Now, perhaps I am being picky, but is this true? Do all Torah scholars believe the sin of Sodom was inhospitality?
If some disagree, who are they and what do they believe the sin of Sodom was? Do the Talmud - for it is indeed a part of the Torah - and Talmud scholars in agreement with this assertion? If not, what other interpretations do they give?
I would especially like to hear what C K Dexter Haven and zev_steinhardt (they are the prominent experts in Judaism I have noticed; I am sure there are other very erudite and wonderful experts in Judaism, and they are more than welcome to contribute) have to say.
First of all, ALL Torah scholars rarely agree on anything
Second of all, I’m not an erudite scholarly expert, but I’m up later than Zev or CK, so I’ll take a shot at it. This is not meant to be exhaustive by any means, just what I can round up off my own shelves.
Many commentaries (Ibn Ezra, Chizkuni, Nachmanides, and I’m sure others that I didn’t see) refer to Ezekiel 16:49, “Behold this was the sin of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, an excess of bread and abundent idleness, and she did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.” In the Talmud, the characteristic sin of Sodom is extreme inhospitality and cruelty; the Sodomites knew they had good real estate, and were worried that they’d be overrun by other settlers and charity-seekers. They permitted Lot to settle there, according to this logic, because he was already quite wealthy and wouldn’t be a drain on their resources. They were also guilty of many other sins, according to the Talmud, but this inhospitality would be the archetypal one. The people of Sodom are portrayed as, among other things, torturing to death a young woman who’d violated the law against giving anything to the poor. (Sanhedrin 109b) Rashi, the widely consulted eleventh century Biblical commentary, refers to the above but gives his own opinion that God was punishing the Sodomites for rebelling against Him (commentary on Genesis 18:21.) Radak (on Genesis 13:13) piles on the sins, basically throwing everything he can at them - idolatry, theft, adultery/incest, and murder, and general poor treatment of their fellow people; not only that, they were brazen about it, doing all of the above in public. I don’t know the sources offhand, but the Midrash (first couple of centuries CE) that I can think of off the top of my head on this all point towards the inhospitality angle - torturing travellers to whom they offered shelter, making it illegal to host guests or give to the poor, etc.
All the commentaries I’ve seen do interpret ‘and we [the Sodomite people] will know them [the angels in Lot’s house]’ as being a euphemism for homosexual sex, but nobody points to this as their primary sin.
While typing that I recalled a commercial in which a jaunty voiced announcer stated “Moms all agree Jiffy tastes best.” It may not have been Jiffy, but something else. But anyway, the image of that statement caused me to write such a definite statement.
However, looking over the translation, I can think of no other interpretation then that Sodomites practiced sodomy. Then, reading over the untranslated words, I can see no other reason then the sodomites were judged to be deserving of smiting due to in inhospitableness, and may or may not have wanted to rape people, but their intent was external to the already made judgment.
That being said, I stand by my statement. Save for the possibility of a “torah scholar” mistranslating verses, and presenting the mistranslation as actual fact, much like a “scientist” presenting proof for creationism, I see no way to claim that the “knowing the angels” was the case of Sodom downfall.
Gila already said anything that I would have said WRT the OP.
Jewish tradition teaches that Sodom’s fate was sealed even before the angles arrived - the whole purpose of the angel’s visit was to rescue Lot and his family and to destroy the cities.
Not merely inhospitatlity (though that’s all that’s implied in Ezekiel), but according to the Midrash, a perveted justice system. Bear in mind that establishing and living by a just justice system is one of the seven Noahide commandments, so (unlike mere inhospitality) it was fair game for their society to be condemned. Some of the relevant Midrashic sources are Talmud Sanhedrin 109a, Bereishis (Genesis) Rabbah 50:10, and Chapters of Rabbi Elazar 25. A story from that first source which is both illustrative and amusing:
Once Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, passed through Sodom, and he was attacked and beaten until he bled. He caught his assailant and brought him before a Sodomite judge to demand justice.
The judge told Eliezer, “By letting your blood, the assailant performed a medical service for you…you must pay him for it!”
Eliezer took a stick and beat the judge till he bled. He told the judge, “Now I just performed for you that same service…instead of paying me, you can give the money straight to my assailant,” and he left.
