A valley, part of the Jordan Valley, where the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and their allies came together to fight the kings from the east (Genesis 14:1–10); after Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed this valley turned into the Salt Sea.
About Valley of Siddim
Location of the battle between four kings from Mesopotamia and five allied kings living near the Dead Sea (Gn 14:3, 8–10). The precise location of the battle in the vicinity of the Dead Sea has proved impossible to determine; one is left with conjectures. The valley is described as being full of tar pits (Gn 14:10). This description suits the areas adjacent to the Salt or Dead Sea.
The account in Genesis describes an important military campaign believed to have occurred in the middle Bronze Age (c. 1900 BC), which would place it at the time of Abraham. The kings mentioned in the coalition from the East are unknown, since the alleged link of Amraphel with Hammurabi is now considered untenable. These four allies came south from Damascus and conquered a series of cities, including Karnaim, Ham, and the Horites in Mt Seir, as far south as the Gulf of Elat. They then turned northwest to Kadesh-barnea and from there northeast toward the Dead Sea. This seems to be the locality where they met resistance from the coalition of the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar (Gn 14:2–9) south of the Dead Sea.
Key References
In those days Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim
All Scripture References (3)
Genesis (3)
The latter five came as allies to the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).
Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and arrayed themselves for battle in the Valley of Siddim
Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some men fell into the pits, but the survivors fled to the hill country.