Dead Sea
Dead Sea is a body of water mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. It appears across 21 verses in Scripture.
Biblical History
The Dead Sea is referenced throughout the Old Testament under various names — "Salt Sea" (Genesis 14:3; Numbers 34:3), "Sea of the Arabah" (Deuteronomy 3:17), and "Eastern Sea" (Ezekiel 47:18; Joel 2:20). It first enters the biblical narrative as the backdrop to the catastrophic judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, whose cities of the plain bordered the valley that would become the sea's southern basin (Genesis 13:10; 19:24–25). The region's waters marked the eastern boundary of Canaan in the land-allocation texts of Numbers and Joshua. David sought refuge in the wilderness of En Gedi, on the Dead Sea's western shore, while fleeing Saul (1 Samuel 24:1). Perhaps the most remarkable Dead Sea passage is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of life-giving waters flowing eastward from the Jerusalem temple, healing the salt waters so that fish swarm in them — a powerful eschatological image of creation renewed (Ezekiel 47:1–12). The sea's extreme salinity and barrenness made it a natural symbol of divine judgment and desolation throughout ancient Near Eastern thought.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
The Dead Sea, at approximately 430 meters below sea level, is the lowest point on Earth's surface and the saltiest large body of water in the world, with salinity around 34%. Its extreme conditions have yielded extraordinary preservation of organic materials. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls between 1947 and 1956 in caves near Qumran — the largest and most significant biblical manuscript find in history — revolutionized Old Testament textual scholarship. Archaeological sites along its shores include Qumran (a Second Temple-period sectarian community), Masada (Herod's fortress), and numerous Iron Age fortresses and Byzantine monasteries. The sea's shrinking water level in recent decades has exposed new cave systems and ancient artifacts.
Verse Appearances (21)
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →