Bible Encyclopedias
Salt, City of

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Search for…

Enter query below:

or

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Prev Entry
Salt Sea

Next Entry
Salt, Covenant of.

Resource Toolbox

Print Article

Additional Links

Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
• Salt, the City of
Fausset Bible Dictionary
• Salt, City of
Holman Bible Dictionary
• Salt, City of
• City of Salt
Hastings' BibleDictionary
• Salt, City of
Morrish Bible Dictionary
• Salt, City of
1910 New Catholic Dictionary
• Salt Lake City, Utah, Diocese of
Smith Bible Dictionary
• Salt The City of
Encyclopedias
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
• Salt Lake City
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
• City of Salt
• Salt, City of
McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia
• City of Salt
• Salt, City of
The Nuttall Encyclopedia
• Salt Lake City
The Jewish Encyclopedia
• Salt Lake City
Lexicons
• עִיר הַמֶּלַח

(Heb. Ir ham-Me'lach, עיראּהִמֶּלִח; Sept. αἱ πόλεις Σαδῶν, v.r. ἡ πόλις τῶν ἁλῶν; Vulg. civitas Salis), the fifth of the six cities of Judah which lay in the "wilderness" (Joshua 15:62). Its proximity to Engedi, and the name itself, seem to point to its being situated close to. or at any rate in the neighborhood of the Salt Sea. Dr. Robinson (Bib. Res. 2, 109) expresses his belief that it lay somewhere near the plain at the south end of that lake, which he would identify with the Valley of Salt (q.v.). This, though possibly supported by the reading of the Vatican Sept., "the cities of Sodom," is at present a mere conjecture, since no trace of the name or the city has yet been discovered in that position. On the other hand, Van de Velde (Syr. and Pal. 2, 99; Memoir, p. 111, and Map) mentions a Nahr Maleh which he passed in his route from Wady el-Rmail to Sebbeh, the name of which (though the orthography is not certain) may be found to contain a trace of the Hebrew. It is one of four ravines which unite to form the Wady el-Bedun. Another of the four, Wady ‘ Amreh (ibid.), recalls the name of Gomorrah, to the Hebrew of which it is very similar. It seems most probable that it took its name from salt works or mines. At the southwestern extremity of the Dead Sea stands a remarkable range of hills of pure salt, and near them "the City of Salt" was perhaps situated. There are ancient ruins at the mouth of Wady Zuweireh, at the northern end of the range; and others at Um-Baghek, five miles farther north. One or other of these places may mark the site of "the City of Salt" (Van de Velde, Meemoir, p. 345; Tristram, Land of Israel, p. 318 sq.). (See JUDAH).