Sodom and Gomorrah
Genesis 18:16–19:29
Abraham bargained with God — and God let him.
God tells Abraham he's about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness. What follows is one of the boldest negotiations in all of scripture. Abraham pushes back: will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty good people? Forty-five? Forty? God agrees each time. Abraham pushes all the way to ten. There aren't even ten. Two angels arrive in Sodom, and what happens that night confirms the city's corruption. Lot escapes at dawn. His wife looks back and becomes a pillar of salt.
- Judgment
- Intercession
- Righteousness
- Consequences
Sodom and Gomorrah: common questions
Why did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah?
Genesis 18:20 says the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah was great because their sin was very grave. Ezekiel 16:49 later summarizes it as pride, excess of food, prosperous ease, and refusing to help the poor and needy, and Genesis 19 adds the violent, predatory treatment of the visitors at Lot's door.
Did Abraham bargain with God over Sodom?
Yes. In Genesis 18:22-33 Abraham asks whether God would spare the city for fifty righteous people, then negotiates down to ten. God agrees each time. The scene shows God's willingness to spare a whole city for the sake of a few righteous people.
What happened to Lot's wife?
As the family fled, Lot's wife looked back toward Sodom and 'became a pillar of salt' (Genesis 19:26). The angels had told them not to look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Jesus later refers to her as a warning in Luke 17:32.
