Sodom and Gomorrah Afire
by Jacob Jacobsz de Wet II (1680)
Wikimedia Commons

Mark Hempsell, a researcher from Bristol University, has announced that a clay tablet containing cuneiform symbols may explain the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. According to the researcher, the clay tablet provides an eyewitness account of an asteroid that crashed into the Austrian Alps and is behind the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

According to the researchers, the tablet was found in the remains of the library in the royal palace at Nineveh in the mid-19th century and it “is thought to be a 700 B.C. copy of notes made by a Sumerian astronomer watching the night sky.”

This theory has created much enthusiasm among people who want to prove that the Bible is true. The proposed theory is attractive but it is difficult to prove that the asteroid described in the tablet was the cause for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. One fact that militates against the theory is the date proposed for the asteroid. According to the researchers, the asteroid hit the earth on June 29, 3123 B.C. This date would put Abraham at 1120 B.C., a date that contradicts the chronology for the patriarchal age. The age of the patriarchs is generally dated in the Middle Bronze Age, between 1950-1800 B.C.

Good try!

NOTE: For other articles on archaeology, archaeological discoveries, and how they relate to the Bible, read my post Can Archaeology Prove the Bible?.

Claude Mariottini
Emeritus Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

NOTE: Did you like this post? Do you think other people would like to read this post? Be sure to share this post on Facebook and share a link on Twitter or Tumblr so that others may enjoy reading it too!

I would love to hear from you! Let me know what you thought of this post by leaving a comment below. Be sure to like my page on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, follow me on Tumblr, Facebook, and subscribe to my blog to receive each post by email.

If you are looking for other series of studies on the Old Testament, visit the Archive section and you will find many studies that deal with a variety of topics.