Latest update April 16th, 2015 7:50 AM
Dead Sea: Biblical Tales
A very longstanding history of biblical stories are told of the Dead Sea. Once named the Siddim Sea, the Siddim Sea was home to many important happenings. Siddim comes from a root meaning of clay ,tar, or pitch. Perhaps in the past, the Dead Sea was not full of hypersaline water, but tar pits.
It is stated that in the valley of Siddim, 4 Kings raged war against 5 other Kings in the book of Genesis. During this intense war Lot was taken prisoner during the wars to which Abraham would pursue bringing him home later. Also, during the battles, it is reported that 2 Kings fell into the tar pits. With the recent discoveries and natural tar unearthing that has happened in the Dead Sea, perhaps even a King could wash ashore!
David, the king of Israel, fled to Ein Gedi into a cave at the Dead Sea, or Siddim Sea as it was called. The King of Saul pursued David into the area where David cut off a corner of fabric from his clothes to prove that he could have harmed him but he didn’t. The caves at the Dead Sea were home to more stories that were untold as Roman coins and other handcrafted pieces of art such as pottery can still be found to this day.
Is it also written that Jesus himself was baptized in the waters of the Jordan River. Of course, the Jordan River is the main body of water that feeds the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea being endoheric means that the water flows in and does not flow out. Perhaps it can be said that the blessed water flowed down river into the Dead Sea where it bestowed upon it healing properties.
The Dead Sea that is located in Israel, the prime location for many biblical stories, has a deep history that is written in the Bible. The beautiful history of the Dead Sea can not only be read about, but still seen to this day. It stands as both a reminder of our past as well as a source of beauty in the present.
