Encyclopedia entry
Siddim, Vale of
Valley of the broad plains, “which is the salt sea” (Gen. 14:3, 8, 10), between Engedi and the cities of the plain, at the south end of the Dead Sea. It was “full of slime-pits” (R.V., “bitumen pits”). Here Chedorlaomer and the confederate kings overthrew the kings of Sodom and the cities of the plain. God afterwards, on account of their wickedness, “overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities;” and the smoke of their destruction “went up as the smoke of a furnace” (19:24-28), and was visible from Mamre, where Abraham dwelt.
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Some, however, contend that the “cities of the plain” were somewhere at the north of the Dead Sea. (See SODOM.)
In the Bible
3
Verses where Siddim, Vale of is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- Genesis 14:3
The latter five came as allies to the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea ).
- Genesis 14:8
Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and arrayed themselves for battle in the Valley of Siddim
- Genesis 14:10
Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some men fell into the pits, but the survivors fled to the hill country.
Scripture on Siddim, Vale of
1
Sources · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.