Britannica
Sources used in this answer
What happened to Lot's wife after she looked back at Sodom and Gomorrah?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Sodom and Gomorrah
Landscape with the Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, oil on wood by Joachim Patinir, c. 1520; in the collection of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
According to the Book of Genesis, as Lot and his family fled the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, they were explicitly warned by angels not to stop or look back at the cities. When Lot’s wife disobeyed this command and glanced back, she was turned into a pillar of salt.123
In religious tradition, her transformation is often interpreted as a symbol of disbelief and a warning against clinging to worldly life in the face of divine judgment.145