Valley of Siddim

VALLEY OF SIDDIM (Heb. 'Ēmeq Šiddim). - A valley full of bitumen pits (Gen. 14:10), where Chedorlaomer with his allies defeated the king of Sodom (v.) and the confederates (ibid. 14:8-10).

The ancient gloss (14:3) "now it is the Salt Sea" - or Dead Sea - influenced the Greek translation ἡ φῶσις ἡ ἁλυνή (14:3), ἡ κοιλὰς ἡ ἁλυνή (14:10) "the salt valley"; whereas St. Jerome, dependent on Talmudic writings, translated vallis silvestris, taking i. as the plural of šādheh ("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 fact can only have occurred in the southern part, south of the Lisán 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 subterranean gases (petroleum, bitumen, sulfur), later invaded by the waters of the Dead Sea (v. PENTAPOLI).

Donato Baldi