Exciting New Archaeological Evidence Uncovered Could be the Site of Biblical Sodom

Breaking Christian News ^ | December 12, 2011 | Brian Nixon

[GiovannaNicoletta]

"It may be too early to say, but initial evidence points towards a large-scale destruction from a catastrophic event. I say this because, in that area, the skeletal remains were traumatized by an east-to-west directional event, demonstrating that the catastrophe came from a particular compass point." –Dr. Collins

snip

Dr. Collins and his team began digging at a new site [last year], Tall el-Hammam, which corresponded to several factors. Dr. Collins summarized the end result: "To start with, the Tall el-Hammam site has twenty-five geographical indicators that align with the description in Genesis. Compare this with something well known—like Jerusalem—that has only sixteen. Other sites have only five or six. So this site has a greater number of indicators than any other Old Testament site. That is truly amazing.

snip

"It began three years ago when we found some skeletal remains. Like many archaeological sites, we didn't mention the find publicly because of the potential problems involved with such remains. However, with these recent finds, we had to say something because it was so monumental."

[tarheelswamprat]

Lots of the Bible has misleading statements like this due to translation errors.

I'm aware of the "salt/vapor" translation error as well. One of my favorites has always been, from Matthew, "It is easier for a "gamla" (in the original Aramaic) to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven." In Aramaic the word "gamla" means both "camel" and "thick rope", depending on the context, but spelled exactly the same.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks!

[Salvation]

Should be in Iraq, correct?

[WoofDog123]

one interesting thing I saw no elaboration on was speculation on the nature of the directional event. How many directional events can you get in jordan? An impact is the only natural cause I can think of, maybe an airburst event like Tugunska or however the russian location is spelled?

[married21]

“What floored me was Lot offered them his daughters (which they turned down)—nice father”

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Yeah, that bothered me, too. I finally decided that he was calling their bluff. He kind of knew it wasn’t really normal sex they were after.

[golux]

That would have been a once-in-two-years rainstorm.

[Bellflower]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz_EB5Igw1U

A fun and interesting video of an Origins TV show - Sodom & Gomorrah Part 1 with Dr. Steve Austin on youtube.

[Oatka]

Matthew, "It is easier for a "gamla" (in the original Aramaic) to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven." In Aramaic the word "gamla" means both "camel" and "thick rope", depending on the context, but spelled exactly the same.

Thanks, that a new one for me. Whenever I run across nuggets like these, I am reminded of the old story of how a professor lined up some students and told the first one a couple of sentences. He was instructed to pass it on, and so on down the line. When the last person was told to repeat the sentences, the entire meaning had changed.

The wife just came in and I told her about your camel/thick rope comment and what I was replying. She said that when she used to sell Tupperware at the parties, they played that game - with the same results. "It always came out different". So just imagine what translations, in addition to time, and the political bent of the translator would do.

[Jeremiah Jr]

Your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. You not only followed their ways, and acted according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.

As I live, says the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.

Ezekiel 16:46-50

What was the sin of Sodom?
http://www.iwgonline.org/docs/sodom.html

[SunkenCiv]

The five sites were mostly in what is now the northern basin of the Dead Sea, which is the only basin right now, the shallow southern basin dried up, as it did in or just before Roman times. The “little” town was on higher ground, and I think there’s a reference to its ruins in the OT somewhere when the Israelites were preparing to reenter Canaan. The kings who came from the east to beat their asses were led by the Elamite king Chedorlaomer (Kudur-Lagamar) and his vassal kings from areas he’d conquered, or his predecessors had conquered, and some of them were from what is now Iraq.

[colorado tanker]

Thanks. Interesting stuff.