Admah

Admah (Hebrew: אַדְמָה‎, ʾAḏmā) was one of the five ancient Canaanite cities of the plain, located in the Jordan Valley, in the plain near the Dead Sea, as described in the Hebrew Bible.^[1] It is primarily known for its destruction by God, along with Sodom, Gomorrah, and Zeboiim, due to the wickedness of their inhabitants, an event narrated in Genesis 19:24–25 and explicitly referenced in Deuteronomy 29:23.^[2] The city's king, Shinab, is mentioned as part of a coalition that rebelled against Mesopotamian overlords in Genesis 14:2.^[3] In biblical geography, Admah is listed among the territorial boundaries of the Canaanites in Genesis 10:19, extending from Sidon toward Gerar, Gaza, Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim as far as Lasha. Its name, meaning "red earth" or "ground," may derive from the reddish soil of the region. Later prophetic texts invoke Admah's overthrow as a metaphor for divine judgment and desolation, such as in Hosea 11:8, where God expresses reluctance to fully destroy Israel as he did Admah and Zeboiim. Archaeological evidence for Admah remains elusive, with no site definitively identified, though it is associated with the Dead Sea plain alongside potential locations for its sister cities.^[1]

Biblical Account

The Cities of the Plain in Genesis

In the biblical narrative of Genesis, Admah is depicted as one of the five cities of the Plain, a fertile region in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea, collectively known as the Cities of the Plain. These cities—Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (also called Zoar)—formed a geopolitical alliance in the Vale of Siddim, which is identified as the area around the Salt Sea (Dead Sea). The territorial boundaries of the Canaanites are described as extending from Gaza as far as Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, reaching to Lasha, highlighting Admah's position within this well-defined Canaanite heartland. The narrative in Genesis 14 portrays these cities as a confederacy under the rule of their respective kings, who initially submitted to the Mesopotamian king Chedorlaomer and his allied rulers from Elam, Shinar, Ellasar, and Goiim for twelve years. In the thirteenth year, the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela rebelled against this vassalage, prompting a military campaign by Chedorlaomer's coalition in the fourteenth year. Admah's king, Shinab, is explicitly named among the rebel leaders, alongside Bera of Sodom, Birsha of Gomorrah, Shinab of Admah, Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (Zoar). The conflict culminated in the Battle of Siddim, where the allied kings of the five cities mobilized against Chedorlaomer's forces in the valley filled with tar pits. During the battle, the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fell into the tar pits, while those of Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela fled to the mountains, marking a decisive defeat for the confederacy and leaving their cities vulnerable to plunder. This geopolitical context underscores Admah's role as a key player in the regional power dynamics of the plain. Earlier in Genesis, the fertility of the Plain is emphasized as a factor in its allure and settlement, described as well-watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord or the land of Egypt, particularly before its later destruction. Abraham's nephew Lot chose to dwell in this lush Jordan Valley, pitching his tents near Sodom, which positioned the cities—including Admah—within a prosperous, irrigated landscape conducive to urban development.

The Destruction by Fire and Brimstone

In the biblical narrative, the destruction of Admah forms part of the divine judgment pronounced upon the cities of the plain due to their pervasive wickedness. Following the angelic visitors' encounter with Lot in Sodom, where they witness the inhabitants' demand to violate the guests—an act emblematic of inhospitality and moral corruption—the angels urge Lot to flee with his family before the impending catastrophe. This collective sin, inferred to encompass Admah and the other cities through their alliance and shared regional identity, justifies the judgment without individual specification for Admah. The theological foundation for this event is laid in Abraham's intercession in the preceding chapter, where he pleads with God to spare the cities if even ten righteous people can be found among them, establishing a criterion of communal righteousness that implicitly applies to Admah as one of the implicated settlements. God agrees but ultimately finds the threshold unmet, leading to the execution of judgment. The narrative underscores that the destruction targets the urban centers and their fertile surroundings, reflecting a holistic condemnation of the societal order. The climactic sequence unfolds in Genesis 19:24-25, where "the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven," extending explicitly to Admah and Zeboiim, while Zoar is spared at Lot's request as a place of refuge. This cataclysm overturns the cities, reducing them to ruins and rendering the land barren, with the ground covered in brimstone and salt to ensure infertility—a totality echoed later in Deuteronomy 29:23 as a perpetual desolation. Lot's wife, looking back despite warnings, becomes a pillar of salt amid the fleeing, symbolizing the peril of attachment to the condemned way of life, though Admah itself receives no such individualized aftermath in the text. The immediate consequences emphasize irreversible devastation: the once-prosperous plain, known for its bitumen pits and agricultural bounty, is transformed into a wasteland, with smoke rising like that from a furnace as a visible sign of divine intervention. This event not only eradicates the physical structures of Admah and its sister cities but also severs their role in the regional alliances previously noted, marking a definitive end to their narrative presence in the Genesis account.

Later Biblical Allusions

In Deuteronomy 29:23, Admah is invoked alongside Sodom and Gomorrah as an exemplar of divine judgment, depicting the land as transformed into a barren waste of sulfur, salt, and desolation—overturned by the Lord's fierce anger—to serve as a stark warning against Israel's covenant unfaithfulness.^[4] This imagery reappears in Hosea 11:8, where God rhetorically questions the possibility of treating Israel "like Admah" or "like Zeboiim," employing Admah as a metaphor for utter annihilation to underscore divine reluctance and mercy amid threats of destruction.^[5]^[4] Later prophetic texts extend the Admah-Sodom pairing to illustrate exemplary judgments on other nations; for instance, Isaiah 13:19 likens Babylon's impending fall to the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah (with their neighbors, including Admah), symbolizing irreversible desolation under God's wrath.^[6] Similarly, Jeremiah 49:18 applies the motif to Edom, portraying its ruin as akin to that of Sodom, Gomorrah, and adjacent cities like Admah, emphasizing perpetual uninhabitability as divine retribution.^[6] Through these references, Admah evolves from a historical city in the Genesis narrative to an enduring archetype in prophetic literature, embodying the totality of God's punitive power while highlighting tensions between justice and compassion.^[4]^[6]

Location and Archaeology

Geographical Setting

Admah was located in the Vale of Siddim, as described in Genesis 14:3, a region situated south of the Dead Sea within the [Jordan Rift Valley](/page/Jordan_Rift Valley), forming a low-lying plain characterized by its tectonic instability and proneness to seismic events along the Dead Sea Transform fault system.^[7] This valley, part of the broader Levantine rift, provided a strategic corridor for ancient trade routes connecting Mesopotamia to Egypt, underscoring the area's historical significance.^[8] Biblical texts depict the broader plain including Admah as exceptionally fertile and well-watered, comparable to the garden of the Lord or the land of Egypt, with abundant vegetation and irrigation from nearby water sources that supported intensive agriculture prior to its reported desolation.^[1] In stark contrast, post-biblical destruction accounts portray the landscape as barren and uninhabitable, emphasizing a dramatic environmental shift. Admah shared this setting with neighboring cities such as Sodom and Gomorrah, collectively known as the cities of the plain. The region's natural features prominently included proximity to the Dead Sea—referred to as the Salt Sea—and the Jordan River, which deposited sediments and facilitated water supply for the fertile lowlands. Abundant asphalt pits, or bitumen deposits, dotted the Vale of Siddim, as noted in Genesis 14:10, where these natural seeps of petroleum product were exploited for waterproofing, construction, and trade, enhancing the area's economic role.^[7] Geologically, the Jordan Rift Valley's subtropical climate, with warm temperatures and seasonal rainfall, historically enabled diverse crops like grains, fruits, and palms, though its rift structure predisposed it to earthquakes and resultant sinkholes, aligning with biblical references to an "overturned" terrain.^[9]^[10]

Proposed Sites and Evidence

The traditional scholarly view places Admah in the southern Dead Sea region, as part of the cluster of cities in the Vale of Siddim, near the proposed sites for Sodom at Bab edh-Dhra and Gomorrah at Numeira.^[7] This identification aligns with the geographical descriptions in ancient texts and the presence of Early Bronze Age settlements in the area, including fortified sites with evidence of sudden destruction.^[11] Archaeologist William F. Albright proposed an alternative identification of Admah with the biblical "Adam" mentioned in Joshua 3:16, locating it near the Jordan River at Tell ed-Damiye (modern Damiya), based on linguistic and topographical similarities between the names and the site's position opposite Jericho.^[12] This northern suggestion contrasts with the southern theories but has not gained widespread acceptance due to discrepancies with the broader regional context of the cities of the plain. Khirbat al-Khanazir, a Bronze Age site in Jordan, has been proposed as a candidate for Admah due to its proximity to the Dead Sea plain. The site features a cemetery with over 250 tombs dating to the Early Bronze Age. Excavations indicate it was primarily a burial ground rather than a settlement.^[13] In northern theories, some scholars have considered Tel Nimrin in the Jordan Valley, which shows Bronze Age occupation layers but lacks specific destruction evidence linking it to Admah.^[14] Archaeological evidence for Admah remains indirect and tied to nearby sites, with no definitive ruins identified. At Numeira, excavations uncovered Early Bronze Age III destruction layers, including burnt structures and evidence of a catastrophic fire circa 2350-2300 BCE, potentially correlating with the biblical timeline in some chronologies.^[11] The Ebla tablets from the third millennium BCE reference "ad-ma," interpreted by scholar David Noel Freedman as a likely mention of Admah, indicating early trade or diplomatic ties in the region.^[15] Despite these proposals, there is no scholarly consensus on Admah's location, as noted by biblical scholar Merrill C. Tenney, with ongoing debates over dating—archaeological evidence often predating traditional biblical chronologies by centuries—and the possibility that seismic activity or rising Dead Sea levels submerged potential sites.^[7]

Cultural and Religious Significance

In Jewish Tradition

In post-biblical Jewish texts, Admah is frequently grouped with Sodom and Gomorrah as one of the "cities of the plain" destroyed for their collective moral failings, serving as an emblem of communal sin and divine judgment in midrashic literature. The Midrash expands on the vices of these cities, drawing from Ezekiel 16:49 to emphasize pride, excess, idleness, and refusal to aid the poor and needy, portraying Admah's destruction as a consequence of societal corruption rather than individual acts alone. Midrashic narratives amplify the biblical account by describing inhospitality, greed, and ethical perversion as part of a broader pattern of communal depravity that warranted total annihilation. These interpretations underscore Admah as a cautionary symbol against collective ethical failure, where the entire community shares responsibility for systemic sins like exploitation and lack of charity.^[16] Some midrashim distinguish sins among the cities, attributing to Admah's king a particular hatred of God, contrasting with the human cruelty emphasized for Sodom and Gomorrah.^[16] In the Talmud and later rabbinic writings, Admah is cited in discussions of repentance to highlight the limits of divine mercy when communal sin goes unaddressed, often contrasted with the successful repentance of Nineveh in the Book of Jonah. The Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 109a-b) details laws in Sodom that punished generosity and protected the wicked, illustrating irreversible communal corruption that precluded teshuvah (repentance) for the cities of the plain, unlike Nineveh's collective turnaround described in Ta'anit 16a. This contrast emphasizes that while God desires repentance, persistent societal immorality, as in Admah, leads to irreversible judgment. Furthermore, Hosea 11:8—"How shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim?"—is invoked to demonstrate God's internal conflict and ultimate mercy toward Israel, sparing it the fate of Admah despite similar sins, as God's compassion overrides strict justice. Liturgical references to Admah appear in penitential contexts, recalling its destruction as a warning against idolatry, immorality, and communal neglect during high holiday prayers and fast days. In selichot (penitential poems recited before Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur), the overthrow of Admah alongside Sodom symbolizes the consequences of forsaking ethical norms, urging worshippers to reflect on collective responsibility and seek forgiveness to avoid similar desolation (as echoed in the High Holiday machzorim drawing from Deuteronomy 29:22-23). These allusions reinforce Admah's role in fostering ethical awareness, portraying its barren aftermath as a metaphor for spiritual exile if idolatry and immorality persist. Medieval Jewish scholars, such as Rashi, interpret Admah's barrenness as a perpetual curse, linking it to themes of exile and redemption in their commentaries on relevant biblical verses. Rashi on Hosea 11:8 explains Admah and Zeboiim as cities utterly destroyed with Sodom and Gomorrah (referencing Genesis 14:20), underscoring God's merciful reluctance to inflict the same irreversible doom on Israel, which represents hope for redemption through teshuvah amid exile-like suffering. Similarly, on Deuteronomy 29:23, Rashi describes the land's transformation into "brimstone, and salt, and burning" as an enduring symbol of divine wrath against communal apostasy, yet one that points to eventual restoration if Israel repents, tying Admah's fate to the broader narrative of Jewish exile and return.^[17]

In Christian Interpretation

In Christian theology, the destruction of Admah, alongside Sodom and Gomorrah, serves as an implicit exemplar of divine judgment against sexual immorality and ungodliness in the New Testament. The Epistle of 2 Peter 2:6 describes how God "condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by turning them into ashes," presenting their overthrow as a warning of the fate awaiting the ungodly, with Admah included among the ruined cities of the plain as per Deuteronomy 29:23. Similarly, Jude 1:7 states that Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding cities "indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire," serving as an exhibit of eternal fire as punishment, encompassing Admah's fate to underscore the consequences of rejecting God's moral order. Early Church Fathers interpreted Admah's destruction through allegorical and moral lenses, emphasizing divine justice against heresy and sin. Origen, in his writings, referenced the Sodom narrative to illustrate God's judgment on wickedness, applying it to refute heretics who distorted scripture and faced similar spiritual ruin. Augustine, in The City of God, linked the fiery overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah to God's righteous retribution for vices like pride and unnatural lusts, connecting it to the broader theme of original sin's corruption and the need for divine grace to avert such justice.^[18] During the Reformation, John Calvin highlighted Admah in his commentary on Hosea 11:8, portraying it as a symbol of utter desolation that God mercifully withholds from Israel, contrasting the city's total ruin with the forgiving heart of God to illustrate unmerited grace amid deserved judgment.^[19] In contemporary evangelical thought, Admah's story reinforces warnings against societal decay, including homosexuality and moral relativism, as seen in discussions of the cities of the plain as archetypes of cultural rebellion inviting divine intervention. Eschatologically, Admah prefigures the final judgment in Christian interpretation, paralleling the sudden fall of Babylon in Revelation 18, where a once-prosperous entity is destroyed in one hour for its abominations, echoing the brimstone overthrow as a type of God's ultimate wrath on unrepentant evil. This symbolism, drawn from 2 Peter's use of the Sodom event as a preview of end-times destruction, urges believers toward holiness in anticipation of Christ's return.