Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] What Does "salt sea" Mean at Genesis 14: 3?
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2008 06:25:53 -0800 (PST)
--- On Tue, 12/2/08, joel AT exc.com <joel AT exc.com> wrote:
> JimStinehart AT aol.com
> Date: Tuesday, December 2, 2008, 9:00 AM
> >1. Does the reference to ?salt sea? (yod-mem he-mem-lamed-heth/YM HMLX,
> >literally ?salt the sea?) at Genesis 14: 3 refer to the Dead Sea, or to >
> >>the Mediterranean Sea?
>
> The Dead Sea. It is a methodological mistake to look at
> the literal meaning of the phrase ("sea of salt") to try to
> figure out which body of water it refers to. Of course the
> Mediterranean also has salt, but that fact is irrelevant.
If the presence of salt is irrelevant for the Mediterranean then it must also
be irrelevant for the Dead Sea.