What is…
The city of Salt

Hebrew: עִיר הַמֶּלַח —transliteration: îr hammelaḥ or Ir-hammelah —meaning: City of Salt

This is one of the cities of the Tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:62). It is mentioned only once in Scripture.

This verse forms part of a longer passage (Joshua 15:61–62) detailing the inheritance of the tribe of Judah. The “wilderness” (or desert/midbar) region refers to the arid, rugged area of the Judean Desert (also called the Wilderness of Judah), which stretches east from the Judean hills down to the western shore of the Dead Sea (biblically known as the Salt Sea or Sea of the Arabah due to its extreme salinity).

The 6 cities in this wilderness district are typically grouped as:

• Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah (Joshua 15:61)

• Nibshan, the City of Salt, and Engedi (Joshua 15:62)

  (Engedi is a well-identified oasis with freshwater springs.)

These formed a southern or eastern frontier zone for Judah, characterized by extreme aridity, steep cliffs, wadis (dry riverbeds), and proximity to the hypersaline Dead Sea.

It was probably in the Valley of Salt, at the southern end of the Dead Sea. The name “City of Salt” strongly suggests a connection to salt production, deposits, or that salty environment.

Archaeology

The Judean Desert has yielded Iron Age remains, Qumran’s Essene-like community (1st century BC–AD), and evidence of ancient salt exploitation. Future digs could refine identifications.

Proposed modern identifications for the City of Salt include:

• Khirbet Qumran (or Horvat Qumran): The most commonly cited candidate in many biblical encyclopedias and atlases. This site, located on a plateau near the northwestern Dead Sea shore (about 13 miles/20 km east of Jerusalem), is famous as the discovery site of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

  Some scholars link four of the wilderness cities (including the City of Salt) to Iron Age II settlements in the Buqeiah (Valley of Achor) or nearby, with Qumran as a strong fit for the City of Salt due to its desert location, ruins, and position relative to Engedi.

• Other suggestions: Ruins near the southwestern Dead Sea (e.g., near Wadi Zuweireh or salt hills at the southern end), or sites like Tell el-Milch (“salt hill”) farther south, though these are less favored. Some older proposals connected it speculatively to Zoar (one of the Cities of the Plain) or areas near Sodom due to salt imagery, but these lack strong support.

More information

• Answers about the Dead Sea of Israel
• Answers about salt in the Bible
• What is the Tribe of Judah?
• Answers about deserts in the Bible
• Answers about wilderness in the Bible