The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is often used as an example of God's hatred and wrath of homosexuality. The term sodomy has come to refer, in many people's minds, to certain male homosexual acts. Though the legal definition may vary from state to state, it generally only refers to any sex act that is not intended to cause pregnancy. Thus, in our modern culture, most sexual activity, even among heterosexual married couples, could technically be called sodomy.

But what does the Bible actually say? The story is found in Genesis chapter 19. In a nutshell, Abraham's nephew Lot has moved to Sodom. One night, as he is sitting at the gate, two strangers come to town. Lot invites them to stay at his house. While there, the men of Sodom surround the house and demand that the strangers be brought out, that they may "know" them. It turns out the strangers are angels. They blind the men of Sodom, take Lot and his family out of the city and God destroys it.

It is important to read the story in a good translation. Most modern translators have added their own spin to the story. They make the demand of the Sodomites a demand for sex. Some versions I've read make it a polite request for "intimacies." Even the nutshell version I gave above makes it plain that if there is a sexual element involved, it is a matter of violent rape, which is hardly conducive to intimacy.

The pivotal word is found in verse 5. The King James Version translates the demand of the people of Sodom as, "Bring them out to us, that we may know them." The New American Standard Bible, normally a pretty good literal translation, renders this, "Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them." The New Living Translation says, "Bring them out so we can have sex with them."

The Hebrew word translated "know" in King James is yâdha, which literally means "to know." It is used in the Old Testament 949 times. Of those 949 instances, in only nine is it considered to be a euphemism for sex. That's less than one per cent. And Genesis 19:5 is one of the nine.

If a word has a standard meaning in more than 99% of its usage, it would be reasonable first to see if that meaning made sense in the context before looking for other meanings. The story of Sodom doesn't begin in chapter 19. Genesis 18:20-21 tells us that God had already decided to destroy the cities of the plain before Lot ever met the angels.

But the story doesn't begin there either. We have go back to Genesis 14. There, Sodom, with Gomorrah and three other cities, lose a war against Chedorlaomer and three other kings. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled (verse 10) and Lot was taken captive. When Abraham heard of it, he rode in to rescue Lot. He defeated the four kings who had defeated Sodom's five and rescued Lot and the other captives.

The sin of Sodom is often refered to as inhospitality. There is no record of them having been inhospitable to Lot when he first came to town. Indeed, good arguments can be made that he held a position of honor in the city, even though he was a foreigner. So why did the Sodomites become so inhospitable?

Could it be the result of the humiliation and subsequent paranoia of their defeat in chapter 14?

Abraham was obviously a powerful man. If ever he had designs on Sodom, he would have had little trouble taking the city. Then one night, two strangers come to town and wind up at the house of Lot, Abraham's nephew. What would the Sodomites, overly paranoid and focused on homeland security, be thinking? Had Abraham finally decided to take over Sodom?

So they decided to surround Lot's house and find out. Genesis 19:4 says, "But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter." The belief that it was only the men is one reason the Sodomites are accused of homosexuality. But was it really just the men? The word translated "men" is enôsh, which literally means "a mortal" (as opposed the angels in Lot's house) and could just as easily be translated "people" as it is elsewhere in the Bible, such as Jonah 3:5.

So what can we make of yâdha in verse 5? In this context, the literal meaning of the word, "to know", makes sense. The people of Sodom wanted to know these strangers. Perhaps a better translation would be to interrogate them.

Lot responded in typical Fundy fashion by seeing something lascivious in their demand and very courageously offered his two virgin daughters to be gang raped by the mob instead of the strangers. Lot's offer is often used as proof the men of Sodom were looking for sex. It is significant that they were not interested in Lot's daughters, which would imply they were after something else. Remember, Lot was a foreigner. There is no evidence the people of Sodom spoke Hebrew, thus no reason to assume they actually used the word yâdha. More likely, they used a word of their own language which Lot took to mean the same thing as yâdha, euphemistic connotations and all.

A similar story is told in Judges 19. There, the men of Gibeah did accept the proffered women. Is this why the men of Gibeah are never accused of homosexuality, because they settled for the women? Was that an example of heterosexuality rather than an example of mob violence and rape? The Rev. Paula M. Jackson has said, "To be so obsessed with the sexual element... we miss the fundamental nature of the crime as violent aggression and victimization."

If the sin of Sodom was homosexuality, then one would have to conclude the sin of Gibeah was heterosexuality.