The people of Sodom had the following custom. If a man struck another man's wife and caused

her to miscarry and the husband demanded compensation, the guilty person would say: "Give me your wife and I will beget you another child." And the husband would give him his wife until she had another child.

Then they had another custom. If a man struck another and caused him to bleed, the person injured had to pay because he bled and blood-letting was good for his health.

They had still another custom. If one crossed a bridge he had to pay four florins, and if he

waded across he had to pay eight florins.

One day a washerman crossed the bridge and also waded through the water.

The people of Sodom came to him and said: "Give us four florins for having crossed the bridge."

Whereupon he replied: "I waded across."

"If so," they replied, "pay us eight florins."

The man refused to pay, and they fell upon him and beat him, causing a deep wound. They brought him before the judge, and the judge said: "Pay them for having caused you to bleed, and pay also the eight florins for having waded across the river."

One day Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, came to Sodom. They fell upon him and beat him and wounded him. Then they brought him before the judge, and he said: "Pay them for having bled you."

Thereupon Eliezer fell upon the judge and beat and wounded him.

Then they said: "What does this mean?"

Eliezer replied: "The compensation which the judge has to pay me for bleeding him, you take from him to pay for the debt I owe you for having bled me, and I need not pay you anything out of my own pocket."

They had still another custom. If anyone invited a stranger to a meal, they came and stripped the host of his clothes. Once they were celebrating a wedding in the city, and Eliezer came in and sat down at the table. When he was asked who had invited him to the banquet, he pointed to a certain person and said, "This man has invited me."

The latter quickly ran out, for he feared they would strip him of his clothes. They asked Eliezer again who had invited him and he pointed to another person, who also got up and ran out, for he was also afraid that they would take his clothes off. Then they asked him again, and he pointed

to another one. And so they all ran out, for they feared that their clothes would be taken away,

and Eliezer remained alone and enjoyed the feast.

They also had a custom in Sodom that when a stranger came, they put him into a certain bed. If he was too long for the bed, they cut his legs off down to the measure of the bed, and if he was too short, they stretched him until he fitted, the measure of the bed. Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, came one day to Sodom and they said to him: "Lie down to sleep in this bed."

He replied: "Ever since the death of my mistress Sarah, I have taken a vow never to sleep in a bed," for he feared they would either cut his legs off or stretch him.

They also had another custom. When a poor man came to Sodom, everyone gave him a coin

with the name of the giver written on it, but no one was allowed to sell him bread. The purpose was that he should die of hunger. And when he had died of hunger, they all came and each one took back the coin on which he had written his name.

Once a young woman gave a poor man a piece of bread to save his life. When they heard of it, they took the young woman, stripped her naked, smeared her body with honey and put her on the roof. The bees came, ate the honey and stung her to death. This is the meaning of the verse in the Bible: "The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great" (Gen. 18.20). The word rabbah is the same as ribah, which means in Hebrew a "young woman," for it was the cry of the young woman that went up to God.