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Discovering the City of Sodom: The Fascinating, True Account of the Discovery of the Old Testament's Most Infamous City
The fascinating, true account of the quest for one of the Old Testament’s most infamous cities.
Like many Christians today in the academic world, Dr. Steven Collins felt pulled in different directions when it came to apparent conflicts between the Bible and scholarly research and theory—an intellectual crisis that inspired him to lay it all on the line as he set off to locate the lost city of Sodom.
Recounting Dr. Collins’s quest for Sodom in absorbing detail, this adventure-cum-memoir reflects the tensions that define biblical archaeology as it narrates a tale of discovery. Readers follow “Dr. C” as he tracks down biblical, archaeological, and geographical clues to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, narrowing the list of possible sites as he weighs evidence and battles skeptics. Finally, he arrives at a single location that looms as the only option: a massive ancient ruin called Tall el-Hammam in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Many scholars who were initially opposed to Dr. Collins’s theory now concede that history books may need to be rewritten in light of his groundbreaking discovery. It—along with several other recent finds—is challenging the assumptions of academics and asserting a new voice in the controversy of biblical archaeology and the dispute over using the Bible as a credible historical source.
***
From respected archaeologist Dr. Steven Collins and award-winning author Dr. Latayne C. Scott comes the fascinating, true account of the frustrating search and exciting excavation of the city the Bible calls Sodom, which scholars and others had “misplaced” for hundreds of years.
Like many modern-day Christians, Dr. Collins struggled with what seemed to be a clash between his heritage of belief in the Bible and the research regarding ancient history and human evolution. This crisis of faith led him to embark on a quest to put both his archaeological education and the Bible to the test by seeking out the lost ancient city, an expedition that has led to one of the most exciting finds in recent archaeology.
Challenging the assumptions of academics around the world, Discovering the City of Sodom may well inspire a revision of the history books. Dr. Collins has become a new voice in the controversy over using the Bible as a credible source of understanding the past—and opened a new chapter in the struggle over the soul of biblical archaeology.
Like many Christians today in the academic world, Dr. Steven Collins felt pulled in different directions when it came to apparent conflicts between the Bible and scholarly research and theory—an intellectual crisis that inspired him to lay it all on the line as he set off to locate the lost city of Sodom.
Recounting Dr. Collins’s quest for Sodom in absorbing detail, this adventure-cum-memoir reflects the tensions that define biblical archaeology as it narrates a tale of discovery. Readers follow “Dr. C” as he tracks down biblical, archaeological, and geographical clues to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, narrowing the list of possible sites as he weighs evidence and battles skeptics. Finally, he arrives at a single location that looms as the only option: a massive ancient ruin called Tall el-Hammam in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Many scholars who were initially opposed to Dr. Collins’s theory now concede that history books may need to be rewritten in light of his groundbreaking discovery. It—along with several other recent finds—is challenging the assumptions of academics and asserting a new voice in the controversy of biblical archaeology and the dispute over using the Bible as a credible historical source.
***
From respected archaeologist Dr. Steven Collins and award-winning author Dr. Latayne C. Scott comes the fascinating, true account of the frustrating search and exciting excavation of the city the Bible calls Sodom, which scholars and others had “misplaced” for hundreds of years.
Like many modern-day Christians, Dr. Collins struggled with what seemed to be a clash between his heritage of belief in the Bible and the research regarding ancient history and human evolution. This crisis of faith led him to embark on a quest to put both his archaeological education and the Bible to the test by seeking out the lost ancient city, an expedition that has led to one of the most exciting finds in recent archaeology.
Challenging the assumptions of academics around the world, Discovering the City of Sodom may well inspire a revision of the history books. Dr. Collins has become a new voice in the controversy over using the Bible as a credible source of understanding the past—and opened a new chapter in the struggle over the soul of biblical archaeology.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published April 2, 2012
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July 3, 2013
Any book with the title "Discovering the City of Sodom: The Fascinating, True Account of the Discovery of the Old Testament’s Most Infamous City" promises to be a sensational read. But a book about discovering the biblical city of Sodom must surely be just another crackpot’s wild theory, right? Wrong. Dr. Steven Collins is a veteran archeologist and he has plenty to say against the crackpots and misguided adventurers whose escapades in the Middle East pose as archeological discoveries. And while his claim that Sodom has been found is controversial, he does his best not to be overly sensational and claim more than the evidence warrants. Collins is not without his skeptics, but the case he builds, I believe, is painstakingly thorough, and in the end convincing.
I listened to an audio version of this book, read by Sean Runnette, available at ChristianAudio.com. And even without pictures and maps, I was enthralled by the tale. Collins, with the help of co-writer Latayne Scott, a professional writer, uses a variety of literary technicques to make a nearly decade-long project of digging holes in the sand sound interesting and engaging. He walks us through a day in a typical dig, describing the personality types and theological motives (or lack thereof) that people bring to such an undertaking. He uses flashback and personal anecdote, and then puts on his teacher’s hat as he assembles facts about archeology, dating, and the history of the Levant (the archeological term for Palestine).
I was struck by Collins’ faith, and how he is unashamed to use the Bible as a souce alongside other ancient Near Eastern texts, in his scientific method. And with the Bible being the sole historical record of the city of Sodom, Collins surveys in detail the various aspects of the Biblical record and applies that to his research. His attention to the text with its many geographical details, ultimately is what convinces me that Tall el Hammam in modern-day Jordan, is the site of the biblical Sodom.
Collins makes a convincing argument that Sodom and its sister city Gomorrah was located on the Kikkar, a plain near the Jordan river just to the north of the Dead Sea. And while he doesn’t find mysterious sulfer balls of the kind that lead to wild tales of supposed discovery, he does find an area bereft of any human civilization for 700 years after a sudden fiery end to what was a prominent culture.
There are problems and puzzling sides to his story, however. He defends a date which will not fit with an early date for the Exodus. Anyone familiar with OT evangelical theology should know that the question of dating the Exodus is not as simple as it may seem. Collins dates the fall of Sodom to around 1650 B.C. Now with some work, his date could fit with a late date for the Exodus, as accepted by many scholars. However his own advocacy of a middle date for the Exodus, based on historical synchronisms with the text makes the problem even thornier for Collins himself. In the context of his grappling with the chronology of his finds, he makes what I believe is an important observation. And in this particular case, I believe he may well be right.
"Geography trumps chronology when you’re dealing with the ancient Near East and the Bible. That’s because there are a lot of variations in Near Eastern chronologies–with high, middle, and low versions that can vary thirty to fifty years at given points…. By comparison, geography is quite static. With few exceptions, it doesn’t move around…. Again, we begin with the text, and that’s how, using all the geographical markers in the story of Abraham, you invariably find Sodom located in the Kikkar of the Jordan, because that’s what Abraham and Lot saw when they were dividing the land between them." (pg. 130)
He goes on to argue for honorrific or symbolic numbers when it comes to the age of the patriarchs, but he also presents alternative views which could reconcile the dating with his find. He argues in the end that we cannot take the Bible “only literally” but must read it “authentically.”
Whether one agrees with his take on biblical chronology or not, you will have to grapple with the impressive geographical evidence that Collins marshalls from the text. It is clear that he respects and listens to the Bible’s text, and this very fact makes him a target of liberal scholars for his audacity to believe the Bible’s record could be true. By the end of the book it is clear that Collins isn’t out to make friends but to pursue the truth, and he believes his work has provided concrete evidence bolstering the belief that the Bible’s account of the destruction of Sodom is grounded in historical truth.
Collins explains why others have not looked for Sodom in this locale. It is chiefly due to theories that Sodom was under the Dead Sea or to be found on its southern shores. Ultimately these theories were based less on evidence than on unsubstantiated educated guesses from earlier and still renowned biblical archeologists. Further data has contradicted the assumption that Sodom was in the barren wasteland of the southern Dead Sea – which was never (during the time of the Biblical sodom) an Edenic paradise that was to woo Lot to pitch his tent there. And the fact that the Dead Sea is at its lowest depth in the last four thousand years, aruges against the idea that the cities are to be found in its depths.
The book ends with the most exciting find of all: pottery shards that are superheated to glass on one side, yet are perfectly normal pottery on the other. The conclusion of experts is that the shards were super heated and then cooled far too rapidly than would be expected by any typical human furnace or heating method known in ancient times. Extensive, independent research compares this to molten sand left over after nuclear experiments and the green glass found in the desert at times due to meteoric events. The best physical explanation is a meteor that burned up in the atmosphere leaving no crater, but still sending a fireball to earth (as in a documented case in Sieberia in the early 1900s). This may very well be concrete proof that the story of Sodom’s fiery demise as recounted in the Bible is true.
Collins hesitates to say more than what science can affirm, but he holds the biblical record to be true by faith. Along the way he presents an excellent example of how to hold true to Scripture and yet still seek to pursue a path of valid scientific inquiry.
The book reads well–mystery and history interwoven with the science of archeology. It will interest amateur archeologists and bible geeks, as well as history buffs. It can be understood by high schoolers as well and may spark an interest in biblical archeology in younger readers.
The audio quality on the ChristianAudio.com recording was superb. Downloading the book in any format is a breeze. And the narrator does an excellent job keeping the story fresh and alive, rather than dull and boring. And kudos to him for pronouncing all the difficult words with ease. A simple search at Amazon will supply many of the charts and maps that are missing in the audio book experience. I am sure you’ll find the audio book as much fun as the hardback version. Of course, like me, you may be enticed to purchase both versions after listening to the audio reading of the book.
Disclaimer: This book was provided by ChristianAudio.com. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a positive review.
I listened to an audio version of this book, read by Sean Runnette, available at ChristianAudio.com. And even without pictures and maps, I was enthralled by the tale. Collins, with the help of co-writer Latayne Scott, a professional writer, uses a variety of literary technicques to make a nearly decade-long project of digging holes in the sand sound interesting and engaging. He walks us through a day in a typical dig, describing the personality types and theological motives (or lack thereof) that people bring to such an undertaking. He uses flashback and personal anecdote, and then puts on his teacher’s hat as he assembles facts about archeology, dating, and the history of the Levant (the archeological term for Palestine).
I was struck by Collins’ faith, and how he is unashamed to use the Bible as a souce alongside other ancient Near Eastern texts, in his scientific method. And with the Bible being the sole historical record of the city of Sodom, Collins surveys in detail the various aspects of the Biblical record and applies that to his research. His attention to the text with its many geographical details, ultimately is what convinces me that Tall el Hammam in modern-day Jordan, is the site of the biblical Sodom.
Collins makes a convincing argument that Sodom and its sister city Gomorrah was located on the Kikkar, a plain near the Jordan river just to the north of the Dead Sea. And while he doesn’t find mysterious sulfer balls of the kind that lead to wild tales of supposed discovery, he does find an area bereft of any human civilization for 700 years after a sudden fiery end to what was a prominent culture.
There are problems and puzzling sides to his story, however. He defends a date which will not fit with an early date for the Exodus. Anyone familiar with OT evangelical theology should know that the question of dating the Exodus is not as simple as it may seem. Collins dates the fall of Sodom to around 1650 B.C. Now with some work, his date could fit with a late date for the Exodus, as accepted by many scholars. However his own advocacy of a middle date for the Exodus, based on historical synchronisms with the text makes the problem even thornier for Collins himself. In the context of his grappling with the chronology of his finds, he makes what I believe is an important observation. And in this particular case, I believe he may well be right.
"Geography trumps chronology when you’re dealing with the ancient Near East and the Bible. That’s because there are a lot of variations in Near Eastern chronologies–with high, middle, and low versions that can vary thirty to fifty years at given points…. By comparison, geography is quite static. With few exceptions, it doesn’t move around…. Again, we begin with the text, and that’s how, using all the geographical markers in the story of Abraham, you invariably find Sodom located in the Kikkar of the Jordan, because that’s what Abraham and Lot saw when they were dividing the land between them." (pg. 130)
He goes on to argue for honorrific or symbolic numbers when it comes to the age of the patriarchs, but he also presents alternative views which could reconcile the dating with his find. He argues in the end that we cannot take the Bible “only literally” but must read it “authentically.”
Whether one agrees with his take on biblical chronology or not, you will have to grapple with the impressive geographical evidence that Collins marshalls from the text. It is clear that he respects and listens to the Bible’s text, and this very fact makes him a target of liberal scholars for his audacity to believe the Bible’s record could be true. By the end of the book it is clear that Collins isn’t out to make friends but to pursue the truth, and he believes his work has provided concrete evidence bolstering the belief that the Bible’s account of the destruction of Sodom is grounded in historical truth.
Collins explains why others have not looked for Sodom in this locale. It is chiefly due to theories that Sodom was under the Dead Sea or to be found on its southern shores. Ultimately these theories were based less on evidence than on unsubstantiated educated guesses from earlier and still renowned biblical archeologists. Further data has contradicted the assumption that Sodom was in the barren wasteland of the southern Dead Sea – which was never (during the time of the Biblical sodom) an Edenic paradise that was to woo Lot to pitch his tent there. And the fact that the Dead Sea is at its lowest depth in the last four thousand years, aruges against the idea that the cities are to be found in its depths.
The book ends with the most exciting find of all: pottery shards that are superheated to glass on one side, yet are perfectly normal pottery on the other. The conclusion of experts is that the shards were super heated and then cooled far too rapidly than would be expected by any typical human furnace or heating method known in ancient times. Extensive, independent research compares this to molten sand left over after nuclear experiments and the green glass found in the desert at times due to meteoric events. The best physical explanation is a meteor that burned up in the atmosphere leaving no crater, but still sending a fireball to earth (as in a documented case in Sieberia in the early 1900s). This may very well be concrete proof that the story of Sodom’s fiery demise as recounted in the Bible is true.
Collins hesitates to say more than what science can affirm, but he holds the biblical record to be true by faith. Along the way he presents an excellent example of how to hold true to Scripture and yet still seek to pursue a path of valid scientific inquiry.
The book reads well–mystery and history interwoven with the science of archeology. It will interest amateur archeologists and bible geeks, as well as history buffs. It can be understood by high schoolers as well and may spark an interest in biblical archeology in younger readers.
The audio quality on the ChristianAudio.com recording was superb. Downloading the book in any format is a breeze. And the narrator does an excellent job keeping the story fresh and alive, rather than dull and boring. And kudos to him for pronouncing all the difficult words with ease. A simple search at Amazon will supply many of the charts and maps that are missing in the audio book experience. I am sure you’ll find the audio book as much fun as the hardback version. Of course, like me, you may be enticed to purchase both versions after listening to the audio reading of the book.
Disclaimer: This book was provided by ChristianAudio.com. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a positive review.
April 18, 2020
The Genesis 18-19 account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah has become part of the Western cultural zeitgeist and its location a mystery ever since the beginning of Biblical archaeology. Discovering the City of Sodom: The Fascinating, True Account of the Old Testament’s Most Infamous City by Steven Collins and Latayne C. Scott goes into the decade-long excavation of a site in Jordan that Collins purposes the evidence points towards it being the location of the destroyed city.
Much of the book is written by Collins who first explores the everything around the account of Sodom in Genesis and denoting that it must be read “authentically” not “literally”. One of Collin’s most important points early on is looking at the actual Hebrew wording of the text and what important words actually mean, this factors into where Collins believes the Bible locates the city of Sodom not at what is the bottom of the southern Dead Sea or on its southeast coast but on the eastern side of the Jordan River opposite Jericho. After laying out what the Bible actually says about Sodom and the historical era the Bible describes it in—the Middle Bronze Age—Collins then goes into the what his numerous archaeological excavations at Tall el-Hammam have made him believes he’s found Biblical Sodom including the fact that after the large city that was located there was destroyed in the Middle Bronze Age, nothing was rebuilt there until the Iron Age around 700 years later. Scott’s contribution was related Collin’s professional journey giving tours that located Sodom at the traditional southern Dead Sea location to his letting reading of the Bible lead him to look for a large prosperous city in the Jordan plain across from Jericho and the discoveries made at el-Hammam that made Collins realize he had found the city of Sodom.
Both Collins and Scott did a very good job with their respective parts of the book with Collins focused on the academic side and Scott doing a biographical look at Collins’ personal journey over several decades when connected to this subject. The biggest positive of the book is Collins’ balance of keeping to the authenticity of the Biblical account and dealing with facts found in the dirt, not only at el-Hammam but across the Levant. The biggest issue with the book is the same as another book by Collins’ and that is layout as the maps were placed in the back of the book and not nearer to the relevant text where they would be helpful. However, given that there were two authors the change of font style denoting when each author was writing was a very choice.
Discovering the City of Sodom is an enlightening read with Collins’ engaging writing that made what could have been dry academic details lively while Scott’s biographical sketches give a more personal touch. While the layout of the book is a bit of a mixed bag with differing fonts denoting which author was writing is a positive, the placing of maps in the back of the book instead of near the text that they illustrated is a negative. Whether you agree with Collins’ archaeological discoveries and research, this is a informative read about the era of the Middle Bronze Age in the Levant.
Much of the book is written by Collins who first explores the everything around the account of Sodom in Genesis and denoting that it must be read “authentically” not “literally”. One of Collin’s most important points early on is looking at the actual Hebrew wording of the text and what important words actually mean, this factors into where Collins believes the Bible locates the city of Sodom not at what is the bottom of the southern Dead Sea or on its southeast coast but on the eastern side of the Jordan River opposite Jericho. After laying out what the Bible actually says about Sodom and the historical era the Bible describes it in—the Middle Bronze Age—Collins then goes into the what his numerous archaeological excavations at Tall el-Hammam have made him believes he’s found Biblical Sodom including the fact that after the large city that was located there was destroyed in the Middle Bronze Age, nothing was rebuilt there until the Iron Age around 700 years later. Scott’s contribution was related Collin’s professional journey giving tours that located Sodom at the traditional southern Dead Sea location to his letting reading of the Bible lead him to look for a large prosperous city in the Jordan plain across from Jericho and the discoveries made at el-Hammam that made Collins realize he had found the city of Sodom.
Both Collins and Scott did a very good job with their respective parts of the book with Collins focused on the academic side and Scott doing a biographical look at Collins’ personal journey over several decades when connected to this subject. The biggest positive of the book is Collins’ balance of keeping to the authenticity of the Biblical account and dealing with facts found in the dirt, not only at el-Hammam but across the Levant. The biggest issue with the book is the same as another book by Collins’ and that is layout as the maps were placed in the back of the book and not nearer to the relevant text where they would be helpful. However, given that there were two authors the change of font style denoting when each author was writing was a very choice.
Discovering the City of Sodom is an enlightening read with Collins’ engaging writing that made what could have been dry academic details lively while Scott’s biographical sketches give a more personal touch. While the layout of the book is a bit of a mixed bag with differing fonts denoting which author was writing is a positive, the placing of maps in the back of the book instead of near the text that they illustrated is a negative. Whether you agree with Collins’ archaeological discoveries and research, this is a informative read about the era of the Middle Bronze Age in the Levant.
May 5, 2013
Dr. Steven Collins and Dr. Latayne C. Scott in their new book “Discovering The City Of Sodom” published by Howard Books gives us The Fascinating, True Account of the Discovery of the Old Testament’s Most Infamous City.
From the back cover: Like many Christians today in the academic world, Dr. Steven Collins felt pulled in different directions when it came to apparent conflicts between the Bible and scholarly research and theory—an intellectual crisis that inspired him to lay it all on the line as he set off to locate the lost city of Sodom.
Recounting Dr. Collins’s quest for Sodom in absorbing detail, this adventure-cum-memoir reflects the tensions that define biblical archaeology as it narrates a tale of discovery. Readers follow “Dr. C” as he tracks down biblical, archaeological, and geographical clues to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, narrowing the list of possible sites as he weighs evidence and battles skeptics. Finally, he arrives at a single location that looms as the only option: a massive ancient ruin called Tall el-Hammam in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Many scholars who were initially opposed to Dr. Collins’s theory now concede that history books may need to be rewritten in light of his groundbreaking discovery. It—along with several other recent finds—is challenging the assumptions of academics and asserting a new voice in the controversy of biblical archaeology and the dispute over using the Bible as a credible historical source.
Move over Indiana Jones you have met your match. Dr. Steven Collins is everything you are but better. Genesis Chapter Nineteen tells us of the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain. However no one has ever really been able to find them. There have been rumors of where these cities once stood but no real proof. Dr. Collins felt that evidence existed and set out to find this evidence and then find the cities. He accomplished that goal. How he was able to do that is worth of a movie. This is pretty exciting stuff, if I do say so myself, and what’s even better is that it is all true. Based entirely on The Biblical narrative Dr. Collins presents all the story that led him from point to point until he found exactly what he was looking for. This is not some college lecture that will make your eyes glassy. ”Discovering The City Of Sodom” will keep you interested and flipping pages until the very end. Then you will want to go back and read the Genesis account to really appreciate exactly what is going on in the story. Thank you Dr. Collins for proving that Science and The Bible agree with each other perfectly!
If you would like to listen to interviews with other authors and professionals please go to www.kingdomhighlights.org where they are available On Demand.
To listen to 24 hours non-stop, commercial free Christian music please visit our internet radio station www.kingdomairwaves.org
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Howard Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
From the back cover: Like many Christians today in the academic world, Dr. Steven Collins felt pulled in different directions when it came to apparent conflicts between the Bible and scholarly research and theory—an intellectual crisis that inspired him to lay it all on the line as he set off to locate the lost city of Sodom.
Recounting Dr. Collins’s quest for Sodom in absorbing detail, this adventure-cum-memoir reflects the tensions that define biblical archaeology as it narrates a tale of discovery. Readers follow “Dr. C” as he tracks down biblical, archaeological, and geographical clues to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, narrowing the list of possible sites as he weighs evidence and battles skeptics. Finally, he arrives at a single location that looms as the only option: a massive ancient ruin called Tall el-Hammam in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Many scholars who were initially opposed to Dr. Collins’s theory now concede that history books may need to be rewritten in light of his groundbreaking discovery. It—along with several other recent finds—is challenging the assumptions of academics and asserting a new voice in the controversy of biblical archaeology and the dispute over using the Bible as a credible historical source.
Move over Indiana Jones you have met your match. Dr. Steven Collins is everything you are but better. Genesis Chapter Nineteen tells us of the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain. However no one has ever really been able to find them. There have been rumors of where these cities once stood but no real proof. Dr. Collins felt that evidence existed and set out to find this evidence and then find the cities. He accomplished that goal. How he was able to do that is worth of a movie. This is pretty exciting stuff, if I do say so myself, and what’s even better is that it is all true. Based entirely on The Biblical narrative Dr. Collins presents all the story that led him from point to point until he found exactly what he was looking for. This is not some college lecture that will make your eyes glassy. ”Discovering The City Of Sodom” will keep you interested and flipping pages until the very end. Then you will want to go back and read the Genesis account to really appreciate exactly what is going on in the story. Thank you Dr. Collins for proving that Science and The Bible agree with each other perfectly!
If you would like to listen to interviews with other authors and professionals please go to www.kingdomhighlights.org where they are available On Demand.
To listen to 24 hours non-stop, commercial free Christian music please visit our internet radio station www.kingdomairwaves.org
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Howard Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
May 12, 2025
Very archeologically based those were the best parts. Hearing those journals read as the sand is I’m sure being swept off those pages…
June 5, 2014
I've got to admit upfront that I was interested in this book for fairly obscure reasons.
I was researching threshold covenants and looking into the nuances of Abraham's third covenant with God at the beginning of Genesis 18. At the same time, I was preparing an article on the really mundane subject of 'point of view' in fiction. As I did, I wondered if there were any ancient examples of 'point of view' in the literature of the Bible. Even before the four gospels occurred to me, what popped into mind was the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in the book of Genesis and the destruction of Job's family and property in the first chapter of Job. It doesn't take a degree in rocket science to see that both stories describe a meteoric impact. Since they are both around the same historical timeframe, it's possible they were different perspectives on the same event.
Now, the fact is that it's clear from the information in the book of Job that he once lived in present day Jordan. Logically, if the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah relates to the same event, then it should be in present day Jordan.
Enter Google!
It took all of thirty seconds to find Discovering the City of Sodom. Honestly, I was surprised at how very very good it was, when all I wanted was a confirmation that my wild idea that Job's story is a different take on the destruction of Sodom.
The first eighty pages or so is a lush description of the geography and history of the region, looking at Israel and the patriarch Abraham in a thought-provoking way. The concept of Abraham as an ancient warlord, who was in covenant relationship with Melchizedek of Salem, was one I had not previously considered but the case was well-laid and well-articulated.
The case for the location Tell el-Hammam as the site of ancient Sodom is kept from complete dry academia by discussion of Steven Collins' own story as he wrestled with conventional wisdom which locates the Cities of the Plain at the southern edge of the Dead Sea (or even under its surface.)
A surprisingly gripping, intriguing read.
I was researching threshold covenants and looking into the nuances of Abraham's third covenant with God at the beginning of Genesis 18. At the same time, I was preparing an article on the really mundane subject of 'point of view' in fiction. As I did, I wondered if there were any ancient examples of 'point of view' in the literature of the Bible. Even before the four gospels occurred to me, what popped into mind was the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in the book of Genesis and the destruction of Job's family and property in the first chapter of Job. It doesn't take a degree in rocket science to see that both stories describe a meteoric impact. Since they are both around the same historical timeframe, it's possible they were different perspectives on the same event.
Now, the fact is that it's clear from the information in the book of Job that he once lived in present day Jordan. Logically, if the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah relates to the same event, then it should be in present day Jordan.
Enter Google!
It took all of thirty seconds to find Discovering the City of Sodom. Honestly, I was surprised at how very very good it was, when all I wanted was a confirmation that my wild idea that Job's story is a different take on the destruction of Sodom.
The first eighty pages or so is a lush description of the geography and history of the region, looking at Israel and the patriarch Abraham in a thought-provoking way. The concept of Abraham as an ancient warlord, who was in covenant relationship with Melchizedek of Salem, was one I had not previously considered but the case was well-laid and well-articulated.
The case for the location Tell el-Hammam as the site of ancient Sodom is kept from complete dry academia by discussion of Steven Collins' own story as he wrestled with conventional wisdom which locates the Cities of the Plain at the southern edge of the Dead Sea (or even under its surface.)
A surprisingly gripping, intriguing read.
October 24, 2013
Do you sometimes wonders if those Old Testament stories are really true? Collins did. He struggled with the question. He went on a quest for Sodom. He has included much back story as he goes through the discovery process. there have been seven seasons of excavation. He presents his evidence for the site and also goes through the reasons some believe it is not Sodom. This is a good book for Christians to read as it shows the work of proving the reality of something many relegate to myth. One can keep up with the work at a website. See my full review and that link at http://bit.ly/HdACSu.
July 7, 2024
1.5 Stars
This review more represents my assessment of this book, not necessarily the archaeological study/site it purports to lead you through.
This book is just terribly written, jumping all over the place, going down needless rabbit-holes, and straying completely from the topic at hand. The author picks fights he has no dog in, and has little chance of winning, that have nothing to do with the archaeology of the Tell El-Hammam site, which the author claims is the biblical city of Sodom.
The Tell El-Hammam site itself seems EXTREMELY interesting, and has huge implications, especially with some of the more intriguing aspects of their findings. The only problem is, this book WASTES your time for about 60% of the material. Much of the first half was reserved for the authors dubious re-interpretation/summary of the Old Testament, through the lens of ‘why Sodom matters so much’. Why? Literally why? If I am reading this book, I probably know the general story of the OT, you dont have to spend so much time on that. Just tell me about what you found at the site!
This author also continually inserts himself into debates, battles, and controversies that are way out of his field. He starts talking about evolution vs. fundamentalism at one point, science vs. faith debates, and many more. Why? His lack of self-control and recognition of his field makes me question all of his findings that ARE in his field. Very disappointing.
Towards the end of the book, he FINALLY actually gets into the actual content of the archaeological dig, and there is a lot of legitimately fascinating stuff, though admittedly presented in the most side-winding route possible. Evidence of a huge city, suddenly destroyed by an extremely hot event, charring human remains where they stood, and creating Trinitite-esque heat-flash effects on pottery! All at around the right time and place for a biblical Sodom event! This is all pretty amazing, but again, I have a lot of doubt in my mind from how massively mishandled the rest of this book is.
If you’re curious about this archaeological dig, don’t read this book. I am going to go just try and find journal publications and whatnot instead.
This review more represents my assessment of this book, not necessarily the archaeological study/site it purports to lead you through.
This book is just terribly written, jumping all over the place, going down needless rabbit-holes, and straying completely from the topic at hand. The author picks fights he has no dog in, and has little chance of winning, that have nothing to do with the archaeology of the Tell El-Hammam site, which the author claims is the biblical city of Sodom.
The Tell El-Hammam site itself seems EXTREMELY interesting, and has huge implications, especially with some of the more intriguing aspects of their findings. The only problem is, this book WASTES your time for about 60% of the material. Much of the first half was reserved for the authors dubious re-interpretation/summary of the Old Testament, through the lens of ‘why Sodom matters so much’. Why? Literally why? If I am reading this book, I probably know the general story of the OT, you dont have to spend so much time on that. Just tell me about what you found at the site!
This author also continually inserts himself into debates, battles, and controversies that are way out of his field. He starts talking about evolution vs. fundamentalism at one point, science vs. faith debates, and many more. Why? His lack of self-control and recognition of his field makes me question all of his findings that ARE in his field. Very disappointing.
Towards the end of the book, he FINALLY actually gets into the actual content of the archaeological dig, and there is a lot of legitimately fascinating stuff, though admittedly presented in the most side-winding route possible. Evidence of a huge city, suddenly destroyed by an extremely hot event, charring human remains where they stood, and creating Trinitite-esque heat-flash effects on pottery! All at around the right time and place for a biblical Sodom event! This is all pretty amazing, but again, I have a lot of doubt in my mind from how massively mishandled the rest of this book is.
If you’re curious about this archaeological dig, don’t read this book. I am going to go just try and find journal publications and whatnot instead.
June 10, 2019
Evidence of an ancient legend of tragedy
There is just something about looking for ancient city ruins that can fuel the imagination than anything else. To begin with, this was mainly about Atlantis, which I incidentally, was also punished by the gods because its citizens had sinned. Videos of Sodom and Gomorah hunters can be viewed on social media even now, exiting the floors of the Dead Sea, looking for anythinghat might remotely resemble a city wall on the ocean bed, carried out with the same fervour Evi CDs by those divers who went in search of Atlantis on the cost of Brimini - and being just as excited by the flimsiest intimations of ancient city walls.
The Dead Sea environs create salt cliffscapes into which anything may be read - That pillar of salt could be Lot's wife. This one could be a sphinx. Or a gate. And so on.
Anyone who reads this book, however, will find that this writer really seems to be onto something. He is also a good story-teller. It begins when he realises the old site ruins mooted to be Sodom and Gomorrah are surely in the wrong place. They don't fit the descriptions given on biblical Genesis for where they might be. He uses both biblical scholarship and archaeological know-how to hit on a place further north of the Dead Sea to hit on a place that does seem to be a much better fit - what seems to be a hill at Tal el-Hammam. And as with the first explorers who began to dig under Acrotiri for a lost city, it is soon realised that Collins has hit the jackpot.
The ruins of a lost, fortified Bronze Age settlement with its satellite towns looks to be a big settlement, with the sort of clout a place remembered in the Bible might have been expected to be. Better still - it is abundantly clear that something catastrophic from above, really did take place there. For example, shards of Bronze Age pottery is demonstrbly seated by temperatures high enough to have reduced parts of it to fused green glass, of the likes seen only on Bikini island. T.
Unlike the case with the latter though, this was not about Bronze Age nukes. The culprit is considered to have been down to airburst from a exploding meteriorite, though it might as well.have been an atomic bomb - the concussive forces it generated caused salt water bubbling up from the Dead Sea go render the whole area barren for centuries.
Much as Genesis described, in fact. The surrounding vegetation as well as the surrounding cities were destroyed. There is tragedy here, not only in that fifty-thousand people were incinerated with little warning, but that a relatively advanced civilisation met another natural disaster that derailed things for so long afterwards.
It is perhaps not surprising that a catastrophic event of this magnitude was recorded by someone, whether or not it was Lot who was the main eye witness. What did disappoint me was that Collins ultimately sticks to the idea that this was a deliberate act of mass destruction on the part of the Old Testament God, even while stating earlier on that these settlements could not have been any more sinful than any other cities. This writer has more of an agenda to prove the Bible right beyond the description of possibly factual events that some readers might appreciate. Collins talks about the realpolitik behind the dynamics of how the King of Sodom negotiated with what he called warlord Abram and his allies in the conflicts that were taking place before the meteor strike. The evangelist in him seems to trump the scientist in him, where he fails to consider whether or not the biblical scribes might not have had an agenda too, in describing an old political for as 'sinful.' That aside from the fact that (sinful) human nature being what it is, there can be a tendency to blame the victims of massive misfortune for what happened to them. The ruins of Tall el-Hammam bring evidence up to a point of what happened and how they lived, but on how its people really were, Sodom, if Sodom this is, is still unable to speak for itself.
There is just something about looking for ancient city ruins that can fuel the imagination than anything else. To begin with, this was mainly about Atlantis, which I incidentally, was also punished by the gods because its citizens had sinned. Videos of Sodom and Gomorah hunters can be viewed on social media even now, exiting the floors of the Dead Sea, looking for anythinghat might remotely resemble a city wall on the ocean bed, carried out with the same fervour Evi CDs by those divers who went in search of Atlantis on the cost of Brimini - and being just as excited by the flimsiest intimations of ancient city walls.
The Dead Sea environs create salt cliffscapes into which anything may be read - That pillar of salt could be Lot's wife. This one could be a sphinx. Or a gate. And so on.
Anyone who reads this book, however, will find that this writer really seems to be onto something. He is also a good story-teller. It begins when he realises the old site ruins mooted to be Sodom and Gomorrah are surely in the wrong place. They don't fit the descriptions given on biblical Genesis for where they might be. He uses both biblical scholarship and archaeological know-how to hit on a place further north of the Dead Sea to hit on a place that does seem to be a much better fit - what seems to be a hill at Tal el-Hammam. And as with the first explorers who began to dig under Acrotiri for a lost city, it is soon realised that Collins has hit the jackpot.
The ruins of a lost, fortified Bronze Age settlement with its satellite towns looks to be a big settlement, with the sort of clout a place remembered in the Bible might have been expected to be. Better still - it is abundantly clear that something catastrophic from above, really did take place there. For example, shards of Bronze Age pottery is demonstrbly seated by temperatures high enough to have reduced parts of it to fused green glass, of the likes seen only on Bikini island. T.
Unlike the case with the latter though, this was not about Bronze Age nukes. The culprit is considered to have been down to airburst from a exploding meteriorite, though it might as well.have been an atomic bomb - the concussive forces it generated caused salt water bubbling up from the Dead Sea go render the whole area barren for centuries.
Much as Genesis described, in fact. The surrounding vegetation as well as the surrounding cities were destroyed. There is tragedy here, not only in that fifty-thousand people were incinerated with little warning, but that a relatively advanced civilisation met another natural disaster that derailed things for so long afterwards.
It is perhaps not surprising that a catastrophic event of this magnitude was recorded by someone, whether or not it was Lot who was the main eye witness. What did disappoint me was that Collins ultimately sticks to the idea that this was a deliberate act of mass destruction on the part of the Old Testament God, even while stating earlier on that these settlements could not have been any more sinful than any other cities. This writer has more of an agenda to prove the Bible right beyond the description of possibly factual events that some readers might appreciate. Collins talks about the realpolitik behind the dynamics of how the King of Sodom negotiated with what he called warlord Abram and his allies in the conflicts that were taking place before the meteor strike. The evangelist in him seems to trump the scientist in him, where he fails to consider whether or not the biblical scribes might not have had an agenda too, in describing an old political for as 'sinful.' That aside from the fact that (sinful) human nature being what it is, there can be a tendency to blame the victims of massive misfortune for what happened to them. The ruins of Tall el-Hammam bring evidence up to a point of what happened and how they lived, but on how its people really were, Sodom, if Sodom this is, is still unable to speak for itself.
April 12, 2013
"'Welcome to Sodom' signs are absent - so had Steven Collins found the place? The destruction of the Cities of the Plain - Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim - is proverbial. The events described in Genesis 19 are so well known that anyone with a minimal knowledge of the Bible is familiar with the dreadful destruction by fire and brimstone that God brought on these "sin cities." Paintings have been made of Sodom's overthrown, book written, and movies made.
When, in 2009, Dr. Steven Collins asked me to help him with the recording of the architectural remains of a site that he believed to be Sodom, I was very skeptical about the possibilities of finding any vestiges of this city of infamy. A key verse in the New Testament, Jude 7, indicated that the destruction of the Cities of the Plain was an example of annihilation by eternal fire. So - my reasoning went - how could one expect to find any traces of them." - Dr. Leen Ritmeyer (pg 4).
One of the most vivid stories of the Old Testament is the tale of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18-19. Sodom and Gomorrah, two of the five "cities on the plain" adjacent to the Dead Sea, were steeped in wickedness, and the Lord was determined to destroy them. The Lord was willing to change his mind if Abraham could find at least ten honest people in the towns, but alas, he could not, so "the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from heaven, overthrowing those cities and all of the plain." (Genesis 19:24-25).
For centuries most folk who rooted their faith in the Bible took this and other stories of the patriarchs at face value, while others simply tended to see the Bible as mostly pious poetry - beautiful and of high moral value, but with little or no historical basis. In either approach, it is necessary to find a site that would explain the origin of the Sodom narratives, and just possibly one that produces evidence that the narration as it appears in the Bible may not be disconnected from historical reality after all. This is what the authors of this book have done.
In the novel, Discovering the City of Sodom by authors Dr. Steven Collins and Dr. Latayne C. Scott, this adventure-cum-memoir reflects the tensions that define biblical archaeology as it narrates a tale of discovery. Readers will follow "Dr. C" as he tracks down biblical, archaeological, and geographical clues to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, narrowing the list of possible sites as he weighs evidence and battles skeptics. He wanted to make sure that before he put his endorsement behind that discovery, it matched up with where the Bible said it was.
I received Discovering the City of Sodom by Dr. Steven Collins and Dr. Latayne C. Scott compliments of Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster Publishers and received no monetary compensation for a favorable review. The opinions expressed are my own based on what I read and understand. I love it when history is finally starting to unveil all the truth that Christians have based their faith in, that the Bible is 100% true and is the Word of God.
It seems each year, science unravels more and more of undeniable evidence that the places and events the Bible describes in great detail are true. I reviewed this book simply based on wanting to know what science again has yet uncovered and how they are able to confirm it really is or isn't the city of Sodom and Gomorrah that the Bible describes. What Dr. Collin's has discovered is groundbreaking and is challenging the assumptions of academics and asserting a new voice in the controversy of biblical archaeology and the dispute over using the Bible as a credible historical source. I rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars and encourage others to review and read this one for themselves before taking my word on it. Some will simply attempt to disprove the theories and evidence in this book and others like myself will take it on faith that once again God is revealing the truth we've known all along.
When, in 2009, Dr. Steven Collins asked me to help him with the recording of the architectural remains of a site that he believed to be Sodom, I was very skeptical about the possibilities of finding any vestiges of this city of infamy. A key verse in the New Testament, Jude 7, indicated that the destruction of the Cities of the Plain was an example of annihilation by eternal fire. So - my reasoning went - how could one expect to find any traces of them." - Dr. Leen Ritmeyer (pg 4).
One of the most vivid stories of the Old Testament is the tale of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18-19. Sodom and Gomorrah, two of the five "cities on the plain" adjacent to the Dead Sea, were steeped in wickedness, and the Lord was determined to destroy them. The Lord was willing to change his mind if Abraham could find at least ten honest people in the towns, but alas, he could not, so "the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from heaven, overthrowing those cities and all of the plain." (Genesis 19:24-25).
For centuries most folk who rooted their faith in the Bible took this and other stories of the patriarchs at face value, while others simply tended to see the Bible as mostly pious poetry - beautiful and of high moral value, but with little or no historical basis. In either approach, it is necessary to find a site that would explain the origin of the Sodom narratives, and just possibly one that produces evidence that the narration as it appears in the Bible may not be disconnected from historical reality after all. This is what the authors of this book have done.
In the novel, Discovering the City of Sodom by authors Dr. Steven Collins and Dr. Latayne C. Scott, this adventure-cum-memoir reflects the tensions that define biblical archaeology as it narrates a tale of discovery. Readers will follow "Dr. C" as he tracks down biblical, archaeological, and geographical clues to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, narrowing the list of possible sites as he weighs evidence and battles skeptics. He wanted to make sure that before he put his endorsement behind that discovery, it matched up with where the Bible said it was.
I received Discovering the City of Sodom by Dr. Steven Collins and Dr. Latayne C. Scott compliments of Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster Publishers and received no monetary compensation for a favorable review. The opinions expressed are my own based on what I read and understand. I love it when history is finally starting to unveil all the truth that Christians have based their faith in, that the Bible is 100% true and is the Word of God.
It seems each year, science unravels more and more of undeniable evidence that the places and events the Bible describes in great detail are true. I reviewed this book simply based on wanting to know what science again has yet uncovered and how they are able to confirm it really is or isn't the city of Sodom and Gomorrah that the Bible describes. What Dr. Collin's has discovered is groundbreaking and is challenging the assumptions of academics and asserting a new voice in the controversy of biblical archaeology and the dispute over using the Bible as a credible historical source. I rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars and encourage others to review and read this one for themselves before taking my word on it. Some will simply attempt to disprove the theories and evidence in this book and others like myself will take it on faith that once again God is revealing the truth we've known all along.
June 7, 2014
This review first appeared on my blog, Jacob's Café (jacobscafe.blogspot.com).
When I was living with my grandpa, one of our monthly traditions was to go to a local meeting of the Biblical Archaeology Society. I long have had interest in archaeological findings, as I think it provides a richness and context to a variety of historical narratives. So getting the opportunity to review Discovering the City of Sodom: The Fascinating, True Account of the Discovery of the Old Testament's Most Infamous City was exciting.
Drs. Steven Collins and Latayne C. Scott explore the story of how Collins sought a new location for Sodom and his argument for Tall el-Hammam as the site of biblical Sodom. I found myself regularly tuning out of the first part of the book, detailing some of the historical arguments. While I've listened to many of narrator Sean Runnette's audiobooks, there was a lack of passion to hold interest in more nuanced intellectual arguments (and people who know me know I love those discussions :) ). It felt more like he was truly just reading a paper he knew nothing about. Unfortunately, I'm discovering a lot of Christian nonfiction narration is like that...
The explanations as to why Tall el-Hammam made sense as biblical Sodom was where more of my interest re-arose. Hearing about the historical context and how archaeology can help us better interpret the Bible is helpful.
I also really appreciated how Collins ended his book addressing the various critiques of his work. Some arguments center around whether a biblical Sodom ever truly existed while others debate biblical interpretation. Collins' biblical interpretation centers around a theory of true narrative representation. While I won't claim to fully understand this approach, I think it makes a few too many assumptions demanding the historicity of the biblical texts. I see it being driven more from a perspective of people's faith needing the Bible to be historically true than honestly approaching the texts and how they were meant to be read.
This doesn't mean they are not historically true. I don't see any need for the story of Sodom to be historically true. However, I think those who deny archaeological data supporting biblical Sodom's historicity due to their interpretations of the Bible aren't being fair or honest, either. While I am most definitely not even a novice or amateur at reviewing archaeological material, Collins' arguments make sense to me. His willingness to engage in debate and address disagreement lends credibility. He does seem to want to be academically honest with himself and others.
However, at the end of the day, does it matter whether Tall el-Hammam is biblical Sodom or not? Whether biblical Sodom was historically real or not? The latter may impact some people's respect of Genesis, but I think there's problems with that approach. I'm not sure identifying the physical location and archaeological remains of biblical Sodom really adds much to our understanding of the biblical world or narrative. Other archaeological sites can provide clarity, especially to more important narratives (yes, I'm saying the Sodom narrative is not one of the most critical). Some stories really can be elucidated more by archaeological evidence. But I'm not sure what the value added is to the Sodom narrative beyond it being it being interesting...
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
When I was living with my grandpa, one of our monthly traditions was to go to a local meeting of the Biblical Archaeology Society. I long have had interest in archaeological findings, as I think it provides a richness and context to a variety of historical narratives. So getting the opportunity to review Discovering the City of Sodom: The Fascinating, True Account of the Discovery of the Old Testament's Most Infamous City was exciting.
Drs. Steven Collins and Latayne C. Scott explore the story of how Collins sought a new location for Sodom and his argument for Tall el-Hammam as the site of biblical Sodom. I found myself regularly tuning out of the first part of the book, detailing some of the historical arguments. While I've listened to many of narrator Sean Runnette's audiobooks, there was a lack of passion to hold interest in more nuanced intellectual arguments (and people who know me know I love those discussions :) ). It felt more like he was truly just reading a paper he knew nothing about. Unfortunately, I'm discovering a lot of Christian nonfiction narration is like that...
The explanations as to why Tall el-Hammam made sense as biblical Sodom was where more of my interest re-arose. Hearing about the historical context and how archaeology can help us better interpret the Bible is helpful.
I also really appreciated how Collins ended his book addressing the various critiques of his work. Some arguments center around whether a biblical Sodom ever truly existed while others debate biblical interpretation. Collins' biblical interpretation centers around a theory of true narrative representation. While I won't claim to fully understand this approach, I think it makes a few too many assumptions demanding the historicity of the biblical texts. I see it being driven more from a perspective of people's faith needing the Bible to be historically true than honestly approaching the texts and how they were meant to be read.
This doesn't mean they are not historically true. I don't see any need for the story of Sodom to be historically true. However, I think those who deny archaeological data supporting biblical Sodom's historicity due to their interpretations of the Bible aren't being fair or honest, either. While I am most definitely not even a novice or amateur at reviewing archaeological material, Collins' arguments make sense to me. His willingness to engage in debate and address disagreement lends credibility. He does seem to want to be academically honest with himself and others.
However, at the end of the day, does it matter whether Tall el-Hammam is biblical Sodom or not? Whether biblical Sodom was historically real or not? The latter may impact some people's respect of Genesis, but I think there's problems with that approach. I'm not sure identifying the physical location and archaeological remains of biblical Sodom really adds much to our understanding of the biblical world or narrative. Other archaeological sites can provide clarity, especially to more important narratives (yes, I'm saying the Sodom narrative is not one of the most critical). Some stories really can be elucidated more by archaeological evidence. But I'm not sure what the value added is to the Sodom narrative beyond it being it being interesting...
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
October 18, 2013
One of the great advantages of Discovering the City of Sodom was that not only did it take the topic of biblical archeology seriously, but it showed its audience how it went about doing this. Dr. Collins and Dr. Scott methodically explain the process of academic research and site excavation. This is of great advantage to the serious learner and provides their audience with confidence in the evidence that they present. This unfortunately is the Achilles heel of the audio version of this book since the acronyms abound and there is no quick reference chart to refer back to which the hardcopy likely has provided.
Sean Runnette does an excellent job in his reading of the book. This is the first non-fiction book that I have heard him narrate, and he does a first-class job. He was, of course, clear and consistent in his speech which makes him a pleasure to listen to. He also has a very rich and dynamic way of presenting the characters in the narrative sections of the book. The one distracting thing was that the authors should have considered revising their book for an audio format. While abbreviations and acronyms smooth out reading, they become confounding when several are used together in an audiobook.
Perhaps the most controversial part of the book was the sections presented in fictional format while supported with actual facts. Initially I liked this and assumed that it was used to smooth out the technical aspects of the book and add continuity to the book as a whole. As I got further into the book; however, this aspect became confusing and a little distracting. Alternately, I thought that this might have been done to provide anonymity for some of the people involved and research that had been done. Ultimately though, the book would have flowed fine without this contrivance and would prove more believable without the mixing of fiction and non-fiction. This was a great idea but, in the long run, unnecessary.
Another boon/bane of the book was the biblical background information. I personally loved all the exploration of the Old Testament. The retelling of stories and examination of the text was a pleasure to listen to. This had the unfortunate side effect; however, of causing long lulls between the sections of scientific evidence given. I could see how this, coupled with the narrative sections, could frustrate some readers. Therefore this element is a mixed blessing. It helps the person with a weak knowledge of the Old Testament get a big picture of what’s going on, but it does go into more detail than is probably strictly necessary for a book like this. Whereas I enjoyed it (it felt like a science class and a Bible study happening at the same time) this will inevitably grate against the patience of some readers.
At the end of the day, this is a book that all serious Christians should have. If for no other reason, this book is worthy of owning and listening to due to how it sets up and supports its position through empirical and provable facts. Too often, as Christians, we base our opinions on little more than what our pastors say or the literary cleverness of a popular author. This book, beyond everything else, is a careful, well thought-out examination of the history and location of the city of Sodom.
Trent Nicholson, Ph.D., D.Min.
Desert Bible Institute, President
Dr. Nicholson is a member of the christianaudio review program. To learn more, visit their website at: http://www.christianaudio.com.
Sean Runnette does an excellent job in his reading of the book. This is the first non-fiction book that I have heard him narrate, and he does a first-class job. He was, of course, clear and consistent in his speech which makes him a pleasure to listen to. He also has a very rich and dynamic way of presenting the characters in the narrative sections of the book. The one distracting thing was that the authors should have considered revising their book for an audio format. While abbreviations and acronyms smooth out reading, they become confounding when several are used together in an audiobook.
Perhaps the most controversial part of the book was the sections presented in fictional format while supported with actual facts. Initially I liked this and assumed that it was used to smooth out the technical aspects of the book and add continuity to the book as a whole. As I got further into the book; however, this aspect became confusing and a little distracting. Alternately, I thought that this might have been done to provide anonymity for some of the people involved and research that had been done. Ultimately though, the book would have flowed fine without this contrivance and would prove more believable without the mixing of fiction and non-fiction. This was a great idea but, in the long run, unnecessary.
Another boon/bane of the book was the biblical background information. I personally loved all the exploration of the Old Testament. The retelling of stories and examination of the text was a pleasure to listen to. This had the unfortunate side effect; however, of causing long lulls between the sections of scientific evidence given. I could see how this, coupled with the narrative sections, could frustrate some readers. Therefore this element is a mixed blessing. It helps the person with a weak knowledge of the Old Testament get a big picture of what’s going on, but it does go into more detail than is probably strictly necessary for a book like this. Whereas I enjoyed it (it felt like a science class and a Bible study happening at the same time) this will inevitably grate against the patience of some readers.
At the end of the day, this is a book that all serious Christians should have. If for no other reason, this book is worthy of owning and listening to due to how it sets up and supports its position through empirical and provable facts. Too often, as Christians, we base our opinions on little more than what our pastors say or the literary cleverness of a popular author. This book, beyond everything else, is a careful, well thought-out examination of the history and location of the city of Sodom.
Trent Nicholson, Ph.D., D.Min.
Desert Bible Institute, President
Dr. Nicholson is a member of the christianaudio review program. To learn more, visit their website at: http://www.christianaudio.com.
November 23, 2016
3.5 +
Great archaeological subject and this title was eagerly chosen. It turned out to be good narrative nonfiction, but not great as had been hoped with such an appealing and high profile subject. There is something clunky about the writing ( not Collins' fault but must be placed on the co-author) that becomes ever more clunky as it progresses. Faulty editing?
In addition to clunky sentences and paragraphs, the overall flow of the narrative is disrupted. There is an early focus on Dr. Collins' decision to search north of the Dead Sea for Sodom rather than be satisfied with earlier academic work that located it south of the Dead Sea. Abruptly some chapters of factoids and theory interrupt. For little apparent reason, the text reverts to "Dr. C." ( Collins) as he sifts evidence over a decade of digging and narrows the search to Tall al - Hammam. The switching between chapters of theory to quasi-fiction occurs through the entire work and not in a pleasing way. Several times, theory/ies is/are repeated as if the co-author fears the reader forgot the last info-session. This search for Sodom by Collins could have been an exciting read but as handled it simply was not.
The grand finale consists of numerous charts which are more or less, and some much less, convincing of the veracity and accuracy that Collins has in fact located the site referenced in Genesis as the destroyed city of Sodom. Less convincing, perhaps due to the writing style, was whether the mode of destruction that Collins posits for Sodom was a meteor event with high intensity heat and shock wave above the site.
Great archaeological subject and this title was eagerly chosen. It turned out to be good narrative nonfiction, but not great as had been hoped with such an appealing and high profile subject. There is something clunky about the writing ( not Collins' fault but must be placed on the co-author) that becomes ever more clunky as it progresses. Faulty editing?
In addition to clunky sentences and paragraphs, the overall flow of the narrative is disrupted. There is an early focus on Dr. Collins' decision to search north of the Dead Sea for Sodom rather than be satisfied with earlier academic work that located it south of the Dead Sea. Abruptly some chapters of factoids and theory interrupt. For little apparent reason, the text reverts to "Dr. C." ( Collins) as he sifts evidence over a decade of digging and narrows the search to Tall al - Hammam. The switching between chapters of theory to quasi-fiction occurs through the entire work and not in a pleasing way. Several times, theory/ies is/are repeated as if the co-author fears the reader forgot the last info-session. This search for Sodom by Collins could have been an exciting read but as handled it simply was not.
The grand finale consists of numerous charts which are more or less, and some much less, convincing of the veracity and accuracy that Collins has in fact located the site referenced in Genesis as the destroyed city of Sodom. Less convincing, perhaps due to the writing style, was whether the mode of destruction that Collins posits for Sodom was a meteor event with high intensity heat and shock wave above the site.
July 16, 2013
*won a copy of this book on Goodreads Giveaways*
Just about everyone knows the story of Sodom and Gomorrah whether they believe the Bible or not. I grew up in a Christian home and have heard many lessons on the story from my childhood on....and yet I learned a lot about it. You're drawn right into Dr. C's story...but as someone else pointed out, you may get a little bogged down at times in the scientific jargon and the references. I don't fault it as a book for that reason though...generally a person interested in this book might have an interest in those things. I'm not much of a scholar...I was mostly interested to see if he made the story of Sodom as told in the Bible to be believable. I felt that he did indeed. The dedication to his work and to his scholarly ethics was laudable.
Just about everyone knows the story of Sodom and Gomorrah whether they believe the Bible or not. I grew up in a Christian home and have heard many lessons on the story from my childhood on....and yet I learned a lot about it. You're drawn right into Dr. C's story...but as someone else pointed out, you may get a little bogged down at times in the scientific jargon and the references. I don't fault it as a book for that reason though...generally a person interested in this book might have an interest in those things. I'm not much of a scholar...I was mostly interested to see if he made the story of Sodom as told in the Bible to be believable. I felt that he did indeed. The dedication to his work and to his scholarly ethics was laudable.
August 9, 2013
I've been reading through the Old Testament lately, I've always found the story of Sodom's destruction to be interesting, and I've read a few articles or seen a few documentaries on the subject. Stories on Biblical history are usually pretty interesting to me.
For over a decade, Dr. Collins and his team have been excavating a site that they now believe to be the Biblical city of Sodom. They have identified it as being northeast of the Dead Sea, whereas most people in his field of work have placed it in the south. However, he backs up his findings with pretty irrefutable evidence from the Bible, as well as what they have actually found on the ground. This part of the book is very interesting. However, the book is a bit unfocused, and more geared towards someone who already has a lot of knowledge of the subject.
For over a decade, Dr. Collins and his team have been excavating a site that they now believe to be the Biblical city of Sodom. They have identified it as being northeast of the Dead Sea, whereas most people in his field of work have placed it in the south. However, he backs up his findings with pretty irrefutable evidence from the Bible, as well as what they have actually found on the ground. This part of the book is very interesting. However, the book is a bit unfocused, and more geared towards someone who already has a lot of knowledge of the subject.
April 3, 2014
I found this book while researching Christian views on homosexuality. Dr. Colins sidesteps the Genesis account of the men of the city attempting to rape the angelic messengers sent to save Lot and his family. I guess I don't blame him. Nevertheless, this was a fantastic read. Dr. Collins and Dr. Scott weave together narrative, science, biblical scholarship, and MBA culture & history in a way that kept me turning the pages. Using charts, maps, and photographs this book covers complex ideas in an understandable, interesting way.
"There is a proper relationship between ancient texts -the Bible being an ascendant example - and archeology. This relationship is necessarily a two-way street: the text must be allowed to speak to the ground and the ground must be allowed to speak to the text. There must be a holistic, inclusive, interdisciplinary dialogue between the two."
"There is a proper relationship between ancient texts -the Bible being an ascendant example - and archeology. This relationship is necessarily a two-way street: the text must be allowed to speak to the ground and the ground must be allowed to speak to the text. There must be a holistic, inclusive, interdisciplinary dialogue between the two."
January 11, 2014
This book took me a bit to get through as it has scientific information as well as Biblical. I also found it a bit long. Those two negatives said, I still really enjoyed the book! I gave this book 4/5 stars. I thought the book was well represented by the description of its contents. The information in the book was never tedious even if it was hard to understand sometimes. I liked how he kept referring back to the Bible as he was explaining what and how he found certain areas. I would recommend this book for any lover of Biblical history and archaeology.
I would like to thank the publisher for the copy of this book I enjoyed reading. I gave an honest review based on my opinion of what I read.
I would like to thank the publisher for the copy of this book I enjoyed reading. I gave an honest review based on my opinion of what I read.
January 26, 2013
This was such an interesting book, beautifully written by Latayne Scott and full of the amazing research of Steven Collins. I read it on the Ipad and checked back and forth between maps and Dr. Collins' web page as I read about a time and place almost unimagineable--and yet part of my faith history.
This one will make you think about the Bible, Abraham and Sodom differently--no matter what you believe. Highly recommended.
This one will make you think about the Bible, Abraham and Sodom differently--no matter what you believe. Highly recommended.
September 5, 2019
An excellent report of the archeological excavation of Tall el-Hammam in Jordan. For over a decade, this archaeological dig has systematically uncovered one of the largest fortified cities in the Levant. This middle bronze-age site was destroyed by a catastrophic fire, which left a thick ash layer that marked the end of the city. Mysteriously, it remained uninhabited for the next 700 years. The author makes a compelling argument for this site being the biblical city of Sodom.
September 12, 2013
Very well done. It is written for the layman, not the archaeologist, making it easily digestible. In addition to the archaeology, the author goes into the anthropology of the area in the era Sodom was in it's heyday. For me, this is more valuable than the evidence of the city's existence as it gives perspective and background into the biblical narrative.
June 3, 2013
I have two pastor friends that I think will enjoy this tremendously. I was entranced through the first few chapters, but then I got lost in and skimmed over the long lists of references. Most of the middle seemed repetitive, as I was convinced early on. Would like to know more about his theories on what actually caused the destruction although he did offer a few possibilities.
September 19, 2013
Amazingly easy and interesting to read despite the dusty subject. Two voices: (1) chronicling the research and thinking that led to the current day archaeological dig; (2) the place the city of Sodom holds in both history and biblical thought. Worth reading because it offers different perspectives on both the reality and the symbolism of the city.
September 29, 2013
Are you absolutely sure where you think the cities of Sodom and Gomorah are located in the Holy Land? This is the fascinating, true account of the discovery of the Old Testament's most infamous city. Dr. Steven Collins and Dr. Latayne C. Scott have given us a new detailed and thoroughly believable update on the site of these cities. A must read for anyone interested in biblical archaeology.
December 18, 2012
Since I was a small child I have wondered what really happened to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Archeology has always fascinated me and this book is a wonderful read if you are interested in what may have befallen these two famous cities.
Read
August 21, 2013Listen to my interview with Dr. Steven Collins and Dr. Latayne C. Scott, Wednesday, May 1, 3 pm ET on The Halli Casser-Jayne Show! http://bit.ly/U4EEMd
March 21, 2024
Collins offers an interesting argument: the Bronze Age city of Tall el-Hammam is the Biblical city of Sodom.
He supports his thesis with solid evidence; but is not totally convincing. Regardless of whether the central argument is convincing, Collins does a very good job in his descriptions of the Bronze Age city and his many years of excavating the site. He describes the city, politics, social structures, architecture, and other aspects of the Bronze Age through a Biblical lens. It is nearly impossible to study the ancient Levant without considering the Bible, so I am not bothered by his faith, his connection to an unaccredited faith-based university, or his analysis of the Bible to better support his central argument.
What bothers me the most, is his seeming flip-flopping between literal interpretations of the Bible and non-literary interpretations. He makes a strong case that Tall el-Hammam was destroyed by an airburst (a comet exploding in the atmosphere). I have not found anyone arguing against that point. The area around the ruins - including neighboring communities - were totally destroyed. And the area was intentionally uninhabited for hundreds of years after the event. The evidence of the airburst and Genesis 13:10 where Lot stood near Ai and beheld the destruction of the cities of the plain constitute Collins' strongest evidence that Tall el-Hammam was Sodom.
But that goes against conventional wisdom in that most scholars along with major reference works like Britannica and the Catholic Encyclopedia, argue that Sodom was located south of the Dead Sea. More crucially for Collins is that most scholars also argue that Abraham and Lot lived in the early Bronze Age, while Tall el-Hammam was destroyed in the middle Bronze Age. It is a gulf of 200-300 years. Collins offers some historiography to explain why Sodom was located north of the Dead Sea, instead of south of the Dead Sea. However, when it comes to explaining the the age gap, he goes to great lengths to reconstruct the Biblical timeline arguing that the ages of the Biblical fathers include an honorific 20-50 years' of age. In effect, he is selectively cherry-picking Biblical passages to support his argument.
The primary opposition to the thesis largely rests on the age gap between Abraham and Lot and the destruction of Tall el-Hammam. Collins spends a solid chapter in the middle of the book arguing his hypothesis of the honorific ages added to the Biblical patriarchs. I suspect that mainstream scholars take greater issue with that aspect of his research than his solid archeology and arguing that Sodom is Tall el-Hammam. Collins devotes the last chapter of the book to a sort of question-and-answer, or opposition-and-response to his thesis. He pointedly name-drops a number of ancient Near-east scholars who accept that the destruction of Tall el-Hamman inspired the story of Sodom and Gomorrah; but otherwise refused to be swayed. There is also some doubt as to the identification of Ai from where Lot surveyed the destruction. So, depending upon where Ai was factually located plays a big part of the story.
Some of the later chapters in the book offer brilliant insight into the excavations. Collins demonstrates that he is a solid archeologist and works with other professionals. He does not engage in the amateurish and spurious research of some charlatans who overwhelm their audience with data. Collins is very focused on his argument and his evidence. The structure of the book is balanced with his strongest chapters at the introduction and conclusion, while his weakest is in the middle. He also weakens his overall narrative with "back story" of the boy who would become the intrepid archeologist Dr. Steve Collins and his journey to conclude that Tall el-Hammam was Sodom. These chapters? sections? add very little except to reinforce Collins' faith.
Overall, Collins offers a fascinating study in archeology, showing off both the professional and sensational aspects in a single book. The nitty-gritty of the excavations are dense and full of jargon; but largely balanced by his analysis and interpretations. I am fascinated by an ancient city that dwarfed little Jerusalem until it was destroyed. Collins' interpretations that Abraham and Lot (and the Hebrews) were effectively mercenaries - the ancient Apiru in Egyptian texts - is a fascinating thesis all by itself, and presents a view of Abraham that is largely omitted from conventional wisdom. Once again, I found very little opposition to his interpretation of Abraham as the chieftain of one of these bands. The Apiru = Hebrew thesis is itself unproven; but Collins' simple arguments and analysis are more persuasive than his main thesis on Sodom. It is a solid book on the Bronze Age Levant.
He supports his thesis with solid evidence; but is not totally convincing. Regardless of whether the central argument is convincing, Collins does a very good job in his descriptions of the Bronze Age city and his many years of excavating the site. He describes the city, politics, social structures, architecture, and other aspects of the Bronze Age through a Biblical lens. It is nearly impossible to study the ancient Levant without considering the Bible, so I am not bothered by his faith, his connection to an unaccredited faith-based university, or his analysis of the Bible to better support his central argument.
What bothers me the most, is his seeming flip-flopping between literal interpretations of the Bible and non-literary interpretations. He makes a strong case that Tall el-Hammam was destroyed by an airburst (a comet exploding in the atmosphere). I have not found anyone arguing against that point. The area around the ruins - including neighboring communities - were totally destroyed. And the area was intentionally uninhabited for hundreds of years after the event. The evidence of the airburst and Genesis 13:10 where Lot stood near Ai and beheld the destruction of the cities of the plain constitute Collins' strongest evidence that Tall el-Hammam was Sodom.
But that goes against conventional wisdom in that most scholars along with major reference works like Britannica and the Catholic Encyclopedia, argue that Sodom was located south of the Dead Sea. More crucially for Collins is that most scholars also argue that Abraham and Lot lived in the early Bronze Age, while Tall el-Hammam was destroyed in the middle Bronze Age. It is a gulf of 200-300 years. Collins offers some historiography to explain why Sodom was located north of the Dead Sea, instead of south of the Dead Sea. However, when it comes to explaining the the age gap, he goes to great lengths to reconstruct the Biblical timeline arguing that the ages of the Biblical fathers include an honorific 20-50 years' of age. In effect, he is selectively cherry-picking Biblical passages to support his argument.
The primary opposition to the thesis largely rests on the age gap between Abraham and Lot and the destruction of Tall el-Hammam. Collins spends a solid chapter in the middle of the book arguing his hypothesis of the honorific ages added to the Biblical patriarchs. I suspect that mainstream scholars take greater issue with that aspect of his research than his solid archeology and arguing that Sodom is Tall el-Hammam. Collins devotes the last chapter of the book to a sort of question-and-answer, or opposition-and-response to his thesis. He pointedly name-drops a number of ancient Near-east scholars who accept that the destruction of Tall el-Hamman inspired the story of Sodom and Gomorrah; but otherwise refused to be swayed. There is also some doubt as to the identification of Ai from where Lot surveyed the destruction. So, depending upon where Ai was factually located plays a big part of the story.
Some of the later chapters in the book offer brilliant insight into the excavations. Collins demonstrates that he is a solid archeologist and works with other professionals. He does not engage in the amateurish and spurious research of some charlatans who overwhelm their audience with data. Collins is very focused on his argument and his evidence. The structure of the book is balanced with his strongest chapters at the introduction and conclusion, while his weakest is in the middle. He also weakens his overall narrative with "back story" of the boy who would become the intrepid archeologist Dr. Steve Collins and his journey to conclude that Tall el-Hammam was Sodom. These chapters? sections? add very little except to reinforce Collins' faith.
Overall, Collins offers a fascinating study in archeology, showing off both the professional and sensational aspects in a single book. The nitty-gritty of the excavations are dense and full of jargon; but largely balanced by his analysis and interpretations. I am fascinated by an ancient city that dwarfed little Jerusalem until it was destroyed. Collins' interpretations that Abraham and Lot (and the Hebrews) were effectively mercenaries - the ancient Apiru in Egyptian texts - is a fascinating thesis all by itself, and presents a view of Abraham that is largely omitted from conventional wisdom. Once again, I found very little opposition to his interpretation of Abraham as the chieftain of one of these bands. The Apiru = Hebrew thesis is itself unproven; but Collins' simple arguments and analysis are more persuasive than his main thesis on Sodom. It is a solid book on the Bronze Age Levant.
June 10, 2019
There is just something about looking for ancient city ruins that can fuel the imagination than anything else. To begin with, this was mainly about Atlantis, which I incidentally, was also punished by the gods because its citizens had sinned. Videos of Sodom and Gomorah hunters can be viewed on social media even now, exiting the floors of the Dead Sea, looking for anythinghat might remotely resemble a city wall on the ocean bed, carried out with the same fervour evinced by those divers who went in search of Atlantis on the cost of Brimini - and being just as excited by the flimsiest intimations of ancient city walls.
The Dead Sea environs create salt cliffscapes into which anything may be read - That pillar of salt could be Lot's wife. This one could be a sphinx. Or a gate. And so on.
Anyone who reads this book, however, will find that this writer really seems to be onto something. He is also a good story-teller. It begins when he realises the old site ruins mooted to be Sodom and Gomorrah are surely in the wrong place. They don't fit the descriptions given on biblical Genesis for where they might be. He uses both biblical scholarship and archaeological know-how to hit on a place further north of the Dead Sea to hit on a place that does seem to be a much better fit - what seems to be a hill at Tal el-Hammam. And as with the first explorers who began to dig under Acrotiri for a lost city, it is soon realised that Collins has hit the jackpot.
The ruins of a lost, fortified Bronze Age settlement with its satellite towns looks to be a big settlement, with the sort of clout a place remembered in the Bible might have been expected to be. Better still - it is abundantly clear that something catastrophic from above, really did take place there. For example, shards of Bronze Age pottery is demonstrbly seated by temperatures high enough to have reduced parts of it to fused green glass, of the likes seen only on Bikini island.
Unlike the case with the latter though, this was not about Bronze Age nukes. The culprit is considered to have been down to airburst from a exploding meteriorite, though it might as well.have been an atomic bomb - the concussive forces it generated caused salt water bubbling up from the Dead Sea go render the whole area barren for centuries.
Much as Genesis described, in fact. The surrounding vegetation as well as the surrounding cities were destroyed. There is tragedy here, not only in that fifty-thousand people were incinerated with little warning, but that a relatively advanced civilisation met another natural disaster that derailed things for so long afterwards.
It is perhaps not surprising that a catastrophic event of this magnitude was recorded by someone, whether or not it was Lot who was the main eye witness. What did disappoint me was that Collins ultimately sticks to the idea that this was a deliberate act of mass destruction on the part of the Old Testament God, even while stating earlier on that these settlements could not have been any more sinful than any other cities. This writer has more of an agenda to prove the Bible right beyond the description of possibly factual events that some readers might appreciate. Collins talks about the realpolitik behind the dynamics of how the King of Sodom negotiated with what he called warlord Abram and his allies in the conflicts that were taking place before the meteor strike. The evangelist in him seems to trump the scientist in him, where he fails to consider whether or not the biblical scribes might not have had an agenda too, in describing an old political for as 'sinful.' That aside from the fact that (sinful) human nature being what it is, there can be a tendency to blame the victims of massive misfortune for what happened to them. The ruins of Tall el-Hammam bring evidence up to a point of what happened and how they lived, but on how its people really were, Sodom, if Sodom this is, is still unable to speak for itself.
The Dead Sea environs create salt cliffscapes into which anything may be read - That pillar of salt could be Lot's wife. This one could be a sphinx. Or a gate. And so on.
Anyone who reads this book, however, will find that this writer really seems to be onto something. He is also a good story-teller. It begins when he realises the old site ruins mooted to be Sodom and Gomorrah are surely in the wrong place. They don't fit the descriptions given on biblical Genesis for where they might be. He uses both biblical scholarship and archaeological know-how to hit on a place further north of the Dead Sea to hit on a place that does seem to be a much better fit - what seems to be a hill at Tal el-Hammam. And as with the first explorers who began to dig under Acrotiri for a lost city, it is soon realised that Collins has hit the jackpot.
The ruins of a lost, fortified Bronze Age settlement with its satellite towns looks to be a big settlement, with the sort of clout a place remembered in the Bible might have been expected to be. Better still - it is abundantly clear that something catastrophic from above, really did take place there. For example, shards of Bronze Age pottery is demonstrbly seated by temperatures high enough to have reduced parts of it to fused green glass, of the likes seen only on Bikini island.
Unlike the case with the latter though, this was not about Bronze Age nukes. The culprit is considered to have been down to airburst from a exploding meteriorite, though it might as well.have been an atomic bomb - the concussive forces it generated caused salt water bubbling up from the Dead Sea go render the whole area barren for centuries.
Much as Genesis described, in fact. The surrounding vegetation as well as the surrounding cities were destroyed. There is tragedy here, not only in that fifty-thousand people were incinerated with little warning, but that a relatively advanced civilisation met another natural disaster that derailed things for so long afterwards.
It is perhaps not surprising that a catastrophic event of this magnitude was recorded by someone, whether or not it was Lot who was the main eye witness. What did disappoint me was that Collins ultimately sticks to the idea that this was a deliberate act of mass destruction on the part of the Old Testament God, even while stating earlier on that these settlements could not have been any more sinful than any other cities. This writer has more of an agenda to prove the Bible right beyond the description of possibly factual events that some readers might appreciate. Collins talks about the realpolitik behind the dynamics of how the King of Sodom negotiated with what he called warlord Abram and his allies in the conflicts that were taking place before the meteor strike. The evangelist in him seems to trump the scientist in him, where he fails to consider whether or not the biblical scribes might not have had an agenda too, in describing an old political for as 'sinful.' That aside from the fact that (sinful) human nature being what it is, there can be a tendency to blame the victims of massive misfortune for what happened to them. The ruins of Tall el-Hammam bring evidence up to a point of what happened and how they lived, but on how its people really were, Sodom, if Sodom this is, is still unable to speak for itself.
August 20, 2017
Many have scoffed at the Biblical account regarding the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Dr. Collins, archaeologist, and author, Dr. Latayne C. Scott, co-write about the recently discovered city of Sodom (Tall el-Hammam) taking the reader on a fascinating journey of locating the site and its excavation. Early in the book, the authors present their case for the location according to the Bible text, oddly against what previous and contemporary archaeologists have determined. It made me wonder why anyone would have looked anywhere else than where Dr. Collins had focused his search. The writing style combines actual discoveries with fictional characters woven into a riveting story. It is understood that this technique enables the facts to be presented in an engaging format. (I write this because I have read a review where the reader took umbrage with this and felt that it detracted from the facts presented. It does NOT.) I think it is important to learn about the existence of Sodom, that it was a truly great city, and suddenly (as the evidence shows) was obliterated by fire from the sky. The Bible has given a factual account of a real city's cataclysmic demise.
In the conclusion of the book, Dr. John W. Oller Jr., of Trinity Southwest University, says, "If the Bible is true, since it extends from creation to the end of time, it must be the basis for all 'true narrative representations' without exception. If each of them is connected to space-time, and the Bible covers all of it, all of them are connected to the Bible. If the Bible is true, all proofs must be consistent with it."
It follows that if the Bible is accurate in its description of events, locations, timeframes, etc., we can trust its teaching and promises. To me, this book is a real faith-builder.
In the conclusion of the book, Dr. John W. Oller Jr., of Trinity Southwest University, says, "If the Bible is true, since it extends from creation to the end of time, it must be the basis for all 'true narrative representations' without exception. If each of them is connected to space-time, and the Bible covers all of it, all of them are connected to the Bible. If the Bible is true, all proofs must be consistent with it."
It follows that if the Bible is accurate in its description of events, locations, timeframes, etc., we can trust its teaching and promises. To me, this book is a real faith-builder.
November 4, 2022
For all of my life, going back to when I was just a child, I have heard and observed on maps that the city of Sodom was located near the southern end of the Dead Sea. In Bible college, taking various classes such as Old Testament Survey and Geography of the Bible, it was presented that the most likely location of the city of Sodom (and Gomorrah) was at the southern end of the Dead Sea, perhaps even buried under the sea. There are geological factors to this theory that have held sway in the church for decades-perhaps centuries. So with much intrigue, I picked up the book, "Discovering the City of Sodom," and began to read. I loved this book. Truth be told, archaeology has for decades piqued my interest and this was not an exception to that. Dr. Collins and Scott do a masterful job in showing why there are very strong arguments for the location of Sodom (and the other three cities destroyed in Genesis 19) is located northeast of the Dead Sea, directly east of Jericho, Bethel, and Ai. As the authors detailed their use of Scripture and the subsequent research they've carried out, their position has many solid points. I deeply appreciated the humility that these researchers have in their research and approach to sharing their findings, as they acknowledge their immense respect for scholars/researchers who hold different views. This book is written in a very readable way and has changed my view of a very significant event in the pages of Scripture. I highly recommend this book.
October 18, 2021
History or myth????
The title captivated me since I love history/
archeology so I purchased the book ? I found it to be captivating how this renowned professor changed his mind and proceeded to find something that was "lost" thru millennia culturally educational
Religiously and that he was NOT afraid to admit it prove why he was wrong and did so. As a student of hx one must look at all info determine its validity a d not be afraid to go against the current paradigm. Its a good read easy to follow and great info
The title captivated me since I love history/
archeology so I purchased the book ? I found it to be captivating how this renowned professor changed his mind and proceeded to find something that was "lost" thru millennia culturally educational
Religiously and that he was NOT afraid to admit it prove why he was wrong and did so. As a student of hx one must look at all info determine its validity a d not be afraid to go against the current paradigm. Its a good read easy to follow and great info
April 3, 2025
Interesting book. I enjoyed all the explanations, descriptions, historicity, and illumination the author offers on the subject. It really could convince some that Sodom is exactly where he says it is. I wouldn't doubt it - though I'm not super interested in "proving" where ancient locations are, as I deem it unnecessary for my own testimony of the gospel of Christ and my pathway back to Him. Still, very interesting. If you're into this kind of stuff, highly recommend it. It'll keep your interest up!
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