Collective Punishment in the Destruction of Sodom

In synagogues this week, the Torah reading recounts God’s decision to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their grave sins. Before doing so, He appears to invite Abraham into the decision-making process, setting off a famous argument between the two over the justice of the punishment and the possibility of mercy. Abraham first asks God if He will spare the cities on account of 50 righteous men and, after getting an affirmative answer, bargains Him down to ten. Gabor Balazs engages in a close reading of the passage and its rabbinic commentaries to see how the Bible and its interpreters have faced a daunting moral problem.