Qstt valley of

The scene of n,e™orIbJSies|f David or of Abif -,|;- liputenant over the Edomites 2 S 8« 1 Ch lb ), L'ndTa^la^ter period of Ama.iah over the s^me hereditary enemies of Judah {2 iv 14 ,i l>n -a j. The position of this valley can scarcely be a matter /o doub both on account of its historical associa- tions as related in the above passages, and from he^o'tion of the salt mountain M,„a.rf«m which rises from the western sliore of the Dead Sea The accounts of the battles would lead to the inference that the Position was some valeyWg between Jerusalem and Edomof which Petra(bela) t^Tthe capital; and the name -dic-tes th« Pr"^" imitv of either the salt mountain or the salt sea B^th the inferences are satisfied by identifying the Valley of Salt with the plain extending f om the southern end of the Dead §ea to the foot of the c tfs (the^cent of 'Akrabbim), t which cross the val^y from side to side and form the southern margin ofThe Ghor. This plain is of sufficient extent to be the battleground for large armies See arts. Arabah and Dead Sea. k- ^^^^