Sodom: Etymologies and Location

[Jim Stinehart]

Sodom: Etymologies and Location

Scholars have been unable to come up with a convincing etymology for “Sodom” : סדם.

Gesenius says, without explanation, that “Sodom” : סדם means “burning”. If there is a west Semitic linguistic basis for that claim, presumably it would be on the basis of linking סדם to שדף, which means “blasted” or “scorched”. Genesis 41: 6, 23, 27. But the initial sibilant is not the same, and there’s a different final consonant. The meaning is tempting, but there simply is no close linguistic match here.

Without purporting to do any formal etymology for “Sodom”, Gordon Wenham notes that “Siddim sounds like Sodom….” Genesis 1-15, p. 310. If “Siddim” [שדים] is the plural of sâdeh [שדה], which seems very likely, then the meaning of “Sodom” : סדם (though spelled with a different sibilant than Siddim : שדים) would presumably be “cultivated fields”, that is, “good fields place”. But the sibilants are not the same, and “Sodom” does not have a regular full-form plural ending. Plus it would seem odd if the sole meaning of “Sodom” was something extremely positive: “good fields place”. So Wenham’s brief suggestion does not resolve this matter.

We see that scholars have not been able to come up with a convincing etymology of “Sodom”:

“The Hebrew for Sodom means to scorch or burn. …[But this] etymology is uncertain. While ‘Gomorrah’ has Hebrew and Arabic etymological implications of ‘to deal with violently’ or ‘to feel hostility’, Sodom has no similar connotation. Michael C. Astour, ‘Political and Cosmic Symbolism in Genesis 14 and Its Babylonian Sources’, in Alexander Altmann, ed., Biblical Motifs: Origins and Transformations (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1966), p. 72 n. 5.” Thomas A. Fudge, "Jan Hus Between Time and Eternity", Lexington Books, Lanham, Maryland (2016), pp. 42, 51.

Hey, guys, we’ve got another 3,000-year-old Biblical mystery.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois

[Jim Stinehart]

I myself am in partial agreement with Gordon Wenham’s west Semitic proposed etymology of “Sodom”, where “Siddim” is viewed as being the plural of sâdeh, and “Sodom” is viewed as being (at least in part) a play on “Siddim”. One meaning of “Sodom” is then “good fields place”.

In that case, more descriptive transliterations of these two proper names would be as follows: (i) Śadim (instead of “Siddim”); and (ii) Sadm (instead of “Sodom”). In addition to showing how the latter name could easily be a pun on the former name (Sadm vs. Śadim), those transliterations also show that the initial sibilant differs, and that Sadm/Sodom (unlike Śadim/Siddim) does not have a standard full-form plural ending.

So far, so good. But there’s got to be additional levels of etymological meaning here. We don’t have a letter-for-letter match yet. And a meaning of “good fields place” is too positive to be the only meaning of “Sodom” : סדם. So maybe we should ask the following question. Did the early Hebrew author of the Patriarchal narratives create the name “Sodom”, and in so doing, did he deliberately incorporate multi-lingual puns?

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois

[Isaac Fried]

I would say this: סד SD (as is צד, יד, שד, דד) refers to something that is protruding. The uniliteral Hebrew root מ ם M refers to massivity or bulkiness.
Compare the root סתם STM, 'clog, block', as in Gen. 26:18
וַיָּשָׁב יִצְחָק וַיַּחְפֹּר אֶת בְּאֵרֹת הַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר חָפְרוּ בִּימֵי אַבְרָהָם אָבִיו וַיְסַתְּמוּם פְּלִשְׁתִּים
NIV:  "Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up."
or Dan. 12:9
כִּי סְתֻמִים וַחֲתֻמִים הַדְּבָרִים עַד עֵת קֵץ
KJV: "for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end."

Isaac Fried, Boston University

[Jim Stinehart]

Isaac Fried:

You wrote: “I would say this: סד SD (as is צד, יד, שד, דד) refers to something that is protruding. The uniliteral Hebrew root מ ם M refers to massivity or bulkiness.”

1. There are only three Biblical Hebrew common words that begin with סד : SD [samekh-dalet], as follows:

(i) סד, only at Job 13: 27; 33: 11, meaning “[wooden] stocks [into which a prisoner’s feet are placed]”.

(ii) סדין, only at Judges 14: 12-13, Proverbs 31: 44; Isaiah 3: 23, meaning “linen garment” [worn either as an undergarment or for sleeping].

(iii) סדר, only at Job 10: 22, meaning “arrangement, order”.

From that, I would conclude as follows:

(a) סד is a very unusual root in Hebrew. It only appears 6 times in the entire Hebrew Bible in common words, with there only being three Hebrew common words that have that rare root.

(b) The meanings of these three rare Hebrew common words whose root is סד have nothing to do with “something that is protruding”.

Doesn’t this suggest that “Sodom” : סדם may be a foreign name, and/or a play on a foreign word?

2. There is one (and only one) more Hebrew common word that perhaps should be included here. סוד, at Genesis 49: 6 and in 20 other places in the Bible, means “council”. But of course there’s no interior vav/ו in “Sodom” : סדם. And at Sodom, wise “council” certainly did not prevail.

3. Ugaritic has only two common words with this root, matching to two of the Hebrew words above. sdn means “garment or harness” (compared to “linen undergarment” in Hebrew). sd means “council” (just like Hebrew, except that in Ugaritic there’s no interior vav/ו).

So although this root סד : sd is rare in Hebrew, it’s even rarer in Ugaritic.

Hmmm. Something is smelling non-Semitic to me here.

Isaac Fried, west Semitic languages don’t like the root סד : sd. It smells foreign.

So shouldn’t we logically ask this question? Is the sole meaning of “Sodom” : סדם its west Semitic meaning?

3. Now consider that nothing about Sodom in the Bible suggests the two root meanings that you identify: (i) “something that is protruding”, and (ii) “massivity or bulkiness”.

* * *

As I was saying, we have a 3,000-year-old Biblical mystery on our hands here. Something sure smells “foreign” to me about “Sodom” : סדם, given that סד as the root of a Hebrew common word appears only 6 times in the entire Bible. And since that root is, believe it or not, even rarer in Ugaritic, that something foreign is starting to smell non-Semitic to me.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois

[Isaac Fried]

True. the root סדר SDR of Job 10:21-22
בְּטֶרֶם אֵלֵךְ וְלֹא אָשׁוּב אֶל אֶרֶץ חֹשֶׁךְ וְצַלְמָוֶת אֶרֶץ עֵפָתָה כְּמוֹ אֹפֶל צַלְמָוֶת וְלֹא סְדָרִים
KJV: "Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order"
is being understood (possibly through שׂדר) as 'order', meaning a series, or an orderly extension, of one thing after the other (as is the ritual arrangement of סדר פסח, the Passover Seder.)
The uniliteral root ר R added in סד-ר SD-R, implies, as I understand the inner working of the Hebrew language, that the root סדר refers to a material state of multiple bodies.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

[Jim Stinehart]

Rather than non-Semitic, perhaps it is east Semitic that is providing most of the etymological meaning of “Sodom” : סדם. Consider:

In Assyrian, sādu as a noun means “pasture” or “an alloy of gold”, whereas sâdu as a verb means “to slay”. “The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.” [s and š and ś often interchange in Assyrian.] In Akkadian cuneiform, “east” or “east wind” was often sadu (or šadû or šaddû). Nuzi has an Akkadian-based Hurrian name whose first element is ša-du-um, namely ša-du-um – na-a-a. Gelb & Purves, "Nuzi Personal Names", p. 127.

The root of “Sodom”, namely סד, may render all three of the following Assyrian/Akkadian words: (i) sādu/“pasture”/“an alloy of gold”; and (ii) sâdu/“to slay”; and (iii) sadu/“east”/“east wind”; plus (iv) the Hebrew word śadim/“cultivated fields”. The multi-lingual meaning of “Sodom” is then (based on 5 puns, including ša-du-um from Nuzi) that a place with great “pastures” and “cultivated fields” and much “gold” was divinely “slain” when (per Genesis 19: 23-25) the sun rose in the “east”. That is to say: sādu + sâdu + sadu + śadim + ša-du-um = Sadm : “Sodom” : סדם.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois

[Isaac Fried]

I fully agree that סד is related to שדה SADEH, 'field, pasture'.
Yet I am still smitten by the act סדר SDR, of such good use in spoken Hebrew:
סידוּר תפילה SIYDUR, 'prayer book'.
הסדר HE-SDER, 'settlement'
הסתדרוּת HI-STADR-UT, 'organization'
סדיר SADIYR, 'regular'
סדרה SIDRAH, 'series'
סידוּרים SIYDUR-IYM, 'dealings, transactions'
סדרן SADR-AN, 'usher'

Isaac Fried, Boston University

[Jim Stinehart]

Let me modify my prior post slightly regarding the etymology of “Sodom”.

One meaning of “Sodom” : סדם (though spelled with a different sibilant than Siddim : שדים) is likely “cultivated fields”, that is, “good fields place”.

I suggest a transliteration of Bera’s “Sodom” as Sadm, and of Lot’s “Sodom” as Sadum, for the following reasons. As to Bera’s “Sodom”, the primary meaning, and perhaps the exclusively intended meaning, would appear (per the foregoing) to be “good fields place”. Where “Siddim” is viewed as being the plural of sâdeh, and Bera’s “Sodom” is viewed as being a play on “Siddim”, more descriptive transliterations of these two proper names would be as follows: (i) Śadim (instead of “Siddim”); and (ii) Sadm (instead of Bera’s “Sodom”). In addition to showing how the latter name could easily be a pun on the former name (Sadm vs. Śadim), those transliterations also show that the initial sibilant differs, and that Bera’s Sadm/Sodom (unlike Śadim/Siddim) does not have a standard full-form plural ending.

As to Lot’s “Sodom”, however, chapter 19 of Genesis famously portrays this evil city as being wiped out by divine fire and brimstone. So if an early Hebrew author created the name “Sodom”, it would seem inappropriate for the sole or primary meaning of Lot’s “Sodom” to be “good fields place”. The traditional etymology of “Sodom” is that of Gesenius, “burning”; although that meaning is tempting, there seems to be little linguistic support for such view. Consider then that the early Hebrew author of the Patriarchal narratives may possibly have created the name Sadum [Lot’s “Sodom”] as a deliberate pun on a series of apt Assyrian/Akkadian words, as referenced by an Akkadian-based Hurrian name. In Assyrian, sādum as a noun means “pasture” or “an alloy of gold”, whereas sâdu as a verb means “to slay”. (s and š and ś often interchange in Assyrian, with Assyrian [unlike Akkadian] favoring s.) In Akkadian cuneiform, “east” or “east wind” could be sadu (or, with the standard Akkadian singular ending, sadum, though more often šadûm). Nuzi has an Akkadian-based Hurrian name whose first element is ša-du-um, namely ša-du-um – na-a-a. "Nuzi Personal Names", p. 127. The root of Lot’s “Sodom”, namely סד : sadu, as well as the full name סדם : Sadum, may render all three of these Assyrian/Akkadian words: (i) sādum/“pasture”/“an alloy of gold”; and (ii) sâdu/“to slay”; and (iii) sadum/“east”/“east wind”; plus (iv) the Hebrew word śadim/“cultivated fields”. The multi-lingual meaning of Lot’s “Sodom” would then be (based on five puns, including (v) ša-du-um from Nuzi) that a place with great “pastures” and “cultivated fields”, and much “gold”, was divinely “slain” as if by a hot “east wind” from the desert when, per Genesis 19: 23-25, the sun rose in the “east”. That is to say, regarding the etymology of Lot’s “Sodom”: sādum + sâdu + sadum + śadim + ša-du-um = Sadum : “Sodom” : סדם.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois

[Isaac Fried]

I would, indeed, try and relate סד to זד, and (the symbolic? pun?) name סדוֹם SDOM to זדוֹן ZADON, 'evil, wickedness, deviation, diablerie, premeditation', as in Prov. 21:24
זֵד יָהִיר לֵץ שְׁמוֹ עוֹשֶׂה בְּעֶבְרַת זָדוֹן
KJV: "Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath."
Also 1Sam. 17:28
אֲנִי יָדַעְתִּי אֶת זְדֹנְךָ וְאֵת רֹעַ לְבָבֶךָ

Isaac Fried, Boston University

[Jim Stinehart]

Let’s now begin to ask where Lot’s Sadum : “Sodom” : סדם was located, based in part on its etymology.

I see the Akkadian word šadûm, which can mean “east wind”, as being part of the etymology of Lot’s Sadum : “Sodom” : סדם. This “east wind” is referred to three times in the Patriarchal narratives as קדים. Genesis 41: 6, 23, 27.

Gesenius notes as to the Hebrew common word קדים: “east wind, by far the most violent in western Asia”.

Here are two accounts of the important phenomenon in Canaan of the “sirocco” or east wind, which is incredibly hot (like fire), carries a huge number of particles of sand from the desert (like brimstone), and threatens all plant life in its path:

“The east wind or sirocco [in Canaan]…is the ‘scorching wind’…from the desert. It is a hot, gusty wind laden with sand and dust and occurs most frequently in May and October. The temperature in a given place often rises 15 or 20 degrees within a few hours, bringing [the] thermometer to the highest readings of the year. It is customary for the people to close up the houses tightly to keep out the dust and heat. The heat and dryness wither all vegetation (Gen 41:6).” ISBE re “wind”.

“Palestine is situated between the Arabian Desert on the east and the Mediterranean Sea on the west. As here in North America, the prevailing winds are westerly. However, an occasional east wind, called the Sirocco, brings hot, dry, dust-laden air from off the desert. It absorbs what little moisture there is so that all vegetation wilts. In Pharaoh’s dream, it was an east wind that blasted the grain (Genesis 41:23). …As a result of these occasional east winds, droughts and famines have always been and still are very common in that part of the world (Genesis 12:10…).” Wayne S. Walker, “The Climate of Bible Lands”, August 27, 2009. https://defenderoftruthblog.wordpress.c ... ble-lands/

Keeping the infamous “east wind”/sirocco in mind, which is fiery hot, and carries many particles of sand that destroy plant life wherever it hits in Canaan, here is the description of the divine destruction of first Sadum [“Sodom”], and then Gomorrah (I see Gomorrah as being west of Sadum, with both of these ill-fated cities being located in Canaan), at Genesis 19: 23-25 [KJV]:

“23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. 24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.”

The phrase “The sun was risen upon the earth” references the direction “east”, since the sun rises in the east. The concept that “brimstone and fire…rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah…out of heaven” seems somewhat similar to, though obviously much worse than (though limited and targeted as to the specific territory affected), a fearsome sirocco east wind, incredibly hot, blowing from the east/the northern Arabian Desert, which rains down sand and destruction on everything in its path. Note in particular the specific reference at the end of the above Biblical passage to “that which grew upon the ground”: the sirocco/east wind is notorious for destroying plant life in Canaan.

The meaning of Lot’s “Sodom” (which I see as being based on at least three Semitic words, including šadûm/“east wind”/“sirocco”) is that a place with “cultivated fields” was divinely “smited” as if by a fearsome “east wind”/ šadûm /“sirocco” when, per Genesis 19: 23-25, the sun rose in the “east”. Regarding the etymology of Lot’s “Sodom”: śadim [“cultivated fields”] + sadum ["to smite"] + šadûm [“east wind”/“sirocco”] = Sadum : “Sodom” : סדם.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois