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John Gill Commentary 2 Peter 2:6

John Gill Commentary

2 Peter 2:6

1697–1771
Reformed Baptist
John Gill
John Gill

John Gill Commentary

2 Peter 2:6

1697–1771
Reformed Baptist
SCRIPTURE

"and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, having made them an example unto those that should live ungodly;" — 2 Peter 2:6 (ASV)

And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes ,
&c.] By raining brimstone and fire upon them from heaven, (Genesis 19:24) which soon reduced them to ashes, with Admah and Zeboiim, (Deuteronomy 29:25) , cities delightfully situated, which were as the garden of God, and the land of Egypt, together with the inhabitants of them; and after they had received a signal mercy, in being rescued by Abraham from the kings who had carried them captive; and though Abraham, the friend of God, interceded for them, and righteous Lot dwelt among them.

The first of these cities is in the Hebrew language called Sedom; Philo the Jew F23 calls it Sodoma, as in (Romans 9:29) and in the Septuagint on (Genesis 13:10) (18:22) (19:1) (Isaiah 1:9) here it is said to be a city, and Josephus F24 always calls it the city of the Sodomites, but in (Matthew 10:15) (11:24) we read of the land of Sodom; and so Philo F25

``a good way off of Jerusalem (he says F1) is opened a sorrowful gulf, which the black ground, "in cinerem soluta", "reduced to ashes", shows it to be touched by heaven; there were two towns, or cities, the one called Sodom, and the other Gomorrah; where an apple is produced, which, although it has an appearance of ripeness, cannot be eaten; for the outward skin that encompasses it only contains a sort of soot, or embers within, which, ever so lightly squeezed, evaporates into smoke and dust;'' and so the author of the book of Wisdom 10:7 speaking of the five cities, on which fire fell, says, ``of whose wickedness, even to this day, the waste land that smoketh is a testimony; and plants bearing fruit, that never come to ripeness.'' Philo the Jew F2 says, that ``there are showed to this day in Syria monuments of this unspeakable destruction that happened; as ruins, ashes, sulphur, smoke, and a weak flame, breaking forth as of a fire burning:''

condemned [them] with an overthrow ;
by this sad "catastrophe" God condemned the sins of those men of Sodom and Gomorrah, and condemned their persons to everlasting damnation; of which their temporal punishment was an emblem and figure; see (Jude 1:7) , the word "overthrow" is generally used when this destruction is spoken of, (Deuteronomy 29:23) (Isaiah 13:19) (Jeremiah 50:40) (Amos 4:11) and therefore retained by the apostle here:

making them ensamples unto those who after should live ungodly ;
in the commission of any sins, and be open, bold, and impudent in them, and declare them as they did; and especially that should live in the commission of the same sins, those unnatural lusts and uncleanness, which to this day go by the name of "sodomy", and "sodomitical" practices; now the punishment of the inhabitants of these cities was an ensample to such wicked conduct, showing what they must expect, and was a representation of those everlasting burnings, which such sinners, as a righteous retaliation for their burning lusts, shall be cast into.

The Jews say F3 the same of the men of Sodom and Gomorrah as of the old world;``the men of Sodom have no part in the world to come, as is said (Genesis 13:13) "but the men of Sodom were wicked, and sinners before the Lord exceedingly"; wicked in this world, and sinners in the world to come;'' (See Gill on Jude 1:7).

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