This was anciently called the _Sea of the Plain_, Deut. iii,
17; iv, 49, from its situation in the great hollow or plain of the
Jordan; the _Salt Sea_, Deut. iii, 17; Joshua xv, 5, from the extreme
saltness of its waters; and the _East Sea_, Ezek. xlvii, 18; Joel ii,
20, from its situation relative to Judea, and in contradistinction to
the _West Sea_, or Mediterranean. It is likewise called by Josephus, and
by the Greek and Latin writers generally, _Lacus Asphaltites_, from the
bitumen found in it; and the _Dead Sea_, its more frequent modern
appellation, from a tradition, commonly though erroneously received,
that no living creature could exist in its saline and sulphureous
waters. It is at present known in Syria by the names of _Almotanah_ and
_Bahar Loth_: and occupies what may be considered as the southern
extremity of the vale of Jordan; forming, in that direction, the western
boundary to the Holy Land. The Dead Sea is about seventy miles in
length, and twenty in breadth at its broadest part; having, like the
Caspian, no visible communication with the ocean. Its depth seems to be
altogether unknown; nor does it appear that a boat has ever navigated
its surface. Toward its southern extremity, however, in a contracted
part of the lake, is a ford, about six miles over, made use of by the
Arabs: in the middle of which they report the water to be warm;
indicating the presence of warm springs beneath. In general, toward the
shore, it is shallow; and rises and falls with the seasons, and the
quantity of water carried into it by seven streams, which fall into this
their common receptacle, the chief of which is the Jordan.
The water now covering these ruins occupies what was formerly the vale
of Siddim; a rich and fruitful valley, in which stood the five cities,
called the cities of the plain, namely, Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim,
and Bela or Zoar: the four first of which were destroyed, while the
latter, being “a little city,” was preserved at the intercession of Lot;
to which he fled for refuge from the impending catastrophe, and where he
remained in safety during its accomplishment.
The specific gravity of the waters of the Dead Sea is supposed to have
been much exaggerated by the ancient writers, but their statements are
now proved to be by no means very wide of the truth. Pliny says, that no
living bodies would sink in it; and Strabo, that persons who went into
it were borne up to their middle. Van Egmont and Heyman state, that, on
swimming to some distance from the shore, they found themselves, to
their great surprise, lifted up by the water. “When I had swam to some
distance,” says the latter, “I endeavoured to sink to the bottom, but
could not; for the water kept me continually up, and would certainly
have thrown me upon my face, had I not put forth all the strength I was
master of, to keep myself in a perpendicular posture; so that I walked
in the sea as if I had trod on firm ground, without having occasion to
make any of the motions necessary in treading fresh water; and when I
was swimming, I was obliged to keep my legs the greatest part of the
time out of the water. My fellow traveller was agreeably surprised to
find that he could swim here, having never learned. But this proceeded
from the gravity of the water, as this certainly does from the
extraordinary quantity of salt in it.” Mr. Joliffe says, he found it
very little more buoyant than other seas, but he did not go out of his
depth. “The descent of the beach,” he says, “is so gently gradual, that
I must have waded above a hundred yards to get completely out of my
depth, and the impatience of the Arabians would not allow of time
sufficient for this.” Captain Mangles says: “The water is as bitter and
as buoyant as the people have reported. Those of our party who could not
swim, floated on its surface like corks. On dipping the head in, the
eyes smarted dreadfully.” With regard to the agents employed in this
catastrophe, there might seem reason to suppose that volcanic phenomena
had some share in producing it; but Chateaubriand’s remark is deserving
of attention. “I cannot,” he says, “coincide in opinion with those who
suppose the Dead Sea to be the crater of a volcano. I have seen
Vesuvius, Solfatara, Monte Nuovo in the lake of Fusino, the peak of the
Azores, the Mamalif opposite to Carthage, the extinguished volcanoes of
Auvergne; and remarked in all of them the same characters; that is to
say, mountains excavated in the form of a tunnel, lava, and ashes, which
exhibited incontestable proofs of the agency of fire.” After noticing
the very different shape and position of the Dead Sea, he adds:
“Bitumen, warm springs, and phosphoric stones are found, it is true, in
the mountains of Arabia; but then, the presence of hot springs, sulphur,
and asphaltos is not sufficient to attest the anterior existence of a
volcano.” The learned Frenchman inclines to adopt the idea of Professors
Michaëlis and Busching, that Sodom and Gomorrah were built upon a mine
of bitumen; that lightning kindled the combustible mass, and that the
cities sunk in the subterraneous conflagration. M. Malte Brun
ingeniously suggests, that the cities might themselves have been built
of bituminous stones, and thus have been set in flames by the fire of
heaven. We learn from the Mosaic account, that the Vale of Siddim, which
is now occupied by the Dead Sea, was full of “slime pits,” or pits of
bitumen. Pococke says: “It is observed, that the bitumen floats on the
water, and comes ashore after windy weather; the Arabs gather it up, and
it serves as pitch for all uses, goes into the composition of medicines,
and is thought to have been a very great ingredient in the bitumen used
in embalming the bodies in Egypt: it has been much used for cerecloths,
and has an ill smell when burnt. It is probable that there are
subterraneous fires, that throw up this bitumen at the bottom of the
sea, where it may form itself into a mass, which may be broken by the
motion of the water occasioned by high winds; and it is very remarkable,
that the stone called the stone of Moses, found about two or three
leagues from the sea, which burns like a coal, and turns only to a white
stone, and not to ashes, has the same smell, when burnt, as this pitch;
so that it is probable, a stratum of the stone under the Dead Sea is one
part of the matter that feeds the subterraneous fires, and that this
bitumen boils up out of it.” To give force to this last conjecture,
however, it would be requisite to ascertain, whether bitumen is capable
of being detached from this stone, in a liquid state, by the action of
fire. The stone in question is the black feited limestone, used at
Jerusalem in the manufacture of rosaries and amulets, and worn as a
charm against the plague. The effluvia which it emits on friction, is
owing to a strong impregnation of sulphuretted hydrogen. If the
buildings were constructed of materials of this description, with
quarries of which the neighbouring mountains abound, they would be
easily susceptible of ignition by lightning. The Scriptural account,
however, is explicit, that “the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah
brimstone and fire from heaven;” which we may safely interpret as
implying a shower of inflamed sulphur, or nitre. At the same time it is
evident, that the whole plain underwent a simultaneous convulsion, which
seems referable to the consequences of a bituminous explosion. In
perfect accordance with this view of the catastrophe, we find the very
materials, as it were, of this awful visitation still at hand in the
neighbouring hills; from which they might have been poured down by the
agency of thunder storms, directed by the hand of offended Heaven.
Captains Irby and Mangles collected, on the southern coast, lumps of
nitre and fine sulphur, from the size of a nutmeg up to that of a small
hen’s egg, which, it was evident from their situation, had been brought
down by the rain: “their great deposit must be sought for,” they say,
“in the cliff.” These cliffs then were probably swept by the lightnings,
and their flaming masses poured in a deluge of fire upon the plain.
17; iv, 49, from its situation in the great hollow or plain of the
Jordan; the _Salt Sea_, Deut. iii, 17; Joshua xv, 5, from the extreme
saltness of its waters; and the _East Sea_, Ezek. xlvii, 18; Joel ii,
20, from its situation relative to Judea, and in contradistinction to
the _West Sea_, or Mediterranean. It is likewise called by Josephus, and
by the Greek and Latin writers generally, _Lacus Asphaltites_, from the
bitumen found in it; and the _Dead Sea_, its more frequent modern
appellation, from a tradition, commonly though erroneously received,
that no living creature could exist in its saline and sulphureous
waters. It is at present known in Syria by the names of _Almotanah_ and
_Bahar Loth_: and occupies what may be considered as the southern
extremity of the vale of Jordan; forming, in that direction, the western
boundary to the Holy Land. The Dead Sea is about seventy miles in
length, and twenty in breadth at its broadest part; having, like the
Caspian, no visible communication with the ocean. Its depth seems to be
altogether unknown; nor does it appear that a boat has ever navigated
its surface. Toward its southern extremity, however, in a contracted
part of the lake, is a ford, about six miles over, made use of by the
Arabs: in the middle of which they report the water to be warm;
indicating the presence of warm springs beneath. In general, toward the
shore, it is shallow; and rises and falls with the seasons, and the
quantity of water carried into it by seven streams, which fall into this
their common receptacle, the chief of which is the Jordan.
The water now covering these ruins occupies what was formerly the vale
of Siddim; a rich and fruitful valley, in which stood the five cities,
called the cities of the plain, namely, Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim,
and Bela or Zoar: the four first of which were destroyed, while the
latter, being “a little city,” was preserved at the intercession of Lot;
to which he fled for refuge from the impending catastrophe, and where he
remained in safety during its accomplishment.
The specific gravity of the waters of the Dead Sea is supposed to have
been much exaggerated by the ancient writers, but their statements are
now proved to be by no means very wide of the truth. Pliny says, that no
living bodies would sink in it; and Strabo, that persons who went into
it were borne up to their middle. Van Egmont and Heyman state, that, on
swimming to some distance from the shore, they found themselves, to
their great surprise, lifted up by the water. “When I had swam to some
distance,” says the latter, “I endeavoured to sink to the bottom, but
could not; for the water kept me continually up, and would certainly
have thrown me upon my face, had I not put forth all the strength I was
master of, to keep myself in a perpendicular posture; so that I walked
in the sea as if I had trod on firm ground, without having occasion to
make any of the motions necessary in treading fresh water; and when I
was swimming, I was obliged to keep my legs the greatest part of the
time out of the water. My fellow traveller was agreeably surprised to
find that he could swim here, having never learned. But this proceeded
from the gravity of the water, as this certainly does from the
extraordinary quantity of salt in it.” Mr. Joliffe says, he found it
very little more buoyant than other seas, but he did not go out of his
depth. “The descent of the beach,” he says, “is so gently gradual, that
I must have waded above a hundred yards to get completely out of my
depth, and the impatience of the Arabians would not allow of time
sufficient for this.” Captain Mangles says: “The water is as bitter and
as buoyant as the people have reported. Those of our party who could not
swim, floated on its surface like corks. On dipping the head in, the
eyes smarted dreadfully.” With regard to the agents employed in this
catastrophe, there might seem reason to suppose that volcanic phenomena
had some share in producing it; but Chateaubriand’s remark is deserving
of attention. “I cannot,” he says, “coincide in opinion with those who
suppose the Dead Sea to be the crater of a volcano. I have seen
Vesuvius, Solfatara, Monte Nuovo in the lake of Fusino, the peak of the
Azores, the Mamalif opposite to Carthage, the extinguished volcanoes of
Auvergne; and remarked in all of them the same characters; that is to
say, mountains excavated in the form of a tunnel, lava, and ashes, which
exhibited incontestable proofs of the agency of fire.” After noticing
the very different shape and position of the Dead Sea, he adds:
“Bitumen, warm springs, and phosphoric stones are found, it is true, in
the mountains of Arabia; but then, the presence of hot springs, sulphur,
and asphaltos is not sufficient to attest the anterior existence of a
volcano.” The learned Frenchman inclines to adopt the idea of Professors
Michaëlis and Busching, that Sodom and Gomorrah were built upon a mine
of bitumen; that lightning kindled the combustible mass, and that the
cities sunk in the subterraneous conflagration. M. Malte Brun
ingeniously suggests, that the cities might themselves have been built
of bituminous stones, and thus have been set in flames by the fire of
heaven. We learn from the Mosaic account, that the Vale of Siddim, which
is now occupied by the Dead Sea, was full of “slime pits,” or pits of
bitumen. Pococke says: “It is observed, that the bitumen floats on the
water, and comes ashore after windy weather; the Arabs gather it up, and
it serves as pitch for all uses, goes into the composition of medicines,
and is thought to have been a very great ingredient in the bitumen used
in embalming the bodies in Egypt: it has been much used for cerecloths,
and has an ill smell when burnt. It is probable that there are
subterraneous fires, that throw up this bitumen at the bottom of the
sea, where it may form itself into a mass, which may be broken by the
motion of the water occasioned by high winds; and it is very remarkable,
that the stone called the stone of Moses, found about two or three
leagues from the sea, which burns like a coal, and turns only to a white
stone, and not to ashes, has the same smell, when burnt, as this pitch;
so that it is probable, a stratum of the stone under the Dead Sea is one
part of the matter that feeds the subterraneous fires, and that this
bitumen boils up out of it.” To give force to this last conjecture,
however, it would be requisite to ascertain, whether bitumen is capable
of being detached from this stone, in a liquid state, by the action of
fire. The stone in question is the black feited limestone, used at
Jerusalem in the manufacture of rosaries and amulets, and worn as a
charm against the plague. The effluvia which it emits on friction, is
owing to a strong impregnation of sulphuretted hydrogen. If the
buildings were constructed of materials of this description, with
quarries of which the neighbouring mountains abound, they would be
easily susceptible of ignition by lightning. The Scriptural account,
however, is explicit, that “the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah
brimstone and fire from heaven;” which we may safely interpret as
implying a shower of inflamed sulphur, or nitre. At the same time it is
evident, that the whole plain underwent a simultaneous convulsion, which
seems referable to the consequences of a bituminous explosion. In
perfect accordance with this view of the catastrophe, we find the very
materials, as it were, of this awful visitation still at hand in the
neighbouring hills; from which they might have been poured down by the
agency of thunder storms, directed by the hand of offended Heaven.
Captains Irby and Mangles collected, on the southern coast, lumps of
nitre and fine sulphur, from the size of a nutmeg up to that of a small
hen’s egg, which, it was evident from their situation, had been brought
down by the rain: “their great deposit must be sought for,” they say,
“in the cliff.” These cliffs then were probably swept by the lightnings,
and their flaming masses poured in a deluge of fire upon the plain.