Meaning of DEAD SEA

Name given to the body of water that the Bible calls the Salt Sea (Gen. 14:3; Num. 34:12; Deut. 3:17; Josh. 3:16) and the Arabah Sea (Deut. 3:17; Josh. . 3:16) and eastern sea (Ez. 47:18; JI. 2:20; Zech. 14:8). Josephus calls it a sea of asphalt (Asphaltitis, Ant. 1:9, 1).

Already from the second half of the 2nd century AD, the Greeks called it the Dead Sea (Pausanias). It is located in the deep depression that crosses Palestine from north to south. The Jordan provides most of its water, with an average of 6 million cubic meters per day.

The greatest depth of the Dead Sea is 393 m, and its level is 398 m. below the Mediterranean. The southern area, where "the cities of the plain" must be found buried under water (see SODOM, GOMORRA), is only 2 to 6 m. deep.

It has an elongated shape, which can be compared to that of a large rectangle, presenting on its southeastern coast a peninsula called Lisán (Language). The average length of the Dead Sea from north to south is 80 km, but this length varies from throughout the year because part of the southern basin is sometimes dry and sometimes flooded.

The width, slightly north of En-gedi, is just over 16 km, the surface measures around 1,000 km. The Dead Sea is surrounded by cliffs, except in the area at the entrance to the Jordan. In some places there are narrow beaches between the cliffs and the water.

In other places, the coast is made up of the same cliffs, which rise forming successive terraces, which continue along the lower part of the Jordan Valley. To the west of the sea, near En-gadi, cliffs dominate the coast at 594 m. Tall; a little further north, in Ras esh Shufk, they exceed 770 m.

The slopes of the western coast contain bitumen in solid form and, in certain areas, also liquid. On the eastern coast rise the steep mountains of Moab, from 762 to 1,000 m. above the level of the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea is one of the most famous bodies of water on the entire surface of the Globe. There is no other sea whose surface is so deep in the earth. The concentration of salt in marine waters ranges around 2 and 3%, while those of the Dead Sea have 24 to 26%.

As a consequence, human bodies sink little; When getting out of the water, bathers' skin is covered in salt so that, if they get a scratch, it causes real pain. This concentration of salt comes from the rain waters that, falling on the Judean mountains, reach the sea after having passed through the salt mountains of the southwestern coast; It is also due to the nature of the bottom, very rich in sodium, magnesium and calcium chloride.

The Jordan and its tributaries, together with other torrents that flow into the same sea, carry minerals; Since there is no outlet, the salt remains and accumulates year after year, while the water disappears due to intense evaporation, accelerated by the hot desert air.

The modern State of Israel has begun the industrial exploitation of its mineral wealth, and it has been calculated that its accumulation could be sufficient to supply world consumption of all the aforementioned materials for a long time. No type of organic life is known in the waters of the Dead Sea.

However, the presence of some fish has been reported south of the “Lisán” peninsula. According to the prophet Ezekiel, the healing of these waters, and their repopulation of fish, will constitute the symbol of the regeneration achieved by the glorious establishment of the Kingdom of God (Ez. 47:6-12).