SALT SEA
One of the Biblical designations for the large lake or sea now generally known as the Dead Sea. The Salt Sea forms the southern termination of the Jordan River.
NAME
The first and most frequent designation of this sea in the Bible, “Salt Sea,” is quite appropriate since it is the saltiest body of water on the earth. (Gen. 14:3; Num. 34:3, 12; Josh. 15:2, 5) It is also called the Sea of the Arabah (Deut. 4:49; 2 Ki. 14:25), being in the huge rift of which the Arabah is a part. Sometimes, though, the name “Salt Sea” is added after “Sea of the Arabah” as if to explain exactly which body of water is meant by the later name. (Deut. 3:17; Josh. 3:16; 12:3) The Salt Sea was on the E boundary of the Promised Land and was termed the “eastern sea,” thus distinguishing it from the “western [Mediterranean] sea.” (Ezek. 47:18; Joel 2:20; Zech. 14:8) Josephus, who was aware that large pieces of bitumen or asphalt occasionally surface in this sea, called it Lake Asphaltites. Evidently it was not until the second century C.E. that it came to be called the Dead Sea. The Arabic name is Bahr Lut, “Sea of Lot.”
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
The Salt Sea is oblong, about ten miles (16 kilometers) wide and approximately forty-seven miles (76 kilometers) long, the length varying somewhat according to the season. Its outline is interrupted on the SE side by a large peninsula called the Lisan (“the tongue”), shaped like a boot with its toe pointing N. This peninsula reaches to within two miles (3 kilometers) of the W shore and so divides the sea into two sections. The portion embayed S of the Lisan is quite shallow, usually three to fifteen feet (.9 to 4.5 meters), while the main part of the sea in the N reaches a depth of 1,310 feet (399 meters). The surface of the water is 1,292 feet (394 meters) below the level of the Mediterranean Sea, making it the lowest spot on earth.
The E shore (N of the Lisan) consists mainly of sandstone cliffs that rise steeply to the plateau of Moab. Several gorges, the most prominent being the Arnon, cut through these barren hills and empty water into the sea. To the E and S of the peninsula lies a plain that is well watered with streams. The S end of the sea is a flat salt marsh. On the W side the limestone cliffs are not as precipitous as those on the E. These Judean hills are more terraced and receding, but very desolate, since no permanent streams cut through to the sea. The beach and slopes near the shore allow travel along the W side. On a high mesa opposite the Lisan is Masada, the fortress that Herod strengthened and where the Romans defeated the last of the Jewish rebels in 73 C.E. Farther N is the oasis En-gedi. At the N end, the Jordan empties into the sea, mixing its fresh water with the extremely salty water of the sea.
WATER
The water of the sea is unique in that it is about 25 percent solids, mostly common salt (sodium chloride), making it about four to six times as salty as the oceans. Each day some 6,500,000 tons of fresh water pour into the Salt Sea, mainly from the Jordan. The Salt Sea has no outlet, so most of the water coming into it evaporates in the intense heat, leaving behind more mineral salts. The salt concentration is such that no fish, even saltwater varieties, are able to live; the few fish in the brackish water where fresh water mixes with the salt water are killed if they are swept into the sea proper. This adds meaning to Ezekiel’s description of a torrent flowing from Jehovah’s temple into the “eastern sea” and healing the upper portion so that it abounded in fish like the Mediterranean Sea and could support a flourishing fishing industry. (Ezek. 47:8-10, 18) The high density of the water causes objects to float easily, and it contributes to a smooth surface because the water is not ruffled by light breezes.
SODOM AND GOMORRAH
It is generally believed that Sodom and Gomorrah were located on land now covered by the portion of the Salt Sea S of the Lisan Peninsula. The kings of these cities were among those who battled in “the Low Plain of Siddim, that is, the Salt Sea,” and the way this is phrased suggests that the Low Plain of Siddim came to be covered by the Salt Sea. (Gen. 14:3) The region of Sodom and Gomorrah where Lot settled was ‘well watered, like the garden of Jehovah.’ (Gen. 13:10-12) Even today, in the plain along the SE shore, vegetation is abundant, and wheat, barley, dates and vines can be grown there. The large amounts of bitumen and salt, especially in this southern section, also match the Biblical account of Sodom and Gomorrah.—Gen. 14:10; 19:24-26.