Biblical Hebrew Forum

[K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

As I was thinking about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and that they
apparently were destroyed by a rain of bitumen forced out by an earthquake.
Then the smoke rose up like the smoke of a smelting furnace. That sentence
got me thinking.

In Northern Europe, where my ancestors came from, there were plenty of trees
to burn, first into charcoal, then in the forge. While charcoal produces
some smoke, anyone who has used it for picnics knows it’s not that bad. Coal
also isn’t very smoky, not in a forge. Therefore, ancient smelting furnaces
in southern Judea and down into the Negev probably used a different fuel.
What was it? Was it bitumen? Another petroleum product? Is there evidence
from other languages or archaeology? Other than that one statement that
sounds like the burning of crude oil, I know of nothing in Hebrew that can
answer that question.

Just curious. I wouldn’t be surprised if no one knows.

Karl W. Randolph.