Sodom, vine of (Hastings' Dictionary)
See Vine. SODOMITE (s'-'j, lit. 'sacred ' ; fern. np>ip, inade- quately tr. by EV 'harlot,' see note in RVm at Gn 38-^).— Tlie Eng. word is derived from SODOM [in 2 Es 7" 'Sodomites' of AV is used in lit. sense for ' people of Sodom ' (so RV)], where unnatural offences prevailed. But the Heb. kadcsh and kidhihah nave in view not ordinary immorality hnt religious prostitution, i.e. ' immorality practised in the worship of a deity and in tlie immediate precincts of a temple' (Driver, Deut.
264, where see references to authorities for the widespread existence of this practice). Such Upubov\oi. of either sex were not tolerated in Israel by the Deuteronoraic law (Dt 23"*- '" i"- '»0- The /cec/lihim are said to have been banished from Judali by Asa (1 K 15'°). References to tliem are found also in 1 K 14=^ 22''(«), 2 K 23', Job SG'\ while we meet with IfidcshOth in Gn 38="- and Hos 4". J. A. Selbie. SODOMITISH SEA, THE (mare Sodomitimm), 2 Es 5'. — A name for tlie Dead Sea.
One of the signs of the times to come there "iven is that ' the Sodom sea shall ca-st out lish (cfT Ezk 47* for the belief that fish could not live in its waters), and make a noise in the night which many have not known.' This is the only passage in the Bible or the Apocr.
which directly connects the lake with the Cities of the Plain; and even liere the name may be derived from the closeness of Sodom to the lake, and not from the incorrect theory of that city having been submerged by the Dead Sea. H. St. J. Tuackebay.
This topic also has an entry in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Both articles offer independent scholarly perspectives.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Sodom, vine of
Sodom, Vine of (gephen cedhom): "For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, And of the fields of Gomorrah: Their grapes are grapes of gall, Their clusters are bitter" (De 32:32). This must be distinguished from the "Apples of Sodom" (which see), described by Josephus (BJ, IV, viii, 4), which appear to have been an actual species of fruit, probably either the colocynth or the fruit of the Usher tree, Calotropis procera. It would appear, however, from the above, the only passage referring to the Vine of Sodom, that this expression is metaphorical and does not refer to any particular plant. E. W. G. Masterman
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia