked on the door and said to the old man, the owner of the house: let this man who is with you come out to us so that we recognize him” ( 23). But the owner of the house turned to them, saying: “No, my brothers, do not do evil, I ask you; since this man entered my house, do not do this shamelessness” (24). Here I have a daughter and he has a concubine: I will bring them to you; you will use them, do with them what you want. But do not do such a shameless thing with this person (25). These people didn't want to listen to anything. Then the man took his concubine and brought her to them; they recognized her and were with her until the morning. Then, when dawn rose, they sent her away (26). This woman returned when daylight came and lay down at the threshold of the house where her husband was (27). He, getting up in the morning, pulled back the door bolt to continue his journey. And so, his concubine lies prone with her hands outstretched on the threshold (28). He told her: “Get up and let’s go.” She remained silent. Then her husband put her on the back of a donkey and set off.

St. Paul, who castigated the unnatural vices of Rome and Corinth, saw the most repulsive, the most disgusting examples of this vice in his native city of Tarsus. This is what he writes about his fellow citizens:

"Romans" 1-2.

“God gave them over to the power of shameful passions, and their women replaced the natural relations of the sexes with relations contrary to nature (27). Also, men, having abandoned natural relations with women, became inflamed with desire for men, committed vileness among themselves and subsequently received fair retribution for their sin. Cor. V-1. Do not let yourself be carried away by this: neither the fornicators, nor the idolaters, nor the pederasts, nor the effeminate (Kedeschim - men dedicated to the mysteries of Molech.) will enter the kingdom of heaven.

Foreseeing the wicked influence that the Canaanites would have on morals, Moses in the book of Leviticus adjures them in the name of God:

“Do not follow the errors of these peoples, for they commit abominations, which I forbid you. Do not defile your daughter’s bed so that the earth will not be desecrated by this.” In Deuteronomy we read: “Let there be no harlots among the daughters of Israel, and let there be no fornicators among his sons.” But his words were a voice crying in the wilderness; as if in order to limit the extent of evil, he allowed legal prostitution with foreign women and even set an example of this himself, having a concubine from Ethiopia.

By the instructions that he gave, he meant not only to protect the religion of Abraham, but also to protect his race, which was already beginning to degenerate from depravity. As much in the interests of hygiene as for the protection of dogma, he prohibited sexual relations between a man and his blood relatives, with his wife’s mother, with his sister, sister-in-law, daughter, granddaughter, stepdaughter, with his paternal and maternal aunts, with his niece and cousin; Such connections between blood relatives contribute to the degeneration of peoples.

Moses was guided by hygienic considerations when he forbade intercourse with women during menstruation, since in this case intercourse caused disease in the male genital organ. The women of Judea, says Pierre Dufour, were very beautiful: black almond-shaped eyes, a sensual mouth with coral lips, teeth whiter than pearls, a thin, slender waist, a strong and lush neck, luxurious forms, all this made them beauties, but at the same time, they , according to Moses, were subject to secret ailments, in which some scientists, not without reason, see symptoms of venereal disease.

In fact, it is impossible to deny the venereal nature of women’s secret ailments, if we take into account Ch. XV Levite (Abraham's wife, Sarah gave herself to Pharaoh and as a reward received the material opportunity to stop the famine that was raging in the city of Bethel, the residence of the patriarch. But Sarah did not warn Abimelech that she was suffering from vaginal discharge, which was the cause of her infertility, and the king of Egypt and his whole house was struck with “great wounds.” These wounds of a venereal nature infected the entire court of Pharaoh and made all the sick wives barren. Then Abraham prayed to Jehovah, and the disease disappeared from everyone, even from Sarah. “The Eternal healed Abimelech, his wife and everyone. maids" (author's note).), which speaks of a man's discharge: Vir dui patitur fluxum sem nis immundus erit; et tune indicabitur huic vitio subjacere, cum per singula momenta adhoeserit carnis ejus atque concreverit foedus humor.

All these symptoms are characteristic of blenorrhagia; Moses also recommended that men who, according to the faithful translators of the Bible, suffer from effluvium, perform ablutions and cleanse their stained clothes. Despite all these legislative measures, venereal disease became so widespread among them that Moses was forced to drive out all those who were sick from the camp. (Numbers, ch. V).

With a strong predisposition to specific diseases of the genital organs, people came to the promised land, inhabited by worshipers of Bahhal-Pehhor, Moloch, Mylitta, Astarte and other gods and goddesses of sacred and legal prostitution. Passing through the countries of the Moabites, Ammonites and Syrians, they to a certain extent adopted the morals, beliefs and vices of these peoples. And Moses once again makes an attempt to keep them from being carried away by the idols of debauchery, to which they showed a strong attraction.

He says: “Whoever of the sons of Israel gives seed to Molech, let him be put to death, and the people will stone him. Do not give in the temple of God payment for debauchery and “payment for a dog,” do not give even by vow, for both of them are hateful before the face of our God."

But all the threats, prohibitions and denunciations of Moses remained in vain. The Jews became familiar with the cult of Bahhal and the diseases that were fatally connected with it. Let us once again open the Old Testament (Initiatus est Israel Bahhal-Pehhor. Y. 3 Pentat. The temples of Bahhal-Pehhor were places where men and women gave themselves over to all kinds of debauchery and unnatural love and fell ill from this with venereal diseases, known as “the wounds of Bahhal- Pehhor.") and we will find a precious document on the history of prostitution and syphilis in antiquity:

"The Israelites lived in Shittim, where they soon indulged in debauchery with the daughters of the Moabites. They encouraged the people to sacrifice to their gods, and the Israelites ate with them and worshiped the same gods. And Israel gave himself to the goddess Bahhal-Pehhor and the wrath of Jehovah fell on him. And Jehovah said to Moses: “Gather together all the leaders of the city and, in order to appease my anger, hang them facing the East so that my anger will turn away from Israel.” And Moses said to the judges of Israel: let everyone kill those of his kind who are devoted to the goddess Bahhal. -Pehhor And one of the children of Israel brought to his brothers the woman of Media, who began to weep in the presence of Moses and the whole congregation. Seeing this, Pinhas the son of Eleazar stood up, took a spear, and entered the house where the man and the woman were. killed them both. And after they had killed 23,000 (St. Paul in his Epistle to the Corinthians X, 8 says: do not indulge in fornication, as some of them did and for which 23,000 people were killed in one day.) people. , the plague was turned away from the children of Israel. The murdered man was Simri, the son of Salus, the elder of the Simeonite clan, the name of the murdered woman was Kazbi, daughter of Tzur, the leader of one of the Median tribes.

And Jehovah said to Moses: “Go to war against the Medes and destroy them, for they became your enemies, as a result of their deceit and you were deceived by their goddess Bahhal-Pehhor and one of the women, the daughter of a military leader, who was killed on the day of the disaster brought to you by Bahhal-Pehhor ".

And they went against the Medes, as Jehovah commanded Moses, and killed all the men and took possession of their women and herds. And Moses was angry against the military leaders and said: “You left all the women alive! But it was they who were taught by Bilea (Bileam was a magician at the court of Balak, king of the Moabites. When the Israelites came from Egypt and took tribute from all the nations that lived along their path , Balak sent Bileam to him, who was tasked with destroying them through witchcraft, but he limited himself to inviting them to take advantage of the hospitality of the Moabite women, which should have led to their destruction.), are the reason that the children of Israel sinned against Jehovah and brought the sacrifices of Bahhal; it was women who were the scourge that struck Judah. ​​And now kill all the male children and all the women who have already known a man, but leave alive the female children who have not yet had intercourse with a man.

Remain outside the camp for seven days, you who killed the men and touched the dead, and be cleansed of sin on the third and seventh days, you and your captives. And cleanse all the garments, all the copper vessels, all that is made of goatskin, and all the utensils of wood.

Then the priest Eleazar said to the soldiers the following: “Thus the Lord commanded Moses. Gold, silver, copper, iron, tin and lead, everything that is not destroyed by fire, let it be purified by it; that which cannot stand fire, purify with water. And on the seventh wash your clothes one day and you will be clean and return to camp."

These precautions were apparently not enough, since elsewhere in the Old Testament, 17 years after the fulfillment of the will of Moses, Bahhal is again spoken of.

The disease spread mainly thanks to the troops. Joseph, a historian and commander, from the sect of the Pharisees, very successfully notes that “fornication was then widespread throughout the army and not a trace remained of the ancient customs. The consequence of debauchery with Moabite women was an infectious disease that was transmitted by the relatives of the sick person.” Obviously, this contagious disease was of a venereal nature, since, judging by the laws of Moses, it came from sexual intercourse with Moabite women. He allowed them to communicate with virgins. It is also obvious that the evil was very great if the great legislator of Israel ordered the death of 23,000 captives and sentenced to death all the captives (there were 32,000 of them) who had already had intercourse with men, and Moses allowed only virgins to live.

The disease of Bahhal, characterized by unclean discharges and ulcers on the genital parts, became endemic in Judea, as it was supported by the prostitution of women. They sold their bodies not only in temples, as the Moabite women did, and did not engage in prostitution in the same way as women of other Asian peoples who practiced the cult of Militga; local women, as we see from some places in the Old Testament, counted many in their midst engaged in prostitution as a craft.

The book of Kings (11-17) says that in Jerusalem near the temple there were houses, like cells, decorated with images of Astarte; here women, in honor of the goddess, engaged in prostitution for money.

It is not surprising, therefore, that Moses establishes with such precision the relationship between prostitution and venereal diseases; in the instructions he gave to the people, he adds that anyone suffering from urethral discharge (Zab) is an unclean creature, tameh. But he in no way confuses such a discharge with the discharge of semen accompanied by an erection, Keri. Zab occurs only in the absence of an erection, and the discharge in this case is similar to “barley closely, diluted with water.” Liquid flows out of a relaxed, non-tense penis, looks like the white of an egg without an embryo and, when dried, leaves scabs, when like a seed flows out of a tense penis and looks like the white of an egg with an embryo.

Dr. Besnier, on the basis of these data, rightfully recognizes the properties of blenorrhagia in "Zab", as proof of which he cites the following texts of the Mosaic legislation:

Leviticus 15. 1. Jehovah spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

2. Speak to the children of Israel, saying: anyone who has a discharge from the urinary canal is Zab mibbescharo a being unclean due to this discharge.

3. And the breaking desecrated it, and, visible or hidden, it is tameh.

4. The bed on which a person struck by the discharge will lie, tameh; the same with every object on which he sits.

5. Whoever touches this bed must wash his clothes, wash his body with water and will be tameh until evening.

6. Whoever sits on the place where a person afflicted with Zab washed his clothes must wash himself with water and is considered tameh until the evening.

7. Whoever touches the body of a sick person must wash his clothes and bathe the body with water. He tameh until the evening.

8. If a sick person spits on a clean person, the latter must wash his clothes, wash himself with water and consider himself tameh until the evening.

9. Any animal on which the sick person rode is tameh.

10. Who touches the object on which Zab leaned - tameh. Whoever held these objects in his hands must wash his clothes, wash his body with water and is considered tameh until the evening.

11. Whoever has been touched by Zab and does not wash his hands, performs ablution of his clothes and body and is considered tameh until evening.

12. The clay vessel touched by the sick person must be broken into pieces. The wooden spoon should be washed in water.

13. When Zab gets rid of the disease, he must devote seven days to purification, wash his clothes, wash his body cold water, then it becomes pure.

14. On the eighth day, let him take two young doves or turtle doves, come to the sanctuary designated for this purpose and give them to Cohen.

15. And Cohen will consign them to the curse, one as an atoning sacrifice for sin, the other as a burnt offering. Thus, Cohen will beg for the propitiation of Zan"y, due to its expiration.

The next 15 paragraphs are identical to the previous ones and refer to a woman, while the latter refer to both a man and a woman.

31. In this way you will separate the children of Israel from their shameful deeds, and they will not perish from corruption, they will not defile my sanctuary, which is among them.

32. This is the law for a man who has a discharge of fluid that defiles him.

33. The same is true for a woman whose regulations are disturbed; with every person, man or woman, who suffers from an issue, or has association with unclean woman, tameh.

It is obvious that Solomon had in mind the same unclean women when he said “beware of Zarah, her lips are like honey, her palate is sweeter than butter, but it leaves traces more bitter than wormwood and sharper than steel.”

By these words we can mean an acute urethral discharge, which was a consequence of one of the many erotic ceremonies in which Solomon ("Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of Sidon Kamos, the 6th god of the Moabites, and Moloch, the god of the Ammonites; on the mountain, in front of Jerusalem, he erected all these deities temples, he smoked incense for them and made vile sacrifices. The objects of these sacrifices were his wives and concubines. In this era, prostitution among the Jews was recognized by the laws. The heroines of the famous “Judgment of Solomon” were two prostitutes (author’s note). festivals of Ashtoreth and Moloch.

Among the venereal diseases, only one blenorrhagia is described so formally. Syphilis, which affects all tissues of the body, genitals, mucous membranes and bones - syphilis with its primary, secondary and tertiary attacks, contagious and inherited - we find mentions of all this on almost every page of the Bible.

Let's give some typical examples. In the following words the prophet threatens Jews who have sexual intercourse with courtesans:

Vtorozak. XXIIX, 27. Jehovah will send upon you the Egyptian ulcer (In some, even the uvula is affected to the very palatine bone, mekris osteon: the tonsil is also affected to the root of the tongue and the epiglottis (author's note).), tumors of the anus and scabies and you will not have healing.

35. Jehovah will send down on you a malignant ulcer on your knees and legs, and you will not be able to be healed, from head to toe.

59. Jehovah will smite you with wounds, and your descendants with great and persistent wounds, malignant and persistent diseases.

61. And Jehovah will send upon you every disease and every wound that is not written in the book of the law, and you will perish.

Here are a few more passages from the Psalms of David:

4. There is nothing healthy in my flesh.

Due to your rage.

No rest for my bones

During the day I know no peace.

6. Because of my sin

My wounds are fetid and leak;

Because of my madness

I walk bent over and extremely depressed;

I've been sad all day.

8. My lower back is burning like it's on fire

There is no healthy place in my body.

11. My heart trembles, my strength leaves me

And the light leaves my eyes.

My loved ones, my comrades stop,

My loved ones stay away from me.

So what can we conclude from the historical documents that together make up the Bible? Obviously, we are talking about an always contagious epidemic disease, which is the result of copulation with courtesans, and poses a serious danger to society; Moses unsuccessfully fought this danger with his draconian measures. The disease is characterized by the formation of purulent ulcers, first on the genitals, then in the anus and mouth. Next, a rash appears all over the body, hair loss and, finally, skin and bone gums, headaches and other pains in the bones. The disease is hereditary, and children die from it within a few days, as, for example, the son of Bat-Sheva and David died.

This is an undoubted constitutional disease, totius substantiac, - syphilis since its various manifestations; This is a disease that therapy could not cure, against which King David knew only one remedy: to call on Jehovah...

We often come across the expression “Sodom and Gomorrah”, but few people know about its meaning and origin. In fact, these are the two cities that the biblical tale tells about. According to history, they burned down because of the sins of the people who lived there. What sins are we talking about? Did these cities really exist? We will try to answer these and many other questions in this article. So, Sodom and Gomorrah: the meaning of legend and history..

Biblical story

Sodom and Gomorrah was first mentioned as the southeastern tip of Canaan, located east of Gaza, while the land here is called the eastern bank. Lot, Abraham's nephew, came here. The Bible even says that Jerusalem borders Sodom on the south and southeast sides. The inhabitants of Sodom were called Philistines or Hanakim in the Jewish manner, and the king of the city was a monarch named Ber.

According to the Bible, the war that took place between the army of Chedorlaomer and the army of Sodom, which was subsequently defeated, also dates back to the life of Abraham, and Abraham’s nephew Lot was captured by enemies. The biblical stories say that Sodom was a rich and developed city, but the Lord God decided to punish the inhabitants because they were extremely sinful and evil, possessing many vices that righteous people would not accept. Tradition tells that God rained brimstone and fire on these cities in order to destroy both the lands themselves and their inhabitants for their misdeeds. In addition, according to the Bible, Adma and Sevoim were also destroyed, although to date there is no evidence that they actually existed. After the fire, the land of Sodom was inhabited by the descendants of Lot, the only ones who managed to escape the fire, and it became known as Moab.

Trying to find cities

Since Sodom and Gomorrah are widely known even to non-religious people, many attempts have been made to find out more about their location and finally find evidence that they existed. So, not far from the Dead Sea, on its southwestern shore, there are mountains that consist mainly of rock salt and are called Sodomite. It would seem that this should be somehow connected with the biblical city, but in reality there is no reliable data on why this particular name was chosen.

Interest in the biblical tale is so widespread that between 1965 and 1979, five attempts were made to find the city that perished due to the sins of its inhabitants, but they were unsuccessful. The history of Sodom and Gomorrah did not leave Russian scientists indifferent, who, together with Jordanians, tried to discover what remained of the ancient city.

Michael Sanders Expedition

In 2000, British scientist Michael Sanders became the leader of an archaeological expedition aimed at finding destroyed cities. Their work was based on images that were obtained from the American spaceship"Shuttle". According to these photographs, the city could be located northeast of the Dead Sea, contrary to all data from the Bible. Scientists believed that they had managed to find the most accurate location of Sodom, the ruins of which, in their opinion, are located at the bottom of the Dead Sea.

Jordan Valley

Some scholars also believe that the ancient ruins located at Tell el-Hammam in Jordan may be the biblical city of sinners. Therefore, it was decided to undertake research in this area in order to confirm or refute the hypothesis. Excavations led by American scientist Stephen Collins, who relied on data from the book of Genesis, strengthen the assumption that Sodom was located in the southern region of the Jordan Valley, which is surrounded on all sides by depressions.

“Sodom and Gomorrah”: the meaning of phraseology

This expression is interpreted quite widely, but most often it denotes a place of debauchery in which the moral principles of society are neglected. It also happens that this expression is used to describe incredible chaos. From the names of the city of Sodom, the term “sodomy” appeared in the Russian language, most often denoting sexual relations between people of the same sex, that is, sodomy. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are most often remembered by people precisely in connection with this.

The meaning of a phraseological unit can also imply any non-traditional sexual contacts that are considered immoral in modern society. Such acts include oral, anal sex or any perversion. The Lord, according to legend, having destroyed the cities, punished sinners in order to show the whole world what awaits those who resort to unconventional sexual practices and disobey him.

Sin of Sodom and Gomorrah

According to the text of the Bible, city residents were punished not only for sexual debauchery, but also for other sins, including selfishness, idleness, pride and others, but homosexuality was still recognized as the main one. Why exactly this sin is recognized as the most terrible is not known for certain, but in the Bible it is called an “abomination” before the Lord, and the legend calls on people “not to lie with a man as with a woman.”

Oddly enough, among such an ancient people as the Philistines, homosexuality was a generally accepted phenomenon, and no one condemned it. This probably happened because their ancestors were pagan tribes and peoples who lived in Canaan, far from According to legend, the Lord, fearing that the Jewish people could also turn to such a sinful way of life, sent them to and therefore commanded them to destroy the cities, so that their inhabitants do not spread across the globe. There are even lines in Genesis that say that corruption had become so widespread in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah that it crossed all boundaries, which is why they had to be destroyed.

Reflection in art

Like many other myths and legends, the story of two cities of sinners was embodied in art. This is its reflection biblical story I also found it in the work of the great Russian writer Anna Andreevna Akhmatova, who wrote the poem “Lot’s Wife.” In 1962, a film was even made, which, in fact, is a rather loose interpretation of the biblical tale about the city of the fallen. Thus, in his famous cycle “In Search of Lost Time” there is a novel of the same name, which tells about the morally degraded bourgeoisie - “Sodom and Gomorrah”.

Pictures depicting debauchery and other sins also often remind us of the inhabitants of these cities, which the Lord himself decided to burn. There are at least a dozen paintings depicting Abraham's nephew, Lot, and his daughters, with whom, according to legend, he had sexual relations. Oddly enough, according to the legend, the initiators of incest were the daughters themselves, left without husbands who wanted to continue the family line.

Lot, Abraham's nephew

The oldest surviving painting is a work by Albrecht Dürer, which is called “Lot’s Flight”. Here is an old man, accompanied by two daughters, and his wife can be seen in the distance, and everything looks pretty decent. However, in later works by masters of various eras and movements one can find a radically different interpretation. For example, the work of Simon Vouet entitled “Lot and His Daughters” shows us an already elderly man playing with his half-naked daughters. Similar paintings are also found in such painters as Hendrik Goltzius, Francesco Furini, Lucas Cranach, Domenico Maroli and a number of others.

Interpretation of the biblical legend

According to the Book of Genesis, Sodom and Gomorrah are cities that the Lord punished for disobedience and non-compliance with everyday laws. How is the legend interpreted now? What do scientists think about the reasons for the death of these sinful cities? Now some scientists who are in one way or another connected with religion believe that in reality our modern world is mired in vice and debauchery, but we are so accustomed to it that we no longer notice it. They believe that modern people have become so accustomed to what is disgusting to the Lord that all these perversions and vices have become habitual. They believe that we are actually on the path to destruction, accepting everything that happens around us. For example, one of the Russian scientists, Doctor of Technical Sciences V. Plykin, writes in his book that, not knowing the laws of the Universe, modern people have created their own laws, which, in fact, are artificial and, not being a righteous life, lead society to death .

The same scientist believes that scientific and technological progress also has a negative impact on the moral foundations of humanity, which only aggravates everything and brings people closer to the world of vice. What are Sodom and Gomorrah in the modern world? Some also believe that because people only care about getting the most out of life without caring about the consequences, humanity is producing negative energy. To believe or not in this approach is, of course, everyone’s business. Maybe it’s not worth transferring ancient laws to modern society.

Fact or fiction?

The biblical story of the cities of sinners is known throughout the world. Vices such as sodomy, idleness, pride, and selfishness caused the death of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The legend tells of the Philistine people, who were so mired in sin that they became unworthy to walk on the earth of the Lord God.

Now, so many centuries after the events described, it is impossible to say whether these cities actually existed, and whether they were burned “by a rain of brimstone and fire” for the misdeeds of their inhabitants. A huge number of attempts have been made to find the remains of these settlements, but in reality none of them have been successful.

Conclusion

According to legend, when two angels came to the city to find at least ten righteous people, they saw only vice and debauchery there. And then the Lord, angry, decided to burn the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. That this happened exactly like this is written in the book of Genesis, but the legend remains a legend, and no archaeological evidence has been found that could prove it. However, whether this actually happened or whether this, like many other ancient legends, is an absolute fiction, is not so important. The most important thing here is to be able to learn a lesson from this story so that modern people do not wallow in the same vice and debauchery and are not punished in the same way as the ancient Philistines, who caused the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah - two cities overflowing with sinners.

Maybe, biblical parable about two cities - Sodom and Gomorrah, destroyed by God “with fire and brimstone” for the sinful behavior of their inhabitants, is known to everyone. The inhabitants of the two cities indulged in debauchery, were distinguished by cruelty, evil disposition, and licentiousness, for which they were punished. The fact that the legendary cities really existed is evidenced by cuneiform texts found by archaeologists. However, until now scientists have not been able to find traces of ancient cities, and debate about the reasons for their destruction continues to this day.

In the 2nd millennium BC. e. Sodom and Gomorrah, according to Old Testament, were located on bank of the Dead sea, formerly called Sodom. The cities were prosperous and rich, and their inhabitants led an idle life and were mired in sins and vices. As punishment, God decided to destroy the cities along with their inhabitants. Abraham asked to spare Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of the innocent righteous, but it turned out that only Lot and his wife and two daughters were such. The angels led them out of the city, forbidding them to look back at it. Lot's wife disobeyed and turned into a pillar of salt. After all, looking back means regretting life in a sinful environment.

“And the Lord rained brimstone and fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of heaven. And he overthrew these cities, and all the surrounding countryside, and all the inhabitants of these cities, and all the growth of the earth,” the Bible says.

Despite the fact that these cities are mentioned in some ancient sources, in particular in Strabo's Geography and Tacitus' History, many scholars question the historical veracity of their existence. British scientist Michael Sanders, on the contrary, is sure that Sodom and Gomorrah were really destroyed and rest at the bottom of the Dead Sea.

The reasons for the death of cities cause the most versions and disputes. According to one scientific hypothesis, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed as a result of an asteroid fall. This version appeared as a result of deciphering the records of a Sumerian astronomer, who described in detail the movement of a huge white ball across the sky. Some scientists are confident that destructive processes of such a scale could only occur as a result of a collision with an asteroid.

Many scientists believe that a powerful earthquake was the probable cause of the disappearance of ancient cities. The cities were built at a fracture in the earth's crust, at the junction of two tectonic layers, in one of the most seismically active zones on the planet. In addition, there are methane deposits in the Dead Sea area. The earthquake could be accompanied by the release of flammable gases and bitumen, which caused a fire. And the bitumen in this area is characterized by a high sulfur content. Hence the biblical “fire and brimstone”. A number of scientists from Russia and Israel adhere to the version of a volcanic eruption, which also explains the mention of “fire and brimstone”.

Some scientists suggest that at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. A natural disaster occurred in this area, which became part of a global cataclysm. Climatic conditions deteriorated sharply, fertile lands dried up. Sudden climate change could have been triggered by the release huge amount dust into the atmosphere, which again indicates a collision with a meteorite.