(Numbers 34:8,12) Besides this the name occurs once twice in the imagery of the prophets the New
Testament there is not even an allusion to it. There is however, one passage in which the “Salt Sea”
is mentioned in a manner different from any of those already quoted viz. as having been in the time
of Abraham the vale of Siddim. (Genesis 14:3) In consequence of this passage it has been believed
that the present lake covered a district which in historic times had been permanently habitable dry
land. But it must not he overlooked that the passage in question is the only one in the whole Bible
to countenance the notion that the cities of the plain were submerged; a notion which does not date
earlier than the Christian era. [Sodom; Zoar] The belief which prompted the idea of some modern
writers that the Dead Sea was formed by the catastrophe which overthrew the “cities of the plain”
is a mere assumption. It is not only unsupported by Scripture, but is directly in the teeth of the
evidence of the ground itself of the situation of those cities, we only know that, being in the “plain
of the Jordan, they must have been to the north of the lake. Of the catastrophe which destroyed
them we only know that it is described as a shower of ignited sulphur descending from the skies.
Its date is uncertain, but we shall be safe in placing it within the Limit of 2000 years before Christ.
(It is supposed that only the southern bay of the Dead Sea was formed by the submergence of the
cities of the plain, and is still probable. If Hugh Miller’s theory of the flood in correct—and it is
the most reasonable theory yet propounded—then the Dead Sea was formed by the depression of
that part of the valley through which the Jordan once flowed to the Red Sea. But this great depression
caused all the waters of the Jordan to remain without outlet, and the size of the Dead Sea must be
such that the evaporation from its surface just balances the amount of water which flows in through
the river. This accounts in part for the amount of matter held in solution by the Dead Sea waters;
for the evaporation is of pure water only, while the inflow contains more or less of salts and other
matter in solution. This theory also renders it probable that the lake was at first considerably larger
than at present, for in earlier times the Jordan had probably a larger flow of water.—ED.) The
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah may have been by volcanic action, but it may be safely asserted
that no traces of it have yet been discovered, and that, whatever it was, it can have had no connection
with that far vaster and far more ancient event which opened the great valley of the Jordan and the
Dead Sea, and at some subsequent time cut it off from communication with the Red Sea by forcing
up between them the tract of the Wady Arabah.
Seal
The importance attached to seals in the East is so great that without one no document is regarded
as authentic. Among the methods of sealing used in Egypt at a very early period were engraved
stones, graved stones, pierced through their length and hung by a string or chain from the arm or
neck, or set in rings for the finger. The most ancient form used for this purpose was the scarabaeus,
formed of precious or common stone, or even of blue pottery or porcelain, on the flat side of which
the inscription or device was engraved. In many cases the seal consisted of a lump of clay, impressed
with the seal and attached to the document, whether of papyrus or other material, by strings. In
other cases wax was used. In sealing a sepulchre or box, the fastening was covered with clay or
wax, and the impression from a seal of one in authority was stamped upon it, so that it could not
be broken open without discovery. The signet-ring was an ordinary part of a man’s equipment.
(Genesis 38:18) The ring or the seal as an emblem of authority in Egypt, Persia and elsewhere is
mentioned in (Genesis 41:42; 1 Kings 21:8; Esther 3:10,12; 8:2; Daniel 6:17) and as an evidence
of a covenant, in (Jeremiah 32:10,44; Nehemiah 9:38; 10:1; Haggai 2:23) Engraved signets were
in use among the Hebrews in early times. (Exodus 28:11,36; 39:6)
frankie
(Frankie)
#1