The Asphalt, or Dead, or Salt, Sea
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(Num. 34:12) — into which the river Jordan flows; it was formed on the very site where once stood the wicked cities of the plain of Siddim: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar (Gen. 14:3). The prophet Joel calls it the Eastern Sea, on account of its geographical position (2:20). The Greeks call it the Asphalt Sea, on account of the abundance of mineral pitch, or asphalt, found in it, and the Arabs call it the Sea of Lot. Almost no living creature is found in the waters of this sea, or on its shores, and everything around it appears gloomy, barren, and as if lifeless.