Parashah Vayera (וירא), Genesis 18 to 22:
Abraham receives a visit from three angels disguised as travelers and offers them hospitality. They announce to Abraham the future birth of Isaac. Two angels go to Sodom, where they meet Lot, Abraham’s nephew. They save him from the imminent destruction of the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim. These cities are destined for destruction due to the corruption, wickedness, evil, and moral depravity of their inhabitants. Sarah gives birth to Isaac and asks Abraham to separate from Ishmael.
Genesis 19:24
וַה’, הִמְטִיר עַל-סְדֹם וְעַל-עֲמֹרָה–גָּפְרִית וָאֵשׁ: מֵאֵת ה’, מִן-הַשָּׁמָיִם.
Then the Lord rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of the heavens.
Tall el-Hammam, an ancient Bronze Age city (1) located in Jordan near the Dead Sea, has piqued the interest of archaeologists due to its possible identification with Sodom. The city was destroyed, presumably, by a cosmic explosion, reminiscent of the Tunguska event in Siberia (2). The devastating heat from this explosion burned the surrounding land, much like what is observed at Tall El-Hammam.
(1) Dating back to the time of Abraham, around 1900 BCE.
(2) In 1908, a fireball was observed in the skies of central Siberia, exploding at an altitude of 5 to 10 kilometers. This explosion, equivalent to 1,000 times the Hiroshima bomb, caused a blast that burned 2,000 square kilometers of forest, generating temperatures estimated at 2,000 degrees Celsius. The damage extended over 100 kilometers, and the explosion was audible within a radius of 1,500 kilometers, triggering numerous fires that ravaged forested areas for several weeks.