Siddim
“Fields”
Summary
The vale where the kings of Sodom and its allied cities were defeated by Chedorlaomer, now believed to lie beneath the southern waters of the Dead Sea.
☩The Battle Site
The vale of Siddim was the scene of the battle between Chedorlaomer and his allies against the five kings of the Jordan plain—Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar. The name may mean 'valley of fields,' suggesting its former high cultivation, or 'plain cut by stony channels.' It was 'full of slime (bitumen) pits,' which significantly affected the battle's outcome as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fell into them during their flight.
☩Identification with the Salt Sea
Genesis states that the vale of Siddim 'is the Salt Sea,' indicating submergence after Sodom's destruction. Most scholars identify it with the shallow southern section of the Dead Sea, south of the Lisan peninsula, where depths are only a few feet compared to 1,300 feet in the north. Bitumen masses thrown to the surface suggest wells of bitumen in the seabed. Jebel Usdum (Mount Sodom) still bears Sodom's name in Arabic.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Siddim, Vale Of," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IX (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.John McClintock and James Strong, "Siddim, Vale Of," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IX (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 3.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Siddim," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 4.John McClintock and James Strong, "Siddim, Vale Of," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IX (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 5.James Orr (ed.), "Siddim, Vale of," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. IV (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 6.James Orr (ed.), "Siddim, Vale of," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. IV (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).