Is this the location of biblical Sodom?
Several recent news articles speculate about the destruction of Sodom. Was it destroyed by a volcano or a meteorite? The exact location of Sodom has not be established. Phillip J. Silvia, Ph.D (Trinity Southwest University) explains, "Sodom was visible from and directly east from Bethel and Ai. In the biblical narrative, cardinal directions are given from a perspective of looking east (up/forward). In the narrative context, Abraham has already distinguished between north (left, when facing east) and south (right, when facing east). The narrative says that "Lot looked up..."
Dr. Silvia is responding to my suggestion that the destroyed cities may have been Bab edh Drha and Numeira. (Dr. Bryant Wood had argued for Bab edh-Dhra as Sodom.) However, as Dr. Silvia points out, these are not visible from Bethel and Ai because the view is blocked by the spine of the Judean Highlands.
David E Graves, Ph.D. (Aberdeen University) also notes that Bab edh-Dhra and Numeria were destroyed 250 years apart. Dr. Graves writes, "There was no human remains in the destruction layer at Bab edh-Dhra (only the cemetery) which compared with Tall el-Hammam was small. I compare Bad edh-Dhra and Tall el-Hammam in my book: The Location of Sodom: Key Facts for Navigating the Maze of Arguments for the Location of the Cities of the Plain."
"One other detail...The destruction date for Tall el-Hammam and the other cities of the plain (ca. 1650 BCE) does fit within the hi-lo date range proposed by scholars for the Exodus."
Alice C. Linsley
Has Steven Collins found the site of Biblical Sodom? After eight years of archaeological discovery in the Jordan Disk he believes he has, and if he is correct the conventional dating of the events of Genesis and Exodus must be revised.
Collins' argument is based on three main assertions. First, he asserts that the Hebrew word "kikkar" can only be applied to the wide circular area of the southern Jordan Valley north of the Dead Sea where Tall el-Hammam is located. Genesis 13:10 says that Abraham and Lot saw "all the valley of the Jordan."
In Hebrew, this reads kikkar hayarden, and Collins insists that this refers to the Jordan Disk, not the Valley of Siddim. He claims that the area is visible from the region between Bethel and Ai where Abraham had pitched his tent; the area had bitumen, and the battle of the kings would have been fought as far away from Abraham's home as possible. Genesis 14:3 states that the kings fought "in the valley of Siddim."
Dr. Silvia is responding to my suggestion that the destroyed cities may have been Bab edh Drha and Numeira. (Dr. Bryant Wood had argued for Bab edh-Dhra as Sodom.) However, as Dr. Silvia points out, these are not visible from Bethel and Ai because the view is blocked by the spine of the Judean Highlands.
"One other detail...The destruction date for Tall el-Hammam and the other cities of the plain (ca. 1650 BCE) does fit within the hi-lo date range proposed by scholars for the Exodus."
Has Steven Collins found the site of Biblical Sodom? After eight years of archaeological discovery in the Jordan Disk he believes he has, and if he is correct the conventional dating of the events of Genesis and Exodus must be revised.
Collins' argument is based on three main assertions. First, he asserts that the Hebrew word "kikkar" can only be applied to the wide circular area of the southern Jordan Valley north of the Dead Sea where Tall el-Hammam is located. Genesis 13:10 says that Abraham and Lot saw "all the valley of the Jordan."
In Hebrew, this reads kikkar hayarden, and Collins insists that this refers to the Jordan Disk, not the Valley of Siddim. He claims that the area is visible from the region between Bethel and Ai where Abraham had pitched his tent; the area had bitumen, and the battle of the kings would have been fought as far away from Abraham's home as possible. Genesis 14:3 states that the kings fought "in the valley of Siddim."
At Tall el-Hammam, Collins and his team excavated "numerous vessels spanning a thousand years with interiors stained and/or coated with bitumen."
Collins' claim has received much attention from scholars who refer to Tell-el-Hammam as the "Sodom of the north." However, he was not the first to suggest this possibility. In the late 19th century, Tristram, Conder, Merrill, and Thomson made a case for a location north of the Dead Sea in the southern Jordan Valley.
Tall el-Hammam is located about 14 kilometers northeast of the Dead Sea in the Jordan Disk, or "the Kikkar" (ring, disk, circle). This is a wide circular area of the southern Jordan Valley north of the Dead Sea. (Exodus 25:11 kikar zahav tahor = circle of pure gold.)
Collins writes: "Tall el-Hammam’s necroscape is much larger and more elaborate than the southern cemeteries, with thousands of cave and shaft tombs, standing stones, stone circles, henges, menhirs and dolmens spread over several square kilometers around Tall el-Hammam. There's even evidence of menhir alignments with astronomical significance, and alignments with the central sacred precinct of lower Tall el-Hammam."
Many regard Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 13-19) to be "Cities of the Plain," and based on Rabbinic sources, Sodom and Gomorrah have been linked with Bab edh-Dhra and Numeira. Collins argues that these sites are too early and in the wrong place. He believes that the evidence of a Middle Bronze Age destruction of Tall el-Hammam with the ensuing 500-year occupational hiatus strongly supports his theory that Tall-el-Hammam is Sodom. However, both the Jordan Disk and the valley of Siddim hAD equally ancient populations. The ramparts at Bab edh-Dhra in the south were started circa 3000 B.C. and the city thrived between 2500 and 2100. This corresponds closely to the time when Abraham would have been living in Canaan (c. 2150-1988).
The 1965-1968 excavations of Paul Lapp at Bab edh-Dhra cleared twenty seven shaft tombs with forty seven chambers in cemetery A, six tombs with single chambers on the slopes of cemetery C, and thirty shaft tombs with seventy three chambers in areas A, C, F, and G. It is fascinating to note that the majority of the graves were circular like the “pan graves” of Abraham's Nilo-Saharan ancestors.
The Habiru/Abru (from the Akkadian "Abrutu", referring to a caste of ruler-priests.)
Collins' claim has received much attention from scholars who refer to Tell-el-Hammam as the "Sodom of the north." However, he was not the first to suggest this possibility. In the late 19th century, Tristram, Conder, Merrill, and Thomson made a case for a location north of the Dead Sea in the southern Jordan Valley.
Tall el-Hammam is located about 14 kilometers northeast of the Dead Sea in the Jordan Disk, or "the Kikkar" (ring, disk, circle). This is a wide circular area of the southern Jordan Valley north of the Dead Sea. (Exodus 25:11 kikar zahav tahor = circle of pure gold.)
The Jordan Disk was home to many fortified Middle Bronze Age occupations, including Tall Nimrin, Tall Kafrayn and Tall el-Hammam. Tall el-Hammam is the largest of these. Situated on a major ancient trade route, it enjoyed prosperity with numerous satellite towns. The site has had a long history of occupation including the Neolithic and Chalcolithic Periods and the Bronze Ages (3600-2000 BC). The city was surrounded by dolmens and cave and shaft tombs, and agricultural lands to the west. The importance of the site is indicated by the 6-meter thick Early Bronze Age (3600-2350 BC) ramparts that surrounded the city (see image below).
Collins writes: "Tall el-Hammam’s necroscape is much larger and more elaborate than the southern cemeteries, with thousands of cave and shaft tombs, standing stones, stone circles, henges, menhirs and dolmens spread over several square kilometers around Tall el-Hammam. There's even evidence of menhir alignments with astronomical significance, and alignments with the central sacred precinct of lower Tall el-Hammam."
Many regard Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 13-19) to be "Cities of the Plain," and based on Rabbinic sources, Sodom and Gomorrah have been linked with Bab edh-Dhra and Numeira. Collins argues that these sites are too early and in the wrong place. He believes that the evidence of a Middle Bronze Age destruction of Tall el-Hammam with the ensuing 500-year occupational hiatus strongly supports his theory that Tall-el-Hammam is Sodom. However, both the Jordan Disk and the valley of Siddim hAD equally ancient populations. The ramparts at Bab edh-Dhra in the south were started circa 3000 B.C. and the city thrived between 2500 and 2100. This corresponds closely to the time when Abraham would have been living in Canaan (c. 2150-1988).
The 1965-1968 excavations of Paul Lapp at Bab edh-Dhra cleared twenty seven shaft tombs with forty seven chambers in cemetery A, six tombs with single chambers on the slopes of cemetery C, and thirty shaft tombs with seventy three chambers in areas A, C, F, and G. It is fascinating to note that the majority of the graves were circular like the “pan graves” of Abraham's Nilo-Saharan ancestors.
The Habiru/Abru (from the Akkadian "Abrutu", referring to a caste of ruler-priests.)
Collin's portrays Abraham and Lot as 'Apiru or Habiru (Hebrew) warlords who made treaties with regional rulers. His depiction aligns with some biblical data. Certainly, there were Hebrew warrior-priests, especially the clan of Levi. However, the early Hebrew were skilled in many areas, including animal husbandry, metal work, stone work, medicine, and astronomy.
In ancient texts the ruler-priest caste was associated with the number seven. The linguistic connection between the number seven and the words Habiru, 'Apiru, or the Akkadian Abru (priest) is evident in the Nilotic Luo word for seven: abiriyo. Joshua 6:4 speaks of seven priests who walk before the Ark, each carrying a ram's horn. Genesis 1:1–2:3 is rich in the numerical symbolism of seven. The number seven also appears in the account of the flood (Gen. 7:2-8).
The biblical Hebrew (Abrutu) were a ruler-priest caste that appears to have originated in the Nile Valley. The oldest known site of Horite Hebrew worship is Nekhen (3800 BC). They were one people divided into two ritual groups (a moiety): the Horites and the Sethites. They dispersed across Arabia, and had shrines in Beersheba, Timna, Edom and probably Tall el-Hammam, the site that Collins believes is biblical Sodom.
The biblical Hebrew (Abrutu) were a ruler-priest caste that appears to have originated in the Nile Valley. The oldest known site of Horite Hebrew worship is Nekhen (3800 BC). They were one people divided into two ritual groups (a moiety): the Horites and the Sethites. They dispersed across Arabia, and had shrines in Beersheba, Timna, Edom and probably Tall el-Hammam, the site that Collins believes is biblical Sodom.
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