FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12

The itinerary calls for catching up on rest and staying local.


0:00 - 0:40
I'm using the opportunity to use Goggle Earth to show a broader picture of the Dead Sea area and some of the events that occurred here.


0:40 - 1:02
We'll head south along the western edge of the southern embayment. There we run into Mt. Sdom, a salt dome that extends for about five miles. Here on the northern end of Sdom is a pillar of salt that is called Lot's Wife. Given the dome's name and the traditional association of Lot's wife with it, a good case can be made for this area being the site of Sodom and Gomorrah. Salt domes are associated with trapped natural gas. The shallow southern embayment, now under water, could have once been dry and only subsided following a massive release of natural gas that pushed the salt dome upward. Further Genesis 14 records tar pits associated with the area around Sodom. The Dead Sea was called Lake Asphalitis in the New Testament era. But it's far from the Cities of the Plain at the north end of the Dead Sea that tempted Lot. We even know where he and Abram were standing when Lot looked longingly toward Sodom and that doesn't fit Mt. Sdom. Good evidence exists for both locations, but archaeologists currently favor Tall el-Hammam at the northern site. We'll see it shortly.


1:02 - 1:23
We move to a well-developed agricultural plain at the southeast corner of the sea. It's watered by one of the major rivers coming down from Transjordan -- the Nahal Zered.


1:23 - 2:20
Jutting out from the eastern side of the sea is a tongue-shaped peninsula called the Lissan Peninsula. Evidence of the receding shoreline is particularly apparent here.


2:20 - 2:52
Climbing in altitude and looking eastward we see the massive Arnon Gorge. The Arnon River is one of the major rivers flowing into the Arabah from Transjordan.

At the time the Israelites were ending their wanderings in the wilderness, the Arnon Gorge was the boundary between Moab and the land of the Amorites. The territory of the latter -- extending from here at the gorge northward to the Jabbok River -- was taken and ultimately given to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. https://tinyurl.com/yabqt2aj


2:52 - 3:21
We fly through the gorge to Aroer, mentioned by Moses: "From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead, not one town was too strong for us. The Lord our God gave us all of them." Dt 2:36.


3:21 - 3:38
Nearby is the possible site of Jahaz, where the Amorite King Sihon attempted to stop the advance of the Israelites by engaging them in battle.


3:38 - 4:19
Flying past Biblical Dibon, we come to Callirhoe, renowned for its hot springs and visited by King Herod before his death according to Josephus. Nearby is Machaerus, Herod's Transjordanian fortress and palace. Josephus corroborates the gospels' recording of John the Baptist's execution at the hands of Herod. He places the incident here at Machaerus.


4:19 - 5:39
A quick swing to the northeast corner of the Dead Sea takes us to the Plain of Moab where the children of Israel encamped before crossing the Jordan. Were told they camped between Abel Shittim and Beth-jeshimoth. It was while here that Moses died and Joshua took his place. Before he died, Moses was directed to climb Mt. Nebo and there God showed him the land he would not be allowed to enter. Somewhere in the valley opposite Baal Peor, God himself buried his friend Moses.


5:03 - 5:20
This area is also the site of Tall el-Hammam, the current lead contender for the site of Sodom. If you were to stand on Hwy 60 in the hill country north of Jerusalem, between Ai and Bethel where Abram and Lot divided the land as the Bible describes, and if you were to look eastward through a slot in the hills, you would be looking right toward this site.


5:40 - 7:20
We take another look at En Gedi and Masada from different angles and head back to the hotel.