Vileness

A wicked description of Sodom and Gomorrah
Jasher 18:11-17
In those days, the people of Sodom, Gomorrah, and all 5 surrounding cities were extremely wicked and sinful against the Lord. They provoked Him with their abominations and continued aging in their wickedness, growing more shameless and corrupt in His sight. Their crimes and evil deeds were truly great before the Lord at that time.

In their land, there was a vast valley about half a day’s journey across, with springs of water and abundant greenery growing around them. All the people of Sodom and Gomorrah would go there 4 times a year with their wives, children, and all their belongings to celebrate with music and dancing. During these festivals, they would rise up and take each other’s wives, and even the virgin daughters of their neighbors, and they would sleep with them. Each man saw his wife and daughter in the hands of another but said nothing. They carried on like this from morning until night, then returned home—each man to his house and each woman to her tent. This was their custom 4 times each year.

Also, when a traveler came to their cities with goods to sell, the people—men, women, and children, young and old—would all come out, surround him, and take his goods by force. Each person would take a little, until all the goods the stranger had brought were gone. If the owner tried to argue, saying, “What is this you’ve done to me?” they would each approach him, show him the little bit they took, and mock him, saying, “I only took what you gave me.” When he heard this from all of them, he would walk away heartbroken and bitter. Then they would all chase after him and force him out of the city with loud noise and chaos.

The tragedy of the traveler and Hedad
Jasher 18:18-43
There was once a man from the land of Elam traveling slowly along the road on his donkey. The donkey carried a fine, multi-colored cloak tied on with a cord. As the man passed through the streets of Sodom at sunset, he stopped there to spend the night, but no one would allow him into their home. At that time, there was a particularly wicked and devious man in Sodom named Hedad, who was known for his skill in evil.

Hedad saw the traveler and came to him, asking, “Where are you coming from, and where are you headed?”

The man answered, “I’m traveling from Hebron to Elam, where I live. The sun set while I was on the road, and no one has let me stay in their home, even though I have bread, water, straw, and feed for my donkey. I’m not lacking anything.”

Hedad said, “I’ll provide everything you need, but you must not spend the night in the street.”

So Hedad took him into his house. He removed the cloak and cord from the donkey and brought them inside. He gave the donkey straw and feed while the traveler ate and drank in Hedad’s house and stayed there that night.

The next morning, the traveler got up early to continue his journey. But Hedad said, “Wait a bit—have a bite to eat and refresh yourself before you go.” The man agreed, and they both ate and drank together that day. When the traveler got up to leave, Hedad said, “Look, the day is almost over. Stay the night so you can rest. Go in the morning.” Hedad urged him to stay, so the man remained again. On the 2nd day, the traveler again rose early to leave, but Hedad insisted, “Eat something first, then go.” So he stayed and ate again on the 2nd day.

When the man got up to leave, Hedad said, “The day is almost done—stay one more night and go early in the morning.” But this time, the man refused. He saddled his donkey. As he did, Hedad’s wife said to her husband, “This man stayed with us for 2 days, eating and drinking, and he hasn’t given us anything. Is he really going to leave now without giving us something?”

Hedad replied, “Be quiet.”

The traveler finished saddling his donkey and asked Hedad for the cord and cloak to tie on the donkey. Hedad asked, “What are you talking about?”

The man said, “I’m asking you, my lord, to return the multi-colored cloak and the cord that you took off my donkey and stored in your house for safekeeping.”

Hedad replied, “That was just a dream you had. The cord you saw means your life will be long, and the colorful cloak means you’ll have a vineyard where you’ll plant all kinds of fruit trees.”

The traveler said, “No, my lord, I was fully awake when I gave you the cord and cloak, and you took them from my donkey to keep in your house.”

Hedad insisted, “I’ve already told you the meaning of your dream, and it’s a good dream. I normally charge 4 pieces of silver for dream interpretations, but I’m only asking you for 3.”

The traveler was furious and wept bitterly. He brought Hedad before Serak, the judge of Sodom, and presented his case. Hedad responded, “That’s not what happened. Here’s what really happened.” And the judge said to the traveler, “This man Hedad is telling the truth. He’s known in all the cities for interpreting dreams accurately.”

The traveler cried out to the judge, saying, “No, my lord! I gave him the cord and cloak during the day, when I was awake, and he took them into his house to keep for me.” They argued back and forth in front of the judge—each claiming a different version of the events.

Hedad said, “Give me the 4 silver pieces I charge for dream interpretation. I’m not making any exceptions. Also pay for the 4 meals you ate in my house.”

The traveler replied, “I’ll gladly pay for the food I ate, just give me back the cord and cloak that you hid in your house.”

But Hedad repeated to the judge, “Did I not tell him the meaning of his dream? The cord means a long life, and the cloak means he’ll have a fruitful vineyard. That’s the proper interpretation, and now I want my 4 pieces of silver. I won’t accept anything less.”

The traveler wept at Hedad’s words. The two continued arguing, and eventually the judge ordered his servants to drive them both out of the courtroom roughly. They left the judge’s house still quarreling, and when the people of Sodom heard them, they gathered around, sided with their own, and drove the stranger out of the city with harshness.

So the man continued his journey on his donkey, full of sorrow, crying over what had happened to him in the corrupt city of Sodom.

The wicked ruling judges of the cities of Sodom
Jasher 19:1-7
The cities of Sodom had 4 judges for their 4 cities. Their names were Serak in Sodom, Sharkad in Gomorrah, Zabnac in Admah, and Menon in Zeboyim. Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, gave them different names: he changed Serak to Shakra, Sharkad to Shakrura, Zebnac to Kezobim, and Menon to Matzlodin.

Following the wishes of these 4 judges, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah set up beds in the streets of their cities. If a man passed by these places, they would grab him and force him to lie on one of the beds. While he was lying down, 3 men would stand at his head and 3 at his feet and measure him against the bed. If the man was shorter than the bed, the 6 men would stretch him from both ends. If he cried out, they would ignore him. If he was longer than the bed, they would compress the sides of the bed inward until the man was nearly dead. And if he continued crying out, they would say, “This is what happens to any man who enters our land.”

When people heard about all the terrible things happening in Sodom, they avoided going there.

The poor treated wickedly
Jasher 19:8-10
When a poor man entered their land, the people would give him silver and gold, then make a city-wide proclamation forbidding anyone from giving him even a bite of bread to eat. If the stranger stayed in the city for a few days and died from hunger, unable to find even a morsel of food, then after his death all the people would come and reclaim the silver and gold they had given him. Anyone who recognized the silver or gold they had given would take it back. They would also strip the dead man of his clothes and fight over them, and whoever overpowered his neighbor would take them. Then they would carry the body and bury it under some shrubs in the wilderness. This is what they did to anyone who came to them and died in their land.

Eliezer’s unfortunate encounter in Sodom
Jasher 19:11-22
Eliezer went to Sodom and came upon a man of Sodom fighting with a stranger. The Sodomite had stripped the poor man of all his clothes and walked away. The poor man cried out to Eliezer and begged for help because of what had been done to him. Eliezer said to the Sodomite, “Why are you treating this poor man like that when he came into your land?”

The Sodomite answered, “Is this man your brother, or did the people of Sodom appoint you as judge today that you speak on his behalf?”

Eliezer argued with the man about the poor victim, and when he stepped forward to retrieve the man’s clothes, the Sodomite quickly struck Eliezer in the forehead with a stone. Blood poured from Eliezer’s head. When the man saw the blood, he grabbed Eliezer and said, “Pay me for removing the bad blood from your forehead. That’s the custom and the law here.”

Eliezer replied, “You’ve wounded me and now demand payment?”

Eliezer refused to listen to him. So the man grabbed Eliezer and brought him before Shakra, the judge of Sodom, to settle the matter. The man said to the judge, “Please, my lord, this is what happened: I struck him with a stone, blood flowed from his forehead, and now he refuses to pay me.”

The judge told Eliezer, “This man is right. Pay him. That’s the custom here.”

When Eliezer heard this, he picked up a stone and struck the judge on the forehead. Blood flowed heavily from the judge’s head, and Eliezer said, “If this is the custom in your land, then give him what I would have owed, because that’s the judgment you made.”

Then Eliezer left the Sodomite with the judge and walked away.

The tragedy of Paltith, Lot’s daughter
Jasher 19:24b-35
Paltith, the daughter of Lot, grew up, and one of the men of Sodom married her.

A poor man came into the city looking for help and stayed there for several days. The people of Sodom proclaimed their usual law forbidding anyone to give him a piece of bread until he died in the street. And that’s what they did. But Paltith saw the man lying in the street, starving, with no one willing to give him anything, and he was on the verge of death. Her heart was filled with compassion, and she secretly fed him bread for many days. His strength returned because when she went out to get water, she would hide the bread in her water pitcher. Then when she passed by him, she would take the bread out and give it to him. She did this for many days.

The people of Sodom and Gomorrah were puzzled at how the man had survived so long. They said, “He must be eating and drinking somehow. No one can survive this long without food, and he doesn’t even look sick.”

So 3 men hid near the place where the poor man stayed to find out who was feeding him. That day, Paltith went out to get water and again placed bread in her water pitcher. As she came to the spot where the poor man lay, she pulled out the bread and gave it to him. The 3 men saw what she did and said, “So you’re the one keeping him alive—that’s why he hasn’t starved or changed in appearance like the others.”

The 3 men came out from their hiding place and seized Paltith and the bread in the poor man’s hand. They brought her before the judges and said, “Here’s what she did. She gave bread to the poor man, which is why he hasn’t died. Now tell us what punishment she deserves for breaking our law.”

The people of Sodom and Gomorrah gathered together and lit a fire in the street. They took Paltith and threw her into the fire, and she was burned to ashes.

The tragedy of a caring woman
Jasher 19:36-44
In the city of Admah, something similar happened. A traveler came to the city intending to stay the night and continue his journey in the morning. He sat near the doorway of a house that belonged to a young woman’s father because the sun had already set. The young woman saw him sitting there, and he asked her for a drink of water.

She asked, “Who are you?”

He replied, “I’ve been traveling today and got here at sunset. I’ll rest here tonight, and in the morning I’ll continue my journey.”

The young woman went inside and brought him bread and water to eat and drink. Word of this reached the people of Admah, and they gathered and brought her before the judges to be judged for her actions. The judge declared, “This woman must be sentenced to death because she broke our law. That’s our ruling.”

The people of the city assembled, brought the young woman out, and anointed her with honey from head to toe, as the judge had ordered. Then they placed her in front of a beehive. The bees swarmed her, stinging her until her whole body was swollen. The young woman cried out in pain, but no one helped her or showed her any mercy. Her cries rose up to heaven.

The Lord was angered by this and by everything else the cities of Sodom had done. Though they had plenty of food and lived in peace, they refused to help the poor and needy. Their evil deeds and sins grew increasingly terrible in the Lord’s sight during those days.

Abraham discusses Sodom with YHWH
Genesis 18:23-33
Abraham came closer and said, “Will you really sweep away the righteous along with the wicked? What if there are 50 righteous people in the city? Will you still destroy it and not spare the place for the sake of those 50 righteous people? Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous the same as the wicked. Far be it from you! Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do what’s right?”

The LORD replied, “If I find 50 righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire place for their sake.”

Abraham answered, “Look now, I’ve taken it upon myself to speak to the LORD, though I am only dust and ashes. What if there are 45 righteous? Will you destroy the city for 5 fewer people?”

He said, “I won’t destroy it if I find 45 there.”

Then Abraham spoke again, “What if only 40 are found there?”

And He said, “I won’t do it for the sake of 40.”

Abraham said, “Please don’t be angry, LORD, but let me speak. What if 30 are found there?”

He answered, “I won’t do it if I find 30.”

And Abraham said, “Look, I’ve dared to speak to the LORD. What if only 20 are found there?”

He said, “I won’t destroy it for the sake of 20.”

Then he said, “Please don’t be angry, LORD, but let me speak just once more. What if only 10 are found there?”

He answered, “I will not destroy it for the sake of 10.”

Then the LORD went on His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham, and Abraham returned home.

The two angels arrive in Sodom and meet with Lot
Genesis 19:1-3, Jasher 19:45-47
The LORD sent 2 of the angels who had visited Abraham to destroy Sodom and its neighboring cities. After eating and drinking at Abraham’s tent, the angels got up and arrived in Sodom in the evening. Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom, and when he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.

He said, “Please, my lords, come into your servant’s house. Stay the night, wash your feet, and in the morning you can go on your way.”

But they said, “No, we’ll spend the night in the street.”

Lot insisted strongly, and they finally agreed and went with him into his house. He prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

The men of Sodom attempt evil acts with the angels
Genesis 19:4-11
Before they went to bed, the men of Sodom—young and old, from every part of the city—surrounded the house. They called out to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can know them.”

Lot went out to them, shutting the door behind him. He said, “Please, my brothers, don’t do such a wicked thing. Look, I have 2 daughters who have never known a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you want with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”

They shouted, “Stand back!” And they said, “This guy came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to act like a judge? We’ll treat you worse than them!”

They pushed hard against Lot and came close to breaking down the door. But the angels reached out, pulled Lot back inside, and shut the door. Then they struck the men at the door, both young and old, with blindness so they couldn’t even find the entrance.

Lot tries to convince his family that the angels will destroy Sodom
Genesis 19:12-14
The angels said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here. We are going to destroy this place because the outcry against it is so great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.”

Lot went to speak with his sons-in-law, who were married to his daughters, and said, “Get up! Get out of this place! The LORD is going to destroy the city!”

But to his sons-in-law, he seemed like he was joking.