In Jesus's Footsteps 
跟随基督的脚步

Dead sea

死海（希伯来语יָם הַ‏‏מֶּ‏‏לַ‏ח, 读音：Yām HaMélaḥ，是“盐海”的意思；或者写为 יָם הַ‏‏מָּוֶת, 读音：Yām HaMā́weṯ,），即“死亡之海”，也被称为盐海，是一个至东向西分别接壤约旦、巴勒斯坦和以色列的盐湖。其表面和海岸低于海平面429米（1407英尺），为地球海拔最低的陆地。死海深304米（997英尺），是世界上最深的咸水湖。其盐度为34.2%（2011年），这使其成为世界上最咸的水体之一。

其含盐量是正常海洋海水含盐量的9.6倍。如此之高的盐度造就了死海不适于任何生物生存的恶劣环境，正如它的名字一样。死海长50公里（31英里），最宽处达15公里（9英里）。死海位于约旦裂谷，它的主要支流是约旦河。

数千年来，死海吸引着无数来自地中海盆地周围的游客前来此地。根据圣经记载，死海是大卫王避难时停留的地方；这里也是世界上首个健康度假村之一（为希律大帝而设）；同时，死海也成为各种产品的供应之地，从埃及制作木乃伊所用到的沥青到钾肥等等不一而足。人们也用死海的盐和矿物质生产化妆品和草药香包。

死海海水的密度为1240千克/立方米，这使得在其中游泳类似漂浮。

根据希伯来圣经的记载，在以色列人还未来到迦南地时，就已经有人居住在死海附近的洞穴里，这一居住行为在大卫王的时代越发普遍。

在以西结书47:8-9有一个关于死海的具体的预言“……使水医治，滋生鱼类”，成为能够使海洋生物存活的正常湖泊。在撒迦利亚14:8有一个类似的预言是说：“必有活水从耶路撒冷出来，一半往东海流（可能是指死海），一半往西海流（地中海）”。

The Dead Sea (Hebrew: יָם הַ‏‏מֶּ‏‏לַ‏ח, Yām HaMélaḥ, "Sea of Salt", also Hebrew: יָם הַ‏‏מָּוֶת, Yām HaMā́weṯ, "The Sea of Death", also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, and Palestine and Israel to the west. Its surface and shores are 429 meters (1,407 ft.) below sea level, Earth's lowest elevation on land. The Dead Sea is 304 m (997 ft.) deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. With 34.2% salinity (in 2011), it is also one of the world's saltiest bodies of water

It is 9.6 times as salty as the ocean. This salinity makes for a harsh environment in which animals cannot flourish, hence its name. The Dead Sea is 50 kilometers (31 mi) long and 15 kilometers (9 mi) wide at its widest point. It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley and its main tributary is the Jordan River.

The Dead Sea has attracted visitors from around the Mediterranean basin for thousands of years. In the Bible, it is a place of refuge for King David. It was one of the world's first health resorts (for Herod the Great), and it has been the supplier of a wide variety of products, from asphalt for Egyptian mummification to potash for fertilizers.

People also use the salt and the minerals from the Dead Sea to create cosmetics and herbal sachets.

The Dead Sea water has a density of 1,240 kg/m3, which makes swimming similar to floating  

Dwelling in caves near the Dead Sea is recorded in the Hebrew Bible as having taken place before the Israelites came to Canaan, and extensively at the time of King David.

Just north of the Dead Sea is Jericho. Somewhere, perhaps on the southeastern shore, would be the cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis which were said to have been destroyed in the time of Abraham: Sodom and Gomorra (Genesis 18) and the three other "Cities of the Plain", Admah, Zeboim and Zoar (Deuteronomy 29:23). Zoar escaped destruction when Abraham's nephew Lot escaped to Zoar from Sodom (Genesis 19:21-22).

Before the destruction, the Dead Sea was a valley full of natural tar pits, which was called the vale of Siddim. King David was said to have hidden from Saul at Ein Gedi nearby.

In Ezekiel 47:8-9 there is a specific prophecy that the sea will "... be healed and made fresh", becoming a normal lake capable of supporting marine life.

A similar prophecy is stated in Zechariah 14:8, which says that "Living waters will go out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea (likely the Dead Sea) and half to the western sea (the Mediterranean)

Important notice:

Please bring your swim suit, hat , and while in the water, do not splash or dive, the salty water can cause irritation to the eyes.