Salt, The city of

The City of Salt was one of six cities listed in the wilderness district of Judah's southern inheritance (Josh. 15:61–62), situated near the Dead Sea in the barren region of the Judean wilderness. Its precise identification is uncertain, but some scholars locate it at Khirbet Qumran — the site later occupied by the Essene community who produced the Dead Sea Scrolls — or at another site near the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea. The region's name may derive from the extensive salt deposits found in the area around the Dead Sea. The six cities of this southern wilderness district, including the City of Salt, En Gedi, and Nibshan, formed the southernmost tier of Judah's settled territory, occupying the desolate but strategically important region bordering the Negev and the Salt Sea.