What was the sin of Sodom?
What do later prophets understand the sin of Sodom to be?
The Revisionist Answer
The reference to Sodom in Ezekiel proves that the sin of Sodom is inhospitality (16:49) and pride (16:50). The text refers to Sodom often, yet it never cites homosexuality as the sin of Sodom. The rest of the prophets follow the example of Ezekiel.
The Biblical Answer
Sodom was guilty of arrogance, abundance, apathy, and neglect of the poor and needy, according to Ezekiel 16:49. Yet Ezekiel 16:50 goes far beyond pride or haughtiness to cite “abominations” or “detestable things” as the sins of Sodom. The language used is applied to homosexuality in the Pentateuch. Leviticus 18:23 and 20:13 call homosexuality “abomination.” The same Hebrew and Greek terms used in Leviticus for homosexuality occur in Ezekiel for Sodom.
Other references to Sodom in the Prophets consistently identify the sin of Sodom with such descriptive words as pride, gluttony, and arrogance. While they never say that the sin of Sodom is homosexuality, such terms as abomination take us back to Leviticus 18 and 20. If the prophets do not use the word homosexuality, neither do they say that the sin of Sodom was inhospitality
