<P> The story has therefore given rise to words in several languages . These include the English word sodomy, which is used in sodomy laws to describe sexual "crimes against nature", namely anal or oral sex (particularly homosexual), or bestiality . Some Islamic societies incorporate punishments associated with Sodom and Gomorrah into sharia . </P> <P> The etymology of both names is uncertain . The exact original meanings of the names are also uncertain . Some believe, the name Sodom (Hebrew: סְדֹם ‎ Səḏōm) could be a word from an early Semitic language ultimately related to the Arabic sadama, meaning "fasten", "fortify", "strengthen", but that is unlikely as the Gesenius' Hebrew - Chaldee Lexicon defines the Hebrew word Sodom (Cēdom) as burning . </P> <P> Gomorrah (Hebrew: עֲמֹרָה ‎' Ămōrāh) is a special case for a number of reasons . The Hebrew term transliterated as' amōra was not always pronounced as such . In ancient times, all Semitic languages, including Hebrew, included a letter known as ghayn which made the sound of the voiced velar fricative (/ ɣ /, or "gh"). At some point, Hebrew merged ghayn with the ayin (ע); thus words originally pronounced with ghayn no longer preserved the "gh" sound and instead adopted ayin's pronunciation, the voiced pharyngeal fricative (/ ʕ /), which is silent in Modern Hebrew . The Hebrew term for Gomorrah is one of these words . Thus, the true pronunciation of the term is ghamōrah, as opposed to the modern' amōrah . Based on the initial ghayn, it is possible that the Hebrew term could be based on the root gh - m-r, which means "be deep", "copious (water)," but this is also in dispute as it is classically known as עֲמֹרָה ʻĂmôrâh, am - o - raw'; from H6014; a (ruined) heap; Amorah, a place in Palestine:--Gomorrah . </P> <P> There are other stories and historical names which bear a resemblance to the Biblical stories of Sodom and Gomorrah . Some possible natural explanations for the events described have been proposed, but no widely accepted or strongly verified sites for the cities have been found . Of the five "cities of the plain", only Bela, modern - day Zoara, is securely identified, and it remained a settlement long after the biblical period . </P>

Who were the two angels who destroyed sodom