Biblical Hebrew Forum

[jimstinehart AT aol.com]

James Christian:

It would help everyone if you would use your knowledge of Greek to let us 
know if Homer referred to the Mediterranean Sea as being a "salt sea".  The 
first thing I came to on the Internet is set forth below.  The phrase at the 
end (in English translation) is "the salt sea water".  Isn't that referring 
to the water of the Mediterranean Sea?  Or perhaps the waters of the oceans 
generally, of which the Mediterranean Sea was a part? 




"Next we began to sail up the narrow strait lamenting. For on the one hand 
lay Scylla, and on the other mighty Charybdis in terrible wise sucked down 
the salt sea water."


On a more general level, didn't the Greeks refer to the Mediterranean Sea as 
"the salt sea"?  If you concede that point, I won't look any farther, but if 
you deny it, I'll keep on digging.

My own understanding is that most people in the ancient world who lived near 
the Mediterranean Sea, other than the Egyptians, often referred to the 
Mediterranean Sea as "the salt sea".  Maybe we could start with the Greeks, 
and then work our way farther east and back in time.  Terminology at Ugarit 
will be particularly important.

On the other hand, I myself know of no document in the secular history of the 
ancient world that refers to the Dead Sea as being "sea the salt" or "the 
salt sea".  Do such references exist in the secular history of the ancient 
world?

You keep on saying that "sea the salt" could not possibly be referring to the 
Mediterranean Sea.  Are there any written documents from the secular history 
of the ancient world that support that key contention of yours?

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois