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Salt Sea

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Another name for the Dead Sea, formed after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Detailed Definition
The Salt Sea (Genesis 14; Ezekiel 47) symbolizes judgment and barrenness, yet also future healing. In poetry, it evokes the permanence of divine wrath, the landscape of desolation, and the paradox of life emerging from death in prophetic vision.
Example
Example in poetry:
Salt Sea—Dead Sea—inspires desolation poetry: “The Salt Sea covers Sodom—monument to judgment”; A modern poem: “My Salt Sea is the place where tears have dried into crust”; In a prophetic oracle: “Ezekiel saw the Salt Sea healed—waters teeming with life”; Historical reflection: “Blessed paradox: the Salt Sea both kills and preserves.”
Additional Notes
The Salt Sea (Genesis 14:3; Numbers 34:12), also called the Dead Sea, is associated with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19), where Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt. Its extreme salinity and lifelessness made it a biblical symbol of desolation and judgment (Ezekiel 47:11; Zephaniah 2:9). Yet prophetic visions imagine its healing (Ezekiel 47:8–9). In poetry, the Salt Sea embodies divine wrath transformed into hope, the permanence of memory (salt as preservation), and the paradox of barrenness holding future life—rich for ecological and apocalyptic verse.
Also Known As
Dead Sea Sea of the Arabah
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