SIDDIM, VALLEY OF (Hebrew: 'emeg Siddim). — A valley full of bitumen pits (Gen. 14:10), where Chodorlahomor with his allies defeated the king of Sodom (cf. v.) and his confederates (ibid., 14:8-10).
The ancient gloss (14:3), which now is the Salt Sea or Dead Sea, has influenced the Greek translation: "ἡ χάριν" (ἀνθιχί) (14:3), "ἡ χοῦ ἀξία" (ἀνθιχί) (14:10) — "the salt valley"; while St. Jerome, relying on Talmudic writings, translated it as "vallis silvestris," taking "siddim" as the plural of "siddheh" (cf. field). The etymology remains unknown. The gloss intends to indicate that in historical times the plain was covered by the waters of the Dead Sea, of which it became a part. This could have occurred only in the southern part, south of the Lisan peninsula, which is a marsh with 5-6 meters of water. The depression would have been produced following a conflagration, perhaps due to an earthquake, traces of which exist along the shores, which would have caused the combustion of underground gases (petroleum, bitumen, sulfur), later invaded by the waters of the Dead Sea (cf. Pentapolis).