The Dead Sea is Important to Biblical History
by Owen Borville
April 29, 2019
Bible, Archaeology, History, Geology
The Dead Sea is important to Biblical history. Located on the eastern border of the nation of Israel with Jordan, the Dead Sea is located in the Jordan Rift valley and is fed by the Jordan River. King Herod the Great built or rebuilt several fortresses and palaces on the western bank of the Dead Sea, the most famous of which was at Masada. In 70 A.D., some Jews fled to Masada during the Jewish-Roman War and the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple. John the Baptist was believed to have been imprisoned and died at a fortress on the eastern bank of the Dead Sea, according to the first century Jewish-Roman author Josephus. The ancient Dead Sea Scrolls, which are believed to be over 2,000 years old and contain over 200 of the oldest copies of Old Testament Books, were found in caves at Qumran on the northwest shore in the 20th century.
The shores of the Dead Sea represent the lowest elevation land surface on Earth at 430 meters below sea level. The Dead Sea is over 300 meters deep and is the deepest hypersaline lake in the world, in addition to being one of the saltiest bodies of water on Earth. This saltiness makes the Dead Sea very dense and very difficult for any life to survive inside the waters. The Dead Sea is landlocked and is part of an endorheic basin, which does not allow outflow onto other external bodies of water.
Evolutionists claim that the Dead Sea is 3.7 million years old, but at the rate that the Dead Sea is drying up, it is difficult to explain how the Dead Sea could be more than a few thousand years old, which would comply with the creationist time scale. Human usage has caused much of the water loss in the Dead Sea, however, even without human usage, it is difficult to explain such an old age for the Dead Sea. The extremely dry environment of the surrounding area also contributes greatly to water loss, and this dry climate could not allow the Dead Sea to exist more than a few thousand years.
by Owen Borville
April 29, 2019
Bible, Archaeology, History, Geology
The Dead Sea is important to Biblical history. Located on the eastern border of the nation of Israel with Jordan, the Dead Sea is located in the Jordan Rift valley and is fed by the Jordan River. King Herod the Great built or rebuilt several fortresses and palaces on the western bank of the Dead Sea, the most famous of which was at Masada. In 70 A.D., some Jews fled to Masada during the Jewish-Roman War and the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple. John the Baptist was believed to have been imprisoned and died at a fortress on the eastern bank of the Dead Sea, according to the first century Jewish-Roman author Josephus. The ancient Dead Sea Scrolls, which are believed to be over 2,000 years old and contain over 200 of the oldest copies of Old Testament Books, were found in caves at Qumran on the northwest shore in the 20th century.
The shores of the Dead Sea represent the lowest elevation land surface on Earth at 430 meters below sea level. The Dead Sea is over 300 meters deep and is the deepest hypersaline lake in the world, in addition to being one of the saltiest bodies of water on Earth. This saltiness makes the Dead Sea very dense and very difficult for any life to survive inside the waters. The Dead Sea is landlocked and is part of an endorheic basin, which does not allow outflow onto other external bodies of water.
Evolutionists claim that the Dead Sea is 3.7 million years old, but at the rate that the Dead Sea is drying up, it is difficult to explain how the Dead Sea could be more than a few thousand years old, which would comply with the creationist time scale. Human usage has caused much of the water loss in the Dead Sea, however, even without human usage, it is difficult to explain such an old age for the Dead Sea. The extremely dry environment of the surrounding area also contributes greatly to water loss, and this dry climate could not allow the Dead Sea to exist more than a few thousand years.