101 Myths of the Bible: how ancient scribes - Conscious Evolution TV

Myths of the Founders 121
Genesis compares to the Garden of Eden. Nobody knows where Sodom and
Gomorrah actually were located, but the Bible locates them somewhere near the
southern part of the Dead Sea, in a region known as the Vale of Siddim, which,
according to Genesis 14:3,“is the salt sea” (i.e., the saltwater Dead Sea). This indicates
that at some point in time the Salt Sea covered over the Vale of Siddim. In other
words, Sodom and Gomorrah were located in a well-watered fertile plain that existed
in the location now covered by the southern tip of the Dead Sea.
However, Genesis also says that Lot drove his herd from that part of the plain
closest to Beth-el, north of the Dead Sea, to the southern tip of the Jordan Valley at
the south end of the Dead Sea. Implicit in this claim is that the entire area where the
Dead Sea exists was all arable farmland and well-watered pastures, a fact completely
at odds with the geological record, which indicates that the Dead Sea is, in fact,
millions of years old.
After settling at Sodom, the Bible tells us that four powerful Mesopotamian kings
united together for an invasion of Sodom and Gomorrah and some local allies. The
Mesopotamian coalition ruled the cities for fourteen years, using them as a base for
further conquests. In the fourteenth year, the cities revolted, but the Mesopotamians
sacked the rebellious communities and took Lot prisoner, presumably because he
was an important figure in the region. The biblical authors, apparently forgetting
how lovely the region was supposed to be before Sodom’s destruction, describe the
territory around Sodom as“full of slime pits” (Gen. 14:10), an editorial lapse describing
the actual geological condition of the region.
When Abraham learned of Lot’s capture, he raised an army of 318 soldiers from
among his many servants and chased the Mesopotamian army “unto Dan” (Gen.
14:14). The expression“unto Dan” would be an idiomatic way of saying“to the northern
part of Israel,” which is where Dan was located. But Dan wasn’t located there in the
time of Abraham. That region didn’t become Dan, according to the Bible, until after
the Exodus when the Tribe of Dan moved into that territory.
After Abraham rescued his nephew, Lot returned to Sodom. At this time, Abraham
had no sons to whom he could pass on his covenant with God, the promise that
Canaan would belong to Abraham and his heirs. As Abraham’s nephew, Lot was obvi-