Genesis 14:3; Genesis 14:8; Genesis 14:10. Gesenius from the Arabic explains "a plain (emek ) cut up by stony channels, which render it difficult of transit." emek means "a broad flat tract between hills", a suitable battle field for the four kings against five. It had many bitumen pits. Onkelos, Aquila, and Rashi make Siddim plural of sadeh , "a plain." So Stanley "the valley of (cultivated) fields." Aben Ezra derives Siddim from sid , "lime," bitumen being used for lime (Genesis 14:3). The words "which is the Salt Sea" imply that the Dead Sea in part now covers (probably at its Siddim end which is shallow and with shores incrusted with salt and bitumen) the vale of Siddim. The plain is in part enclosed between the southern end of the lake and the heights which terminate the Ghor and commence the wady Arabah. In the drains of the Sabkhah are Gesenius' impassable channels. The form of the plain agrees with the idea of an emek . The Imperial Bible Dictionary makes Siddim a Hamitic word occurring in Egyptian monuments, the Shet-ta-n or: land of Sheth," part of the Rephaim who possessed that part of Palestine.
From the co-author of the classic Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary, Fausset's Bible Dictionary stands as one of the best single-volume Bible encyclopedias ever written for general use. The author's writing style is always clear and concise, and he tackles issues important to the average student of the Bible, not just the Biblical scholars. This makes Fausset an excellent tool for both everyday Bible study and in-depth lesson or sermon preparation.Wikipedia
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